71 Wheeling Rig

You're welcome, and as always "Your results may vary" these are just my observations. High backs are definitely safer in a rear-end collision.

 

Interesting what you did on the BDS springs. I may do that when I get to throwing some on my Jeep.

How long have those springs been on your Jeep? Long enough to settle, or could it drop down more than usual now that you've pulled that leaf?

 

This was the primary motivation for high back seats in my rig. I agree, low backs are more enjoyable.

 

They have been on the Jeep since April 2021, so right at three years now. One disadvantage to yanking a leaf is that the spring clamps now have a gaps to the top leaf. This will provide less resistance to the springs S-bending under torque. Whether it matters in practice is hard to say. I'm going to run them like this for a while to see what happens.

You can see the gap in this picture. There isn't quite enough room to drill a new, lower hole without welding up the existing one:

 

Ok, thank you. Can you throw a shim in there perhaps?

 

But noticeably more articulation.

 

Interesting. I s'pose I should read up on leaf springs...

 

There’s very surprisingly A LOT to read.

 

You just need a section of pipe to act as a collar around the bolt. And you only need it on the clips in front of the axles... or is it behind...

 

Are you going forward or backwards?

 

I have always liked low backs, and have them in my 4 jeeps. In my opinion, they look better, fold and tumble for access to the tool box, are relatively comfortable (except for the original thin seats in my 3B), and I like that my brimmed hat doesn't bump into them like a high back.

 

The Monroe shocks came in last night. They are shorter than the BDS shocks, but the dirt marks on the BDS shocks show that they never used the last two inches of travel:


BDS 855900: Compressed - 13.4", Extended 21.7"

Monroe 31000: Compressed - 12", Extended 19.5"

Compression wasn't a concern, but I was worried that the Monroe shocks would limit droop (and therefor flex) since they are 1.8" shorter. I ran the Jeep out to a bank to see what the max droop was with the BDS shocks still installed.

This is with the Jeep just teetering:


The front could probably flex a little more, but I have the bump-stops extended to keep the compressed tire out of the fender:


With a leaf yanked out of the springs, I am getting more flex in the rear. I used to be about an inch from the bump-stop at full flex and is now just touching it:


All that said, the extended length of the shocks at full flex was 19.5" both front an rear, so the Monroe 31000s do not limit droop in practice.

However, after switching all the shocks out, I think the Monroe shocks might actually ride a little firmer over bumpy stuff than the BDS shocks. It's hard to be completely sure since it's so subjective, but I didn't expect that.

I'll probably swap the BDS shocks back in.

I need to measure and order some new U-bolts tonight. I don't trust these after I've re-used them for these experiments.

Beyond that, I'm waiting for the seats to show up.

 

Sorry I'm a bit late to this post, I have a pair in the garage just wanting a new home. Posted them in classifieds a year ago or so for $100 for the set, at this point, I'd take $50 for the set

 

Where in ID are you? I might be interested in those seats if Fireball isn't. I won't be around until about mid-month, but if the seats are in good condition I might buy them.

By all means, if Fireball wants them then he gets first grabs.

 

I would be very interested in that but it will be a while before I can get down to Boise.

 

I am in Boise, no need to rush, seats are new and never installed (came with the pile-o-parts that eventually ended up being my Jeep). Well OK, installed one just to see if they fit, too tall for me, but yep they are cushy. They will just hang out in the garage until someone comes to claim them.

 

I'll try to figure out when I can get down there and will be in touch.

 

This showed up yesterday from user mriffio.

NOS Jeep cigarette ligher:




I suppose is should be red/blue for the '71, but it looks pretty darned good in it anyway:




...And these showed up. I don't trust the old ones after re-using them, but they were fine for testing:


I'll get them painted and on the Jeep some time.

 

You need to make sure you don't drag them on any rocks....

You know where I'm going with this...

 

Whose U bolts are they? They look decent. I usually go to the local truck shop and have them bent for me but if these are a decent alternative....