71 Wheeling Rig

Agreed, you don't need a lot of mods to make these small, lightweight Jeeps very functional offroad. This one will look about the same when I done, just with some reliability, gearing, protection, and safety upgrades.

 

Actually, I was just going to show up so I'm glad you offered.

 

Wonder if he knows a guy who has rocker protection ready to ship.....

 

That's a great JEEP just the way you got it. Your planned changes will make it super great. The buick V8 looks like it belongs there. I'd like to have one for my '71, along with the PS set up. I like your project a lot.

 

Believe me, I've just about sent the PM a couple of times. I'm not quite sure what I want my final setup to look like depending on cage mounts and protecting the exhaust. I like yours a lot though and might be ordering a pair one of these days.

 

Since I had the day off, it was time to tear into this to see what I've got:


If things aren't great I'm not too dissapointed. I only paid core prices for the whole lot.

First was pulling the over drive. A little extra slop in the shift linkage:


A busted head on a trust washer retaining screw. In a spot where nothing seems to have been hurt. Luckily, the remainder of the screw came out easily:


Sadly, I think the bowl gear teeth are rusted beyond use, and the bowl gear will need to be replaced:


The planetary gears look good, but there is some pitting where the bowl gear runs on the planetary housing. I think this is OK to still run for a while. It looks worse than it feels with a fingernail:


So, I think the overdrive is fine with some gaskets and a $360 bowl gear. If I change out the planetary gear/housing assembly, it's the same price as a whole new overdrive.

The bowl gear rust is slightly disappointing, but not a disaster.

 

Next is the transfer case:


It's a large hole D18 and adapter on the T98 as I expected:


Parking brake is a geasey, dirty, worn out mess. It will get rebuilt:


The gears on the D18 look to be in great shape with only the faintest of pitting. No chips on the shifting splines:


There is a little bit of end-play in the intermediate gear, but no rocking motion. The front output feals good and the rear output has a small amount of slop. This should be a straight forward rebuilt with bearings, seals, and gaskets. I'll be making a twin-stick shifter seup for it too.

 

Next was the T98.

Parted:


It has a very fresh looking Valeo AMC-30 pressure plate for mid 70's V8 GM products and a fresh clutch disk with a 1 1/8 10 spline input shaft.

As with the tranny removal, I used the hoist to put it on the bench. I'm too old for heroics:


Some rust pitting on the T98 gears fromwater intrusion. Not nearly as bad as the OD bowl gear though:


This is the worst of it. I'm probably just going to run with it:


The cluster gear down below looks better yet. I'll do a bearing/seal/synchro rebuilt while I have it apart.

As for what in the world it's from, I'm not sure. It seems like a Ford case with the PTO on the passenger side, but it has a factory Dana 20 (and large hole Dana 18) adapter on the back and a 6 cylinder Jeep-like input shaft; 1 1/8" dia, 10 spline, 10" stick-out.

Here's the interesting 3 1/2" thick welded up adapter that was on it. GM bolt pattern and bearing retainer on the front centered in a machined recess:


T-98 bolt pattern on the rear and a hole to center on the shortened T98 bearing retainer on the front of the transmission:


This was installed some time in the early '70s according to the original owner's family.

I'm not a fan of the long adapter and am going to cobble together a shorter setup. I can use a Ford T-18 input shaft with special roller bearings to work with the T98 main shaft. Then I can use a bearing retainer turned down to GM bellhousing size. Three of the four bolt holes will line up with the bellhousing after minimal filing and I'll make a bracket for the 4th one. This will shorten the whole thing up to about 12 7/8" or about 1 3/8" longer than the T14 in the Jeep. Not bad.

I'll need to figure out pilot bushing, throwout bearing, and clutch disk. I'm not sure the 350 flywheel is as thick as the dauntless. That might effect things too.

 

hummm
I see a chair / ice box / torpedo heater
yep that's a interesting adapter

 

I like your plan, and it looks like you have a lot of the parts to implement it. I've been following your new jeep build in the 'what did you do today' thread, subscribed to follow along!

 

I think examining the background of earlycj5 photos is a hobby we all have.

 

Decided to get rid of some money and ordered the following:

• From Ebay
  • T18 Ford input shaft

• From Novak
  • Turned down and shortened T18 bearing retainer
  • Ford transmission to GM engine pilot bushing
  • D18 Large shaft master rebuild kit

• From Advance Adapters
  • Special rollers to use T18 input shaft with T98 main shaft
  • Overdrive gasket and seal set
  • Overdrive bowl gear assembly with bearings - 29 tooth

This will give me some stuff to play with. I want to see If my short nose conversion will work for the T98 before I order a rebuild kit for it.

I can get the overdrive and D18 ready to go. Need to disassemble the parking brake to see what parts I need for that.

I also need to research this site for the right seals to double up in the D18 tailhousing.

 

I also ordered this Griffin crossflow radiator with a 21" x 19 " core: Griffin UniversalFit Radiator,Part Number: 1-25222-XS for


That's 23 percent more core area than the cut down radiator that's in the Jeep, the aluminum is more efficient, and the side tanks won't interfere with the front crossframe.

Also ordered some Hoses I think I can make work.

Once it gets here I need to figure out how to mount it and make a fan shroud.

 

Finally got this important project done on the Jeep:





Subtle. I like it.

Yeah, I know I need to wash the poor thing, but it's 22 degrees out.

 

That's a cool Jeep! Love the Buick V8

 

I used a Northern aluminum radiator from Summit that same size in my 3B. I had to reclock the outlet (TIG job) a bit but it has worked really well the last dozen years. I fit the shroud up against the tanks. My shroud also covers my engine oil cooler that sits beneath the radiator. I tilted the radiator mounting back to be parallel to the fan. That gives one a little more room for the headlight buckets.





I made urethane pucks to mount the radiator top and bottom.

 

the problem is that you cleaned too large an area to install the V8 emblem.

 

That is such a nice install. I really like how you have the cooler below the radiator so it's hot air isn't going through the radiator. I also like your mounting method using the c-channel above the core. I think I'm going to steal that. You mounted the shroud there too I see.

I looks like you lower pads sit inside the bottom c-channel so it can't go any where?

 

The bottom mounts are essentially the same as the top. I think I used 40A durometer polyurethane rod for the pucks (McMaster-Carr). It is relatively soft. There may be a better way, but I cut that stuff with an 80 tooth blade in my miter saw by stuffing it into a sacrificial piece of PVC pipe. That makes it easy to put accurate angle cuts on it if you need them.

 

Radiator is here. Looks like a really nice piece:


Need to get my solvent tank functional again to continue working on driveline parts. There's a quarter inch of sediment to clean out before I refill it.


I use odorless mineral spirits. Not the most aggressive cleaner, but fairly harmless to humans.