Varg In Jeep's Clothing

Wait till you see what I'm going to
pick up for $100 this weekend.

I had to sell my bandsaw to fund it though.

 

I have a little time while I wait for bid approvals... I started on a small project that has been nagging me from the beginning. The windshield that came with this is in really good shape, but it was for an arctic top; the arms are straight.



I have my windshield from my 3B that I was able to pull templates from, and I'm working on making replacement arms with the proper bends in them. I'll chop off the straight arms and weld these in their place. They'll get capped off to make tubing out of them. This is a very preliminary stage...





Chris, I won't be needing that windshield frame. But I have a feeling it's going to show up here anyway.

 

Its ok to sell tools you use infrequently for stuff you're going to use more. I sold all my super cool old american iron stationary tools to buy a dirt bike i use on a regular basis and aren't just shop tools to look and drool over that never get used.

 

Something like this...

 

One is finished, ready to weld in place. The other one is welded; just needs cleaned up. I like it. One more "don't know how I'm gonna address that" issue checked off the list.

After the windshield angle is set, I'm free to start the cage design.

 

Very nice work, your fabrication skills are inspirational. It's gonna be cool to see how this thing turns out.

 

Thanks guys. This is the point in my builds where I really have to resist the temptation to start cutting corners to just git'er done. I have to keep telling myself that in all reality I might be half way through this build.

 

totaly agree on you....i'm doing small project around the house and when i come back to the jeep i'm not motivated anymore so i leave it in the garage so i will work on it when motivation will be there because i would be easy to cut corner but i know i will regret it.

 

Progress is going to come to a grinding hault when I get to the wiring.

 

I've been working on the wiring harness in my wife's Bronco. I hate wiring, but I'm trying to be positive. A little at a time... I've got the motor turning over, just won't fire

 

Good luck man. I feel your pain. Wiring sucks.

This is what I'm dreading: weeding out what I do need and don't need from this rat's nest, and trying to fit it into a tiny flatfender.

 

It's finally starting to look like something!

 

Nice work

 

Super killer! Wiring. well. Plug the things in and see where it goes. Since you have most of the harnesss, where the sensors are will dictate where the wires will ride. It looks complex until you do a bit at a time. A wire at a time, one circuit, then another. Pretty soon you're cleaning it up and tie wrapping it all together. I can wire a CJ2a in a couple hours. They are mostly pretty simple. Yours will take more time, but you got this.

 

Coming along nicely!

 

Here's my dilemma:



I offset my drivetrain to the driver's side an excessive amount in order to be able to clock the t-case flat, and to fit my exhaust between the t-case and frame. This caused a nearly 4" discrepancy between the t-case output and pinion that the driveshaft would not be happy about making up.

Here's the score I made yesterday for $100 that has the solution:



It's a 2000 Isuzu Rodeo. Its rear axle is a Dana "226", which Wikipedia explains better than I could:

"...[It] is an 8.9" diameter Dana 44 ring and pinion that is very different from the standard Dana 44. This ring and pinion is significantly stronger with a better pinion to ring gear tooth contact patch and angle.... The benefit is the larger ring gear, better angle cut on the teeth and Dana 60 diameter pinion shaft."



It also matches my 6-lug front, has disc-brakes, mini-drum e-brakes, 30 spline shafts, 4.10 gears that match my front Toyota axle, and a factory TracLock.



Gosh that's a lot of mounts to cut off.



Here's the icing on the cake, and the main reason I hunted it down: it is 8" wider than my Toyota axle. "Why is that good?" you ask? I'm going to cut 8" out of the driver's side tubing, and send the shaft out to be shortened and resplined. This will move my pinion over 4", bringing my driveshaft alignment to within 5/8". So I will have a driver's side drop rear axle that is the same width as the front Toyota axle.



Bonus pic. I had to turn the trailer around in my driveway, and Mighty Mouse was the only rig short enough to pull it off. Scary! It dragged me down the pavement backwards at one point, front tires howling.

 

Dude. Killer. Can't wait to see this.

 

Nice score!

 

Something I hadn't anticipated: these axle tubes are huge for a D44! My calipers say they are 3.150" (80mm) wide (compared to the Toyota tubes at 2.575"), so with my spring-over setup out back, I'll be getting 1/4" more lift.
And I'll have to buy new u-bolts.