redrooster
New member
A few months ago, I posted up about the transformation my Jeep was going through. Initially the project consisted of repairing the cracked frame extending the rear wheelbase and installing a 4 link with Sway A Way Air shocks in the rear. It snowballed...
The frame was determined to have 5 visible cracks not just the two that I initially found. I decided to ditch the CJ frame for a YJ frame. They are stronger wider and mandrel bent vs. the pieces of welded channel that were used on the CJ. They do fit, but not without some modification. ALl body mounts are not captured by the CJ tub. This was of little concern to me since the rollcage ties in through the body in 8 places in addition to the six body mounts that did work. All the random unnecessary brackets, bumpers and junk were cut off the YJ frame before being placed under my tub. The front bumper/shackle reversal from my CJ had already been fabricated to accomodate full width axles and YJ springs. It was merely cut off and rewelded to the front of the new frame. New shackle hangers were welded on for the front springs.
The project began to snowball when I came across the opportunity to replace my 360 with a 2001 Vortec 5.3 engine. The engine has less cubes, but greater performance, so I jumped on it. I have several friends with these motors who abuse them with little or no problems. They are very reliable.
The engine swap also required that I have the guts from my AMC Th400 swapped into a GM Th400 housing. I could have bought the adapter ring for $150 from advance, but opted for the GM housing since I knew where to get one free. The swap only cost me $50 more overall than if I had gone with the adapter ring.
The engine transmission and transfer case were all set in place and motor mounts were fabbed once everything was test fitted. The flat belly skid for the transmission and T-case were later fabbed from 1.75" tubing, poly bushings and a 1/4" peice of plate to provide for a flat skid. I will get pictures of it later.
Once all that was done, it was time to move out back. My goal was to get to a 112" wheelbase using the afore mentioned Air chocks and 4-link. My buddy has a laser cut 4-link bracket kit made that he sells on E-bay, so I snatched one of those up. These make life a lot easier. Once the initial measurements were taken, we found that the wider YJ frame was going to interfere with fitting the Air shock between the frame and tire. There was no way to make it fit without the new 42" Iroks rubbing all over them. The decision was made to cut and tube the rear. See pics.
I have also done a lot more fab work in the fuel, transmission and brake line departments that add to the custom built look, as well as the addition of high steer to my hydro system.
Twisted Copper will hopefully post some pics I mailed to him. One of these days I will have to sign up for a site to host my pics. Until then, thanks for the help, T.C.
The Jeep currently starts and runs. All that is left to do is finish painting, hookup my temp gauge and o2's, install the rear driveshaft and have new exhaust run.
I'm anxious to get her out for a test drive.
The frame was determined to have 5 visible cracks not just the two that I initially found. I decided to ditch the CJ frame for a YJ frame. They are stronger wider and mandrel bent vs. the pieces of welded channel that were used on the CJ. They do fit, but not without some modification. ALl body mounts are not captured by the CJ tub. This was of little concern to me since the rollcage ties in through the body in 8 places in addition to the six body mounts that did work. All the random unnecessary brackets, bumpers and junk were cut off the YJ frame before being placed under my tub. The front bumper/shackle reversal from my CJ had already been fabricated to accomodate full width axles and YJ springs. It was merely cut off and rewelded to the front of the new frame. New shackle hangers were welded on for the front springs.
The project began to snowball when I came across the opportunity to replace my 360 with a 2001 Vortec 5.3 engine. The engine has less cubes, but greater performance, so I jumped on it. I have several friends with these motors who abuse them with little or no problems. They are very reliable.
The engine swap also required that I have the guts from my AMC Th400 swapped into a GM Th400 housing. I could have bought the adapter ring for $150 from advance, but opted for the GM housing since I knew where to get one free. The swap only cost me $50 more overall than if I had gone with the adapter ring.
The engine transmission and transfer case were all set in place and motor mounts were fabbed once everything was test fitted. The flat belly skid for the transmission and T-case were later fabbed from 1.75" tubing, poly bushings and a 1/4" peice of plate to provide for a flat skid. I will get pictures of it later.
Once all that was done, it was time to move out back. My goal was to get to a 112" wheelbase using the afore mentioned Air chocks and 4-link. My buddy has a laser cut 4-link bracket kit made that he sells on E-bay, so I snatched one of those up. These make life a lot easier. Once the initial measurements were taken, we found that the wider YJ frame was going to interfere with fitting the Air shock between the frame and tire. There was no way to make it fit without the new 42" Iroks rubbing all over them. The decision was made to cut and tube the rear. See pics.
I have also done a lot more fab work in the fuel, transmission and brake line departments that add to the custom built look, as well as the addition of high steer to my hydro system.
Twisted Copper will hopefully post some pics I mailed to him. One of these days I will have to sign up for a site to host my pics. Until then, thanks for the help, T.C.
The Jeep currently starts and runs. All that is left to do is finish painting, hookup my temp gauge and o2's, install the rear driveshaft and have new exhaust run.
I'm anxious to get her out for a test drive.
