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Jeep Gregs Willys CJ2a, rusto-mod version

Greg

Greg

I run a tight ship... wreck
Admin
Location
Grand Junction, CO
Hickey said:
Is that the 44044 spring? It might be pretty stiff for you.
Click to expand...

Same ones linked to earlier in the thread... ;) RE 1444's, they're the 5 leaf YJ Extreme Duty 1.5" with reversed spring eyes. They have a 225lb/inch spring rate.

I believe they'll be a little firm at first, but after some breaking in they should be just about right. We will see!
 
Hickey

Hickey

Burn-barrel enthusiast
Supporting Member
Location
Grantsville, Utah
Greg said:
Same ones linked to earlier in the thread... ;) RE 1444's, they're the 5 leaf YJ Extreme Duty 1.5" with reversed spring eyes. They have a 225lb/inch spring rate.

I believe they'll be a little firm at first, but after some breaking in they should be just about right. We will see!
Click to expand...
Yeah, those are the same ones I had in the rear of my YJ. You may consider pulling one of the bottom two leafs if it's too stiff.
 
M

Metcalf

New Member
Some general suggestions/observations after having my lo-rider flatty for a decent amount of time....

Getting the powertrain up for a flat belly is work, but worth it. The flatter the belly profile the better when you are building low. The powertrain is going to have to be mounted almost flat to make it happen. Hood clearance on a low hood flatty sucks. I would try and get the lowest possible intake system you can. The TH350 and front driveshaft might not play that nice, especially with the t-case clocked and the GM starter location. You might end up having to do a 2pc front driveline. Rear driveshaft length is going to be critical. I would pay the extra for the ultra short Novak rear output if you are going to do an output. Every fraction of an inch is going to help. You are likely going to end up with a 12" rear driveshaft that will be maxing out a 1310 CV no problem. Plan on rotating the rear diff WAY up. Plan on running a center limiting strap to keep the rear driveshaft alive.

I find the YJ length leaf springs too long, especially for a 35" tire. With the stock frame geomerty you will be hitting the spring ends a lot. I run rear length CJ2-3 springs with 35s and some altered frame geometry and things are still annoying. The CJ2-3 spring is 42" long and the YJ spring is about 45" long. Just like with everything in a flatty, every inch counts. I think 37s with even more tricks to get the spring eyes up will be the sweet spot with rear length cj2-3 springs all around. That is what I am doing on the #oldbluewillys project. I do wish I would have frenched the rear spring hangers into the frame on Rango. That is a semi-common snag point for me. It got worse as the springs sagged. Hopefully the new Deaver springs I have planned should help with that. If you are building low, I would try and find as much uptravel from the low ride height as practical. When Rango was new I had about 4.5" up. I think 5" up with a 10" shock would be about perfect if you could get it from the same stance. I now have about 3" with the old sagged springs and that kinda sucked.

If you are going to all the trouble of a new cage and seats. I would suggest mocking up a CJ3B windshield frame with the seats basically set on the floor and leaned back. This drastically changes the feeling of the chassis for the better in my opinion. Getting the drivers butt 5-6" lower helps boost the driver confidence and chassis predictability a lot. If you are going to remake the rear tubs this can be a pretty 'free' mod.

A good fuel tank solution is a pain in the butt in a modded flatty.

Rear shock mounts will be a pain to package, keep that in mind.

Regards.
 
mbryson

mbryson

.......a few dollars more
Supporting Member
Location
Bountiful, land of rocks
Metcalf said:
Big tires on a flatty with raised fenders, terrible idea. What you need is some NDT tires and a flathead.....
Click to expand...


Oh, like you would know anything about that...

Metcalf said:
Some general suggestions/observations after having my lo-rider flatty for a decent amount of time....

Getting the powertrain up for a flat belly is work, but worth it. The flatter the belly profile the better when you are building low. The powertrain is going to have to be mounted almost flat to make it happen. Hood clearance on a low hood flatty sucks. I would try and get the lowest possible intake system you can. The TH350 and front driveshaft might not play that nice, especially with the t-case clocked and the GM starter location. You might end up having to do a 2pc front driveline. Rear driveshaft length is going to be critical. I would pay the extra for the ultra short Novak rear output if you are going to do an output. Every fraction of an inch is going to help. You are likely going to end up with a 12" rear driveshaft that will be maxing out a 1310 CV no problem. Plan on rotating the rear diff WAY up. Plan on running a center limiting strap to keep the rear driveshaft alive.

I find the YJ length leaf springs too long, especially for a 35" tire. With the stock frame geomerty you will be hitting the spring ends a lot. I run rear length CJ2-3 springs with 35s and some altered frame geometry and things are still annoying. The CJ2-3 spring is 42" long and the YJ spring is about 45" long. Just like with everything in a flatty, every inch counts. I think 37s with even more tricks to get the spring eyes up will be the sweet spot with rear length cj2-3 springs all around. That is what I am doing on the #oldbluewillys project. I do wish I would have frenched the rear spring hangers into the frame on Rango. That is a semi-common snag point for me. It got worse as the springs sagged. Hopefully the new Deaver springs I have planned should help with that. If you are building low, I would try and find as much uptravel from the low ride height as practical. When Rango was new I had about 4.5" up. I think 5" up with a 10" shock would be about perfect if you could get it from the same stance. I now have about 3" with the old sagged springs and that kinda sucked.

If you are going to all the trouble of a new cage and seats. I would suggest mocking up a CJ3B windshield frame with the seats basically set on the floor and leaned back. This drastically changes the feeling of the chassis for the better in my opinion. Getting the drivers butt 5-6" lower helps boost the driver confidence and chassis predictability a lot. If you are going to remake the rear tubs this can be a pretty 'free' mod.

A good fuel tank solution is a pain in the butt in a modded flatty.

Rear shock mounts will be a pain to package, keep that in mind.

Regards.
Click to expand...

Well, maybe you do :D
 
Greg

Greg

I run a tight ship... wreck
Admin
Location
Grand Junction, CO
Metcalf said:
Some general suggestions/observations after having my lo-rider flatty for a decent amount of time....

Getting the powertrain up for a flat belly is work, but worth it. The flatter the belly profile the better when you are building low. The powertrain is going to have to be mounted almost flat to make it happen. Hood clearance on a low hood flatty sucks. I would try and get the lowest possible intake system you can. The TH350 and front driveshaft might not play that nice, especially with the t-case clocked and the GM starter location. You might end up having to do a 2pc front driveline. Rear driveshaft length is going to be critical. I would pay the extra for the ultra short Novak rear output if you are going to do an output. Every fraction of an inch is going to help. You are likely going to end up with a 12" rear driveshaft that will be maxing out a 1310 CV no problem. Plan on rotating the rear diff WAY up. Plan on running a center limiting strap to keep the rear driveshaft alive.

I find the YJ length leaf springs too long, especially for a 35" tire. With the stock frame geomerty you will be hitting the spring ends a lot. I run rear length CJ2-3 springs with 35s and some altered frame geometry and things are still annoying. The CJ2-3 spring is 42" long and the YJ spring is about 45" long. Just like with everything in a flatty, every inch counts. I think 37s with even more tricks to get the spring eyes up will be the sweet spot with rear length cj2-3 springs all around. That is what I am doing on the #oldbluewillys project. I do wish I would have frenched the rear spring hangers into the frame on Rango. That is a semi-common snag point for me. It got worse as the springs sagged. Hopefully the new Deaver springs I have planned should help with that. If you are building low, I would try and find as much uptravel from the low ride height as practical. When Rango was new I had about 4.5" up. I think 5" up with a 10" shock would be about perfect if you could get it from the same stance. I now have about 3" with the old sagged springs and that kinda sucked.

If you are going to all the trouble of a new cage and seats. I would suggest mocking up a CJ3B windshield frame with the seats basically set on the floor and leaned back. This drastically changes the feeling of the chassis for the better in my opinion. Getting the drivers butt 5-6" lower helps boost the driver confidence and chassis predictability a lot. If you are going to remake the rear tubs this can be a pretty 'free' mod.

A good fuel tank solution is a pain in the butt in a modded flatty.

Rear shock mounts will be a pain to package, keep that in mind.

Regards.
Click to expand...

Excellent insight, Brennan.... thanks! I've got plans/ideas for many of the suggestions, we will see how it all comes together! I don't expect it to be easy, I think there are a lot of parts that cause trouble. The hood just may end up with a scoop.... hate to do it, but I don't know of a lower intake alternative for the MPFI 4.3 V6.
 
M

Metcalf

New Member
Do you have a pic of the engine? I think that is the same engine I am using on the OBW project. It looks like I will be relocating the throttle body with a custom 3d printed adapter to make some more vertical space.
 
RockChucker

RockChucker

Well-Known Member
Location
Highland
Greg said:
:rofl:

@smfulle is already telling me to leave the 2A alone, so is @Johnny Quest , @Magerdgr and many others! I think I'll be making more enemies as this build continues. :grimacing:
Click to expand...

Parts is parts. Make it what you want and let the purists keep theirs :grimacing:

I'm of the opinion that stock anything sucks. Which is why I have kept my Jeep so close to stock X-D And why the flatty project I'm designing will be so close to stock too. Just gonna be a lot of stock parts from other vehicles...
 
Greg

Greg

I run a tight ship... wreck
Admin
Location
Grand Junction, CO
Spent some time chopping the stock spring mounts off, removed the clutch pivot mount since I won't be running a manual. Used the cutoff wheel, air chisel and sawzall to get the work done. The driver rear shackle mount had been chopped off and replaced with angle iron, bolted onto the frame.

20200806_194954-X2.jpg



Found even more frame cracks & damage, thinking I'm going to end up spending a lot of time getting this thing beefed up for what I want to do. I think I'm going to add 2 x 3 x .120 tubing to the front and rear frame horns, plus some 1/8" strap on the bottom of the frame. Will also box the area around the spring mounts inboard.

20200806_155342-X2.jpg


20200806_155206-X2.jpg


20200806_155155-X2.jpg
 
Hickey

Hickey

Burn-barrel enthusiast
Supporting Member
Location
Grantsville, Utah
Greg said:
Spent some time chopping the stock spring mounts off, removed the clutch pivot mount since I won't be running a manual. Used the cutoff wheel, air chisel and sawzall to get the work done. The driver rear shackle mount had been chopped off and replaced with angle iron, bolted onto the frame.

20200806_194954-X2.jpg



Found even more frame cracks & damage, thinking I'm going to end up spending a lot of time getting this thing beefed up for what I want to do. I think I'm going to add 2 x 3 x .120 tubing to the front and rear frame horns, plus some 1/8" strap on the bottom of the frame. Will also box the area around the spring mounts inboard.

20200806_155342-X2.jpg


20200806_155206-X2.jpg


20200806_155155-X2.jpg
Click to expand...
Yikes! 😬
 
Greg

Greg

I run a tight ship... wreck
Admin
Location
Grand Junction, CO
Well, after 4 years of ownership I've decided to let someone else enjoy driving the '48 CJ2A. Today it was picked up by friends of the new owner, headed to Louisiana. :eek: 😭

I wanted to go forward with the mods planned towards the end of this thread, but it felt like the wrong direction for Old Yeller. I've had an absolute blast fixing this thing up over the last few years, driving it and wheelin' it with good friends. It also helped introduce me to several good friends in the Flat Fender community, which makes me super grateful. It's been an amazingly capable Jeep and so fun to run hard trails with. It really brought the fun back to wheelin, dealing with things like carbs, manual steering and brakes, limited wheel travel, limited traction, etc, etc. Going old school, while frustrating at times, was so much fun.

While a bit of me feels like I screwed up, I really needed to sell it to finance the next build.... and since I no longer have a running, driving Flatty I have a fire lit under my ass to get the new project up and running.

20200930_093633-X2.jpg
 
xjtony

xjtony

Well-Known Member
Location
Grantsville, Ut
Sorry to see it go. I was looking to see if I had a pic of you with the front tire like 6 feet off the ground on Cliffhanger a couple years ago but I can't find it.
 
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