Jeep Gregs Willys CJ2a, rusto-mod version

[Rocksy]

I'm glad you're able to stop now. No more crawling around in 4LO haha

 

[Greg]

Since the rear brakes were done, it was time to tackle the front disc brake conversion. I found a great article online about a Willys disc brake conversion that was written by Verne Simmions on FourWheeler.com. I read it a few times, gathered up the needed parts (around $300) and went for it! Here's a link to the article and the basic text. - http://www.fourwheeler.com/how-to/transmission-drivetrain/154-0704-early-jeep-disk-brake-conversion/

Editor's Note:
Some modifications never become outdated, especially those that are simple bolt-on improvements that can be done with junkyard parts. We still get questions about swaps and conversions we did it over five years ago. This is one of them. And it's the first installment of our new Timeless Tech series.

Early Jeeps with closed-knuckle Dana 25, 27, and 44 front axles are not known for speedy deceleration. In fact, stopping in a hurry with the 9-inch drums can cause a religious experience-or at least the utterance of a few sacred words used in vain. So what is to be done? You could find a narrow-track Dana 30 complete with disc brakes from a later CJ, but that can become quite expensive if the axle needs to be refurbished before installation. So why not put some discs on your early axles using common easy-to-get parts? Here's how it works.

What you need:
* Calipers from a '71-'78 Chevy 1/2-ton or light-duty 3/4-ton 4x4 with a Dana 44* Caliper mounting brackets from a '73-'91 1/2-ton Chevy 4x4* Rotors from a '77-'78 CJ. These rotors are 1 1/8-inch thick* Ten longer wheel studs (we used Dorman PN 610106)* Chevy 1/2-ton brake lines (Pro Comp PN 7220)* A grinder* Standard handtools* Brake fluid, new hard brake line, banjo bolts, and a bleeder kit

1)First, you need to collect the rotors, caliper mounting brackets, and calipers. You can either hit a junkyard to get all this stuff, or you can save yourself the headache and get all-new stuff at the parts store.

2)Start out by stripping off all of your old drum brake stuff. That's right-down to the spindle. Now that you have the hub and drum off, you should find someone who can press the old wheel studs out or you can bang them out with a hammer.

3)Next, place the rotor behind the hub and have the wheel studs pressed through the rotor and into the hub. If you don't put the rotor behind the hub, your brakes won't line up with the calipers.


4)Attach the spindle and Chevy Dana 44 caliper mounting brackets with a couple bolts to test for caliper figment. You will need to replace the 12 (six per side) original fine-thread backing plate bolts with ones that are 1-inch long. You could also step up to some studs at this point.

5)In order to provide clearance for the caliper, you will need to grind a little material off of the knuckle (arrows). With the caliper mounting bracket on the spindle, you can get an idea of how much grinding will be necessary to fit the caliper. Remember that as the pads wear out, the caliper will move inward because of its floating design. If you don't grind enough, your caliper may hit the knuckle and render your brakes useless. We ground the fill plug for clearance, although you could just replace the plug with a flush-mount one. Now you can start grinding the knuckle between the two bolts that are farthest to the back of the knuckle. You don't have to remove a ton of material, but make sure you have good clearance by periodically replacing the caliper mounting bracket and caliper for test fitting.

6)Also grind the caliper a little (arrow) to make sure that there will be no contact between it and the knuckle as the pads wear out, but be careful not to grind through the casting.

7)Once you have removed enough material, you can then begin rebuilding your front axle. Now would be a good time to replace those worn-out bearings and seals. Remember to pack the bearings and grease everything.

8)We decided to move the hard brake lines from the axle to the frame. We used a couple pieces of bendable brake line from our local parts store and a set of stainless steel brake lines from Explorer Pro Comp for a Chevy 1/2-ton. We used the metering block from the new Pro Comp rear brake line to split the front hard lines to both sides. Bleed the brakes, and you're on your way. Make sure to check the caliper clearance as the pads wear.

Stopping is as easy as "holy son of a ?*&@#!"

Prior to converting our Willys to disc brakes, we were fairly sure the huge number of descriptive expletives that we so often used when trying to bring the old Jeep to a stop would result in an eternity in hell spent working on electric-powered RAV4s and Honda CRVs. Now that the Willys has disc brakes, it stops so rapidly that the rear tires in the air cause more expletives to be uttered, and despite our hopes of redemption, all hope is lost. Hell, here we come.

Here's my stack of new parts.... CJ7 rotors, GM loaded calipers & caliper mounting brackets, ProComp brakelines, new studs, etc.-

I stripped off the drums and tore it down to the knuckles on Sunday and started cleaning up the knuckles. You also have to remove the stuck hubs from the drums, as you re-use the hubs... problem is that the studs are swaged in, they are NOT easy to remove. I ended up cutting the studs against the hub, then drilling them out and finally using a torch to cut a relief in the remaining collar of the stud, to take the pressure off. From there, they popped out with a punch. It was a long & messy process, but I'd much rather do it myself than pay someone! -

Once the hub was free, I pressed the new studs in with the rotor behind the hub.

You have to do a little grinding on the knuckle and caliper to make sure all the disc pads will fit over time, once the pads wear down. From there it was simply a matter of adding the caliper mounting brackets & dust shields (with longer bolts to make up for the additional space) and the spindle, then dropping the new disc and old hub into place. After that, the loaded calipers dropped on, the new braided steel brake lines were bolted on & looped into place and it was time to bleed the brakes!! My wife helped me bleed the brakes, it took a couple rounds to get all the air out but she's an old pro at bleeding the brakes!

I was very excited to see the difference, previously the brakes were questionable at best.... and it pulled right HARD when you got on the brakes. I fired the CJ2a up for a drive around the block (driving with the new exhaust for the first time, too!!) and right out the door the change was massive! The brakes were predictable, tight and didn't pull at all.... SUCCESS!!!

 

[I Lean]

Nicely done.

Was all that jazz really needed with the old wheel studs? I've never seen a set that wasn't just splined in like the ones you installed. They can still be a bear to remove in a press at times.

How exactly are they "swaged in"? I can't visualize what the might look like.

 

[Greg]

Nicely done.

Was all that jazz really needed with the old wheel studs? I've never seen a set that wasn't just splined in like the ones you installed. They can still be a bear to remove in a press at times.

How exactly are they "swaged in"? I can't visualize what the might look like.

Thanks Carl!

It sure seemed like it was needed, I tried like hell to drive them out like you normally would (I've changed out studs on a Dana 60 hub before, in addition to many others) and they wouldn't budge at all. I don't have a press, but have a 5# sledge and big punch... the hub & drum would just bounce and the studs didn't move. The studs have a bulge that keeps them locked into place, if you don't cut that shoulder/bulge or remove it completely, they're not coming out easily.

 

[I Lean]

Thanks Carl!

The studs have a bulge that keeps them locked into place

That sure sounds like what swaging them might do. I just did some googleing and learned stuff I've never heard of before. I'm glad I've never had to deal with those.

 

[Bart]

Nice improvement Greg. Very cool.

 

[Greg]

That sure sounds like what swaging them might do. I just did some googleing and learned stuff I've never heard of before. I'm glad I've never had to deal with those.

Same here, I read online about the swaged studs and figured cutting, drilling & torching was the best option for me. It worked well enough!

Nice improvement Greg. Very cool.

Appreciate it Bart, it's a huge change in drivability and makes me more confident to drive this thing on the road now!

 

[Magerdgr]

Man, phenomenal work as always Greg, love the upgrade!

 

[spaggyroe]

LOVE this jeep!

 

[Greg]

Man, phenomenal work as always Greg, love the upgrade!

LOVE this jeep!

Thanks guys!

I like how you can't see the new disc brakes and shiny components, kinda a retro-sleeper look.

 

[smfulle]

Greg,
Are you using the original master cylinder with those discs?

 

[Greg]

Greg,
Are you using the original master cylinder with those discs?

Yeah, I am.... or at least an aftermarket reproduction, one of the first things a changed after I got it. I was wondering of my braking power would be lessened due to a drum master cylinder and disc brakes, but it seems like it's just fine. My disc brakes do stick after a bit of driving, need to work on the residual pressure valves or just get a master cyl for disc brakes.

 

[Pile of parts]

Found more for your collection. I'm in Rock Springs every week.

http://www.ksl.com/classifieds/listing

 

[Greg]

Found more for your collection. I'm in Rock Springs every week.

http://www.ksl.com/classifieds/listing

I actually sold my 'parts' Willys... I'm down to just two now, this Yellow one and my Crawler project!

 

[Greg]

Man, I love that little yellow Jeep.

It's been fun, I have some more minor work to do but it's almost to that point where I'm good with just leaving it alone and taking Sunday drives!

 

[Greg]

Well, I had this posted for sale but nobody want's to buy it for what I think is a fair price... so I might as well keep working on it!

First thing (and it was about time), I took the seats out and pulled them apart to replace the rusty lower seat pan with the new ones. The job was easy and straight forward and since I was there, I wanted to address something that's been bugging me for awhile... the lower foam was way too square and looked odd. I trimmed the corners on the foam and knocked the edges down with the grinder and a flap disc, then put it all back together.

Since I was working on the upholstery, I pulled out my canvas and tried to make a bikini top. My wife was out with friends, so I pulled out her sewing machine and went to work! I learned I can't sew.... I popped in some buttons for the windshield mounting. It's not fully finished yet, but it's usable!

Next up, I replaced the old and broken brake & tail lights and wired them up. I was very happy when I saw that they were working as they should, without more than connecting the wires!

I picked up a set of 5, 31x10.5x15 BFG AT's that have 80-90% tread and found a set of 15 x 8 black steel wheels to put them on. I wasn't sure how this combo would look on Ole Yeller, the old white wheels and small BFG's had grown on me. I ended up mounting the tires by hand, seating the beads with fire and then bolting them on. The spare wheel doesn't fit due to backspacing differences, but I think I'm OK with that because I think the larger tire and wheel would have ripped up the spare mount, which is bolted to the tailgate. The tailgate wasn't usable before, so now it will be!

I'm very happy with the finished product! Black wheels & 31's BFG's look right at home on the old Willys!

 

[Hickey]

Love it!

 

[Greg]

Love it!

It looks much more capable now! I need to get the brakes 100% and then get it out on the trail!

I did have the front-end up in the air and the TRE's are SHOT on this thing, there is so much play I probably shouldn't drive it until they're fixed. I'm debating upgrading to a manual Saginaw steering box at the same time. We'll see... I don't know if the stock steering box is all that bad.

 

[Greg]

In an effort to tighten up the steering & front end, I bought some urethane suspension spring/shackle bushings and new 'H' style shackles, which are 1" longer and will provide 1/2" of lift. I have wanted to replace the bushings and shackles for awhile, as the 'C' shackles looked like they had seen better days. I pulled apart the stock shackles, which went easier than I had expected. These are threaded and can be a total PITA. Once out I pressed in the new urethane bushings, then went about assembling the shackles.

When I got my shackles out of the box, I saw that I was missing one of the shackle pieces! I called Jegs and got a replacement on the way, but it'll be several more days. I only had enough parts to get the front end together for now.

I'm planning up upgrading the springs and shocks, there are a couple options for minimal lift... I'm thinking 1" lift with matching shocks. I would imagine the factory, 69 yr old springs are sagging a bit as well, so I would expect a bit more than 1" lift over the current height. I don't want to make it too tall, nor do I want springs that are heavily arched so 1" lift sounds good. A decent ride would be nice, but I'm not expecting greatness. I do think the 1" springs will work great with the slightly longer shackles.

 

[Stephen]

Looks fantastic, Greg. I've always had a soft spot for classic Willy's.