DaveB
Long Jeep Fan
- Location
- Holladay, Utah
Today was a double lucky day, first I got out of jury duty on a DUI case because I have too many law enforcement types in the family and secondly I put the body back on the Commando frame after extensive frame modifications and every body mount lined up dead center. Here are some pictures of what I did and how it has turned out so far. Since I am going with coils on the jeep I wanted the frame to be wider at the back so that the coils would line up under the frame rather than being outboard. The frame crossmembers were in bad shape from the redneck lift the previous owners had put on it (all but one crossmember was busted or cracked). I took the frame and split it in half and widened it by about 12 inches. I built a frame jig that went into the center outer body mounts and the front mount, then I split the frame and moved the jig to the inner mounts. I boxed in the rear of the frame and widened the rear crossmember by using a second Commando frame I bought from Shawn. After getting the rear done I narrowed the front back to stock width to get the front springs where they need to be. I put in internal fish plates and support pieces where I angled the frame (or widened the crossmember), then put the front boxing back in with stronger plate. I also made a much stronger rear crossmember to replace the broken one. As you can see in the pictures I won't have much trouble clearing the exhaust on the 350 and the frame should be much stronger.
Now I need to mount motor mounts, inner body mounts, and the coil buckets on the frame and figure out the best geometry for the long arms. I have looked at TJs and XJs and wondered why they mount the upper coil mount on an angle. I presume it is because the suspension travels in an arc and they are trying to compensate for that. However I have seen that this angle tends to make lift springs curve. Any suggestion as to how much angle I should put on the mounts ? or should I just make them flat ? Also Jeeps mount the coils on the axle a bit forward of the axle center. Is there any advantage to this or should I just mount the springs in the center of the axle ? Should I try to mount the motor as high as possible for ground clearance or low for a better center of gravity ?
Now I need to mount motor mounts, inner body mounts, and the coil buckets on the frame and figure out the best geometry for the long arms. I have looked at TJs and XJs and wondered why they mount the upper coil mount on an angle. I presume it is because the suspension travels in an arc and they are trying to compensate for that. However I have seen that this angle tends to make lift springs curve. Any suggestion as to how much angle I should put on the mounts ? or should I just make them flat ? Also Jeeps mount the coils on the axle a bit forward of the axle center. Is there any advantage to this or should I just mount the springs in the center of the axle ? Should I try to mount the motor as high as possible for ground clearance or low for a better center of gravity ?
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