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Marc Bryson's K30---Errrr '94 Wrangler----wait, '4x MB---I don't know what it is.....trail rig?

Marc Bryson's K30---Errrr '94 Wrangler----wait, '4x MB---I don't know... "Jeep" works

Owners Name & City-

Marc Bryson, Woods Cross, UT


Make, Model & Year of Vehicle-

Excellent question. Titled as a '80 CJ


Engine-

'89 TBI 350


Transmission-

700R4


T-Case-


D300


Axles-

Front: Chevy Dana 60, 4.56 gears, Eaton E-Locker. full width

Rear : Shaved 14 Bolt with spool, 4.56 gears. full width

Suspension-

Waggy fronts

XJ rears (reversed) 101" wheelbase


Wheels and Tires-

38" Super Swamper TSL/SX on stock H1 wheels with PVC beadlocks


Winch-

T-Max 9000

Favorite Trails-

Pritchett, Coyote Canyon, Mineral Basin


Other-

lots......


backontrailer.jpg


abandoned_rig.jpg



I'll get some 'action' pics next time I take it out. (it might be all one color by then, but who knows.......)

Attached are 'all one color' pics.......

freshpaint.jpg

freshpaint2.jpg
 
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mbryson

mbryson

.......a few dollars more
Supporting Member
Location
Bountiful, land of rocks
Well, here's some pics on it's latest form.
I didn't know if this would make it all the way out to the Teraflex Jeep show so I took a few pics on the trailer.

front.jpg


drivers side
driver.jpg


Passenger side
passenger.jpg


another front pic
front2.jpg


There's still a few projects left. I need a rear bumper/tire carrier/etc. To do that I'm going to rework the rear frame area. I want to put some body protection on the quarters and build some flares on the rear. The tube fenders along with some flares will make the rig more street legal. The 40" MTRs are a little tall but we'll see how the safety inspection goes. I need to build a step on the rocker guards that will complete the fenders. Then comes the interior....that's a whole other story.
 
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Mug

Mug

PHORmerly
Location
Orem, UT
I like the mixing of old and new styles you did with the hood and grill. I thought I heard you talk about tightening up the seam around the grill. Still going to do that? What else do you have planned?
 
mbryson

mbryson

.......a few dollars more
Supporting Member
Location
Bountiful, land of rocks
P.H.O.R. said:
I like the mixing of old and new styles you did with the hood and grill. I thought I heard you talk about tightening up the seam around the grill. Still going to do that? What else do you have planned?
Click to expand...

That's a good question on what I have planned. At this point, I've accomplished most of what I'd have liked to with it. I built a rig CHEAP with a lot of horsetrading off of RME/KSL etc. It can handle most any trail and now I'm trying to morph it into more of a dual purpose rig with the more streetable tires. I just put lockout hubs on it today. Made a big difference in noise and vibration over the drive slugs.

To address your question directly, an MB or GPW has gaps above the headlights. With the Wrangler hood it doesn't look "right". I'm going to dig up some kind of weather stripping and lay that across the front. See if that makes things look better. If it doesn't, I think I'm going to see if can get a hood rolled at a sheetmetal shop that'll look more authentic. The coolers in the grille need some attention. I'm not sure if they'll go away or not, but they need at least camouflage and may just get relocated to the edges of the fenders with some kind of screen so they can pass their heat out of the engine compartment.

The motor and trans are somewhat tired/leaky. I have an attachment to that particular engine/trans so I think I'll get both of them rebuilt over time. Probably add some kind of a locker in the rear rather than the spool. Weighing the Detroit vs. an ARB (I really like the selectable, but you certainly pay for it).

Honestly I think I'll just try to use it like anyone would with a Jeep on 33 or 35" tires. See how that works out and go from there.

As I start on the interior, I think the old/new blending will continue. I'm not sure if I'm ready to tip my hand there as throughout the build I've tried to remain flexible to whatever I could find available for a "deal" and that will continue.
 
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SWALLDOG

SWALLDOG

Active Member
Location
WX, UTAH
Thats right on man. i dig your jeep. really like the grill. the silver looks really good, almost as good as the red and white. hehe :rofl:
 
mbryson

mbryson

.......a few dollars more
Supporting Member
Location
Bountiful, land of rocks
The Jeep is pretty low tech. I've not really changed much from the first post but has evolved some. Still have the Chev one ton axles (I've just added lockouts vs. the drive slugs--the slugs have served me quite well over the years. I really like Warn hubs, but hope I don't smack them on rocks like I have the drive slugs.)

I got tired of bending Waggy springs and have moved to NEW stock replacement XJ springs from Teraflex. That was kind of a "last leaf spring" and I was bound and determined to go to links. Well, the new springs (along with an old main leaf added--big end added to wrap around the stationary little end as a "military wrap") have worked quite well for at least a year now. Previously, I would have seen some serious fatigue on the main leaf by now. I think I'll stick to "simple" and stay with the leaf stuff on this rig. I had to cut the hangers off the rear of the front spring and weld on some newer, kewler ones.

I've added a belly skid, a radio and speakers (TJ soundbar--that'll be going away for some TJ "pocket" speakers sometime--I bump my head on the soundbar).

Current projects:
1) paint the fenders, half doors and windshield frame

2) fix the shackle angle on the rear springs so I can build a rear bumper/tire carrier thing and maybe get a little better ride out of the rear--I'll redo the rear shocks and kind of finish up some unfinished stuff around the gas tank to do that as well

3) on board air, maybe a welder and a place to stow all that crap associated with those mods somewhere in the rig that's accessible, yet out of the way....

4) interior---holy crap, where to start there?--I'll start with some Durabak and see where that goes. I need to address the cover that goes over the trans and build a kewl mount for the shifter boot. I've got some ideas on how I want a dash, but don't really know if I want to follow through with those or not.

Other than that, the thing needs to get driven. The more I drive it, the more the 200K plus mile 350 is going to need a freshening and it wouldn't hurt to do the trans at the same time. My original intent with the two-stroke 350 was that it wouldn't hurt it if I had to try to drive it out of a flop or something. I've not really even come close to that as far as I know, so I'd like to have it be as reliable as possible.
 
I Lean

I Lean

Mbryson's hairdresser
Vendor
Location
Utah
mbryson said:
My original intent with the two-stroke 350 was that it wouldn't hurt it if I had to try to drive it out of a flop or something.
Click to expand...

One note there--the tighter your engine, the better it'll keep the oil where it should be when things go wrong, vs. getting into the cylinders. That goes for if you're driving on your side, or if you've shut it down for a recovery. The LT1 in my last buggy was newly rebuilt when I began, and I don't recall it ever smoking on angles like my 4.3 did, and when I had to recover rolls I never had any hint of hydrolocking or even smoking much after restart.

My point is, if your engine is really tired, it might not matter as much TO YOU to drive it on it's side or whatever, but if it's fresh it won't necessarily hurt anything. (provided you have oil pressure at all....)
 
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