- Location
- Grand Junction, CO
Jeep OG Gladiator
- Thread starter Greg
- Start date
Gary T
Registered User
- Location
- Draper, Utah
I have owned a few OG Gladiators in the past, and would love to have another.
Good luck with the project.
Good luck with the project.
- Location
- Stinkwater
Please find a way to duplicate that beautiful front clip on your new Gladiator.
DesertRam
Active Member
- Location
- Southern New Mexico
Good potential there!
- Location
- Sandy, Ut
Rad 😎
I love traveling/adventuring/wheeling in anything and modern vehicles do make it easy and comfortable. BUT my most memorable and enjoyable trips often relate to a big trip in an old vintage vehicle. Relics rule!
I love traveling/adventuring/wheeling in anything and modern vehicles do make it easy and comfortable. BUT my most memorable and enjoyable trips often relate to a big trip in an old vintage vehicle. Relics rule!
- Location
- Grand Junction, CO
Awesome, this is my first old fullsize Jeep... at least I'll fit better in this versus a Flat Fender!
I knew you would!
Ha!! Yeah, that would be pretty epic. It has a hitch welded onto the frame, but it looks sketchy.
I believe you can put a fiberglass 'Gladiator' front on JK's, courtesy of Chris Durham Motorsports.... buy my JT will retain it's factory parts.
All the potential!
I agree, some of the funnest trips I've had were in 4x4's that were 60-70 years old!
- Location
- Grand Junction, CO
Alright, so this thing is a 1967 Kaiser Willys J3000 Gladiator with the 'Thriftside' bed.
It has a AMC 327 V8 (Vigilante) under the hood which is a pretty impressive engine. Rated for 250 HP and a whopping 340 ft/lbs, the Vigilante is a stump puller! The down side is parts availability, there is little to no aftermarket support and even replacement parts are difficult to find. Apparently even finding a new starter for these engines is quite difficult.
The rest of the drivetrain should be a T18 manual and Dana 20 transfer case. The front axle should be a closed knuckle Dana 44 with drum brakes and rear is also a Dana 44 with 2 piece shafts and a bit of an offset to clear the gas tank. It has 126" wheelbase and a 7' long bed.
The last time this thing ran was 2005.... last time it was registered was 1991! It does have quite a bit of rust in the cab, the floor boards are shot. The bed floor towards the front is pretty rough, as are the sides of the bed at the floor in a couple places. Other than those places, its actually quite solid. The body is relatively straight as well, which is surprising. It's missing the tailgate unfortunately, which is the location where the 'Gladiator' badge was applied... so I'll be on the hunt for a replacement.
It has a AMC 327 V8 (Vigilante) under the hood which is a pretty impressive engine. Rated for 250 HP and a whopping 340 ft/lbs, the Vigilante is a stump puller! The down side is parts availability, there is little to no aftermarket support and even replacement parts are difficult to find. Apparently even finding a new starter for these engines is quite difficult.
The rest of the drivetrain should be a T18 manual and Dana 20 transfer case. The front axle should be a closed knuckle Dana 44 with drum brakes and rear is also a Dana 44 with 2 piece shafts and a bit of an offset to clear the gas tank. It has 126" wheelbase and a 7' long bed.
The last time this thing ran was 2005.... last time it was registered was 1991! It does have quite a bit of rust in the cab, the floor boards are shot. The bed floor towards the front is pretty rough, as are the sides of the bed at the floor in a couple places. Other than those places, its actually quite solid. The body is relatively straight as well, which is surprising. It's missing the tailgate unfortunately, which is the location where the 'Gladiator' badge was applied... so I'll be on the hunt for a replacement.
- Location
- Grand Junction, CO
My plan at this point is to make it into a fun driver... IMO this Gladiator is too classic to cut up. What happens with the drivetrain will really depend on how well it all works, once I get it running. I'd love to keep the 327, but if it needs parts I can't find...
I'd like to build it up a little bit, maybe 3-4" lift and 33-35" tires. Disc brakes would be nice in the front. Patch the floors in the cab, clean things up, etc. The front springs on these are outboard the frame and the mounts are super wide.... they're spring over in the front. The spring perch width is within 1.5" of a '99-04 Ford Superduty Dana 60 though... so there's that.
Apparently the only suspension lift 'kit' available for these is from Hell Creek... they offer 4" springs. - http://hellcreeksuspensions.com/
I'd like to build it up a little bit, maybe 3-4" lift and 33-35" tires. Disc brakes would be nice in the front. Patch the floors in the cab, clean things up, etc. The front springs on these are outboard the frame and the mounts are super wide.... they're spring over in the front. The spring perch width is within 1.5" of a '99-04 Ford Superduty Dana 60 though... so there's that.
Apparently the only suspension lift 'kit' available for these is from Hell Creek... they offer 4" springs. - http://hellcreeksuspensions.com/
- Location
- Grand Junction, CO
It's probably the next best option if the original drivetrain doesn't work out. Even a junkyard 5.3 & 4L60E would be just fine for this thing, it would be awesome to have it reliable and more modern. And most of the late model GM t-cases are driver drop and 2.72 ratio, which would work with a SuperDuty Dana 60 front.
- Location
- Grand Junction, CO
You know... I still have my fresh out of the machine shop LQ4, 4L80E AND a new Atlas sitting in the shop. I think the Atlas is overkill for this thing, I'd rather pair the 6.0 and 4L80E with a GM 241, this Gladiator would have all the muscle it needs. That would work great with Super Duty axles.
- Location
- Grand Junction, CO
- Location
- Grand Junction, CO
I mean, that looks incredible....
The_Lobbster
Well-Known Member
Are they still in business? I tried contacting them regarding comanche leaf springs a while back and couldn’t get through to anybody ever, so I figured they closed shop and just had their website up.
- Location
- Grand Junction, CO
No idea, honestly. 🤷♂️
The_Lobbster
Well-Known Member
If nothing else you could get a custom set made. Might just be kinda pricey.