Willys Crawler 2.0 aka The Bastard

[Herzog]

The one thing I've learned from experience welding to cast steel is that post heating is just as important as preheating. When it cools, you'll hear some pinging sounds and that's likely the cast cooling faster and stretching / hairline cracking the weld. I now just use a laser temp finder and a propane torch to slowly bring the heat rate to match the mild steel. It's a pain but it works for me so far.

Awesome progress Greg!

 

[Greg]

When I do it I drill some holes in the tube at 180 degrees from each other then carefully cut through the drill holes. Saves on saw blades.

Great idea, Dave!

Love the progress. You've got my wheels spinning with new ideas.

Thanks Bart, glad to spark a little inspiration!

The one thing I've learned from experience welding to cast steel is that post heating is just as important as preheating. When it cools, you'll hear some pinging sounds and that's likely the cast cooling faster and stretching / hairline cracking the weld. I now just use a laser temp finder and a propane torch to slowly bring the heat rate to match the mild steel. It's a pain but it works for me so far.

Awesome progress Greg!

I did hit it with a butane torch 2 times as it cooled, but didn't have a temp gun to check it. I wished I would have watched the temp change like you saying and been a little more careful with making sure it cooled down evenly. I didn't hear any pinging, so hopefully that's a good sign?

 

[RockChucker]

Yes and yes! I'm curious how it will work, too! Going to run cable shifters, probably from NWF? And thanks! 😁

You'll have to tell us how those work out. I have a buddy that had them on his D300 in his last rig and didn't like them. I have cable shifters on my Hero and I'm not in love. I wish that the stack D300 replace a case was still manufactured. That was a huge upgrade for a reasonable cost in my opinion. They are rarer than hen's teeth now.

 

[Pile of parts]

The only thing that concerns me is the Dana 300 case... everything else should hold up to V8 power just fine. I know the axles will! If I break the D300 case, then I'll pony up for an Atlas.

I get that the Atlas is a big upfront expense but, with the crazy money people are getting for a Dana 300, why not sell the 300 and put that towards the Atlas. If you blow it up, you get nothing for it. Plus you'll have the expense of the cable shifters, flip kit, possible drivelines modifications for the Atlas, etc... It just seems as though you'll spend the money twice. I'm not sure what your Dana 300 has for upgrades but if you're adding any of those to it to help it survive the v8 and one tons, you're probably not too far off.

 

[mbryson]

I get that the Atlas is a big upfront expense but, with the crazy money people are getting for a Dana 300, why not sell the 300 and put that towards the Atlas. If you blow it up, you get nothing for it. Plus you'll have the expense of the cable shifters, flip kit, possible drivelines modifications for the Atlas, etc... It just seems as though you'll spend the money twice. I'm not sure what your Dana 300 has for upgrades but if you're adding any of those to it to help it survive the v8 and one tons, you're probably not too far off.

Wise words re: D300 here

 

[Greg]

I get that the Atlas is a big upfront expense but, with the crazy money people are getting for a Dana 300, why not sell the 300 and put that towards the Atlas. If you blow it up, you get nothing for it. Plus you'll have the expense of the cable shifters, flip kit, possible drivelines modifications for the Atlas, etc... It just seems as though you'll spend the money twice. I'm not sure what your Dana 300 has for upgrades but if you're adding any of those to it to help it survive the v8 and one tons, you're probably not too far off.

I figured this would come up and believe me, I hear you.... the thing is, I'm not into the D300 very much at this point.

I will need a HD front output, the adapter and shifters, but my costs into the D300 will be less than 1/2 of what an Atlas costs. You're probably right, I should just bite the bullet and pony up for the Atlas so I don't have to worry about case strength, shifters, flipping it, etc. But I'm hard headed.

This doesn't mean I won't change my mind down the road and sell my D300.

***scope creep***

 

[N-Smooth]

you know I went through this battle and I have to say...

 

[Greg]

More progress, still feel like it's going slow... but whatever. Since the Dana 60 front was narrowed, I had it blasted and cleaned up as well. It wasn't nearly as nasty, but working with clean metal is SO nice.

Worked on the frame some more, adding some gussets, welding joints up, capping some ends, etc.

Also started on the rear bumper and recovery points.... AKA my rock fangs. I had them, wanted to use them but couldn't find a great spot for them. I don't think I'll hang up on them, they should be tucked up high & out of the way. We will see... they may get torched off, if they become an issue. I cranked up the welder and glued them in place... they are THICK steel and actually turned Blue at the top due to all the heat. I would have preferred that they were welded vertically, rather than horizontally but this is where they fit.

I was going to build a rear bumper that is more traditional and use the same 2x4 material, but decided I wanted something more simple, had more departure clearance & race-like.... so I went with some 2" x 3/16" round DOM. I built the bumper and it's connection to the frame super beefy, in case I have to yank from the bumper.

I turned it over to work on some welds on top.... it's sitting on the ground but tomorrow I'll put it up on jack stands, put the front clip on and possibly reassemble some axles enough to bolt up some tires and see how it all looks! I will need to pull the body off again (it's still bolted to the frame) and keep working on welding up joints, plating & boxing, etc.

My ESAB has been acting funny.... I've been welding on SMIG (smart MIG) and it's fine for lower temps, but when I crank up the heat for thicker material and hotter welds, they end up looking like hell. It sucks to be having welder issues at such a critical time! I turned it back to standard weld settings and it's better, but still not perfect. Something it up.... the material is clean, good Lincoln .030 wire. I feel like I'm still learning this ESAB, where I had my previous Lincoln dialed for everything I needed.

 

[Herzog]

I think we have the same ESAB. Mine did that on smart for a little while, I had to wipe the settings and it started acting normal after that. I think it was like a reset or something somewhere in the panel, it was a while ago so I can't remember exactly what it was.

Love the progress, it's looking great! I'm a big fan of the simple rear bumper. Pretty sure @Hickey and you were talking about how easy it is to throw a strap on it without a clevis and go.

 

[Greg]

I think we have the same ESAB. Mine did that on smart for a little while, I had to wipe the settings and it started acting normal after that. I think it was like a reset or something somewhere in the panel, it was a while ago so I can't remember exactly what it was.

Good to know, I'll mess with it more tomorrow! Yeah, I'm pretty sure we have the same machine.

 

[Herzog]

Good to know, I'll mess with it more tomorrow! Yeah, I'm pretty sure we have the same machine.

I won't lie, it pissed me off when it did that. I'm kinda weary of it now but it has been doing great for me ever since then so I don't know.

 

[Hickey]

I won't lie, it pissed me off when it did that. I'm kinda weary of it now but it has been doing great for me ever since then so I don't know.

I'd love it if I could fix my shitty welds that easily. 😄

 

[Ashcat]

Idk, you probably have a better idea than us viewers but from the pics and what I imagine, those recovery points shouldn’t be an issue. Even if they contact a bizarre rock you probably won’t even notice until you see the gouge. I still marvel at the crazy rock rash in “unlikely” places after KOH and I was never the wiser while in the seat.

 

[Greg]

Idk, you probably have a better idea than us viewers but from the pics and what I imagine, those recovery points shouldn’t be an issue. Even if they contact a bizarre rock you probably won’t even notice until you see the gouge. I still marvel at the crazy rock rash in “unlikely” places after KOH and I was never the wiser while in the seat.

Yeah, I had hoped they were up high and forward enough where I placed them... and after mocking up the rear axle and tires, I think they will be fine 99% of the time.

 

[Greg]

Also..... she WIDE! 65" WMS with 17x9 wheels and 3 1/2" BS. 81" wide to the outside sidewall.

 

[Ashcat]

That looks awesome

 

[Greg]

That looks awesome

I agree, proportions are killer. But if this is close to ride height, I don't have much room above the axle housing for the truss, link mount AND up travel. We will see...

 

[Hickey]

65" WMS with 17x9 wheels and 3 1/2" BS. 81" wide to the outside sidewall.

View attachment 133711

Are you trying to tell me you want to borrow my Jeep Dolly? 🤔

 

[Greg]

I raised it up a little more. This might be the final ride height, to clear rear upper links at the tub and have some up travel for bombing around... 22" from frame rails to ground right there.

 

[Coco]

My ESAB has been acting funny.... I've been welding on SMIG (smart MIG) and it's fine for lower temps, but when I crank up the heat for thicker material and hotter welds, they end up looking like hell. It sucks to be having welder issues at such a critical time! I turned it back to standard weld settings and it's better, but still not perfect. Something it up.... the material is clean, good Lincoln .030 wire. I feel like I'm still learning this ESAB, where I had my previous Lincoln dialed for everything I needed.

I think we have the same ESAB. Mine did that on smart for a little while, I had to wipe the settings and it started acting normal after that. I think it was like a reset or something somewhere in the panel, it was a while ago so I can't remember exactly what it was.

Is it the Rebel? My dads welder would do something similar. It would act up and almost 'freeze' mid weld, causing huge welding puddles of molten metal to come crashing down (if you were welding upside down this was a really fun game to be playing - nothing quite makes you move like Neo from the Matrix quite like that). Needless to say we would adjust it to regular MIG settings versus keep messing with that. Not really sure what would cause it. Seems like it would do it the longer/hotter the machine would be in use.