Jeep Willys 'Crawler' project

[Gravy]

I dig it.
I'd only fish plate the inside of the frame rails just to screw with people.

I would, however, notch the frame rail for the trackbar.

 

[Greg]

....

This is a little thing, but it was bothering me and easy to address. Last week I took the drivers side header to a local fab shop and had them shorten the collector quite a bit, they cut and TIG welded it back together. That will give me room to dump the exhaust pipe over the front-upper frame link mount!

 

[Greg]

Bruh.... these things are YUGE! Yeah, it's going to be interesting fitting them. 14's would be easier...

View attachment 113880


The 2.5's look pretty ratty, going to try clean up the machined aluminum bodies.

Well, a change in direction with the suspension. The 16" Sway-a-Way air shocks were pretty damn long for the small Willys, which I knew when I purchased them. I was excited about using the SAW air shocks, but making them work on the front end added 4" of height beyond what would otherwise work fine. The SAW's would have been easier to package width wise, but not height wise. On top of that, the SAW's were used and looked a bit ghetto.... and I was missing the alignment spacers. I sold them for what I paid, which works for me.

I replaced the SAW's with 14" Fox coilovers with remote reservoir's, these have 7/8" shafts. I also picked up a set of tall TMR Customs shock towers for the front, they're big & beefy as they're built out of 1/4" thick steel and are 19" tall, with plenty of room to cut down. I'll probably run something similar for the shock mounts out back. I bought 2 Fox CO's with the money from the 4 SAW's, will buy the other 2 when I recover financially. At least for now I can work on setting up the suspension.

I'm hoping for 5" uptravel and even with the shorter 14" shocks, I believe the front shock towers will be poking out of the hood.... which honestly, I think looks killer. I will tie in the shocks towers and reinforce them with plenty of bracing.

 

[drtsqrl]

Cool! I just finished installing four of the exact same shocks on mine this morning. Can't wait to give them a try tomorrow!

 

[Greg]

Cool! I just finished installing four of the exact same shocks on mine this morning. Can't wait to give them a try tomorrow!

I was impressed with how the SAW's worked on your rig, it says something that you upgraded to Fox CO's, Jeff!

 

[RockChucker]

you'll have to have Desert Speed Shock Tuning work his magic on these when you're done. Best money I have spent on my rig. Seriously.

 

[Greg]

you'll have to have Desert Speed Shock Tuning work his magic on these when you're done. Best money I have spent on my rig. Seriously.

I was planning on it! Especially after your recommendation.

 

[LJTim]

I have flatty feaver. Any updates?

 

[Greg]

I have flatty feaver. Any updates?

No updates at all, unfortunately. I am out of town working during the week and when I can get in the shop and work, my El Camino project is taking all my time & money. I'm in the middle of a LS engine build and have the engine apart and don't like the idea of cutting/grinding/welding with an engine build going on several feet away. So the El Camino needs to get done before I can focus back on the Willys Crawler. Hoping to get back to the Willys this Summer.

 

[Bart]

Will you and the El Camino be hitting the HR Power Tour this year? I've only been to one and it was a blast.

 

[Greg]

Will you and the El Camino be hitting the HR Power Tour this year? I've only been to one and it was a blast.

While I would love to, I doubt it... I don't know if it'll be proven and reliable at that point. There a lot of other upgrades I want to make before something like that, brakes, suspension and tires being the big ones. But that would be a blast! Maybe next year?

 

[Greg]

So I have been thinking that I'd really like to have a high pinion Dana 44 in the front, rather than the current low pinion. I have 2 options far as making that work, either flip the Dana 300 t-case or retube and cut down a Ford Dana 44 housing. Which is easier and better? IMO retubing a Dana 44 has the potential for more work and problems if not done right. I have cut down a couple axles in the past, but I've never retubed a housing. My current front 44 is 61" wide, I'd like to stay around that width. The Early Bronco Dana 44 is 58" wide, which would match my Scout rear 44. I could run 1.5" wheel spacers to bring the front back to 61"....

All that written out, it sounds like an EB Dana 44 and flipped D300 is the way to go! I can reuse my Detroit, Warn hubs, etc. I would have to rebuild my front link mounts, which is fine. I could sell my old 44 with the gears, shafts, etc.

 

[Pile of parts]

I don't think the EB Dana 44 is high pinion.

 

[Badger]

The EB has always been HP ..

 

[I Lean]

I don't think the EB Dana 44 is high pinion.

Some years are. Older ones are low pinion, later ones are high. I don't know the year split, but I'd guess '78 just like the fullsize trucks.

 

[Greg]

I could cut down a full width HP 44, too... but would rather not.

 

[I Lean]

Do you want 60 knuckles? The way I did my Cruiser axle worked out pretty well, with no actual retubing of the housing...

 

[I Lean]

According to this article, no Early Bronco axles were high pinion, only fullsize trucks/Broncos. (I forgot '77 was the last year for the EB)

https://therangerstation.com/tech_library/Dana44.shtml

 

[Hickey]

I've heard that flipping the D300 CAN work, but most people have problems with leaking.

If it were my project I would cut/swap tubes on a D44 from a Ford truck or bronco. I would have sleeves machined to press inside the tubes to keep it straight while welding it back together.

 

[Greg]

Do you want 60 knuckles? The way I did my Cruiser axle worked out pretty well, with no actual retubing of the housing...

As long as I can retain the 5 x 5.5" bolt pattern, it would be nice to have kingpins. But I kind of feel like that's polishing a turd, putting a lot of money into a Dana 44. I'll have to go back & reread how you did that.

According to this article, no Early Bronco axles were high pinion, only fullsize trucks/Broncos. (I forgot '77 was the last year for the EB)

https://therangerstation.com/tech_library/Dana44.shtml

Interesting! I thought they were all HP.... shows what I know about EB's!

I've heard that flipping the D300 CAN work, but most people have problems with leaking.

If it were my project I would cut/swap tubes on a D44 from a Ford truck or bronco. I would have sleeves machined to press inside the tubes to keep it straight while welding it back together.

I've heard that too about the D300 leaking when flipped, I hate leaks. I like the idea of cutting/swapping tubes on a full width HP Dana 44 and making it pass. drop. I just don't know how difficult it will be to get it straight when pressed together, using a lining bar would be smart... but I don't have one. I'm sure one could be made... that would be a fun experiment, would make for some good tech!