If you could do your rig differently or over again what would you do different?
I'm getting the itch to work on my 1/2 parted out CJ5 again. Life has changed again. I have a tow rig and will most likely be moving to Vegas (3 hours from the hammers), and be living in a place with a garage.
Before the "part out" my jeep was on 34" bias ply super swampers, 4" lift YJ springs, detroited dana 30/44 w/ 4.56's, carbed 304, sm465, dana 300, almost stock wheel base. It drove ok to about 55mph but the problem was it wasn't mild enough for exploring the desert all day and putting 200+ miles a day in the heat or cold, and wasn't built enough to really handle the hammers or other harder trails. It would have been great for places like the badlands and other midwest parks.
What would you do differently if you did it all over again?
-1st off come up with a plan and stick to it
-Put the frame on saw horses to plate it/ do all final welding
-Pull the body off so under jeep work turns out a little nicer than it has in the past with my awesome patiance and overhead welding abilities
-Have all of my parts on hand before I really start working on the thing instead of redoing things when you realize 1 part won't work with another part you've spent 2 days making work
-Mock up the thing completely, pull it apart to finish it, fix little details that usually get skipped, and paint it all at the same time instead of some nasty looking old parts and then fresh glossy parts you can tell were just done
-Attempt to not have a deadline and realize this thing is going to take 2ish or years to finish
-Fuel Injected LS based motor, for less than the cost of re-build a carbed or tbi small block chevy and then injecting it you can have a 300hp aluminum headed multiport injected monster. I'm thinking I'll have less than 2 grand into a 100k junk yard motor, modified stock harness, flashed computer, fuel system, & cooling system.
-Automatic, get rid of the pucker factor on big ledges/ climbs
-More wheelbase, I'm attempting to figure out how to get 100" out of a CJ5 and not have it look like a backwoods hack job
-37" tires
-1 ton bassed axles
I'm getting the itch to work on my 1/2 parted out CJ5 again. Life has changed again. I have a tow rig and will most likely be moving to Vegas (3 hours from the hammers), and be living in a place with a garage.
Before the "part out" my jeep was on 34" bias ply super swampers, 4" lift YJ springs, detroited dana 30/44 w/ 4.56's, carbed 304, sm465, dana 300, almost stock wheel base. It drove ok to about 55mph but the problem was it wasn't mild enough for exploring the desert all day and putting 200+ miles a day in the heat or cold, and wasn't built enough to really handle the hammers or other harder trails. It would have been great for places like the badlands and other midwest parks.
What would you do differently if you did it all over again?
-1st off come up with a plan and stick to it
-Put the frame on saw horses to plate it/ do all final welding
-Pull the body off so under jeep work turns out a little nicer than it has in the past with my awesome patiance and overhead welding abilities
-Have all of my parts on hand before I really start working on the thing instead of redoing things when you realize 1 part won't work with another part you've spent 2 days making work
-Mock up the thing completely, pull it apart to finish it, fix little details that usually get skipped, and paint it all at the same time instead of some nasty looking old parts and then fresh glossy parts you can tell were just done
-Attempt to not have a deadline and realize this thing is going to take 2ish or years to finish
-Fuel Injected LS based motor, for less than the cost of re-build a carbed or tbi small block chevy and then injecting it you can have a 300hp aluminum headed multiport injected monster. I'm thinking I'll have less than 2 grand into a 100k junk yard motor, modified stock harness, flashed computer, fuel system, & cooling system.
-Automatic, get rid of the pucker factor on big ledges/ climbs
-More wheelbase, I'm attempting to figure out how to get 100" out of a CJ5 and not have it look like a backwoods hack job
-37" tires
-1 ton bassed axles