I was thinking while I was at work today of building a jeep to take off-road only. I would like an older 1970's CJ. Box the frame in and put a chevy 350 engine in it.A th350 transmission and a np205. All of which would have been matched from the factory. Then take and put a dana 60 front end and dana 60 or 14 bolt ff rear end with like 4.88 gears and lockers front and rear. And I would leave them stock width so they would throw some serious MUD. Then the lift would have to be huge like a 6 inch suspention lift 4 inch custom shakle flips 2 inch add-a-leafs and a 3 inch body lift just to make sure ther is enough room. then for tires I would put some 44 inch somethings like boggers or maybe a dick cepek. the rims would have to be beadlocked and very wide. the interior just bucket seats and a kick ass stereo.

this is whjat my next project is going to be so whjat does everybody think???????

MUDD_RAT: 1978 Chevy K-10 with dana 44 front, 12 bolt rear 350/350/203 running 15/39/15 Mickey Thompson Baja Belted

When did you win the lottery? Who wouldn't want a vehicle like that? Well, with the exception of the 4 inch shackle lift maybe. You realize that the shackles would be something like 12-13 inches long to acheive that (about 5 inches stock + 8 inches longer for 4 inches of lift), causing the pinions to point in the entirely wrong direction, as well as a multitude of other problems. You would be better off doing a spring over for about 5-6" of lift, add some 3-4" springs to that, then the bod lift on top of that. And good luck with the driveline angles! I assume you're just dreaming out loud anyways, but it sounds like it would be a fun ride!

<font color=green>Evan</font color=green>[img]/wwwthreads_images/icons/crazy.gif[/img]

<font color=red>- Contagious Off-Road -</font color=red>

Or you could save yourself a ton of headaches and just buy a BLAZER!
The first thing you would learn about a jeep is they have NO room for anything or any gear. Your lucky if you can get a 44oz thirst buster in a jeep.

Sounds like an fun project. I like the idea of keeping the axles at full width. It seems like it would add stability to the vehicle. My only question is why stop at the 350 engine? Since you are adding huge tires, a tough drivetrain, huge lift and everything else, why not go with some huge displacement like a 454 or 502? Also use the biggest brakes you can find to fit your axles. Stopping 44's is tough on brakes. Also, what about using a CJ-8. Those have a longer length that would help with the driveline angles that would certainly be a problem in a shorter CJ-5 or 7. That's just my thoughts. If you do the project keep us posted and let us know how it turns out.

Dan


The Lord Giveth, and the Government Taketh Away

Sounds kinda like what I want to do to my '94! Not quite that big, but big nonetheless...

As for the setup you described, Shaggy is right - driveline angles would be impossible. You'd need a Scrambler (CJ-8) to even think about it. The stock rear driveshaft in my Jeep was 12.5 inches long...

If you get 4 inch springs (pretty much the tallest readily available - there are 6 inch Monoleafs, but they are relatively new), do a springover - the springs are under the axles from the factory. This nets a total of 9.5 inches. Add a 2 inch body lift (biggest you want to go in a Jeep) and 1.5 inch shackles, you have 12 inches of lift - enough for about 38.5's or MAYBE 40's without trashing the body. I have no idea what the driveline angles would be like, though. Keep in mind that with the incredibly short wheelbase, the breakover angle is really good - Shaggy and I have about the same breakover, I run 33's and he runs 38.5's. Also, Jeeps are much lighter than the Fullsizes, so if you run wider tires, you can float on the mud rather than having to dig through to the bottom (right TEX?).

I realize that you were just dreaming out loud probably, but I thought you might like some insight...

See ya!

Marc
Webmaster, Contagious Off-road
http://contagious-racing.8m.com

Sounds great just add a really strong roll cage.

Good luck finding a CJ-8, they're fairly rare. The length is nice though [img]/wwwthreads_images/icons/smile.gif[/img]. Why not take a Blazer and lengthen a CJ-5 body to fit it? It'd probably be a little easier than what you're proposing. Oh yeah, don't forget, to fit the tires, you may have to do some fender trimming.

JEEPN
'81 CJ-8 Scrambled!
GM151/SM465/NP205 twinstick/7"Lift/33"TSL's/IHC D44's 4.10's Lock'd

well yes i am just dreaming out loud but was thinking about starting this rig next summer. but problems with current truck keep me from thinking about it.

MUDD_RAT: 1978 Chevy K-10 with dana 44 front, 12 bolt rear 350/350/203 running 15/39/15 Mickey Thompson Baja Belted