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Possible new rig

1K views 35 replies 16 participants last post by  SilentBob2 
#1 ·
I went to go and look at a flatty today, suposed to be a '46 cj2a though i'm not sure what the acutal year of it is because it has no title (though one of my buddies might be able to find it for me for a couple cases of beer). It was dark but it appeared in pretty good shape over all. It's on 38" cut gumbos which don't have a ton of tread left, spring over, goofy steering that looks really un safe, gas can in the back for gas, no cage, stock motor, needs a rear drive shaft and front end (blown up), stock drive train. It also inculded 2 rolling chassis with i belive 1 good motor, 2 trans and t-cases, 2 sets of axles, and a bunch more stuff like a top with no frame, radiator, stock gas tank of un known condition.

I'd trade him my jeep minus the engine, trans, and t-case for the willys, extras chassis, and pile of parts and enough cash to pay off my parents what i owe them for my truck and trailer.

I figure the willys needs real axles and a roll cage before i really start to wheel it which would cost some money and i have a garage and all winter to get it ready, though it would be nice to have it ready for some wheeling spring brake. I'm planning on getting a welder and bender pretty soon and could probably finance them with the extra willys parts.

Give me your thoughts and ideas, this is not a done deal by any means and i can't decide what to do so i'm looking to you guys for your oppinons

Here's a bad pic of it, it was dark and that's mud not rust
 

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#3 ·
you are out of your mind andy. You wont be happy wheeling something like that after being used to your TJ. Even as cobbled as yout jeep is, it is alot better place to work from than something that old.
 
#5 ·
my tj is done and i have desire or palns to put it back together (i've started to part it out), it was just way too much of a disaster and i'm ready for something new/ a fresh start. I'm going to start with something new and wouldn't mind something simple like a willys though i'm open to many options, anything for full size jeeps, to xj's to a yj. Before this deal was presented to me i was thinking about getting a cj7 or yj and putting a little bit of lift, full cage, rear locker, and 32" muds on it and wheeling it and slowly building up a yj with either a 4.0 or tbi 350, sm465 or ax15, d300, waggy d44's, soa to be a stock mod comp jeep once i become mroe experianced/ a better driver.

BarrelRoll
 
#8 ·
In reply to:

it was just way too much of a disaster and i'm ready for something new/ a fresh start.

[/ QUOTE ]

You do realize that YOU made it that way, don't you? Or am I missing something? Keep the f-ing TJ. And if you purchase something else, it'd BETTER be your damn money being spent...not mommy or daddy's!!!
 
#9 ·
I know i messed up the tj and i have definetally learned from that disaster and i want to start over and build something that isn't a rigged mess. The parents are not giving me a dime for the new rig, i'm on my own when it comes to vehicles now and have a decent income for a college student selling used parts.

BarrelRoll
 
#10 ·
Unless that TJ feel out of an airplane and then got ran over by a tank, it has to be a better place to start than a Willy's. The Willy's is extremely short, which means you will have a pretty hard time getting a 350 in it and a 258 will be nearly impossible. I can't imagine what you have done to a TJ to make it so butchered, but whatever it is, it would still be less work to repair the TJ than build a Willy's.
 
#11 ·
For those of you that havn't seen my tj it's hacked to sh!t, been been to sh!t, and is completely rigged. I'm done with it and ready for a new project, the tj is out of it's missery and not going to be revived. I would probably keep the flat head 4 in the willys for a while (i have a buddy running one with 33's up here and he does pretty well in the woods up here). I'm going to start a new project i just don't know if this is what i want the project to be or not and am looking for oppioins on this possible deal.

BarrelRoll
 
#12 ·
This would be the dumbest move you have ever done.

Early CJ's are really just a pile of junk. There frames suck, there powerplant are wayyyyyy underpowered. The rears are wimpy, tcases break with no problem.They take so much work to make them even half of what you have now. I really dont understand what you are trying to do. If you are really that deadset on building a rig, build the [bleep] TJ. Strip it down if you have too and start over. Buy yourself a nice CJ or YJ to drive and wheel locally. With that early CJ you are looking at the body better be damn perfect cause that is the only thing you would really use.

 
#14 ·
Andy, step back, sit down and listen.......for once.....
To what people are telling you. (parents included)
You ask for help and guidence all the time, but rarely (never) listen to what people that have been there tell you.
Don't make me call a "time out" on you.
Do you think your parents don't care about you? Do you think we hate you? No and no. Your TJ is thrashed. But you couldn't ask for a better starting place for an off-road rig than that. Solid frame, solid tub, late model stuff. It may be ugly, but it's still a SOLID PIECE.
Think about listening to some of the people in you life that know something and DO care.
Damn.........................
 
#15 ·
I too think this is a dumb idea....but I think you've got your mind so set on doing it that there is no way to talk you out of it. You're not looking for a daily driver so why do you care if its torn to crap? With your TJ now you have a good frame and a body. Notice I didn't say good body.....but who really cares what it looks like anyways. What you need to do is strip what you don't want out of your TJ.....engine/tranny/tcase/axles and put what you want in. You are still starting over......but in this case you already have a known good platform. You know more about your TJ than you do any CJ. There's nothing wrong with starting over.....but what is truly wrong with your TJ that it is unusable as a starting point for a good rig? If you can list some real issues then maybe you do need another rig........but I really don't think you do.

I am real good at convincing myself that I need things I really don't, and thats exactly how this sounds with you.
 
#18 ·
You send that tj on up here to me, I have a friend with numerous "projects" in his yard. One of them is 42 (I think) with a galv body on it..... I would gladly take that tj for any one of his OLD jeeps. No questions asked.

I wanted a TJ REALLY REALLY bad when I bought my last truck but the truck was 8 grand cheaper than the cheapest tj (97 dodge half ton)

Don't give up that TJ!!
 
#19 ·
ok, i guess i think about it and make a list of what i'd want to do to the tj which is going to be miles long though i can probably sell enough parts (front axle, maybe rear axle, seats, roll cage, gas tank and pump, dash, yj 1/2 doors i was using, pass air bag, sound bar) to get a bender and welder and go to town. I know of a late 80's xj i can get for $300 which would tide my wheeling urges over till i could get the tj out of the garage, probably weld the rear, put a set of 31's on and mount up a winch and wheel the piss outa it while the tj is laid up. Having a "tempory jeep" would also give me something to practice/ get some wheeling skills in so i could actually use the tj to it's fullest potential when it came out of the garage.

I'm thinking all the stuff i could/ want to do and what issue it would solve
-1 tons (know of a dually 60 front for cheep)- get rid of my riddged 44 that the brackets are out of alignment on, the 8.8 needs a wheel bearing and caliper anywas, lower gears in the swapped in axles instead of my 3.55's i have now, the people i'm starting to hang out/ wheel with and the need for bigger tires my axles would be history
-3 or 4 links front and rear- solve the rigged front axle brackets and steering issues, give my jeep some real lift, though it does flex decent (800 or so on i think a 30 though it could be a 20) now
-Full cage and tube fenders- only the factory cage right now so why not sell it to help buy the bender and build a better cage, tube fenders to replace my non existant fenders
-Race buckets and harnesses- i want some more seccure seats and my seat belts barely work right now
-Metal Dash/ center councle- i've already started to remove the factory dash and most of my accessories/ switches don't work and i've always wanted to get rid of the car like dash, i just have an amo can right now for a center councle and the shifter is just sitting there un protected and not fuctioning currently
-Fuel Cell- the tank was mouted in the bed and i was having some fuel issues i think related to the pump/ sender and it's rigged up wiring, also it would help with the idea below
-Cut off the tub/ frame after the coil buckets and maybe add some wheel base- this is more just a because it's cool idea and to get rid of some more of my scarry body
-38's or larger on bead locks- my tires are gone, traded them for the yj 1/2 doors, i always blew beads
-8274- my old winch sucked and i sold it to my buddy already

So that's a long ramble, i hope some one makes sense of that.

BarrelRoll
 
#20 ·
THats an awful big bite.... My biggest swap up to date has been engine, tranny, axles, and that has laid my jeep up for TOOOOOO long. THeres nothing wrong with doing it a piece at a time, as long as when you pull out the headlight switch, all three of em come on!

Why not step back and get your tj running, then pick another mission to solve, and another.... It sounds to me as though you see your jeep being uncool compared to some of the people you wheel with. Everybody starts somewhere, and you won't be sitting on top of one tons and 44's a month after buying your jeep. Take your time, find a problem, fix it or upgrade, then move on to the next one rather than undertake the whole thing at once. My guess is you will either run out of money or motivation or both!!

Its a jeep, have fun with it!
 
#21 ·
I'm starting to figure out all the stuff i want/ need to do and getting it down on the computer, i'm starting to figure out a plan of attack right now, and it will pretty much be 1 little project at at time though everything is pretty much connected. I have a feeling this project could take a year + and that's why i'd pick up a real cheep trail rig so i don't go nutz not being able to wheel for a year. No garuentees that if i do go through with the tj that it will be at the '04 bash. In the jeep's current set up if it still had 32" tires on it (sitting on 4 random rollers right now) it just couldn't keep up with everybody else do to the fact that 32's won't clear the ruts and i'd always be stopped with stupid issues do to my rigged up mods that calling them 1/2 assed would be givng them complements.

BarrelRoll
 
#22 ·
Right, I'm going to have to agree with irjpr... I recently bought a 4runner to have as a DD while my YJ is laid up - I'm swapping out the ba10/5&np231, d30/35 for a t150/d20, front and rear 44's. It's already been almost 2 weeks, and my progress as of right now is getting the new trans/t-case in. I know this project will at least take me another 2 months or perhaps 3 or 4 months.

Look at your list of mods - they could easily chew up a year - and that's assuming you have time to work on it consistently - factor in the occasional unmotivation, etc, and you've got a huge task ahead of you. I say, take things one at a time. Get your TJ in running shape first - then just go down your list of problems and fix them. I certainly wouldn't even consider the willy's... if you're going to buy another jeep to build, I say go with a YJ.... sure you'll be dealing with some square headlights, but they're easy to build, plentiful & cheap.... Just my 2 cents....
 
#23 ·
I've been reading all of your personal posts, and from what I can gather, you aren't the type to take time to do things the right way. How do you think your lack of patience, shop expertise and experience would bear on a flattie project?
Flatties have a TON of problem areas that you haven't even SEEN yet. If you've hacked up a perfectly good TJ with innappropriate and half-baked mods, what would a flattie project look like?
Just looking over the list of stuff you want to do to that hapless TJ makes me cringe. NO WONDER it's a mess!
Perhaps.....just perhaps....you may not BE the right guy to build Jeeps right now? Axle pads out of alignment?
SHEESH! Jerk the dash out because the SWITCHES don't work?
YOW! Those are issues that shouldn't even BE there, except that it apparently was more important to WHEEL the Jeep than do right by it mechanically.
There was a kid who was in the Grafitti Generation with the rest of us in Modesto CA back in the sixties that you remind me SO MUCH of. We often threatened to weld the hood of his car closed so he couldn't hurt it any more than he had already.
So now that I've kicked you all over the shop and beat up on your self esteem.....as they say in the liberal schools these days to kids who DON'T GET IT..... here is my advice to you: FIX your TJ. And by that I mean PRACTICE FIXING IT RIGHT. Return the stuff that needs to be stock BACK TO FUNCTIONAL STOCK. Make the TJ "restoration" your project instead of the Flattie. Even if it means welding on HUGE Sections of body that were sawszall'd into oblivion. If you don't toss away your hatchet and begin doing things in a workmanlike manner on this TJ, then where and when do you intend to BEGIN DOING THAT? Changing Jeeps won't solve this problem; changing your approach to your shopwork will.
OK.....you can come out from behind the toolbox now.....I'm through throwing rocks.
 
#24 ·
I'm thinking all the stuff i could/ want to do and what issue it would solve
-1 tons (know of a dually 60 front for cheep)- get rid of my riddged 44 that the brackets are out of alignment on, the 8.8 needs a wheel bearing and caliper anywas, lower gears in the swapped in axles instead of my 3.55's i have now, the people i'm starting to hang out/ wheel with and the need for bigger tires my axles would be history

this is a poor idea. If you dont like the front axle, jerk it out and redo it. use a dana 30 in the mean while. theres nothing wrong with your axles..keep them.


-3 or 4 links front and rear- solve the rigged front axle brackets and steering issues, give my jeep some real lift, though it does flex decent (800 or so on i think a 30 though it could be a 20) now

I have just as much fun wheeling stock junk as lifted stuff. I have grown past the "I'll never take the winch cable" phase. Look at steve (greenmachine)..he went from a buggy to a stocker.... and he's having a blast.


-Full cage and tube fenders- only the factory cage right now so why not sell it to help buy the bender and build a better cage, tube fenders to replace my non existant fenders

the Tennessee Off-Road through the dash weld in cage kit for mr wifes TJ was $260 and its really nice. I'd look at junkyards until I found some fenders that are crunched in the front.. do a flatfender on them and your done.


-Race buckets and harnesses- i want some more seccure seats and my seat belts barely work right now

keep your seats.. I stll have stock seats in all my rigs.. they still sit well..Clean all the crap out of the return mechanisms and the seatbelts will work again.


-Metal Dash/ center councle- i've already started to remove the factory dash and most of my accessories/ switches don't work and i've always wanted to get rid of the car like dash, i just have an amo can right now for a center councle and the shifter is just sitting there un protected and not fuctioning currently

you know.. that car like dash has a big tach, speedo, oil pressure, temp, volts and gas guages that are all easy to read. I agree withcjdave...fix it.


-Fuel Cell- the tank was mouted in the bed and i was having some fuel issues i think related to the pump/ sender and it's rigged up wiring, also it would help with the idea below

just put the metal back required to put the tank back where it goes. also fix the ghetto fab wireing.


-Cut off the tub/ frame after the coil buckets and maybe add some wheel base- this is more just a because it's cool idea and to get rid of some more of my scarry body

holy bad idea batman... have you noticed that my wheelbase is stock? thats noly because I dont want to deal with all the problems you want to invoke upon yourself.

-38's or larger on bead locks- my tires are gone, traded them for the yj 1/2 doors, i always blew beads

35's are more than sufficient.. cheap too...

-8274- my old winch sucked and i sold it to my buddy already
find a used one, or the xd8000i/9000i will pull any jeep through anything and is less than half the price of the 8274

I know EXACTY how you feel with the current prodject.. you look at it and think "everything is F&^%ED up!" well.. it is.. but dont look at the whole thing.. look at the smaller jobs and knock them out.. prioritize them and look at your $$$.. youi should end up with a MUCH better jeep. I really like CJdaves "tj restoration" idea too
 
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