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Project Ton Ton - 1 Ton Cherokee HP60/14b

77K views 300 replies 46 participants last post by  Jason 
#1 ·
Hey.

Just an initial heads up, this is phase I: accumulating parts and ideas. I am beginning this thread just so that I have a place to post, maybe post some tech and info for you and myself for reference, and hash out problems with help from the community. Insofar I have not done any disassembly yet. So stay tuned and be very patient. It will start slow because of money, but once it's ready it's going to be a weekend bolt-in deal.

I am starting out with my 1998 Jeep Cherokee, 2-door, 4.0L/AX-15/NP231. I am attempting to retain my current long arm set up with this build until I have money for the DOM, tube adapters, joints, etc for a 4-link rear, 3-link w/ panhard front. Unfortunately this way costs more in total, but less in its initial phases. Sort of like paying loans and ending up paying a lot of interest in the end.

UPDATE
October 11, 2011:
plans have changed a lot. scroll down to other posts to see a more updated list.

What is being built:







THE PLANS:

- Dodge Dana 60 and Dana 70, 67.5" WMS, 8-on-6.5", 4.10:1, locking hubs... shaved for clearance
(will take picture tomorrow)
- obviously conversion u-joints
- H2 rims, 5.5" backspacing, 17" dia, 8-bolt
- rock rings for rims if possible, maybe custom cut, TIG'd by friend.
- complete replacement custom tube fenders (akin to EricsXJ)
- cheap hydro assist using either tapped stock pump or Durango pump
- 37"x12.5"x17" of either Kevlar MTR, Mickey Thompson MtZ, or radial Pitbull Rocker flavour
- using stock axleshafts for now, pictures will tell you how beefy these things are.
- "frame" reinforcement
- drop pitman arm reamed for Chevy TRE (1.5" inch / ft tapered reamer)
- Ballistic Fabrications:
--- offset panhard bracket
--- coil/link/shock combo buckets
--- high steer passenger arm for high crossover steering
--- upper link tower
--- axle link tabs for upper link (onto truss for D60)

With being fullwidth using the H2 rims I'm hoping for an overall width of 82" MAX. The tires may go wider depending on how uncomfortable I am with the amount of hub sticking out from the wheels. If I have time I'll also go disc brake in the rear, these drums are stupid big. Will post pics later.

H2 wheels


wall ornaments
(the calendar is a 2010, my girlfriend put it up and I never took it down, so shh. :shhh:


will get axle pics later.

Comments, concerns, questions and even flames are appreciated and honestly excitedly awaited. :2thumbsup:
 
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#6 ·
Thanks guys! The goal is to make this a daily driver that isn't totally frustrating on the road, but can kick huge *** offroad. So selectable lockers will be in the cards when I have the money.

I'm debating on a Dana 60 in the rear because I have one of them sitting bolted under my old Power Wagon but I'm not sure I want to use such an old axle.. I like semi-new and these tons are from a 90's era vehicle so I might just shave the hell out of the 70 because it uses the same diff cover as the 60, it just has more mass and a bigger lip.
 
#8 ·
Just to give it some rusty eyecandy.

Dana 70:



Dana 60:



Dana 60 + Power Wagon:



the rear Dana 60 I'm debating on:
(blocks are bad, mmmkay?)



Hopefully the last time I fix anything on the little Dana 30 before it goes bye bye:

 
#11 ·
Just ordered some bracketry from Ballistic Fab..

XJ brackets for coil/link/shock that I'll grind out for the much larger axle tube diameter of the Dana 60.
Single long two-hole passenger high steer arm (one for now because I'm just keeping the tie rod in the stock location until I destroy it, and then I'll just try my hand at making my own arm - I have to get a TRE reamer anyway, so..)

So there goes $300! :D

Got so excited I woke up my girlfriend to tell her (yeah I'm pretty cool like that).. and I'm terrible at keeping my mouth shut so I go "So I just got paid tonight, I have to do exhaust work on the Jeep, get it AirCared, reinsure it because insurance is expiring in a week, get flares, I'm out of gas, pay off my Mastercard, and I don't get paid for another two weeks.... but I just ordered three hundred dollars worth of parts from Ballistic Fab!"

And the only thing she was mad at me for was that I was still awake and I work in a few hours. Not too shabby of an old lady, I say.
 
#13 ·
Gotta get the kingpin bolts off and remove the knuckles, the weather's been way too crap to strip the rust down while it's outside.. but all the brakes and shafts are off.

Looking rusty..


Rotor, hat, etc.. (I keep the lockouts in my room, hah.)


Stock Dana 60 shaft with stock Dana 30 outer stub:


Stock 60 shaft, stock 30 outer:


Down in Birch Bay, Washington
gotta love the iPhone..


 
#14 ·
Been a while since I've updated anything, but just to show that I'm serious about this, here's some more recently obtained parts:

Dana 300 with long tailhousing, with 4:1 gears.
Will be using either NWF or Novak 7/8" flip ring with either custom cable shifters or attempt to squeeze in some mechanical shifters (it's been done, so we'll see).
Also going to pick up one more XJ CV yoke so I can my CV shafts front and rear.


Ballistic coil brackets... although they sent me the ones for a Dana 30 sized axle, but that's easy to rectify :welder:


High steer arm (just 1 for now, I'll wait until I kill a tie rod)


And some TNT frame stiffeners, main and front extensions, but pics of those are sort of pointless.

It's taking so long because I make so little at my job, and it's taking more money than I expected (also because I hadn't expected to pick up a Dana 300 so soon)

And a gratuitous camping shot:


Sorry that's it not much of an update. :thumbdown:
 
#15 ·
I haven't updated in a while because there didn't seem to be a whole lot of interest, so I figured it would make sense to wait for me to do a little work first before I posted again.

My plans have changed a bit:

Ford HP60, kingpin, 80's era, RuffStuff heim high steer and panhard, Ballistic high steer arms, 5.13:1 thicks, Chevy knuckles and outers, open diff for now.

SRW 14 bolt, drums for now, Grizzly mechanical locker, 5.13:1 thicks, Ruffstuff leaf swap kit.

14" FOA coilovers, just emulsions with shock hoops and cross brace.

Slightly baldy 37"x13.5" Toyos on the H2 rims.





Girlfriend's truck, picking HP60 up in Whistler








Looks wide. :shhh:
 
#16 ·
Should be a good build. Interested in seeing how you do the coilovers.

I'm a bit curious why you plan on sticking with just 37's with those big pumkins, or are the 37's just to get you by since you already have them? I assume you'll shave the 14b...

Also why not go a little deeper on the gearing to 5.38? Even with 37's I think that will be ideal and better if you have plans to go bigger.
 
#18 ·
On my phone so I'll have to keep it short so I don't get frustrated.

Using the gear calculator, 5.13s keep me properly streetable with 37s+ without it revving too high, IMO. Also, the difference in crawl speed I felt was negligible because with 5.13 and a 4:1 transfercase, I don't see the necessity to squeeze out that last bit of gearing. But trust me, it went through my head a million times.

The 37s, I already have, and that's about the size limit for any amount of comfort left on-road. When funds allow it, I'll shave the 14 bolt properly with a shaved gearset and all. For now, it's ground smooth, but is a bit of an anchor. The front 60 I have no problems with the clearance I'll have.

The coilovers shouldn't be too bad. My math shoots me at 5" up, 9" down. We'll see how real world translates that. I may be a little higher than desired, so eventually I'll need to lower it some and cut more. Maybe custom wheel wells and all. We'll see how high it is first. It will definitely take some dialing in.

Thanks for the constructive comments, keep them coming and don't be afraid to say I goofed up.
 
#19 ·
Mounted and balanced.


So close.. tomorrow I should get a call back from the electricians who will hopefully be rewiring my welder (we had to tear out the 240v wiring so I've been waiting and waiting and waiting, I can't make any more progress without it.. let's just say that hasn't been fun.)


Gears and the Grizzly.


Not fully assembled. Had to take it back out (didn't tighten the ring gear bolts, nobody freak out), waiting on my friend because I'd rather use a shop press to get those bearings off than one of my very bad 2am brilliant epiphanies with a sledgehammer.
 
#22 ·
I could definitely use your help, Nick. You could prevent me from goofing up. I tacked the spring perches on for the rear, trying to make sure I had measured right (to be fair, I only measured once, d'oh).. bolted it all up loosely only to find out the axle is off center by like an inch toward the driver side. :rofl:

Gotta run to Princess Auto this morning when it opens, the spring plates have 3 holes (for adjustment) for the center pin to fit in - problem is that for whatever reason they didn't drill the spring plate holes larger than the center pin holes themselves (in the perch), so obviously any nut on there is too big. So I'll drill out the plates by one size (9/16").

Just ordered some stuff from RockAuto;
calipers, D300 shifter seals, 1998 Dodge 2500 master cylinder.

The last of my shopping list is coming near.. just need a good length of tube for the shock hoops and brace, some plate for the upper control arm mounts, some smaller plate to fill in the areas where the TnT "frame stiffeners" won't reach.

And thinking of chopping out those flimsy looking shackle hanger boxes for some beefier ones.

Been watching your thread! You've certainly been making more progress than I have. I like it. And like I mentioned, I like how low you're staying. Keep it up. :D
 
#23 ·
Again, it's all mock-up. No one person should have to take this long for just a rear axle. It's kinda embarrassing. I blame magnets.

Looks cool though. :D



 
#24 ·
Got some fancy rock lights:
it's so nice shipping stuff to Washington, shipping is cheap, taxes are less. That's my place in Blaine, WA.


And started pulling the NP231. The long arm crossmember has so many more bolts. :|
A good thing, to be certain, but makes removing it more frustrating. So I'll pull it, steal the speedo sensor and front/rear yokes off it, swap all that over to the Dana 300, tap and plug and make new drain and fill plugs, as well as a new breather nipple off the top plate.

Then we'll see how much sheet metal that I need to cut to fit this sucker, as well as mocking up shifters.
 
#25 ·
ya switched to the 14 bolt?
HUGE win on that decision so many more options and accessories for it, as well as its strength, even in stock i was rockin 37s with a 350 and foot to the floor!
comin along good though
 
#26 ·
Totally agreed. After weighing the options (no pun!), the 14 bolt was the clear winner.. more aftermarket support, more factual information, more versatile, the separate pinion support and integrated pinion support bearing, and the ability to first give it a grinder shave, and then hack off a few inches when necessary..

well it certainly beats out the Dana 70 to me, even though it's 35 spline vs 30 spline of the 14 bolt.

Thanks! Yeah, I've been pretty busy lately, trying to get my stuff back from my no-longer-girlfriend of 3 years :teehee: , so I didn't get the t/case out like I wanted to. The crossmember is down - with a few sheared bolts. Oh good. It gets darker sooner so I started on it too late and had no good light. I'll have it out tomorrow for sure.

Anyway. I was gonna do the regearing myself, and in the future I will, but my buddy hooked up with a great deal on $150 per axle for a regear!
 
#28 ·
Thanks!

Okay, so as I was starting to suspect, I want to design a new crossmember. The Rusty's piece of crap is a 3 piece crossmember.... Yeah. A 3 piece crossmember where all 3 pieces need to come out to remove the transfercase.


The other 2 pieces are on the ground being stared at with contempt.

It takes just about all these bolts just to get the crossmember out:


So I'm asking my friend to help me hash out a design for a new (or modify this one) crossmember that allows the suspension components to stay in, but the center able to drop out. A real 3 piece crossmember.

Random photo time! My super technical transmission holder apparatus:
it's perfectly safe don't give me any grief (famous last words.)


The eagle eyed reader will notice I'm running 33" Mud Countries up front now, as opposed to the MtZ's I had there. I let a friend snatch them off me, (who is also a user here, "mistertierney") as well as my steering stabilizer that we had to paint pink. Wish I took a picture. I let them go for a pretty good deal because he was easily the most supportive friend about my old crap bucket Jeep, and helped me do way too many last minute fixes before wheeling trips.

More random irrelevant photos:


And for EricsXJ, ground clearance actually isn't as bad as I was worried about, even with 37"s on this anchor:
Don't ask about the paint. It was the first can I saw, and I just wanted to paint over the raw steel. I'm thinking desert tan for the final paint.
 
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