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Jim's new hybrid Scrambler build- tons of questions coming!

436K views 2K replies 124 participants last post by  Jim1611 
#1 · (Edited)
Hi guys,

I've sold off my YJ with the LT1 engine and megasquirted TPI on top to help finance my Scrambler build.I'll start off to answer you first question- "Why TJ Tech Forum?" <edit>Moved now to CJ Forum</edit> Well, the hybrid Scrambler frame I had throttledowncustoms.com build for me is a hybrid with 4 corner coils and control arms- TJ style.

<edit>June 16th/2011- thread moved to CJ forum where the real round headlights live:p</edit>

I have a Aqualu Scrambler tub being delivered to my home tomorrow for it. With the rolling CJ7 I have my eye on I'll turn it into a CJ7/8 one-off.
Then

Now


I've had the replacement frame setup to take a 20 gal poly YJ tank just rear of the rear axle (CJ7 style) rather than use a deeper Scrambler poly tank between the last two members.

The 8 control arm mounts match TJs. I'll be using ironman4x4fab solid arms. [EDIT] Now Currie double Johnny Jointed [/EDIT]

OK- First really big question. Axles? I want to use Dana 60s front and rear. I have an NP205 Chevy pass drop tcase. I'll look for a Chevy style D60 for the pass side pumpkin.

What are the drawbacks if I just use full width axles? Any thoughts appreciated. [EDIT]Used full width with H2 rims. They have 5.5 inches backspacing)[/EDIT]

Edited Dec 2010 For new readers. The first 10 to 15 pages are me asking lots of questions... and getting very great answers
  1. Went with 1 Tons- Ford '95 Dana 60 front and Sterling 1 Ton rear. It took months of deliberation to settle on what axles to use. After months of searching I found these two trucks and bought them both. Both 1 tons. : Donor truck and new daily driver
  2. Picked up a sweet 5.0: Engine- Explorer 5.0 It wasn't this engine- bait and switch but got everything in the end. Good poser pic though, eh?
  3. Then the carnage began: Let's strip that baby down!
  4. Had the axles and knew where I was going with tires- BIG!:thumbsup:So off to eBay I went for rims. I took another month or more figuring out if 17s or super cheap 16.5s were the way to go: I went with H2s that would need to get machined out for the larger Ford hubs- mine took a fair bit of work to do compared to others... I bought 17's so I could go with more back-spacing.H2 rims:
  5. Then the rest was just good old hard work for a while: Axle work Those axles got sandblasted 3 times. Man that was plenty of work!
  6. I bought Currie brackets. They took some grinding but were easier to use than building my own. I did have to do something different though with the front driver-side myself that turned out nicely.A bit of custom brackets work.
  7. Then a certified welder and tons and tons of pre-heating then a final third sandblasting: http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/f9/jims-new-hybrid-scrambler-build-tons-questions-coming-976744/index29.html#post9960583
  8. And more axle work: http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/f9/jims-new-hybrid-scrambler-build-tons-questions-coming-976744/index30.html#post9982530
  9. I basically spent 3 months through the summer on and off working on the geometry.
  10. Finally tires!! Woohoo!! 40" Goodyear MTRs with Kevlar
  11. Then brakes: Jim's brake setup Finally able to see how things fit in the rim.
  12. Then finally building a vehicle begins: Real building work!! And I get to see if all of my measuring an eye-ball engineering really allowed things to fit without rubbing. NO RUBBING!!
  13. Poser shots! poser
  14. Then brake bracket design and mock-up: Brake mock-up still happening.





  15. Want to use long monotubes in as close to zero lift as possible. Built my own bar-pin mounts and located them outward of the mounting plate on the frame and axle to effectively stretch the possible shock stroke: Shock bar pins.


  16. Finished the rear brakes- GM 3/4 ton 4x4 front calipers on the rear with E350 Frod cargo van disks: Rear brakes done.
  17. Finished the front brakes- stock Ford 1 ton calipers and disks: Front brakes done.
  18. 1 ton power brake capabilities for 40" rubber. Did a ton of shopping and looking around then found some smoking hot deals: Settled on dual diaphram booster and Vette master cylinder using YJ mounting bracket.
  19. Assembled those hot deals to see what fit: Parts assembled.
  20. De-greased, bead blasted old bracket, primed and painted everything: Parts together- waiting for chrome MC cover....

    Here's where I'm at now- June 16th, 2011:
    Building crossmembers and setting the driveline in place: Crossmembers


 
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#277 ·
Next year we will see your Jeep in that pile someware correct:D

Jason.
 
#280 ·
Projects looking good. I see we are dealing with the same problem on our D60s. The short tube on the drivers side. I am on the Cast right now, but think I am going to use that pirate thread and cut down the cast a little and weld to the tube.

Good Job!!

Joe
 
#282 ·
I will do for sure. I think I might cut it down tomorrow.
 
#283 ·
Check out what my friend removed on his 78/79 front to make his LCA work 1 ton TJ

He did weld the tube back to the center section and beats on it pretty hard.
There alot of tube under there and I gone as far as removing a good inch. The last axle I did I removed a inch and I stll had to weld that outer tab to cast section.
But alot depends on how much that LCA angle will see. The last axle was a narrowed axle and didn't leave much room for the lowers to be as far out as they can unless we angled the crap out of the tabs.

Jason.
 
#284 ·
Thanks for the link. Wow, a ton of cast got cut out there, eh? As I'm using stock frame bracket locations with Currie adjustable short arms the first order of business will be to maintain the Jeep stock geometry. Currie says that when they use my axle and their bracket kit on a build they cut 3/4 off, just like you said, Jason.

I'll just do what they do. I'm even using their brackets, so I'll just do what I need to do to copy the standard setup that is on any other TJ or old ZJ front end. I don't know why I've been so fixated on this. Currie said no-prob, too. It is now just a "do it and do it right the first time (dummy)" kind of job.

I'll tack down every thing then take it to a real welder to finish. This is all still BS as I'm a good month away still... Darn basement reno. Who needs another bedroom and bathroom, anyways? Not me- not my prob. Oh man, here comes the wife!! I didn't say that.:2thumbsup:
 
#287 ·
#289 ·
#296 ·
Well, the build schedule/completion date just got bumped back another month or two. Holly cr@p. Wicked local tire prices. 5 BFG 37 AT 12.5 17s come in at $2330.74 including mounting bal and taxes. :thumbdown::thumbdown::thumbdown::thumbdown:
 
#306 ·
Ohhh - the tempatation was sooooo great! BUT!!! @ 16.5 and the rim's backspacing the wheels would have been in the way of my tire rod ends... The company has a service to water jet out the center sections and to re-weld to any number of backspacing by 1/2 inch intervals.

Then- they still are 16.5s. After speaking with Jason M- thanks Jason, I bought these babies.



:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

A little pricey still, but they will put me to a nice width AND be 17s for better tire selection. A couple of other people wrote and told me that the military Wranglers are not the greatest tire anyways... hard rubber and bad in the winter to boot. Then they still are a weird 16.5 size and the track would be way wider...
 
#309 ·
Front and rear axle brackets and 8 double Johnny Jointed control arms!!:highfive:



Now to figure out where to cut the axles out of the 1 ton and still have room to maneuver around the backyard.:2thumbsup::2thumbsup:
 
#310 ·
#312 ·
I figured what the heck. "I'll call Jegs and see if I can trade my still-in-the-box Chevy Aluminum Rad for a Ford rad."

JEGS 52015 JEGS Universal Aluminum Radiators

After a moment on the phone with Jegs, they had made the entrys in their system for a no-charge swap and they'll pay for the shipping!!

Awesome.
 
#313 · (Edited)
First off, I've got to say this is Jason M's fault. Like.... totally!!!:2thumbsup::2thumbsup:

After tons of thinking I bought another F350 Crewcab 4x4, on the left, also at a smoking great price. This will be my daily driver for quite some time to come.:cheers2:



I'll take the box off of the back of it and sell it. The truck on the right is my parts/axle truck.

Thanks Jason!
 
#317 ·
Yes, I've had the rad for over a year I think. I was really surprised that they were so accommodating. I'm paying for the shipping of the Chevy style back to Jegs. They are paying for the new Ford to ship back to me. Awesome.

Hey- those are one tons!!!:2thumbsup: I don't know- can a guy ever have too many truck parts?:shhh:
 
#315 ·
Wow, you find all the good Fords out there. Now you have the perfect tow rig and plus if you break a shaft you can take them from the tow truck, LOL we did:rolleyes:
Those look like utilty line's trucks, somthing that would see some power line trails.

One thing I wanted to add about the H2 rims is the center ID needs to be clearanced alittle, Ive been meaning to say something about it but allways forget.
But its not a big deal, you just take a Dies grinder or a dremel and cut them your self till they slide over the hub. I figure I will warn you so when you get them and they dont slide over you dont freak out. Really its no big deal just one more thing to add to the fabractoin list.

Two trucks now, I'm seeing a buggy in your future:laugh:

Jason.
 
#316 · (Edited)
Yes, after we spoke I called my 82 year old father in-law who worked in a Ford dealership as an alignment man for his adult life. He figures I couldn't go wrong. I got it for $2000 and it has a good engine. That's what I figured, too, about parts, now I have some emergency spares that are totally AC-DC so to speak! Lots of spare parts from my axle donor F350 to put into storage for those rainy days later on when this one needs something.

They were both tree planting trucks. The roads around here that they saw are tougher than what some week-end Jeep warriors may see. Especially when you add in year-after-year-after-year pounding. It really is a sign of good tough Made-In-America pride. At least for me it is.:thumbsup:

Thanks for the heads up about the center diameter on the rims.:highfive:

I got a 5th rim out of Rochester and its on the way here. Thanks Jason:highfive:
 
#325 ·
Good Idea with the router bit, I think I will try that.

Yes the rims are hubs centerted, but the lug nuts in the Pic look like the one's my friend used.

Jason.
 
#327 ·
OK- like this is a tweet! For most- who the he|| cares ;-0 But I finally got around to swapping some F350 parts and then drove the hell out of the one with the good 460... NICE :cool::cool:

The parts truck goes to get some major pressure hosing tomorrow, then pulling the axles and other goodies. The rims arrived yesterday and they look like they are new. They will look awesome on the Scrambler when I finish up.

So, here are a couple of poser pics just because, like- when ever will I own two registered F350 4x4 Crewcab Long Boxes ever again!!! These things are a hoot! I'm putting more time into the Fords than the Scrambler!:2thumbsup::2thumbsup:



 
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