jpnjim

:agree: How close to the door do the seats end up? Are you trying to retain the MJ brackets with the Dakota seat, or use the Dakota brackets. I haven't tried this, but I'd probably leave just enough of the Dakota's brackets so it would sit low & level in the MJ cab (assuming the Dakota cab is taller), then weld some flat mounting feet to whatever is left of the Dakota brackets. Post up pics of the brackets too. :yes:

Every time I see the title of this thread I have to resist posting a wise @ss reply. (me = :dunce: )

:huh???: I've never seen a system where the drag link crosses under the other tie rod like that. I'm guessing it works (or else they wouldn't be selling it), but it sure is different.

I could see a 290 moving an MJ around pretty well, but I'd have to think about a 360 over a 290. 360's are still falling out of trees these days, have bigger head bolts, bigger valves, better exhaust ports, a 2v 290 would have a slight compression ratio advantage over the most common 360's (1980's), but not by much. It's also easier to find headers for the 1970+ V8's, or if you use exhaust manifolds, even the 70+ manifolds are better than the 66-69 stuff. There's also more readily available selection of 70-91 intake manifolds out there than the 66-69's. If you already have a built engine, looking for a home, I guess it makes some sense, but I'd still rather a cheepie rebuilt 360 over a breathed on 290. I've had 304's (basically a +.16" stroke 290, with better heads) in Javelins (maybe 600lbs heavier than an MJ), with auto's & sticks, and I was less than impressed (even with bolt ons). 4.44's will help (I ran 3.54's & 3.07's), but depending on what 5 speed you use, 1st gear isn't going to be much use with short tires. Have you run this 290's in something else? If you're hoping for a rev-monster, like a 302 Fords, or DZ Chevy's, that's not usually a 290's strong point. (AMC = 3.75" bore/3.28" stroke, Ford/Chevy 302 = 4" bore/3" stroke). I ran an AMC 343 for a while (4.08 bore x 3.28" stroke), and that motor would rev, but I'd still rather more torque & cubic inches of a 360 on the street (4.08x3.44). As far as a 290-401 fitting, there are AMC V8 powered XJ's & MJ's out there (even a 401 powered MJ ), I think there's an exhaust interference issue to be dealt with, but I think that's the biggest snag, so by all means build an AMC V8 MJ for us to :drool: over. :yes:

What a factory rocker should look like:

Just watch buying questionable rockers (tho there may be no other choice for MJ's now :( ) I installed some JC Whitney rockers on my XJ a few years ago. They were all one dimension, so they stuck out much further in the ft than the factory rockers (factory rockers taper from front to back, getting deeper as they go back). Cheepies from JC Whitney (XJ): Factory MJ Rocker: Factory XJ Rockers: Those Ebay MJ rockers look more like the JC Whitney's than the factory stuff:

I just did a cab corner/rocker replacement writeup: viewtopic.php?f=9&t=21437 Chopping apart the donor corner was a PITA, It's not shown in that thread, but I hacked it out of the donor vehicle with a sawzall, then took my time taking the layers apart, till I ended up with the corner installed in the thread. edit, added pic of donor truck:

Those 71+ Javelin rears (AMC 20's) are the same exact width as our XJ/MJ rears: 60". (I posted this in a thread here last week :dunno: ). It wasn't a coincidence either: Hornets & Concords (same body) used 58" wide axles. 71+ Javelins used 60" wide axles. When AMC wanted to make the Concord a 4x4 (Eagle), they needed to rethink axle width & backspacing. The ft WMS to WMS would have to be substantially wider to fit the drive axle components & unit bearings, so they'd have to increase the rear axle width to match (and use deep back spacing wheels ft & rear to put the track width back to near where it was). To the rescue comes the Javelin width 60" axle (in this case the AMC-15 aka: 7 9/16", aka: Dana 35). At the same time they made it SOA to lift the Eagle over the Concord's ride height. When it came time to design the XJ, they started with what they had (Eagle), you can pull an Eagle rear axle out, and sling it right under an XJ. Same width, same bolt patturn (XJ's were the first 5 on 4.5" Jeeps for a reason), same perch location. IIRC, the only difference is the shock mounts are staggered the opposite way. The Eagle ft (IFS) bearing hubs are almost an exact match for early XJ's (XJ's have an additional cover on the back of the same exact bearing), and the rotors directly swap (I got some Eagle rotors cheap at an AMC show and used them on my MJ for years). So, to answer the question, yep 71-74 Javelin rears are 60" wide, 5 on 4.5", and SUA (tho I think the perch width is different, I could measure it :dunno: ). They also have craptastic 2-piece axle shafts (which is why I started this thread last week: viewtopic.php?f=2&t=21315 )

Woo Hoo, my first DIY writeup :wavey: : viewtopic.php?f=9&t=21437&p=220716#p220716

I'm lacking a few pics of the corner install, but basically, I cut it to fit where I had removed the other cab corner, leaving about 1/2" of overlap, bought a cheap flanger from Harbor Freight to flange the overlap. Then burned that in too: I cleaned up the welds with a flap wheel on the grinder (no bondo for now), got some rattle can Sienna Pearl, and it turned out pretty good for for a trail Jeep:

I bought my rocker from Mopar, but just checked again last week, looks like they're discontinued now. :( Not a good thing. Anyway, prep the new rocker for welding. You're pretty much welding a flat surface to a flat surface, so the prep & burn isn't tough, getting the hinge support in place was the hardest part (needed to be straightened after removing the old rocker), and it wasn't that tough after taking a few measurements from the other side to make sure it was lined up right. Test fit the rocker: Then test fit the 'new' cab corner (this o0ne was cut off my old trail MJ): Then burn it in, and prime over any bare metal: I wasn't in a big hurry to finish, so I screwed the new cab corner temporarily: and called it done for a while.

I just cut the cab corner off with a jigsaw: Then identified what was junk under the corner: and cut that out too, I used a drill bit to drill out all the spot welds, but they make a spot weld cutter thyat's supposed to work better: Clean all the gunk out (there was ALOT of gunk in there) & straighten anything you bent in the removal process: Then just prime & paint (I didn't snap a pic of the final paint):

OK, I did this a while ago, but didn't see a writeup here, so, here goes: This was a $500 MJ that was decent, except for a cab corner that had been stuffed (& fixed with ALOT of Bondo!), and a beat up rust rocker on the same side. I didn't take many pics of the 'damage' directly, but you can see it here: closeup: another angle:

The factory MJ rockers are closed off on one end (new rocker on ground, closed off section on right): This is the rusted out closed section I cut out: XJ rockers are open on both ends. They still might work, but you'd be better off if you could re-use the cutout section from your old rocker (if it still is there).

I ended up taking off one of the final items on my 98' XJ that I had bought from Rusty's 8 years ago. Too bad too, because I had held the Goodridge stainless brake lines I got from him in 2002 in pretty high regard till now. Maybe I'm asking too much by thinking stainless brake lines should last 8+ years, but I've run 20+ year factoryrubber lines without issue. :dunno: The gf has been DDing my 98' XJ, so I haven't driven it myself in a few weeks. The other day I moved it to a different parking spot, and the brake pedal (that had seemed a little on the low side lately) just about hit the floor. The rusty banjo ends of both the Goodridge lines were wet with brake fluid (where they attach to the calipers). Looks like the banjo ends are not stainless like the braiding. I replaced the copper washers with known good ones ('new' are hard to get without buying the line too), but the ends were still weeping fluid, so I'm not even sure the copper washer/gaskets are the issue. It almost seems that the rusty banjo ends themselves have become porous. Long story short, a trip to the parts store for some factory style rubber TJ ft lines, and the weeping issue disappeared, and the low pedal went away with it. So check those aftermarket lines for wet banjo ends, while you still have brakes. I'm running SS lines in the 'Trail Jeep' too (sourced from RE 12+ years ago), I'll be checking those for rust next.

I didn't build this one (someone from another 4x4 club built it, then sold it to our club to build an adjustable one). It's 20*, towable, & takes Jeep tires (I donated some 32" tires & wheels, they supported it even when the slow leaks = 0 psi :D ). The tires slot into the receiver hitches on either side: IIRC, the hitch part also slid into a receiver at the base of the ramp. This view doesn't show much, but is the only other pic of it I have. :dunno: These pics were taken about 8/9 years ago, so I can't remember everything about the ramp, my Jeep was ~116" wb in these pics, ramping 9-something, and there was still plenty of ramp length left for longer WB trucks. The majority of the ramp was built out of 2x2 square tubing, but I don't remember the wall thickness. It was brought to a bunch of Jeep shows over the years, with plenty of heavy full size trucks on it, without any issues (that I know of). The club that built it (Mass Mudders) has some huge rigs, so if it could handle them, I'm sure it could handle anything this side of a duece & a half. :yes:

You can get a 350/3500lb Black Westin/FEY Bumper (pn63000) for $117 with free shipping here: http://www.amazon.com/Westin-63000-Fey- ... sim_auto_1 but figure $40-50 for the MJ mounting brackets (pn97900): http://www.summitracing.com/parts/TUF-97900 http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/FEY-BUMP ... 20aedeeac7

:( My new (31k mile) 'Grandpa Jeep' has been covered in salt since I bought it (starting with it's initial hour long ride home, in a snow storm). I've hand washed it twice in my driveway, not fun in 20-25* weather :ack: (had to hook the hose up to my hot water heater to clear the ice out). Then each day after the bath, covered again. :rant: The worst is when the plow truck passes you, and sandblasts salt over the whole side of your truck. :headpop: I DID NOT plan to daily drive this poor thing when I bought it. :ack: :ack:

I'll make this my last post in this thread for a while. ;) Just found these two links (to converting closed knuckle axles to discs): http://www.jpmagazine.com/techarticles/ ... index.html http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthre ... ost8417568 Links borrowed from this thread (FC150 build): http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=758757

I don't know what JCR rates their rear bumper to tow: http://www.jcroffroad.com/Merchant2/mer ... y_Code=MJB but (in my completely worthless, nonbinding, unofficial opinion), it looks atleast beefy as the 500/5000lb U-haul hitch I just got. + JCR is a member here, so you'd be supporting someone who supports us. :cheers: (tho you did just miss a great sale on this bumper, it was cheaper than the U-haul hitch a couple weeks ago :eek: )

So....... I'm guessing no one on here ended up buying this?

I posted the original picture over in the picture thread. :cheers:

Looks like new Saturn's are $1000ish, less shifter. :eek: http://advanceadapters.com/category/32/ ... fters.html http://www.willysjeepparts.com/Overdrive.htm I'd keep an eye out for a used one. :yes:

:cheers: I'd be more happy with a Willy's SW frame, glad I was wrong about using the CJ-6 frame. :yes: I'd still check around the leaf mounts up front for cracks tho, and if you're gonna use it for a driver, you should think about converting to ft disc brakes. Warn/Saturn made a .75 overdrive unit that bolts onto that Spicer-18 T-case (in the PTO port), without changing anything else (stock driveshafts, etc etc) The Warn's been out of production fo0r a loooong time, and I'm unsure if anyone's still making the Saturn version, but both types still turn up used now & then. Either way, good luck with the build (and the snow storm :eek: )

I'm amazed that 20+ years later, there are still so many MJ's out there that haven't turned 70-80k miles yet. :yes: Here's a pic I stole (and modified ;) ) from the last maintenance light thread: