neohic

It’s been snowing here lately but today was a bit warmer than it has been. While I typically prefer not to drive down to the shop when there’s snow on the ground, it’s also a very windy day and I had eight sheets of OSB to get down the hill. Technically snow wheeling? Got the CJ sideways at the turn to come back up the second time. I’m sure any neighbors that were potentially watching were thoroughly impressed.

Got a few inches over this week. Coming down pretty good yesterday morning. Maybe four inches in some spots?

Hell yeah. Wade gets it.

Neat! It must’ve been 2011? I passed on it because I needed another vehicle but I didn’t have time to fuss with this one. It wasn’t a runner at the time nor did it have the different bed or header panel. The seller’s name was Clay and he was the one who modified the crossmember. Years later I recall seeing it for sale again with this bed on it. I’d love to have another shot at it if it still had the original bed. Small world. Edit... had to go look into my archives and I remember deleting the pictures of it a month ago thinking, “meh... I know what a red Comanche looks like”.

It’ll be tough to spot. If this is the truck I remember, the crossmember should be modified just were the mount is on the middle. Must’ve been two owners ago? Anyhow... looks like a good truck to do something with.

I’m about 90% that I almost bought this truck years ago. The AX15 swap... is it mounted on a modified trans crossmember instead of the proper factory AX15 crossmember?

I’ve probably thought about every combination of factory Jeep engine and transmission combo. The T176,7,8 transmissions are pretty good in terms of gearing and strength. I wouldn’t turn one down if I were to find a good complete drivetrain that’s just ready to drop in. The problem comes in with overdrive which is really what I’d like. I’m not stuck on a V8 either. Again, if a complete donor were to come along... Decisions, decisions...

Ugh... this is my nightmare.

You'll never haul 2x4s with that spare in the way.

Indeed. I live in Colorado but I’m from Minnesota. Bomber hats and Carhartts are the only way to go.

... I’m out of eggs. It’s 15° outside but the CJ seemed to be the right choice.

WHOA!! What happened?!

What’s the condition of the truck overall right now? Anything new with the suspension? Any future plans? I recently took the time and read through your entire build thread again. Tip of the cap, sir.

I’d wait if you’re not out anything.

Right? For how often it’d get used I think it’d be more in the way. Think about bending tube... where does it make sense to put a bender? Right smack in the middle of the room so you’ve got space all the way around it to work. What if there’s a permanent post in the way? Bummer.

You could try a product called Red Kote to bring that tank back. It’s a thick film that you dump in and then roll around to seal up the interior of the tank. Not sure if it’ll cover holes that big but I’ve seen it do miracles on what most would think is an unusable fuel tank.

It’s a loft! ... and it works! I’m an even 6’ tall so I wanted to have some kind of relief up in the loft. From the floor to the peak, it’s just over 6’ with a 7’ 8” ceiling height under it. The framing is all 2x10s that I would’ve gotten while doing a demo job at my last job. They’ve been sitting around for a while so it’s great to get them out of the way. I had more than enough so I ripped down the rest into 2x4s. These were then used for framing my air compressor closet. Each end of the loft was finished up with the off cuts of the 6x12s from the carport. They’re big, chunky, and I like them. The little shop really took on a new feel this weekend. Today I caught myself cleaning up and using the loft for getting things off the floor and then walking from corner to corner and all around the new dedicated work space under the loft. I’m already figuring where tools and equipment will live. It’s still a mess in here but it’s a much more workable mess. Unfortunately, I’m leaning towards selling off the two post car lift I got WAY back before the ground was even broken. The floor space is huge right now! I think the one post that’d end up in the middle of the floor will really kill the work vibe. Also, it’s a shorter two post too so it’s got a ramp to drive over between the posts. If I were to want to move my welding table out, I’ll need to work around it. I dunno... for what I paid for it, there’s no way I’ll be out anything. We’ll see.

Today I got most of my vapor barrier up and then started framing the loft. I’m getting tired of looking at and moving a big pile of 2x10s that I got for free well over a year ago. The walls are sure creeping in and seeing it all come together gives the impression that I’ll never comfortably have anything in this shop bigger than a midsize pickup. Perfect! None of my past shops have had much more room length wise either. More tomorrow.

More truck stuff. This little CJ gets it. Might’ve had a visibility issue at the one stoplight between my house and the lumber yard. I’m starting to think that a low profile roof rack might be in the cards down the road.

Honestly that isn’t an issue for me. I work three blocks from my house and we take my wife’s car anywhere we need to go that’s farther than walking distance. I go 3-4 months between filling the fuel tank!

Agreed. That’s also why I don’t want to make it super nice.

Nope. I like to think that something will present itself when the time comes. Right now I’m leaning towards moving the front axle forward 3-4”, pushing the drivetrain forward the same 3-4”, and then figure things from there. A 4.0/AX15 wound be cool. Keeping the 4.2 and going through it while putting an AX15 (or T5 from a later CJ to save a little more rear driveshaft room) behind it wound be cool too. Pretty sure I’ve ruled out a full modern drivetrain swap like an Ecotech or some kind of diesel. V8 maybe? An AMC 360 could be cool and any Jeep trans would bolt up to it. But what about a Magnum 318/360 from a Dakota or a Ram? I think I could dress one of those to give the look of an earlier engine. The bell housing changed for those too so I’d be stuck with a Chrysler auto or figure out something with Dakota stuff. I’m also pretty sure I don’t want to go bigger than the engine it already has. The issue really comes down to the transfer case. A Dana 300 makes sense as it’d keep the front axle on the passenger side and there are short and long factory options. It’d mean a bit of work, but I wouldn’t be opposed to swapping the front differential to the driver side and using a NP231 with a short fixed output shaft. The 231 wound run quieter... which wound be nice too as I really want to make this a good driver. Totally cutting apart the front axle wound just be another step as I want to cut the inner C’s from the tubes so I can rotate them back for more caster... again, to make it a better driver. This would also make anyone who would notice say “HU?!” Then YJ springs? Keep the current springs? Suppose I could move the rear axle back too but that’d mean some body modifications. I could get an easy 2-3” more wheelbase but I really don’t like the look of CJ5s with cut up rear wheel wells. My OCD would want to cut the sheet metal and move the wheel openings. I won’t stretch the body because that’d mean cutting the hard top too. Then if the wheel wells get moved then I might as well do all the metalwork needed on the tub... rockers, floors, cowl... might make more sense to use a better tub? But then what about the wheel wells? Do I have room for the fuel tank in the rear if I move the axle? The snowball here can keep rolling for miles. I love the simplicity of this little Jeep and I think the more I do to it the less it has that charm. The very LAST thing I want to do is get to the point that it’s super nice... that’s usually when I loose interest in a vehicle. I like the crappy paint and the terrible bodywork. The floors aren’t terrible but the hat channels underneath are gone. Anyhow... a question like that always turns into a mental dump for me. The bottom line comes down to a dream of mine to take this thing on a real road trip. Do I need a modern transmission for that? Do I need decent paint? Do I need softer springs? Nope, nope, and nope. I do need a reliable engine and the comfort to know that everything behind the engine is solid. Edit: that turned into a wall of text. Here’s a picture I just took for those who hung in there through all of it.

You need to change out the pinion flange also. The Rodeos use a goofy driveshaft flange from the factory. Easy enough though... all just standard parts.

This. Easy peasy.

That was an axle I picked up at a local trailer supply place. I had them order the width I wanted in a 5000(?)# unit.