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Project Comanche Chief


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First off this is my opinion and is based on my wheeling experiences..... if you go over to Pirate or some of the other sites they will tell you that you gotta go to a 60 or your just wasting you money...... I personally don't buy into all the hype..... Even if I put "Price" on a shelf for now and lets just say I had all the money I needed, I still wouldn't build a 60 to run 38 inch tires. If I were going to gain anything I would have to go all the way up to 42's to get back the diff clearance I lost and that would put me on a trailer permanently. then lets add back in the Money factor..... not to mention the weight..... anyone ever try to lift even one end of a Dana 60? My plan is to build a cut down to rubicon axle length HP Dana 44 with RCV axles,  and since I hate lock in - lock out hubs I also plan to have a new style Dana 44 "C" machined to fit on the Ford housing...... this will allow me to keep my unit bearings and bolt pattern along with my rear 8.8 ........ again this is my opinion....

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Next time your on business out this way let me know and I'll gather the group and we'll hit the hills..... as for keeping up I'm sure your rig would have no problem keeping up with my "Daily Driver"......

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Put 100 miles on the new front diff so I pulled the carrier in preparation for the new lockrite locker....... Use to have a Auburn Elocker but that thing kept giving up just when I needed it most... (LSD style E-Locker).... I'll put it in this evening then make the 30 mile trip back to my cage guy to to have my Rock Rail extensions bent up and welded on......... heading back to IVY on December 7th and I have to keep those rocks further away from my rockers and cab corners...... pics to follow....

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Took the MJ over to my cage guy on Saturday and he fabed me up a couple of Rock Rail extension to help keep the rocks a few inches further away from my sheet metal..... they turned out pretty good.....

 

 

 

 

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.... not to mention the weight..... anyone ever try to lift even one end of a Dana 60?

 

About a year ago I was at the JY and spotted a D60 front on a dodge power ram.  Without using my head, I started into it and managed to cut it out.  I somehow maneuvered it onto one of those pick-n-pull dollies, but it flattened the tires.  The JY came and grabbed it with a huge fork truck and plopped it into the bed of my MJ.  That sucker sagged under the strain and by the time I got home, wondered what the h*ll I was thinking.  I immediately listed it on Craigslist and noted it would only be sold to someone with a hoist and ideally, i would deliver since there was no way to get it out of my truck without serious hassle.  Luckily it sold fast and was happy to drive an hour to deliver it to a guy with a chain hoist to ease the suffering of my sagging MJ.  I recently acquired a D44 front which can be easily dragged around the garage while keeping a spring in my step.

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Is it a HP Dana 44?  Be careful with Low Pinion axles if you plan on running much lift..... the double cardian helps but our driveshafts are short campared to the Wrangler guys.  If your going to cut it down and you plan on rotating the C's then that would help but if your staying full width be aware of your pinion angle / lift height.

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Had the day off yesterday so i spent it doing some last minute fixes before this Saturdays IVY ride.  The forecast is Rain, Rain, Rain so it's gonna be sloppy...... I mounted my Cooler/Center Console so now I can keep my drinks and lunch cold and have a place to rest my arm.  My rear diff cover had been leaking where I pulled it away from the axle on a previous ride so I pulled that off, massaged it with a hammer and reinstalled.  I also took it to my exhaust guy and had a new "Street" muffler installed.... my old Cherry Bomb was giving me a headache.  On the last ride I had a ground terminal problem so I also installed a very heavy brass set.  I'll post lots of pics monday morning.......

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I know several people who use those Zach and they really like them alot...... I made it out of IVY Saturday evening but I was missing both rear taillights (both lights were already broken and had screws hold them together) and quite a bit of paint.  We ran a couple of the hardest trails in the park and as bad as I hated to I had to "Clearance" a little sheet metal in a couple tight places.  Works got me busy this morning but I'll try and post up a couple pics this afternoon.

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A few pics from this weekend's Toys for Tot's ride........

 

Here's where the 2 groups split.... modified and Trail Rig....

 

 

Pit stop..... to replace a Toyota front Driveshaft U-Joint

 

 

The next few are a trail named "Butchers Block"

 

 

 

 

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They are some really great trails..... whitemanche..... as for the helmets Ivy is part of the Hatfield and McCoy trail system and helmets are required inside the park. Your yearly pass must be displayed on the left side of the helmet.

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Hung a new set of Tail lights in my MJ so I was able to go out and haul some tables over the weekend in support of a Toys for Tots drive. MJ's are considerably more versatile in the fact that you can haul and wheel these machines.... unlike the XJ, CJ, TJ, YJ, ZJ, WJ, JK, LJ.....ect, ect, ect......

 

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Found this pic of our last trip to IVY.......The guy riding shotgun had never ridden with us before and was surprised to learn my plan was to drive down the waterfall vice going around it....... It was a fun day of wheeling.... LOL

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hell yea you should definitely come wheel with us..... just put that thing on a trailer and head down....... my guy's would love your Scrambler and from the look of your pic you would love the trails down here. We will also be in Harlan KY on April 10th thru the 12th if anyone is in the area and would like to come out and wheel with us.

 

Found a couple more pics......

 

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11282891985_c4a0f823b8_c.jpg

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  • 3 weeks later...

Yea that's mine.... that's my first trip out before IVY opened we were doing a pre-opening ride......... you'll find alot of our wheeling on Lee's site.... I'm heading down to a snow ride this weekend so I should have some pics to post.....

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This weekend's ride has been cancelled.... I guess too many felt that zero degrees is just too cold to ride..... Heck I was standing outside last night in the -10 degrees windchill working on my heater..... my fan has always made a little noise but after verifying the fuse was good I opened the hood and banged on it with a hammer.... seemed to do the trick at least in the short term..... deinately gonna need to get a new fan motor.

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They are some really great trails..... whitemanche..... as for the helmets Ivy is part of the Hatfield and McCoy trail system and helmets are required inside the park. Your yearly pass must be displayed on the left side of the helmet.

 

What is the point of a helmet if you don't strap it on and don't wear a seat belt?

 

Willy

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