86 trail rig build

[MJYeeYee]

    

 

I bought this truck about a year ago and the guy told me a whole list of issues that it had when they parked it 3 or 4 years before that. The price was cheap enough, and I was willing to take the risk. I had been wanting a jeep to build for only off-road use and thought this would be as good of a project as any. I started doing some research on the engine and drivetrain and come to find out that people were saying the 2.8L this jeep has is junk. That concerned me!! I also was not too pleased with the front Dana 30 and the rear Dana 35. So right from the start I knew I had a lot of work to do to make this into something awesome. Also a cow had ripped the driver-side door off and the PO had run into just about every tree and large rock they had on their farm so the bumpers and body panels were banged up pretty good.  

 

I will try to add as many pictures and explain what I did along the way. 

[MJYeeYee]

   

 

It is hard to tell from this picture, but one of the first things I did was take a Ford 9 in rear axle and swap out the Dana 35. It looks like doing the spring over the axle gave me somewhere around 4.5 inches of lift. I also put a door back on the driver's side. 

[MJYeeYee]

             

 

Here are the pictures from my front axle swap. The front and rear axles both came out of a 1979 150. The front axle is a Dana 44 which I thought would make a good replacement for the dana 30. For the rear axle I had to buy a new yoke to make the axle fit but for the front axle the yoke off of the dana 30 fit the 44. Other than the yokes the swap was fairly easy. I am putting a 3 link front suspension and 1-ton steering on as well. 

[Roper]

You've got a good project on your hands, loving the progress. All that garage space is nice too! :yes:

[MJYeeYee]

      

 

Time for an update!!! I was tired of it being brown and thought that black and red would be a nice change. I got my axles, suspension, and steering all ready to go. I have done some more work on it since these pictures were taken. Once I get a few more things done I will do another update. I am waiting for my winch to arrive and then I will finish my front bumper. I am also wanting to make a new air intake system and make things a little more water tight.