Jeep and off-road stuff...

[cgraham1]

I’m currently in the process of rebuilding (and upgrading) my ‘84 CJ-7, and after derailing another thread , I thought maybe we should just have a thread dedicated to Jeep and 4x4 stuff. So...

 

[cgraham1]

Anyways, here’s my Jeep that I bought almost 20 yrs ago... at least what it looked like the last time it was actually driveable.



It was basically all stock. 258 I-6, T-5 trans, Dana 300, AMC 20/Dana 30 w/ 3.31 axle gears.

 

[cgraham1]

I decided that I would jump start the build by pulling all the drivetrain and suspension out, and selling it off... that was probably 4 yrs ago.

Since then I’ve kinda let it fall into a pretty sad state...

 

[cgraham1]

But I have been gathering parts for the build.

Dynatrac ProRock 60 w/ 4.56 gears & ARB air locker. Guy bought it for a project but never used it.



Dodge NV4500 w/ Chevy input and 23 spline output (to mate directly to my stock Dana 300).



It came with the adapter for using an AMC engine (original plan was a 4.0 from a newer Wrangler), but I came across this (supposedly LT-1) for basically free...



Turns out it was a 305 from an ‘85 Camaro... but I was able to sell it and make a few bucks, so I was back to square one, looking for a 4.0.

 

[cgraham1]

Bought a used 4.0 for $600, but ended up having a low mile Ls1 from a 2002 Camaro fall into my lap. Paid $1200 for it, and sold the 4.0 for $800...

Got a free Chevy Dana 44 and a cheap Detroit TruTrac, ordered up some 4.56 gears, and decided to cut it down myself to match the rear, which is 60” wide...





Was gonna run leafs with a springover, but I’m seriously considering a three link and coilovers now. I’ll probably have a buddy who has a shop here locally do the fab work on the front suspension.

I’m trying to figure out the brakes now, as well.
@Bigmac has shared a lot of info in another thread, which I will copy and paste over here.

 

[cgraham1]

Before anyone suggests it, I just don’t need a front Dana 60 for what I’m doing. I am gonna run RCV axles, a TruTrac (not a full locker) and 37” tires. RCVs are guaranteed up to 40” tires.

Just as an FYI, the 3/4 ton Chevy calipers have a larger piston in them, it can be nice for tuning brakes, and they are interchangeable

So I can drop the 3/4 caliper on a half ton front axle?

Yes, the pads are differen tho

You may or may not want the swap, the bigger the piston The petal travels farther. And increaseing master cylinder size makes it harder to push the pedal, needing a larger booster.I am running half ton calipers on 3/4 ton rotors for my rear disk swap on the blazer.

Yeah I definitely need to figure out the brakes. The rear has discs with built in parking brakes, but I’m not sure what vehicle they’re based off of. The fronts are just Chevy 1/2 ton with Ford hubs and rotors...

It’s always just had the stock Jeep manual brakes, but I bought a kit a while back to make it power brakes (IIRC it’s a Corvette master cylinder ?), but it’s not installed yet.

You probably have eldarado/79-80 z28 rear calipers if it’s got built in parking brakes and gm based. I am a fan of manual breaks if you can get the correct set up! You could probably come close to retaining the Jeep master cylinder if you used the wilwood d52 twin piston calibers. 1/2 ton gm front calipers are usually happy with an 1-1/16 master with a vacuum booster, the “Corvette” master cylinder is a style that is usually used for disk/disk applications, they came in many different sizes. The other consideration is a Proportioning valve, some have a residual valve used on drum breaks to hold about 6psi line pressure. You will want an aftermarket proportioning valve like one from summit that has a dial to reduce rear brake so you can tune front/rear Bias. My 68 camaro is using 2005 corvette rotors and calipers front and back, it is perfectly balanced without a propositioning valve(even though I have a tunable one) and a 7/8 willwood master cylinder, this is manual, not power

 

[cgraham1]

Just can’t decide if I need the dual piston Wilwood calipers with dual 1.25” pistons, or dual 2” pistons... @Bigmac ??

 

[Stevetheboatguy]

Before anyone suggests it, I just don’t need a front Dana 60 for what I’m doing. I am gonna run RCV axles, a TruTrac (not a full locker) and 37” tires. RCVs are guaranteed up to 40” tires.

Just can’t decide if I need the dual piston Wilwood calipers with dual 1.25” pistons, or dual 2” pistons... @Bigmac ??

What kind of wheel clearance will you have with the 2"?

Personally I like 15-16" rims. Don't know what the big trend is in the off road world right now, I've been out of it for 10 years.


Steven

 

[cgraham1]

What kind of wheel clearance will you have with the 2"?

Personally I like 15-16" rims. Don't know what the big trend is in the off road world right now, I've been out of it for 10 years.


Steven

I don’t know. I currently have a set of 15” aluminum wheels with 37” Super Swamper radials. If I have to run 17” wheels and more streetable tires, I’m fine with that.

 

[cgraham1]

The calipers I’m looking at are bolt on replacement for stock GM 1/2 ton, just with dual piston instead of one large piston.

Option 1



Option 2



The 2nd one is 2.5 times more piston area. I just don’t know if that’s necessary or not. Stock GM brakes would probably be fine, so I’m not sure how these compare to stock.

 

[Steve]

I’m currently in the process of rebuilding (and upgrading) my ‘84 CJ-7, and after derailing another thread , I thought maybe we should just have a thread dedicated to Jeep and 4x4 stuff. So...

You shared pictures in there so i say no foul!


Ready to see some fabrication!!

 

[usmcbuckwild]

Do yourself a favor and sell that LT4 to someone with an old Camaro and do an LS swap. Same amount of ‘work’ and much better results with cheaper parts and better trans options.

I ran a ‘91 YJ with 350/700r4/231, 8.8 rear, D30hp/44 hybrid front and 38” TSLs with no issue. 6” spring over conversion was plenty for the 38s.

 

[Steve Billak]

Nice jeep, honestly with a small jeep and stock 1/2 ton brakes you should have no problem stopping 37s. I run a 4 door s10 blazer on a Dana 44 and ford 8.8. I've had 33s up to 37s now and have no problem stopping.


By the way my truck weighs 4000+ puonds

 

[cgraham1]

Bought some more parts today. Looked for used Ford parts, but they just aren’t as plentiful as they once were. Oh well, at least everything will be new.

 

[Steve Billak]

Bought some more parts today. Looked for used Ford parts, but they just aren’t as plentiful as they once were. Oh well, at least everything will be new.

View attachment 156702 View attachment 156703 View attachment 156704

Look at you being all fancy with new parts. My pig was built with junk yard stuff

 

[Steve Billak]

This is my 4x4. Think I was on 36" swampers here

 

[cgraham1]

Look at you being all fancy with new parts. My pig was built with junk yard stuff

I’ve been searching for used stuff, but I’m not having any luck... and my overall lack of free time makes it easier to justify buying new stuff.

 

[cgraham1]

Do yourself a favor and sell that LT4 to someone with an old Camaro and do an LS swap. Same amount of ‘work’ and much better results with cheaper parts and better trans options.

Sold it to a guy who put it in his boat, and actually made a few hundred bucks off that deal...

Then I got a sweet deal on a low mile all-aluminum 5.7 Ls1, so that’s what is going in it now. Should have all the parts now (as soon as my harness and computer get back from being reworked) to drop the engine in. 350 hp should make things interesting.

But I need to get the axles and suspension in there first.

 

[Bigmac]

Just can’t decide if I need the dual piston Wilwood calipers with dual 1.25” pistons, or dual 2” pistons... @Bigmac ??

I can do some calculations for you, what size rotor are you goning to use and how much is it going to weigh?

 

[cgraham1]

I can do some calculations for you, what size rotor are you going to use and how much is it going to weigh?

The Jeep should be under 4000 lbs. The rotors are stock F-150 parts.