My 1950 Willys Trail Rig

[netrachamp1853]

Thats next on my list I want a good tig welder, deff cant compare the beads you can lay down with one. I'll hafta stop up this weekend of I have time..My house is finally at 67 degrees under its own power haha.

[OWEN]

Still no sign of my Stak. A Fed Ex truck got hit by a train near my work the other day, maybe it was on there

Got some new (to me) tools this week to help make getting this thing done easier. Grabbed a Dewalt Dry Cut chopsaw the other night, cuts absolutely sick, blows abrasive saws out of the water

Also picked a TIG welder from a friend of mine who is moving... Its a Miller Maxstar 152 with a snap start, I ran a couple of beads with it and really like how it welds. So I am going to try to TIG as much as I can on the jeep now. It looks a lot cleaner and I really enjoy running a nice bead.

[OWEN]

Dear Owen,

Did you get this yet?


Your friend,
Chris

LOL nope, it is on a truck somewhere in the US, I thought I would have it by today, maybe tomorrow...

Also still waiting for the parts to fix the tube bender, so I guess my goal is to have the garage cleared out and the jeep in by the end of the weekend, maybe start removing the drivetrain if I have time.

[Customjob]

Dear Owen,

Did you get this yet?


Your friend,
Chris

[Henchman]

I like where this is going

[Ruepart Hoaxley]

This just got bookmarked.

[CumminsJeep]

HO...LY SHITBALLS. cant wait to see what you come up with!

[OWEN]

So I have has some time to mess with this here and there.

I dismounted my old tires and called A to Z fab (they make the weld-ons that I run) and talked to them about getting the beads to seal up better. They told me to use black silcone and apply it with a caulking gun, rather than bead sealer, and torque the bolts to 20 lb/ft. So I got the supplies and went to work. I also picked up some new washers and bolts to replace any of the ones that got really wrecked in the past year.

So far I have gotten 3 out of 4 tires mounted. Getting the inner beat over the rim is a bitch! These are the first new tires I have ever bought and man are they stiff. I also repainted the beadlock rings.




The tires are 14.5" wide, the rims are 7.25"

Well, so, it was nice out today today so I figured I'd dig the 20" or so of snow from around the jeep and yank the tarp off of it. I had a beer and another and started to think about what I wanted to do next, so I pulled out the fuel cell, rear tail lights, and all the wiring and lines from the back of the tub.



I put some tape on it so it looked like I knew what I was doing...


I was measuring off of the firewall for the lines on the sides of the tub. The old sheet metal inside the tub was all wrinkled and bent... overall tough to work with...

So I got rid of it all




I am a true web wheeler and I have been looking at a ton of "juggy" builds on pirate for inspiration and I am pretty happy with what I am left to work with here. Before, I was working around a lot of sheet metal to try to fit everything... now I can improve everything without compromise of trying to make it fit. Not to mention there is major gains in visability.

I decided while I was cutting, the center part of the front floor was a joke as well, and with the new drivetrain going in soon, I am going to need some room to work. So I cut it out also. This time I measured off the (uni)body mount bolts to make the lines and they came out pretty well, better on the drivers side.




Now I have a lot of work to do. My STak shipped last thursday, should see it tomorrow or Tuesday.

[OWEN]

Even minus half its head this thing looks badass.

How will the front end be set up after you cut off all the frame you mentioned? Maybe I just can't see in my head what you mean.

Lol I don't know exactly yet, I'll figure it out when I cut it off... Kinda the way I work... Well I was looking at it yesterday and I might cut forward of the radiator instead, and maybe extend the front axle forward another couple inches. Basically the goal is to make the front axle be able to move up without hitting anything. Links will be mounted to the frame behind the engine ( I am leaning toward a 4 link so I don't have to run a panhard) and the steering ram mounts directly to the axle. Air shocks will be mounted to the tube the runs underneath the grill I think or I'll make some hoops and cut the hood to clear them, I like how that looks.

[Riot]

this thing is nutty.

[Ruepart Hoaxley]

Even minus half its head this thing looks badass.

How will the front end be set up after you cut off all the frame you mentioned? Maybe I just can't see in my head what you mean.

[OWEN]

Worked on it a little more today, took out the power steering cooling dan and unbolted the fuel cell to make it easier to get the cage out. Also took the rear springs out to make it lower to make getting the cage out a little easier.
Full bump rear (current)


I'd like this to be the ride height when I am done with this round of mods.

Two of my buddies showed up and we proceeded to muscle the cage out and plop it next to the garage.

Naked



Next I am going to start cutting the rear sheet metal but I am going to wait until I can get the jeep in the garage.

I decided to give the bender some lovin'. Its always on this shifty cart and getting it on and off there by myself is dangerous. Going to add some casters to the chassis.

Also from all of my friends building cages with it the control cable is cut and spliced back together 3 or 4 times and the motor is mangled so I am going to fix all that crap so it is reliable and doesn't look like a rental.

Hopefully I can get it fixed up this week and by then my old tires will be sold, new ones mounted and I can get the jeep inside.

[OWEN]

Nice tires, give me a ring if you need a hand I'll be around for another week before I'm on the cruise.

Thanks, I probably need 1 or 2 people tomorrow to lift the cage out, maybe you'll hear from me.

Redesign...

Indeed, perhaps you could elaborate...

Well I have talked a little bit about it here but heres the rundown.

-Install the SM420 and STak transfer case.
-Move the drivetrain up, get everything tucked up a little better than before.
-Cut the frame off, forward of the front motor mounts, rear of the rear link mounts and run tube as to allow the axles more "uptravel"
-By changing the frame configuration I want to lower the jeep 4-6"
-4 link the front (might 3 link)
-Shave the 14 bolt with Ballistics Shave kit.
-Remove some sheet metal from behind the rear seat
-Install the PSC full hydro kit.
More as I go along

[Riot]

Redesign...

Indeed, perhaps you could elaborate...

[Ruepart Hoaxley]

Redesign...