CJ-8 Axle Swap, Lift, Quasi-Restoration

Getting very close....

2009-12-07T22:18:00.003-06:00

IT RUNS!

2009-11-08T21:19:00.002-06:00

Quick Status Update

2009-05-17T08:01:00.002-06:00

How she sits right now:

Shots in the driveway

2008-12-21T22:45:00.004-06:00

Finally a clear day today after about two weeks of rain. Perfect for taking pictures of a 1981 Jeep Scrambler with a fresh coat of Eleanor Grey paint! NICE.

And a few height comparisons inside the garage tonight:

Tub and Frame Reunited!

2008-12-20T00:15:00.004-06:00

Long day, more updates to do filling many missing gaps but for right now, here are the latest pictures:

Body Progress

2008-12-16T23:51:00.002-06:00

Just a real quick update, these pictures came from Todd and his visit out to Ricky's last week.
Man it looks sweet! Body has color now and Ricky is working on the final touches to it before I head out there with the frame later on this week.

Engine Officially In

2008-12-09T23:42:00.002-06:00

I really couldn't say the engine was truly in until tonight once I got it mated with the transmission. It took a little work but finally got it in. The front output shaft on the transmission has two keys in it and they have to line up with two notches in the torque converter along with the splines along the output shaft and inside the torque converter. Basically, all of the planets have to be in line.

Driveshafts go in next and then plumbing fuel and brake lines, tub goes back on, wiring, crank....it'll all be just that easy. He..he..he......

ENGINE IS IN....

2008-12-08T00:28:00.001-06:00

...well, sort of. Still need to mate it up to the transmission but it's bolted in to the motor mounts. SWEET! I've got other updates to post showing what transpired to get to this point but for now - engine is in.

AMC Blue and Valve Covers

2008-12-06T00:11:00.001-06:00

Just a quick pic to show the current status.
I'll come back and add a few post in between showing what steps it took to get to this point including the installation of the oil pickup, dipstick tube, gaskets, oil pan, prep, primer, and painting.

Oil Pump

2008-12-05T23:57:00.003-06:00

The AMC V8 oil pump has steel gears but an aluminum housing. The gears eventually wear into the filter portion of the housing which can lead to low oil pressures as the aluminum wears down. Bulltear makes what they call a mid plate that is made of steel that sandwiches between the gears and the aluminum filter housing to alleviate this problem. The gears came with the engine from Grooms in Nashville and were made by Melling.

Timing Cover

2008-11-24T23:42:00.003-06:00

Timing cover went on this evening without a hitch. Timing cover has to go on before the oil pan due to how the gaskets line up. Hopefully I can get the oil pan on tomorrow evening.

Distributor Gears

2008-11-24T23:34:00.008-06:00

This timing gear set came from Bulltear. It's a good idea to get a matching set because if you wind up with a cam from one manufacturer and a distributor from another, gears more than likely will not be the exact same metal and one will simply chew up the other one. The oil slinger is also important and commonly forgotten when re-installing things. It is attached to the end of the crank.

Transmission & T-case Back In

2008-11-13T23:06:00.001-06:00

Evapo-Rust

2008-11-11T23:12:00.004-06:00

I saw a little segment on this stuff on a 4wd show on TV a few weeks back and just had to try it. I figured this pile of rusty bolts that came off the body (and may be re-used) would be a good test. All you do is soak whatever you want de-rusted and then rinse with tap water. Simple. I'm impressed. Decide for yourself.

Original Frame

2008-11-11T22:59:00.002-06:00

The original frame was loaded on the trailer to be hauled to Birmingham for a guy who sees hope for it. Now that it's completely stripped down, it should be much easier to work on.

Transmission and Transfer Case Cleanup

2008-11-04T01:01:00.002-06:00

MORE Bombproof Mounts

2008-11-04T00:56:00.004-06:00

Gas tank and skid plates installed over the weekend

2008-11-04T00:44:00.003-06:00

Body Work

2008-10-20T21:40:00.003-06:00

Work in progress, not complete, but in progress at the body shop. (Shanyefelt Painting and Sandblasting)

Picked up a few parts from Ricky Shaneyfelt

2008-10-20T21:26:00.002-06:00

I love this paint he used on the Transmission skid plate.
Looks similar to the half cab paint.

Pictures of the original frame sans body

2008-10-20T21:22:00.001-06:00

Here is a link to pictures of the original frame both before and after the tub was removed.

Valve Covers

2008-10-18T13:55:00.002-06:00

...came in from Bulltear - the company where many of the vital engine components are coming from. They are made by Edelbrock and look great. Air cleaner will likely match the valve covers later on.

Paint Color

2008-10-18T13:34:00.004-06:00

While at Shaneyfelt's, I took some spy shots of an "Eleanor" project Ricky is working on for one of his other customers. The Scrambler is going to be painted the same color. The name "Eleanor" comes from a movie car made famous by the 2000 film "Gone In Sixty Seconds" with Nicholas Cage.

Very nice choice Todd! First two shots are mine, third is a web grab from this site with many more shots of the famous car.

Tub Delivery To Body Shop

2008-10-18T13:30:00.001-06:00

The tub was delivered to Shaneyfelt Painting & Sandblasting in Owens Crossroads, AL on September 2, 2008. Ricky Shaneyfelt is the guy operating the tractor. He's our body shop guy.

Tub Stripping

2008-10-18T13:19:00.004-06:00

There is an unbelievable amount of stuff attached to the firewall of a Jeep CJ. Never realized it until I started stripping this one down for the body shop. This was all done August 31, 2008.

Tub Removal

2008-10-18T12:33:00.005-06:00

With some help from some loyal Rocket City Rock Crawlers, the tub came off the original frame on August 30, 2008.

Sway Bar

2008-10-17T22:24:00.005-06:00

Mounted the sway bar with new bushings and disconnects from Rubicon Express kit.

Warn Hubs

2008-10-17T22:22:00.001-06:00

Hubs added.

AMC 360 From Grooms Engines

2008-10-17T22:15:00.003-06:00

Wow, so much has happened since the last post I made back in March. I've fallen behind in updating the blog. Probably the first thing that should be mentioned is that the deal that Grooms Engines offers in Nashville was just too good to beat - warranty was a big part of that so we went with a rebuilt AMC 360 from them rather than having J (my Brother-in-law) do it. Here is a shot of the engine from Grooms.

AMC 360

2008-03-18T21:57:00.002-06:00

My brother-in-law will be building the AMC 360 that will go in the Scrambler. We hauled it to Birmingham this past weekend for him to start working on while I continue on the chassis.

In The Driveway

2008-02-28T23:06:00.008-06:00

Shortening U-Bolts To Make Them Flush With The Bottom Of The Spring Plates

2008-02-28T22:56:00.010-06:00

Spring Pin Issues

2008-02-28T22:52:00.008-06:00

Rubicon Express 2.5" Lift Install

2008-02-28T22:41:00.012-06:00

Rear AMC 20 Yukon 1 Piece Axles and a Detroit

2008-02-27T22:50:00.009-06:00

This fluid looked great! Gotta give my Dad some credit here, he had the ingenious idea of drilling and tapping a hole for a drain plug between the vertical ribs on the underside of the housing in the 20. He just tapped the hole out for a 1/4" allen plug and it is totally protected by the ribs in the housing. Makes fluid changes a breeze now. Shouldn't even have to remove the cover unless it's leaking.

Bit of a tie rod upgrade

2008-02-27T22:38:00.005-06:00

This tie rod is a bit of an improvement over the stocker. Drag link will follow suit. Best alignment I could do at the moment using a tape measure and a measurement from front outside of one disk to the other and then back outside of one disk to the other. Will do for now.

Front Fluid Changed

2008-02-27T22:32:00.003-06:00

This process sure is easier when it isn't under the Jeep.

I Hate Torx

2008-02-27T22:06:00.002-06:00

These attach the front calipers to the knuckles. They will be replaced with a standard fastener. Got lucky on this one. PB Blaster saved the day once again.....

Bearings and Seals

2008-02-27T21:48:00.028-06:00

Ball Joints

2008-02-25T22:05:00.013-06:00

Cleaning And Painting Axles

2008-02-25T21:58:00.004-06:00

Pulling donor widetrack axles

2007-12-10T23:24:00.000-06:00

Hauling from Franklin, TN

2007-12-10T23:12:00.000-06:00

This shot was taken at a parking area off I-65 in Tennessee. Uncle Eddie (Of Nat'l Lampoon's Christmas Vacation Fame) just had to pull into my shot just as I was taking the picture. What do ya do? "Clarke, now that there is an AARRRVeeeeee!"

Rivet removal and spring hanger installation

2007-12-10T22:58:00.001-06:00

Just used an angle grinder to remove the rivet head. I then used a punch and a hammer to knock the rivet out.

PARTS!

2007-11-25T23:02:00.001-06:00

Frame After Paint

2007-07-31T21:13:00.000-06:00

The back half of the frame sure looks better now then when we first got it. Factory fresh.

After Blasting Before Paint

2007-07-31T21:08:00.001-06:00

Apparently the frame was built in December of 1980.

New Rear Crossmember Welded On

2007-07-23T21:26:00.001-06:00

This is one of my first welds ever. I'm kinda proud.
Jeremy welded these inside of the rear crossmember as they were a little harder to get to.

Post Oxy-Acetylene

2007-04-10T08:05:00.000-06:00

Driver's side rear frame rail all cleaned up.

Inside passenger side rear frame rail before removing tow hook.

Inside driver's side rear frame rail after removing tow hook.

Passenger side rear straight frame rail.

Driver's side rear straight frame rail.

Blue Wrench Cutting

2007-04-10T07:46:00.000-06:00

First cut.

"Washing"

It looks like the sparks are hitting the grill of our WJ but it is just the camera angle- Jeep was further away than it appears. - Trick photography.

Finished cut.

Grinding away the excess.

Rear Crossmember Problems

2007-04-10T07:31:00.000-06:00

The rear crossmember is coming off. It is bent and was welded on poorly.

You can see the bend in this picture.

Another angle showing the bend.

Porosity visible in this weld.

New Frame Pictures

2007-03-20T21:37:00.000-06:00

Yep, you heard right, new frame. Todd came across a used '81 frame in great shape over in Cumming, GA so I drove down from Huntsville to take a look at it with a trailer in case it looked as good as it was described. Description was accurate - it looked great. Only signs of rust were in the usual spots on the body mount tabs. Nothing major though. Just some minor pitting. It has been painted but it appears that some kind of undercoating or bedliner material was left on prior to paint so it has a funny texture to it and we're not too sure how well it was prepped prior to paint. We are considering getting it media blasted and repainted just so we have a good base to work with. It's like I told Todd, this is probably the last time for quite a while, if ever, that this frame is this bare and accessible, better do this now or you'll kick yourself later. So the next step is finding a suitable media blaster locally - preferably one who can at least prime it too. From there, we can order the lift kit and I can pull my axles that are going under it and hang them on springs whenever they come in. Then, we'll have a rolling chassis to start swapping everything else over onto it.

Preliminary Pictures

2006-12-31T14:32:00.000-06:00

Big Texas style rear bumper - you could land this thing on an aircraft carrier.

Unusual plates welded along the front passenger side frame rail

Rear hanger of front passenger side spring

Front hanger of rear passenger side spring. Wierd stuff going on here.

Rear shackle of passenger side rear spring. Can't buy this on from Quadratec!

Probably the biggest area of concern is here - the rear spring hanger of the drivers side rear spring. The frame is actually bent downward aft of this point. The hanger is bolted to a poorly welded plate in a way that when the spring is under compression, the home-built shackle actually contacts one of the bolts attaching the hanger to the plate. This really needs to be fixed.

Another angle of that same drivers side rear hanger. The plate wasn't even welded to the frame level. See how crooked the spring and shackle are.

Same story on the drivers side rear spring. This is the front hanger of that spring.

Rear hanger of front drivers side spring

This shot shows some ugly work with the torch where they burned through the frame some. May be the remnants of some kind of winch plate or some other kind of bumper reinforcement.

This last one just shows the shackle reversal setup in the front

The Plan

2006-12-28T19:33:00.000-06:00

The goal here is to swap a set of 1982 CJ-8 wide-track axles under a 1981 CJ-8 that currently has narrow-track axles. In the process, some decisions need to be made and some problems made right for it to work and keep on working. The first decision that needs to be made is what lift to use. This has three parts; width of springs, manufacturer of springs / lift kit, and height of the lift. The last one - height might have already been determined (probably going to be a 2 1/2" lift) The width of springs may too be 2 1/2" which is what the Jeep YJ's all came with. These are known for better ride quality and flex. The manufacturer of the lift kit is still to be determined. This will determine how many additional parts need to be purchased outside of the kit. It has been determined that the spring hangers may all need to go as they are, as some might put it, ghetto-fabulous! Some real weird engineering went into the design of them. Pictures to come! Once off, they will need to be replaced with new ones either CJ spring width or 2 1/2" to accommodate the wider YJ style springs. Shocks will also need to be considered if not in the kit as will longer brake lines and shims to correct the axle geometry. With just a 2 1/2 inch lift, new driveshafts will probably not be required but that will need to be explored just to be safe. Beyond that - the front steering components will need to be corrected as there is a great deal of play in them right now in the current home of the axles - my 1982 Jeep Scrambler.