First time Willys owner, new project |
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Unkamonkey
Member Joined: 23 Mar. 2016 Location: Greeley CO Status: Offline Points: 2093 |
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Other than the lack of visibility out of the sides I think you did a fine job on it. I'm an old motorcycle rider so I like to see what's out there beside me?
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uncamonkey
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LesBerg
Member Joined: 09 Apr. 2014 Location: Athol, ID Status: Offline Points: 1554 |
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I still need to install windows in the sides and rear. There are a few flaps and straps that need to be added as well. This was a good spot to pause the construction and drive it though. Most everything is still just flat canvas and straps, so if I need to make a major change in the design for some reason, it'll b e fairly easy to do. I've already had to modify the attachment strap / rain flap design on the front roof. I'm going to run it for a couple more weeks to see if any design flaws pop up. If it seems good at that point, I'll add the straps, flaps, and windows. Edited by LesBerg - 08 Nov. 2016 at 3:48pm |
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1948 CJ2A 157713 24" Stretch "Old Ironsides"
1st Armored Div 6th Infantry Reg 3rd Infantry Bn Headquarters Company #161 rubigo in quo speramus - "In Rust we Trust" |
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Ynotayj
Member Joined: 08 Feb. 2017 Location: 27265 Status: Offline Points: 3 |
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Ok, so I've been reading your thread. Most of the ones I've read have a bazillion dollars in their Jeeps by the time their done. Your build is more my speed. I enjoyed reading about how you make things work. The canvas top is way cool and the job you did cleaning up the mess that was a funky stretch is amazing. A man on a budget building a Jeep, genius!
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Matt
JK YJ |
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pilot195
Member Joined: 29 Nov. 2016 Location: Washingtonville Status: Offline Points: 116 |
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LesBerg - I just started restoring a '46 a couple months ago, so poring over the forums to learn.... a big THANK YOU for taking time to share your story and your pictures -- pictures are worth a thousand words, no joke. Great work on your beast!!
Jim
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Jim
'46 Willys Jeep CJ-2A USAF retired |
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LesBerg
Member Joined: 09 Apr. 2014 Location: Athol, ID Status: Offline Points: 1554 |
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Thanks, guys.
Part of our tax return just came in and I'm getting ready to buy a bunch of critical parts... I'll post updates as I get good weather to get some work done. The current list is: *New radiator *replace front axle gear set *Replace the right rear axle flange *new brake lines from frame to axle (after the lift, they're too short) *fix the clutch problem - it sticks badly. I've discovered I need a custom fork available from Novak Adapters *patch the cracked engine block & install new freeze plugs *hope like hell it all goes right It's still a budget operation - a reproduction radiator is waaaaay out of my league at $700+. I'll be picking up an inexpensive aluminum unit for $135-$250 or so. I was initially planning on having the brake lines custom made, but I discovered that a 1970 Kaiser j2500 has the same ends and the hoses are about 4-6 inches longer. They run about $20 each locally. The clutch fork will run about $35 or so, and the engine repairs cost about $12 between the marine-grade JB Weld and the brass plugs. The axle flange will run about $60, but it is what it is. Edited by LesBerg - 09 Feb. 2017 at 10:52pm |
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1948 CJ2A 157713 24" Stretch "Old Ironsides"
1st Armored Div 6th Infantry Reg 3rd Infantry Bn Headquarters Company #161 rubigo in quo speramus - "In Rust we Trust" |
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LesBerg
Member Joined: 09 Apr. 2014 Location: Athol, ID Status: Offline Points: 1554 |
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Just a quick update:
The last of the snow finally melted off just last weekend. I pulled the motor a few weeks ago and found a 'yuge' set of problems. First, the pilot bushing had fallen out of the crank - pretty obvious issue. The question was 'why?'. The second issue, obviously related to the first, was that the hub in the clutch pressure disk was loose. Again, why? I did a bit of research and everything points to a crankshaft to input shaft alignment issue. I busted out the tools and checked it. Well, research says that 0.000" to 0.003" is optimum and 0.003" to 0.005" is acceptable. 0.005" to 0.010" will cause premature wear and should be corrected immediately. The rough translation of a measurement greater than 0.010" was "if you run it like this, it's going to fail and quickly. Prepare to J.E.E.P." Mine spec'ed in at 0.019". So now I've emptied every pocket - I've also checked the couch cushions and under the back seat of the car. I need a new clutch. I'm comfortable that this is the cause of the clutch/pilot failure. I picked up a set of 0.625" diameter .007" offset Summit Racing dowel pins. They weren't the cheapest, but they were the only ones that could be turned in the pin bore by something other than a flat screwdriver. These had 1/4" hex sockets. It took some work to get them in. Even though everything I could find said these were the right pins for an odd-fire Buick V6, they were too large. I should have bought the 0.622" diameter units. Anyway, to cut it short, I have the bellhousing centered to 0.002" now. I'm heading out to get started on the other stuff, as it's finally nice out at 47 degrees. I'm hoping to pick up a clutch next week. Edited by LesBerg - 23 Mar. 2017 at 8:10pm |
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1948 CJ2A 157713 24" Stretch "Old Ironsides"
1st Armored Div 6th Infantry Reg 3rd Infantry Bn Headquarters Company #161 rubigo in quo speramus - "In Rust we Trust" |
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LesBerg
Member Joined: 09 Apr. 2014 Location: Athol, ID Status: Offline Points: 1554 |
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Aaaand I just destroyed my brake drum.
everybody now!!! I forgot to brace the back of the drum when I tried to press the wheel studs out. |
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1948 CJ2A 157713 24" Stretch "Old Ironsides"
1st Armored Div 6th Infantry Reg 3rd Infantry Bn Headquarters Company #161 rubigo in quo speramus - "In Rust we Trust" |
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LesBerg
Member Joined: 09 Apr. 2014 Location: Athol, ID Status: Offline Points: 1554 |
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Another update:
I decided to go with the Suzuki Sidekick "small disk" brake upgrade on the front axle and move the best drum to the rear. I'm going to swap in the used gearset while I've got the axle torn down. At the moment, I'm waiting for the rain to stop so I can get back on it. Of course, I'm finding more stuff that needs to be replaced while doing this. While I haven't seen any symptoms, my passenger-side kingpin bearings are shot. They're going back in though, as I don't have the $100 to replace them. They are up next for replacement, though, as fast as I can make that happen. The hemisphere seals are toast on both side - another to-do item. This will be done as part of this maintenance run Both Bendix axle shafts have serious slop and need to be replaced. Given that I intend to use this rig hard off-road on logging roads, dirt tracks, and the back woods (not rock crawling or mudding), I really want Rzeppa axles. This will be a $500 hit though, so it's not likely to happen any time soon. QUESTION: It looks like I need to pull the inner axle shaft bushing to replace the axle seals. Will I need to replace the bushings as well just because I pull them? The DS seal is so bad there was CV grease down the axle all the way to the diff carrier.
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1948 CJ2A 157713 24" Stretch "Old Ironsides"
1st Armored Div 6th Infantry Reg 3rd Infantry Bn Headquarters Company #161 rubigo in quo speramus - "In Rust we Trust" |
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LesBerg
Member Joined: 09 Apr. 2014 Location: Athol, ID Status: Offline Points: 1554 |
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UPDATE:
Most of the parts have come in and are in the queue for installation. The front diff is on hold pending the arrival of a shim set from Walcks. The motor is ready to be reinstalled - The crack has been patched with marine JB Weld (pic tomorrow), new freeze plugs installed, new clutch, bell housing is on, all cleaned and repainted. The brake upgrade is mostly installed. I need to replace the axle bushings and install new axle-to-frame and axle-to-caliper lines. Once I have new Bendix axle bushings in, I'll wrap up the axle and brake install (after the diff, of course). Headers have been stripped, sanded, and painted again. They rusted like mad last fall even though I cleaned the crap out of them and painted them with header paint. If they start rusting again, I'll have to have them blasted and powder coated. Weather permitting, I'm hoping to get the motor reinstalled tomorrow, along with the steering, brake lines, and cooling system. Then it's just waiting on the shim pack to arrive. Once it's here, it's just a matter of getting the front diff set up and the front axle completely assembled and brakes installed and bled. Here's hopin'!
Edited by LesBerg - 01 May 2017 at 5:23am |
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1948 CJ2A 157713 24" Stretch "Old Ironsides"
1st Armored Div 6th Infantry Reg 3rd Infantry Bn Headquarters Company #161 rubigo in quo speramus - "In Rust we Trust" |
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LesBerg
Member Joined: 09 Apr. 2014 Location: Athol, ID Status: Offline Points: 1554 |
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The 'replace in the near future' list currently includes:
front axle shafts (Rzeppas, hopefully) speedometer windshield glass tailgate master cylinder rear brake 'small disk' conversion The 'I have to start looking for parts NOW' list: Dana 41 5.38 gearset On the horizon: engineer a 'one motor' wiper system with the motor on the passenger side windshield fab a 27 gallon center auxiliary fuel tank fab a two-tire, bumper-mounted, swing-away tire carrier (will need a new, extreme-duty bumper) fab a 50x70 roof rack and mounting system wet dream: CTIS - Central Tire Inflation System OMFG, this would be sooooo nice. Don't think it can be done on 'normal' axles, though. Oh! Fun parts in it's near future include a trio of IR headlights. One as a headlight with two more as area floodlights that will be eventually mounted on the roof rack, fore and aft. Why? So I can use them to drive into my favorite hunting spots at zero dark thirty in the morning with my Armasight Spark Core night vision! Note that any night vision driving will be done in first gear. Driving on mono-tube night vision can be dangerous - mono-tube night vision has NO depth perception! Okay, fine. I'm doing it because it would be neat, not because of utility.
Edited by LesBerg - 01 May 2017 at 5:37am |
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1948 CJ2A 157713 24" Stretch "Old Ironsides"
1st Armored Div 6th Infantry Reg 3rd Infantry Bn Headquarters Company #161 rubigo in quo speramus - "In Rust we Trust" |
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LesBerg
Member Joined: 09 Apr. 2014 Location: Athol, ID Status: Offline Points: 1554 |
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Well, after making sure about a half dozen or so times that I was ordering the right set of diff carrier shims, I ordered the pinion shims by mistake.
YAY! |
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1948 CJ2A 157713 24" Stretch "Old Ironsides"
1st Armored Div 6th Infantry Reg 3rd Infantry Bn Headquarters Company #161 rubigo in quo speramus - "In Rust we Trust" |
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LesBerg
Member Joined: 09 Apr. 2014 Location: Athol, ID Status: Offline Points: 1554 |
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A few pics:
The crack repair and new expansion plugs almost there and some fun The last one is a pic taken with my Surface tablet through my Armasight Core Spark nightvision monocular.
Edited by LesBerg - 05 May 2017 at 10:09pm |
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1948 CJ2A 157713 24" Stretch "Old Ironsides"
1st Armored Div 6th Infantry Reg 3rd Infantry Bn Headquarters Company #161 rubigo in quo speramus - "In Rust we Trust" |
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LesBerg
Member Joined: 09 Apr. 2014 Location: Athol, ID Status: Offline Points: 1554 |
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I'm getting really close to being on the road again.
All that's left at the moment is to get lube in the front axle, install front brake hoses and bleed the brakes, and hook up the exhaust. I'm hoping to have it on the road by Saturday, barring bad weather.
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1948 CJ2A 157713 24" Stretch "Old Ironsides"
1st Armored Div 6th Infantry Reg 3rd Infantry Bn Headquarters Company #161 rubigo in quo speramus - "In Rust we Trust" |
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LesBerg
Member Joined: 09 Apr. 2014 Location: Athol, ID Status: Offline Points: 1554 |
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The front gearset is in and set up with greatly appreciated help from SE Kansas. Thank you for lending your expertise.
There's still more play at the yoke than I'd like, but the bulk of this is actually in the 'spider' gears. They should be shimmed to .006" but I can't find the necessary shims to save my life. They're slopping around at about .014". The gearset has a good pattern and the backlash is at 0.011", which is in the acceptable range for a used set. Everything has been cleaned up and sealed, and more work is on the radar. The front axle still needs new axle shafts, bushings, and kingpin bearings, but they're just not in the budget. Next up is to pull the canvas top and finish it up. I need to add windows to the side and rear curtains, side curtain-to-tub straps, straps for rolling the sides up, and a solution to keep water from surging forward from the rear roof under the front roof, and onto me. Gotta get that fixed. It's NOT fun to hit the brakes and get cold water down the back of your shirt. I've also been considering my seats. I like the original seats, my wife doesn't. She says they're comfortable enough, but there's nothing to keep you from sliding off. She prefers a bolstered seat to a flat one. I had been considering chopping up my spare driver seat and converting it to a passenger seat, but if I want her to ride in this thing it needs to be comfortable for her. We're still working to get her shoulder fixed from the car accident a couple years back, so 'hanging-on-for-dear-life' really isn't the way to approach it. So now I'm looking at the Smittybilt low-back bucket seats: They're similar enough to the original seats to maintain the feel of the jeep, but should be more up to the task of being securely bolted and fitted with restraints. If I go this way, I'll have a couple of drivers' seat frames for sale and a pair of BMW buckets on custom CJ2A frames with sliders as well. The BMW seats don't look the part in a 2A, but if you want a crazy comfortable trail seat they're hard to beat. Anyway, I need to get out there and get to work on this thing. Catch you later, Les
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1948 CJ2A 157713 24" Stretch "Old Ironsides"
1st Armored Div 6th Infantry Reg 3rd Infantry Bn Headquarters Company #161 rubigo in quo speramus - "In Rust we Trust" |
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smfulle
Member Sponsor Member Joined: 16 Sep. 2010 Location: Ogden, Utah Status: Offline Points: 6141 |
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Hey Les,
Glad to here that Old Ironsides is close to hitting the road again. You're probably past this, but I have found that you can order just about any size of shim you might need from Amazon. Measure your inside opening diameter and the outside diameter that you need and do a search on "arbor shims". They have all kinds of assortments with various thicknesses. |
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Stev
Member Sponsor Member Joined: 27 July 2016 Location: Cincinnati Status: Offline Points: 2384 |
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Les,
Great work. Some ideas after reading your latest posts. 1. When you add the side windows - you could add an internal shade like they put on modern military tops so you can close off the light or for privacy if you want. The canvas you remove to add the window would work if you add a border edge to it. Just sew them along the top edge of your new window and add some Velcro at the bottom to hold them closed and some at the top to hold them open out of the way - or tuck them up under the top frame. 2. If you can find a set of use Rzeppa axles there are rebuild kits out there for less than $40. The rebuild is pretty straight forward. 3. I added an arm rest to my passenger seat so my passenger has something to anchor themselves too. My girls seem to approve. I got the idea from another Willys off-roader. I can post a picture if you would like to see it. The low back seat you are considering look nice.
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Stev
1946 CJ2A Trail Jeep (The Saint), 1948 CJ2A Lefty Restored |
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LesBerg
Member Joined: 09 Apr. 2014 Location: Athol, ID Status: Offline Points: 1554 |
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It hadn't even occurred to me. I got hung up in looking for D25 specific parts. I'll check it out. Thanks!
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1948 CJ2A 157713 24" Stretch "Old Ironsides"
1st Armored Div 6th Infantry Reg 3rd Infantry Bn Headquarters Company #161 rubigo in quo speramus - "In Rust we Trust" |
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LesBerg
Member Joined: 09 Apr. 2014 Location: Athol, ID Status: Offline Points: 1554 |
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The shades are an excellent idea! I'll have to make up a set for my skylights over the front seats too. Once again, I hadn't thought to look for used Rzeppa axles. I knew they were rebuildable, but it hadn't occurred to me to try to pick them up used. I'll start digging, for the axles and kits, as these are the axles I want to use. I just have a problem with the $500 price tag. I'd love to see a pic of the arm rests. You do some innovative work - you're the guy who designed the 'bat-wing' canvas doors, aren't you? Those are amazing.
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1948 CJ2A 157713 24" Stretch "Old Ironsides"
1st Armored Div 6th Infantry Reg 3rd Infantry Bn Headquarters Company #161 rubigo in quo speramus - "In Rust we Trust" |
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