Norcal69's Common Sense Build.

I got 1.595 across the holes (measured in bad light with fogged up reading glasses)

I wonder if I had the one Norcal 69 needed all along. Could have swapped.

 

Gotta ask, how do these u-bolts work with the double cardan CV yoke? Aren't the holes in the yoke threaded and the double cardan joint bolted to the yoke? Drill out the threads in the yoke? On the back side of the yoke bolt holes, do you machine that surface so the u-bolt nuts fit and have a seating surface?

 

there is no thread inside the yoke....thread are on the drive-shaft side.

 

It will be a few days before my drive shaft is ready. I started working on the new 11" rear brakes are equipped with e brake provisions.
I picked up a forklift brake lever on ebay. The cable is a front cable for a cj7 as well as the equalizer. The brake lever will be mounted in between the seats and the cable will come in through the floor riser. To activate the brake the lever will fold flat towards the floor. I chose this mount as it should be hard for children and dogs to accidentally release.

Future location.



Robbed a clevis off of a junk clutch cable.




Drilled a hole and cut a slot for the cable to connect.



Cable mocked up in the brake lever.



Equalizer from the cj7. I didn't realize that the hole for the front cable was offset. Not perfect, crisis averted......

 

E brake is basically done. The handle assembly bolts to the rear floor riser and the floor board. It is very solid. I am thinking that I will make some sort of top cover to keep odds and ends from falling in and jamming it up. Of course everything needs to be disassembled, painted and installed with lock nuts.







This tab is welded to the cross member just in front of the axle to retain the adjuster end of the front cable.




Proof that I can make a decent weld on this frame.......... I had to remove some of my protective layer.......




Axle cable retainer. I still need to come up with a snap ring to hold them in place.





Working e brake.........

 

Final parts list.
Forklift e brake handle- ebay
76- 83 cj7 front e brake cable
76-83 cj7 brake equalizer bracket
72-75 cj5 e brake cables (2)
Clevis, removed from an old clutch cable or easily fabricated

Disassembled, painted and installed.... Fuel tank selector valve needed modified but I think I made is pretty clear what is what.........

 

With the up hill angle required for the cv drive shaft, I was concerned about starving the pinion bearing of oil. I added a second/higher fill point to solve that issue.

 

I am finding excuses for not starting the transmission tunnel sheet metal. I finally got some proper reverse lights installed. Now I just need some real tailgate chains.

 

Looking great

 

Kyle I have a set of chains with hooks they are yours if you want them.

 

Time for shock mounts. With the U bolt flip, I no longer have spring plates for the lower shock mounts. I ordered these from WFO concepts.

 

Pm sent

 

Just a heads up, with the spring eye placed in that orientation on a flexy setup, the amount of twist available in the shock bushing is usually less than what the suspension can offer, and can snap the shock eyes off. If it is spun 90°, the twist is taken up in the natural radial motion of the bolt, rather than the bushing.

 

That never donned on me...... I have the front mounts tacked on already. Looks like this is another excuse to put the jeep on the forklift and see how bad the bushings bind....... wouldn't be too hard to weld a nut into my current brackets to rotate the shock 90.

 

I should also add that I changed my shock bushings from 1-1/4" wide flat bushings to 1-1/2" wide hourglass shape. The hourglass bushings picked me up considerably more range of motion over the old flat ones.

 

The rear shocks won't be affected by the angle issue as badly as the fronts, since the rears are angled. The angle will allow the shock to use up some of the flex in a twisting motion.

 

[QUOTE="Norcal69, post: 1476659, member: 81687" I added a second/higher fill point to solve that issue.

[/QUOTE]

I have an aftermarket cover with a slightly higher fill plug. Filled it up, next day had a nice puddle. My tapered 44 has a factory pinhole in the long side tube. It's now closed and I added a vent to the cover....

 

Front shock mounts are tacked in place. I am hesitant to fully weld them until I flex test with the forklift and test drive. Once welded on and gusseted they will be a major pita to remove.
I should start by saying that I had an entire summit box worth of cardboard scraps on the floor before I was satisfied with the mock up. Started with some rear axle shock brackets from Ruff stuff and some 1/4" wall 2"x2" box tubing.



Sitting at ride height. Wheels turned all the way to the left to ensure that the shock mounting will not interfere with the drag link. Space is tight already..... sway bar will make it even tighter......




Lower shock mounts from WFO. I slimmed them down just a bit for clearance on the back of the shock.



Space is tight but there is plenty of room for the shock to move.




Before everything is all done there will be a triangular gusset on the leading edge of the shock tower. The gusset will diagonal to the radiator cross member.



From the engine compartment.



Full droop, well natural full droop. I can get the axle lower but the leaves start to splay. Camera seems to have focused on the hub rather than the shock.



Now all I have to do is try to recreate the same thing on the passenger side......

 

Finished up the passenger side last night. This was an opportunity to clean up some of the PO's work on the inner fender. The picture doesn't really show just how bad it really was. I think this was cut out with a can opener.....



Came out pretty close to the drivers side, needs a little cleanup with a sanding disc.



Now for clearance testing. At far extreme angles things get close, but no contact...





I check every angle with the tires in every position. Right side up wheels turned both left and right, right side down wheels turned left and right. Repeat for the left side. I also checked for contact for what would be an extreme braking situation by pushing down on the front frame. The tires would skid before I was able to get this much straight down travel. I checked this with the wheels turned each direction and found no shock contact.



Full compression straight down. Sorry for the blurry pic.....



Tonight I will move to the rear shocks. I picked up some weld on axle brackets that should help stand the shock up a bit more.

 

Looks great!

The only strange thing I see... Your forklift has power-down?