71 Wheeling Rig

I just realized I hit a milestone of sorts. Removing the last of the wire nuts last night completed going through the Jeep and fixing all the stuff that was wrong/bad/broken. It took a year and a half to get there but it should be a pretty reliable rig now.

All the stuff done/fixed:

• Switched to electronic ignition and fixed the vacuum and centrifugal advance
• Set the Edelbrock carburetor up for off road use
• Installed carburetor heat shield to help with heat-soaked starts
• Changed the leaky valve cover gaskets
• Installed appropriate sized radiator and fan so it doesn't overheat at low speed
• Fixed the heater
• Fixed the horn
• Fixed the windshield washers
• Fixed all the Bubba wiring
• Replaced the rock hard lift springs that would shake your teeth out (which also fixed the rear driveline vibration)
• Fixed the clutch linkage so it's not riding on the throwout bearing 100% of the time
• Fixed the parking brake
• Replaced the wonky power steering hoses
• Got a spare tire

Now it's off to actual improvements like:

• Rebuilt truck 4sp, rebuilt D18, Warn overdrive
• Front D44 (most likely with Ford/Chevy style internal hubs)
• Changing to 4.88 (or 4.56) gears with selectable lockers
• Onboard air
• Front disk and 11" rear drum brakes
• Roll cage tied to the frame
• Rear tire/fuel rack
• Winch
• Tow hooks
• Better tucked up exhaust
  
• Rocker protection (probably tied to the roll cage mounts)
• Skid plates
• Rewiring with an actual fuse box
• Switching to a hot-rod style steering column and adjusting the angle higher

Maybe another two years worth? Probably more?

 

Are you rerouting your primary winch wires?

 

Na.... I was just hooking up a lil shocker anti theft device....

 

I did this exact same thing for my 71". The lower ones were way too hard to access when the Jeep was loaded. I ended up mounting them to the fender well on top and they worked great. Just my $.02.

 

Got 8 tie-down anchors in the back tonight.

Because I can't seem to do anything the easy way I made backing plates for the anchors. It just seemed like a better setup than some big washers on the back.

I had some 1"x3/16" bar stock I cut to length with the chop saw:


Used one of the anchors to center punch the hole location:


Drilled 4 at a time:


Threaded all 16 holes with a tap. That was tedious :


Deburred, corners radiused and degreased with acetone:


Some paint. I used the heat gun to get the Rustoleum to dry faster because I really wanted to finish this tonight:


Drilling holes in a really solid tub. I would line the bracket up where I wanted it, drill the first hole, then put a screw through it to hold it in place as a guide for the second hole. That way the spacing as corect:


Uppers and lowers installed:


Had to cut holes in the mat for the rear lowers:


This is what the anchors look like on the back side. They should be pretty stout:


For trips like Tillamook, the plan is to strap the spare in like this. Until I get a rack built some day in the distant future:


This leaves room for the toolbox, cooler, water jug, ...etc next to the tire. I'll strap them down with this net and straps across the lower anchors:


I'm out of straps though. I need to buy some more tomorrow.

 

Desert racing and sand rail shops sell ratchet straps for offroad tires. Might be safer and cleaner solution than those thin generic straps and they aren't expensive.

Heres an example Boxer Tire Tie Downs 2" Twisted Hook Black Ratchet Strap Fully Adjustable For Tires Up To 39" x 13.5 - Kartek Off-Road

 

Thanks! That's perfect. I've got one ordered.

 

Had a pretty successful day out in the Jeep with ITLKSEZ today: Follow Spot

Overall the Jeep did great. It drove well on the highway portions and the offroad stuff. We didn't do any really serious offroading, but the BDS springs are worlds above the ProComps on the other Jeep.

Things that showed up today to fix before Tillamook:

- Right rear brake light not working. It was the other night. Need to check and see if it's my wiring or the bulb.

- There is a very small/slow coolant leak at the thermostat housing. I've tried to fix this several times. At this point it has a new housing with sealer on the bolts and it still seeps. I think the surface on the manifold it too rough. I might take it apart clean everything *really* well and use "The Right Stuff" instead of a gasket to see how that does.

- I'm catching the occasional wiff of burning oil. I could be the tired engine putting it out the tail pipe but I want to check the valve cover gaskets and other usual suspects just in case.

- In the duration of today's trip, the left hub bolts worked loose:


The locking tabs are basically non functional at this point. I've got the proper ARP bolts duffer suggests and will put them in with blue lock-tite.

- I need to reverse the bolt on the driver's side front spring clamp so it doesn't hit the tire:


- The straps held the held the rear tire in well today, but the sharp edge of the wheel opening was cutting into them. I folded the extra strap under for more protection. I my proper tire tie-down doesn't show up before Tillamook, I'll slice up some hose and make rubber edging for this:


- Need to tighten the outside rear view mirror pivot at the cowl. Wind pressure keeps pushing the mirror back at speed.

- The engine loads up a bit on hot starts so I might try to jet it a little leaner at low load.

 

I have come home from many trips with my to-do list written on the inside of the windshield in sharpie.

 

After a week of getting the Jeep back together for the Saturday trip and a bunch of yard work on Friday/Sunday I was completely worn out today. We went for a drive in the foothills east of here and I tinkered with the Jeep a tiny bit in the evening.

Last night I did drive it to the gas station and fill it up post trip. The total was 95 miles and 9.5 gallons of gas for a whopping 10mpg. That's pretty bad. I think I'll go a couple jet/metering rod sizes leaner and see how it runs. It also seems to go through a quart of oil every 300-500 miles. I think this engine is getting tired. A friend has another Buick 350 so I might get it from hime and rebuild it on the side.

As for things checked off the list;

Swapped the hub bolts with the ARP ones that duffer uses:


The old bolts that were working themselves out in spite of semi-functional lock tabs:


A comparison of the old/new. Note the longer shoulders on the new bolts in a addition to the slightly longer overall length. These shoulders extend through the locking hub into the recesses in the wheel hub. The shoulders on the old bolts didn't even extend through the locking hub:


Installed with a tiny bit of blue Loctite one each bolt and torqed to 45ft-lbs. I need to try pulling a wheel off to see the the washers interfere. If so, I'll have to grind some flats on them:


Flipped the spring clamp bolt that was rubbing the tire at full lock. It should clear now:


Put a piece of rubber tubing on the spare tire to keep it from cutting up my new ratchet straps:


Tightened the mirror pivot bolt so it stays put at 60mph:

This is a great idea. Sharpie in glove box is added to my list.

 

I used similar 12 point bolts from mcmaster carr on all 4 hubs and they have never come loose. I put a dot the the flange and hub with a paint pen to visually tell if they start backing out.

 

Your Jeep Will go 60!!! V8 power...

 

60..... .... that's cute.
Yesterday morning I hopped out on I5 and made my way over to the fast lane. I was cruising along with the flow of traffic.... and it felt pretty fast.... tapped the speedometer app on my phone.
we were rolling right along at 87mph from Anderson, Ca to Redding, Ca. After a couple miles I worked my way over to the right hand lane and settled in at about 70.

 

87 in a jeep? Is that even legal?

 

The posted speed limit is 70 in that area. There was probably 50 cars in a string bouncing from 85-90 mph. I was just riding in the middle of them.

 

I used Rivet Nuts and Harbor Freight Anchors.

 

Well you must have had the windshield down. That's cheating. But I bet the bugs were great.

 

i meant that no jeep should be going that fast, but yours is obviously an exception.

 

I need to get a rivnut tool one of these days.

 

More piddly stuff tonight. It's all the little things added up that make a great Jeep.

Based on the terrible gas mileage, loading up at low speed when warm, and burning ITLKSEZ's eyes when he was behind me I decided it was a bit rich. Went two steps leaner for both power mode and cruise mode:


Then we went for a 30 mile family drive. It ran great. Even at two steps leaner there is no pinging and no lean surge. That should help the mileage a bit.

The temp also stayed locked on 190 degrees even though it was 86 outside. Even while idling up the driveway (which is 3/4 mile with a 150+ ft elevation gain).

Tried the new tire hold-down strap that showed up today:


The idea is great but I'm not sure it will work for me. The ratchet mechanism wants to sit where it will rub against the back window. I'm going to fiddle with the adjustments some to move it upwards one of these nights.

I cut floor mats for the front footwells using the ones I made for the '69 as patterns. I like these cushioned mats with holes. A 3ft x 3ft square is something like $13.99 at the ranch store. They are also nice if you need to lay in the dirt under the Jeep:




Spent about 20 minutes setting all my new tire deflators to 11psi for Tilamook:


Tomorrow I might finally get around to trimming the U-bolts.