1975 Brutally Simple Daily Driver

Pikes Peak is a fun drive but it is paved all the way up now. Few spots can test your nerves but overall very scenic. Beautiful spot though! I see it everyday out my windows.

 

Back on the road! I got the axle back late last week and picked at it a little each day over the weekend. The old carrier had a crack in it so the TrueTrac absolutely made sense to upgrade to.




While it was down, I had the driveshaft re tubed. Looking at it now, I need to check my pinion angle. The transfer case got new bearings in the output assembly also.



Everything went back together fine and I put some fresh miles on it today.



It’s so quiet! Without all the calamity coming from the rear end I now notice new noises from other corners of the Jeep!

 

Enjoyed your pictures, thanks for posting. Do you ever drive up Pikes Peak? If you do please post a few photos from the drive up. I was up there a couple of times in my jeep but it has been 15 years ago. It was still gravel then as I recall. I had photos but cannot find them.

 

I do but it’s usually when I’m playing the role of tour guide. When I first moved out here I drove up the wife and I. Since then I’ve done it a bunch more with my chauffeur hat on.

 

My first trip up Pikes Peak was about 1976. Driving an old Ford Granada car. Wife and I had just got married and we had driven out to Colorado to visit some family. My new bride wanted to drive up there so up we went. That old carbureted 302 was weak as dish water by the time we made the top after 3 stops waiting for the engine to cool and the occasional vapor lock to subside. The trans must have over heated a bit too, it belched out about 2 quarts fluid leaving a trickle of fluid the last 3-4 miles up the gavel road. Lucky I had some extra fluid with me. The next day we drove over to Mt. Evans which is a little higher than Pikes Peak If I remember correctly. The road to the summit there was all paved, but much more narrow and no guard rails! More vapor lock too. Ah fun times!

 

Pikes Peak Highway is all paved now.

 

Trail day!




Just went up into the hills close to town but it was the first time out with the wife and I. It’s been a long time since she was out in a bouncy Jeep. It was short but we had a wonderful time this morning!

 

Nice!
I was going to go to the Gulches today but my son's sick so we didn't go

 

Nice man. I remember that my Pa had saved an old water bag, that they used to help cool the radiator, when transcending Pikes Peak . In a Model 'A ' to boot !

 

Back in the shop today. The air cleaner “solution” after the brake booster upgrade has never been right. The plastic spacers cracked almost immediately after I threw them in there, and the weight of the actual air cleaner housing is always wobbly perched up 1.5” from where it would’ve lived.



Here’s the solution. I made up a steel ring to replace the crack/taped/terrible parts store spacers.




Everything got welded together to have absolutely zero slop. After a quick coat of paint where it needed it and some fresh foam under the lid?…




… Perfect! Can’t even tell I was in there. Next on my list was the rear pinion angle. These leaf springs had a… ugh… CAST ALUMINUM spacer in with the pack. Here I thought the whole time that these were steel! Can you guess how many pieces they came out in?



Once again, folks… friends don’t let friends have cast aluminum angle shims anywhere near their leaf springs! With the shims out, I made up a spacer for the center pin to locate the u-bolt plate better and then put it all back together.




Much happier pinion and I got rid of another little vibration. The angles of the transfer case output and the pinion yoke are dead on to each other.

This got me thinking about long term spring options and then what to do with my front axle. Right now I’ve got .5° of caster and I thought about (proper) shims to correct it. I don’t like what they’d do to the front pinion angle so I think an inner C cut/turn is in order… eventually. Another piece of the puzzle are my crazy short front shackles. They measure 2.625” from hole to hole and I put them on there originally to get my caster at least in the proper direction. Now that I’m thinking about potential spring options, I’d like to get around a 3.5-4” shackle and adjust from there with the inner C’s. For reference, here’s where my springs measure out to at ride height…



Now I’m wondering if I should look into a BDS kit that would bolt in or if YJ or rear XJ leafs might be a better (cheaper) way to go after getting spring hangers and all the accoutrements that’d go with it. I highly doubt there’ll be any decisions made this year.

 

Ah, the Granada, the height of Malaise era engineering!

 

I should be working on trim in the house… but this little project sounded better today. Granted, the weather hasn’t agreed with driving this thing for weeks now being we’ve got rain nearly everyday, but we really shouldn’t be complaining about that.

Ever since I’ve gotten used to having the windshield down I’ve wanted to rework the old bikini top or make up something else. The old top looked a little rough so I dug out an old canvas tarp. Didn’t take any progress pictures, so bear with me.






I had some marine vinyl so after the general shape was figured I added a nice trim around the perimeter. The front edges rolls over themselves and then get fastened with 2” Velcro. There’s a bunch of double sided Velcro strips around the outside along with one in the center to keep the middle in check. Then I added a couple cinch straps at the front to keep the whole works taught.





Now it doesn’t matter if the windshield it up or down! The rain cover still fits over everything too. Then the extra strap on the outside is for rolling the whole works up nicely for when it goes topless.



I love it! Gross old moss and all!

 

That is really neat. I admire your sewing skills. BTW I like your seats, they are from about a 67 ford Mustang? I had a 64 CJ3B with a pair of black ones.

 

Thanks! You pretty much nailed it on the seats. They’re super cheap aftermarket Mustang/Bronco seats that came to me second hand.

 

The new top is awesome!




It was finally a rain free beautiful day so why not go out on the trails? We didn’t explore anywhere new. Rather we grabbed a trash bag and retraced out steps from last month. We’re trying to get more comfortable in our local trails and also trying to figure when we can find time to go out for a quick camping weekend.




Mostly filled the bag with bottles, cans, and tons of other such garbage. Picked up a bunch of plastic parts from bumpers and fenders too. PICK UP AFTER YOURSELVES, PEOPLE!!!

Fun time was over today and the cover went back on. Had a look at the cowl and… yup… the bondo is cracking more but also lifting. Eek!



Focus on the positive… focus…

 

Good work and fun times. I have the same type of roll cage cover in 2 jeeps, love having the windshield down.

 

Heck yeah! Makes the world feel bigger when you’re not looking at it through the windshield.

 

This. People are jerks
I grew up riding around on all those trails around Woodland Park and Divide, and it wasn't like that back then.

 

You tube and the global stay home years have brought out a wave of people that shouldn't be on the trails. The auto and outdoor industry is embracing the opportunity to make a buck and offer vehicles at the show room capable of it. There are no more hidden jewels.

We didn't always have thousands of cidyits with turbo razors blasting rooster tails wherever. It used to just be local country bumpkins with a 4x4 truck loaded down with beer and you knew who it was and they knew to wake up in the morning clean up or get shot.