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Another Rebirth For The 3b

Discussion in 'Builds and Fabricators Forum' started by ITLKSEZ, Dec 29, 2020.

  1. Dec 31, 2020
    ITLKSEZ

    ITLKSEZ Hope for the best, prepare for the worst

    Liberty Lake, WA
    Joined:
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    The outside of the bell (that was the inside of the transaxle) had an area around the input shaft that was about 1/4” proud of the face. That needed to be removed. I made a template out of plywood and just mowed it off with a router and an old junk bit.

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    This gave me a perfectly flat surface, and room for a 7/8” plate for an adapter.

    [​IMG]

    I turned this ring out of Corian to center the bell on the 465’s bearing retainer.

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    Next up was the clutch arm. I’ll be using the Chevy fork with the Volvo arm, so I needed to figure out if the Chevy arm was cast steel or cast iron to determine welding processes. I assumed it was steel since it rang like a bell. Cast iron absorbs sound vibrations and has more of a thud when you hit it. I put it in the press....

    [​IMG]

    Steel will bend, iron will break.

    [​IMG]

    And it bent like a taco. Yay!

    I cut the tips off the Volvo fork and replaced them with the end off the Chevy arm. I’ll wait to fully weld this part until I’m sure it’s in the right place, after the adapter plate is made.

    [​IMG]

    In its new home...

    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: Dec 31, 2020
    Buildflycrash, fhoehle, Twin2 and 7 others like this.
  2. Dec 31, 2020
    Rich M.

    Rich M. Shoe salesman 2024 Sponsor 2023 Sponsor 2022 Sponsor

    Maryland
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    Corian? Alright I give. Anyone who can incorporate a used counter top into a Jeep build has mad out of control skills!
     
    Danefraz, Twin2, wheelie and 2 others like this.
  3. Dec 31, 2020
    ITLKSEZ

    ITLKSEZ Hope for the best, prepare for the worst

    Liberty Lake, WA
    Joined:
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    Well, the only wood that I have on-hand that would hold up structurally when that thin is too expensive to waste (cocobolo), so, Corian it is!
    :bananatool:
     
    Last edited: Dec 31, 2020
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  4. Dec 31, 2020
    neohic

    neohic Gentleman Jeepist

    Woodland Park, CO
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    Mar 29, 2018
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    *pulls up chair and waits for more*
     
    Twin2 likes this.
  5. Dec 31, 2020
    shadetreetim

    shadetreetim Member 2022 Sponsor

    Riverside, Ca -...
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    Let me just grab some popcorn...
     
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  6. Dec 31, 2020
    timgr

    timgr We stand on the shoulders of giants. 2022 Sponsor

    Medford Mass USA
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    Corian! It's mineral-filled cast polymer (plastic). Mineral-filled, like clay. Pretty sure the mineral content is there to provide heat capacity (temperature resistance). I wonder how well it will work when it's that thin; I'd think it would be too brittle.
     
    FinoCJ likes this.
  7. Dec 31, 2020
    FinoCJ

    FinoCJ 1970 CJ5 Staff Member

    Bozeman, MT
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    Was wondering the same thing, but I think the polymer should hopefully allow a bit of strain or elasticity without brittle failure....
     
  8. Dec 31, 2020
    ITLKSEZ

    ITLKSEZ Hope for the best, prepare for the worst

    Liberty Lake, WA
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    It only has to center the bell on the retainer long enough to weld. It’ll come out after that.

    I’ve used it for carb adapters before without issue. It’s tough stuff.
     
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  9. Dec 31, 2020
    Alan28

    Alan28 Well-Known Member 2022 Sponsor

    Châtillon en...
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    This will be a nice toy... Attack Jeep!
     
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  10. Jan 8, 2021
    ITLKSEZ

    ITLKSEZ Hope for the best, prepare for the worst

    Liberty Lake, WA
    Joined:
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    I pulled an old 850 fuel tank into the shop so I could get the fuel sender and pump out of it (and 10 gallons of free gas for plowing!). I can get started on the little things...

    The current tank in the 3b is homemade and is 11” deep. The Volvo tank of course has to be difficult. The sending unit and the pump mount to the top of the tank at 3” different heights. This made the sending unit 2” too tall and the pump 1” too short. I cut the top of the plastic Volvo tank out in order to have the holes for size references when I cut into the jeep tank.

    [​IMG]

    I took the sending unit apart and cut 2” off the rod.

    [​IMG]

    I’ll be empty when the gauge says 1/4 tank, but it’s better than the no-gauge I’ve had for the last 25 years.

    Cutting the thin aluminum tube was fun. I cut a little off both ends, since they got a little mangled upon removal. The first one went ok, but the second one tried to kill me.

    [​IMG]

    Back together. Its range was ~18-320 ohm, now it’s 18-260.

    [​IMG]

    The pump was as simple as disassembling it, stretching the giant stiff spring inside to space the pump 1” lower, running longer wires, and replacing the gummy garbage hose with a longer section.

    [​IMG]

    The jeep tank will just require two holes, and some sort of crude hold-downs to hold these units against the o-ring gaskets.
     
    Last edited: Jan 8, 2021
    blalp!, fhoehle, Rich M. and 3 others like this.
  11. Jan 8, 2021
    tomasinator

    tomasinator Member

    Redmond, WA
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    Aug 26, 2015
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    415
    Could you add a 60ohm resistor in series with the sender lead? The gauge would no longer ever read full, but maybe the empty would be accurate. If it was me and my forced ability to deal with imperfection, I would just live with an inaccurate gauge. Of course someday you're going to get a call from one of your kids, "Dad, the jeep just died. No way I could have run out of gas. The gauge says I've got a quarter of tank left!" :mad:
     
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  12. Jan 8, 2021
    ITLKSEZ

    ITLKSEZ Hope for the best, prepare for the worst

    Liberty Lake, WA
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    I’ll write a reminder on the dash with a Sharpie. :cool:
     
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  13. Jan 8, 2021
    Fireball

    Fireball Well-Known Member 2024 Sponsor 2023 Sponsor 2022 Sponsor

    Pullman, WA
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    I've always used the power miter box with a wood finish blade to cut aluminum like that. I always go slow and have never had any issues.
     
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  14. Jan 8, 2021
    ITLKSEZ

    ITLKSEZ Hope for the best, prepare for the worst

    Liberty Lake, WA
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    I used the miter sled and spun the tube in place. The gap between the blade and the sled is what got me. I had a pencil through the off-fall to hang onto it, but it still grabbed it an sucked it in. If I would’ve put a piece of sacrificial 1/4” plywood in the sled (as a zero-clearance insert), it would’ve been perfect. Lazy.

    I didn’t trust the dull blade on my miter saw to do it without crushing or snagging it and ruining it without going through the trouble of making a dowel to fit inside.
     
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  15. Feb 12, 2021
    ITLKSEZ

    ITLKSEZ Hope for the best, prepare for the worst

    Liberty Lake, WA
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    My plans for the drivetrain in this have changed about seventeen times since I last posted here.

    My daily driver car that I was planning to use the engine from is finally showing it’s mileage. It’s smoking habit is increasing, and it’s using a considerable amount of oil. I was hoping to make it to 500k with it, but now I’m not so sure.

    So, I’m back to looking at the ‘01 engine that I gave up on before. The following is what I came up with after a ton of head scratching and acid hits. (Kidding)

    - Run the ‘01 engine and the 5-spd automatic that I welded the spiders in before.
    - Remove the radiator, crossmember and grill stand-off from the 3B.
    - Mount the rad behind the seats where the battery currently sits. (Reverse the cooling fan in the winter for awesome heat!)
    - Mount the engine/trans as far forward as possible. This will prevent firewall work, and allow room at the firewall for a power brake booster. The back of the trans should only pass the plane of the firewall by 3”.
    -Run a driveshaft from the left (rear) transaxle output to a divorced transfer case.
    - The right (front) transaxle output can be used to power a PTO winch.

    Now this is where things get interesting. :sneak:

    That setup will have an incredible crawl ratio. Almost too good with an auto.
    4.77 (1st gear) x 2.44 (trans final drive) x 2.01 (t-case) x 4.11 (planned rears) = 96:1 crawl ratio

    But.... the final drive in high gear will be in the range of 10.2:1. This puts me at 6800 rpm at 65mph on 33” tires. :n:

    Two NP203s popped up on Marketplace this morning for cheap.
    :bananatool:
    [​IMG]

    I’m going to use one as the transfer case and I’m going to make a doubler (or halfer?) out of the other and use it as a selectable 50% overdrive. This would get me down to 3400 rpm at 65.

    I love the idea of the all-wheel-drive/four-wheel-drive option of the NP203, and all the different gear options with the overdrive.



    This is all ultimately laying the groundwork for an ulterior motive. :sneak: My wife is getting more serious about buying a new car and passing her car onto me. That engine is a drop-in replacement for this one; it has almost double the power, and it has a 5-spd manual trans. So I think I can put up with an automatic for the time being. :cool:
     
  16. Feb 12, 2021
    Fireball

    Fireball Well-Known Member 2024 Sponsor 2023 Sponsor 2022 Sponsor

    Pullman, WA
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    I'm a little disappointed there aren't any external chains involved in the current plan.
     
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  17. Feb 12, 2021
    ITLKSEZ

    ITLKSEZ Hope for the best, prepare for the worst

    Liberty Lake, WA
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    I still need to get the PTO drive from the PS to the DS. :watch:
     
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  18. Feb 12, 2021
    Mr Vaughan

    Mr Vaughan

    woohoo, not putting the auto in permanently. i guess nothing is truly permanent if you really try...



    i agree, seems too reasonable.
    get what you were saying in the other thread now.
     
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  19. Feb 12, 2021
    ITLKSEZ

    ITLKSEZ Hope for the best, prepare for the worst

    Liberty Lake, WA
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    Plans changed again. :rofl:
    Being that the NP203 is almost as long as the current bellhousing, T18, and Dana 20 in the jeep, one of these 203s is getting sold off. It’s just too long. Hard to tell how big these are until it’s in front of you. Bummer.
     
    mortten likes this.
  20. Feb 13, 2021
    Mr Vaughan

    Mr Vaughan

    still gonna do a custom overdrive? :sneak:
     
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