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To tell the truth I am not really sure. We took the seats to an upholstery guy here and he proposed that pattern and we kind of fell in love with it. I can PM you contact details if you're interested in contacting him.
bgott wrote:Might have to look into that at another time. This thing is never going to be wheeled very hard other than possibly some spirited driving during the winter. If the closed knuckle doesn't hold up than I'll probably try to convince dad to go to an open knuckle 44 as that gives us the option of high steering which I think would be better overall. Upon further inspection it looks like a tie rod flip will be sufficient for now anyway so were going to have a local 4x4 shop fab a drag link with that for us. We actually just started getting some Bondo scraped on the cab so were getting to the point of having the cab-forward part of the body work done. As silly as it sounds it's important sentimentally for me to keep as much of what my grandpa fabbed on this truck on it. He did a disk brake conversion on the closed knuckle from a Chevy 1500 truck and re-welded the perches for SOA. Its interesting because I've had to do research to figure out what he did to get part numbers for brake lines, pads, etc. Kind of like he's teaching me even though he's not with us.
Sorry to get heavy. Appreciate the tip! Hopefully I'll get some pictures of the body work up soon. I know the dash is going to have some work done soon and that's going to be a long process to get done smooth after a lot of the holes are welded up.
I think you are doing the right thing with respect to your Grand Father's dreams for this truck.
How cool is it that you can keep him alive with finishing his truck the way he saw it.
Thank you for sharing this with us here.
If God is your co-pilot, you need to switch seats!
Josh d wrote:Enjoying your build and story so far.
I would recommend replacing the weak closed knuckle D44 with one from a mid '80s Dodge D150 or Ramcharger. They are the correct width, correct diff location, open knuckle, disc brake, internal spline hub, and maintain the correct 5X5.5 bolt pattern. If your gearing is already matched, the internals of your existing D44 will swap over. It's a slick swap and would be a nice match to the rest of your drivetrain. With a re-taper of the steering arms, J10 or WT Chero tie rod and drag link bolt on too.
Let me know if you have any questions about this swap.
What's the frame width on a 1970 j4000?
1970 j4000, PS, PB, Auto, rattles, bumps and shakes
Been a while since I've updated. Started working over the summer as a CNC machinist and now I'm working 35 hrs a week and going to school full time so I've been awfully busy for the last few months. At any rate, a lot has changed and we are close to putting the cab on the frame for the final time and begin wiring! I'm going to attempt to post a link to my IMGUR gallery so you can see all the pictures and updates. I'll post the pictures here at a later point. Thanks to all for the kind comments, having lots of fun watching this thing come together!
Jodofab, yes the springs were changed. This was one of the things my grandpa did before he passed. I believe he custom ordered the springs but I could be mistaken. He definitely moved the mounts. As for the width, I would have to measure to give you an honest answer but I believe they are indeed 2 1/2 inch springs.
Progress Update: We have installed the cab for the final time. Installed the seats, dash, vintage air unit, steering column, started wiring, plumbed and bled the brakes, installed the shifters (hurst and JB fab twin stick), and thats all I can think of off top of my head. I am headed home tomorrow to weld up the fuel cell mount. Dad had a custom 30 gallon aluminum fuel cell fabricated and it will go underneath the bed and have the filler neck accessible in bed as well. The bed has been primered, it will get painted and then get liner on the inside. We are waiting on the emblems and grill to come back from getting repainted/chromed so that we can install the fenders and front valance. Other than that the truck is about ready to run! Dad is pushing for next Saturday to drive it for the first time so everyone keep your fingers crossed for a safe maiden voyage!
So the truck has actually been on its maiden voyage and still needs some tuneup work. We are having an issue right now with the windshield wipers. The blades are only travelling a very small amount and it seems that the mechanism doesn't really have any adjustment. Is there anything we can do to fix this?
Here is the truck as it currently sits. Need to put on the side mirrors. Waiting on the grill to get back from the chrome shop. The bed is waiting on paint and bedliner as that shop is moving at a snails pace. Probably going to have to switch to a smaller carburetor as the 750cfm we have on it is seeming to bog the motor down. Had the steering gear rebuilt as it was nearly impossible to turn left during the maiden voyage. All better now.
Hey bgott, don't know if this is your problem or not. On my j10 the wipers weren't moving at all so after verifying power was running to the actuator (engine bay mounted on the firewall), I unbolted it and the nut holding on the linkage behind the dash. I drilled out the rivets and found a crusty mess. I cleaned out the old grease, applied fresh stuff, replaced new rivets and reinstalled, the thing works good as new with full range now. Might be worth a shot. Good luck!
Also look behind your glove box, see if the wiper mech. Is blocked or making contact with anything. It is possible the duct work is in the way. I had a problem with the ducts and the ground, stabilizer mount for a new stereo.
79 Cherokee WT QT Golden Eagle white with gold windows "Pigger" only blows hubs the night before a road trip or the clodest night of year. Has only been towed cause of stupid.
This is where we are at at this point in time! Waiting on some steps courtesy of rstep and the bed to get refinished. Had some bad luck with the first shop who did work on the bed, they really did us dirty without going into to much detail. Interior looks really really good and really pleased with the door panels courtesy of MIB. http://imgur.com/a/kuNC4
Just realized that I had never finished this post and somehow failed to update you all during a busy 2017 graduating from college and whatnot. The old fellar is on the road now and we can't get enough of it, we even put it on the family Christmas card this year! Here's an album with some beauty shots. Minus a few tweaks here and there it's all done (well as done as a jeep can be).