1989 Grand Waggy Family Crawler (NY)

[wnyjpgy]

I've been into jeeps and rock crawling for about 10 years, and have had a variety jeeps. I built a tube chassis Scrambler about 7 years ago and beat it up pretty good over the years.



Until the baby I competed as a spotter in the Rausch Creek RCRocs series and the Virginia State Rock Crawling comps at Big Dogs as a spotter. This is the first year I haven't competed.



About a year ago I decided to part the Scrambler out after breaking the transfer case in half. There were a few reasons I made that decision, tired of working on it, worn out parts, different needs (new baby), and basically just time for something new.

During some conversation with a friend he had informed me of a rust free/slightly lifted 89 Grand Wagoneer on the IFSJA site, so I contacted the person and ended up buying it last october.

I've been driving it on and off for the last year and put a plow on it for driveway clean up, it's been a pretty good jeep so far. It has power everything, dana 44's, and a lockright rear locker.

Here's a picture the day I bought it.




I recently got bit by the wheeling bug and determined I missed it, so I put a plan together in my head (this is the first time I've written everything down) of what I wanted in a family style wheeler.

Here's a quick run down.

Full Frame
Factory v8
4 doors (since I have a 1 year old)
under 110" wheelbase
Able to plow the driveway (with heat)
Rear axle disconnect
Cutting Brakes (Possibly)
Half doors for the summer
Creature comforts for long trail days with a young child

So I immediately decided I needed another waggy for the doors, glass, and tail gate. So I found one locally, with another plow set up and purchased it.



The plan for the red one was to use the entire interior (which is almost complete), make 4 half doors for the summer, and cut the tailgate down and remove the glass. All of this should help save some sprung weight.

Next I had to decide on axles, and I've gone back and forth on the dana 44's that are under it vs a set of 60's.

I have 2 sets of waggy 44 axles, so I have all kinds of spare parts, and I have extra 8" wide steel wheels, and a set of 35" Cooper Stt's, sounds like a done deal, put it all toegether and wheel it nice to prevent breakage.

Well, I found a good deal on a set of 60's so they were purchased, I have a chevy front and a ford rear so they will be getting installed. This will help with unsprung weight.

On to tires, I didn't want to go back to 15" wheels on 8 lug axles due to clearances and what not, so I purchased a set of Maxxis Creepy Crawlers in the 37x12.5x16 flavor, so that's what it will be rolling around on.



I have already built a bumper and bought a winch as well.



My biggest dilema is what to do with the roof, cut it off completely, and have a bolt on roof skin, make it a 4 door tuck, etc. Here are some pictures I have saved.






Half door pic.



I have a few purchases to make to have everything to complete the project but alot of the big purchases are complete so I thought I would start a thead.

[jaber]

Looks like a fun build, subscribed to watch...

[wnyjpgy]

Thanks for the interest.

Currently locating a Dana 300 at the moment, and I should have most of the drive train parts other than brake, bearing and king pin parts, but I'll source all of that stuff new.

I have a complete wiring harness out of a 89 Chevy truck that had a 5 speed, so in the near future I'll be cutting that down, and completing a TBI install on the factory 360. One of my friends can burn chips to remove the egr, and map out fuel and timing curves, so that's probably next.

[wnyjpgy]

Just a quick update.

I sourced a dana 300 , and placed it on the rear of the spare drivetrain to take a quick look at it. In the clocking position in the picture, the case is nice and flat, however driveshaft clearance will be a little tight, rotating it down a set of holes, is not an option for the overall goal, so a clocking ring may be ordered next.




I'm almost done disassembling my parts jeep, remaining items include, roof, axles and springs, steering column, dash pad and a few tim parts. Most of the interior that was in this jeep has already been reinstalled in my good jeep with the exception of the head liner and overhead console.

[COLORADOCRAWLER]

I like your front bumper. In the middle of a vortec swap so it'll be a while before I get to the off-road fab work but I'd like a few more pics of your bumper from the side ect. If you don't mind. It looks good, thanks!

[wnyjpgy]

Here's some bumper pictures while I was building it, to give you a little idea what the underneath structure looks like.

I built a center structure first, with an integrated winch mount. Due to the angle on the lower part of the bumper, the front winch bolts would be very difficult to get to, so I added an access hole for each bolt. My front license plate covers both holes.



Then I started to add the sides.



Then it needed to be fully welded and externally ground. I also tied in the main supports and winch area with a piece of 2"x1/4" square tubing to make sure nothing would move around on a side load, I also added two additional lower gussets to tie it all together.




Added some recovery points directly above the frame supports, and pocketed them to increase the amount of weld on each one, trimmed the outer lower plates so they would have a nice angle up, and aerosol bed lined it (after etching primer).



I'll try to get a couple of good bumper pictures on the truck showing the profile this evening when I move it.

I also completely disassembled my parts truck and have quite an inventory if anyone needs anything, I'm hoping to get rid of the 229 and vacuum accesories soon.

Part way done.



Closer, I only lacked the tail gate and rear axle at this point.



I needed to get that jeep parted and gone, to make room for firewood, and winter toys, etc. I hope to get back to making progress on the good jeep in the very near future.

[twisted frame]

Real good looking bumper! Did you purchase the recovery points or cut them out?

[wnyjpgy]

I cut them out.

We have a high definition plasma table with a roto bevel head at my office, so I can randomly draw up what ever and burn it out when needed, I have a few different styles of recovery point on my shelf at my home shop.

[COLORADOCRAWLER]

Thanks for the bumper pics. I'll be putting something together very similar in the near future.