Project "Mud Bandit" dedicated mud bogger

Started work on the CJ7 that has been sitting in my basement for the last 6 months. The drivetrain is reclined too much , belly pan dropped too much rear pinion turned up too much etc. so lots of problems to work through but it's clean and everything is just about new. Today I removed the exhaust, put my old YJ seats in the CJ since I stole the racing seats for the rock crawler. by the way the seats bolted right in. ALso removed the exhaust at the header and all the way back. ALso removed the lame anti wrap bar to the rear axle. I might have to switch to a CV driveshaft to fix the angle problem at the rear pinion. Looks like it would be the easiest solution.

After this weekends event I've decided to go ahead and rebuild the D60 axles I have in the basement and part ways with the 9" rear and 44 front currently installed. I would have to cut and reweld the perches and get a driveshaft to fit properly etc if I were to keep them and they would end up breaking anyway for what I want to do. Nester has first dibbs. they are from a bronco with 65" wms to wms front and rear. 5 on 5 1/2 bolt pattern. Now to read up on D60 overhaul from the pirate 4x4 tech area.

Yeah I will pass. I would take them but I have Dana 44 almost done and the Toyota has toy 8 inch axles under it already. These are great axles for a Trail rig.

Ok new plan again. After looking into the mud bogging circuit I found I would automatically be bumped up to the unlimited class competing against nitrous rail cars etc. It's no fun when it takes all your money and you still suck compared to all the others in the class.
Plan is now to keep the bronco axles for now, keep the 700r4, and the 231C. I'm going to make this one streetable. It is spring over with 4" lift springs which is way too much. I'll likely swap in some waggy or YJ springs to lower it down about 3" and run 35" tires. I'll have to fab up an anti wrap bar for the rear for sure. I stuck my 37" tires on there and it was ridiculously tall, taller than the YJ.

Street Jeep with 454 ???? I love it.

when are you going to pick up some "tractor tires" for the thing

Tractor tires are after the D60's go in. I'll be rebuilding them this summer. I'm in need of a 231 fixed yoke kit. this is a 231C and I think it makes a difference. Threw the 37" tires on and snapped a pic. I'm liking it big.

Ordered a 231C fixed yoke kit and yes the C does make a difference(chevy) as it has some differences in the case but the 231J can fit. Ordered a couple new shackles and 7" leaf perches to replace the puny ones and that should help with axle wrap. Going to order a full width kit and outboard the springs. Picking up a set of front waggy springs to use in the front of the CJ and set the axle forward some and plan is to locate a set of XJ springs for the rear.
Also spent about $500 and picked up a new windshield and frame, 1 yr old besttop soft top and all the hardware including windshiled rail and tub hardware, soft top half door uppers, and the half doors for the YJ, and hinges, and a rear seat with mounting hardware and finally a fuel tank filler neck with one way valve. It was a good day of shopping.

Installed the fixed yoke kit from JB Conversions today. Didn't run into any problems. Found that I'll be able to modify the shifter to tuck the drivetrain up nicely. I'll have to get a CV driveshaft for it.

Nothing else done this weekend. It was nice out so we went fishing.

yeah fishing is better than wrenchin

transfer case is now installed. Shifter has been modified to remove 5" extensions and allow it to rest in a stock location. Belly pan will now fit without any drop brackets. Rear driveshaft angle will be way too severe with the amount of lift it has. It is currently spring over with 4" lift springs. I'm going to remove the 4" lift springs and replace them with front waggy springs and rear xj springs which will be closer to flat.

Bill you know that will give you 8-9 inches more wheel base. If your planning on run big tires 38's or better, it would work good cause your in the 100+" wheel base range. Now if you go with smaller tires I have seen lots of guys run waggy springs front and rear which I believe gives you 4-5 inches more wheel base which I see alot with 35-37's. I'm just basing this off my knowledge with YJ's I'm not sure what the wheel base on a CJ is. One thing to remember is longer springs flex more and the spring mounts on older jeeps are often redone for strength and placement. I'm sure you already know most of what I said but it could help keep the wheels moving in your head.

makitupthehardway wrote:

Bill you know that will give you 8-9 inches more wheel base. If your planning on run big tires 38's or better, it would work good cause your in the 100+" wheel base range. Now if you go with smaller tires I have seen lots of guys run waggy springs front and rear which I believe gives you 4-5 inches more wheel base which I see alot with 35-37's. I'm just basing this off my knowledge with YJ's I'm not sure what the wheel base on a CJ is. One thing to remember is longer springs flex more and the spring mounts on older jeeps are often redone for strength and placement. I'm sure you already know most of what I said but it could help keep the wheels moving in your head.

Yeah the xj springs should be 6" towards the stretch but I'm going to move both mounts. I want about 3-4" rear stretch (got to keep the fuel tank) and will adjust the mounts in front and behind the axle to compensate. For the front the waggy springs will give 2" of stretch towards the front. I did purchase 7" leaf pad mounts so they will be much stronger and longer. the leaf pad mounts also have 3 holes for more adjustability. CJ and YJ are essentially the same for most things. I'm going to run tires as big as will fit and be able to turn well. At first that may be 37" tires until I get the D60's rebuilt but once they are in I'm looking at running 39" tires or so. I appreciate all the replys, it keeps me thinking.

Tcase is in and belly pan is on....sorta. I had to remove the tranny mount to get the belly pan to fit since the bolt holes didn't line up. Add a custom belly pan and transfer case mount to the "to do" list. started messing with the rear D60 which is from a 79 F350. Started disassembly and was glad to find it still had gear oil in there. everything looked good internally but it does have 3.54 gears. I'm going to leave it as is internally. the brakes/hub assembly needs work. I have to pull the hub to get the brake drum off and will likely need some work done there. Had to order another "spindle nut socket" since the one I had for a D60 didn't fit. (mine was 2 1/2" and I need one that is 2 9/16") gonna cut the brackets off this weekend. I don't need to outboard the springs in the rear, at least I don't think I have to since I'm installing longer spring perches. Still don't have the parts I need to fix the YJ yet so looks like I'll be fishing more this week.

Are you going to run disks in the rear

I saw quite a few kits available and seriously considering it. I'm going to look at the brakes and if I need to replace a bunch of stuff then I'm going to do disc brakes. cost looks like around $300-$400.

Yep, just bought a kit off ebay.

Hmmm, new plan again. the bronco axles suck and won't hold up to the 454 so they have to go. 4" lift springs which are spring over are coming off. I plan on running 39-42" tires. So I've gotten some work done. the 454, 700r and 231 are installed and just waiting for a new belly pan to be fabricated. I've moved to the rear axle. It is a 79 Ford D60 full floater 66.5" wms to wms. Yeah I know it has the small 1.3" ish axle shafts but thats ok, good foundation to start from. Later I'll upgrade to the 35 spline stuff with the gear and locker install. The drum brakes are coming off and I've purchased a disc brake conversion kit. The small perches are coming off and so are the stock shock mounts. I bought a pair of MORE anti wrap leaf perches which are 7" long and have several center pin holes to allow moving the axle forward/back if needed. For leaf springs I'm going to use stock XJ springs and add another leaf in there from some YJ springs I have laying around. I have no rear bumper so I plan on purchasing the Blue Torch Fab shackle/bumper kit for xj springs. This will stretch the rear about 6". I will be building an anti-wrap bar from scratch for the rear axle. For the front I don't have a front bumper so the BTF full width kit will meet my needs. For leaf springs I'll run the Wagoneer 7 leaf spings and stretch the front about 2" forward. The front axle is a 79 Ford D60 that needs rebuilt, brakes are seized of course. the front axle width is 69.25" wms to wms. plan is to run about 5 1/2 inches backspacing in the front to suck the tires in some. steering will be a high steer setup with PSC double arm on the passenger side and single arm on the drivers side flipped backwards so the tie rod can be moved behind the axle and drag link in front of the axle.(I haven't ruled out just doing full hyd steering) Hopefully someone out there will let me know if there will be interference in the steering components that won't allow me to do this. Fuel tank is coming out and I'll be installing a fuel cell behind the rear seat. If I'm missing something then let me know.

sounds like a good plan. I am undecided on the full hydro idea also. may want to look into after market knucles. After hearing stories of what a friend of mine went though the first time he took his jeep out on his d60 it would be worth the extra $$$.

I did hear the Ford knuckles are a little weaker than the others and should be upgraded but you are the first person that has acknowledged seeing someone with breakage problems there. Also considering 14bolt instead of the rear 60 if I can find one which (reportedly) came with 4:56 gears and a detroit locker in stock form.

Why are you scared of a 60 in the rear I think there are alot more aftermarket upgrades for them I am kinda thinking of in the future goin to 60s front and back. 14bolts are beefy but you loose clearance.

jealos-z wrote:

Why are you scared of a 60 in the rear I think there are alot more aftermarket upgrades for them I am kinda thinking of in the future goin to 60s front and back. 14bolts are beefy but you loose clearance.

I've been told "there's no way on gods green earth that a D60 in stock form will stand up to the 454 and 40" tires". Just looking at the least expensive options since nothing is lost at this phase. If I could find a 14 bolt with 4:56 gears and a locker for a couple hundred then why invest in the D60 for boring the spindles, purchase of 35 spline shafts, purchase of gears, purchase of a locker and installation? I agree about the clearance issues. I'll probably stick with the 60 and do the upgrades/gear change after it is running.

I will look around up here for a 14 bolt my buddy has a few of them but not with those gears. You should put rockwells under it that would be sweet they would hold up .

wouln't that be too much added weight for a mudder? (rockwells)