turbo diesel Willys!

[daniel_buck]

you don't think this can of light blue paint will be to much... eh?

:haha:

[daniel_buck]

ahh man, it feels SOO good to have some time to work on the jeep. I can't believe my week off is 1/2 over I'd kill to have a few months off... anyone know someone they need to bump off in exchange for some good $$$?

Anyway, Got the front bumper almost done. I'm not sure if this is a good idea or not, but I'm going to run the winch line through the square tubing, fairlead bolted to the front, winch partially sunk down.

The bumper was fun! I've never really made anything from scratch like this before, it was definitely a learning experience! Still need to do some grinding.

And I can officially say that there are some JK jeep parts on this jeep, the round tube that I cut in 1/2 for the winch line hole is made from a stock JK track bar, or some part of the suspension, I forget which. But it's from a JK for sure. haha






(the straight pieces here were not used, the ones I actually used were the same thickness as the tube)

[jonah]

Ya know it's starting to look more and more like Jonah's Opy, which is a good thing

:thumbs_up

Looking good! With the winch down low can you still fit the winch and the steering box up front? What winch are you using? I wanted to lower my winch down and run the cable out the frame like you are doing but I can't fit the superwinch down low because of the steering box.

[aw12345]

:thumbs_up

Looking good! With the winch down low can you still fit the winch and the steering box up front? What winch are you using? I wanted to lower my winch down and run the cable out the frame like you are doing but I can't fit the superwinch down low because of the steering box.

Do what Freddy did, narrow the winch drum, reassemble the winch, offset it to the right and that problem is solved.
Probably would not have hurt to mount a steering box first though.

[jonah]

That is a good idea. I would have to do something with the solenoid pack that is in the upper body of the superwinch. I guess I could relocate it, get rid of that upper structure and put struts in like other winches do. I never liked how much the winch blocked the radiator on my set up.

[daniel_buck]

Jonah, the winch is a Superwinch Tigershark. Waay stronger than what I need, LOL I wanted a Warn winch like on my TJ, but the prices on them have gone up alot. I had an old ass Warn/Belleview that I wanted to put on there, but it was going to be a mess. Cable operated, no automatic brake, and some of the cast aluminum parts were broken, it would take work to get it back into shape. And even then it would be no fun to operate. If anyone wants an old Warn 5687 winch, let me know, It's here taking up space!

So I opted for a modern winch like I have on my TJ, a flip of a switch and it pulls in, flip the switch back down and it stops and everything is locked in place. It should fit just fine, I spent some time and a few beers measuring it last night. :-D

[jonah]

The TS is 20.83" wide. My EPi9 is 24" wide. On my set up I only have about 19" between the steering box and the frame but my steering box is mounted out about an inch and a half from the frame rail. If you mount yours tight to the frame you can probably fit it in there. I will be interested to see how it comes together!

[aw12345]

Jonah, the winch is a Superwinch Tigershark. Waay stronger than what I need, LOL I wanted a Warn winch like on my TJ, but the prices on them have gone up alot. I had an old ass Warn/Belleview that I wanted to put on there, but it was going to be a mess. Cable operated, no automatic brake, and some of the cast aluminum parts were broken, it would take work to get it back into shape. And even then it would be no fun to operate. If anyone wants an old Warn 5687 winch, let me know, It's here taking up space!

So I opted for a modern winch like I have on my TJ, a flip of a switch and it pulls in, flip the switch back down and it stops and everything is locked in place. It should fit just fine, I spent some time and a few beers measuring it last night. :-D

Superwinch of amazon is a pretty good bang for the buck. Love Warns but over 200 bucks less for a decent winch pretty much made that decision easy

[daniel_buck]

Superwinch of amazon is a pretty good bang for the buck. Love Warns but over 200 bucks less for a decent winch pretty much made that decision easy

I know, right?

I think the super winch will fit nicely on this jeep. It will certainly pull WAY more than is needed, no problem there My jeep weighs almost 1/4 of it's capacity, LOL

[daniel_buck]

Decided to keep the steering box behind the crossmember, and use a tierod with a tapered hole that is vertical, instead of horizontal. Herm The OverdriveGuy sells a setup for that, I'll either go with that, or figure out something else. His setup is designed to be used behind the crossmember.


Ok, here's the bumper and winch mount! I'm going to add a rib to the back of the mount, as well as some gussets, but I don't think it's going anywhere.

I'm going to finish the welding tomorrow, it was getting dark. The frame goes upwards towards the rear of the plate, rather than angling the plate, I chose to keep it flat, I've got a bit of a gap to fill on the last inch or so of the plate.

I was going to put an upwards bend on the last inch of the plate, but it is SLIGHTLY to wide for my press brake :-\ so I'll just weld a rib on there instead.

I took a selfie shot holding the grill up. The grill will be a little bit lower than that since it's not bolted down (like 3/4" or so?) but the winch doesn't really block it at all. Not that it would really affect air flow, I just like the MB grills

Will need to drill some holes to let water out

[vwtipeii]

I am sure you thought of this... however make sure you have the winch spool in from the bottom.. it is could get a little messy

[daniel_buck]

Yep! It draws the line in from the bottom. Same as the Warn on my TJ, which I used for my measurements. Thanks for the heads up though, I've made bonehead mistakes before

finished winch plate with the rib on the back.

[Ol Man]

I am sure you plan to put drain holes in the base plate.

[jonah]

Looks great, I really like when the winch is mounted low. I can't wait to see how the reverse steering box works out.

[daniel_buck]

Yea, drain holes definitely. I was planning on putting one in each corner.


Ok, here's the mock up using 22.5" inches of PVC. the full 10 feet cost me $2, man PVC is a nice cheap way to mock up stuff!

I see no binding, or no issues. Obviously I can't flex to test how that will go, but looking at the position, it's pretty darn near where it was with the old steering. Instead of being offset to the driver side, it was closer to the middle of the jeep.

So, I think this is going to work. I'm a little worried about the angle on the joint at the pitman arm, it's basically at full angle, it can't angle anymore. So I guess this means I need a dropped pitman arm? The one I have right now is completely flat, no drop. When the passenger side droops, I have a feeling it will put stress on that joint as it is right now?

I'll see if I can find a drop pitman arm for this. the dropped arm that I have doesn't fit on the splined shaft, it's slightly to large! I didn't realize there were different sizes.

Here it is, full stop left and right, and center.