Well, she actually enjoys rock crawling and she think's I'm taking way to long to build this thing. We were working on it the other day and I said well its time to stop (4:30 in the afternoon), she asked why. I said, well, I need to order some parts to finish this up and she was like, if you knew you needed these why aren't they here? Of course, she still thinks all of these parts only cost $50 from eBay!Originally Posted by gmwillys
You have yourself a keeper! I managed to marry a girlie girl who might break a nail. She likes to ride with on going to town, and doesn't mind the dust being kicked up off the floor of the heep that deposits directly into your eye. I shouldn't complain, I like my garage of solitude the way it is.
It's slow going for the moment. Still trying to figure out my game plan, it keeps changing. I was planning on installing the engine and tranny over the weekend buuuuut, instead I removed the bed and now making plans on shortening the wheelbase from 120" down to 108". Also, I have had several people tell me that the bed is in decent shape and that I should try and sell it instead of cutting it up. Does anyone have any idea what kind of money it could be worth? I listed it on this forum for $500 but I really don't have a clue as to what it might or might not be worth.
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If I were in the market for a bed, I would gladly pay around $500 for a bed that isn't destroyed. The floor looks to be solid and not beat to death, so that is a good starting point. The fenders could use a little love, along with the skirts, but very minor work to bring it up to par. A M416 trailer bed would not be quite wide enough in stock form, but section in a piece in the middle, and you would be golden. The length can be cut down to fit as well. You'll see them for sale all over, for varying prices.
So, has anyone here ever cut the frame in half? I'm wondering about the cut itself. It seems that most people just make a vertical cut but, then you have the ones that say to cut a z pattern, claiming that it provides more welding area.
I have seen it done a few ways. I am betting GM has good experience here. In general it is the plate welded on the inside of the channels side, that makes it strong. Take a peak under a Stretch Limo and you will get a good idea.
Last edited by bmorgil; 02-25-2020 at 08:37 AM.
I choose to section a frame by cutting an angle for more surface area. I put fish plates on the inside of the frame to disguise a frame repair on my own rigs, but on a heavy duty repair I would put one on the outside as well. Just make one longer then the other to prevent too much heat in one location. Make the outside fish plate 12" and the inside 16" in length, as an example.
On a rock crawler or heavy truck you can go a couple of different ways. You can shorten the frame by moving the axle forward and building your mounts off of the original frame. Then cut the excess off of the rear leaving no weak point in the middle of the frame. Heavy truck frames are simple because your frame rails are straight. Your Jeep frame is a different because it rises at the front leaf mount to clear the rear end housing. This would help to lift the rig by a couple of inches from the front spring hanger being shifted forward, but your pinion angle would then have to be adjusted to prevent vibration in the drive line.
The pictures are not real great examples of some frame projects, and I really wish I would have snapped some photos of re-stubbing the 2A frame from the crossmember forward. Just remember angle finders and plumb bobs are your best friends when cutting frames, and gluing them back together.
Nice work there GM!
I don't understand how you end up doing all the frame repair you do. Here in the "Rust Belt" of the USA, we use a tremendous amount of salt on the roads. It rots the cars and frames fairly quick. But I see equally impressive metal corrosion occurring in "Bama at the "GM Ranch". I wonder what is rusting them in your parts of the country? We used to travel down to the Carolina's to pick up rust free cars in the old days. Maybe time has just taken them all!
All of my personal stuff, and the M38A1 came from Illinois, so they were salt victims. The Wrangler was a local item, but a design flaw to the frame is that there are no drains at the bottom. Mud enters the tow hook cuts at the sides of the frame and settles at the bottom. Over time they just get soft and disappear.
If I had a lot of spare time and a semi, I would buy up all the vintage trucks I could muster and sell them up North, but now the prices have gone through the roof.
Ahhh the design flaw!
You find em GM and send em up! You bet the price is getting high everywhere for UN-rusted complete old cars and trucks up here. Early Jeeps and Willys Trucks are making a strong showing. My '77 Chevy Square Body was put on a truck with a few other rust free vehicles from Arizona. I paid $1000 for it in 1998 and $600 to ship it back. It was completely and still is rust free. It ran and was fairly mechanically sound, with a lot of miles on it and a flat cam!
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