1950 CJ3A budget build

[Trenton]

drag link will be 2" higher than this on the straight pitman arm which won't be a real issue i think. i have to source a tie rod yet and due to the fact that these knuckles only have one rod end hole ill run the tie rod from knuckle to knuckle and the drag link will attach as close to the passenger side knuckle as i can get it to work.


here you can see the steering shaft and how the brake line bracket interferes. ill move that bracket and i think i also need to clearance a small piece on the engine mount. the factory YJ shaft looks like it will be perfect length otherwise and with the box mounted close to current position the angles on the shaft u-joints will be minimal.

[Trenton]

ok so today i started welding stuff up. theres a pic below for you experts...and i use that term loosely ... to review and give me some feedback please. so heres my concerns; i only stitch welded the boxing plate because the factory boxing plates that run from where i left off down under the motor and transmission are also just stitched. in a lot of the reading I've done the CJ's flexibility comes a lot from the frame. so by boxing it in and welding it fully i would be eliminating a lot of the frame flex and probably adding a rigid area that would or could induce future cracking. now my thoughts also are that the original steering bell crank came off the large cross member i removed (i will be replacing it with something equally as strong later) but that cross member was badly cracked at the welds where it met the frame rails. I'm figuring the reason for cracking is from stresses put on it from the bell crank during turning. i am now going to be mounting the steering box on drivers side frame rail so the steering stresses will be there. so should i not worry about losing possible flexibility and weld it fully because i need that piece of frame to be very rigid for steering box mounting? the box I'm using has 4 mounting bolts and i will be capturing all of them, 2 above the frame and 2 below. i may also run a steering box brace across to the passenger side frame rail. i do plan to use a doubler plate over the vertical seam where my boxing plate meets the factory one. i used 3/16 material for the boxing plates and will use 1/8 for the doubler plates.

long story short... should i fully weld these boxing plates in or leave as is?

your thoughts.

[athawk11]

I can't really offer an informed opinion on boxing the frame, though I have read similar discussions about the need for the frame to flex.  Out in front on these horns, I don't think you need to worry much about the need for flex.  In fact, Willys M38s were boxed from the factory.

I must say, those are some nice looking welds.  Especially when comparing them to the originals on a Willys.   Those originals make me think I'm a good welder.

[Trenton]

well after lots of reading and talking to guys who know more than me i decided to stay with the stitched welds. i also added doubler plates to the vertical joint between my new plate and the old. i cut and test fit the new crossmember. this new cross member is 1.5" DOM heavy wall tubing, should be plenty strong. it is in exactly the same place as the original CM but as it doesn't have the upward bend i will have to make brackets for the grill support. with the steering box in location the steering shaft clears the new CM just fine due to it's reduced size.

[Trenton]

so i ended up rebuilding a buddies Grand Cherokee suspension for the last 5 days...no fun! who ever thought putting a 7" lift in a unibody vehicle was a good idea was a great comedian. anyway we got it done and now i got my shop back to myself so the Willys is center stage again.

had to make a mounting plate for the steering box with some offsets on it so i would have something flat to weld/bolt things up to. one of the box mounting bolts goes through the leaf hanger and is sleeved to prevent crushing when tightening the bolt. i still need to gusset or connect the one sleeve to the lower side of the frame as you will see in the pics.

flat bracket


welded in, i'm pointing at the sleeved hole through leaf hanger. you can see the sleeve lower right that i still need to make a bracket to capture.


steering box bolted in, lots of room to bumper and just enough space for steering shaft to clear the cross member that isn't there.


i have cut a small piece out of the drivers side motor mount for steering shaft clearance and i had to move the front axle brake hardline mount. i will end up cutting a bit out of the grill for power steering hose clearance but i won't know how much until its all installed.

[Trenton]

so todays progress was slow but worthwhile. i took a close look at tie rod and drag link setup and i plan to do as many others have and use heim joints. on the passenger side i'll have drag link on top and tie rod on the bottom both connected by one bolt. i'll do my best to be safe and overkill strong, ill be using chromoly heims with 3/4 shank on 3/4 bolt and DOM tube for the shafting with as little shank exposed as possible. ill use castle nuts and safety washers to ensure even if the helm comes apart it can't come off the bolt. the vertical separation with existing pitman arm is not enough so i went to local pick n' pull and grabbed a straight arm from a 1998 Astro Van so that will help. i then looked at the steering column and height of steering wheel. I'm gonna try and get it at a bit more comfortable position than it was, i am just waiting to finalize that until i make sure my steering shaft will work, the one i got doesn't seem to 'slip' in the middle and i don't like that so gonna source another one.

from passenger side showing horizontal separation of tie rod and drag link


from front showing vertical separation of tie rod and drag link


positioning steering column and wheel

[Trenton]

HAPPY EASTER!

after the egg hunt and brunch it will be time to make some steering progress. picked up 2 more steering shafts from a friend, they are from a grand cherokee and both short but they have the right ends and the slip in one works so i will make 1 out of the 3 that i have and i can instal the pitman arm and then move forward with steering column.

pitman arm 98 astro van 2wd



grand cherokee steering shafts

[Trenton]

i made up a steering shaft from the 3 i had. wanted 33.5" and 4" slip.



to be sure that the shaft doesn't drop off the column i drilled and tapped in a set screw and put a groove in the column.


and this flat side stops the column from turning inside the shaft

[Trenton]

the inside floor plate. the top of the column has a factory bearing and i had a bushing machined that goes inside the bottom of the column to hold the internal shaft.


underside floor plate


fully installed, you can see the chunk i cut out of the motor mount. i have test fit the cross member and it just clears the joint where it meats the steering box.


all the parts are getting paint and ready for instal but now its time to build the power steering pump bracket.

[Trenton]

progress today, i replaced all the fuel lines and rerouted things to make room for the coming power steering pump, they were a mess of old copper lines anyway. i also re-ran the hard brake line to the front axle since i had to relocate the frame bracket that holds the brake lines. got the cross member welded back in and cleaned up and painted the frame. tomorrow is pump bracket and assembly. i also finally made the bracket to capture the 4th steering box mounting bolt.

[Trenton]

ok so today was a good day. built the pump bracket and managed to route hoses. if i had mounted the steering box 1/4" further ahead i would not have had to cut the grill for clearance...as it is i had to cut it a little bit. anyway i'm having photo load issues but heres the pump bracket, I'm super happy how it turned out but i can't take credit, i found several pics online of others that did it and i copied.

[Trenton]

fixed the upload problem, more pics.

this is what i cut out of the grill


view from front of engine

[Trenton]

more progress but its slow. today i got the grill painted so i can instal it and mount the rad to actually run this engine to cycle the power steering. didn't get the grill mounts finished so didn't run it yet the materials for tie rod and drag link arrived today, woohoo! finalized the hoses for the power steering, happy with how they worked out. got new bump stops put into the front as well.

painted grill installed, you can see the hoses sneaking around the lower drivers side grill.


new bump stops


tie rod and drag link installed

[Trenton]

this shows the new shiny parts. 5/8 shank with 5/8 hole chromoly heims with 1.5" x 1/4" wall DOM tube. this should be beefy enough for a 2000lb Willys. i drilled out the pitman arm and knuckles for 5/8 hole, that was the size of the large end of the taper for tie rods so thats why the decision to go with 5/8 heims. tomorrow i'll weld the bungs into the tube and mount the rad and fire this thing up... i may actually have steering tomorrow

[Trenton]

well not a lot of pics today, too busy wrenching i guess. welded up the tie rod and drag link tube inserts and added the three factory location grill supports to the new cross member. then tried to mount the rad... oops, why didn't one of you remember to tell me to check rad clearance to the steering shaft?� so the drivers lower corner hit the new steering shaft not far after it comes off the steering box. i was able to just raise the rad about 3/4" and it cleared but now i'll have to trim the shroud to get it to clear the fan. i can still close the hood too, BONUS! then filled the rad, filled power steer pump, cleaned out the fuel pump and checked all other fluids then turn the key. after a few minutes of tracking down an incorrect wire to the started solenoid she fired up. cycled the steering and topped up fluids and she purrrrrs like a John Deere. fit the new front bumper and its great but the old Warn M8000 winch doesn't fit in the remaining space. i think i'll wait until budget permits and pick up a modern narrower winch instead of re-fabbing the whole bumper plan. in the video it sounds like a little diesel, anyone else hear that? well the muffler is full of holes and theres no tail pipe so hopefully once I get to doing the exhaust and put the hood/fenders back on the sound will improve. on with the pics...

the remaining winch gap thats too small...


video of her running and steering. theres some added noise when i steer that is just from the loose column since i didn't fully bolt it in as I'm waiting to paint the interior before completing instal.
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