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Offline 1955CJ-5

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Re: My 1963 CJ3B Build Thread
« Reply #45 on: November 21, 2020, 08:07:02 PM »
Keep it rolling Doug! I like reliving these rebuilds with their 20-20 hind sight!

So, how were your Bendix axles? Both my jeeps have the Bendix. I've been threatening to swap them out for Spicers  but lots of $$$$ and something about a different bushing....

I did replace the big ball bearings in mine, helped tighten them up a little......:)

Here is a little action video....Doug with his rebuilt F-134 is in the lead, way ahead, you will see him eventually as he crawls under the jeep for a look see......and also there is some of Doug's favorite washboard road for those who have not experienced it....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CKKqFI40kdI
1955 CJ-5, A friend for 58 years....1951 CJ-3A, a new addition. 1929 Model A Ford Closed Cab Pickup...

Offline Doug_3B

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Re: My 1963 CJ3B Build Thread
« Reply #46 on: November 22, 2020, 08:37:11 AM »
Great video Randy!  2012s kind of a long time ago, LOL, but IIRC, I had some sort of oil leak/pressure problem and I think it was due to the oil pressure gauge I had stuffed under the hood from the fresh rebuild - I think it came loose from those washboards. Pretty sure that was the first time out on the new rebuilt engine.

I could feel my teeth rattling loose from that road while watching your video!

The Bendix axles were still both serviceable, but at a certain point, it seemed to bind up a little bit.  I just didn't like how they felt, so - and I had to go back to one of the old build threads and check - I apparently put the Spicer axles in the Jeep.
« Last Edit: November 22, 2020, 09:00:30 AM by Doug_3B »
-Doug
1963 CJ3B - F134 Hurricane, T90C/D18, OD, D27/44, alternator
1991 YJ - 4.0, AX-15, D-30 front, Ford 8.8 rear, 4-inch lift

Offline Doug_3B

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Re: My 1963 CJ3B Build Thread
« Reply #47 on: November 22, 2020, 09:07:48 AM »
Great video Randy!  2012s kind of a long time ago, LOL, but IIRC, I had some sort of oil leak/pressure problem and I think it was due to the oil pressure gauge I had stuffed under the hood from the fresh rebuild - I think it came loose from those washboards. Pretty sure that was the first time out on the new rebuilt engine.

I could feel my teeth rattling loose from that road while watching your video!

The Bendix axles were still both serviceable, but when turning one of them, at a certain point it seemed to bind up a little bit.  I just didn't like how they felt, so - and I had to go back to one of the old build threads and check - I apparently put the Spicer axles in the Jeep.
-Doug
1963 CJ3B - F134 Hurricane, T90C/D18, OD, D27/44, alternator
1991 YJ - 4.0, AX-15, D-30 front, Ford 8.8 rear, 4-inch lift

Offline Doug_3B

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Re: My 1963 CJ3B Build Thread
« Reply #48 on: November 22, 2020, 09:29:25 AM »
Here we go with reassembly:



Doesn't it look so pretty all cleaned up?





Here is the axle shaft mostly installed.  Pretty sure I went with the Spicers.



Surprised that I didn't take that outside and clean it up a little bit



Brake lines connected back up to the wheel cylinder



I cleaned and sprayed the hub



With a new spindle nut, I got to use my spindle nut socket to tighten things down.





And Cutlass locking hubs cleaned and installed.  I ran these hubs for years, but I really didn't like having to dig for a tool before getting out to lock them in or out.



This picture shows the front tires after I completed the drivers side and before doing the passenger side.  With the way that passenger tire sits all wonky, I expected to find bearings that were REALLY shot in there.  That was NOT the case.  All bearings in the passenger side were still serviceable; although, I replace ALL bearings during this project.  I filled the knuckles with Land Rover swivel housing grease.

-Doug
1963 CJ3B - F134 Hurricane, T90C/D18, OD, D27/44, alternator
1991 YJ - 4.0, AX-15, D-30 front, Ford 8.8 rear, 4-inch lift

Offline Doug_3B

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Re: My 1963 CJ3B Build Thread
« Reply #49 on: November 22, 2020, 09:53:25 AM »
Here is some rear axle work.  I pulled them apart to check the bearings and seals.

A buddy of mine had a hub puller that he let me borrow



Hub removed



Now:  time to remove the axle shaft.  I ran around to several parts places to rent an axle removal tool.  I found one that was totally useless, maybe an 8-oz slide hammer, it did nothing.



Frustrated, I formulated my own plan.  The thing I love about having a welder is the ability to fabricate when necessary.  The nuts were the tricky part, I ended up taking an axle nut to a specialty place for comparison and bought two.  Welded them to a section of all thread, used a sledge hammer head, and created my own slide hammer.  I thing by the second blow the axle came loose.  Haven't used this tool in years, but it's still around!









Here it is going back together



And, another project in the books



-Doug
1963 CJ3B - F134 Hurricane, T90C/D18, OD, D27/44, alternator
1991 YJ - 4.0, AX-15, D-30 front, Ford 8.8 rear, 4-inch lift

Offline Doug_3B

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Re: My 1963 CJ3B Build Thread
« Reply #50 on: November 22, 2020, 06:51:25 PM »
The engine rebuild is coming up real soon, but I came across these pictures of the original axles that came on my 3B, and figured I'd post them.  They had 11" brakes installed, but had weird spacers installed and the lug nuts didn't thread on all the way.  I called them the "axles of evil."  I figured maybe they had the wrong drums and the spacer took care of their problem, but I don't understand why they wouldn't have installed longer lugs.

Here is the front axle of evil



This is all the further the lug nuts would thread on:





Removed the drum and there's the spacer



I guess I can appreciate the time and work and acetylene put forth in blowing these spacers out of 3/16" steel, but when it comes to my steering and brakes, I prefer to do everything the right way. 



I hope I don't need them things when I install the 11" brakes on the Jeep because I chucked them far away.

-Doug
1963 CJ3B - F134 Hurricane, T90C/D18, OD, D27/44, alternator
1991 YJ - 4.0, AX-15, D-30 front, Ford 8.8 rear, 4-inch lift

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Re: My 1963 CJ3B Build Thread
« Reply #51 on: November 22, 2020, 07:19:44 PM »
I knew it was time to do something about my engine when we were on a Jeep trip in the Boise National Forest and my friend Todd pulls up behind me during a break and gets out of his 3B laughing.  He was following me and said the road was just covered with blue smoke.

I had the spare F-head that came with the parts Jeep.  In order for there to be as little down time on the Jeep as possible, I would tear down the spare, get it machined and rebuild it.  Then the Jeep should only be down a day or two to do the swap.

Here is the spare before I started tear down.



Oil pan didn't look great























I had the block and head hot tanked and magna fluxed. 

About the only break I caught during the whole rebuild is that there were no cracks in the block.

The engine had been rebuilt before, so they had to go .060 over on the cylinders and .020 under on the crank.

I used Joe's Motor Machine in Boise, for anyone in the area who might be interested.  He was in his 60s when I had this work done and he inherited the business from his Dad.  He said he mostly works on older stuff.  He recognized the engine as soon as he saw it and his shop just had this look that, yep, this is the right place!
-Doug
1963 CJ3B - F134 Hurricane, T90C/D18, OD, D27/44, alternator
1991 YJ - 4.0, AX-15, D-30 front, Ford 8.8 rear, 4-inch lift

Offline 1955CJ-5

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Re: My 1963 CJ3B Build Thread
« Reply #52 on: November 22, 2020, 07:48:03 PM »
"and his shop just had this look that, yep, this is the right place!"

I felt the same way....just wanted to hang around in there and look at the stuff!


1955 CJ-5, A friend for 58 years....1951 CJ-3A, a new addition. 1929 Model A Ford Closed Cab Pickup...

Offline Doug_3B

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Re: My 1963 CJ3B Build Thread
« Reply #53 on: November 23, 2020, 08:43:11 PM »
"and his shop just had this look that, yep, this is the right place!"

I felt the same way....just wanted to hang around in there and look at the stuff!

Yeah!!  That's how I remember it looking!
-Doug
1963 CJ3B - F134 Hurricane, T90C/D18, OD, D27/44, alternator
1991 YJ - 4.0, AX-15, D-30 front, Ford 8.8 rear, 4-inch lift

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Re: My 1963 CJ3B Build Thread
« Reply #54 on: November 24, 2020, 04:27:46 PM »
Here is the block fresh from the machine shop





And, reassembly begins



Cam is in



Fitting the crank



Getting a chance to play with some new toys to check end play



Installing the pistons



And... they're all installed







Distributor installed







Starting to look like an engine again!







Ready for paint



Painted







And finally, the old with the new:

-Doug
1963 CJ3B - F134 Hurricane, T90C/D18, OD, D27/44, alternator
1991 YJ - 4.0, AX-15, D-30 front, Ford 8.8 rear, 4-inch lift

Offline 1955CJ-5

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Re: My 1963 CJ3B Build Thread
« Reply #55 on: November 24, 2020, 05:52:32 PM »
When you pulled the engine did you pull the fenders and grill off?

And did you use any special lift brackets or just straps etc.?

I need to replace my clutch and don't really want to pull the transmission/transfer case. The engine maybe is no easier to pull but I can do that on my feet instead of on my back on the cold concrete!

Randy
1955 CJ-5, A friend for 58 years....1951 CJ-3A, a new addition. 1929 Model A Ford Closed Cab Pickup...

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Re: My 1963 CJ3B Build Thread
« Reply #56 on: November 25, 2020, 07:35:26 AM »
It took about 6 months to rebuild the engine.  Probably was at the machine shop 4-6 weeks alone.  Then, as I was building it up, I had a lot of questions, problems, and parts to buy.  Finally, it was time to swap it out.

Starting to remove the front clip







Used a come along to pull the engine









With the old engine out of the way, I took the opportunity to clean up the firewall, something that always bugged me.



I also took this opportunity to install a heater under the dash



OK, enough stalling!  Time to install the new engine







Also put a alternator on at this time







It was finally in and ready to test!   This was somewhere around the week of Thanksgiving, 2012.

I had some issues upon start up.  I cranked her some with the coil wire removed to get some oil pumping.  After I connected the coil wire back up and tried to start it, it just cranked and cranked and cranked.  Even to the point that the battery go a bit low.  I blame that on the choke, the choke cable is hard to move sometimes and I think that I didn't have the choke pulled all the way out.  Anyway, I boosted the battery with my truck, jumped back in the Jeep, pulled on the choke, and the cable came out further than it had the previous time. Hit the key and it almost started.  Hit it again and it was running. 

However, there was a terrible rattle.  The only reason I didn't shut down the engine immediately was that I could tell it wasn't something major, and I was busy looking for the source.  Turns out that I had forgot to tighten the 4 fan bolts into the water pump.  That was an easy fix. 

After some timing and idle adjustments, I was pretty much in awe at how quiet and smooth the engine ran.  The old engine was starting to sound like a diesel.

Here is video of the first time the engine started after the rebuild:

https://youtu.be/Vrslwag8_A0
-Doug
1963 CJ3B - F134 Hurricane, T90C/D18, OD, D27/44, alternator
1991 YJ - 4.0, AX-15, D-30 front, Ford 8.8 rear, 4-inch lift

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Re: My 1963 CJ3B Build Thread
« Reply #57 on: November 25, 2020, 07:47:49 AM »
When you pulled the engine did you pull the fenders and grill off?

And did you use any special lift brackets or just straps etc.?

I need to replace my clutch and don't really want to pull the transmission/transfer case. The engine maybe is no easier to pull but I can do that on my feet instead of on my back on the cold concrete!

Randy

Hey Randy,

Yeah I did, I was going to post the latest reply yesterday, but was farting around with the video.  Pulling the front clip is so easy and gives you complete access to the engine.

I've pulled the transmission/transfer case several times, actually got pretty good at it.  I always went for that rather than pulling the engine because I don't want to screw around  with draining the antifreeze LOL.  I always end up with a mess!

You're right, the engine probably is no more difficult to pull than the transmission/transfer case and you can stand while doing it. 

I bought the engine hoist chain from the parts store, you can see it in some of the pics.  it worked just fine.  You can borrow it if you want to; I just saw it the other day.  You may want to use a cherry picker to pull the engine; I used a come along hanging from a giant eye bolt from Boise Rigging.  It works, but you have to push the Jeep around rather than the cherry picker/engine.
-Doug
1963 CJ3B - F134 Hurricane, T90C/D18, OD, D27/44, alternator
1991 YJ - 4.0, AX-15, D-30 front, Ford 8.8 rear, 4-inch lift

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Re: My 1963 CJ3B Build Thread
« Reply #58 on: November 25, 2020, 01:14:33 PM »
Something else that I had in the works at around the same time as the engine rebuild was a Koenig hard top.  You can see it in some of the pictures.  It was an on going project of several years.  I got the top for a steal locally, finally something that didn't cost an arm and a leg AND that I didn't have to drive for hours to pick up.  The catch was that it was for a low hood Jeep; I'm not sure if for a 2A or 3A.  I kind of figured a 3A because for some reason I believe that the tub dimensions of a 2A were slightly different. 

It wasn't much to look at to begin with:







The passenger side was rusted through in sections.  I had to cut out and replace the bad parts. 



Here I have a piece of square stock clamped on to try to keep everything from warping.  I was not entirely successful in that endeavor.





Here we got the new panels welded in and ground down.  And put on the Jeep for a quick test fit and to see how it looked



View from the back



And, painted.  I used Rustoleum Hammered Black.  This paint didn't hide nearly as many imperfections as the can led me to believe





The driver's side was similar, but not quite as bad.  Here are both sides sitting in place



The top needed no work other than paint.  However, I had to adjust my windshield to get the right measurement so the top would fit correctly.  I couldn't get the right measurement, no matter how I adjusted it.  Advice from the CJ3B Bulletin Board told me that I would have to bend the windshield frame arms slightly.  I kind of wish that I had documented that for posterity.  I removed the windshield frame and placed it on the ground.  With glass still in it, I parked a tire of the Jeep on it to hold it in place.  Then I used a 4' section of pipe, slid one end over the end of the windshield arm and tweaked.  I had no idea what I was doing, but I did know I was going to crack the windshield. 

Whatever I did, I did it right the first time and when I reinstalled the windshield, with original glass still in 1 piece I might add, I was easily able to get the correct measurement from the top of the windshield frame to the back of the tub. 





If you're ever going to do a project like this, do yourself a favor at this point, and enlarge the windows.  SOOOOOO many blind spots.  You can't see anything beside behind the doors and very little behind you.  If I was in traffic and had to change lanes, I'd flip on the turn signal for 30 seconds or so and then start to ease over and listen for a horn.  I HATED driving with the top on.

-Doug
1963 CJ3B - F134 Hurricane, T90C/D18, OD, D27/44, alternator
1991 YJ - 4.0, AX-15, D-30 front, Ford 8.8 rear, 4-inch lift

Offline 1955CJ-5

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Re: My 1963 CJ3B Build Thread
« Reply #59 on: November 25, 2020, 01:23:22 PM »
Thanks for the pictures!  I'll go the same route, and I'll use an engine hoist, Tate's has one I've used several times.

I'm with you on those blind spots!

I fabricated a mirror mount for the right side, using the two bolts in the windshield frame that hold the upper door hinge bracket in place, don't know if the 3b has those bolt holes.

It is not great but is better than nothing. I do walk into it pretty regularly though:)
« Last Edit: November 25, 2020, 01:27:49 PM by 1955CJ-5 »
1955 CJ-5, A friend for 58 years....1951 CJ-3A, a new addition. 1929 Model A Ford Closed Cab Pickup...