Wooders Family Truckster

[Wooders]

And other modification type stuff noted as previously done straight from the previous owners keyboard:
Part 3/3
***********

10-01-2009
this isnt exactly high end engineering, but i noticed there to be a handy space under the floor in my FSJ jeep, under the rear seat. so i had a sheet metal working bend and weld a box to fill the space, then cut a hole in the floor underneath the rear seat, and screwed and sealed it in place. it holds a handy amount of stuff, and is at almost zero risk of having someone steal my tools, jumper leads, multimeter etc, a second time.
i have 2" liftblocks in the rear, but i will say that when i fitted it, i did have cause to ponder if a really hard landing or pothole might cause the diff to hit the box. i think there is enough clearance, but if it comes to that, i will remove it, and cut the end above the diff a bit shallower, and weld plate back in.
(DWEdit - there wasn't enough clearance )

03-12-2008
now, my sj doesnt lock, and if it did, a child could open those T topped door locks. anyhow, we know that people who want to get into your car simply smash the window, and that is that. then they reach in, take what they want, and leave. so i bought a small key lock safe from bunnings (sandleford barricade model), and bolted it between the front seats of the car. i had the brackets, which previously mounted the rather pointless middle arm rest, remade so there was a little more space between them, and bolted the safe in. so two bolts each side of the safe, two bolts on each bracket into the floor, and on through the bottom of the safe through the floor. it fits perfectly, and i am completely comfortable leaving phone, wallet etc in the car if needs be. i havent got around to the drink holders on the front yet

29-10-2008
i have been putting in suspension lift hardware in my 81 cherokee.
the front part of it consisted of shackles 3" longer than standard. that is ok, but had two consequences: the front was only lifted about 1.5", as the rear of the spring was, of course, still mounted at the original height. as i put 3" blocks on the rear axle, it left the car pointing down a bit at the front. secondly, it alters the castor angle of the steering. while no doubt easier on the universal joint on the front shaft, it seemed desirable and prudent to raise the front a bit more.

so, my solution was to cut the mounting brackets off the rear of the front spring, and make new ones with holes at original height, 1.5" and 3". i used 10mm plate, cut with an angle grinder. one major issue with to ensure that the axle went back in properly aligned, i first cut a piece of flat steel so it went over the spring eye bolt, with the original bracket in place, and screwed its other end to the chassis. i then measured from the backside of the top ball joint nut, to the middle of the head of the bolt on the front shackle mount. with one side fixed in place by the flat bar, i then shifted the other side back and forth to the same measurement.
the 3" lift at the rear increased the angle on the rear uni, so i would expect that to shorten its life. i have, however, just put new unis in the tailshaft so they will likely outlast my ownership of this car. i notice that one can buy slightly angled wedges, which fit between the rear liftblocks and the axle, to tile the front of the rear diff up a little. i would reckon that to be a really good idea, but of course they are in the US and i had already done the rear axle bit by then.

i also put in new spring eye bushes, having previously put in polyurethane shackle bushes. the PU bushes are a good idea, i think, but it is important that they are lubricated between the sleeve and the PU. someone had put PU spring eye bushes at the rear of the front spring, but they were evidently not greased at all. further, the bolt had fused with the inside of the sleeve so strongly, that i ultimately couldn't dislodge it with a 20t press! as can be seen, i opted for the cheaper metalastik bushes. note: my understanding of these is that the bolt needs to be torqued up sufficiently such the inner tube cannot rotate on the bolt, or with respect to the mounting bracket. all movement is therefor taken up by flex in the rubber in the bush. surprisingly hard to find a definitive statement to that effect!

i am now working on some panel repair so have not yet driven the car. in theory, the front has a bit less castor, so perhaps will have a little less self correction, but that remains to be seen. i can set the rear of the front spring a bit 'higher' anyhow, to restore original castor. i have been advised that 3" lift does not require a drop pitman arm, but the proof of that will be in the driving as well. see how we go!


plates cut out, with angle grinder, from 10mm plate. gosh, dont drill bits get expensive once they go beyond 1/2"!!
a 1/2" bit may be bought for $20, but the 9/16 bit was almost $60. to preserve the life of this precious item, i worked up to 9/16 with two smaller bits, and plenty of cutting fluid.

in retrospect, 1/4" plate was an overkill, and i think 3/16" would be more than enough. once the brackets were welded up, it took significant force to expand the two sides by even 1mm or so, to slide the spring eye in between. that was achieved by some threaded rod through the lower holes, and nuts on the inside of the side plates, but even then, i had to apply real torque to the spanners to do it!

***********
Wooders ....PHEW - OK so that's what I have on the history of this Jeep. From here hopefully most of the mods will be my undertakings, but I love seeing how much care has previously gone into this old girl......Now onto the Next chapter
***********

Edit another link with more info on the awesome work Alexander did installing the MegoJolt system:
https://forum.autosportlabs.com/view...aa5c0ee778ff9f