My 'new' Jeep

[RC51 Rhino]

 Got a '46 Willys CJ2a for CHEAP...
 
   Gonna put in a V8, auto doubler transfer case and a set of full length Dana 44s. F150 radius arms front and rear...they are about 32" long, perfect for twistin' in the rocks or shootin' a bowl at Glamis. Hoping for about 250 hp with the TBI chevy 350...

  Got the frame stripped down and legnthened in the front, still gotta do the rear. Front axle tacked into place, hope to get some pics up this weekend.

[Jerry]

I love the look of the old jeeps

[RC51 Rhino]

 Me too, this will be my 4th Jeep...1st was a '42 Ford GPW, then came an 82 CJ7, came along way up to an '01 TJ now back to the CJ2a!

 This will be my 1st purpose built rig (besides the 'rhino'), made for desert dwelling...'Desert, Trail and Sand' sound familiar? It will go every where I go...Rocky Point, Glamis, Moab, the Rubicon, Florence (Az). Hoping to build on no 'budget' getting most all the hard parts from friends or donated from businesses I know and deal with...mostly the local auto wreckers.
 There will be a substantial (sp?) cage that will be tied to the frame at approx 8 points...on that note, should I be using .095 or .120 wall tube for the cage work? I'm going big dia (1.75") and cost differential of the two is minimal btu, do I need the thicker?

[SPEC]

In my humble opinion I'd use .120 for the main hoops and .095 for the rest of it, the weight savings is substancial when you add it all up...I know in buildinr roundy chassis's .095 is fine but thet dont't see the same kind of twisting and stresses your machine will

[Admin]

1.75 OD .095 Imo is more than sufficent...

[SPEC]

I know that this isn't a sanctioned build...
>095 wall is the thinnest allowed in All of the sanctioned racing stuff that's Automotive powered...And it it's going to be rock crawling it will prolly see multiple roll overs Better safe then squashed

[RC51 Rhino]

 Okay...got the cage kinda figured out. Picked up a Ford F150 8.8" rear axle that is as wide as my front (65"!!) and has close to the same ratio... 3.55 compared to 3.54.

 Got the on side of the tub 'comp cut' and the frame stretch completed in the back, too. Stretched the wheelbase from a meeger 81" to about 96". this will help a lot in the handling dept. both in the rocks and on the street.

 Pics for the masses:

 Before we tore it completely down.


 Just a little rust?


 Rear stock shot.


 Front axle tacked in place.


 Engine compartment...place small block here!


 Rear with 35 M/T about where it will sit.

[Whiplash]

My wife LOVES these, keep the pics coming! I want to see what a pain in the A** they are before I try one for myself!

[RC51 Rhino]

 Seems to be going a lot easier than my rail build...no custom machined parts...yet!

 I am planning on building a 'doubler' still it will be a Chevy based NP203 gear set without the chain drive mated to a Ford (passenger side drop) NP205. The first gives me 2:1 low range, the second gives me 2:1 low range also. I haven't done the math on the turbo 350 tranny (1st gear ratio, anybody?) but I'll have a 4:1 multiplier for lo-low range. I'll hopefully be changing the diffs to 4.11 giving me stout diff gears and 16:1 before factoring in the 1st gear in the tranny! Thats where the 'yet' comes in for the machining/fabrication thing, I've got to build the spacer adapter for the 2 transfer cases.

[RC51 Rhino]

 Forgot I put this here! Update, pics to come... New 2x4x.120wall rectangle frame with 1.75x.120 wall cage tied in at 8 points on frame. Jeep body and frame was junk so I ditched EVERYTHING but the cowl(with VIN) windshield frame hood and grill and built a "juggy" (kinda dumb name...Jeep/buggy). Keeping the axles and radius arms got a multiport FI windsor motor, c6 tranny and a early Bronco Dana 20 transfer case. Still looking for a NP203 to rob the range box to build a doubler. Using the Corbeaus/belts out of the RC car, trying to sell the rest so I can get going on this build...wanting at least 14" coilovers or MAYBE 2.5 airs, really don't want to go with coils. They are easy to set up but this thing is going to be multi-use and I want to be able to go fast at the dunes/desert and still be able crawl it.


 Like I said update...pics to come.