Builds 68' M715, AKA "Smokey" (Can I post this Jeep on MUD?) (2 Viewers)
- Thread starter Rock40
- Start date
This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.
- Thread starter
- #82
Yes, it certainly will be. It's more or less "sort of" in mock up mode. It'll be reinforced/triangulated with additional tubing running from the rear of the mount back to the frame. Then the plan is for the skid plate to tie into the ORD Magnum mount, frame rails and suspension mounts. It should be pretty stiff, at least that's the hope.
Box Rocket
SILVER Star
Diggin this build. Nice work. The TIG work is pretty. I've always wanted a M715 so this is fascinating.
- Thread starter
- #84
Dang. Time for a WAY overdue update here.....
Many thanks to TrailReady that loaned out this mockup wheel so I could really dial in the backspacing. It’s cracked clean through from racing KOH but it did the trick
This is where things are going to land, unfortunately it's going to require some serious changes to our original plan. So, we're ditching the D60 dually hubs altogether and going with SRW hubs and wheels with 3.5" of backspacing. It'll allow full steering lock to lock and with 2.5" of suspension lift, essentially no sheet metal trimming to run the 40's. As an added benefit, this thing might actually fit down some NW wheeling trails.
But, that means the 70HD is out also. It's getting replaced with a 14B which roughly match the WMS of the SRW D60. So if anyone is interested in a 70HD with a nice Arctec truss let me know.
In the meantime, decided to finally bite the bullet and chop the rear frame. Total of 22" removed...
Many thanks to TrailReady that loaned out this mockup wheel so I could really dial in the backspacing. It’s cracked clean through from racing KOH but it did the trick
This is where things are going to land, unfortunately it's going to require some serious changes to our original plan. So, we're ditching the D60 dually hubs altogether and going with SRW hubs and wheels with 3.5" of backspacing. It'll allow full steering lock to lock and with 2.5" of suspension lift, essentially no sheet metal trimming to run the 40's. As an added benefit, this thing might actually fit down some NW wheeling trails.
But, that means the 70HD is out also. It's getting replaced with a 14B which roughly match the WMS of the SRW D60. So if anyone is interested in a 70HD with a nice Arctec truss let me know.
In the meantime, decided to finally bite the bullet and chop the rear frame. Total of 22" removed...
- Thread starter
- #85
Braced the frame rails forward of the cuts, made them at 45 degrees and cleaned them up
Fitting it all up
Welded. Both sides will be fully plated also
It frankly looks SO much shorter at this point, which I like
- Thread starter
- #86
Maybe it’s just me but I had a heck of a time finding a GM 14B locally. I probably visited 4-5 different yards before finding this one from a 79' 2WD. Got it hub to hub, no warranty for $189 which is just fine with me since I really only want the housing anyway.
Tore it down fully, had 3.73 gears and was super clean inside. Brakes looked more or less fresh. Threw all that nonsense in the recycling pile
Back from the media blaster and ready for fab work
Tore it down fully, had 3.73 gears and was super clean inside. Brakes looked more or less fresh. Threw all that nonsense in the recycling pile
Back from the media blaster and ready for fab work
- Thread starter
- #87
I’m beginning to square away interior bits also. This is a Vintage Air Magnum unit. Both heat and AC. It's gigantic and it JUST fit against the firewall.
Tucked into place right above the passenger footwell
And just clears the firewall hump where the defrost and heat ducts exit the unit
Tucked into place right above the passenger footwell
And just clears the firewall hump where the defrost and heat ducts exit the unit
- Thread starter
- #88
Mounting points for the heater. It's tied into the firewall itself with the factory mount plate and also hooked into the underside of the glovebox. I modified the factory mount to fit. It's a heavy unit but can't move around at all mounted like this
Two mounting bolts through the glovebox
Added the Vintage Air vents. They are bigger than the factory M715 vents so I had to weld stainless studs to mount them. Clean finish though overall and the vents are very low profile
Mounting studs TIG welded through the cowl and defrost vent mounted
Two mounting bolts through the glovebox
Added the Vintage Air vents. They are bigger than the factory M715 vents so I had to weld stainless studs to mount them. Clean finish though overall and the vents are very low profile
Mounting studs TIG welded through the cowl and defrost vent mounted
- Thread starter
- #89
Old factory dash/gauge cluster. And yeah, the miles are original 
New and improved cluster. I'm going to cut the very bottom out to mount a 5th gauge for coolant temp
Original military harness. I peeled it all apart to separate the wires needed to run the headlight switch only. The rest of the wiring will be new
This is the factory blackout/headlight switch. We're going to retain it since the dash has a large hole already to accommodate it
New and improved cluster. I'm going to cut the very bottom out to mount a 5th gauge for coolant temp
Original military harness. I peeled it all apart to separate the wires needed to run the headlight switch only. The rest of the wiring will be new
This is the factory blackout/headlight switch. We're going to retain it since the dash has a large hole already to accommodate it
- Thread starter
- #90
Mocking up the pedals, the GM pedal that mates to the 8.1 is installed here. It's drive by wire which is actually nice since threading a throttle cable would be essentially impossible. The clutch are brake are factory. All three align quite well
Before the pedals can be finalized, I needed to repair and reinforce essentially the entire driver side firewall. It's pockmocked with all kinds of holes. I'm lucky that my next door neighbor owns a fabrication business and he supplied a small pile of 14g sheet metal for the firewall
Here's the factory firewall, pretty much a mess. There's a 14g reinforcement plate already in place which I considered removing and decided against. Too much work and too many spot welds. The round hole is one of the factory fresh air inlets
New 14g plate going in to level things out...
TIG'd in place. I used silicon bronze against the outermost edge, ER70S2 for everything else.
Before the pedals can be finalized, I needed to repair and reinforce essentially the entire driver side firewall. It's pockmocked with all kinds of holes. I'm lucky that my next door neighbor owns a fabrication business and he supplied a small pile of 14g sheet metal for the firewall
Here's the factory firewall, pretty much a mess. There's a 14g reinforcement plate already in place which I considered removing and decided against. Too much work and too many spot welds. The round hole is one of the factory fresh air inlets
New 14g plate going in to level things out...
TIG'd in place. I used silicon bronze against the outermost edge, ER70S2 for everything else.
Last edited:
- Thread starter
- #91
Finished welding on the first plate
Fully welding the top of the factory plate and blending the two together...
Final plate going in which will tie the entire firewall together and provide a completely flat mounting surface
Done and Hydroboost until mounted
Fully welding the top of the factory plate and blending the two together...
Final plate going in which will tie the entire firewall together and provide a completely flat mounting surface
Done and Hydroboost until mounted
- Thread starter
- #92
Transitioned to the inner firewall in the driver footwell. I needed to plate this also so that I could properly mount the Flaming River steering column support. It requires a flat surface and I wanted to seal up the firewall very well.
Adding one plate at a time...
And then fully welding the whole mess
This is where the steering column support will eventually go
Adding one plate at a time...
And then fully welding the whole mess
This is where the steering column support will eventually go
- Thread starter
- #93
Prepping to cut the hole for the new Wilwood clutch master cylinder. The truck was originally a goofy mechanical pushrod system for the clutch. At the very least, I triple checked this against where the clutch pedal was located before cutting the hole
Done, the Wilwood until is super clean and simple. It has a 3/4" bore
In conjunction with the Hydroboost and there's quite a bit of room to the right of the clutch master cylinder to mount other stuff
Moved on to making some required changes to the pedals since this obviously was never equipped with hydroboost or a hydraulic clutch. To my surprise, I found that the clutch pedal actually pivots on needle bearings. Fancy. What you're seeing here is completely solidified grease circa Vietnam War
Clutch pedal. The bracket was for the original rod linkage. I drilled it out and popped it off. I added the 3rd hole in the middle, that's right were the Wilwood master cylinder rod wants to go. Drilled 5/16" and I'll make a custom clevis for it
Done, the Wilwood until is super clean and simple. It has a 3/4" bore
In conjunction with the Hydroboost and there's quite a bit of room to the right of the clutch master cylinder to mount other stuff
Moved on to making some required changes to the pedals since this obviously was never equipped with hydroboost or a hydraulic clutch. To my surprise, I found that the clutch pedal actually pivots on needle bearings. Fancy. What you're seeing here is completely solidified grease circa Vietnam War
Clutch pedal. The bracket was for the original rod linkage. I drilled it out and popped it off. I added the 3rd hole in the middle, that's right were the Wilwood master cylinder rod wants to go. Drilled 5/16" and I'll make a custom clevis for it
Last edited:
- Thread starter
- #94
Blasted the clutch pedal to clean it up, new needle bearings are on the way
Brake pedal, to my surprise, the factory pivot pins fits the hydroboost rod perfectly. However it wasn't in the right spot. The pin is pressed into place. I ground the one end off and then pressed the pin out hydraulically. Notice that the pedals really only ever got "half" painted, essentially from overspray when the truck was built
Cleaned it up to get it ready for welding. The pedal is cast steel and I made a bracket out of 3/8" plate in order to move the pivot point further out from the firewall (towards the driver).
I was a bit nervous to weld on the braking system, especially the main pivot point. However if this ever breaks loose I'll be astounded. Double pass TIG, it welded very nice
Brake pedal, to my surprise, the factory pivot pins fits the hydroboost rod perfectly. However it wasn't in the right spot. The pin is pressed into place. I ground the one end off and then pressed the pin out hydraulically. Notice that the pedals really only ever got "half" painted, essentially from overspray when the truck was built
Cleaned it up to get it ready for welding. The pedal is cast steel and I made a bracket out of 3/8" plate in order to move the pivot point further out from the firewall (towards the driver).
I was a bit nervous to weld on the braking system, especially the main pivot point. However if this ever breaks loose I'll be astounded. Double pass TIG, it welded very nice
Last edited:
- Thread starter
- #95
The pin is in place here. Prior to welding, I drilled it to use an 1/8" cotter pin. This pin is obviously too short but you get the idea.
Moving on now to the transmission hump. This is the factory unit. It's not rusty but it's bent to hell and has at least 4 coats of paint on it
Drawing out where the 465 is, along with the NP205 twin stick, the Ranger OD and the ORD Magnum. It's going to be busy in here, like a friggin' forest of shifters
Moving on now to the transmission hump. This is the factory unit. It's not rusty but it's bent to hell and has at least 4 coats of paint on it
Drawing out where the 465 is, along with the NP205 twin stick, the Ranger OD and the ORD Magnum. It's going to be busy in here, like a friggin' forest of shifters
Thanks for posting all of those detailed frame pictures! I'm researching the reinforcements that Jeep made to the M715 frames vs a civilian frame and have been really struggling to find pictures after the photobucket disaster. I never would have thought I'd be finding my best FSJ build information on mud!
Could I trouble you for a measurement of how thick your frame rail is? Anywhere rearward of the OE boxed section would be perfect. There's a lot of conjecture as to whether or not the M715's (and other HD Jeep trucks) received thicker frame rails than the half ton trucks and Wagoneers.
Could I trouble you for a measurement of how thick your frame rail is? Anywhere rearward of the OE boxed section would be perfect. There's a lot of conjecture as to whether or not the M715's (and other HD Jeep trucks) received thicker frame rails than the half ton trucks and Wagoneers.
- Thread starter
- #97
No problem!! I’ll work on getting that today. Off the top of my head I think it’s ballpark 3/16” but I’ll verify
- Thread starter
- #98
Frame thickness is anywhere from .175-.180 so I guess right between 11/64” and 3/16” thick
2fpower
SILVER Star
So glad to see updates... been wondering what was happening to Smokey.
- Thread starter
- #100
Haha! I’ve been slowly picking away at it, just picking up a bit more momentum lately
