Builds 68' M715, AKA "Smokey" (Can I post this Jeep on MUD?) (2 Viewers)

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Do you plan to run some kind of gasket between the lip and the cab floor on that tranny cover?
 
Do you plan to run some kind of gasket between the lip and the cab floor on that tranny cover?
@boots4 Hi Mike, yeah I figure some sort of soft rubber bead just to keep heat and some noise out. It shouldn’t take much to seal it
 
Painstaking measurements and cutting holes in the tunnel over the past 2 days

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SWAG circle cutter has come in very handy

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Shift plate for the Magnum. Added some threaded bits so a person won’t have to try and back up the but side with a wrench under the tunnel

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The ORD twin sticks for the 205 were the worst and lots of things (465 and Magnum) are all vying for space

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So I thought they were going here. And I was wrong. Cut the hole then realized I didn’t have enough throw to properly engage the 205 shift shafts

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Cut the hole and realized I’d screwed the pooch.

So I had to weld it all back up and cut another one

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Got it right on the 2nd round. This is where everything will sit. Along with cutting brakes somewhere...

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Transitioning over to working on the steering. The factory steering box mount only has 3 bolt holes for a manual box. I need 4 and the mount needs to be considerably reinforced/braced across the whole frame rail.

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Start with a fresh fish plate to even out the exterior frame rail...

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Mocking up the next mount in cardboard first. It hangs pretty low but that’s where the box needs to sit. I’ll make a pretty good slide/skid plate for it

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Simple things sometimes take a LONG time. This is merely converting a 3 bolt manual box to a 4 bolt power steering box but good grief I’m still at it. Maybe this is common with the FSJ crowd but the 715 frame is quite a bit different is my guess

Made a plate:
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This is the factory mount. Yeah, YUCK. This is looking inwards under the frame. Rear bolt has a sleeve which isn’t centered very well, front got nothing, just a big hole to pass a socket through

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Inner factory plate. The lower holes are the 2 lower ones for the box. Upper right is the 3rd hole on the box. There’s no hole for the upper rear mount. Since this piece is stout and places the box right where it should go I’m leaving it. It’s everything else that needs to be reinforced
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I’m using tube, passed through the mount and frame to make sure nothing crushes. Mounting bolts run through the tube

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I enlarged the factory holes to 5/8” so my sleeves would pass through.
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Getting the holes centered and lined up correctly was a challenge. And I really wanted to get it right. Used the sleeves to assist in alignment then I marked the back side of the plate
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Transferred to the plate. And of course, one hole just has to be half on it. The whole outer frame is getting plated so it’d not a big deal, more annoying
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Drilled to 5/8”
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And after checking the alignment about 3 more times, I marked and drilled through the outer frame rail. Used a high speed carbide to smooth them out
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This. This is factory janky. The expectation was that you fish a bolt down in this void where I’m pointing with the awl. It’s for the upper, forward bolt. I think I’ll pass on that plan since this whole area is going to get sealed up

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Now the tube sleeve goes through that void
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And out the other side on the outer frame rail
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After many more measurements, black arrow shows where the 4th hole needs to go

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And here’s the outer plate with the sleeves mocked up. Getting much closer. It’s a bit goofy since the bolts and sleeves pass through at an angle. Plus the sleeves have to pass through both the inner and outer frame rails. I’ve got some round bar on order so I can make some wedges for the bolts to evenly snug against

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Fish plate is on...

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And verified by bolting up a donor box that the sleeves and holes are correct..

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Gonna have to get some tig lessons from you, those look great!
Thanks! It continued today...

Boxing around the front frame rail.....
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And starting to plate and box the entire factory mount so it ties into the exterior plate

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Just using P&O .25” scraps to do this

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Finish the boxing.....then weld it. Which took a LONG time

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This was extra fun since so much of it was overhead or really hard to get to

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Do you think you’ll need a weep hole at the base of the steering box?
The steering box itself isn’t boxed in, it’s still out in the open on the inner frame rail. Only the mount is boxed.

When I’m all done with it, it should be totally sealed off. I may still do a weep hole just in case tho
 
Steering box stuff is just about done.

I upgraded the internal sleeves to 4130 chromo then welded in both sides. Also used some 1018 round bar to make the appropriate “wedges” so the bolts are pulling straight against the box. Ignore the bolts with the stacked washers, that’s mock

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The upper bolt here also needs the correct spacer. 20 degree wedge with the sane 1018 round bar drilled to 15/16”
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Moving forward on the frame now....

After quite a bit of debate, decided to incorporate some steering box armor/skid into the front frame. It’ll provide a nice ramp for obstacles.

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It’s “Kaiser approved ;)

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Back to this mess, the passenger side firewall.

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Weld it in
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Backside is so full of holes it looks like it got hit with a shotgun blast

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Welded nutserts for the battery trays...
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And fit the trays up. Plenty of space from the header do as not to cook the battery

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Working on finding permanent dry homes for a few things. Made a template for the bulkhead connector for heater and AC hoses

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And it’s in...

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