A Birthday Present... To my 40 (1 Viewer)

[pondjumpr]

So, my 1978 40 has a build date of October 1977. She turns 40 this month. After getting it back on the road a few years ago, I scraped up a few $$ and decided to do a few upgrades.
I wanted to get new tires but while I was currently running 31x10.5x15, I wanted new rims, too and decided to go up to a 33x10.5x15 while I made the change. Well, the 33's wouldn't fit under the rear ( I knew this... my wife didn't) so I decided to put a mild lift on it. After much debate, I decided to go with OME Light/Medium springs. I believe it states 2"-2.5".
I was torn between running BFG AT2 and MT but after getting over the sticker shock, I decided to branch out and look at other tires. After reading tons of reviews, I found the Dick Cepek Extreme Country available in 33x10.5x15. The tire was originally $229, I believe, but 4WheelParts had them on sale for $179 each with Free shipping. I put them in my cart and lo and behold, they offered a $150 rebate a couple days later. So, $716 for the set with $150 coming back, I felt good about it.
They look great now that I have them and they are MUCH more quiet than I imagined.

So, Happy 40th birthday to my 40.... Here's to many more years of joy!

Stock front. 31x10.5x15

Stock rear springs
````````
New Shoes...

more...

 

[pondjumpr]

More pics

 

[pondjumpr]

I can't figure out why this one will not allow me to rotate. Sorry....

They tucked nicely in the rear...

 

[Tancruiser]

I'm running those cepecs on my 45 and love em

 

[imyahucklbrry]

Now that’s a fine looking 40.... course I could be accused of being somewhat partial

 

[bikersmurf]

They look good. Are they louder than your previous tires? How's the ride?

I'd suggest getting Asian free wheel hubs to replace the drive plates. They'll reduce wear and tear on your front end... and improve fuel economy a tad.

 

[pondjumpr]

Interesting that you mention hubs. I had my 40 at Trollhole's shop a few months back and he recommended the same thing. I priced the Aisan hubs earlier this week and got sticker shock. It appears that a single side costs as much as the pair from Warn. $$$$ That is an upgrade I will do in the coming months after my bank account recovers from the lift, wheels and tires. I was leaning towards Warn premium hubs. ????

As to the tire ride and sound, they have MUCH less road noise than I expected. They honestly have about the same noise, maybe less than the AT style tire I was running (Mastercraft Courser). I had a vibration from one of the tire/rim combos on my old set which is why I decided to replace them. It was a shame to replace them because the set likely has less than 3000 miles on them. The PO installed them after a restoration and then parked it for 6 years in a garage. The new set seems to ride much better so far. I have only put a few miles on them as a shakedown run but all is well so far. The new springs are definitely different but seem to ride nice as well. I am very happy that I went with OME. I will be able to do a bit more driving this weekend and then torque everything down again.

But, so far I am very pleased and the tires look awesome!

 

[bikersmurf]

I've been running Warn hubs for 26 years without problems. 21 of those have been with a healthy 350 which had double the power of a 2F. I recommend Asian because they are the stronger hub... but if you're running a restored rig, and aren't going to abuse it... you'll do fine with Warn.

The only Warn I've heard of being broken locally was one that was smashed on a rock. Many haven't had problems even with rough use, and some argue they are a 'fuse' to protect the harder to replace Birfields.

Given a choice, I'd clean up some used Asian hubs over New Warns. But New vs New, I'd not hesitate to buy Warn and save a wad of cash... for new shocks or something else.