Welding spring perches back on is very very easy. For the build your doing your going to have to throw away everything but the body and frame. So you bought a entire unmolested 40 bone stock, and are going to have to throw most of it away. Buying a cut up 40 you usually get a bunch of parts you can use at a huge discount that can get you ahead of the game. A lot of guys get 70% done with a project and find they cant finish it for some reason and selling it for pennies on the dollar. I can always find such 40s on Craigslist or something that check the boxes of a pre 75 and rust free frame. There are several in classifieds on mud right now of such 40s. Sometimes they have lockers and a v8 already. As far as axles, I just don't think stock 40 axles or fj60 axles are wide enough for serious trail use. Anyway I won't muddy up your thread anymore. Not trying to be a party pooper, just trying to help you out. On mud you see guys doing it the hard way, and guys doing it the easier way. You can save yourself a lot of money and time if you are careful.I mean, i somewhat get what you are saying, but at the same point this 40 checks a lot of the boxes. Finessing some sales to get a couple grand back quite frankly isn't what I'd want to do right now. Let alone hunting down a rust free frame, pre 75 title, running motor, full doors/top, with a relatively rust free body (minus the floors) is no easy task as it is. Also, I've never built a 40, let alone any vehicle. So sometimes starting with a complete vehicle gives you a template. Even if you replace half of it, you get to see it all put together so you have a sense of the end game, or what doesn't work for your setup.
60 axles are just kind of happened because I wanted fine spline birfs, disc brakes and lockers. so......package deal, done. Could that be done with the 40 axles, ofcourse. But one was already done with the cut and turn so i jumped on it. Wider stance is a bonus. outboarding the leaf mounts in the front isn't the easiest thing in the world, but I also got this to have fun fabricating.
As far as turning back, too late for that. Front leaf mounts and hangers are out. Shackle/spring reversal is in progress. Starting to have it lined up, but want to get the power steering mocked up with a bumper to see how I want to tie it all in with the frond leaf mount once outboarded.
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Will be reusing the mounts for the front leaf mounts. The tubes are from the OEM shackle hangers, these will be thru the frame
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