Moonshine goes under the knife................again

[krzyabncanuck]

Bubble gum it man.


Weld it up man. Just make sure to use plenty of clamps and tack it first in plenty of places and weld the booger snot out of it.

 

[NCFJ]

Looking good Johnny. I am not quite familiar with the amount of weld required to get the "booger snot" out of it , but I suggest you weld every seam full length.

 

[GLTHFJ60]

Bubble gum it man.

Weld it up man. Just make sure to use plenty of clamps and tack it first in plenty of places and weld the booger snot out of it.

Looking good Johnny. I am not quite familiar with the amount of weld required to get the "booger snot" out of it , but I suggest you weld every seam full length.

Thanks for the reassurance guys I'll weld her up.

 

[mtweller]

Turn and burn!!! Tons of good contact there and you can easily bridge that gap given the thickness of both pieces. Lookin' good bro!

 

[GLTHFJ60]

Turn and burn!!! Tons of good contact there and you can easily bridge that gap given the thickness of both pieces. Lookin' good bro!

Thanks brother I hope to be able to burn it in today.

 

[NCFJ]

Just always follow rule #1 There is no such thing as too strong

Really looks good Johnny. You will need to pick up another truck soon, there is nothing left on your 60. I am trying to wrap my mind around a full resto on a 69 FJ40. Aside from the the 80 I am starting now that is the only rig I want to build. The overhead door guy told me yesterday that he watched an auction this past weekend and a total resto 40 went for $73K. Unreal

 

[GLTHFJ60]

Just always follow rule #1 There is no such thing as too strong

Agreed. I'm going to build a crossmember between the frame rails up front to tie everything together and make a base for the soon-to-come new front bumper.

Really looks good Johnny. You will need to pick up another truck soon, there is nothing left on your 60. I am trying to wrap my mind around a full resto on a 69 FJ40. Aside from the the 80 I am starting now that is the only rig I want to build. The overhead door guy told me yesterday that he watched an auction this past weekend and a total resto 40 went for $73K. Unreal

I was thinking the same thing man, getting another truck. I need to get Moonshine to 100% before I can think about that though. That means I have a lot of armor to build

 

[96Cruiser13]

Guessing you're happy with the new welder.. looks good man!

 

[NCFJ]

I hear ya there, I started tearing down the engine compartment on the 80 yesterday, I only have everything left to do on it Today I am a farmer, on post hole duty Armor is fun to build, come up with something that is all you!

 

[GLTHFJ60]

First fit of the shackle hangers with outboard plates. No go:

Second try is much better:

Moved out a decent amount:

Sitting on jackstands still, but with her new axle this time!

Decent tie rod to oil pan clearance:

Spring is nearly flat, so I *think* that the shackle angle is good.

A couple of questions I'd like some input on:

1. Do y'all think the shackle angle is good? I think it is based on the fact that the spring is nearly flat, but I'd like another couple opinions before burning in. One thought was that I can adjust the angle later if need be by putting longer shackles on (they are 4" on center now).
2. What is a reliable method to measure to ensure that the axle is square? I want to make sure this thing tracks dead nuts straight, so should I just measure out the spring hangers or is there a better way? I will be taking this truck to an alignment shop after the swap is done to make sure everything is good.
3. Ideas on a new front bumper design? There will have to be a new crossmember between the outboard brackets, but what should I do for the uppers?

Thanks all!!

 

[GLTHFJ60]

Better pics:

 

[roadstr6]

I'm no expert on this but if it were mine I might try to move the hangers forward another 1/2" and lop off the pointy ends out front even with the frame ends and plate them with 1/4" plate in the front. It looks like if you moved them just a tad more the shackle angle would be perfect and there would be no need for adjustments in the future at all. I'm sure the ride will be nice with the shackles laid out like they are though and that setup would give you lots of droop like it is so that may be what you're going for.

If you take off the pointy ends of the hangers even with the frame ends (assuming you can do that and still keep their integrity) you could weld one big flat plate on each side that covers the hanger end and the frame end at the same time giving you a nice flat front surface for mounting a bumper.

Again, not an expert here but only making suggestions....for the axle squareness, I would measure the spring hangers from reference points on the frame and if you can take measurements from front axle tube to rear axle tube on either side, that will tell you if the two axles are parallel. That's all that really matters, parallelness (is that a word?) of the axles.

 

[GLTHFJ60]

I'm no expert on this but if it were mine I might try to move the hangers forward another 1/2" and lop off the pointy ends out front even with the frame ends and plate them with 1/4" plate in the front. It looks like if you moved them just a tad more the shackle angle would be perfect and there would be no need for adjustments in the future at all. I'm sure the ride will be nice with the shackles laid out like they are though and that setup would give you lots of droop like it is so that may be what you're going for.

If you take off the pointy ends of the hangers even with the frame ends (assuming you can do that and still keep their integrity) you could weld one big flat plate on each side that covers the hanger end and the frame end at the same time giving you a nice flat front surface for mounting a bumper.

Again, not an expert here but only making suggestions....for the axle squareness, I would measure the spring hangers from reference points on the frame and if you can take measurements from front axle tube to rear axle tube on either side, that will tell you if the two axles are parallel. That's all that really matters, parallelness (is that a word?) of the axles.

After a lot of personal reflection and a discussion with Cruiserdrew, I agree with you, I'll be moving the shackle hangers forward another 1/2". I will be building a new front crossmember that ties those outboarding brackets together. I'd prefer not to cut them off square, especially since I'll be moving them forward even more. I'll reassess when I get the hangers repositioned.

Good idea on the axle housing measurement. I'll try that out as soon as I get the shackle hangers repositioned.

Thank you sir

 

[roadstr6]

I understand your concerns about cutting off the tips of those hangers but cutting them has an added benefit. It will give you the opportunity to lay down a couple of beads on the inside of the hangers where they attach to the frame. If you plate back over the fronts I don't think you'd lose much (if any) of the integrity of the bracket. Hard to tell just looking at a picture though.

 

[mtweller]

Couple of questions:

1. Have you measured the height at the hub to see if you are at actual ride height right now? IOW, do the jack stands accurately represent the tire/wheel height?
2. If yes - then I would look at the stance of the truck see if you like it. Do you like it? Is it level? Stinkbug? Looks pretty level from the pics, but hard for me to web-wrench that one.
3. If no, then fix that. Changing the shackle angle will obviously change the ride height. I'm fine with what you having assuming the ride height is satisfactory. I would cycle the suspension on both sides to make sure the fully flattened spring will have "enough" shackle left.

One caveat - I have no idea how that shackle able will affect road manners. Will it want to nose dive due the current setup? Maybe others with more knowledge can chime in here, or you may need to do some research. From the factory, the shackle angle is way steeper, and I have to wonder if there is a reason for that, since 'Shine sees a good bit of asphalt too.

R

 

[GLTHFJ60]

Couple of questions:

1. Have you measured the height at the hub to see if you are at actual ride height right now? IOW, do the jack stands accurately represent the tire/wheel height?

It's within .5" of ride height, yes.

2. If yes - then I would look at the stance of the truck see if you like it. Do you like it? Is it level? Stinkbug? Looks pretty level from the pics, but hard for me to web-wrench that one.

Difficult to tell since the slab is not perfectly level (can't measure caster either) but it looks good.

3. If no, then fix that. Changing the shackle angle will obviously change the ride height. I'm fine with what you having assuming the ride height is satisfactory. I would cycle the suspension on both sides to make sure the fully flattened spring will have "enough" shackle left.

One caveat - I have no idea how that shackle able will affect road manners. Will it want to nose dive due the current setup? Maybe others with more knowledge can chime in here, or you may need to do some research. From the factory, the shackle angle is way steeper, and I have to wonder if there is a reason for that, since 'Shine sees a good bit of asphalt too.

R

Thanks for the ideas

 

[krzyabncanuck]

I am also a fan of moving them .5 of an inch. I think in the long run on the trails it will work better for you. As long as you are not like i seen a jeep on Saturday with the shackle going the other direction making for one heck of a ride i assume along with most likely bending the spring one day. Can lend you the better half to weld it in for you. Just taught her how to stick weld yesterday.

 

[mtweller]

To measure for square....

Drop a plumb line from a 2 known points on the frame (i.e. a rivet on either frame rail) and measure to the axle tube.

 

[GLTHFJ60]

To measure for square....

Drop a plumb line from a 2 known points on the frame (i.e. a rivet on either frame rail) and measure to the axle tube.

Duh. Good call man. I'll do that today if it's not pouring later.

 

[GLTHFJ60]

After the trip from Ramon, I dropped a plum bob from a fixed position on both sides of the frame and measured to the axle housing to determine square. As it turns out, the axle is exactly square to the frame, measured to the housing tube right outside the inner C. Awesome.

Knowing that and that the axle is centered under the frame, I am reluctant to move the spring hangers at all. Besides, I wanted a little less front overhang for a better approach angle. Therefore, I moved the shackle hangers forward on the frame ~5/8". This is the result. This, to me, looks perfect, after considering the advice of everyone.

The black mark is where the hanger lined up with the frame for the second fit up (last set of pictures):

This is where the wheel will be in relation to the wheel well:

I'm tickled pink. I need to obtain a 2x4 tube to box in the front mounts and then this is going to be burned in for good.