Demi-Jeep

badbsa

Active Member
Joined
May 4, 2011
Location
Fayetteville and Winston-Salem
This is a tribute to the primary contributor, Mr. Kenny.

Godspeed,

Demi & Steve



95yjjeep,

Thank you for building the ultimate mailman buggy. If I'm lucky, and a lot of people curse frequently and throw stuff, I might end up with your fabrication skills.
- Steve
(search google for "gone postal jeep" it's epic)

742187B9-C7DC-499D-A934-CAD5D1CCDEE4.jpeg
7E88866E-EC6A-45E1-AD6A-1906BB2ABE52.jpeg


So here goes my first build thread. It’s sure to take a long time, and more money than I really want but, the wife is on board. (Probably because this Jeep will be all hers.) I like to consider myself semi-knowledgeable. What I lack in undertanding I try to make up for with google and plain old stubborn-ness. I hope some of you are willing to guide me a bit and provide insight as I move through this project.

My uncle is a mailman. My grandfather was a mailman for years and retired from it. The Jeep in this project was gifted to my wife by a mailman. There have been DJ’s sitting around my matriarchal “home” for years and I always thought it would be cool (like many others) to have one.

A friend, I’ll call him Kenny for now, gave the DJ to my wife. She loves jeeps (as do I) and, as a result of a PCS move to Korea (I’m active duty army) we didn’t have one. Kenny wanted the DJ out of his yard. It had been sitting for years after the brakes locked up. I went over for an initial assesment and decided we’d go for it. I knew this would be an adventure, I did not realize the wife would be so excited about it. I put the Jeep up on blocks and pulled the wheels. Within a couple of days I’d found a free used set of tires for it and, after one shop failed to mount them after having them overnight, I found someone to do it the morning we picked up the jeep.

We initially believed the DJ to be a 78 model, which would have been much better with a large bellhousing and torqueflyte transmission but, for the price of “get it out of my yard,” a 1971 DJ-5B was dragged onto a uhaul trailer and brought home.
 
Last edited:
CF4A1C0C-ED39-4BA9-BF9A-33EC78D4DC1B.jpeg
So, the brakes were completely locked up. I don’t know where the problem is and I kinda don’t care yet. I demonstrated one, the wife did the rest. If you need someone to beat the brakes off your car, give her a call. (Be warned, she hates drum brakes and may take out your hubs and suspension too!)
AD17A718-6AD6-41FD-A0E7-B2A8F4062904.jpeg

Once we got the brakes off, we put on the garbage free tires I acquired and eventually loaded the DJ up. It didn’t go smoothly, mostly because one of my free tires wouldn’t hold air for shit and rolled off the bead. I gave up on the damn thing and we eventually got it onto the trailer.

Straight to the car wash. We stripped out the cardboard roof liner and washed away as much of the mold, rat shit, and other gunk we possibly could.
9AB0E86D-60E6-445A-A7FE-753683749100.jpeg

This thing was pretty nasty. Thats what happens when they sit for 12 years!
BF775FE7-547C-4367-8ADA-F5CFC2C4AC85.jpeg
 
Last edited:
Excellent score and a great story behind it! Keep it up. I'll damn sure be following along and offer any advice I possibly can.
:beer:
 
The engine turns, the rotor button spins with it, and the transmission will turn the engine over!
A972B294-E0CC-4F21-9C58-329B7F7FA5F9.jpeg

I’ve struggled with learning about this engine and transmission setup. Unfortunately, the ‘71 model 232 has a small bellhousing bolt pattern. The M43 transmission pattern is incompatible with almost everything I’ve found thus far. In 1972, the bolt pattern changed to accommodate the same bellhousing used on all following inline 6’s. I had hoped to keep the engine permanently and just swap out the transmission that had a compatible transfer case... this doesn’t need to be an extreme build. My boss (wife) wants to be able to drive on the beach, drive the gentle trails at the farm, and putter around town in it. At this point I’m thinking I need to rebuild the brakes and keep the axles I have now until the winter and then try swapping in an engine, transmission and transfer case from a CJ/YJ/XJ setup. I’m hoping to find decent ford axles for it.

Oh... I got pissed off at the constantly deflating tires. I pretty quickly found a great deal on a set of 33x12.50r15’s. No, they didn’t fit. So, I rednecked them in until I cut the body clear this weekend. It did have the unintended effect of getting the wife (and my neighbors) to believe this could actually come out pretty cool.
8EF72B84-D85C-4454-8F84-D085993ECAC0.jpeg

Oh, we also found a new seat that doesn’t have rat nests in it!
 

Attachments

  • 0783F871-3481-4F2B-A33E-5FE0D8358401.jpeg
    0783F871-3481-4F2B-A33E-5FE0D8358401.jpeg
    91.4 KB · Views: 269
If someone has guidance for a front axle (yeah, I just asked that) I should put up front, I would appreciate the help. The rear is a D44 and (without actually measuring) 50" wheel mounting surface to wms. Hold on, I'm gonna hit a tangent real quick...
7EB0CF66-5E90-46BF-BD52-D653AB602331.jpeg

I've been in the military for about 15 years. When people use acronyms I've never seen or heard before, it drives me nuts. As an example, someone mentioned "ULAAC" today... Now, whether you call it ignorant, arrogant, or otherwise, I didn't know what ULAAC stood for. I asked. Guess what... The person using the acronym didn't know what it meant either! They heard it somewhere, and they knew it had something to do with shipping equipment, and that was it. Why do I bring this up? Until about five days ago, I didn't know what WMS meant!

As of this evening I'm starting to believe I need a wagoneer or CJ axle. My criteria thus far includes disk brakes, and a WMS spread as close as possible to the 50" rear end. I would love to have the wagoneer axle for it's strength but, I'd have to convert it over to 5x5.5, and I'm not sure what its width is. If someone can clear this up for me, I'd appreciate it. I found several pages that discussed narrow vs wide waggy axles but, I have no clear cut answer. For that reason, I'm leaning toward the later CJ axles with discs and a D30.
 
Last edited:
NCJeeplover said:
I think it would be neat to pick up a cheap xj and swap everything over to this chassis (engine, trans, transfer case, and axles). It would be a very economical way to go.
Click to expand...

Something along these lines would be my suggestion. Coincidentally, if all goes as planned Ill have the entire driveline from a 94 ZJ laying around the shop this winter, after my driveline swap...


This is gonna be a cool build! Ill be following along.
 
Pre-'86 Toyota minitruck and 4runner axles would be pretty narrow - around 55" front and rear. Early CJ stuff would be narrow as well. Mid 90's Isuzu Rodeos have a 6 on 5.5 rear dana 44 about 58" wide with discs. Matches up well with a waggy front 44.
 
If you want to swap axles (particularly the front), I would measure the front spring spacing. Then you can search the internet to see if CJ/Waggy axles or whatever are similar and will bolt in. If no popular swap axles have the same spring spacing, then the options are open because you are going to have to do a bunch of work to make one fit.
 
I'm running narrowtrack Waggy axles under my Willys. If I remember correctly they measure around 59" so they will be wider than stock. In my opinion I feel this is a better option for mild to medium wheeling as well as street driving, as its more stable offroad and better gearing options. I converted my rear to discs using Eldorado calipers and Chevy front rotors. It was a pretty easy conversion. The narrowtrack Waggy axles were found under 74-79 Wagoneers. I was able to find mine on Craigslist down in SC.
 
If I had to guess, you are running a narrow-track dana 44 similar to what a CJ would have had at that time: Jeep Axle: Dana 44. A narrow-track CJ front axle is the only thing that is going to be similar.

You are likely better off swapping both axles to ones from something else, but I like my rigs to be a little wider.
 
paradisePWoffrd said:
If I had to guess, you are running a narrow-track dana 44 similar to what a CJ would have had at that time: Jeep Axle: Dana 44. A narrow-track CJ front axle is the only thing that is going to be similar.

You are likely better off swapping both axles to ones from something else, but I like my rigs to be a little wider.
Click to expand...


You are correct and, I agree with your assessment. Unfortunately, this is a budget build. What is fortunate is... I have found an axle!
 
I found a 78 CJ front axle! I have to pick it up this weekend. It's rusty as hell but, the folks who are selling it to me were kind enough to confirm everything moves freely and it is complete. It sounds like it may bolt up after its rebuilt as the spring perches are the same width. I'm hoping I can simply reverse the steering linkage setup, or the existing linkage will move to this axle... maybe that's crazy, I don't know! If it does work out the way I'm hoping, perhaps I'll have a cool axle to build a small trailer for it!
DDD76FD8-9CED-4B30-AF86-0452512C2C2A.jpeg
 
Last edited:
YJJPWrangler said:
I'm running narrowtrack Waggy axles under my Willys. If I remember correctly they measure around 59" so they will be wider than stock. In my opinion I feel this is a better option for mild to medium wheeling as well as street driving, as its more stable offroad and better gearing options. I converted my rear to discs using Eldorado calipers and Chevy front rotors. It was a pretty easy conversion. The narrowtrack Waggy axles were found under 74-79 Wagoneers. I was able to find mine on Craigslist down in SC.
Click to expand...

If I were replacing both axles now, I would go with the narrow waggys. If I had any intention of lifting it more than new "0 lift" springs, it would definitely get wider axles front and rear now. Since I'm keeping the stock dana 44 rear, the cj front is the most efficient route to "driveable" right now. I will definitely be doing the rear disc brake conversion.

Also, thanks for mentioning your use of Eldorado calipers, I had planned to find C10 brakes for the rear. I now understand they are equipped for a parking brake!
 
NCJeeplover said:
I think it would be neat to pick up a cheap xj and swap everything over to this chassis (engine, trans, transfer case, and axles). It would be a very economical way to go.
Click to expand...

You're right, but I'm trying to keep the stronger rear axle and not have a wider front axle. I am inclined to swap an xj 4.0, transmission and transfer case. Preferably, I could keep it carbureted and no computers!

How would the thing even handle with a 50" rear and 60" front!? Also part of the frustration is the right hand drive aspect of this whole thing.
 
Last edited:
I wouldn't run the 50" rear and the 60" front. I was facing the same issue that you are now when deciding on what route to go. In the end, I decided to go the waggy axle route as it was the cheapest, strongest option at the time. I didn't want to go one tons so this was the next best choice. Dropping a 4.0 with that drivetrain into that jeep will be a challenge as the 4.0 is a pretty long motor. It can be done but you are looking at a good amount of body work as well most likely stretching the frame/body to get a decent length driveshaft.. I'm running a 4.3 chevy with TBI. It's mated to a SM420 and a D300(short and compact) It is one of the most common swaps for these old jeeps due to it being pretty compact and short but still offering decent power. The RHD aspect really shouldn't make a difference in motor/transmission/transfer case. For the rear D44, pull the shafts and make sure you don't have two piece shafts. They do sell conversion kits to go from two piece to one piece. I went with Davez Offroad Supply caliper conversion kit for the rear of mine. It went together very easy and the parts are good quality.
 
YJJPWrangler said:
I wouldn't run the 50" rear and the 60" front. I was facing the same issue that you are now when deciding on what route to go. In the end, I decided to go the waggy axle route as it was the cheapest, strongest option at the time. I didn't want to go one tons so this was the next best choice. Dropping a 4.0 with that drivetrain into that jeep will be a challenge as the 4.0 is a pretty long motor. It can be done but you are looking at a good amount of body work as well most likely stretching the frame/body to get a decent length driveshaft.. I'm running a 4.3 chevy with TBI. It's mated to a SM420 and a D300(short and compact) It is one of the most common swaps for these old jeeps due to it being pretty compact and short but still offering decent power. The RHD aspect really shouldn't make a difference in motor/transmission/transfer case. For the rear D44, pull the shafts and make sure you don't have two piece shafts. They do sell conversion kits to go from two piece to one piece. I went with Davez Offroad Supply caliper conversion kit for the rear of mine. It went together very easy and the parts are good quality.
Click to expand...

Dropping a 4.0 with that drivetrain into that jeep will be a challenge as the 4.0 is a pretty long motor. - The 3.8 in it now is the same block as the 258 with a lower deck height, if I am not mistaken. Which is why they used the bubble nose looking grill in these things. The AX/NP combo however IS longer, and does concern me. I'm still considering options and reading.

I'm running a 4.3 chevy with TBI. It's mated to a SM420 and a D300(short and compact) It is one of the most common swaps for these old jeeps due to it being pretty compact and short but still offering decent power. - I hadn't considered this.

For the rear D44, pull the shafts and make sure you don't have two piece shafts. - Yes, sir.

I went with Davez Offroad Supply caliper conversion kit for the rear of mine. It went together very easy and the parts are good quality. - I'm not saying I'm broke, but I am saying I don't want to spend any more on this than I have to in order to tag it and drive to the farm. 4WD or not. To that end, I think it will actually be cheaper for me to scrounge junkyard chevy parts for the brakes than to rebuild the drums!

Front Disc Brake Tutorial

FWIW, I did check davez and a caliper conversion was not shown for a D44.
 
If it we're were my project and I wanted narrow and strength...
I'd grab a pair of 77-79 Waggy 44s with the offset rear. I'd narrow the long side rear and run 2 short sides.
Up front, I'd shorten the long side to match the rear width.
Bonus- you could then run high steer arm on driver's side for the RHD steering setup needed.
Just a thought.
 
Last edited:
Jody Treadway said:
If it we're were my project and I wanted narrow and strength...
I'd grab a pair of 77-79 Waggy 44s with the offset rear. I'd narrow the long side rear and run 2 short sides.
Up front, I'd shorten the long side to match the rear width.
Bonus- you could then run high steer arm on driver's side for the RHD steerigs setup needed.
Just a thought.
Click to expand...

You sir know way too much about axles...

And I am envious.....
 
Sorry, wrong Dave's, I was mistaken. Here's the link for the kit I ordered.

Wagoneer Dana 44 Rear Disc Brake Bracket Kit

Welcome to the world of wheeling old jeeps and wheeling in general concerning the $$. These jeeps don't have much length to them and stuffing a modern drivetrain into them is a hefty challenge without significantly modifying the wheelbase and accompanying bodywork. The combo I'm running gave me the shortest possible overall length with the most available power without having to move the nose forward. Chevy 4.3's come up here often for sale(I bought mine here) as well as the transmission/transfer case) If I remember correctly, I'm running a 23" shaft with a double cardan joint for the rear so there's not a whole lot of room back there.
 
x2 on the 4.3l. That jeep should have the short hood, so a v6 engine is likely the best bet. A 4.3l with the nv3500 would be a good driving combo for street and light wheeling.

Looking at the pictures, you might look at going to a 4" spring, unless you are planning SOA. The new springs will net you a little lift over the old ones, but I think the 33s will still be fairly tight fit. Also, I believe you will be limited to the narrow axles, if you are hoping to put the doors back on and have them slide open.
 
Back
Top