how about another jeep build?? YJ 60/70HD

[jeepin1995]

well, been working on this for a while now and figured i might as well start a thread.....
bought the jeep (95 YJ) about 8 years ago bone stock,

decided after a month i wanted a lift. had a buddy go SOA on it.....

ran the 35's on the dana 35 for a year and blew it up..... swapped in a ford 8.8

got fed up with the 4 cylinder and decided to swap in a 350 with a 700R4 trans

ran the 35's a few more years and scored a set of 36" Iroks....

rode on those for a year or so and decided it was time to make some changes..... this is where it got expensive!
a friend set me up with a guy who had a 44/14 bolt combo for sale..... i snagged them up. got the 44 front rebuilt then ordered my new tires
39.5 Iroks

i quickly realized the 44 front wouldn't be up to the task of the 39.5" tires so i started the hunt for a 60 front. i found a set of 60's from a 78 F250 and bought them.
here is the 44 (left) next to the 60 (right)

sold the 44/14B combo....
so now i had a set of front and rear 60's..... i redid all bearings in the 60 front(except the carrier and pinion, gotta have it geared) and installed Ballistic fab histeer arms on both ends, 1-ton steering, and new brakes (calipers and rotors). bought some 30" SS braided brake lines and threw it under the jeep.
the springs didnt line up with the perches so i outboarded the front of the front springs about 3/4" both sides and bolted the axle in.
moving on to the rear..... bought a disc brake conversion for the rear 60 and a new M.O.R.E. traction bar. welded in a new rear crossmember and hung the shackle mounts out back, snagged 2 sets of XJ springs and added a 2nd main leaf to the good set and installed them. bolted the axle in and threw the tires on:

this is where my assignment at work ended and i had to load it all up and take it home to be finished.

 

[jeepin1995]

got it home and had to head out to work another plant so it sat.

i worked on it a little here and there on the weekends when i came home and the wife was busy (seems like she is super busy..... until i get home!! )
i installed some new tail lights and the fuel cell

bought a tow rig:
04 2500HD 6.0L 4wd

(did you know home depot sold trucks??? haha j/k)
worked on finishing up the brakes and small odds and ends here and there

painted the hard doors (traded soft top and full soft doors for a full hard top/door setup!:2thumbsup: ) and rear of the jeep
Before:

After:

then i got the urge again.....
pulled the rear dana 60 and sold it. then picked up a dana 70HD ...
factory 4" wide 1/2" thick axle tubes, 1.5" 35 spline shafts, :drool:

it's a few inches wider than my 60 front, but instead of running spacers up front, i'm gonna have the 70 shortened and custom length chromoly shafts made.
this is where i'm at right now..... gonna go detroit rear with 5.xx gears and some sort of locker up front also (haven't decided yet)
for the hell of it, here are the hood vents i did a few weeks ago:

only issue so far (besides playing musical axles) is the longer waggy arm i used for my 1-ton steering is long so it prevents me from instaling the 1-ton tie-rod..... (draglink is further back than normal and interferes with the tierod) to remedy this i'm probably gonna just slide the axle forward and run a astro steering box with hydro assist.....
thats all for now. i'll update this as i go!

 

[REDLYNER]

Very cool! Nice work.

 

[braxton357]

Pretty damn nice yj. Does it ever get driven on the street anymore?

 

[jeepin1995]

it will some when i get done with it..... building it for trails, but want it 100% streetable. it will be able to pass inspection.

 

[retroedaddy]

Man I really dig this.This is the exact direction I want to go with my YJ.I might PM you and pick your brain a little if you don't mind.

 

[jeepin1995]

thats fine!! i don't mind sharing what i've learned. if you are planning this soon, i'm in raleigh (see your in durham) until prob june or july for work.... always willing to lend a hand!

 

[TJcrawler97]

wait you forgot the h2 rear bumper mod!! Looks good

 

[jeepin1995]

here ya go!!! H2 tire carrier come, used, and gone!!

 

[TJcrawler97]

 

[jeepin1995]

headed home this evening, plan on cleaning and stripping all brake stuff off of the 70. plan is to run either ruffstuff or DIY4X caliper brackets, and some 76-78 cadillac eldorado calipers (they have a built in e-brake). gonna have the axle shortened in the next week or 2. i'll get pics tomorrow of the teardown

 

[Bryan]

Looking good Pete, I wish you had told me you were working on the 70 this weekend. We could have sand blasted it @ the shop.

 

[jeepin1995]

we still can!!! after i get all the welding and stuff done, i'd like to clean it good....

 

[jeepin1995]

back to the drawing board!! haha 70 is sold, being picked up this weekend. got me a dana 60 1SU for the rear. it is the right width to match the front, has a smoooooth bottom, dana 60 center section and dana 70 tubes and outers (hubs, bearings, spindles, etc) big bore spindles from factory.

plan is to regear and get a 35 spline locker and shafts.

disc brake brackets and axle install hardware (perches, u-bolts, spring plates) are due in friday so i'll have some progress pictures this weekend.

 

[jeepin1995]

nothing much don this weekend. cleaned the rear axle, located and welded perches, welded some 1/4" plats over the diff cover/ring gear. here are a couple pics:

don't rag on my welds! the diff cover was a big gap!

bottom is so smoooooth....

best helper ever!! (daddy braggin!)think she spent more time trying to eat dirt!: