[Jimbo8v92]

Heres my 1992 jeep wrangler im building into a 2wd hodrod or Gasser/street freak not sure what the correct term would be for it as its still kinda a failry newer vehicle. About 2 years ago i was bored of the gutless 4 cylinder and decided to put a ford 302 in it out of a mustang. Has a np435 4speed out of a f250 and had a blast in it all last summer and decided i dont are about it being 4x4 anymore and want to make it a 2wd hotrod with the style of a gasser. Have acumulated mostly engine parts a 31 spline 8.8 out of an explorer some front end parts and wheels. Last big piece i need is a trans.

 

[dsb]

I am gonna watch this one for sure!

 

[1937Austin]

My understanding is the 2WD Jeep front axles are a direct bolt in, so if you're not interested in keeping this a 4WD, you could look for one of those and swap it in? And maybe remove the transfer case also to save weight, and rotational drag.

 

[Jimbo8v92]

My understanding is the 2WD Jeep front axles are a direct bolt in, so if you're not interested in keeping this a 4WD, you could look for one of those and swap it in? And maybe remove the transfer case also to save weight, and rotational drag.

Yeah i was actually looking for one of those and had a hard time locating one somewhat close to me. I bought a 6' stick of 2"od 3/8 wall dom tube (same as the speedway tube axles??) and plan on cutting the ends off my axle. Theres about 6-8" of the original tube ill be able to keep on each side plus the thickness of the inner c's. The stock tube is 2" id so should be able to slide the new dom tube inside then weld together. I plan to narrow it aswell as move the axle forward also. Trans and t case are getting pulled when i find a toploader or t5. Like you said about saving weight its crazy how heavy that trans and tcase are, but thats not really top on my list at the moment.

 

[sbauman2]

Looks like you have some killer parts for your Jeep Gasser. Really like the front wheel choice. The tunnel ram is going to look great sticking out the Jeep hood. Be sure to check out Marios MG build; his tunnel ram is a mile high.

 

[Jimbo8v92]

Looks like you have some killer parts for your Jeep Gasser. Really like the front wheel choice. The tunnel ram is going to look great sticking out the Jeep hood. Be sure to check out Marios MG build; his tunnel ram is a mile high.

Yeah im pretty exited to start tearing into it have been collecting parts the past year whiel its been at my parents place. I love the front wheels too, I wanted the et 5 spokes speedway sells but there not cheap.
They had these rocket fuel wheels for 25 off a piece i think they ended up being 300 shipped for both, also bought a set of 15x8.5 slotted mags for the rear on ebay. Mg sounds sweet ill look it up.

 

[mmhotrod]

I am so jealous right now. I was Looking for a CJ Jeep before I found the MG but it was so pricey that I couldn’t afford it. Just to prove a point I may have to put a spacer on my tunnel ram again to make it a little higher. Just kidding. as it is now I can’t see past my tunnel.

 

[Jimbo8v92]

I am so jealous right now. I was Looking for a CJ Jeep before I found the MG but it was so pricey that I couldn’t afford it. Just to prove a point I may have to put a spacer on my tunnel ram again to make it a little higher. Just kidding. as it is now I can’t see past my tunnel.

Thankyou mario your mg is wicked! Hope my jeep is half as cool as your mg is. Yeah i really wanted a cj7 but got this yj for a song so i couldnt pass it up although i like the yj dash way better than the cj dash. And spacers?? Go big or go home get the holley sky ram 😂😂

 

[dsb]

That sky ram had a lot of people fooled on April fools day!

 

[1937Austin]

Interested in seeing how you change the 4wd axle to a 2wd, as that can be tricky to get the ends perfectly aligned for angles, and also for camber. You may have experience with this already, but welding them will require building a fixture or jig to hold the ends perfect before you cut the tubes off. It will also need to be sturdy enough to hold the ends while you tack weld, and not allow the welding to pull things out of alignment.
I've narrowed a few axles, and just narrowing can be tricky to keep things aligned. Replacing a complete tube will be even tougher to maintain perfect alignment throughout the process.

 

[Jimbo8v92]

Interested in seeing how you change the 4wd axle to a 2wd, as that can be tricky to get the ends perfectly aligned for angles, and also for camber. You may have experience with this already, but welding them will require building a fixture or jig to hold the ends perfect before you cut the tubes off. It will also need to be sturdy enough to hold the ends while you tack weld, and not allow the welding to pull things out of alignment.
I've narrowed a few axles, and just narrowing can be tricky to keep things aligned. Replacing a complete tube will be even tougher to maintain perfect alignment throughout the process.

Yeah im a little worried about that, but only one way to find out lol. At first i was going to remove the whole axle tube, but realized if i keep as much as the old tube as i can and have the new tube slide into it, that should make it almost dummy proof.... should be ok with just a few angle finders on each end, a tape measure, and once i do a few small tacks ill bolt it in the jeep before finish welding it. The new tube will slide in about 10" inside the original tube on each end, and the new spring perches will be welded to the existing original tubes so should help keep things square. Atleast thats what im telling myself lol.

 

[1937Austin]

Yeah im a little worried about that, but only one way to find out lol. At first i was going to remove the whole axle tube, but realized if i keep as much as the old tube as i can and have the new tube slide into it, that should make it almost dummy proof.... should be ok with just a few angle finders on each end, a tape measure, and once i do a few small tacks ill bolt it in the jeep before finish welding it. The new tube will slide in about 10" inside the original tube on each end, and the new spring perches will be welded to the existing original tubes so should help keep things square. Atleast thats what im telling myself lol.

Should really weld a framework to the two ends you're reusing once it's all mocked up so it will remain perfect during the welding. You of course can weld one side without any framework or support, but once it's welded the other side will need to maintain exact mirror image of the first side to work. If it's even slightly off the two front tires will fight each other, and give nightmares.
Not sure what's around your area, but I've found no issues getting old truck or van axles, and their parallel leaf system is a very easy setup to adapt to any number of vehicles. And they'll be a big weight savings over the current axle ends you have on your Jeep too. Just a thought.

 

[Jimbo8v92]

Should really weld a framework to the two ends you're reusing once it's all mocked up so it will remain perfect during the welding. You of course can weld one side without any framework or support, but once it's welded the other side will need to maintain exact mirror image of the first side to work. If it's even slightly off the two front tires will fight each other, and give nightmares.
Not sure what's around your area, but I've found no issues getting old truck or van axles, and their parallel leaf system is a very easy setup to adapt to any number of vehicles. And they'll be a big weight savings over the current axle ends you have on your Jeep too. Just a thought.

Yeah i plan to bounce from side to side mirroring what i do on both ends. maybe if i can get a piece of channel ill clamp it to it if i gotta spend a bunch of money to build a jig i might as well buy a speedway axle, good backup plan if it goes out of wack and cant fix it to try and find a old truck or van axle though.

 

[1937Austin]

Yeah i plan to bounce from side to side mirroring what i do on both ends. maybe if i can get a piece of channel ill clamp it to it if i gotta spend a bunch of money to build a jig i might as well buy a speedway axle, good backup plan if it goes out of wack and cant fix it to try and find a old truck or van axle though.

The angle iron method is a good way to help get it all on the same plane throughout the length. Hopefully there's also something on each kingpin at the ends to align also, so one side isn't out of alignment with the other. When I cut axles down I strip everything off the ends and before cutting I weld angle iron, or box tubing to both sides while sitting on a flat surface. That keeps the ends located, and then once the center area is removed I can slide the axle together, align the tube or I beam, and tack it back without worrying that the ends are out from each other.
On tube axles it's a good idea to drill holes through the tubes at 90 degrees apart from each other for plug welds. The plug welds will secure the axle before welding around the perimeter at the joints. Depending on how much tube you slide inside, might be good to plug weld it near the end of the sleeve at both ends.
Speedway axles are great, or at least were back 12 years ago when I bought mine for my Austin. I had to narrow mine 12" to fit under my 52" wide fenders. I sleeved it with solid round shaft inside, and kept a 3/8" space where the tubes met to do a weld joint that welded both the tubes, and the shaft together.

 

[mmhotrod]

The angle iron method is a good way to help get it all on the same plane throughout the length. Hopefully there's also something on each kingpin at the ends to align also, so one side isn't out of alignment with the other. When I cut axles down I strip everything off the ends and before cutting I weld angle iron, or box tubing to both sides while sitting on a flat surface. That keeps the ends located, and then once the center area is removed I can slide the axle together, align the tube or I beam, and tack it back without worrying that the ends are out from each other.
On tube axles it's a good idea to drill holes through the tubes at 90 degrees apart from each other for plug welds. The plug welds will secure the axle before welding around the perimeter at the joints. Depending on how much tube you slide inside, might be good to plug weld it near the end of the sleeve at both ends.
Speedway axles are great, or at least were back 12 years ago when I bought mine for my Austin. I had to narrow mine 12" to fit under my 52" wide fenders. I sleeved it with solid round shaft inside, and kept a 3/8" space where the tubes met to do a weld joint that welded both the tubes, and the shaft together.

I used the angle iron to align my tubes on the MG 10bolt. But when you slide one tube onto another the angle iron won’t work across to the thicker 2”+housing tubes. Jim may be better off waiting to look for something more fitting like the Cherokee axle, or even a Chevy or ford I Beam axle. Like you mentioned earlier.

 

[Jimbo8v92]

Thanks for the insight guys. I still gotta get the thing to my new place...hopfully next weekend and then i can sit down and look a little harder at it. A kingpin axle would be alot better looking than the goofy axle with balljoints.

 

[mmhotrod]

Thanks for the insight guys. I still gotta get the thing to my new place...hopfully next weekend and then i can sit down and look a little harder at it. A kingpin axle would be alot better looking than the goofy axle with balljoints.

Exactly. Don’t rush. Plan it out and do your best to execute a desired direction. Then you can be thrifty as much as you need to get it done.

 

[dsb]

^^^ Believe them when they say don't rush. I did so many things to my car I thought were right but turned out wrong was because I was rushing.

 

[1937Austin]

We really want to encourage you, and anyone who comes here wanting to share their builds Jim. So hope we don't turn you off by our attempts to help you make wise choices. I think we've all made mistakes on our builds when we were younger, and learned what not to do. Patience is one of the most important things we can possess with any build, and stepping back and weighing our options is important before rushing into a decision.
On this subject, have you considered what your wrangler is worth in it's present configuration vs. what it will be worth once you put a 2wd front axle in it, and remove the transfer case? Just wondering if it might be best to consider selling the Wrangler as is with a great engine swap, and then take those funds and put them into a body that would become a more traditional gasser, or straight axle format, and be worth more when done? Not putting your choice down, but I think you may find that once you've completed this build, the value may result in your Wrangler being worth less than it is currently.
With a lot of your own elbow grease, and fab work, it's not at all impossible to build a complete car for under $10k. My last three builds have been $10k, $5k, and $6k for my Austin, Falcon, and '39 Chev. So lots of options to consider before you get too far invested in your Wrangler.

 

[sbauman2]

First I have to say how much I'm enjoying Jim's thread. Ever since Dave got his project done it's been a bit quite on the site.
Thought I'd include a photo of this Willys 4WD pickup gasser that was for sale on Ebay.