We started tearing into the suspension in the Jan. '04 issue ("Project Hot Dog, Part 1") and quickly found out that some of our plans had to go straight into the trashcan. We ripped through Plan A of using the stock springs and perches and have since torn up part of Plan B, so we're to Plan C of getting the 49-inch tires under our '73 J-2000 nicknamed "Hot Dog." We retained the Mountain Off Road Enterprises (M.O.R.E.) spring mounts up front, but we replaced the 2 1/2-inch lift springs with some Skyjacker 4-inch lift springs for a '74-and-later FSJ. We want to keep the truck as low as possible with only minimal uptravel to keep it stable. The 2 1/2-inch lift springs with our relocated spring mounts would have worked just about perfect with 44-inch tires, but there was nowhere near enough space for 49s. Here's where we are now with Hot Dog. And even if you aren't building a budget monster there may be some tips in here you can use on your own rig.
With the frame clean of all...
With the frame clean of all its old suspension and axle components, we located our 2 1/2-ton Rockwell axles under the J-2000 using a plumb bob. For more tire clearance we located the front axle forward about four inches. The rear axle is located in the original location.
Up front the M.O.R.E. shackle-reversal...
Up front the M.O.R.E. shackle-reversal spring hangers are located by taking measurements from the factory-punched holes in the framerails.
A piece of all-thread bolted...
A piece of all-thread bolted to both spring hangers helps make everything square before clamping and tack-welding the brackets in place. The M.O.R.E. hangers are mounted directly under the framerails for a spring center-pin width of 32 inches.
At the other end of the front...
At the other end of the front springs we pierced holes in the factory-boxed frame and welded in 1 1/2-inch, 0.120-wall tubing. A YJ shackle bushing and hardware fit right in. Heavy-duty M.O.R.E greaseable shackles do the attaching and pivoting.
We used the 2 1/2-ton truck...
We used the 2 1/2-ton truck front-spring perches for both front and rear axles. The perches are often misplaced when junkyard axles are pulled, so make sure you get some when finding your Rockwells. Because rear axles don't come with them we ordered a brand-new second pair from Norman at Antelope Valley Equipment and Truck Parts. We had to grind the factory locating pins off of our housings and move the perches outward 3/4 inches on each side to match our leaf-spring locations before welding the perches to the housing.
Out back we located M.O.R.E....
Out back we located M.O.R.E. CJ spring hangers and new Eaton factory-replacement '73 J-2000 springs under the frame. This helps in three ways: It gives the axle more leverage on the spring for more flex, it provides more lift than typical outboard-mounted spring brackets, and it places the springs closer together making more room for the tires and wheels. The trade-off is that a vehicle set up like this will sway more than one with outboard-mounted leaf springs.
After boxing a small section...
After boxing a small section of the frame in the rear, we pierced it and welded in tube similar to the shackle mount in the front. The shackle angle that you use will depend on the arch of the leaf spring. Our springs are pretty flat. To keep the shackles from bottoming out in either direction, we welded up the mounts so they leaned backward approximately 10 degrees with no weight on the suspension. This gives the spring plenty of room to grow in length as it compresses under the weight of the Jeep.
We welded heavy-wall DOM tubing...
We welded heavy-wall DOM tubing to the axle housings for U-bolt bosses. We get high clearance and can use easy-to-find, 2 1/2-inch-wide U-bolts. The factory 2 1/2-ton perches come with 10 degrees machined into them, this worked fine for the front. In the rear we used a grinder to increase it to 15 degrees before welding the perches and bosses to the housing.
We finished up the rear with...
We finished up the rear with some large urethane bumpstops to keep the tires out of the fenders and some old 10-inch-travel adjustable shocks we had lying around. Just about everything was coated with rattle-can camo. As planned, the rear suspension only has about three inches of total uptravel to keep the Jeep's center of gravity as low as possible.
We didn't want a full-hydro...
We didn't want a full-hydro steering system, so we ordered a Rockwell high-steer arm from Wagoner Machine Shop (WMS) to use for a crossover steering setup. You can order an arm however you want it, but we just ordered a blank one with the correct mounting holes. It comes with lock washers and Grade 8 bolts, but we later had it machined for use with tapered washers and studs to keep it from coming loose.
With the axle moved forward,...
With the axle moved forward, the draglink came close to the front pinion flange (we still need to have the yoke machined for clearance during articulation). Using heavy-wall DOM tubing and 3/16-inch steel plate we built this raised double-sheer mount on the steering arm to house a Poly Performance 3/4-inch rod end with 5/8-inch misalignment spacers. This assembly allows just less than 30 degrees of misalignment one way and a huge 5/8-inch bolt that keeps it all together. The axle end of the draglink requires a joint that allows more movement than the one at the pitman arm.
On the other end of our heavy-wall...
On the other end of our heavy-wall DOM draglink we left the stock Jeep steering box. We drilled out a late-'70s GM car Pitman arm to 5/8 inches for a high-misalignment Poly Performance rod end with 19 degrees of one-way misalignment. Our steering system works OK on the street, but a ram-assist is in the plans to provide more steering power for Hot Dog.
Up front we added 10-inch-travel adjustable shocks, urethane bumpstops and a coat of camo paint just like the rear. The factory Rockwell tie rod and ends were in good shape, so we left the assembly alone behind the axle.
There was no way Hot Dog was rolling out of the garage on its wheels and tires. Even the neighbors made fun of us while we were building it. That is until they saw us easily push it out on these auto dollies that we bought from Mantaray Motorsport Racing. We got a set of four 16x16 dollies that hold 1,500 pounds each for $149.95. Put your Jeep project on 'em, and you can push it around anywhere you want in your garage or shop. In the next issue keep your eyes out for the tire-fitment frustrations, driveshaft dilemmas, plumbing problems, and axle-wrap intricacies we had and their solutions.