Yeah, it sure would be cool to have a rip-snortin' blown big-block or maybe even a vintage flathead V-8 in our hot rod Jeep. But the truth of the matter is people don't just give these away and we weren't willing to spend much money. Actually, we weren't willing to spend any money. So we had to settle for pretty much the used-toilet equivalent of the hot rod engine world: a GM inline-six. And this six is not even a powerful or larger cube version that enjoys aftermarket support. Besides, the flatrod had to live up to the Sloppy Seconds name Hazel dubbed it, even though I'm still unsure if he was referring to all the second-hand parts, or to the fact that it will likely be the slowest vehicle to ever hit the 1/4-mile raceway once it's done. Needless to say, Hazel stole the corner of our garage with a greasy pathetic '60s-era 194. At some point the block had a crack in it, so there is evidence of a butch arc welding repair near the oil pan and bellhousing. Yeah, it leaks a little oil, but not enough to spin wrenches. Overall the engine looks kinda cool and vintage, and the inline-six should sound awesome with an open pipe exhaust. With the chassis basics pretty much laid out in the last issue, we went to slapping the inline-six into the flatrod. Keep an eye out for the next issue, where we'll install the body, run the cooling system, build a cool fuel tank, and more.
The brakes on our Willys truck...
The brakes on our Willys truck Dana 25 were questionable. So we yanked the entire knuckle assemblies, 10-inch drum brakes, hubs, and so on from a '73 closed-knuckle J2000 Dana 44 and put them on the flatrod's axlehousing. Early closed-knuckle Dana 25, 27, and 44 axles enjoy a lot of parts interchangeability.
One side of our Dana 25 had...
One side of our Dana 25 had an axleshaft with a Rezeppa joint. In the other side there was a U-jointed Spicer-style shaft and remnants of a blown Rezeppa in the grease along with a scarred inner knuckle. No biggie, we yanked the shafts and tossed 'em, since this Jeep will be two-wheel-drive anyway.
We did reinstall the funky,...
We did reinstall the funky, yet cool-looking Dualmatic locking hubs, though. Sometime earlier we let a buddy borrow one, which he of course lost, so we had to trade some FSJ rear load leafs to get another one.
Our '60s GM 194 inline-six...
Our '60s GM 194 inline-six came fully dressed with the clutch and bellhousing. We managed to score a GM SM420 transmission for $50 from a friend. To match the SM420's coarse-spline input we swapped the old T-90 conversion clutch disk that was in there for a new NAPA 11-inch unit from an early '60s GM truck. The tranny and engine went together just like at the factory. The 194 utilizes the same bellhousing bolt pattern and starter as GM small- and big-blocks. So if a free and running V-8 ever strolls our way, it won't be a difficult swap. Although, the quirky looks of the inline-six are growing on us.
We temporarily installed the...
We temporarily installed the body tub to locate where the engine should be positioned. Most of the hack-together motor mounts that Hazel gave us with the engine were reused when attaching it to our frame. However, the SM420 does not have any mounting provisions, so we fabricated a bracket that bolts to the tranny housing and uses a common rubber GM TH350 mount. This GM mount is easily adapted to fit on the original M38A1 transmission crossmember that sits in nearly the stock location.
There were some driveshaft...
There were some driveshaft yoke clearance issues on one of the factory rear crossmembers. Unfortunatly we had to remove the cool M38A1 machine gun mount, notch the crossmember, and then reinforce it with some 1/8" strap steel.
We wanted to retain the simple,...
We wanted to retain the simple, compact, and effective factory M38A1 brake and clutch pedal assembly. So we started by ordering a new American-made M38A1 master cylinder from NAPA (PN UP2796). The Advance Adapters chain clutch linkage (PN 716640) is by far the best bolt-on clutch mechanism for '41-'71 CJs. So we put one to work and attached it between our factory GM iron clutch arm and M38A1 clutch pedal, which is pretty much the same pedal assembly found on all early CJs.
We dug through our pile of...
We dug through our pile of old driveshafts to find something close to the correct length. What we found was this rock-battered 1310 U-jointed front driveshaft from Cappa's hammered flattie...
...A NAPA 1310 to 1350 conversion...
...A NAPA 1310 to 1350 conversion U-joint (PN NPJP348) was needed to mate it to the 1350 output yoke on our SM420. The Ford 9-inch at the other end already had a 1310 yoke, and the driveshaft had a perfectly good 1310 U-joint, so we greased it and ran it. With the driveshaft in place, we lowered the wheels to the ground, set the pinion angle, and then welded the spring perches on the Ford 9-inch.
Finally, we plumbed the brakes...
Finally, we plumbed the brakes using inexpensive universal 3/16-inch hard lines from the local auto parts store and braided-steel AN lines from Speedway Motors. A Wilwood 10-pound residual pressure valve (PN 260-3279) is installed just after the master cylinder. It's needed because the wheel cylinders on our drum brakes are higher than the frame-mounted master cylinder.