let the readers decide

I'd like to know what the readers & mag. staff think about leting the readers vote on what the next new project for the mag. is. new or old, buget or over the top, purchesed or hand fabricated, truck or buggy, 4cyl., I6,V6,V8,V10. gas or desil, carb or injected, natural, turbo or supercharged. links or leaf springs. solid axle, portals or I.F.S. you get the idea I think the readers shoulg have more say  at least once in a while  

Personaly I vote for a willys leaf springs, portals, I6, stick shift, and tires so big it floats in water above the axle and still be street legal.  

Hmmmm...I like your idea. The only tricky part is that we may or may not be able to go ahead with such a project depending on what everyone decides they'd like to see.

The first part of the process would be finding out what that is.


"Personaly I vote for a willys leaf springs, portals, I6, stick shift, and tires so big it floats in water above the axle and still be street legal."

I like some of that, but portal axles and tires so big it floats and retention of street-legal status...sounds like too much of a cop magnet to ever spend much time on the street. The other thing is that people usually want to see stuff that they can relate to and hopefully replicate for themselves. What you've described certainly is possible, but a pretty big stretch for the average enthusiast.

I've saved the transfer case from the Phoenix Project, and I'm accumulating some other parts, so sooner or later I'll buy something to put all those parts on.

Here's what I'd like to build:

Base vehicle--Willy's wagon or pickup (NOT called "Wild Willys"), Scout 80/800 or Scout II, or Jeep CJ06. I'm a big fan of the early Bronco and the FJ-40, but I think the Willy's, Scout, and CJ-6 are more attractive simply because they're less common.

'75 or older so I don't have to smog it.

Street legal--really and truly. I've seen a lot of rigs that have license plates but that aren't comfortable on long trips or that are built so that they'd get pulled over in a heartbeat if driven on the street.

35's or 37's--not too big but still capable of running moderate-to-difficult trails.

Ford 9-inch rear.

Ford 9-inch or Dana 44 front.

Ford 5.4 or GM Vortec 5300 V-8.

Detroit Lockers front and rear.

Link-and-coilover front, link-and-coilover rear.

Transfer case from the Phoenix--Inchworm Lefty, Advance Adapters double-case adapter, 4.7:1 low-range gears in rear 'case.

Transmission: Some sort of overdrive automatic. I like driving a manual, but it's hard to beat a good automatic for preserving drivetrain parts. The torque convertor goes a long way when it comes to absorbing drivetrain shock loads.

Retain most of the stock frame, but incorporate a front-to-rear 'cage including going through the firewall.

Of course, what I've described is far from a bolt-together project but when it's done it should be a good rig for all-around use.  

Moey,

Speak up! What's on your mind?

--Kevin  

yup big tires = cop magnet. i like those double triangulated link setups i'v ben seein on the rock buggys they look prety simple & effective. wander how they do on pavement? i like the ford 9 inch idea to, the hi9 from truehi9.com in a spidertrax housing with some dedenbear dana 60 knuckels & a detroit locker. it'd still b a ford 9 inch just minus all the ford parts. put it in an old school bronco with a small block V8 (think built 302) just cause there easy 2 get & cheep 2 build "thank u mustang guys" it'd still b mostly ford just enough to not irritate the ford pureists would look & sound good goin down the road & would b plenty capible on the trails. that said the willys wagon would be an awsome build but use jeep parts if u go jeep (think amc 360), ford parts for a ford build, chevy for a chevy, & so on. there's just to many jeeps runin around with 350 chevy engines, just about every manufacturer has a good V8 in sumthin they build & most can b found in a scrap yard for real cheep ready to b pulled & built  

Yeah, it's pretty cool the way you can build a complete Ford 9-inch without using any OEM Ford parts! It's not that the OEM Ford parts are bad, it's that Ford quit building that axle in the '80's. Also, consider the way that the aftermarket has improved all the aspects of the 9-inch: a well-built aftermarket 9-inch is going to be stronger than OEM Ford ever thought of.

I've thought of building a rig that had as many brands on board as possible for two reasons: One, you'd irritate the purists that way, and two, you'd show everyone that every manufacturer has some good stuff to offer. When I say this I have in mind something like a Toyota FJ-40 with a Ford engine, Chevy transmission, Jeep Wrangler transfer case, etc.