'Nother Diesel Build Thread

Steering for the project will consist of classic GM style Saginaw steering box and a Cherokee column that was discussed earlier.  I wasn’t sure how to connect the two, but it turned out to be pretty simple.  I was able to use the lower joint from the Cherokee steering shaft and I had a Chevy Cavalier shaft I had saved and was able to use the upper joint from it.  I could have used the stock Cherokee for the whole thing if I had welded it, but I think this turned out better.  I bought a chunk of 1” double D tube from Summit and separated the outer stock tube from both of the stock shafts.  They were simple press fit, with lock screw on the Cav shaft and a piece of plastic on the Cherokee.  I cut the Summit tube to length.  It took some filing and sanding to get inner shafts to place, and I tack welded the one end and duplicated the lock screw on the other end.  All in all, I’m happy with the way it works.  It is solid and yet would collapse in a front end collision.

Not sure how I got that last pic upside down.  Anyhow, the attachment from the fender to the frame needs repositioned.  I am going try a plate that attaches to the stock frame holes and a couple of nuts welded on the back side.  These plates will get trimmed down 

Edited by bobevans - 05 Jan. 2019 at 4:02am

More body work. Slow, painful body work.

Nice work hi-lining the fenders. Well done! 

I thought I better do something to the project so I can post up here, otherwise the thread will be so far buried I'll never find it again. I started by cleaning the rodent feces off the cowl, then I thought starting to ease back into to the project would be a good idea.
I think it's sort of silly to name your Jeep, but I like silly. The Kubota engine was out of a refrigeration trailer, sometimes called a "reefer". It seems mad to try and do what I'm doing with this, so "Reefer Madness" it is.

The gas pedal I went with is, surprise, surprise, a Cherokee XJ pedal. It is intended to bolt to a vertical firewall and our mounting spot is angled, so it was necessary to cut and re-weld the shaft. I tried a Polaris Ranger pedal which was angled, but it seemed too complicated

On the other side of the firewall I decided to make a bracket to use one of the bellhousing bolts. The Kubota has sort of a weird set up that needs to be pushed rather than pulled like a standard carb. To do that, I made a bracket that uses the two big, rear facing studs on the side of the engine. They will hold a piece of plate with bell crank from Summit Racing. The edge of this bracket will also hold the stop cable to shut the engine off.

More progress this weekend. I had a buddy swap over the outlet on the Honda radiator so now it exits on the driver's side of the engine, right across from where the engine outlet is. The top inlet on the rad is right in the middle, so I don't anticipate a problem with the internal flow of the rad. I also picked up a CJ5 roll bar. This will from the basis for my roll cage. We'll tie it into the frame and add a front hoop by the windshield frame. Wish I could get as fancy as jPet and actually make the frame the structural front hoop. The only thing I had to do to the bar was trim off the back corner to match the curve of the Jeep and then put a ratchet strap around the bar to suck it in enough to fit under the flanges. I also had to cut out the stock pockets for the soft top middle hoop. Anyone still reading this post, PM me if you want the pockets and they're yours.

The other big project this weekend was the power steering. I played with several
options and bought the GM Saginaw ("can of ham") steering pump and reservoir. It was a really tight fit with the alternator. I couldn't find a double V-belt pulley for the alternator and didn't want to spend $130 for a double crank pulley, so I begged, borrowed and swiped a double V water pump pulley from a buddy who took it off of a late 70s CJ. The only problem was enlarging the center bore hole - I didn't have a big enough drill bit, so I used the stock pulley as a guide and got the grinder cranking. Lots of eyeballing and measuring with a Vernier caliper to keep it round and centered. Turned out pretty well. Next problem was the can o' ham was just too big. I ended up with a GM type II pump from a Pontiac Sunbird that has a remote reservoir.

I got the double pulley for the pump so I would have more mounting options. I'm going to bolt it to the block using the forward 12 x 1.25 holes. These are the holes that Greg Margison mounts his motor mounts to and I originally cut out a plate to fit these holes. I'm going to weld a piece of 1/4" angle to this plate. On the angle I will have the pivot bolt down low and cut an arc for the other mounting bolt so that I can swing the pump out to tighten the belt.