The Submarine Jeep

Dennis

I just had a local Amish place make it. Any local fab shop should have the capabilities to make a tank.

And how do you access the clutch to free spool the winch?

Alot of progress in the past month. First I installed a NOS Spicer Powr-Lok with Herm's Dana 27 to 25 retro fit kit. This is a limited slip setup, which is ideal for manual steering. It was a learning process. Multiple bearings, shims, and about 30 disassembles later...

Then it hit me. I forgot some fab work. After reading through the Rubicon aftermath thread, I made some rock sliders but forgot all about U-bolt sliders. Basically I took some scrap steel and tacked them to the sides of the standard U-bolt plate. Then, I used a magnet to hold socks over the nuts. This way I ensured under the heat of the welds, my sides wouldn't cave in and lock against the nuts.

One engine is sitting at the rebuild shop, and I'm using this 2nd one as a guinea pig. Cheaper to blow up.

Finally got to play with my custom paint. I believe it's based on a 2016 Toyota pickup color but flattened. It's as close to Humvee CARC paint as I'll get without the whole cancer part. But first some primer:

I'm in love with this color. I installed the 1975ish Chevy K10 disc brake setup. CJ7 rotors. Originally I had a 3/8" spacer with (2) M38 rims dedicated for the front axle (M38's have a slight offset). I ended up going to a 1" spacer so it didn't matter what rims I had.

I bought Mile Marker hubs because the limited slip. In the event my front wheels are in a bind against rocks, I wanted to be able to unlock one side of the axle to help steering ability. Since I'm running a spacer they hardly stick out. Maybe an inch?

Knee-high baby!

Sometimes you gotta be a hero. And if that requires smashing the Jeep on its side, that's what you do. 

Tonight we launched over the last major hurdle of the project. Huge props to the machinist who helped me. Because the M151 Mutt had independent suspension, the driveshaft was stationary. Thus the transfercase only needed a slip yoke. On a solid axle Jeep like this, my driveshafts are constantly moving in/out and would rip the yokes off the tcase causing disaster. 

I dreaded spending a week to rip apart the tranny/tcase (all in one) to remove the output shafts. So we decided to rig this up on the mill with multiple clamps and a strap. The outter 3/16 of the shafts were hardened steel, so a carbide drill bit was needed.

After breaking through the hardened layer, we tapered the hole to help center the next tools. Since we were now at "soft" metal, the standard F drill bit could get the job done. Finally finished with a 5/16 tap about 1.5" down. And the process went smoothly. Whew.