Newbie off road questions. Need help.

[westexhunt]

Great site and lots of info. I have been looking at this site for a week or so and posted a few questions earlier. I bought a 80 Cherokee Chief S last week. Originally for the rebuilt 360 that is in it (to replace a CJ's 304), but now I have checked it out and it is a nice truck. I have a ton of questions, and will start with these. The body is very straight, only 3 small dents and one bullet hole that I can find and no rust other than a few pinholes in the passenger floor. It was a nice graphite gray color with black on the bottom, but is faded badly. It has no hood, and the interior is pretty well stripped, no dash just gauges laying in the void, and no interior panels. Now the bad part, the spring perches are cut off and reatached to the frame with some ghetto, homemade perches to make a 6-8" lift. It has the factory axles with factory springs on a spring over, and it sits on 39 in bald boggers. I has the 360 with a T176, and a 208, D44 front and AMC 20 rear. Now the questions, is the frame stout enough to redo and put dana 60 front and 14 bolt rear with 350HP small block/700r4/203/205 double cases, with 37-40" tires? This would be a hardcore trail rig, not a rock crawler. Or should I drop it back down and make a nice driver out of it with the stock parts? It would have been a very sharp jeep when new, is it worth restoring, I can get most of the original parts for free or little from a buddy, that has several waggoneers?

[Thumpszilla]

Well it is really just a matter of choice. Do you want a hardcore trail rig or do you want a daily driver. It sounds like either way you may have a good start. Also I can't comment on frame strength without seeing pics of it.

[Bama Burden]

generally speaking, FSJ's have strong frames. It's a different story for those that have seen lots of plow duty and salty roads. Check for rust around the gas tank. A solid FSJ frame is definitely strong enough for 1-ton axles. There are plenty of people on this board that have swapped to bigger axles and some that have used their frames as the basis for a buggy.
If you're concerned about make a trail rig out of a rare vehicle, don't worry. Your Chero isn't all that rare. :D

[westexhunt]

Thanks guys, other than the booger welded spring hangers this frame has not been compromised at all. Not even any surface rust on it, very good condition. One more question, how stout is the factory rear AMC 20? Will it handle 35-37" tires with a mild small block, and a spool or lincoln locked, for trail use?

[Elliott]

The frames actually will flex/crack less then most GM frames because the Jeeps are largely boxed. From the sound of it, you should be going to one tons if you are going to seriously wheel it.

If you end up fixin' to chop the rear fender flares do it clean and offer them up for sale here 'cause somebody is looking for them.

[FSJeeper]

The frames actually will flex/crack less then most GM frames because the Jeeps are largely boxed. From the sound of it, you should be going to one tons if you are going to seriously wheel it.

If you end up fixin' to chop the rear fender flares do it clean and offer them up for sale here 'cause somebody is looking for them.

I have a set of clean Cherokee WT flares/wheelwells, who is looking for them?

[Bama Burden]

One more question, how stout is the factory rear AMC 20? Will it handle 35-37" tires with a mild small block, and a spool or lincoln locked, for trail use?
It's technically an AMC 23 that is in the FSJ's. It's certainly stronger than the model found in CJs. It's arguably as strong if not slightly stronger than a D44. If you like the happy pedal then err on the side of caution.

[DanHS]

Well, what do you want in your 4x4? The CJ of course is much smaller, but the Cherokee has a really good wheelbase. It'll hold up to one tons fine, just weld the stock perches on properly and spring over the one tons. The AMC23 will hold up to 35's fine as long as you don't mash the gas to get over everything. If you floor it to get over something while running 37's I think you'll break it soon enough if you don't break something else first each time, especially when spooled. The stock drivetrain would make it a nice wheeler and driver too, I think it would be nice fixed up and on 35s, but it's your Jeep.

[Sambo]

welcome aboard! yes these frame do hold up to 1 tons and big meats(see avatar&sig):thumbsup:
btw where are ya in west tex! i might be close enough to help ya out;)
aslo yes to teh wag question,alot of interior stuff will swap,gauges,panels etc...except rear quarter panels on the inside being of 2 dr nature compared to 4 dr...

[Elliott]

I have a set of clean Cherokee WT flares/wheelwells, who is looking for them?

I was speaking generally, but I bet they wouldn't last long in the for sale section... there's a request for the front fenders in the wanted section now.

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