74 Chief Restore

[Heavy_Metal_Thunder_81]

I guess you guessed it. Are there issues with the late model DS?s hitting the gas tank? I wouldn?t doubt it. I?m glad to get rid of the midship tank. More room for more junk. :-)

The '80s rigs with centered difs have narrower fuel tanks so dif and drive shaft clearance isn't an issue.

[bkilby]

Brad that thing looks great!

Yeah some trimmin might be in order the little I know about you.
Haha You will flex it much much more than your forklift can!

I?m sure you?re right. Lol.

[bkilby]

The '80s rigs with centered difs have narrower fuel tanks so dif and drive shaft clearance isn't an issue.

Ah, I didn?t know that. Thanks!

[bkilby]

Happy birthday to this thread. 2 years old today! And the Jeep is still on the rack! Lol!

[bkilby]

It's been awhile since I've updated. Lots of things going on so I'll just sum it all up in a post or two.

I finally got to finish the intake and get the sensor mounted. I'd prefer to not have this giant radius but it'll work for now and buy time for me to find something else. Or not. I was concerned about getting that sensor on the inside of the bend so it's not sticking out the outside.





I needed to get an AC Condenser installed as you have to pull the radiator to install it. No one but TGW has a direct replacement it seems and they wanted $325.00 for theirs. After searching around, I found a made in China unit on Ebay that fit pretty good. I hope it lasts. Lol. While at it, I needed to get a tranny cooler installed too. I bought a Derale unit from Summit and got it installed but wasn't happy with how much it moved. So, bracket making time. The upper bar is a piece of 1" Sq tubing. This was needed to keep the core support from flexing and gave a place to mount the vertical strap. It's pretty solid now.

In the works.



Finished with 3/8" tubing and AN fittings to get past the Condenser and connect with a short hose on each side.



These are the stock Ram hoses. There's a connection with a clip under the plastic round thingy. The end of the tubing that goes into that connection came off another set of trans lines I had laying around. Cut them off and connected with a short piece of hose.

[bkilby]

While all that was going on, I decided it was a great idea to have the AMC20 sand blasted to clean it up. Well, long story short, sand got into the pinion bearing as I was assembling the rear end. That was Friday evening of course. Of to a rear end shop on Monday to get rebuilt. New bearings, seals, etc. It's running 3.73 gears and a Detroit Locker and now Chromoly Dutchman shafts thanks to BJ's. Got it all painted up, all new brakes with cables and in it goes. Btw, since this was an '84 rear end going into a '74 vehicle, the shock mounts didn't work right so we had to make new mounts. It should be good now.






A lot of other small things here and there to address but it finally came along yesterday as the rig hit the ground and it was time for test driving. Finally! And then came the leaks. Lol! Tranny line at the cooler leaked. Fixed. Power steering started leaking again. *&%$#@! I drove it anyhow but the pump, which powers the steering and the brakes kept acting up. It worked, then it didn't. Then it did. Then it didn't. Unreliable to say the least. So, today I got to spend nearly $200 on a freaking pump and swap my reservoir and pulley over. All in fun of course.

Fixed the leaks from the PS, installed the grill, pumped 10 gallons of gas back into the tank after fixing the leak from when we forklift flexed it and adjusted the air pressure in the tires. Time to drive! Here it is, for the first time ever, sitting in my driveway at the house! Woohoo! Lol!

[bkilby]

There's a lot of stuff I've skipped. Like adding 3 qts of tranny fluid. And I still need more. Like the 2 new driveshafts I had to have made at the tune of $997 but that does include the custom yoke I had to order with 2day shipping. It's running a standard driveshaft in the rear and a CV shaft in the front. A big boy shaft too. Not like the puny ones found on QT Jeeps. Lol. Oh, and that $26 reusable AMC20 gasket I bought leaks. I've had good luck with this brand before but this time, the gear oil is leaking out of the threads of 3 bolts. Just great. Another freakin leak to fix Monday. When will it stop.....(don't answer, I know)

Besides all that, I'm stoked! The springs need to be broke in, the doors and tailgate rattles, The steering is whacky and needs an alignment and more but it runs and drives! It was a good week.

[toddthewelder]

Man that thing looks good, I need to get out that way and get a ride in it

[bkilby]

It has way more power than the rig can handle right now. That locker in the rear and goofy steering in the front makes it a hand full when stomping on the gas pedal. i really wish it had an ARB in the rear.

[toddthewelder]

what's up with the steering?

[bkilby]

Just loose and sloppy. Gotta look into it more. Maybe the box needs adjusting. It needs an alignment too.

I did take it on a 20 mile trip today. It did pretty good other than rattles and funky steering. I am getting a noise coming out of the front DS spring or maybe a body mount that I need to look into. Other than that, all good.

[babywag]

Sounds like you're ready for a roadtrip to grab some flip-out windows

[rang-a-stang]

As awesome as these pictures are, they don't do your rig justice. it really is a sweet rig. I really hope to see it at TDS.

[bkilby]

Thanks! Slicing and dicing on the center console today. I thought I had a plan until I started laying pieces in place. Where do I cut that big hole for the tcase shifter? Lol.

[bkilby]

Sounds like you're ready for a roadtrip to grab some flip-out windows

I wish!