Frame and Suspension

I stripped the Jeep down to the bare frame and started work. The frame was a stock GPW frame that had some previous 'fixes' done to it and it had a few cracks. I completely boxed and strapped the top and bottom of the frame. If I were to do it again I would definitely make my own frame from scratch using 2"x4" box tube. To strap the frame I used 2"x1/4" steel and stitch welded it along the length of the frame. I made cardboard templates of the sections to be boxed and then cut them out of some plate steel.

I made all new suspension mounting points in order to accommodate full-width axles. I outboarded the spring hangers from the frame on both the front and rear. I decided to use a shackle reversal front suspension using junkyard 5 leaf Wrangler leaves. The rear uses junkyard 7 leaf front Wagoneer springs. With no weight on the springs I welded the shackle hangers to the frame so that the shackles were at 0 degrees. If I were to do it again I think I would set them at 5 degrees back to gain slightly more flex. As they are with weight on the suspension they sit between 20-25 degrees. I built a traction bar using a "funny shackle" design which allows for flex without binding. The traction bar is installed on the passenger side to counter-act the torque lean. The actual bar was built once all of the weight was on the suspension. For shocks I decided to go with long travel Rancho 9000 shocks at all 4 corners. The part # is RS99036. The front shock mount is a F250 Ford shock tower which is a good and cheap way to go. Ask for Ford part # E5TZ18183A. In the rear the Ford tower would not work so I fabricated my own tubular shock hoop from 1.25" HREW tube.

I also use bump stops at all 4 corners to limit up travel to about 5". The final wheel base is set at 91.5" using 1" offset spring pin plates at all 4 corners. The original wheel base is 80".

Future plans are to extend the wheel base to about 100" for better stability on climbs.