This page is an update to John's 2009 article Wolf in Jeep's Clothing which covered the modifications he had made to his 1955 CJ-3B to that point. If you haven't seen that page you might want to have a look at it, as well as the 2013 story on his Weekend in the Tobacco Root Mountains. -- Derek Redmond
That aluminum grille is pretty cool, and there's lots more aluminum under the hood. Here's John's rundown on the latest upgrades:
The "rebuild" was actually instigated by the not surprising demise of my stock D25 front axle, but my tired Small Block Chevy 381 also contributed to this effort. The D25 had actually been living on borrowed time since the first SBC, a 350, was swapped in way back in 1973. The short side axle finally exploded in a real sense and completely removed the inner seal seat.
The replacement front axle is based on a narrowed Ford F250 D44HD housing with the 1/2"-thick tube walls. Reid 8-stud Scout II knuckles, Scout II hubs/spindles/disc brakes, Dutchman 4340 axle shafts, Yukon 4.11 gears, and an ARB locker complete the assembly.
The draglink and tie rod are both built out of 1.5" OD 1/4"-wall DOM tube with Ruffstuff's weld-in ends and a custom machined adapter to the GM power steering control valve.
The rear 19-spline/Powr-Lok full float axle was replaced with a similar 30-spline version based on a Kaiser FC-150 offset housing, custom large bore 4340 spindles, D30 hubs, Dutchman custom 4140 flanged floater shafts, 78-81 Jeep disc brakes, Yukon 4.11 gears, and another ARB locker. The rear axle also sports Wilwood's MC4 manual calipers on my custom brackets for the emergency brakes.
Both axles are wide track CJ width, nominally 57". The springs were swapped out for some longer than stock Holbrooks to increase the available wheel travel which turned out to be about 17-1/2". These were mounted on my custom frame/shackle hangers and an ADDCO 1-1/8" diameter sway bar added up front with slightly modified JKS quick disconnect links to maintain some on-road stability. The new shocks are Bilstein's 5165 Series remote reservoir versions on fabricated mounts.
One cosmetic change was the Aqualu aluminum grill. The old Warn/Belleview winch was also replaced by a somewhat bastardized (240K JPEG) Warn 827 (330K JPEG) using a motor from a 9.5 XP and contactor (located behind the grill) from a Zeon 12.
I can't complain about the longevity of the 381 SBC which had soldiered on for better than 3-1/2 decades. But the new engine has been on the bucket list ever since GM came out with the raised deck "Rocket" block in the late 1990's. The goal for this one was a relatively light engine with a lot of bottom end torque for playing in the rocks. My version is based on Dart's aluminum block (4.125" bore.)
Other components include a Callies Magnum crank (4.125" stroke), Oliver 4340 rods (6.125"), custom JE pistons zero decked in the block (10.5:1 static CR), AFR full CNC machined 65cc aluminum heads, Jones Cam Designs custom ground hydraulic roller cam, and Comp Cams roller lifters, push rods and rocker arms.
The induction is Edelbrock's ProFlo4 EFI. The engine weight, fully dressed with starter, alternator, PS pump, belts, pulleys and fan, is 428 pounds.
See also the passenger-side view (370K JPEG).
The clutch was also changed out, in an effort (very successful I should add) to reduce pedal effort. It is McLeod's twin disc RST which rides on a Hays 25-lb. steel flywheel. Perhaps the only "unmolested" driveline component from the previous build is Auto Gear Equipment's 4-speed transmission.
The Dana 18 is also relatively unmolested; only the rear companion flange/yoke was changed to accommodate a double cardan joint rear driveshaft (a very short Tom Woods long-spline version). The D18 emergency brake assembly was deleted.
The interior center "console" was completely replaced, and Vintage Air servo controls are used with both the auxiliary heater under the driver's seat and the Gen II heater under the dash (which replaced an early-70s vintage Nissan heater). All much more functional. The velcro pads in the center hold a tablet if you want its digital dash provision.
See also the driver's instruments (300K JPEG).
Thanks to John Goering for the story and photos. -- Derek Redmond
See Wolf in Jeep's Clothing covering John's earlier mods.
Also on CJ3B.info, see his Weekend in the Tobacco Root Mountains.
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