'76 CJ7 Suspension/Mounts Plan

[dbesade]

Hey Everyone,

I am the silent lurker who reads about everyone else's rig . Anyway I have a plan, and after much research and planning here is the list I have come up with and the specs on the Jeep. As the title says its a '76 CJ7 with Power Brakes/Steering, 304 w/ Quadra-Trac and TH400 (QT has a PT Conversion), the Lovely D-30 Front and AMC-20 Rear. Body is pretty good condition, Wiring has more tape than anything else, you know, the usual. I plan on doing the work needed in phases as my finances allow. The first phase is what I am posting about, Suspension and Mounts. Here is my List, let me know if any changes or adjustments should be made.

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Phase (1) List-o-crap
• 4" Superide Lift
• (4) Superide Superlift Shocks
• Drop Pitman Arm
• Superide Steering Stabilizer Kit
• (5) Poly shock boots
• Front & Rear Poly Leaf Bushing Kits
• Poly Dust Boots
• (4) New Bump Stops
• New Poly Motor Mounts
• 1" Poly Body Lift

I did the numbers, this stuff is exactly $1000 (without... shudder... shipping). I am looking to use Poly bushings and mounts to replace the nonexistent things (Like Body Mounts) and to replace all things rubber, which hate the salt on the roads around here. So does my list look alright?

Here is also some pictures of the victim of my plans:

http://s3.spaceportbar.com/~dbesade/jeep/cj1.jpg
http://s3.spaceportbar.com/~dbesade/jeep/cj2.jpg


-Dave

[jeepsr4ever]

Dave that is some interesting diamond plate. I see what you mean now... Sounds like a geat little project.

[dbesade]

Haha,

That part of my project is probably going to be the most painful, other stuff to do on my list is the wire harness, which is almost completely gone, so thats probably next on the list of stuff to do. I was gunna get the painless wiring kit (preterminated) and get an auxiliary box so I don't splice into this one as well as an optima battery and high output alternator to complete my Electrical system.

-Dave

[tufcj]

Sounds like a good starting plan. I had a superride 4" kit on my 77 CJ7. The front was fine, but the rear was very stiff. I ended up removing the short leaf from the rear pack to make the ride livable.

I bought my 77 Jeep in March 78 with 8000 miles on it. It was perfect then, and I haven't stopped building it since.

Bob
tufcj

[Mudrat]

The painful harness isn't THAT bad Stuck one in my 85 CJ7, but you may want to look for and alternate mounting place for th fuse board. It's under the dash close to where the original is, but its of such a wierd sise you can't put it in a tupperware container to keep it water resistant. I'm looking at relocating mine to behind the drivers seat on the fender since i'm not going to have a rear seat. Up and out of the water.

The rest seems logical for Phase one. I didn't see dumping all that diamond plate in there though

Pat

[dbesade]

Sounds like a good starting plan. I had a superride 4" kit on my 77 CJ7.

How did it affect the turning radius of it? How stiff are we talking in the rear??

I didn't see dumping all that diamond plate in there though

Haha I plan on keeping the diamond plating. It also has on the floor in the rear of the tub. Its been sealed and the metal beneath it is in good condition.

[Mudrat]

I didn't see dumping all that diamond plate in there though

Haha I plan on keeping the diamond plating. It also has on the floor in the rear of the tub. Its been sealed and the metal beneath it is in good condition.

Yeah, I suppose the extra weight will help you get to the bottom of the mud hole to find traction

I've got the skyjacker softride on the CJ and I'm sitt'n pretty level, a little nose heavy with the winch up there, but don't know how it rides yet Still under destruction Hoping the 35x12.5 will keep the bounce down somewhat

[tufcj]

What changes turning radius is tire diameter and wheel backspacing. I went with 35" tires on 10" wheels. 3.5" backspace. I had to turn the stops out some so the tires didn't drag the springs. It's only a problem on narrow track CJs (pre '82).

My CJ is SOA now, on custom built Dana 44s front and rear. I did them to 56" wide, about 5" wider than factory narrow track. Wide track is 55" (82-86).

The ride isn't terrible on the super ride springs. A little stiffer than stock. The biggest problem was travel (or lack of it). I rock crawl, and the rear didn't really flex until I removed a leaf. It also softened the ride to better than stock.

Bob
tufcj

[Mudrat]

What changes turning radius is tire diameter and wheel backspacing. I went with 35" tires on 10" wheels. 3.5" backspace. I had to turn the stops out some so the tires didn't drag the springs. It's only a problem on narrow track CJs (pre '82).

My CJ is SOA now, on custom built Dana 44s front and rear. I did them to 56" wide, about 5" wider than factory narrow track. Wide track is 55" (82-86).

The ride isn't terrible on the super ride springs. A little stiffer than stock. The biggest problem was travel (or lack of it). I rock crawl, and the rear didn't really flex until I removed a leaf. It also softened the ride to better than stock.

Bob
tufcj

Bob, pretty much the same set up - got a 44 up front 63" WMS, hi-steer, 4.56 and detroit locker with the same tires 35x12.5 on 10" rims w/3.5 B/S, SOA and 3" Skyjacker springs. Oh yeah, and Bulltear boomerang shackles
Found the rear HD AMC-20 (also 63 WMS) with problems (chipped pinion - somebody screwed up the setup) so I'm still thinking of using the 44 (63" WMS) out of an 88 Waggie - but I'd have to build it. Or Fuzz has a narrow 20 housing that I can stick my 4.56 locker in. It would be cheaper to build in the short run to get me on the road, but I'm a little concerned with the narrowness when you think I'm pushing about 10" of lift.

What shocks are you running? I have the 7058's Hydro's and I bottom out, their a couple inches short

[tufcj]

I'm running Rancho RS9000s. All of my shock mounts are custom made. The front uses a modified GM base on the axle, and a Wagoneer tower on top. In the rear, I added an extra crossmember above the frame rail, right above the axle, and almost against the bottom of the tub (I have a 1" body lift). A home made bracket is welded to the top of the axle tube just inboard of the spring plate. The shocks are canted toward the center line of the Jeep to get full travel without having them extend thru the rear floorboard.

I like to use pin mounts for shocks, and have the pins face front-rear on the Jeep. That way when the axle twists, the shock rotates on the pin. If the shock pin runs side-side, it can cause a bind and limit compression or droop.

Bob
tufcj