T-19/D20/CJ7 No TC Drop?

[Rocky]

Good question about the frame mods, MC. It's my understanding that AMC originally begin boxing the CJ frames because the 304s were tearing 'em up.

Randy:
Thanks for your input to my original question... Good info, and adds to solving the puzzle. I'm working at making this build both a good DD and a "wolf in sheap's clothing" offroad. Doing my best to keep it looking stock enough that it doesn't stand out too much around town, but capable offroad (as well as safe and comfortable to drive on the highway.) ...I know... I'm asking a lot!!! That's why I want to put as much research into it b'fore committing to various mods.

Anybody else with input about front driveline angles, ane how critical they are, please chime in! Also... how have people dealt w/ raising the TC (for clearance) and fan/shroud/radiator alignment? (I don't want to lift the body any more than the 1/2" that I've done, so I don't have clearance to raise the engine.) Looks to me that I'll have to drop the radiator/shroud down some...

[RandyJ]

Yes, I did box the frame from the fire wall forward. I took the cross member from a rusted out 73 CJ5 (engine donar) and grafted it into the frame in the front, which was the exact same width. That gave me the mount for the steering box that I needed and a place for the Jeep frame motor mounts.

Big project because I rebuilt/built the 304 at the same time. Unfortunately I built the motor for high end horse power and not torque. The thing would just sit there spinning 4 tires on pavement if you hit the gas to hard.

For drive line angles...
Don't worry to much about the front drive shaft, since it shouldn't be used that much. Just unlock the front hubs when you drive it. For the back, measure the angles with an angle guage. Trans output yoke should match rear axle pinion yoke angle within 1¬?, max of 3¬?. Drive shaft shouldn't be more than 10¬?-12¬? or you will get vibration. If either of those rules can't be met, you will need a CV drive shaft to prevent vibration.

[Rocky]

Thanks, Randy-
Yeah, I'm real familiar w/ setting up drivelines. I tend to be a little more conservative than some w/ U joint angles, and will prob. run a CV rear shaft on this rig.
The reason I want to be sure to get the front right is that it'll sometimes be run at highway speeds in 4x4 in the snow.... Don't want any unhappy vibes there!
Prob w/ setting up the front is that AMC breaks the rules w/ the front setup on most CJs... Even though they have single cardan front shafts, front pinion and TC output yoke are far from parallel..(pinion would have to point down at the ground to do that!) The only spec in any of the factory TSMs I have is to have the front pinion 1 deg plus of drive shaft angle. This would make perfect sense w/ a CV setup (as w/ some auto CJs and FSJs) but doesn't follow the normal rules for a single cardan setup. The TSMs cover all models for their specific years, but don't give seperate specs for the various setups. (Am I surprised??!!)
I don't want to have to rotate the pumkin, so the only way to get the angles right (w/o messing up the caster angle) is w/ TC drop.
Hopefully it isn't a big deal, and I'll be fine, but I'd rather not find out @ 55 mph in the snow!

[RandyJ]

You might also want to look at quadra-trac CJs' from the mid to late 70s' or Grand Wagoneers. They ran a CV front shafts even though the angles were good. Full time 4wd must have started causing some sort of vibration problem in the font drive shaft, or they were just trying to avoid problems.

[Rocky]

Maybe my biggest problem is attempting to figure out AMC "engineering"!!