damn I had a Trump chopper longer that that thing -119" axle to axle ;o,lol, anyway that is going to be a bad ass WILLYS or JEEP to us common UpNort folks - still hundreds of em here running the deer trails and plowing snow
I dig that, I love military jeeps and the grill gives a hint of that look. If it were mine I'd give it the olive drab military / aircraft parts vibe. Good job, it'll be very cool with your talent. (ps:those leaf springs look extra short ? , what are they ?)
You were determimned to work that Ranger in there somewhere weren't you? It's looking good. 'Bout time you got to building something. JH
Did'nt your Mom ever tell you that you could go blind? Just keep playing with it till ya need glasses! Looks good J.
Tingler...when a leaf spring compresses it lengthens somewhat due to the curve of the spring flattening out. With the springs mounted as you have them, do you see the potential for self steering of the rear axle as the spring compresses? Make a mock up of your front spring section length and mounted angle from some cardboard and see how far the axle will shift rearward over a 6" arc. Leaf springs should be mounted so that the front bushing is at the same height or close to the same height as the wheel centerline. The more installed angle you have the more self steering effect you have to deal with as the car leans in a turn. With those short, stiff springs you might not have too much problem, but if you DO get acceptable spring movement...it could end up being an issue. Better to know now than later...
use them wheels w 16" x10 cheaters in back and 15" skinnies in front the gennies were avail in 4" and 6" if i remember right in any case I love the look of that truck KOOL!
Can't wait to see the finished product.What year of Willys did you start with?Are you going to stay with an open engine?Dave
Well...keep in mind everything will sit a little closer to level as the truck goes together. The front spring eyes need to be closer to the ground. Close to the rear axle centerline height would be ideal...but you may not get there as its laid out now. I think its safe to fudge a little, but in my opinion the angle you have now is too much. Having the spring mounted under the axle would help a lot, if thats possible, but its obviously gonna lower the ride height. If that won't work you can rotate the spring around the axle to have the front bushing lower and the rear bushing higher...like many factory pickups are setup. Thats why they have a reversed rear shackle...to get the rear bushing of the spring as high as possible, which allows the front bushing to be positioned low to control self steering. Not sure how far you can go by rotating the top mounted spring as your rear shackle position might become an issue. Perhaps go spring under and reposition the spring mounts to regain lost height?
Looks as if you could lower the front of the spring to the bottom of that vertical, then move the axle to the top of the spring to get it back to the same height. That would help fix the spring geometry and still keep the ride height about the same.
When you relocate the front spring eye make sure your rear shackles angle forward a little, It will help soften the ride some. As was mentioned before the spring elongates as it is compressed, and if the shackles angle back the way you had them they fight the spring elongation making a harsh ride.
The Jalopy Journal
