68' M715 AKA "Smokey", 8.1 engine on links, coils and 40's

Still taking some of the body apart. Pulled the vent cover and found a very old desiccated nest and a bunch of blast media

Body vent.jpg

Body vent(2).jpg

I also managed to get the M16 rifle rack removed from just behind the driver side seat. The floor is fairly rusty here and will need to be replaced

Body rifle rack.jpg
 
Lots of work to remove all the factory leaf spring hangers and do it cleanly. Plus I don't love using a torch.

Spring hangers.jpg

Spring hangers(2).jpg

Spring hangers(3).jpg

Spring hangers(4).jpg

This shows the factory body mount also. That'll be eventually removed as the new front suspension frame mount will incorporate the body mount also

Spring hangers(5).jpg
 
I only use this grinder for really "extreme" jobs, like cleaning up the frame from all the old hangers

Large grinder.jpg

Slowing boxing in all the firewall cuts. The goal is to have the cab look as clean as possible, not all hacked up and beat to hell

Firewall boxing.jpg

Firewall boxing(2).jpg

Firewall boxing(3).jpg
 
Finally finished cleaning the frame of any unnecessary brackets, crossbars or mounts. What a mess

Rear frame brackets.jpg

I also slung the Dana 70HD under the rear along with an Artec truss. The truss is for a Dana 60 but with a little trimming it fits great. This axle ultimately ended up being TOO WIDE for the wheels we went with but it'd be a great match for someone wanting to run H1 wheels. I have everything complete hub to hub, 4.56 gears if anyone is interested

Dana 70HD.jpg

Dana70HD(2).jpg
 
Here is the crossmember which I fabbed for the ORD Magnum. The 3/8" drilled plate comes with the Magnum, I indexed it into 1/4" wall, 2" square tubing to make it ultra strong. Poly bushings and frame plates for easy isolation and mounting.

One of my personal goals for this build was to learn TIG welding. Slow process but I'm catching on and the results are SO MUCH cleaner and nice to work with compared to MIG

Crossmember mount.jpg

Crossmember(2).jpg

Crossmember(3).jpg

Crossmember(4).jpg
 
Went ahead and rebuilt/assembled an SM465 for this. Used the best internals from 4 different SM465's and also added the short output shaft from ORD.

SM465 rebuild.jpg

Pressing on a bearing

SM456 rebuild(2).jpg

SM465 rebuild(3).jpg

I fully tore down and replaced all the wear parts in the top shifter cover also. Media blasted it and tapped NPT threads into the stock breather location in order to run a better breather system
SM465 rebuild(4).jpg
 
This is my final design for the 4 link triangulated rear. The links will sit VERY flat and the anti-squat can be adjusted from about 70%-130% It should climb very well

4 link.jpg

4 link(2).jpg

4 link(3).jpg
 
The entire rear factory crossmember right behind the cab needed to be fully gusseted and strengthened in order to handle the stress of the rear links. Slowly did a lot of boxing and welding on this before test fitting the link brackets from Barnes4WD

Crossmember Welding.jpg

Crossmember welding(2).jpg

Adding the 2" square tubing for the link brackets. This will be fully boxed/gusseted with the frame later on.

Crossmember welding(3).jpg

Using PVC tubing to lay out where the links will go. Very flat with nothing hanging down below the frame or axle centerline :thumb:

Rear 4 link.jpg

Rear 4 link(2).jpg
 
Checking the rear axle articulation. This is way further than it will actually go, just wanting to make sure there is no bind. It'll work

Axle articulation.jpg

Axle articulation(2).jpg

Axle articulation(3).jpg

Axle articulation(4).jpg
 
That is some build!

It will be fun to follow the progress as you finish it and get it on the trails.
 
Very cool. That’s a pretty original build. Were you already up in AK or went up there just to get this truck?


Sent from my iPhone using WAYALIFE
 
Very cool. That’s a pretty original build. Were you already up in AK or went up there just to get this truck?


Sent from my iPhone using WAYALIFE

Thanks for the kind words everyone. My buddy Mark located the truck up in AK while stationed there in the military. I went up and retrieved it for the long flat tow back (I think about 2,500 miles) and then the build began. Mark is doing the heavy work of financing this and I'm the manual labor ;)

Not that it matters but this got starting before Jeep unveiled the M715 concept truck before the release of the JT awhile back. We both looked at the concept and how similar it was to our current plan, so much for surprises.
 
Few more CAD drawings of the front link brackets...

Link brackets.jpg

All nested together before being plasma cut
Link brackets(2).jpg

Link brackets(3).jpg

And then my buddy doing the plasma work broke his collar bone literally on the finish line of a dirt bike race
Collar bone break.jpg
 
Completed axle and frame brackets....

Front axle bracket.jpg

Coil over shock mount is nested in next to the main link mount
Front axle bracket(2).jpg

Upper links are 2" 1/4" wall and lowers are 2.25" 3/8" wall DOM. The idea is that the lowers won't bend being 3/8" 1.25" shank Johnny Joints all around
Front axle links.jpg

Front axle links(2).jpg
 
Top Bottom