Thread: Scrambler Build Questions

what are your plans for the thing?

reason i ask is your choice of front leafs, and brakes. seems to me, that you should scrape up some extra pennies and link/coilover the front as well. i'm very pleased with my manual willwood brake setup on the buggy, and brians fond of his hydroboost

do you need a klune? seems you have/can have enough gear. spend the $$ on front coilovers instead
(we have nothing but rave reviews of the two klunes we own BTW)

line the bottom of the tub while you are at it.

First off, you have better than "moderate" fab skills, Jay!

But I like the direction this sucker is going. I'll be interested to see the leaf front/coils or coilover rear.

Originally Posted by RockTractor

T-Case: OK as is

Klune-V: Maybe??

Sell the 4.3 and get a 10.3:1 4-speed. That should give you all the gearing options you'll ever need.

What aluminum radiator do you have? hope it is a big one or dual pass to keep a 383 cool in a Jeep.

Brakes, no doubt about it go with a hydroboost stystem. You can piece it together yourself from a junkyard or give Vanco a call for a new unit with the high flow mod for ram assist.

With the specs of a 383 motor, the weight of a built Scrambler and the tire size of 37-40s do not go with anything other than a front Dana 60. When you want to upgrade the shafts I just went with Nitro alloy shafts and their 300M joints. Quality seems decent, a good price and lifetime warranty. If you want the ultimate give RCV a call for their Dana 60 CVs ($1900!). Steering you cant go wrong with either Parts Mike arms or WFO arms with the kingpin preload bolt. Depending on how much you want to spend on hydro steering you can go with either Howe or PSC for the top of the line or West Texas Offroad for the steering box mod and a ram of your choice for lower budget.

For the rear 4 link checkout Ruff Stuff Specialties for brackets, misalignments and rod ends. I would recomend 1.25" chromoly lowers and 3/4" chromoly uppers for rod ends.

Tube flat fenders are nice but I also really like the Campbell 1 piece fiberglass hoods with built in fenders.

edit: other than a front 60 you could go with a Spider 9 including knuckles, True Hi9 diff and custom alloy shafts but that will add up quick!

Are you going to paint it orange with purple flames?



It seems like that is basically what you described, I would talk to Jeffrey!

Thanks for the feedback Nate!

Originally Posted by sceep

what are your plans for the thing?

Pretty much the same as my old CJ7 except a little more trail worthy (suspension, gearing, wheelbase, motor, tires, axles) and a little more road road friendly (gearing, motor)

Originally Posted by sceep

reason i ask is your choice of front leafs, and brakes. seems to me, that you should scrape up some extra pennies and link/coilover the front as well.

Well, my choice for front leafs was pretty much based on my capability. I'm not sure I can pull of a link suspension up front - there seems to be much more involved that a rear set-up.

Originally Posted by sceep

i'm very pleased with my manual willwood brake setup on the buggy, and brians fond of his hydroboost

Cool - I'll check both out.

Originally Posted by sceep

do you need a klune? seems you have/can have enough gear. spend the $$ on front coilovers instead
(we have nothing but rave reviews of the two klunes we own BTW)

No, I don't need it. My thought for having it was at the top end... with it, I go do 4.10s in the axles instead of 4.88s and get a little lower RPMs on the freeway - and, at the same time, get a few more gear options overall.

Originally Posted by sceep

line the bottom of the tub while you are at it.

What does that do for me? Heat? Sound? Does the lining underneath get in the way when modifying "stuff" later down the road?

Originally Posted by McTJ

Sell the 4.3 and get a 10.3:1 4-speed. That should give you all the gearing options you'll ever need.

That sounds more expensive than just adding a Klune-V. But, I like your thinking!!

Originally Posted by RockTractor

What does that do for me? Heat? Sound? Does the lining underneath get in the way when modifying "stuff" later down the road?

yes to all, and corrosion inhibitor.

Thanks for the feedback Brian!

Originally Posted by Brian1

What aluminum radiator do you have? hope it is a big one or dual pass to keep a 383 cool in a Jeep.

It a Northern \\"All Pro\\":
http://www.absoluteradiator.com/Prod...asp?idProd=344
I hope it does the trick.

Originally Posted by Brian1

Brakes, no doubt about it go with a hydroboost stystem. You can piece it together yourself from a junkyard or give Vanco a call for a new unit with the high flow mod for ram assist.

Thanks - I'll look into that. What vehicle / years should I be looking at for junk yard sourcing?
Any good build write-up links you can point me to?

Originally Posted by Brian1

With the specs of a 383 motor, the weight of a built Scrambler and the tire size of 37-40s do not go with anything other than a front Dana 60. When you want to upgrade the shafts I just went with Nitro alloy shafts and their 300M joints. Quality seems decent, a good price and lifetime warranty.

Yeah, I'm leaning towards an HP 60. I'm just not sure how I want to go about it. I really like the Pro-Rock housing and the idea of having a complete axle delivered to my door. But, Dynatrac does not offer a king-pin solution - which, the more I read about it, seems to be the way to go (or the ONLY way to go if I want a behind the axle tie rod).... So, buy a ProRock housing and get it tubed elsewhere? or what?

Originally Posted by Brian1

If you want the ultimate give RCV a call for their Dana 60 CVs ($1900!).

Yikes!!

Originally Posted by Brian1

Depending on how much you want to spend on hydro steering you can go with either Howe or PSC for the top of the line or West Texas Offroad for the steering box mod and a ram of your choice for lower budget. For the rear 4 link checkout Ruff Stuff Specialties for brackets, misalignments and rod ends. I would recomend 1.25\\\\" chromoly lowers and 3/4\\\\" chromoly uppers for rod ends.

Good input - thanks!

Originally Posted by Brian1

Tube flat fenders are nice but I also really like the Campbell 1 piece fiberglass hoods with built in fenders.

Yeah, I'm torn here. One of the real struggles I am having is that I am partial to inner fender-wells.