"Don't Know" Build start

[christcrusader13]

Good to see you are still at it

 

[junker39]

Thanks guys.

 

[junker39]

Well, I am sittin here surrounded by the good ole San Bernard River. We had something like 25" of rain here and further upstream, some had more than that. Hurricane Harvey and resulting flood waters, have pretty much wrecked this whole area. Most of the county is still under mandantory evacuation since 9 days ago. I'm out here, about a eighth of a mile from the river and just last night, got some flood waters in my back yard and in the ditches on the county road out front. There's houses under water both directions from here. I did a little GPS elevation work before all this started, and found out this was about the highest in the area. I'm glad GPS is accurate. My place, and the neighbors, are at 35ft elevation. The river was, and has hopefully, to have crested at 33.8ft. The main problem now, is the road, both ways, is a couple of feet under. I could probably make the Pathfinder get thru it but, it's 25 years old and I'd rather not summit it to extreme conditions this late in life. We got food, lights, and really don't need to go to town anyway. My boss came back today, and may open the store tomorrow. Sitting around with no income aint fun anymore. Later guys. I'll keep yall posted on the Ghia when I can quit worrying about a flood.

 

[Skip]

Glad you are dry and safe.

 

[TruckRat]

Prayers that the water goes back down soon.

 

[junker39]

Hello yall. I had to make my semi-annual appearance and post a little update on the Ghia. I took the stock VW front suspension out of it and am currently doing a little fab work to get this Commanche axle under it. I'm using two leaf springs, mounted underneath the straight axle. I've got it figured out, the end result will pick the front end around three inches. It's about time I gave the old 429 oil pan a break. It's got a few scratches and scrapes from unexpected obstacles. I've got to move the rack and pinion up front which means the radiator has to be moved back and set straight up. Then, some sort of jack shaft to connect the steering column, around the radiator.
After all that, I'm going to go some other route on front sheet metal and mounting the lights. Maybe a center headlight that turns with the steering. One of the older cars, Hudson or another, had a model with that extra light. Just another headache to figure out. Can't be like "normal" people.

 

[sgtpontiac]

I believe that would have been a Tucker....

had headlamp that turned with the steering.... but there were a few concept cars with it also.... but I think Tucker was the first....[S

 

[Bamamav]

You can't use a rear steer rack in front of the axle, it will steer backwards.

 

[junker39]

Hey Bamamav, the R and P will still be behind axle like it was on the old suspension. I'm having to move the axle forward about six inches to clear the frame and it's out of reach. The Jeep steering was originally in front of the axle but, I'm swapping sides with the spindles, so I don't wind up with stuff sticking a foot out the front. I haven't moved anything yet so, I might have some more "creative engineering" to do with the steering. There's a idea somewhere in the head about using the original center link and connecting the r and p on one side only. It'll all work out some year. Thanks.

 

[junker39]

I got a little done yesterday. I got the radiator moved back and stood straight up again. Rack and pinion off and on bench. Did a rough mock up with one of the springs. For every problem I think is figured out, there's three more come to make up for progress. After I'm fairly sure the suspension is going to work as planned, I've got the steering to deal with. Got to get a little further with the springs and axle before I can think about that too much. It's still looking like a three to four inch rise in the height on the front end. It may be too much but that's better than not enough.

 

[junker39]

It's warmed up and given me a chance to get some done. I got the shackles made and figured out how to get things to work together. I imagine there will be a few "revisions" before it's done but, right now, it looks like it might work. Next, I'm going to tackle the spring mounting and getting the mount attached to the frame. Got to find some u-bolts and about a foot of 3" channel. And a road trip, about 25 miles, to get some grade 8 bolts 7" long. Long distance for this old man. Gotta prepare for a trip like that. More later.

 

[bob w]

Good work, junker39. You are an inspiration with your no-nonsense, straight forward build.

 

[earthman]

Thanks for the update. [P

 

[Willowbilly3]

I think this car was built on one of those frames.

 

[junker39]

Making a little headway. I got the spring mount drilled out and mounted. (that was a headache with the hole placement)(and still got it wrong. But, since the u-bolts are just holding the springs in place and don't hold any weight, the holes are fine in the wrong places.) Put it all together to see how much I messed up. It looks like it'll work except for the u-bolts and nuts are sitting too high. I'll try regular grade 8 nuts and cut the u-bolts a little more. If that ain't enough, I'll have to make longer shackles. Either way, a little forward progress is good. Later.

 

[junker39]

I had to try it. Two springs is way too much. So, I removed the back one, moved the axle forward a little more and Moved the shackle mounts to the center. I've got to move the spacers around and get the shackles located right. But, I got the single spring hooked up and holding the weight. I can get up on the frame actually get some up and down movement. With two springs, it was no movement at all. I'm thinking with the old coil-over shocks mounted, this just might work. I've found some center links and tie rods that may be adaptable for stabilizer bars. And then a track bar to keep the thing from wobbling. Maybe by next winter, I'll be able to drive it again. Oh, and a question on camber. I've been told everything from 3 degrees negative caster to 12 degrees positive, on where to set the axle. I'll be able to change it, a couple of degrees but, I need a starting place that's close. Does anyone have any ideas on this?? 1990 Jeep Commanche. I can't seem to find any front end alignment specs for the caster since it was not originally adjustable. I'll post in the Steering and Suspension section if you guys think that would be better. Thanks for the help. Later.

 

[junker39]

Almost.......

It's been a long time in the making and it's back on the road, or was. I took it for the first tryout and it seemed to drive good. Wonders around just a bit but, I'm thinking the toe-in might need a little more. First ride, the left hand header feel apart. Got some j-bends and repaired that, after a month or two, then took it for a good "full power run" and blowed the right hand header apart. Right now, I'm waiting for my friend, with a wire feed welder, to come weld that side up. It's getting a little cool and there's no car shows or get-togethers around here, for a while. So, i'm going to start on the inside of the car and see what I can tear up in there. I probably ought to just leave it and wait for better weather but, I won't. I'm posting a few pics of what I've done since my last post way back in Feb. Later guys and gals. Thanks.

 

[junker39]

Just pics

I acquired some 1 1/4" bar stock, drilled and tapped 3/4" threads and used '64 Ford tie-rod ends. Took three new taps to thread eight holes. Then used a 1 13/16" combo to reverse direction on the steering. So now, there's Jeep, Toyota, Chevy, Pontiac, unknown make trailer, Ford, and Dish Network parts on the front. Not to mention a couple of real estate signs. And computer hard drive covers. And I had to replace the trans cooler. My welder buddy stuck a live 6011 rod thru the old one.

 

[junker39]

Just pics

Some more pics.

 

[kenny c]

Wow! Cool stuff. Don't feel bad about the taps. I broke one making the new anchor point for the shortened panhard bar.