possible rat chassis?

[rustywrench]

today i bought 2 old mail jeeps. ben (440shorty) and i got to looking at them. they are full ladder chassis with STRAIGHT front axles. leaf springs front and rear. posi rears (which we are still trying to figure out thier origin) and are both short and narrow. they also have very simple steering columns. they are built buy american general. both have AMC 6 bangers, one with ford auto trans, one with a torqueflite. so, other than the fact that the steering is on the british side of the cars, they seem good candidates for rats. any thoughts?

 

[Bonehead]

Rears may be the dana 20 big round cover on the back?
I think they are great donors for rats.

(How could you tell they were male jeeps?)

 

[donsrods]

(How could you tell they were male jeeps?)

They think logically!


I agree that this would probably work, in fact a buddy of mine was looking for an old mail jeep to build his Brother a hot rod at one time. Biggest problem would be getting the frame to sit a little lower possibly, but that can we worked out.


Don

 

[Wildman]

(How could you tell they were male jeeps?)

Probly had a set of these swingin in the breeze... http://www.trucknutz.com/

You are probly going to have to french in the spring hangers etc to get it SUPER low,overall it might work. Wouldnt it be easier to buiild one from scrach and 2x4 box?

 

[rustywrench]

what about the wrong side steering? how can this be addressed?

 

[donsrods]

Well, you could flip the steering box over and mount it on the other side and flip the arm to the opposite direction, or find a whole new box and start from scratch.

Don

 

[Unkl Ian]

what about the wrong side steering? how can this be addressed?

If you are lucky,there are already holes on the left side,
if you can figure out what box to use.

 

[Bob the Ferret]

Right side steering - To be honest it would be a fun novelty . I drove street sweepers for years which are ,of course, right steer , you get used to it very quickly . Think of all the inquiries you'll get a shows ...and all the ******** lines you can make up

 

[Perx Motorsports]

keep the right hand drive!!!!! it will draw alot of attention. keep us posted.

 

[freakdude]

You could always put a suicide axle set up on it, and use the rear, rear suspension and weld a round tube on the front of it for the perch. Alot of those early CJs have the same bolt pattern as the early Fords so you could run spokes all around. I had a friend who was into the mail jeeps and they had a tendency to flip. He said they were top heavy and the front suspensions were beat.

 

[LordMaximo]

As far as a beat suspension, it is usually a good practice to replace the old and worn items of any build. If you need king pins, replace the bushings and everything that belongs to it. If you need new bearings, replace them, the same goes with shocks and stearing assemblies. And to drop it on down, you do as the rest of us do, you Z the frame to drop the nose and the rear.
All that work is definately a plus on any build to get in the weeds.

Maximo

 

[brownbagg]

I wonder if you could take an old cj2 and make into a rat rod. That little 4 cly with those high gear are not good for anything over 45mph. but lower it make it 2wd

 

[Unkl Ian]

I wonder if you could take an old cj2 and make into a rat rod. That little 4 cly with those high gear are not good for anything over 45mph. but lower it make it 2wd

Might be cool,with a dropped axle moved forward.
Get a later model 4 cyl,engine,trans and rear end;sell the stockers.