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Mighty MO

Trailabite

Well-Known Member
Joined
Dec 6, 2011
Messages
397
Location
Clarksville, TN
I have been on this forum several years now. More of a lurker I guess. I have been involved in off-roading for many years now. It started in the early 90's with mud drags running a full size Chevy truck. I also had a full size Ford and and a Bronco. Around 2005 I bought my first jeep and got into trail/rock crawling. I ended up selling our little red jeep a couple years back and it didn't take long for the regret to start setting in. It's time to get back into the game and I have decided to try my hand and build my rig this time. I have nothing against shops and guys that fabricate for a living (as this project may end up in your hands) I just think it's cool when home built rigs are hitting the trails. To the project: I wanted to try and keep to my old school roots of a V8 truck but, I also want to stay in the world of jeeps.

So I went and found a 1970 J-200 Willys/Kaiser truck with one of those ugly grills. It came with a D60 Kingpin in the front and a D70HD in the rear, an old school 350 with a TH350 tranny and a Chevy 205 TC.

Plans:

1. 4 link front/rear
2. Install ORI's all 4 corners
3. Cage the inside
4. 42" tires
5. I'm short and want to keep the belly height around 21" to 22"
6.The gears are welded in both axles. Replace with ARB units
7. Shorten the bed to just behind the wheels
8. Replace old engine/tranny with an LY6/6L90???????
 
Re: Gladiator Rock Crawler Project

A few pics
6ca4dd3cc6d4b4b763cf33d91762c9d2.jpg
546cba70aa1a561f8ec60d15b35b5fa8.jpg


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Re: Gladiator Rock Crawler Project

Sweet. I've always liked these. Good luck with the build.
 
Re: Gladiator Rock Crawler Project

Sounds like a really good start for a project. I really like the look of those rigs. They are hard to find and expensive around my area though.
 
Re: Gladiator Rock Crawler Project

When I first saw the thread title I thought someone had taken the plunge and bought one of the new Jeep pickups :eek:....that being said, I am looking forward to seeing how this one gets built. The old Jeep trucks have lots of potential.
 
Re: Gladiator Rock Crawler Project

Hey, if you want to get rid of that ugly grill, throw it my way. I'll slap it on the shop wall.
 
Re: Re: Gladiator Rock Crawler Project

The Luke said:
Hey, if you want to get rid of that ugly grill, throw it my way. I'll slap it on the shop wall.
Lol, that's what makes the truck what is. I say ugly, but is cool.

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Re: Gladiator Rock Crawler Project

Hey I'm just glad to hear that you're keeping it. I've always liked these
 
How much difference is there in the size of the LS engines compared to the old school 350 small block? I'm wondering if can I install a 4 link around the 350 that's in it and still be able to install an LS (6.0) later when I find one?
 
They are of similar size. The biggest difference is in the accessory drive. Depending on what LS you get or what accessory drive you decide to go with the position of steering pump, alternator etc can vary quite a bit. Where as the old small block tended to have everything in a somewhat similar location.
 

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