Dr. Marneaus
Station Wagoneer
Wow, yes there is still a difference but its a heck of alot better than i thought it would come out! Nice work.
Lumpskie's 1989 Grand Wagoneer Build
- Thread starter lumpskie
- Start date
lumpskie
Independent Thinker
Thanks Doc! Yeah, unless you're looking for it/at it, you don't even see that there is a difference in the grain. Working with that wood grain is not easy stuff either. I can tell that Carl put a lot of effort into it... especially considering that he repaired the metal, bought/matched paint, painted and repaired the wood grain for $325. I think I came out pretty well in the deal.
So, looking at this picture is giving me a wild hair... it makes me want to lift the rear .5" or so. I'm wondering if I should take the overload leaf off my stock spring pack, cut it down, and turn it into a mini spacer or similar for the rear springs. What do you guys think?
Thanks Doc! Yeah, unless you're looking for it/at it, you don't even see that there is a difference in the grain. Working with that wood grain is not easy stuff either. I can tell that Carl put a lot of effort into it... especially considering that he repaired the metal, bought/matched paint, painted and repaired the wood grain for $325. I think I came out pretty well in the deal.
So, looking at this picture is giving me a wild hair... it makes me want to lift the rear .5" or so. I'm wondering if I should take the overload leaf off my stock spring pack, cut it down, and turn it into a mini spacer or similar for the rear springs. What do you guys think?
I'd need to see it in a picture that wasn't tilted and wasn't shot a little closer to the front, but it looks good to me. The rear wheel opening is lower than the front which can fool the eye a bit. I'd actually lower the front down rather than raise the rear if anything. I'm not a fan of lifting any more than is necessary and the tire clearance issues on GW's are in the rear, not the front. I love your GW, I have an '89 baltic blue I'm picking up tomorrow.
lumpskie
Independent Thinker
You're right about that picture and the rear wheel well opening. I took some quick measurements this morning and it looks like the rear is ~.75" higher than the front already. The overload leaf is .5". So, adding it would give me 1.25" of rake. That might be too much for my taste. I'm going to go flex it on a rock and see how the rear packs compress. If they flatten out and I can't get them to negative arch, I might just switch the overload leaf over without cutting. Or, I might just leave well enough alone.
Also, congratulations on your '89 GW! If you get a chance, post up a picture over here and let me know what you think of it! These rigs are weird. It seems like the longer you own them, the more you like them.
Hey DailyJeep,
The shop is run from Carl's home. (It's his semi-retired job) I'll call him today and, once I get his permission, I'll pass along his number to you. You're right, he does good work and his prices are really reasonable.
DailyJeep
Adventurer
Awesome, I appreciate you making the call.
lumpskie
Independent Thinker
I sent you a pm with the contact info.
Also, here's what the Jeep would look like with an extra .5" of lift in the rear.
Not sure if this link will work (trying Google drive),but these are before I got it.
https://goo.gl/photos/2Due2m5oPKzeUMmw8
I'll take a couple of pics tomorrow after I clean it up. So far I love it, but it's my fifth jeep so I knew what I was getting into to a degree. I also currently have a wrangler for the rough stuff and top down driving. Plans are to use it for a family camping vehicle, which mostly will be towing my '67 airstream and some overland style tent camping. I used to overland (before I knew that's what it was) in my tj, which was basically throw my hockey bag filled with camping gear in the back, get lost in the woods and then eventually return to civilization. Wife and kids have changed the equation a bit, GW seemed like the right fit.
Nice start! Hope it works out for you.
lumpskie
Independent Thinker
That's a good looking Jeep, Bobzdar. I'm in the same boat as you. Back when it was just Wifey and I, we'd camp in the bed of my Tacoma. Now that Lil Chunky is here, there's not enough space. So, the Waggy has taken up Family Adventure duty. So far, it's been great! White Rim will be the real test though...
lumpskie
Independent Thinker
Thanks for the feedback, guys. I was curious if I could just use the overload springs without cutting them. So, I flexed out the rear suspension to see if the springs go into negative arch... turns out that they do. So, I'll need to cut the overloads to prevent a loss of flex.
Pics:
Compressed side:
Negative Arch:
Here's a better level picture. It's not bad the way it sits now. I think another .5" would be about perfect though.
I tried to take the spring pack apart but I couldn't get anything to grip the centering pin... it would just spin in bench vise. I'm trying to avoid cutting it but I might have to, given all the rust...
Pics:
Compressed side:
Negative Arch:
Here's a better level picture. It's not bad the way it sits now. I think another .5" would be about perfect though.
I tried to take the spring pack apart but I couldn't get anything to grip the centering pin... it would just spin in bench vise. I'm trying to avoid cutting it but I might have to, given all the rust...
Here's a pic I took yesterday before it rained with the airstream it will spend some time towing.
Thanks for the feedback, guys. I was curious if I could just use the overload springs without cutting them. So, I flexed out the rear suspension to see if the springs go into negative arch... turns out that they do. So, I'll need to cut the overloads to prevent a loss of flex.
Pics:
Compressed side:
Negative Arch:
Here's a better level picture. It's not bad the way it sits now. I think another .5" would be about perfect though.
I tried to take the spring pack apart but I couldn't get anything to grip the centering pin... it would just spin in bench vise. I'm trying to avoid cutting it but I might have to, given all the rust...
I'm more conservative on lifts, nothing worse than an overlifted Jeep to drive (imo). I try to keep them as close to stock as possible as the reliability and ride suffer mightily as you modify them. Some of the most reliable vehicles I've had were Jeeps. Some of the most unreliable were, too. But not much choice if you want bigger tires. I'm sticking with 235/75's on the GW, picking up a set of Cooper Discoverer at3's after work today to put on it.
lumpskie
Independent Thinker
Here's a pic I took yesterday before it rained with the airstream it will spend some time towing.
I'm more conservative on lifts, nothing worse than an overlifted Jeep to drive (imo). I try to keep them as close to stock as possible as the reliability and ride suffer mightily as you modify them. Some of the most reliable vehicles I've had were Jeeps. Some of the most unreliable were, too. But not much choice if you want bigger tires. I'm sticking with 235/75's on the GW, picking up a set of Cooper Discoverer at3's after work today to put on it.
Fortunately, my Alcans are riding better than stock... but I think that is, in part, to only having 2" of lift. I know what you mean about over arched leaf springs riding horrible. Let me know what you think of your Coopers... they were on my short list of tires. Also, what model Airstream is that? It looks like a pretty large one. (one reason I've been interested in a little more lift in the rear is so that it would sit level if I was to tow an airstream) I'd love to see what you think about towing it, once you give it a try. Do you have any interior pictures that my wife would enjoy?
It's a '67 overlander (~27'), it weighs around 4200lbs dry and 4700-4800 with the a/c and loaded for camping. One thing about airstreams is that they tow extremely well. I had a smaller white box camper before this one and it was nowhere near as stable or as easy to tow with the same tow vehicle. I also have a weight distributing hitch, so as long as I'm mindful about loading I should be ok with the GW. The newer models weight a few thousand pounds more for the same size airstream, such is progress.
I don't have any good pics of the interior after we did a mini renovation - the interior was ~70% original so we wanted to keep it that way and it consisted mostly of refinishing what needed it - new floor, painted the kitchen cabinets and lots of cleaning. I'll take some pics next trip, I've been meaning to do it but just haven't gotten around to it. We also built a portable tiki bar out of pallets that folds up and slides in the door for transport, very nice in the summer.
Here's a pic of it set up:
Obviously we won't take it in any rough camping, but I still have all of the tent equipment for that.
lumpskie
Independent Thinker
Here's a pic of it set up:
Obviously we won't take it in any rough camping, but I still have all of the tent equipment for that.
I don't know why, but I can't see your picture. (maybe a problem on my end) Do you think that a modern 25' Airstream would be reasonable to tow with a Wagoneer?