Rock Crawler Build

**pajeff02** · 07-02-2010, 06:31 PM

A friend of my brother is finishing up a rock crawler that he built out of his own garage. We went down to assist in his start up, but it turned out the throttle position sensor on his fuel injection setup was not reading properly causing the engine to go pig rich. What is truly impressive about this build is that he did it all himself with no prior fabrication experience. He did a lot of reading, a lot of research, and taught himself to weld, bend tubing, paint and everything else that went into this -- very nice craftsmanship throughout:

I'll probably screw up some of the details -- but here goes: 42" tires, Humvee wheels, Dana 14 bolt axles, bronze bushed u-joints, nitrogen charged shocks, 305 c.i. engine, Holley 2-barrel F.I., Turbo 350, custom transfer case, the Jeep CJ body was originally a DD of his from years ago, custom mix WWII era paint, and a super steep gear ratio that I cannot recall.

**cammed goat** · 07-02-2010, 07:17 PM

I like it. I admire the folks who get their hands dirty without any prior knowledge. Curiosity can be a good tool for building IMO.

**pajeff02** · 07-03-2010, 05:10 AM

Originally Posted by cammed goat

I like it. I admire the folks who get their hands dirty without any prior knowledge. Curiosity can be a good tool for building IMO.

Me too. What is expecially cool is that there isn't anything on this truck that could even be remotely considered "cobbled" -- he just did a great job.

**CJREX** · 07-03-2010, 06:25 AM

That looks awesome!

Gotta admit the redneck in me likes a nice truck better than a nice car.

**Smkn_TA** · 07-03-2010, 09:40 AM

n00b question...what's the point of those two fabric straps in rear going from the axle? Limit suspension travel or what?

**CJREX** · 07-03-2010, 10:02 AM

Originally Posted by Smkn_TA

n00b question...what's the point of those two fabric straps in rear going from the axle? Limit suspension travel or what?

This

**pajeff02** · 07-03-2010, 10:32 AM

It also has straps on the front end -- you can barely make them out in the pic that shows the steering cylinder.

**lawless** · 07-03-2010, 02:47 PM

wow, impressive. i always admire people with the dedication to step into what is unknown to them and actually pull it off well. congrats to him!

**pajeff02** · 07-16-2010, 06:46 PM

Picked up an LM-2 Wideband today and went back out to work on the rock crawler. On startup, when we last worked on it, the injectors were running way rich. It turned out that the TPS sensor was reading WOT no matter what position it was in. The builder tracked it down to a mid-1980's Chevrolet style TPS and was able to pick up a replacement at our local CarQuest.

We fired it back up tonight and found it running lean, so we dialed in the fueling to get the idle and main AFR where it needs to be. We have good startup, nice tip in and main fueling. We also checked with the transmission in gear to ensure that it does not stall. Still have to fine tune the dash pot for the choke and then drive it a bit to see what happens. We'll keep tweaking the fueling and then up the rpms to see what happens. Looking forward to a test drive soon!

**StuntmanMike** · 07-16-2010, 09:11 PM

That's a sick buggy!!

I love those things! Cars are great, but I actually find those more interesting and exciting.

I really admire people like that, who aren't afraid to just get in there and do it, whether they know how or not. Some people are just good like that. Me, not so much. I try somthing new, I just fuck it up more often than not.

I gotta ask though, why a 305? Somehting he just had lying around?

And what's the T-Case, is he running a 205/203 combo, or an Atlas?

And a 14-bolt front....AWESOME!! I'm going to guess 5.38 gears?

**0rion** · 07-16-2010, 09:23 PM

that looks sharp

**pajeff02** · 07-17-2010, 03:49 AM

Originally Posted by StuntmanMike

That's a sick buggy!!

I love those things! Cars are great, but I actually find those more interesting and exciting.

I really admire people like that, who aren't afraid to just get in there and do it, whether they know how or not. Some people are just good like that. Me, not so much. I try somthing new, I just fuck it up more often than not.

I gotta ask though, why a 305? Somehting he just had lying around?

And what's the T-Case, is he running a 205/203 combo, or an Atlas?

And a 14-bolt front....AWESOME!! I'm going to guess 5.38 gears?

Not sure of all the details. For what he is doing, any small V8 is more than adequate apparently. I think he said the case was an Atlas... not sure on that though. I'll ask about the gears next time I stop down.

**Kup98ss** · 07-17-2010, 05:56 AM

awesome

**TLS_Addict** · 07-17-2010, 09:34 AM

Groovy....cant wait to see it in person!

**StuntmanMike** · 07-17-2010, 01:16 PM

Originally Posted by pajeff02

Not sure of all the details. For what he is doing, any small V8 is more than adequate apparently. I think he said the case was an Atlas... not sure on that though. I'll ask about the gears next time I stop down.

That's true. With the right gearing, even say a 4.3L V6 would have been plenty of motor, as long as he's not doing mud. Alot of those buggies are even running 4 bangers with no problems.

It's just if you're going to go with a V8, a 305 is kind of just...ugh..., you know? That's why I figured it was just something he had laying around or got for free.