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Project Wild Weasel M1009

CARC686

Well-known member
273
484
63
Location
Las Cruces, New Mexico
Just gotta understand the money pit gets deep and wide when things are changed. Lift springs effectively shorten the propeller shafts and brake hose length, increase the pinion angles. Common consensus seems to be that you can get away with it up to 4". 33s fit with stock springs and tires bigger than that would smoke your transmission with 3:08 gears. Of course the 10-bolt axles will break first. If you want to get out cheap, you can keep on the lookout for a junk truck you can tow home and pull the axles off that. Now the perches won't be right, so I hope you can weld. If you don't want a junk truck lawn ornament, Hillbilly Wizard will sell you a pair of fresh axles ready to bolt in for about $15000 before shipping. You'll need new wheels because the bolt pattern is different. If you go with the milsurp HMMWV stuff, you can score some dry rotten tires with an obsolete wheel diameter for only $1200 before shipping without a spare. Otherwise, you're looking at a minimum of $2000.

Pretty sure that about does it. You done made truck more tall. Very cool.
 
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CARC686

Well-known member
273
484
63
Location
Las Cruces, New Mexico
Just gotta understand the money pit gets deep and wide when things are changed. Lift springs effectively shorten the propeller shafts and brake hose length, increase the pinion angles. Common consensus seems to be that you can get away with it up to 4". 33s fit with stock springs and tires bigger than that would smoke your transmission with 3:08 gears. Of course the 10-bolt axles will break first. If you want to get out cheap, you can keep on the lookout for a junk truck you can tow home and pull the axles off that. Now the perches won't be right, so I hope you can weld. If you don't want a junk truck lawn ornament, Hillbilly Wizard will sell you a pair of fresh axles ready to bolt in for about $15000 before shipping. You'll need new wheels because the bolt pattern is different. If you go with the milsurp HMMWV stuff, you can score some dry rotten tires with an obsolete wheel diameter for only $1200 before shipping without a spare. Otherwise, you're looking at a minimum of $2000.

Pretty sure that about does it. You done made truck more tall. Very cool.
My apologies. I forgot the drop pitman arm, lift shocks, and crossover steering. Also, the big tires will break the frame, so that'll need to be reinforced. Might as well box the whole thing. There's a kit for that. Braking performance will be downright dangerous, so those really ought to be upgraded, and the diff ratios may need to be changed. Not sure if the NP208 will handle great big tires, so an NP205 is in order, and since you've gone this far, might as well twin stick it.

At this point, just go ahead and stick a granny gear NV4500 in it with the rare external slave cylinder and slap a 6BT in front of it. Whoops. Built my dream truck. It only cost what I paid for my first house and I bet I could get $8k for it at auction.
 

Don-T

Member
53
52
18
Location
Vermont
My apologies. I forgot the drop pitman arm, lift shocks, and crossover steering. Also, the big tires will break the frame, so that'll need to be reinforced. Might as well box the whole thing. There's a kit for that. Braking performance will be downright dangerous, so those really ought to be upgraded, and the diff ratios may need to be changed. Not sure if the NP208 will handle great big tires, so an NP205 is in order, and since you've gone this far, might as well twin stick it.

At this point, just go ahead and stick a granny gear NV4500 in it with the rare external slave cylinder and slap a 6BT in front of it. Whoops. Built my dream truck. It only cost what I paid for my first house and I bet I could get $8k for it at auction.
Yep, not much of an investment but it could be a great deal for the next guy to buy it if there is anything left of it after a few years of fun.
 

cucvrus

Well-known member
11,449
10,354
113
Location
Jonestown Pennsylvania
The Wild Weasel has a repurposed rear bumper with matching patina. This is the rear bumper that was attached to my last build Decade Wrecked. It sat in the field for 10 years waiting for a future. I reconstructed it and it is in Germany now. I hope the current owner is happy with it.
 
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CARC686

Well-known member
273
484
63
Location
Las Cruces, New Mexico
Once installed, looks like somebody misplaced their axe head. Always assumed that a wedge would be installed in the other direction in order to aim the differential cone more directly at the transfer case. This thread has been revelatory to me as I actually did not understand pinion angle matching as a function of rotational balance. Never needed to know this, but I did learn something, which is nice.
 

cucvrus

Well-known member
11,449
10,354
113
Location
Jonestown Pennsylvania
I got home late tonight and wanted to put the starter back on the Wild Weasel. I found a few issues that will require time to repair before that happens. The main cable needs rounded and placed back in the holder up front. The cable may be below the lift pump and should be above I think. I know it was tight and missing the support bracket. That is why I took it off. It sounded awful and o guess o need to check the teeth on the flex plate. Old bolts look beat. New bolts and the new support bracket. That will be my next goal. The sun is starting to go down quickly. Till next time . Be Safe.
 

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cucvrus

Well-known member
11,449
10,354
113
Location
Jonestown Pennsylvania
Don’t ever think getting a bolt out of a block can’t take an hour. IMG_2860.jpeg This Metric Japanese bolt was stuck in the starter support tab on the engine block. It was so tight I feared it would break off and also feared it was not the correct thread and it was cross threaded. It was not cross threaded and was just tight. I used a long extension and a 12 mm swivel socket with the impact to get it out. Sometimes that shock from an impact works much better than a long handled ratchet. I cleaned the threads and used a GM M 8 1.25 bolt and attached the new support bracket. The starter is all in place and the power cable is properly routed again. IMG_2863.jpeg IMG_2865.jpeg
Have a Great Day. It was a simple task that turned into a time consuming task because of hacking the job in the past. I find that on most vehicles I work on. I am getting more selective as to what I work on. I want to get the new driveshaft on and get this vehicle mobile again,
 

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