1990 Willys MB Jeep - Mahindra based - body mounted.

[metalshapes]

Mar 22, 2021 1:17:24 GMT igor said:

"turns out the front springs of a landy are identical in length compared to a willys jeep spring"

Could this have something to do with the fact that the first Landy prototypes were based on war surplus jeep chassis?

That was my first thought as well...


I love seeing a build like this.

Lots of research and knowledge, to end up with exactly the right kind of car.

[dieselmax]

Mar 22, 2021 1:17:24 GMT igor said:

"turns out the front springs of a landy are identical in length compared to a willys jeep spring"

Could this have something to do with the fact that the first Landy prototypes were based on war surplus jeep chassis?

The thought crossed my mind; If only they did the same with the rear springs!

[kevins]

Interesting project looking forward to more updates, on the steering front would it be easier to fit the standard steering box and use an electric assisted column?

[dieselmax]

Mar 22, 2021 19:53:50 GMT kevins said:

Interesting project looking forward to more updates, on the steering front would it be easier to fit the standard steering box and use an electric assisted column?

The problem with the original steering system is too much play in the system due to too many joints; It has the steering box near the bulkhead, from there a link to a pivot to turn it 90 degrees to the front axle. Meant for a tractor basically, but no good on the motorway; I suppose if there was no play in the joints, it could work, but on an old jeep that is not the case.

Daan

[dieselmax]

Some progress has been made on my Mahindra; I fabricated the steering box mount. The box I use is LHD Range Rover P38 steering box. The shape of this box fitted inside the engine bay, so not visible from the outside.



I started by welding the crush tubes directly to the chassis:






Which was then boxed in with 5mm plate:






I put a fold on the inside for extra strength:






Box mounted, it is slightly angled backwards, this was done to avoid a clash with the track rod at full compression:






There is enough clearance for the diff going upwards:






I have left the mount tack welded for now, as there is also a shock absorber mount to consider as well as a radiator and battery mount in the same area. This way i can still make modifications easily.



Thanks for reading!



Daan

[dieselmax]

Here we are again, only 8 months since the last update! Live got in the way from spending time in the garage, but finally I am back on it. After fitting the springs, shock absorbers was the next logical thing to nail down. With the reduced friction in the parabolic spring packs, the job of the shock absorber has become a lot more important. In this application, gas pressure shocks are usually advised. I used Monroe gas magnum in Jeep CJ5 fitment. They are available in many lengths, so I choose the ones which worked with the increased height of the parabolic springs. They get a good write up usually, and they still have the old fashioned metal dust covers, which mean they will look stock once painted army green.

The rears were easy to fit, using the original top mount and the CJ7 spring plate with mounts at the bottom:



The fronts were more involved, on the right hand side there now a is a PAS box in the way. Conveniently, the front top crush tube is virtually in the correct position for the shock absorber mount, as well as the right diameter. So I removed the previously made crush tube and replaced it with a longer version, and a turned spacer was added to space the shock away from the chassis (glad I only tack welded the pas box mount!):


The other side has a clash issue with the wing, so I fabricated a new mount, identical to the original willys jeep:


Mounted, the shocks look like this:

The forward top PAS box bolt, now has 2 jobs: holding on the PAS box, and mounting the shock.

Lh side, the spring plate problem for the front axle was also solved with rear Jeep CJ7 spring plates.

You may have noticed my shiny new front axle: I managed to buy a narrow Dana 30 front axle from a Jeep CJ5. This is much better design of axle compared to the previous Dana 27; It is much stronger, and very common (it is still being used on the new Jeep Wrangler). Spares are much easier to find should you need it and the after market support is very good for ratios, shafts, diffs etc. It is also direct fit to a willys jeep without modifications. This makes it convenient to fit, and means no points are lost under the radically altered points scheme. It came about cheap locally with a 4.27 ratio, which is what I am planning to use, replacing old the 4.88 ratio. It also had freewheel hubs fitted. So buying this means I only need to change the rear axle ratio, and therefore saved me money (Man maths at its best!):

So this is some future proofing as I now have a dana 30 at the front, and Dana 44 at the rear, which are the 2 best supported axles in the US. 

Thanks for reading!

Daan

[hopeso]

Looking forward to seeing the next instalment on this.

[shielsy68]

cracking job

[skodacious]

Great to read an update and see progress 👍

[dieselmax]

An update, I managed to get some time for my jeep project.



The front spring plates were a bit of an issue; The wider springs did not allow me to use standard parts. I tried CJ7 rear spring plates, which fits on the LH side, but the RH side is different, due to one of the u bolts being larger, wrap around the diff housing. So I needed to make my own.



The jeep spring plates are all made out of 1/4" plate; It appears such thing is no longer available in the UK through the usual channels, only 6mm. As this is highly stressed, I did not want to compromise on strength.



A friend sent me the needed material, and now it came to bending it. I don't have tooling to bend this material, so I will resort to my bare hands to do this, with some added steelwork.



Starting like this, I draw 2 lines for each bend, one is the beginning of the bend, the other the end of the bend:




Clamp it in a vice:




Now add the bending device, this consists of 2 large angle sections clamped together with 2 M12 bolts:




So what we are trying to do is to allow the plate to bend in the area between the black lines, but not anywhere else.



Now add the extension bar, it is a metre long box section with a bit of angle iron welded to it:


Now bend it using the aforementioned bare hands.



bent:




I usually bend it in 2 stages, one halfway between the line to 45 degrees, then right to the line to get to the full 90 degrees.



Not too bad a bend:




After this, cut off excess material, drill the holes and weld on the shock absorber pin, which I cut out of the original spring plates:


Mounted, a bitof modding was required to the dana diff housing so the larger u-clap can move further inboard:



Thanks for reading,





Daan

[teaboy]

I'm pretty sure the minimal difference between the 1/4 plate and 6mm plate would make F/A difference in this application but as you managed to get some of the imperial stuff it doesn't matter what I think.

I'm impressed with your plate bending skills.

[Dez]

I agree with teaboy, I Can’t see that third of a mm making much difference. The two are generally regarded as interchangeable.

I really like this project though, it’s not exactly how I’d do it, but ive been thinking about doing a build on some kind of cheaper jeep variant for ages and this doesnt help at all!

[dieselmax]

Feb 12, 2022 9:53:58 GMT Dez said:

I agree with teaboy, I Can’t see that third of a mm making much difference. The two are generally regarded as interchangeable.

I really like this project though, it’s not exactly how I’d do it, but ive been thinking about doing a build on some kind of cheaper jeep variant for ages and this doesnt help at all!

The difference is 0.35mm, or 6%. Not much, but because the spring is much wider (about 40%, since I  started in percentages), the bending force on these is much greater. So I made them much deeper compared to original. Surely 6mm would have done it, but given the option, I thought 1/4" would be better.

I have gone through several ideas for creating a resto mod jeep, and the Mahindra route has it's advantages, not least because the main components, chassis, axles, gearbox etc are actually jeep parts. Sadly, Mahindra's appear to have shot up in price recently. They used to be the one nobody wanted, but now people seem to have discovered they are actually an improved version of the willy's jeep.

Love your ford pickup BTW.

Daan

[horrido]

Any updates on this one?

[dieselmax]

Hi, here we are again with a (long overdue) update. Summer was mainly spent entertaining my family and seemingly came and went in a flash. So here we are, 9 months and 2 prime ministers later, I have something new to show; I decided to have a clear out of my garage by mounting parts to the chassis, starting with the largest lump, engine and gearbox. Now I have the body, I could take measurements to check for any potential clashes with the VW TDI. It shows that the Mahindra is different in a few areas to the Willys body I have. The gearbox is mounted further backwards compared to the Willys, and is also longer, it being a 4 speed. As a result, the engine rocker cover flange of the VW has no clearance to the bulkhead, and the gear stick does not line up with the hole in the tunnel. More interesting things are happening once I tried to fit the prop shafts; They are too short. The rear by about 5mm, which is the result of the parabolic springs drooping much further due to them being quite soft. (This is all done with the axles hanging of the springs). The front prop was more worrying, as it somehow was too short by about 1 inch. After some measuring, it appears the Dana 30 diff I use is 1” shorter than the Dana 27 it replaced.

So, a few problems to think about (plus many more, but for another time). After some head scratching, I decided best solution is to move the engine and box forward by about 30mm solving all these problems. It will need a longer rear prop, which is a good thing, as the Mahindra one is comically short, resulting in unhealthy U/J angles at full droop. The U/J’s are Identical to Defender ones, so it should be easy adapt a defender prop.

With the location decided on, I could start fabricating engine mounts. I am using the original Hydraulic mounts that came with the engine (It is a 1.9 TDI 110 out of a Passat B5, engine code AFN). I am mimicking the original setup of the Passat, apart from the Engine lying on its side in the Passat by about 30 degrees, where I fit it in the upright position in the Jeep. The included angle of the AV mounts is about 45 degrees in the Passat, which I maintained in my mount arrangement.

The chassis brackets are made out of 100 x 100 x 5 mm box section, like this:




The engine brackets were made out of 5mm plate, like this:


All mounted, it looks like this, RH side:




LH side:




Engine looks at home in the chassis:



Thanks for reading!


Daan

[skodacious]

Great to see an update! Progress is progress 😎

[horrido]

Excellent! How does the height of the motor work out? I assume it'll fit under the bonnet alright.

[dieselmax]

Nov 27, 2022 19:26:49 GMT horrido said:

Excellent! How does the height of the motor work out? I assume it'll fit under the bonnet alright.

Plenty of room under the bonnet, but there are some major clashes to sort out elsewhere..

[Alpina99]

I don't really know why but I am enjoying this thread,
Really liking the fabrication and thought processes to the various issues you've come across,
Nigel

[dieselmax]

Nov 28, 2022 19:26:01 GMT Alpina99 said:

I don't really know why but I am enjoying this thread,
Really liking the fabrication and thought processes to the various issues you've come across,
Nigel

Thank you for your vote of approval, it is much appreciated.
Time is the limiting factor, but then there is no rush either!

Regards,

Daan