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Project
Jeep CJ-7
Scout II Dana 44 Axles Swap onto a CJ-7 Frame
New
Custom
Fabricated Hangers
Front
Springs - Front Hangers |
Back to Project Index
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| The front hangers were a little easier to design than
the rear hangers. Mainly because they are of a simpler design
and use all the existing holes as well as a few new holes for the
grade 8 hardware. The only exception to it's simplicity was a 2
3/4 inch tube I had a machinist friend turn for me and the large
diameter hole drilled in the angle iron. The rest was just
measuring, cutting, drilling, grinding, welding, more grinding and a
paint job. But before any cutting was done it was very
important to put everything down on paper and measure everything many
time before I was comfortable that I had what I wanted. Once I
had the design though, it went pretty quick. |
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Where the metal met metal and it was to be welded I
notched the pieces to allow the weld to penetrate into each piece
better. I read that in the welding booklet that came with the
welder. I'm certainly no expert in welding but with practice
my welds have greatly improved.
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These front hangers were fabricated from 1/4 inch steel 2x3 angle iron. The tube I had machined to fit the poly bushings. The length of this angle iron was cut to 7"
and angled down to 1".
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A large hole was drilled at just the right height
to accommodate the poly bushing. Then the custom machined
tube was welded into place using a 1¼ inch by 3 inch machined plug
that fit snug in the tube and angle iron. |
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| Pictures above and to the right are a test fit of
all bolt holes and measurements. The frame rivet was removed
and the hole was used by a grade 8 bolt. I was using 2½ wide Wrangler springs rather than 2" wide CJ springs. Wrangler springs are a little longer so I moved the front
hanger forward a little which is why the frame rivet is removed and the bolt is used in it's place. All other holes
that could be used were as well as a few drilled. On the side of the frame I used the existing hole as well as drilling 2 holes forward of the crossmember. At this
point the gussets were not welded in yet on the 7" angle piece on the
side of the frame. |
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To the right is all the pieces of the new hangers,
front and rear of the front springs. Pictured here, the
gussets have been welded. Everything has been cleaned and prepped
for painting.
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Finished front hanger. Passenger side. Frame is upside
down. |
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Home-built
Serious Skid-Plate protection for the Oil Pan for under 20 bucks!
