1970 Gladiator Restomod

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Chubbinius
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Re: 1970 Gladiator Restomod

Post by Chubbinius »

Yeller wrote: Sun Jun 26, 2022 4:24 pm
Chubbinius wrote: Sun Jun 26, 2022 3:41 pm Looks comfy! :) Love that green.
Thanks!

All the gear fits packed away nicely. Need to add a few lashing rings for a couple of straps to keep things from moving around but it fits well.
That's great to see so much fits below the tool box! Nice.
1970 1414X Wagoneer "The Pig"
-Custom Special
-Dauntless 350 V8
-D27 front/D44 rear
2006 XK (65th Ann Edition)-DD
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Yeller
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Location: Rogers County Oklahoma

Re: 1970 Gladiator Restomod

Post by Yeller »

Chubbinius wrote: Sun Jun 26, 2022 7:27 pm
Yeller wrote: Sun Jun 26, 2022 4:24 pm
Chubbinius wrote: Sun Jun 26, 2022 3:41 pm Looks comfy! :) Love that green.
Thanks!

All the gear fits packed away nicely. Need to add a few lashing rings for a couple of straps to keep things from moving around but it fits well.
That's great to see so much fits below the tool box! Nice.
Me too :D
Actually bought that ice chest because it did fit underneath the box. Keeping it out of the sun makes such a difference in keeping stuff cool. Just got lucky on the other totes. Its hard to see but there is a 3 gallon rotopax fuel can mounted under there too. Pic posted a few pages back of the rotopax and mount.
The bus I ride is so short it is a yellow Smart Car full of squirrels, monkeys and clowns.

1970 J2500 Resto Mod
https://www.fsjnetwork.com/forum/viewt ... 12&t=21395

1974 Bronco “Broncno”
https://classicbroncos.com/forums/threa ... st-3411909
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Chubbinius
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Re: 1970 Gladiator Restomod

Post by Chubbinius »

That's a handy way to tuck the spare fuel out of the way!
1970 1414X Wagoneer "The Pig"
-Custom Special
-Dauntless 350 V8
-D27 front/D44 rear
2006 XK (65th Ann Edition)-DD
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Yeller
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Joined: Thu Apr 01, 2021 7:54 am
Location: Rogers County Oklahoma

Re: 1970 Gladiator Restomod

Post by Yeller »

I forgot to post up that I replaced all of the side markers and front park/turn light lenses. Really brightened up the visibility of the truck.
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The bus I ride is so short it is a yellow Smart Car full of squirrels, monkeys and clowns.

1970 J2500 Resto Mod
https://www.fsjnetwork.com/forum/viewt ... 12&t=21395

1974 Bronco “Broncno”
https://classicbroncos.com/forums/threa ... st-3411909
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Yeller
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Location: Rogers County Oklahoma

Re: 1970 Gladiator Restomod

Post by Yeller »

I had a grease fire in the box frame rail back when I welded on the front suspension on. There was some electrical stuff that was run through there. One of them was the power for the fuel pump. Everything worked fine and has been for months. Then we went to diner a couple of weeks ago and it wouldn’t start so we could go home. Found the issue patched it up and drove home. However I noticed the wire I picked out of my box of extra wire was copper clad aluminum…. Very poor choice for the application, doesn’t handle heat well and worse, exposed to salt or road deicing agents it turns to dust. So to repair my parking lot patch and wire selection faux pas I got it all replace from the relay to the pump.

Moral of the story…. Don’t use copper clad aluminum wire and don’t assume fire hasn’t caused hidden damage.
The bus I ride is so short it is a yellow Smart Car full of squirrels, monkeys and clowns.

1970 J2500 Resto Mod
https://www.fsjnetwork.com/forum/viewt ... 12&t=21395

1974 Bronco “Broncno”
https://classicbroncos.com/forums/threa ... st-3411909
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tgreese
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Re: 1970 Gladiator Restomod

Post by tgreese »

I had not realized clad aluminum made its way to primary wire. Suggest everyone not buy primary wire that is not 100% copper.

Copper-clad over steel has been used for a long time for electronic components and coax like RG-59. For rf it does not matter, due to the skin effect at high frequencies. You need to specify 100% copper leads, if that's important to your application. In many cases, it's not, and the steel core is strong and inexpensive. Clad aluminum seems to be a recent development. If you look for speaker wire, where wire thickness equates to quality amongst the uninformed, you will find lots of cheap speaker wire that's clad aluminum.
Tim Reese
Maine beekeeper's truck: '77 J10 LWB, 258/T15/D20/3.54 bone stock, low options (delete radio), PS/PDB, hubcaps.
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Yeller
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Re: 1970 Gladiator Restomod

Post by Yeller »

Yes a real bummer. Was labeled “PRIMARY WIRE 14GA” and nothing else. Not sure where it came from. Unfortunately the only real way to identify it is to look closely at the cut end, was easy to spot where it melted….
The bus I ride is so short it is a yellow Smart Car full of squirrels, monkeys and clowns.

1970 J2500 Resto Mod
https://www.fsjnetwork.com/forum/viewt ... 12&t=21395

1974 Bronco “Broncno”
https://classicbroncos.com/forums/threa ... st-3411909
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devildog80
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Location: Apache Junction AZ

Re: 1970 Gladiator Restomod

Post by devildog80 »

Good you had road repair items with you, and I almost miss those days when a road repair 2-3 times a year was normal :)
'81 CJ5 Base, 258 I6, MC2100, T176 4 spd, 300 TC, D30 Front NT, 3.31, 2-Piece AMC 20 rear NT, 3.31, 4" high arc spring lift
'84 Grand Wagoneer, 401 V8 (.030 over), MC2150 HA Comp, 727 auto, Selec-trac NP229, AMC 20 REAR - D44 FRONT - WT 3.31, 4" high arc spring lift
Rather be driving, than waiting to be modified
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Yeller
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Re: 1970 Gladiator Restomod

Post by Yeller »

devildog80 wrote: Mon Jul 04, 2022 12:45 pm Good you had road repair items with you, and I almost miss those days when a road repair 2-3 times a year was normal :)
Me too :lol:

I built it with the idea it will get driven across the USA to some of its most remote areas. Having on hand enough tools and pieces to at least have good probability of getting back to civilization is a priority. Electrical components are the most fragile. So I have the most common failed items on board. Connectors, wire, relays, fuses, fuel pump, fuel filter, ignition switch and dimmer switch are on board along with stripper/crimper, multi meter and test light. There’s also some fluids, complete basic tool set and but if fuel line. In over 20 years of spending more miles on dirt than many spend on pavement, I have what I feel is important to return to civilization where I can get more stuff if needed. It sounds like a lot but it really is not that much
The bus I ride is so short it is a yellow Smart Car full of squirrels, monkeys and clowns.

1970 J2500 Resto Mod
https://www.fsjnetwork.com/forum/viewt ... 12&t=21395

1974 Bronco “Broncno”
https://classicbroncos.com/forums/threa ... st-3411909
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devildog80
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Re: 1970 Gladiator Restomod

Post by devildog80 »

Nope....not much at all when you can get yourself back, and not just a baling wire fix you have to fix again when you do get back, but one that will work until needed again :)
'81 CJ5 Base, 258 I6, MC2100, T176 4 spd, 300 TC, D30 Front NT, 3.31, 2-Piece AMC 20 rear NT, 3.31, 4" high arc spring lift
'84 Grand Wagoneer, 401 V8 (.030 over), MC2150 HA Comp, 727 auto, Selec-trac NP229, AMC 20 REAR - D44 FRONT - WT 3.31, 4" high arc spring lift
Rather be driving, than waiting to be modified
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Yeller
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Location: Rogers County Oklahoma

Re: 1970 Gladiator Restomod

Post by Yeller »

Just returned from the Ouray Invasion. We did right at 2000 miles that were absolutely trouble free. For 8 days we did a minimum of 25 trail miles and one day over 100. I feel I pushed it to the limits of trail difficulty that I really want to do with this truck, even got to use the winch once. :-?

After 9 days of literally living out of the truck I’m happy to say I don’t feel anything needs to change other than my mystery power steering box that I installed is dying, it definitely is way looser than when I left and to the point that it’s potentially sketchy. So a replacement will be ordered this week. The other item that needs to be added is AC, 105* crossing Oklahoma was a little brutal LOL.

The event was great, got to put faces and names with handles and check out a lot of FSJ’s. Hats off to the organizers, it’s a tremendous amount of work to put everything together successfully.
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The bus I ride is so short it is a yellow Smart Car full of squirrels, monkeys and clowns.

1970 J2500 Resto Mod
https://www.fsjnetwork.com/forum/viewt ... 12&t=21395

1974 Bronco “Broncno”
https://classicbroncos.com/forums/threa ... st-3411909
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devildog80
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Re: 1970 Gladiator Restomod

Post by devildog80 »

Glad to hear it was a good trip, and home safe.

Hope everyone else had the same results, and waiting for all the pics and videos to post :)
'81 CJ5 Base, 258 I6, MC2100, T176 4 spd, 300 TC, D30 Front NT, 3.31, 2-Piece AMC 20 rear NT, 3.31, 4" high arc spring lift
'84 Grand Wagoneer, 401 V8 (.030 over), MC2150 HA Comp, 727 auto, Selec-trac NP229, AMC 20 REAR - D44 FRONT - WT 3.31, 4" high arc spring lift
Rather be driving, than waiting to be modified
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Chubbinius
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Location: SD, CA

Re: 1970 Gladiator Restomod

Post by Chubbinius »

That's an awesome post trip report! Glad it treated you so well and took everything you threw its way like a champ 🏆!
1970 1414X Wagoneer "The Pig"
-Custom Special
-Dauntless 350 V8
-D27 front/D44 rear
2006 XK (65th Ann Edition)-DD
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Yeller
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Joined: Thu Apr 01, 2021 7:54 am
Location: Rogers County Oklahoma

Re: 1970 Gladiator Restomod

Post by Yeller »

Thanks guys!

this isn't my first rodeo so I knew most of the pit falls to avoid, I've actually had very good luck dragging stuff accross the country that was a brand new build with minimal issues. However this is the first time I was dependent on it getting me home, it did have several thousand miles of shake down prior to leaving, the drivetrain swap now has 8000 miles on it :D
The bus I ride is so short it is a yellow Smart Car full of squirrels, monkeys and clowns.

1970 J2500 Resto Mod
https://www.fsjnetwork.com/forum/viewt ... 12&t=21395

1974 Bronco “Broncno”
https://classicbroncos.com/forums/threa ... st-3411909
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Stuka
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Re: 1970 Gladiator Restomod

Post by Stuka »

105 with no A/C is not fun. Did that for a lot of years.

Its awesome that it worked so well for you, thats a long trip in a 52 year old truck, new drive train or not.
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Pevious Jeeps: 1981 J10, 1975 Cherokee, 2008 JK, 2005 KJ, 1989 XJ
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Yeller
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Location: Rogers County Oklahoma

Re: 1970 Gladiator Restomod

Post by Yeller »

Stuka wrote: Thu Jul 21, 2022 7:42 am 105 with no A/C is not fun. Did that for a lot of years.

Its awesome that it worked so well for you, thats a long trip in a 52 year old truck, new drive train or not.
I do not miss not owning a vehicle without AC, heck even my first apartment didn't have ac, in Arkansas and I lived there for 3 years, I remember those lessons well LOL

It is, and I wheeled it a lot... ran passes and unpaved roads for several approximately 25% of the miles of the trip, starting at the NM/OK border. Was a great time. Working with a group of buddies now for a trip to Hole in the Rock in SE Utah in the spring, may take the bronco on that, we'll see.
The bus I ride is so short it is a yellow Smart Car full of squirrels, monkeys and clowns.

1970 J2500 Resto Mod
https://www.fsjnetwork.com/forum/viewt ... 12&t=21395

1974 Bronco “Broncno”
https://classicbroncos.com/forums/threa ... st-3411909
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Yeller
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Location: Rogers County Oklahoma

Re: 1970 Gladiator Restomod

Post by Yeller »

Well I placed an order with West Texas Off Road for a replacement box and a 1-1/2” ram. Got it all installed and man does it drive nice, should have just done this in the beginning.

Did the ram for several reasons and none of them because I needed more power, the assumed XJ/TJ box I was running had sufficient power. The biggest reason is dampening. There is no better dampener than a hydraulic ram, it takes all the load and beating off the box and frame, keeping it at the axle where it has beefy parts to take it. Anyone that says you don’t need a damper must like changing steering boxes, it beats the internals to pieces and aggravates frame cracking. The ram also just about eliminates cracked frame mounts as well.

As usual, no pics of the install other than a completed pic :geek:
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The bus I ride is so short it is a yellow Smart Car full of squirrels, monkeys and clowns.

1970 J2500 Resto Mod
https://www.fsjnetwork.com/forum/viewt ... 12&t=21395

1974 Bronco “Broncno”
https://classicbroncos.com/forums/threa ... st-3411909
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Yeller
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Location: Rogers County Oklahoma

Re: 1970 Gladiator Restomod

Post by Yeller »

Well…. I found some more carnage from the cross country excursion. Somewhere some how the battery tie down became MIA, every piece of it 🤷‍♂️….. got on Amazon and ordered a nicer replacement. The other was the tanks on the radiator cracked at the mounting brackets so I’m guessing the core suport flexes a fair amount. So I rounded up some Ford 6.0 diesel injector controller isolator mounts and my neighbor, who went on the trip with me, whittled out some nice brackets. We pulled the radiator, repaired the cracks and welded on the isolator brackets. Everything is reinstalled and fitting nicely. By doing it this way we didn’t have to reinvent how to mount the radiator, uses the same mounting brackets and holes as before, just modified with some flex.

While I was at it I changed the thermostat. On the trip the ECM was reporting a large temp fluctuation that I could also see on the gage from 180-225. After todays test it now holds 210-215 very consistently.
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The bus I ride is so short it is a yellow Smart Car full of squirrels, monkeys and clowns.

1970 J2500 Resto Mod
https://www.fsjnetwork.com/forum/viewt ... 12&t=21395

1974 Bronco “Broncno”
https://classicbroncos.com/forums/threa ... st-3411909
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Yeller
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Location: Rogers County Oklahoma

Re: 1970 Gladiator Restomod

Post by Yeller »

Did a bit of towing mostly to see how it performed. I was pleasantly surprised, it handled the load quite well, its not my F350 with the same load but felt safe. I did stop and weigh it, gross weight was 11,500#. I was really curious as to what the rear axle weight was. I built the rear axle using components to make a 3750# rear axle so I was pleased to see the rear axle weight was 2920.

here's the axle weights

Front axle: 2720
Rear axle: 2920
trailer axle: 5860

The single axle trailer is great, I've put about 45,000 miles on it. The 8000# axle is quite happy. The trailer is 14' long, has an extended tongue to work with my slide in camper without a hitch extension. It is also running load range G all steel belted commercial trailer tires rated at 4400# each so everything is very happy with the load. This is my 3rd single axle car hauler. I've been asked about what happens if you have a flat, nothing, stop and put on the spare. It doesn't whip or do anything dumb. I will say ever since I've gone to the G rated tires I've not had a single flat and I run them on 6 trailers, in the last 10 years equals over 150,000 towing miles and no flats. I've quit carrying multiple spares, it is just not an issue any longer. Before running these I could just about count on 1 flat every 2000 miles, and if the tires made it to 6 years of age, they would all blow out within 1000 miles, never failed.
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The bus I ride is so short it is a yellow Smart Car full of squirrels, monkeys and clowns.

1970 J2500 Resto Mod
https://www.fsjnetwork.com/forum/viewt ... 12&t=21395

1974 Bronco “Broncno”
https://classicbroncos.com/forums/threa ... st-3411909
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Yeller
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Location: Rogers County Oklahoma

Re: 1970 Gladiator Restomod

Post by Yeller »

Small update. I’ve been chasing and dialing in seat of the pants drivability, replacing steering box, adding hydraulic assist, new ball joints, just renewing items that I knew I should. I still wasn’t thrilled with how it tracked down the road, especially, narrow, rutted and wallowy county roads. I broke down and ordered some decent mono tube shocks. What a difference, truck now feels solid and well sorted. I knew it should, I was just really beginning to doubt my suspension and steering design abilities. Knew it should be awesome but it was just mediocre, that is finally behind me. Only item left is the long side drag link end that currently is unobtainium, but fortunately still in good condition.

It was painful, I had to heed my own advice and buy a decent set of shocks😂😂
The bus I ride is so short it is a yellow Smart Car full of squirrels, monkeys and clowns.

1970 J2500 Resto Mod
https://www.fsjnetwork.com/forum/viewt ... 12&t=21395

1974 Bronco “Broncno”
https://classicbroncos.com/forums/threa ... st-3411909
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