Novak Conversions Jeep Wrangler TJ engine mounts

Trail_Krawler & Trail_Willys

I'm thinking its a combo of a few things...
First, I was so excited to drive it, I forgot I needed to bed. the brakes, I've gotten so used to new vehicles that I just forgot that was a thing.

I've got a first gen D18 T case, low is only 1.97:1. Even the early CJ's got 2.43:1. These were not build for crawling.

I have no idea what my idle rpm is... I may very well be at 1200 rpm so that's certainly not going to help it crawl.

Can't do much about gearing right now, but I can fix the brakes and idle speed.
 
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More thoughts on the suspension...

At first, I thought it was firmer than I expected. I have changed my mind. I properly aired down yesterday to 10 psi, probably could go a little lower still, and the ride was fantastic. small chatter sized rocks were absorbed by the tires and big dips and rocks were soaked up by the suspension just fine. One thing I didn't realize was how fast I was driving. When I was behind some of my regular wheeling buddies driving at our normal speed, I was easily driving twice the speed they were going. I'm very pleased with the ride now, and I know there is room for improvement. Also, seeing it flex yesterday alleviated my concerns about the rear being too still, its flexed out just fine.
 
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Fixed one of the issues this morning. Idle speed.

I reinstalled the Sniper EFI. When I was having engine issues I installed a Carter WO so I could rule out fuel problems. Now everything runs good, I wanted the EFI back in. I had run the fuel lines in parallel so it was an easy reinstallation.

PXL_20250823_161421471.jpg


It fired up with a bump of the key and idles nice and smooth. A quick road test and acceleration is much smoother, consistent and I was able to go up a steep hill near my shop in 2nd at a decent speed... Very happy with that.

Oh, and I set idle rpm to 600, so that will help a bit.
 
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kmas0n said:
Fixed one of the issues this morning. Idle speed.

I reinstalled the Sniper EFI. When I was having engine issues I installed a Carter WO so I could rule out fuel problems. Now everything runs good, I wanted the EFI back in. I had run the fuel lines in parallel so it was an easy reinstallation.

View attachment 638377

It fired up with a bump of the key and idles nice and smooth. A quick road test and acceleration is much smoother, consistent and I was able to go up a steep hill near my shop in 2nd at a decent speed... Very happy with that.

Oh, and I set idle rpm to 600, so that will help a bit.
Click to expand...

So cool to see EFI on and coil overs next to a flathead (y)
 
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I’m just commenting to follow along. The Willys is a way better version of an idea I had for the 48 CJ2A I used have when I was a teenager a long time ago. Very cool.
 
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kmas0n said:
I'm thinking its a combo of a few things...
First, I was so excited to drive it, I forgot I needed to bed. the brakes, I've gotten so used to new vehicles that I just forgot that was a thing.

I've got a first gen D18 T case, low is only 1.97:1. Even the early CJ's got 2.43:1. These were not build for crawling.

I have no idea what my idle rpm is... I may very well be at 1200 rpm so that's certainly not going to help it crawl.

Can't do much about gearing right now, but I can fix the brakes and idle speed.
Click to expand...

Knowing space is tight, are there any doubler options that are viable for the Willys using the stock transmission?
 
I'm sure you'd said once before but what axles do you have and why only 4.88? Stock CJ2's had 5.38's or at least the ones I've owned did. That was why they installed the Warn O/D in them back in the 60's-70's.

I don't know if anyone makes lower gears for the D18. Swap to a D300 and you could go 4:1 LowMax gears. There used to be lower gears offered for the D18 but that was years ago.
 
Wildman said:
But didn't the MB's & CJ's have the same axles?
Click to expand...
It's been a while since I did the research, but I think the military axles have a smaller ring and pinion and you can only get 4.88:1. It might be possible to swap carriers and gears, but to maintain highway speeds 4.88 is right for my tire size. I'll need to look into transmission and transfer case options if I do anything at all
 
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Wildman said:
But didn't the MB's & CJ's have the same axles?
Click to expand...

Willys axles are a mess.

MB/GPW through CJ-3B’s had the D25 front. Some M38A1’s and CJ-5’s had a D25 front and some had a D27 through the intermediate 5’s. Then I think they went to the Dana 30 in ‘76.

MB/GPW’s had a FF D27 rear. CJ-2A’s had a D41. And the 3A on had the Dana 44 rear until they went to the AMC 20 in ‘76.

I’m not even going to try to sort ratios.
 
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Impressive build! I looked for a bit, I'm sure I missed it. What size are the wheels and tires?
 

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