Photo Gallery
Marty Kennedy's 80, St. Helens, OR

 


Frog's almost finished1.jpg (54kb) Frog's almost finished2.jpg (79kb) Frog's almost finished3.jpg (70kb) 5530350-R1-028-12A.jpg (104kb) 5530350-R1-030-13A.jpg (85kb)
5530350-R1-044-20A.jpg (103kb) FROG 1.jpg (78kb) FRoG dissection 1.jpg (69kb) FRoG's new frame 1.jpg (115kb) FRoG's new frame 2.jpg (71kb)
frog10.jpg (106kb)   frog20.jpg (60kb)   rolling chassis II.jpg (98kb)

LUV: 1980 4x4
Name: Marty Kennedy
Location: St. Helens, OR USA
Forum Name: FRoG, man
Notes: Four years ago I got an '80 4x4 Luv for nearly free. I got it at night and it was raining. Bad idea. The following weekend I drug it home and discovered it was a rusted out, muddy mess. Someone had attempted to put an M-151 military MUTT engine in it but didn't plan on the extreme front dirveshaft angles. So I sold off the MUTT motor and cut the truck up and made a trailer out of it. But it did come with some off road goodies like a three inch body lift and a roll bar. A neighbor who owns one told me of his brother in law wanting to sell his. It had a blown engine, but he had an extra motor to go with it. I got it for $125 and proceeded to rebuild the the spare engine. I went completely through it with a 10/10 crank, .10 over pistons, Webber carb, and a header. The overhaul kit was from Sealed Power. The head came from Aluminum Head Rebuilders in Portland, and the clutch came from Friction Specialties. I did all the work my self except for the machine shop stuff. When the motor was in the shop I was searching for a step side box and couldn't find one that was in good shape. The one's I saw were either way too expensive or just trashed. Solution? Build my own. I got some new surplus 11 guage plate from a local steel yard along with some 16 guage stuff. My cousin and I took the ribs out from under the first LUVs box and welded them to a new box we'd made to be able to moutn the new box. I used the stock old box's front panel and even the spare tire hanger. For strength and a little rear window protection I made a headache board with the roll bar and some sxpanded steel mesh and welded them to the front of the box. Then I went to Potter Webster in Portland and got a pair of Willys Jeep style fenders to finish it off. I made the top rails out of 1x3 tubing cut diagonally in half and welded 1x1 to the outside edge. Since I was looking for that old style Jeep look, I ground the inner corners down to where I could bend the 1x3 and then I welded up the bend for strength. I bobbed the frame off just behind the spring shackles to get rid of that stump grabbing overhang in the rear. I then welded a double tube bumper off the first LUV to the frame. Once I got the engine back and put together (Dan Hall's did the machine work), I replaced everything from the firewall to the core support. New radiator, new master cylinder, cooling lines, alternator, CV boots, front suspension, and steering parts were either rebuilt or replaced. Then about three quarters into the project two things happened. First, the bad news: I had noticed the vision in my left eye going haywire. It's been poor since birth with also being nearly totally blind in my right eye. But with God's grace I've managed to get along OK. I'd just gotten my learner's permit for the first time ever when I was 45. Within a year I couldn't see three feet in front of me. I had a cataract. It was removed on December 14th of last year. I'm still recovering but am doing much better. The good news! Last Christmas I got a phone call from a widow lady a friend of mine introduced me to on the prior 4th of July. She called up to say hi and to cheer up those she know who were single. She left a message with no return number. I traced it back and called her, just to be polite. Everything else, as they say, is history. We fell in love, knew this was a God thing, and got married last June on Flag Day, outdoors. As anyone who knows western Oregon, it rains in June! Not this time! What a life change, and a time crunch to get the LUV street legal and reliable. So all last spring I got the truck wired up for the tail lights, threw on a temporary rattle can paint job and a jury rigged legal exhaust, and procedded to get two households moved to St. Helens. She lived only 8 miles away in Scappoose. I lived 23 miles away in north Portland. So with either her or my cousin driving, we moved two households over a six weekend marathon (while selling my house and making wedding preperations? Yikes!). Our motto? "no worries." The truck performed flawlessly, sometimes carrying wieghts with the trailer that far exceeded it's GVW. On one trip we had all my shop stuff loaded up and it weighed well over a ton. During the whole move we had a steel bench in the trailer that weighed 370 pounds by itself. It was too big to fit in storage. After the wedding and getting settled into our new home, my wife named the truck the FRoG. I asked her why and she said becasue FRoG means, "Forever Relying on God." With what's happened in just one short year, I've found that to be so true especially in dealing with closing date setbacks and home repair delays. The truck is now pulling duty hauling rock, pavement stones, sand, and concrete for landscape work. Later this winter I'll pull the box and finish up the welds and paint the whole truck. The idea of converting the box so it will dump has crossed my mind. So too has a soild 4.56:1 front axle, but the stock IFS works OK for now. I never thought I'd own a LUV, and never gave them much thought. I'm a third generation died in the wool Power Wagon fan. But that little truck has made me appreciate how well built LUVs really are. (And simple too!) But then again I'd thought I'd never be married a year ago either. What a blessing that has been too! I do have pictures of the FRoG, especially of the box; please e-mail me. Shalom, Marty

Update on 8/13/05

So far here's the "FRoG" with about everything swapped except the engine and cab. To simplify the SAS instead of cutting up the original frame I swapped in a '78 Jeep Wagoneer frame. The front axle is a Dana 44 out of a '79 and the rear is an '81 AMC 20, both set up with 4.56 gears. (the axles also have the benefit of great big brakes.) Beings that the Waggy trans crossmember is adjustable I was able to also swap in a Trooper 5 speed for a much badly needed overdrive and to relieve any angle problems for the front drive shaft. Both the engine and tranny were nearly a bolt in deal with very little modification. The wheelbase went from 102" to 109" setting the front axle just ahead of stock. Because of the 5 speed I get to retain the LUVs drive shafts utilizing Jeep yokes for the axles..
To attach the cab to the frame I'm using 3" square tubing welded to the frame for brackets and 3" body lift snubbers from the old set up. In a search for a grille I went to the early four headlight set up I got from a wrecking yard. For a box the home made Willys box is too small, so a neighbor gave me his fullsize Chevy step side box. I'll either re use the square Willys style fenders I have or go to a more military style round fender, with round flares for the front.
I ditched the stock e brake set up and am replacing it with a Jeep Cherokee lever and the much simpler Waggy cable set up. Inside, a pair of Trooper bucket seats will replace the bench. That way when my wife is driving I won't be "press facing" the windshield anymore. One great part of going with the Jeep stuff is Jeep uses all Chevy brake components, plus Dana and AMC 20 axle parts are cheap and common. Fully loaded new calipers cost only 53 bucks each at ACE Hardware.
To utilize a GM master cylinder I found a new one with a 7" dual diaphram booster at HotRodsUSA.com in Vancouver, WA. For steering instead of trying to cram a Waggy column into the tight confines of the cab, I'm using aftermarket u joints and shaft material to connect the Luv's column to the Jeep's Saginaw PS box. Though HotRodsUSA mostly deals with hot rod or racing parts, they do carry aftermarket pieces for off road use too. Like chrome diff covers for just under nine bucks each. A great place to do business with, with fantasic prices.

Update 4/19/06

Well, the FRoG is nearly done... it's alive, it stops, and it steers.  Since my last post of nearly a year ago, lots has gone on.  I found a plastic post Quadratrac Wagoneer fuel tank to clear the new driveshaft.  It was built by the best driveshaft shop on Earth: Driveline Service of Portland.  (a little bias for I worked there 20 years ago.)  Little by little and with some help from my friends we got the cab mounted on homemade brackets.  That took the longest time of anything to set up.  But once it was done, it ain't going anywhere.  The engine after nearly two years of sitting, started right up and the 5 speed Trooper tranny is way quieter than the 4 speed it originally had.  The box is mocked up for now, I'm still deciding to bob it or leave it.  Somehow that dreaded 'import' overhang remains.. but then again I like the Chevy 6'8" idea of their short box.  Once I refit the front fenders to match the front wheels' location it shouldn't look as weird.  Bigger tires would help too.  But I'll let the pics speak for themselves.  It's turning out to being quite the project.  In the Bible it says, "Nothing is impossible with God."  Given that I'm what they call, "Low vision" or on the ragged edge of legally blind in the best eye... I can attest to the fact that verse is true.  May the testimony and the pics be an encouragement to anyone out there who's going through hard times.  Just gotta hang in there, trust Jesus, and go for it.