4.3L XJ

Blue has bugged me a couple of times to see my next project. So OK, I give. My next one will be with my AMC M422A1 Mighty Mite. Most of you have never heard of one, maybe a few who were with the airborne marines in Vietnam may have seen one. Only 6,000 were ever produced. Probably only half have survived the government. They were originally designed to be a Jeep CJ5 that you could drop out of an air plane or helicopter, so they were built light. 1680# with a full tank of gas. The frame, windshield frame, springs and gears were all steel, everything else was aluminum. They had the same interior space as a CJ5. In fact, a CJ5 rag top almost fits well. The windshield is identical to a CJ5 also. Tops were rare, if ever made. I have never seen a pic of one. The heater only works in the summer and the AC only works in the winter. Here is what they look like when restored.



Mine needs a little work.





It even has its own complementary bullet hole.



And maybe a hornets nest

The springs are currently off it because I was playing in the shop with them.:rotfl2: So it is sitting a little low to the ground right now. But they go back on in a few minutes.

Aside from the fact the engines were pure junk and good for only 500 hours of operation before needing a total rebuild, and that they were severely under powered, this is the most fun ORV I have ever driven. It corners like a sports car and hugs every contour of the road. It rides kind of stiff on the pavement so it makes you a little gun shy of bumps. However when you hit one, it just soaks it up and all you feel is vibration. You can drive into a parking area with the driveway or over the curb. They both feel the same. The suspension is completely unique in the off road world and has never been duplicated, nor was it ever patented. It is made in such a way that any upward forces are canceled by downward forces so there is no net force in the vehicle. It just seeks a new level if needed with absolutely no rebound. It works so well ti does not even need shocks even though it had them. Mine were shot. You can drive it through rocks the size of bowling ***** quickly and smoothly.

The plan::jumping0041:

The engine will be an EJ55 or 57 Subaru with 5 speed auto with the differential removed. The 55 will make 400 HP and the 57 will make 500 HP.

The transfer case will be a beefed up Samurai divorced case with cryo treated low gears and exterior aluminum cradle for case strength.

Diffs will be cut down Toyota 8.25 rear axles to 16" wide.

Suspension will remain fully independent.

Windshield will be chopped, with speed glass for weight reduction.

Grill will be slotted like a Hummer

It will resemble a small hummer.

prerunner1982

Since I am prior military (though not of that era) and a Military Vehicle enthusiast as well... I knew what that was right off. I also searched and found a picture of one with top for you, though I suppose it could a Cj5 top...




Also if you haven't already you might check out the forum at www.steelsoldiers.com Good resource for all things MV related.

Good luck... looks like a fun little project.

sluggy

dude that is gonna be sweet.
i love old milatry vehicles, there cool


but the hornets aint lol

bigbadcherokee

it does look like a little hummer from the front!

shawnmf

that wil be a grat offroad machine or onroad from how u explained the suspension deff. unique

zjrog

I love the Mites!!

jusper88

No offence...but it looks like a Suzuki Smaurai!

FlyingLow

If he didn't have a pic of the spec's tag with American Motors Corporation across the top I'd say it probably was a old Sammy. Kinda an odd coincidence with all the Sammy and Yota parts being used to rebuild it. Can't wait to see the finished product. Best of luck!

JasonPrime

Can't wait to see the finished HumWee!

4.3L XJ

If you put them side by side, then you would see a lot of difference. The Mighty Mite is wider, lower center of gravity, and shorter wheel base. This one has the long wheel base. There are earlier ones that are 6" shorter. From the side, they look completely different.

4.3L XJ

It will be a little while be fore we start it in earnest. My son is going to get one first. We will park them side by side in the shop and do both at the same time.

jusper88

Hmmm...whats your plans for it?

4.3L XJ

Strictly a boy toy. It will be fast and light. I will put a heater in though. Subaru engine an dtranny minus the differential, Samurai tcase and toyota diffs with lockers.

4.3L XJ

Had a lousy day today, so I needed some mental health time. I decided to crawl under the Mighty Mite since I had other stuff in the shop and couldn't pull the jeep in. Hum Wee didn't have its spring on when I brought it down from WA state so I gathered up the stuff and went to work.

Took the front wheel off. This is what the front hub looks like.



If this looks a little fragile, it is. I broke that special bolt in the center once and lost the wheel and hub going around a corner. I am going to change this, just don't know exactly what yet.



Theses are the rear springs. One is disassembled, You will notice if you look closely that the center of the leaves are hollow. This used to be a standard design on military steel to help them flex more. You can't buy spring steel with that design any more.



The front arms came apart kind of hard. I had to beat the mounting caps off. There is a few years of mud and rust in them. Surprisingly the teflon liners were in relatively good shape in spite of the mud.

My first improvement. Tapping the mounting caps for grease fittings to keep them from getting too much crud in them again.





Here is the first spring on the left front and ready to rock.

mrmikey32

i have seen this very one in the pic. i am not far from that auto museum