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slim616
10-14-2007, 05:17 PM
well I figured I do a build thread so people can point out what I did wrong or how I could do it a little better.

Well the whole project started when I came across this 95 zj for $1500. I wanted to do a wrangler build but I couldn't beat the price and I always liked being a little different on the trail. It has the 4.0 with the 242 transfer case and 160xxx miles or so.
It sat in the driveway for a couple of months while I decided which way I wanted to go as far as lift kits and how much money I wanted to spend on it. Well after a few months I decided that as some point in the game that I wanted to run 35's so I was told I need to go with long arms, so I ordered RE's Long arm kit.

Here's a write up I did for Jeeps Unlimited about a year ago on the LA install.
All right I decided to do a full write up on the kit so if any one else finds them self in the same position as me they can do a search and hopefully this post will anwser most of their questions in one shot.
well after searching for months for a new project jeep (http://www.jeepsunlimited.com/forums/showthread.php?t=771480#) I came across a 95 ZJ with 160,000 miles and a couple of broken windows and a slipping tranny. $1500 dollars later the jeep was sitting in the drive way. After pulling the trannydip stick i discovered that the tranny was low on fluid and it didn't look that fresh. So after a quick tranny service the slip was gone.
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/before.jpg
Now as far as lift kits I wanted something that would be able to handel trails all over the u.s. but still be kind of easy to install. I tow (http://www.jeepsunlimited.com/forums/showthread.php?t=771480#) my jeeps (http://www.jeepsunlimited.com/forums/showthread.php?t=771480#) every where so the road thing is not a big deal but I still wanted something that could pass inspection and still be driven down the road safely. So with this in mind I needed a kit that would clear 33's which is what I think is the smallest you should go if your ever going to tackel any semi technical trails. The reason i belive this is that I had a 89 xj with 30" AT. and a 3" lift. It did well on the simple stuff but when the going got ruff it got real beat up. So with this in mind I deciced to go with RE's 4.5 lift kit (RE 8000) with the intention of putting a 2" BB on and 35's later on after budget allowed for new axels, gears ect. After calling 4x4groupbuys(which has some of the best prices on RE stuff. don't go by the webs prices, call them and they will give you a better price) Now after talking to them about what I wanted to do with the lift kit later on they contacted a RE rep. and found out that the 8000 kit will not work with BB. They said I would have to go with 8300 kit that contained long arms. Even though the kit was almost $1000 dollars more they assured me that it was they way to go for what I wanted to do. So a week later all 9 boxes were at my house.
Now let me tell you after reading the instructions on how to install the kit I began to wonder if I had got my self in over my head. To be honest i'm a all right mechanic but I had no real experince on working with zj before but I do have all the tools from working on all my landscape equipment. But seeing that i didn't need to have the running anytime soon I decided to tackel the lift in the driveway. For the average person with a few tools and the need to have jeep running quickly so you drive it to work I would say stick with the 8000 kit that involves just swapping old stuff out for new. 8300 kit invoves cutting all the old factory suspension off and bolting/welding new mounting point farther back on the frame to allow space for the new longer control arms.
So after tearing all the axels, control arms, exuast and stuff like that the real fun began. With torches, sawzaw, and a grinder I had to remove lower factory control arm brackets. As a side note i left the rear axel conected by the sensor and brake lines sitting on a floor jack under the jeep. This will make life easyer when you go to rebolt up the control arms and track bar.Living in a neighborhood were you don't see people doing stuff like this in the drive I got all sorts of funny looks. So ater a couple of evenings of cutting and grinding I was finaly able to beging to install the new mounts for the control arms and the tranny. After opening the box I realize that the hardware kit was torn open in transit and some of the bolts and stuff had been lost through a tear in the box. I also relize that the tran. will not bolt up to the crossmember that was supplied. it almost seemed like there had to be another peice or something. So after a call to 4x4groupbuy I find out that 93 to 95 zjs need an extra bracket to be bolted on to the crossmember for the tranny to bolt up which is sold seperate. So a couple of days later I have a new hardware pack and the tranny mount.
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/jeepwork3.jpg
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/jeepwork1.jpg
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/jeepwork2.jpg
So after several drill bits a more then a few trips to the lowes I was ready for my buddy to come in with his portable welder to tac the new control arm mounts. RE. says to weld as much as you can which i did as a fail safe for all the bolts that you just screwed in. Don't let me full you this took me over a week of evenings in my driveway to complete.
now came time to begin to mount all the control arms and stuff. This part of the project went pretty quick compared to the rest but an extra set of hands is wise to help with moving the axels around and stuff like that. once I bolted everything togetherand put the new tires (http://www.jeepsunlimited.com/forums/showthread.php?t=771480#) on the camber was all mesed in the front to the point I would not advise it to be driven on the road. But seeing that for the moment it was a trailer queen I figure it would be fine for the trails. also the old muffler will not work. I found a round style muffler like that off a volkswagon will work with the OEM exhust pipe. As a side note, do to my budget I had to wait to get a sye and drive shaft so for the first trip I ran it with the stock drivetrain.
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/after.jpg
So after a 2 1/2 hour trip to paragon with the jeep we pulled it off the trailer in the pooring rain. other then a little problem with transfer case not wanting to go into 4 lo the jeep performed up to expectations and beyond. The flex was great and once the transfer case went into 4 lo the jeep really began to shine crawling over stuff like it wasn't a thing. after a full day of wheeling the jeep climbed back up on the trailer on its own power and no damage.
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/ia3.jpg
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/frontflexinaction.jpg
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/passsideshot.jpg


Well on the second trip out I tosted the spiders in the D35.
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/jeepflexing2.jpg
This was a second or two before they snaped.
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/PC090172.jpg
This is what I found when I opened up the diff. I decided to just welded the 35 up since the plan was to get rid of it anyway. I became real easy on the skinny pedal after this. I had some old channel laying around so I cut it up and weld to my control arm mounts to make some cheap control arm skids.
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/P3030008.jpg
After a couple of close calls on the rockers I order a set of KOR rock sliders. The only problem I had with them is that they wouldn't fit with my long arm kit so I ended up having to cut the brackets move them around and weld them to the jeep. They have performed great and have held up to all the abuse that I have given them so far. I ran it like this for a couple of runs and noticed that the sliders were getting hung up on the rocks. So I decided to add 2" spacers and that did the trick.
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/frontflexedit.jpg
This worked well on blues and mild blacks but most of the other jeeps I ran with were on 35's or better and liked to run the hard blacks. I learned alot doing these trails on small tires but I just couldn't do them as fast as they could.
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/jeep4.jpg
So after a good showing at the york jeep show. At first they wouldn't let me on the rock course with 33's then after they did I had a better run then most of the tjs that had 35's. It felt good when the crowd started clapping after I finished the run.
THis is when I decided to start the next phase of the build with the goal of having it ready for Sept big dogs. I wanted to go with 7" lift and 35's but came across a set of new 36" tsl for a price that I couln't pass up. At this point in the game the zj has become a trailer queen with no hopes of being anything else so everything I did now was done as cheap as possible. At the time I was running it with 3.55 gears but had a spare 30 laying around that had 3.73 gears in it. I decided to just get a 8.8 with the same gears to give me a little better crawl ratio. In 4 lo the gears work fine but on the street it wouldn't get out of its own way.
I locked the front up with a aussie that I got used for a real good price and slaped it under the jeep. For the 8.8 I cut the brackets off the old d35 to save on some money.
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/P3250250.jpg
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/P8260259.jpg
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/P8250255.jpg
After I sat it back on the drive it looked like this.
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/P8260260.jpg
After taking down the shop and hacking the crap out of the fenders we were able to get some flex out of the 36's. At this point in the game I still have 4.5" coils and 2" spacers on.


http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/poser3.jpg
A shot next to my buddy to give you an idea of flex.
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/poser2.jpg

http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/poser1.jpg

The shocks stop with about 2" to spare before the coils fall out.

After that we took it up to RC for a test run for big dogs and except for one time the rear coil falling out it did great.

http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/ditch2.jpg
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/ditch.jpg
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/ditchflex.jpg
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/springtravell.jpg
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/rearflex.jpg
still a little bit of rubbing under full flex but i'm hoping the 7" coils will solve that.

Made it down to Big dogs and ran the pennsakentuckian trails with no issues. Also I'm able to max out the rti ramp they had their.

Last weekended I converted over my ac to oba with A five gallon tank in the back. works real nice and feels to to have some sort of air supply now on the trail. Total cost on that was around $250 or so. The next step I think is going to be to get a roll cage in it. I was thinking about going with the EOR cage.

gonecheenin
10-14-2007, 07:58 PM
Thats a mean looking rig dude

I do find it hard to believe you don't need to cut more metal outta those front fenders though


Did you buy this ZJ off a dude at Canfield?

Looks exactly like one my friend & I were pondering on down there

SuicideTireZJ
10-14-2007, 08:44 PM
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/jeep4.jpg

I think I speak for everyone on the board when I ask for more pics of the girl...

slim616
10-14-2007, 09:19 PM
I think I speak for everyone on the board when I ask for more pics of the girl...

here's some of her wheeling her jeep.
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/mandy.jpg
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/mandy2.jpg
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/mandy3.jpg

As for buying it, I got it off one of the guys who work for me.

2jeepsforus
10-14-2007, 10:13 PM
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/springtravell.jpg



:eek: You need some longer brake lines and cut that stupid ABS sensor out of there haha

96_zjlarado
10-15-2007, 02:25 AM
:eek: You need some longer brake lines and cut that stupid ABS sensor out of there haha


x2 that's an accident waiting to happen. going down a steep trail after a brake line snaps is not fun. :eek:

slim616
10-15-2007, 05:06 PM
I saw that, I lucked out and it stoped right before it started to do damage. I have 22" lines on now and will be uprgading to 24" when I get some spare cash. As for the abs I cut them out a couple weeks back when I started to go around the rig and get rid of stuff that wasn't need any more. Next on the hit list is the cruise control.

notfast
10-17-2007, 09:42 AM
lookin good man....need to get you to set me up an 8.8...since ihave no skills

EMTimZJ
10-17-2007, 11:44 AM
Nice thread!

Who is the guy in the STX shirt?

-Tim

slim616
01-02-2008, 08:27 PM
Well after entering A offroad compatition the jeep met a unfortunate end. I'm not going to go into it to much because it was covered in this thread
http://www.mallcrawlin.com/forum/showthread.php?p=167950#post167950
But the end result was this
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/PB110328.jpg
Well I marked the first of the new year by starting the task of building the new grand. This is what I got to work with, not bad for $250. http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/rebuild%20project/PC310001.jpg
The drive line is pretty much shot with 235,000 miles on it. Though it can still get around on its own power. To fix this I plan on rebuilding the motor in the wrecked jeep and swapping over the entire driveline to the new one. The set up i'm going for on this rig is for to be black trail rated with the ability to drive down the road. For the street i'm looking for to just to be able to make short local trips with it, without feeling unsafe. I'm not worried about it getting down the highway or anything because its still mostly going to get towed everywere. For the offroad part i'm mostly going to keep what I had except for the part of going with fullsize axel to help with the stability part and a four link rear so I can get rid of the rear track bar. Also im going to set it up so everything is high clearence that way the control arms and shock mounts arnt being drug across the rocks anymore. As for the body the back will be chopped off to give it the avalanch look. I'm removing the back seats and adding sheat metal to give me a full bed in the back. This way I have room to mount the OBA, roll/weather proof boxes for equipment. The rest of the interior will be gutted and redone so that the cab will be able to be hosed out with no issues. I'm going to have a full cage inside with the seats to go with it. I think i'm going to mount the spare to the cage in the back to give it the pre runner look and to get it out of the way. Also I think i'm going with tube fenders to help keep the body off the trees.
When I was tearing down the old jeep I noticed this.
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/rebuild%20project/P1010012.jpg
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/rebuild%20project/P1010013.jpg
no your not seeing the same pic twice but both sides of the front axel. Looks like they were on their way out if I hadn't flipped the jeep when I did. Well sadly this is what the old jeep looks like now.
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/rebuild%20project/P1010014.jpg
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/rebuild%20project/P1010016.jpg
I took off anything that people would steal so it can sit down at my yard for while with no worries. Seeing both jeeps together I guess you can see why i'm not allowed to run her's on the trails.

slim616
01-02-2008, 08:43 PM
I've been going through the write up sections looking at what I can upgrade easily by having the entire driveline pulled out. So far i've decided getting rid of the Abs and cruise control which looks like it should open up quite a bit of room in the engine compartment. With the extra room i'm going to try to get a second battery in there. Also I want to try to figure out some way to get the air intake up a little more. I've though about tring to rout it some how into the cab but it looks like their isn't to much room along the fire wall/dash to get it through cleanly. Also I think i'm going to install a aux electric fan to help the cooling on those hot days. As for the brakes I think i'm going to do the kung fu set up seeing it doesnt seem that tuff to do. Seeing I have the chance on this jeep to do everything right the first time I wouldn't mind any suggestions you all have on upgrades that I should do while its torn apart.

ILikeMud
01-02-2008, 08:54 PM
Do the Kung Fu brakes.
I'll be doing mine in the next little bit.

As for dual batteries, look at ATL ZJs build, page 2 or 3 for his dual battery set up. Basically a BTF battery box in place of the stock coolant res. and a smaller coolant res. that is relocated. I'm personally going to go this route.

jeeperanthony
01-02-2008, 11:54 PM
Im lazy.
How much lift was on the old one? and what shocks did you get?

DerekL
01-03-2008, 12:32 AM
Im lazy.
How much lift was on the old one? and what shocks did you get?

NOT COOL. Go look.

slim616
01-03-2008, 11:07 AM
For the lift just look at the sig :smt009 but for the shocks I had rancho in the back and doshtech up front. Also mud thanks for the heads up on that. Its been awhile since I read that build i'll have to go back and check it out.

ILikeMud
01-03-2008, 08:04 PM
Glad to help man.

slim616
01-05-2008, 10:47 PM
well I guess I'm beyond the point of no return.
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/rebuild%20project/P1050003.jpg
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/rebuild%20project/P1050004.jpg
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/rebuild%20project/P1050002.jpg
Tomorow I guess i'll start getting rid of stuff in the engine compartment that will not be used in the swap.

dangerousdave
01-06-2008, 01:21 AM
looks like a heck of a start. the crash still sucks but its a good chance to change any thing you wanted to.

slim616
01-06-2008, 10:03 PM
took advantage of the good weather today and got the engine ready to be pulled.
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/rebuild%20project/P1060029.jpg
Also while I was destroying stuff I got rid of the abs in prep for the f350 booster upgrade.
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/rebuild%20project/P1060028.jpg
I was having a pretty good day till I came across this back where the hatch closes.
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/rebuild%20project/P1060031.jpg
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/rebuild%20project/P1060032.jpg
what sucks is that most of the rest of the jeep is rust free. I guess it's not too bad becuse the upper part of the cancer will be covered when the lower half of the jeep door is welded shut to the body. I'm guessing the rest can be covered when I weld a sheet of metal across the floor to give a nice level bed across were the rear seats used to be. I'm thinking I will put somekind of door in the floor to give access to the space that will be created by doing this. Also It had crossed my mind about moving the fuel tank up in this area also. i've never really had any issues with the fuel tank getting draged across the rocks but I figured if I was going to do this upgrade, this would be the time to do it. What do all think, will the gain be worth the effort on moving the tank?

slim616
01-27-2008, 02:18 AM
a couple pics from today
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/rebuild%20project/1.jpg
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/rebuild%20project/2.jpg
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/rebuild%20project/3.jpg
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/rebuild%20project/4.jpg
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/rebuild%20project/5.jpg
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/rebuild%20project/6.jpg
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/rebuild%20project/7.jpg
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/rebuild%20project/8.jpg
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/rebuild%20project/9.jpg
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/rebuild%20project/10.jpg
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/rebuild%20project/11.jpg
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/rebuild%20project/12.jpg
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/rebuild%20project/13.jpg
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/rebuild%20project/14.jpg
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/rebuild%20project/15.jpg

cashflowdub
01-27-2008, 01:52 PM
what do you have a whole fleet of bobcats lol

Jeeperoni91
01-27-2008, 02:49 PM
you ought to take the skid plate and hitch off and sell them, along with the tube doors unless your going to use them for the new jeep

ILikeMud
01-27-2008, 06:38 PM
I got a bit of rust in the same spot on my ZJ.

sevenslats
01-27-2008, 10:40 PM
you ought to take the skid plate and hitch off and sell them, along with the tube doors unless your going to use them for the new jeep

And the sliders.

250rmike
01-27-2008, 10:45 PM
where at in maryland are you from? im in pasadena and am always looking for more people to go offroading with once i get everything squared away on my zj. btw zj looked good

96ZJ
01-28-2008, 01:16 AM
Try www.marylandcreepers.com

slim616
01-28-2008, 09:38 AM
you ought to take the skid plate and hitch off and sell them, along with the tube doors unless your going to use them for the new jeep

My camera died before I was able to take the last shots but the hitch, sliders, RE brackets and stuff are all gone now.


where at in maryland are you from? im in pasadena and am always looking for more people to go offroading with once i get everything squared away on my zj

I actually live up near Towson in Ruxton almost on the city/county line. When the rigs back together by april drop me a line because I usaly try to make it out at least once a month.


Try www.marylandcreepers.com (http://www.marylandcreepers.com/)

For the MDcreepers board i'm MD4wheelin. I actually hung out with a bunch of those guys at Big Dogs last september. Also if you get a chance check out this web site http://mrr4x4cforum.editboard.com/index.htm


what do you have a whole fleet of bobcats lol

Also please dont insult my NEWHOLLANDS by calling them Bobcats, thats like calling a clayton LA kit a Rockcrawler kit instead ;) I do alot of construction and grading so sometimes I have a couple jobs going at once so Thats why I have few of them. That and when it snows they fetch a good penny or two.

Jeeperoni91
01-28-2008, 04:43 PM
is everything going onto the new jeep from the old one

slim616
01-28-2008, 08:35 PM
For the most part. I'm reusing the RE barackets to do the long arms up front and then cutting up the back ones to do a custom 4 link rear. Also my buddy just gave me a dana 300 so it looks like i'm going to do a doubler setup.

slim616
01-29-2008, 05:28 PM
Today was a good day, Finished cutting off the brackets from the old jeep. So it looks like I'll start to install the long arms onto the new jeep this weekend. Also I figured out how i'm going to do the rear 4 link. I'm going to weld channel up the frame from right behind the front RE LA brackets to the back and then weld the lower CA mounts that I cut off the old RE brackets to that. Then i'm going to weld some square stock from rail to rail and mount the upper control arms to that and help stiffen up the unibody some sorta like the old RE cross bracket did.

slim616
02-03-2008, 10:08 PM
Got most the front suspension installed this weekened.
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/rebuild%20project/P2020039.jpg
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/rebuild%20project/P2020040.jpg
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/rebuild%20project/P2020041.jpg
heres were i'm cutting off the stock lower control arms
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/rebuild%20project/P2020042.jpg
Long arm brackets installed
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/rebuild%20project/P2020043.jpg
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/rebuild%20project/P2030051.jpg
feels good to be actually getting some of the parts back on the jeep.
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/rebuild%20project/P2030050.jpg
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/rebuild%20project/P2030052.jpg
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/rebuild%20project/P2030053.jpg
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/rebuild%20project/P2030054.jpg
looks kind of funny but atleast its on its way.
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/rebuild%20project/P2030055.jpg

Schwarttzy
02-08-2008, 03:17 PM
Sweet Setup man!

slim616
02-10-2008, 08:31 PM
Got some of the prep work done to get ready for the rear 4 link.
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/rebuild%20project/P2080059.jpg
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/rebuild%20project/P2080060.jpg
Had to chisel the rear tire off the drum due to rust even after getting all the lug nuts off.

Got the 8.8 stripped and began to make some templates for the coil bucket and lower CA.
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/rebuild%20project/P2080063.jpg
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/rebuild%20project/P2100067.jpg
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/rebuild%20project/P2100069.jpg
i'm going to try to get all the brackets cut this week so I can get the suspension all welded up this comming sat.

zj95maxx
02-10-2008, 08:43 PM
making your own brackets, really crunching the pennies eh? :D

slim616
02-10-2008, 09:20 PM
making your own brackets, really crunching the pennies eh? :D

like I said before, my money tree got mowed over when it was a sapling;)

That and it gives you a since of accomplishment when your finished.

zj95maxx
02-10-2008, 09:49 PM
iv thought about making my own brackets with an angle grinder and metal..but i think 45 bucks for brackets saves me the frustration of spending an hour and a half making the bastards.

MoonWorks
02-11-2008, 12:52 AM
That and it gives you a since of accomplishment when your finished.


Agreed! Plus $45 here and there adds up after a while.

Looks like you're making good progress! Keep it up.

slim616
02-11-2008, 09:27 AM
iv thought about making my own brackets with an angle grinder and metal..but i think 45 bucks for brackets saves me the frustration of spending an hour and a half making the bastards.

i'm using a plasma cutter that a freind is letting me use, so it shouldn't be to bad. I figure i'll just have to touch up the edges with a grinder whem i'm done.

slim616
03-02-2008, 02:20 AM
After running into some issues (got delayed on getting the plasma torch) I just went ahead and ordered some tabs from ballistic fab. Anyway I got the 8.8 tacked up for testfitment under the jeep.
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/rebuild%20project/P3010002.jpg
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/P3010004.jpg
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/P3010006.jpg
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/P3010008.jpg

zj95maxx
03-02-2008, 09:01 AM
are you using a 110 welder?

slim616
03-02-2008, 10:29 AM
yes and no, i'm using the 110 to tack and then I have a friend that is bringing over a big miller to put the monster beads on once i'm sure every thing is in the right place. Though I am using the smaller welder to weld the 4" box to the frame. I found with the lincon 3200 hd if you use power level c with a speed around 3 to 3.5, you get some good penitration with out blowing through the unibody.

slim616
03-02-2008, 09:41 PM
Allright got the axel under the jeep. Everything is tacked of now so I have to go back through and put the monster bead on everything.
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/rebuild%20project/P3020010.jpg
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/rebuild%20project/P3020012.jpg
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/rebuild%20project/P3020013.jpg
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/rebuild%20project/P3020014.jpg

zj95maxx
03-02-2008, 09:46 PM
those homemade brackets sure do look like ballistic!:smt116

how much extra lift do those things give, how much lift u gunna have?

slim616
03-02-2008, 11:15 PM
those homemade brackets sure do look like ballistic!:smt116

how much extra lift do those things give, how much lift u gunna have?

I don't know what your talking about:D As for the brackets i'm guessing from looking at them around a 1". Which should work well because it will off set the height I loose from all the gear I carry. Also I think i'm going to go with a 609 front axel. Any thoughts on this as far as good or bad. I think this would be the way to seeing that it has the weight of a 9" and the strength of a 60. I really dont need a 60 with 36's but to be honest i don't want to dump any money into a 30.

zj95maxx
03-02-2008, 11:21 PM
this gunna be ready for bigdogs? are you using the same brackets for the front?

slim616
03-02-2008, 11:35 PM
Thats my goal, come hell or high water it will be ready for big dogs. As for the front axel I'm not sure how i'm going to set it up. I'm going to do a little more research on it before I commit to a plan.

ZJ Pappy
03-03-2008, 03:00 AM
Also I think i'm going to go with a 609 front axel. Any thoughts on this as far as good or bad.

I say good idea. Like you said...you get the best of both worlds. Strength of D60 and weight savings/ground clearance of 9".

zj95maxx
03-07-2008, 04:19 PM
The guy who welds your shit is going to hate you. You should really sound down to bare metal anything you are going to be welding, and if you REALLY wanted to make it clean, rub it with acetone afterwards.

AgitatedPancake
03-07-2008, 05:37 PM
The guy who welds your shit is going to hate you. You should really sound down to bare metal anything you are going to be welding, and if you REALLY wanted to make it clean, rub it with acetone afterwards.

Ehh, if you put a wire wheel on an angle grinder, you can get right up in a corner and clean up both materials very nicely. I don't think it will be too much of a problem except for like the insides of the truss.

slim616
03-07-2008, 05:40 PM
The guy who welds your shit is going to hate you. You should really sound down to bare metal anything you are going to be welding, and if you REALLY wanted to make it clean, rub it with acetone afterwards.

actually that guy is me:D normally I would not put paint on it but after it got cleaned up it had to set out side in the weather for two weeks. So to keep it from rusting I threw a light coat of primer on it. I'm still learning how to weld so my welds are going to look ruff either way.

All right got the jeep back down on all four tires. Some of the welding needs to be finished up but the majority of it is finished.
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/rebuild%20project/P3060045.jpg
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/rebuild%20project/P3060044.jpg
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/rebuild%20project/P3060043.jpg
Now when I put the jeep back down on the ground I relized I had a problem in that the damn thing sets level without the motor and arb. I didn't relize that the brackets in the back were going to give me 2" - 3" more lift. I relize once I put all the gear in it will drop a 1" or so but i'm still going to have to run a 2" spacer up front to level it out some. so i'm guessing this is going to put me around 7" of lift wich is about right with 36" tires seeing I was rubbing pretty good at full flex at 6"

zj95maxx
03-18-2008, 02:28 PM
I have noticed on my claytons and stock brackets, the LCA and coil buckets are not on the same plane, the LCA is shifted to the side a bit, and on your ballistic bracket, the link and the bucket are lined up, cause any problems? just thought about it the other day, might be stupid thoughts.

slim616
03-24-2008, 10:23 PM
I have noticed on my claytons and stock brackets, the LCA and coil buckets are not on the same plane, the LCA is shifted to the side a bit, and on your ballistic bracket, the link and the bucket are lined up, cause any problems? just thought about it the other day, might be stupid thoughts.

to be honest i'm not sure. The only thing i see them affecting is with trianglelation thing by not being more trianglelated. I'll let you know how it works out once i get it on the road. as for updates things have been going slow do to the fact that i'm in the process of buying a new house. As of now it looks like i'll just have to run the little zj for the bigdogs event.

zj95maxx
03-24-2008, 11:00 PM
i figure the offset bracket would wear the bushing faster, unless you made the coil bucket offset and left the LCA alone..

slim616
03-30-2008, 08:45 PM
i figure the offset bracket would wear the bushing faster, unless you made the coil bucket offset and left the LCA alone..

if you offset the bucket to make the arms straight you would have the coil bummping into the side of bump stop bracket.

no pics yet, but i got the motor put in. Let me tell you getting that v8 in is like putting ten pounds of crap in a 5 pound bag. It turns over when I turn the key and the gauges seem to be working. As soon as I get the 242 installed and the new fuel lines I'll try to get it moving under its own power.

MoonWorks
03-30-2008, 10:54 PM
Its coming along. Got about a month left before icebreakers. :)

slim616
03-31-2008, 06:45 PM
Its coming along. Got about a month left before icebreakers. :)

doesn't look like it will be trail ready in time for Big dogs. probly will be put together but I would like to trail test one time up at RC before running it at a large event were everyone gets pissed off at you when you break down. So i'm just going to bring the small one down and run some easier trails. Though I will try to have it ready for the grand slam mid west in may.

slim616
04-01-2008, 09:01 PM
today was a good day, the 5.2 I swapped in fired up and ran today. looks like i may have it ready for big dogs after all minus the back being cut off and the roll cage installed.

slim616
04-13-2008, 09:35 PM
I got the rear axel finished up this weekend with the suck down winch. i like the idea now of being able to go from 9" to 5" of lift.
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/11.jpg
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/112.jpg
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/113.jpg
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/114.jpg
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/115.jpg
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/116.jpg
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/117.jpg
Still have to weld a pully up so i can double back the winch on itself but with the single line pull it worked pretty well.

napajeep
04-13-2008, 11:31 PM
I see you have RE long arms that you triangulated. Do you have any close up picks of how you did the rear upper body side mount?

Thanks

slim616
04-14-2008, 07:00 AM
in post 45 i have a pic that you can see it but I will get you a better one today.

slim616
05-13-2008, 10:05 PM
I have to make some new upper control arms for the rear. I'm kind of new to building control arms but i'm guessing the parts list would be as follows.
1.25 - 12 tpi tube adapter
2.63 flex joint with 9/16 hole with 1.25 stud
2.63 flex joint with 9/16 hole
tube to fit tube adapter
if i'm pricing this right off of ballistic fabs site, each control arm would be around $100 or so. Does this sound right?

As for an update I screwed up when I triangulated the shocks by triangulating it to much which solved the body roll prob but made it ride like crap. As for everything else ive been slacking do to the fact that work has been taking up almost all my time.

MoonWorks
05-14-2008, 09:52 PM
I see that your factory bump stops are now mounted beside the suck down winch. Are those the only bump stops you're running or are those only used as a stop to keep from busting your winch on impact?

If those are you only stops you might want to flex it b/c they're too far inboard to be effective. But if they are there as an extra to keep from hitting your winch on the truss it's probably fine.

slim616
05-15-2008, 07:15 AM
that stop is to keep the winch from getting busted up. I am going to put the stops back in the factory location once I get the probs with the suspension worked out and can figure out how tall the stops need to be. Right now I need to build some new upper control arms so I can try to get the body centered over the rear axel.

slim616
06-10-2008, 10:29 PM
got the skid plate finished last week before going to big dogs.
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/rebuild%20project/sk1.jpg
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/rebuild%20project/sk2.jpg

http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/rebuild%20project/sk3.jpg

http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/rebuild%20project/sk4.jpg
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/rebuild%20project/sk5.jpg
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/rebuild%20project/skid8.jpg
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/rebuild%20project/skid7.jpg
I know its a bit of a overkill at almost 80# but It really serves several dutys in the way it protecs the TC from just about anything and it also keeps the sheathed frame rails in place and not flexing around. Also it will keep my crossmember from bending again from rock impacts. As for the rest of jeep it did well at bigdogs, it ran the harder trails but not the standards I wanted. Looks like i'm going to have to redesign alot of things to get it to climb a little smoother. First major thing will be to move the winch into the body of the jeep to allow more up travel. Second will be to cut the spring perches in the back and reweld them so that there almost flush with the axel getting rid of almost 3" of lift. Also I have alot of play in the four link so i'm going to have to figure how to get rid of that. Also I need to do something with the exaust. i really dislike the way it hangs down so low as it comes under the oil pan, thats a disater waiting to happen.

zj95maxx
06-10-2008, 11:38 PM
holy shit dude, think those welds are gunna hold?

grandmaster
06-11-2008, 02:41 AM
no kidding, im not the best welder of the bunch, but i think im capable of better then that. In the 5th picture down your welds look to cold from what i can see (which isnt much) and from there down they just get more shitty. I hate to bag on other people junk, but i really like your effort on trying. But maybe you should practice before you attempt something like that.

slim616
06-11-2008, 06:54 AM
never said I was a pro at welding but I do know enough to know those are not cold welds. If they fail i'll cut them off and start over again, no big deal.

jeepdude25
06-11-2008, 07:33 AM
Hey what ever happened to those tube style doors you had on there, I want a set for the front of my ZJ and I cant find them anywhere do you still have them and want to get rid of them?????:D

zj95maxx
06-11-2008, 09:16 AM
really looks like your not prepping the area you are welding. Sand it down, make it clean. Prepping what you are welding can be the factor ina good weld and a shitty weld. But if you think they are going to hold than thats all that matters.

slim616
06-11-2008, 10:15 AM
I think your right on the prepping thing. I noticed were it was real clean the thing laid a good bead. Then were there was a little bit of rust it started popping and really looking like shit. You are right I wouldn't bet my life that my welds will hold (hence why I haven't tried the bumper thing) but they have held to some good hits. As for the tube doors I still have them but I really don't even think they would be worth the money to ship them out to you. they were my first attemp at welding/putting tube together so up close there kind of ruff looking. Once I get the hang of my tube bender I got i'll see what I can do for you.

zj95maxx
06-11-2008, 11:44 AM
can we get a pic of the entire jeep?

tywilson88
06-11-2008, 01:23 PM
no kidding, im not the best welder of the bunch, but i think im capable of better then that. In the 5th picture down your welds look to cold from what i can see (which isnt much) and from there down they just get more shitty. I hate to bag on other people junk, but i really like your effort on trying. But maybe you should practice before you attempt something like that.
that is what i was thinking... you need to turn the heat sall the way up on your welder, and turn the speed down to like 60% and burn into that thick ass steel. and clean the area being welded before welding. and make sure you have a good ground, 95% of the time a bad weld will come from a bad ground.

MoonWorks
06-11-2008, 02:09 PM
95% of the time a bad weld will come from a bad weld.


Great wisdom this one has! Retard...haha :)

tywilson88
06-11-2008, 02:15 PM
Great wisdom this one has! Retard...haha :)
why dont you chomp on my dick. you know that was just mistyped.

good job trying to be cool, making fun of something that could easily be understood.

slim616
06-11-2008, 05:02 PM
the reason i didn't think it was a cold weld was because I was using a huge welder turned all the way up. Damn thing was almost 4 foot tall by 3 foot wide. But I never thought about the ground thing, I figured if you got a spark it was grounded. I really want to take one of those welding classes but it seems that they never start late enough in the evening were I wouldn't have to knock off work early.

NIK5.9
06-11-2008, 05:29 PM
Did you grind down the area before you welded?

Skyline
06-12-2008, 03:58 PM
the reason i didn't think it was a cold weld was because I was using a huge welder turned all the way up. Damn thing was almost 4 foot tall by 3 foot wide. But I never thought about the ground thing, I figured if you got a spark it was grounded. I really want to take one of those welding classes but it seems that they never start late enough in the evening were I wouldn't have to knock off work early.
Go to the Miller web site, and check the on-line tutorials. There are quite a few, and may help you a bit. Also, check out the welding book from the Monster Garage series...I think the name is How to Weld Damn Near Anything. Actually, this book has almost nothing to do with the TV series, and is written by a pro aircraft welder.

slim616
06-21-2008, 06:30 PM
all right did a little work on the jeep to day and was able to work out a way to get a little more air through the jeep.
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/choping%20back/chop1.jpg
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/choping%20back/chop2.jpg
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/choping%20back/chop3.jpg
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/choping%20back/chop4.jpg
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/choping%20back/chop5.jpg
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/choping%20back/chop6.jpg
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/choping%20back/chop7.jpg
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/choping%20back/chop8.jpg
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/choping%20back/chop9.jpg
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/choping%20back/chop11.jpg
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/choping%20back/chop12.jpg

BigDaveZJ
06-21-2008, 06:58 PM
You driven it yet? Make sure you reinforce the unibody before you do.

slim616
06-21-2008, 07:08 PM
You driven it yet? Make sure you reinforce the unibody before you do.

wont be moving it, till it has the full cage welded in and I come up with a way to mount the tail gate. (dont worry my buddy is helping with the welding;) )

Also I began to work on the floor to get it ready weld in the tool/storage area.
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/choping%20back/floor1.jpg
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/choping%20back/floor2.jpg
What I want to do is take the area where the rear seats were and make that the storage area. Kind of how it was when the seats were in but bigger. I'm going to weld in a piece of steel along the sheet metal that was underneath the rear seat and make it the same height as the rear cargo area. Then when I refloor the cargo area i'm going to take the metal all the way cross to connect with other metal I welded in. this way it makes a box which I will cut a door in on the top and add some hinges. this way I can store air tools and axels and stuff out of the way and I dont have to worry about them bouncing around in a roll over.

BigDaveZJ
06-21-2008, 07:53 PM
Definitely anxious to see what you come up with here as storage has been a big issue for me ever since I hacked the back off.

nate
06-21-2008, 11:27 PM
I have plans to do something similar, though I was going to use plywood and go across the whole back. That way I'd have room for my spare too. All the junk would fit in there and I could use the flat floor to sleep on instead of worrying about getting attacked by bears sleeping in a tent. :) Also a place for the dog to hang out while I'm driving since the front seat is too small for him.

Tommy
06-22-2008, 02:22 AM
I am to very intersted on what you do with your cage. I am contemplating doing something similar after my fordyce trip. I might as well get rid of all the glass with exception of the Winshield. I want to extend my cage similar to this for when I flop it. Ihttp://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c45/Jeep-in-dna/P1100354.jpg

Sudz
06-22-2008, 10:14 AM
what is the purpose of doing this? - weight reduction? - uniqueness? - you were buzzed and the sawzall just happened to be nearby and it was plugged in?

i use my cargo for storage - keeps my shit dry and secure - why not just get a wrangler?

not bustin - just curious why grand owners do this :smt017


good luck with the build joe


subscribed

edit: spelling

slim616
06-22-2008, 11:37 AM
what is the purpose of doing this? - weight reduction? - uniqueness? - you were buzzed and the sawzall just happened to be nearby and it was plugged in?

i use my cargo for storage - keeps my shit dry and secure - why not just get a wranger?

not bustin - just curious why grand owners do this :smt017


good luck with the build joe


subscribed

no beer was involved when I was cutting it. Now afterword I had a long talk with the captain. As for the cut there was alot of reasons.

1. Less glass to break in a roll over
2. I cant count how many times on the other rig I hit that area with trees or was worried about blowing a window out from a limb as it was leaning over.
3. Less like an oven inside on the trails
4 will give me more room to mount the full size spare in the back on the roll cage. Sort of like the trucks have the spares mounted in the bed.
5. Dont have to mess with tailgate to retrieve tools, air hoses and recovery equipment. Also when your twisted up the tailgate is a real pain in the ass to open and close.
6. Love the look
7. Rig is 99% trail rig that is usaly tarped at home because the doors are off.
8.buying a wrangler would be to easy

your right though if I were using this as a vehical that I need to drive to work or even used a few times a week, I wouldn't have cut the back off.

Tommy I really like that Idea of having somewhat of an exo cage to help with those flops seeing that it will happen if your running the piss out of your rig. I was originaly going to go somewhat with atlzj setup modified to fit the spare in the back but now I think I may do a combination of that pic and his.

Sudz
06-22-2008, 02:17 PM
10-4

SuicideTireZJ
06-22-2008, 02:27 PM
no beer was involved when I was cutting it. Now afterword I had a long talk with the captain. As for the cut there was alot of reasons.

1. Less glass to break in a roll over
2. I cant count how many times on the other rig I hit that area with trees or was worried about blowing a window out from a limb as it was leaning over.
3. Less like an oven inside on the trails
4 will give me more room to mount the full size spare in the back on the roll cage. Sort of like the trucks have the spares mounted in the bed.
5. Dont have to mess with tailgate to retrieve tools, air hoses and recovery equipment. Also when your twisted up the tailgate is a real pain in the ass to open and close.
6. Love the look
7. Rig is 99% trail rig that is usaly tarped at home because the doors are off.
8.buying a wrangler would be to easy

your right though if I were using this as a vehical that I need to drive to work or even used a few times a week, I wouldn't have cut the back off.

Tommy I really like that Idea of having somewhat of an exo cage to help with those flops seeing that it will happen if your running the piss out of your rig. I was originaly going to go somewhat with atlzj setup modified to fit the spare in the back but now I think I may do a combination of that pic and his.

Great explanation. I'm not sure if it's because we have been getting a lot of fuckwads on the forums lately, but a well-thought out, mature response to a question is a breath of fresh air on here.

And Tommy, you got any pictures of the back of that thing? Is that the guy in Colorado?

zj95maxx
06-22-2008, 04:59 PM
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c45/Jeep-in-dna/P1100373.jpg
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c45/Jeep-in-dna/P1100336.jpg

Tommy
06-22-2008, 10:48 PM
Off of pirate... I am partial to keeping most of the back together at this point. I am not going to go as far as this guy has, at least not yet. I also want to raise the tank in the back like the bling bling ZJ and lay my spare tire flat. Plan on cleaning up my rear. After my fordyce trip I am taking the zj apart to get it ready for moab ejs. I have a few mods I am going to do so my build thread should pick up after sept.

My TR bumpers will be for sale, and my TR tank skid....

I dont want to high jack this thread, sorry... Keep up the good work.

ILikeMud
06-23-2008, 10:13 AM
Also chopping the top removes quite a bit of weight from up high.
Let's face it, ZJs are very top heavy.

slim616
06-23-2008, 01:13 PM
Also chopping the top removes quite a bit of weight from up high.
Let's face it, ZJs are very top heavy.

It was around 60# in weight.

as for cages what do you all think of this one minus some of the inside cage behind the driver?

[img]http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/gallery/files/3/1/6/2/1/DSC02883.JPG[img]
[img]http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/gallery/files/3/1/6/2/1/DSC02880.JPG[img]

BigDaveZJ
06-23-2008, 01:15 PM
I'm planning on an exo similar to that with mine, but I will be putting a hoop inside for the b-pillar for added strength.

ILikeMud
06-23-2008, 02:17 PM
It was around 60# in weight.

as for cages what do you all think of this one minus some of the inside cage behind the driver?

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/gallery/files/3/1/6/2/1/DSC02883.JPG
http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/gallery/files/3/1/6/2/1/DSC02880.JPG

Fixed the pics.
Vetteboy's cage is pretty damn sweet.

slim616
06-23-2008, 09:35 PM
thanks ILikeMud, As for the cage I guess if i'm going that route i'm going have to cut kevins sliders and cut the rockers so I can extend the new sliders out to be able to tie in the exo cage up front behind the fender. I guess i'll have to start doing some research on that.

Also I got a line on a 231 with a 4 to 1 kit installed along with A.A. sye for 1100. what doo you all think about that deal, good, or bad.

or should I look into flipping a dana 300 so I can go with the 4 to 1 and have the twin stick option for digs and stuff?

SirFuego
06-23-2008, 10:00 PM
or should I look into flipping a dana 300 so I can go with the 4 to 1 and have the twin stick option for digs and stuff?
After riding with the buggies on Saturday and watching them on Sunday at Big Dogs, I realized how valuable a twin stick is. Front digs are pretty sweet.

Plus, for steep decents, you can put it in front wheel drive low, pull up the E-brake and let the rear tires just slide down the hill while the fronts are still able to steer since they are spinning.

slim616
06-23-2008, 10:16 PM
thats a good point about the twin stick that I didn't think about.

update on the 231, just had someone else email and they said they had one with the same set up for 900 obo. Only thing its set up for a 4cyl but i'm guessing that don't matter since i'm swapping out input shafts right?

MoonWorks
06-24-2008, 01:18 AM
After riding with the buggies on Saturday and watching them on Sunday at Big Dogs, I realized how valuable a twin stick is. Front digs are pretty sweet.

Plus, for steep decents, you can put it in front wheel drive low, pull up the E-brake and let the rear tires just slide down the hill while the fronts are still able to steer since they are spinning.

I would agree with Jarod on his first point on digs plus the fact that you could do it all for about the same price probably.

I disagree with his second statement as I wouldn't want to just drag the rear end. Gear it low and let it slow you down as much as possible without brakes. Plus you are in more contol here. I've seens guys that are geared properly have to give it gas to speed it up just a little to come down a ledge/hill etc.

slim616
06-27-2008, 10:41 PM
Okay trying to get this cage thing worked out. I'm trying to tie in the cage like vettboy did with his. I figured before I start cutting I better figure out if i'm on the right track. Let me see if I can explain this. The red in the pic is the 4x4 that i'm welding in as the rocker and the blue is the tube.
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/rocker.jpg
What i want to do is bring the tube down right next to the door hinges and recessed into unibody so it can meet up with the rocker. from the look of it there is going to be quite a bit of cutting and welding of the main unibody to get that tube down through there. So the question is should I go ahead and do this or will I be messing up the integrity of the body by trying to get that tube down through there.

SirFuego
06-27-2008, 11:08 PM
Joe, I used 5x2 box steel for my rockers. They are flush with the floorboards and here is a pic showing how far it sticks out. I'm pretty sure not enough is sticking out to weld tubing to it -- meaning that you would probably need to cut into the body like you mentioned with only a 4" width.

http://www.wnyoffroad.com/thegallery/data/media/18/DSC00200.JPG

slim616
06-28-2008, 09:46 PM
Think I may of come up with another way to get the tube down the A pillar and still keep the integrity of it. what if I took a larger pipe cut it in half and then used that in the notch to reinforce the A pillar. This way the exo cage and the A pillar are two seperate pieces. sort of how the notch the crossmembers to allow the front driveshaft to drop down.

slim616
06-30-2008, 08:21 PM
Allright I began on the rockers today which is basicaly the first step in putting the cage in.
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/rebuild%20project/rocker1.jpg
I was worried about cutting the A pillar and loosing some strength but after I cut the rocker I found out the whole bottom part of it had rusted away. so I guess that solves that problem.
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/rebuild%20project/rocker2.jpg
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/rebuild%20project/rocker3.jpg
Also got the base for the tube bender mounted. I drove four pieces of rebar into the dirt to keep the concrete from twisting in the ground.
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/rebuild%20project/bender1.jpg
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/rebuild%20project/bender2.jpg

MoonWorks
07-01-2008, 12:14 AM
You ended up going with the JD2 I guess?

slim616
07-01-2008, 07:17 AM
I ended up getting the protool 105. Ive had it since march but never got around to putting it together because I wasn't ready to do the cage.

slim616
07-06-2008, 09:06 PM
Got some more done today on the rockers
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/rockers/rocker11.jpg
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/rockers/rocker12.jpg
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/rockers/rocker13.jpg
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/rockers/rocker14.jpg
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/rockers/rocker16.jpg
had a rain storm today and relized I had to drill some holes in the floor for water.
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/rockers/rocker15.jpg

ILikeMud
07-12-2008, 10:30 PM
I like those rockers man.
Might have to redo mine.

slim616
07-13-2008, 08:16 PM
Thanks mud I really like them because of how sturdy they are. With them being flush against the bottom of the pillars I think they really strengthedup those pillars. Without them being welded I was able to jack up the jeep. My main concern is with the exo cage being welded to it that it wont be pushed down in a roll over. I'm hoping that between the 3 legs that are 2x2 box and the wing that comes off the RE long arms should be enough to keep it in place.
Saturday I got the rear 8.8 up to speed.
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/rebuild%20project/rearoutagain.jpg
we cut 2" out of the spring mounts and welded the 8.8 carrier up plus got all the slop out of the 4 link. Plus I'm in the process of moving the rear suck down winch inside the cab.
Today I got the other rock slider on and worked on the floor. At 1/8 inch thick I shouldn't have any probs welding stuff to them.
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/rebuild%20project/floor.jpg
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/rebuild%20project/floor4.jpg
got the templates ready to do the little cubby holes on the sides.
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/rebuild%20project/floor2.jpg
got the front piece of metal cut for the storage boxes
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/rebuild%20project/floor3.jpg

MoonWorks
07-13-2008, 09:48 PM
Good progress Joe! Keep it up.

SirFuego
07-13-2008, 10:29 PM
I was worried about cutting the A pillar and loosing some strength but after I cut the rocker I found out the whole bottom part of it had rusted away. so I guess that solves that problem.
Welcome to my world...

ILikeMud
07-13-2008, 11:12 PM
Ever thought about running a bar up into the pillars and plug welding it to add a bit of strenght?
I thought about doing it with my rockers but never did.

slim616
07-15-2008, 10:43 PM
All right got the rest of the tool box and floor tacked in today.
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/floor5.jpg
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/floor4.jpg
Also started bending the tube for the rocker panels. Let me tell you the whole learning curve on bending this tube sucks.


Ever thought about running a bar up into the pillars and plug welding it to add a bit of strenght?

That actaully seems like a prety good idea but I guess I'm beyond that point to be abel to do that with the rocker welded in under the pillars.

slim616
07-16-2008, 08:31 PM
Finished bending the tube for the sliders today
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/finishedslider.jpg

grandmaster
07-16-2008, 08:38 PM
Turned out really nice, good work.

SirFuego
07-16-2008, 08:39 PM
Lookin good, Joe! I like the tool storage compartment where the rear seats used to be.

Dirtdiver
07-16-2008, 10:45 PM
I like them rockers, turned out really clean.

MoonWorks
07-16-2008, 11:40 PM
Toolbox makes a good place for DD to stand too! :) haha

zj95maxx
07-17-2008, 12:57 AM
Looks good, looks just like mine turned out and I love mine. I wish I made my bar come out more likes yours.

Looks like you are getting the hang of the bender. Once you figure out that it is actually super simple to work, it's cake.

BTW if you need any help on working the bender in case you come across a problem, I am pretty handy with mine so I might be able to lend some advice. Let me know.

Jeep looks good.

slim616
07-17-2008, 09:05 AM
Thanks everyone for the compliments. One prob i ran into with the sliders which was a total newb welding mistake was that I went and tacked the sliders in flush were I wanted them with the bottom of the rockers. Then when I went back to weld them I didnt factor in the part about the welds shrinking when they cood off. to make along story short when the welds cooled off it pulled the bar down leaving a slight gap between the slider and the pillars :smt011 I'm hoping now that the bar will just get bent up a little the first couple of times I drop the jeep down on a couple of rocks.
Also Ive been doing alot of practicing with the welder and have learned to be able to control the pool a lot better to get better looking welds. well at least when i'm over top of them. That and some one showed me I was holding the gun too far away and that the gas was not always reaching the weld. kind of why I could weld nice for a inch or two then it would go to shit for a while then go back to nice. I still can't seem to get the nack of welding over head were you have a small gap to fill in between the to pieces of metal. I guess its all a matter of practice, I'm hopping by the time this thing is finished and I move one to the next that i'll have worked out all the kinks with my welding.

Also max I'm going to take you up on that offer. I kind of figured out the basics but I still have a long way to go to be able to build the cage. By chance could I bribe you with all the crabs you can eat for comming up and giving me a hand with building the cage:D

slim616
07-17-2008, 09:11 AM
Toolbox makes a good place for DD to stand too! :) haha

lol your right, I allready caught grief about not having a seat in the jeep for dd so i'm going to have to figure out some way to mount a seat back there for her. only thing is that I have to extra careful that she's not in the jeep when their is a chance of a flop because her being thrown out. I was thinking doggy seat belts but i'm not sure how she would react to them.

zj95maxx
07-17-2008, 12:10 PM
Thanks everyone for the compliments. One prob i ran into with the sliders which was a total newb welding mistake was that I went and tacked the sliders in flush were I wanted them with the bottom of the rockers. Then when I went back to weld them I didnt factor in the part about the welds shrinking when they cood off. to make along story short when the welds cooled off it pulled the bar down leaving a slight gap between the slider and the pillars :smt011 I'm hoping now that the bar will just get bent up a little the first couple of times I drop the jeep down on a couple of rocks.
Also Ive been doing alot of practicing with the welder and have learned to be able to control the pool a lot better to get better looking welds. well at least when i'm over top of them. That and some one showed me I was holding the gun too far away and that the gas was not always reaching the weld. kind of why I could weld nice for a inch or two then it would go to shit for a while then go back to nice. I still can't seem to get the nack of welding over head were you have a small gap to fill in between the to pieces of metal. I guess its all a matter of practice, I'm hopping by the time this thing is finished and I move one to the next that i'll have worked out all the kinks with my welding.

Also max I'm going to take you up on that offer. I kind of figured out the basics but I still have a long way to go to be able to build the cage. By chance could I bribe you with all the crabs you can eat for comming up and giving me a hand with building the cage:D

haha how about YOU come down HERE!

or if you think it would help, I could send you my copy of bend tech pro to use. But to be honest, I built my whole cage without using it. I wish I could remake my cage just to get it more the way I want it. Not that it isn't how i want it now, but I know what NOT to do on my next cage.

slim616
07-20-2008, 02:59 PM
well After getting the wheeling itch today I decided to take the rig out for a light test run @ RC. With out the cage being in I decided to not to mess with anything that could put me in a roll over situation. Ie no off camber hill climbs. Didn't get many pics but the jeep did great. it really nice not to have to drag your sliders across every rock. I was able to do stout with out even having to back up one time
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/as2.jpg
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/AS1.jpg
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/as3.jpg
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/as4.jpg

as a side note the body did not flex at all between the skid plate and the 4" channel I have running between the frame were the factory bumpstops were. Though I don't think i'll take it out again with out the cage being in just because the roof is so damn flimsy looking and would probly not hold up to even a light flop.

slim616
08-03-2008, 09:19 PM
All right got some work done on the cage.
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/choping%20back/cage1.jpg
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/choping%20back/cage2.jpg
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/choping%20back/cage3.jpg
Before I get flamed on how high did the rear x. i did it so when i mount the spare tire on it, I will still be able to see under the tire and out the back when I need to back up.
Started to work on the B hoop but ran out of time before I could finish welding in all the bars.
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/choping%20back/cage4.jpg
Yes I know this is kind of a getto way to build a cage but I don't have a garage to work out of.
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/choping%20back/notcher.jpg
a couple of previews of how its going to look for the internal cage.
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/choping%20back/cage5.jpg
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/choping%20back/cage6.jpg
I had an extra magnet of one of my skid steers laying around and figured I'd throw it on the jeep so it could be a tax write off :) I still have a lot of triangulating to do and i have take apart the rear cage so I can weld a 4x4 plates to the bottom of the pillars but it seams like its comming together. But i'll tell you what that notcher makes life real easy. I had to use a grinder to notch the middle bar on the B pillar and it sucked. Not only did it take to long, it wasn't perfect.

dp96zj
08-04-2008, 12:03 AM
Wow that turned out SWEET! mounting the spare up there definitely looks like a good idea.

BigDaveZJ
08-04-2008, 12:08 AM
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/as4.jpg




Seatbelt?

97 zj Steve
08-04-2008, 07:33 AM
nice wheelings pictures and the cage is looking amazing!! :best:

slim616
08-04-2008, 10:12 AM
i normally wear the seat belt but I was paranoid that if I rolled over that the roof would cave in and with the seat belt being on it would not let me duck down. But yes you are right, you should wear the belts at all times or you get what happened to that one guy on extreme 4x4 a few weeks back. I can't belive he didn't get his fingers cut off when the jeep rolled over. But I will be ordering some seats seats with the 5 point harness here in the next few weeks so you won't be seeing any more pics like that.

slim616
08-17-2008, 11:03 PM
All right finally got around to posting some pics up of the 8.8 skid I made. I based it off the rocket design. With it being 3/8" plate I don't have to worry about it holding up.
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/rebuild%20project/881.jpg
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/rebuild%20project/882.jpg
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/rebuild%20project/883.jpg
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/rebuild%20project/884.jpg
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/rebuild%20project/885.jpg
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/rebuild%20project/886.jpg
Also got around to finally swapping out the 249 for a 242, now I finally have 2wd :mn:
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/rebuild%20project/tc2.jpg
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/rebuild%20project/tc1.jpg
hmmm looks like the parts are starting to build up in the yard
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/rebuild%20project/tc3.jpg
a look at the different size input shafts from a v8 to a I6. The v8 input shaft being the larger one
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/rebuild%20project/tc4.jpg
Also got some wheeling in last week up at RC. The skid plates and rockers took some real hard hits. Good thing was after it was all said and done they came through with flying colors. Heres a shot of the rockers taking a heavy hit. this one kind of pissed me off because i dented the tube on the sliders.
http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g302/Ticothejeepman/Club%20related%20photos/IMG_0654.jpg
I ran the rig hard this run to shake out some more probs. First major prob I ran into was not being able to make hard left hand turns but being able to make a hell of a left. After looking at the front axel for a few moments it dawned on me that my front track bar is 3" to 4" to short. I guess i'll be chopping it and extending it a bit to get the front end centered over the axel. Also I relized my gearing sucks but because it seams like i'm leaping over the rocks instead of crawling them. Though it looks like i'll just have to live with this till i get the d60's swaped in some time this winter with the lower gears. Also hopefuly when i swap these in I'll be able to fix the piss poor steering with some hydro assist.

MyNameIsJerry
08-20-2008, 04:21 PM
I love it. What axle do you have up front?

SirFuego
08-20-2008, 04:24 PM
Can't wait to see this in action at Big Dogs...

slim616
08-20-2008, 06:15 PM
thanks, I still have alot of work to get done before Big Dogs, i'm trying my best to get it finished in time. As for the front axel its a locked d30, I know a ticking time bomb with 36's. But i have a set of D60's waiting to be built and go under the jeep this winter when the funds catch up some.

grandmaster
08-20-2008, 09:47 PM
That's a pretty sweet picture, its been a while sense i looked at this thread, but it looks good man.

dangerousdave
08-20-2008, 11:22 PM
the rig looks sweet. i really like the back chop. Is the front of the 8.8 skid catching on anything since its not bent upwards?

ILikeMud
08-21-2008, 09:23 AM
Facking bad ass man!

slim616
08-21-2008, 08:12 PM
i messed up a bit when I was welding the front bolts on. I left to much play in between the front bar and diff which alowed the skid to shift back about 2" or so. So I took the winch and bent it back and i'll cut off the front bolts and move them closer to the diff to get the play out. As for the front of the skid it as caught a few times, I can tell this from the edge being rounded over, but it has not caught to the point were it has caused a prob.

Thanks mud but it whould of really been bad ass if you would of sold me that doubler kit of yours :D

ILikeMud
08-22-2008, 04:41 PM
Sorry man, haha. I had someone locally grab it.
I have no jeep stuff anymore :(

slim616
08-25-2008, 09:55 PM
all right with three weeks till big dogs I guess i'm under the gun to get this damn thing ready.
first on the hit list was to get the front axel centered under the jeep by extending the front track bar which was extended all the way out.
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/rebuild%20project/tb1.jpg
figured I would plug the tube with some solid round stock
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/rebuild%20project/tb2.jpg
then put another tube over top of it for added strength.
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/rebuild%20project/tb3.jpg
Then I had to extend the shift rail on the x-fer case so i could go through all the ranges.
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/rebuild%20project/shifter.jpg
then I han to cut out some of shifter bracket to allow the xfer case to go into 2wd.
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/rebuild%20project/shifter2.jpg
Also took some time out to cook on the grill
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/rebuild%20project/grill2.jpg
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/rebuild%20project/grill1.jpg
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/rebuild%20project/grill3.jpg
Also got the bracket fabed up to bolt inside the cab for the suck down winch. I know the 3/8" steel is a little over kill but it was free.
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/rebuild%20project/sw1.jpg
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/rebuild%20project/sw2.jpg
The welds are starting to look alot better.
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/rebuild%20project/sw3.jpg
final product
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/rebuild%20project/sw4.jpg
One more thing done on the check list 200 more to go.

slim616
08-26-2008, 08:50 PM
All right began ripping the rear of the jeep apart
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/junkpile.jpg
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/reartear2.jpg
after dropping the tank I decided to hell with I'm not putting it back in. i'm going to go with tthe fuel cell.
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/reartear.jpg
Now the question Is what fuel cell to go with. i'm looking for something that is almost plug and play, i.e. dropping in the fuel pump from the old tank running a few lines and having the thing work. I need to to keep the tank smaller then 24"L x 12"W x 16" T I'm guessing this will put me in the 10 to 15 gallon range. Any suggestions on were to look for a fair price on something like this?

MyNameIsJerry
08-26-2008, 09:13 PM
I don't know anything about fuel cells but you could try Summit or Jeg's. Probably not the best source, but its a start.

zj95
08-26-2008, 09:31 PM
lookin foreward to see your fuel cell... i want to raise my gas tank someday to but i really dont want the stock akward shaped pos back in it

slim616
09-01-2008, 09:04 PM
All right let me just point out to everyone that tube bending sucks. It really sucks when you have off camber bends, maybe sucks is too nice of a word. After this weekened I can really see why people just loose it and begin to kill people. After 8 hrs and one vice later I came up with this
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/P8310015.jpg
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/P8310016.jpg
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/P8310017.jpg
This is the second harbor freight vice I broke, this pic should be one of those fail pics. I finally got wise and went to home cheapo and got a real vice.
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/P8310018.jpg
Day two I got I got the cross tubes in but i'm not sure if i like were the A bar ended up. I'm kind of worried in a roll over that the top of the windshield could take a hit.
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/P9010020.jpg
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/P9010022.jpg
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/P9010027.jpg
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/P9010019.jpg
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/P9010021.jpg
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/P9010023.jpg
I really want to move the a bar down some to protect the windshield but it creates a but load of probs with trying to bend the pipe to clear the top of the windshield and be level for the x comming from the b pillar. Is it worth the effort of moving it forward or should I just leave it were it is for now.

96ZJ
09-01-2008, 09:21 PM
Not a pro or anything, but I would say to put a couple small bends near the ends of a piece of tube for the a bar. then if you need to you could put a couple small bends in one end your cross tubes. I could explain better in person with hand motions :D

slim616
09-01-2008, 09:54 PM
Not a pro or anything, but I would say to put a couple small bends near the ends of a piece of tube for the a bar. then if you need to you could put a couple small bends in one end your cross tubes. I could explain better in person with hand motions :D

easier said then done when you figure in having the angels match up with the bends on both side bars. By the way are you on the creepers forum, if so i'm md4wheelin on that board.

96ZJ
09-01-2008, 09:56 PM
I am. Same name there. Was on a trail ride with you at Ice Breakers this year too.

dp96zj
09-01-2008, 10:54 PM
Nice looking cage. Definitely looks like that windshield will be shattered after a good roll. Oh well, one step closer to buggy!


Here ya go:

http://i248.photobucket.com/albums/gg186/dp91990/P8310018copy-1.jpg

slim616
09-02-2008, 07:01 PM
true that ^

anyway i just decided i'm going to man up and bend a new new piece of tube to fit the top of the windshield better. After really looking at it and going through pics of other rigs i'm not really happy with the way it turned out. Alot of rookie mistakes with the angels. i think what i'll do is run the exo for now and plan on redoing it next year to fit the cab alot tighter.

geesaw
09-03-2008, 08:52 PM
Hate to tell you, but the Homo Depot vises aren't too much better, at least mine wasn't.

slim616
09-07-2008, 10:38 PM
all right got some more done even with the rain and cookout. I pulled out the vic and fbaricated a plate that bolts back into its place giving a place to mount all the electric switches for various things.
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/rebuild%20project/cp3.jpg
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/rebuild%20project/cp1.jpg
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/rebuild%20project/cp2.jpg
also got a chance to tie in the d pillar to the unibody.
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/rebuild%20project/P9040013.jpg
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/rebuild%20project/P9040014.jpg
give you an idea how thin the old floor was compared to the one I welded in.
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/rebuild%20project/P9040015.jpg
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/rebuild%20project/P9040017.jpg
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/rebuild%20project/P9070026.jpg
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/rebuild%20project/P9070028.jpg
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/rebuild%20project/P9070033.jpg
its always a good day when the ups man stops by
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/rebuild%20project/gt1.jpg
looks like i'll have a 19"x19" area to mount a waterproof box in between the fuel cell, winch, and OBA tank
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/rebuild%20project/P9070034.jpg
with as much captain as i drink you think they would sponsor my jeep with a little more.
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/rebuild%20project/capt.jpg

SuicideTireZJ
09-07-2008, 11:21 PM
Not bad. I know the suck-down winch won't be holding much, but I don't think a couple small gussets would hurt.

I like the switch panel in the VIC. I'll probably be doing something similar soon, but with a small CB and a couple switches.

slim616
09-08-2008, 02:47 PM
I thought about it then got in a rush and never got around to doing it. But I think your right 4 small gussets for at least the top part will definitly not hurt. It seams like this list for big dogs just keeps getting bigger instead of smaller.

SirFuego
09-15-2008, 05:35 PM
It's getting close! She gonna be ready for this weekend?

slim616
09-15-2008, 10:57 PM
Lets just say its going to be close. Got alot done just haven't got a chance to post some pics.
the list of whats left for big dogs
-truss suck down winch
-mount 4 rock lights to skid plate
-weld cb anntena tab
-mount cb
-fill xfer case
- weld tab on drive shaft
-glue treds
-secure electric lines
- weld tie downs in cargo area
- finsh welding tool box
-mount OBA tank
-clean
- fix 8.8 skid (weld two front bolts on)
- weld wings from front CA braket to rockers
- weld exocage in
- mount xcase skid
- paint cage
hmmmmm with 2 days left that list sucks

But the good thing is i got the jeep running today off of the fuel cell so at least it can make it to big dogs under its own power.

slim616
09-25-2008, 06:57 PM
Got some pics of before I left for Big Dogs. Didn't get any at Big Dogs do to the fact that I got about 40 min of wheelin in do to the fact that I broke 3 dana 30 shafts. But on the up side I gave the welded 8.8 hell and it took all I could dish out to it.

heres a few of the switch board as I was installing it.
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/cp1.jpg
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/cp2.jpg

Right now I have the two winches ran through it, then I have the Master cut off,OBA,aux electric fan on the top row, then on the bottom I have front fog lights, front and back ground lights, and rear fog lights on the bottom row.

I redid the front of the exo cage to better protect the windshield
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/fc1.jpg
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/fc2.jpg
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/fc3.jpg
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/fc4.jpg

got the fuel tank finished with the blinging brass caps. As a side note the roll over valve on the tank leaks. I found out this the hard way when I dumped a gallon of gas in the back of the jeep when I got a little off camber. I wiil be running a hose up the cage with a small filter on it in the near future.
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/md4wheelin/fuel.jpg
I'm supposed to run up at RC this weekened and I'll see if I can get some better shots of it before I break an axel.

dirty
09-25-2008, 07:32 PM
I like your cage, a lot, nice work...gives me many ideas!

slim616
12-28-2008, 07:53 PM
I know its been a while since I posted but the economy has slowed up the progress. But anyway with all the parts finally removed off the old jeep I decided to send it down the road. First we decided to make it an convertable with a hand from mandy. Their is something about a girl who knows how to use a cut off saw;)
http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/ii359/slim6164x4/PC280005.jpg
http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/ii359/slim6164x4/PC280006.jpg
http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/ii359/slim6164x4/PC280007.jpg
http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/ii359/slim6164x4/PC280008.jpg
http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/ii359/slim6164x4/PC280009.jpg
http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/ii359/slim6164x4/PC280010.jpg
heres the new convertable
http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/ii359/slim6164x4/PC280011.jpg
one more trip with the jeep down memory lane
http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/ii359/slim6164x4/PC280012.jpg
now down to buisness
http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/ii359/slim6164x4/PC280013.jpg
bottoms up
http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/ii359/slim6164x4/PC280014.jpg
http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/ii359/slim6164x4/PC280015.jpg
back to cutting
http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/ii359/slim6164x4/PC280016.jpg
http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/ii359/slim6164x4/PC280017.jpg
http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/ii359/slim6164x4/PC280018.jpg
now for some brute strength
http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/ii359/slim6164x4/PC280019.jpg
http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/ii359/slim6164x4/PC280020.jpg
you dont see this to often
http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/ii359/slim6164x4/PC280021.jpg
http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/ii359/slim6164x4/PC280022.jpg
http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/ii359/slim6164x4/PC280023.jpg
http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/ii359/slim6164x4/PC280024.jpg
remember its not the size of the machine but how you work it
http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/ii359/slim6164x4/PC280025.jpg
time to clean up the mess
http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/ii359/slim6164x4/PC280026.jpg
http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/ii359/slim6164x4/PC280027.jpg
http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/ii359/slim6164x4/PC280028.jpg
the last picture of an era
http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/ii359/slim6164x4/PC280029.jpg

MoonWorks
12-29-2008, 12:50 AM
Why is it always fun to see someone cut something to shit and throw it out? My buddy just did this to his xj he had. Chopped it to bits, tossed it in a dump trailer like you have and took it to the scrap yard.

slim616
12-29-2008, 10:27 AM
I know what you mean, something about the sound of ripping metal that allows you to blow off some stress.

I also got some picks before i tore down once again to start the 60 swap

Heres some of the switch panel and fuse box that powers it up.
http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/ii359/slim6164x4/switchpanel.jpg
http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/ii359/slim6164x4/fusebox.jpg

heres some of the rear storage area
http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/ii359/slim6164x4/rearstorage2.jpg
http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/ii359/slim6164x4/storagecompartment.jpg
Some more pics of the cage
http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/ii359/slim6164x4/cage3.jpg
http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/ii359/slim6164x4/cage2.jpg
http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/ii359/slim6164x4/cage1.jpg
http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/ii359/slim6164x4/cage4.jpg

I swear it seams like this damn jeep seems to spend more time holding up jack stands then it does itself.

downtowncb
12-30-2008, 12:29 AM
Nice job on the cage. I like how it ties in through the front fenders.

slim616
12-30-2008, 10:20 AM
Thanks man, I got the Idea from I guy on pirate named vettboy that did something similar to his xj.

slim616
02-04-2009, 08:57 PM
Okay Finaly got around to starting the rear 60 install. I know this is starting to be done all the time now but putting a 60 under jeep is like banging a fat chick. it always fun the first time you do it. even if other people say then been there done that. Anyway all I have to say that their is nothing light about those things. SO I decided to gut the thing to make it a little easier to move around when I go to throw it under the jeep.
http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/ii359/slim6164x4/d60-1.jpg
http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/ii359/slim6164x4/d602-1.jpg
http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/ii359/slim6164x4/d601-1.jpg
http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/ii359/slim6164x4/d6025.jpg
http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/ii359/slim6164x4/d603-1.jpg
http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/ii359/slim6164x4/d605.jpg
http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/ii359/slim6164x4/d607.jpg
http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/ii359/slim6164x4/d608.jpg

now the thing is about 200# lighter i'm ready to clean it up and get it ready for the truss that I ordered through moonworks (good people) that should be here any day.
http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/ii359/slim6164x4/d609.jpg

MoonWorks
02-05-2009, 12:32 AM
Good start Joe. Let me know if you're parts don't show up tomorrow. I placed another order the same day I did yours and both of them shipped on the 27th. The other order showed up yesterday here in VA so I don't see why yours isn't there yet. Call or pm if it's not there and I'll take care of it.

MoonWorks
02-18-2009, 11:47 PM
Tick, Tick!!! Come on now...you've had your parts for almost 2 days now and no updated pics!!!!?!?!??! Sheesh................! :popcorn:

WJJEEPIN
02-19-2009, 01:11 AM
Man, I bet that felt good chopping the shit out of that thing. Better than sitting on a couch talking to a shrink. Nice build.

slim616
02-19-2009, 01:21 AM
Tick, Tick!!! Come on now...you've had your parts for almost 2 days now and no updated pics!!!!?!?!??! Sheesh................! :popcorn:

Lol I began to strip the front axel do to the fact that i won't have any help on installing the rear axel till next weekend.

slim616
02-23-2009, 10:44 AM
All right I know I'm a hillbilly but at least I'm warm. Decided i needed some heat in my shack. This only lasted a day due to the fact that the smoke wouldn't go up through the hole in the ceiling.
http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/ii359/slim6164x4/P2030008.jpg

Decided to do something about it so I got to work. (Yes shits a little slow for me to be doing this)
http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/ii359/slim6164x4/P2110022.jpg
http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/ii359/slim6164x4/P2110023.jpg
Got the floor installed and electric with a better source of heat.
http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/ii359/slim6164x4/P2110028.jpg
http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/ii359/slim6164x4/P2110030.jpg
Time to get some real work done. I went ahead and began to tear down the front 60. You have to love 29 years of grease and dirt. The wire wheel has great ability of taking that crap and redistributing it on your clothes.

http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/ii359/slim6164x4/P2180032.jpg

Also my rear brackets came in last week (thanks to matt aka moonworks) so I'm going to try to get that stuff tacked in and thrown under the jeep to see what I have. I'm still undecided on what the hell I'm going to do with the front axel. If i'm going to four or three link it. Every time I think I have made my mind made up i look at another build and change it. I'm going to have to make up my mind this week because i'm shooting to get a shake down run in early april so i'm fully ready for big dogs.

slim616
02-25-2009, 08:39 PM
Today was a good day, I got the rear 60 tacked together and installed under the jeep today. It kind of scared me how easy it bolted up under the jeep today and how everything lined also. Only issue I had was that the brackets from balistic have a 9/16 hole and the lower CA I have use a 1/2 bolt. So I welded a washer on each side of the hole on both sides to fix the slop. Seemed to work but i'm a little worried how well they will hold up when the axel starts getting wheeled hard. Worst comes to worst i'll cut these off and upgrade to the bigger ones and swap the old ones to the front UCA. As a side note those suck down winches work well for picking up axels off the ground to get a jack back under it.
http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/ii359/slim6164x4/rearaxel1.jpg
http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/ii359/slim6164x4/rearaxel3.jpg
http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/ii359/slim6164x4/rearaxel2.jpg
I'm going to try to get the hubs and disk brakes hooked up so I can do do throw some stock tires under it and flex the suspension a little to make sure i have things correct before I put a full weld on it. I would like to leave it tacked till I get the full suspension finished front and back with the actaul tires to make sure it test right. But I'm afraid it will rust up pretty good in the next month that it takes me to get the front axel under it.

MoonWorks
02-26-2009, 12:23 AM
Looks good Joe. Glad everything is coming together "easily" for you.

Just a thought...when you go to burn everything in. You might want to break the tacks on your perches, burn your LCA mounts in, then sit the perches back how you had them and burn them in. Looks like you should be able to burn the two together how you have them set up now if you wanted.

I don't know about the zinc plated washers that you used, someone else can chime in about them but I welded washers to one of my old d30's a couple years ago when the alignment spacers broke off one trip. It was probably the only think I didn't have a problem with on that axle so welding washers in isn't a big deal.

slim616
02-26-2009, 09:04 AM
Actauly I think i'm going to get rid of the washers by just cutting the ends of the RE arms off and welding the larger joint to them. I still have alot of adjustment in them since they are adjusted all the way in to make up for the little bit that would be cut off. Then I think i'm going to cut the ends of the front UCA off and weld on the joints i cut off the back so they can easly bolt into tab style bracket on the front axle.

On the spring perch I can actauly get the welder head under the perch to weld the bracket on the one side, but on the other the perch and bracket will have to be welded together since they are almost touching. Also the bracket is large enough for me to get a nice weld on the inside.

Supposed to meet someone today that needs some parts so i'll have a few extra dollars in my pocket. So i'll start to get together what brackets i'll need for the front so we can get them ordered in the next week.

slim616
02-28-2009, 08:48 PM
okay I ended the month with a bang. For the first time since halloween night the jeep is on all for of its tires.
Well first after about 5 trips to napa i finally got the disk brakes installed on the axle. :cheer2:
http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/ii359/slim6164x4/P2280001.jpg
For the brake hoses i was kind of stumped because the hoses that come stock off the k20 wouldn't work because the hard line was to long before it turned to the soft line. So I started to look around and realized that the stock front hoses off the zj would fit the caliber and only had a short hard line making it perfect. Only prob was the banjo bolt for the k20 was a tad to big for the hose. So I drilled it out a fraction and it bolted right up.
http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/ii359/slim6164x4/P2280003.jpg
Finally after a few months she's back on all four again
http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/ii359/slim6164x4/P2280004.jpg
Just to see what I got I rolled the 38 up to the jeep. it looks like I'm going to have to push the axle back some and hack some more out of the rear bumper which isn't a big deal because I'm hoping after the axle swap is done to start working on a rear bumper with a winch mounted in it.

http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/ii359/slim6164x4/P2280005.jpg

MoonWorks
03-01-2009, 10:05 PM
Looks good Joe! Your calipers are on backwards. The bleeder has to be on top.

zj95maxx
03-10-2009, 09:45 PM
Gunna relocate the upper coil perches in the back?

slim616
03-11-2009, 07:40 PM
Gunna relocate the upper coil perches in the back?

At the moment no, but once i get the tires on and test flex it that may change. i really want to keep thing simple so I can make sure it will be ready for big dogs ice breakers. i will be ordering alot of parts over the next few days so by the second week in april i should be ready for a shake down run at RC.

All I have to say is make sure you bring your A game to GSE because were going to play one hell of a game of follow the leader:D

SirFuego
03-11-2009, 09:01 PM
You planning on icebreakers too?

slim616
03-11-2009, 10:20 PM
yes sir, come hell or high water. You need to step up the work pace a notch so we can both break in the new rigs at the same time.

slim616
03-20-2009, 09:03 PM
Okay, with some help from Matt (aka moonworks) got some parts ordered for the front axel. I decided to go with medium bling on the front. I ordered the hydro assist for the front along with a tnt truss and lock right. Also i traded my 38" tsl's for some well used 36" irocks with h2 rims. I guess i'll run these till I can get some money together for some new 38" irocks or crawlers.
Since I have some time till the parts come in I began to get all the little things done that I have been putting off for months. First i finally got around to putting some paint on the cage.
http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/ii359/slim6164x4/cage2-1.jpg

As i was looking how i was going to the steering I noticed the RE Hd trackbar bracket had cracked and bent into the spring.
http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/ii359/slim6164x4/trackbrack.jpg
well after i put it into a 12ton press i was able to bend it back straight enough to weld it back together. I also added a gusset on the bottom to keep it from bending up again.
http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/ii359/slim6164x4/trackbrack2.jpg
Also finally got around to putting a radio in to run some marine speakers i ordered from crutchfield. Only wierd thing is that I cut out most of the factory harness for the radio except for the speaker wires. Some how when I turn the radio on it back feeds though one of the speaker wires and dimmly lights the front pass. marker light.

For an early b-day gift my dad purchased the tools i'm going to need to swap the 4.10 gears in that I have laying around. So hopefully i'll have the process down when I get around to installing the 5.38 gears.

Hopefully by the end of this weekened i'll have all the small stuff taken care of including tapping the steering box so when the front axle parts come in next week i'll be able to swap them in next sat.

MoonWorks
03-21-2009, 02:30 AM
Damn dude...you did bend the shit out of that bracket! Glad everything is coming together for you finally. If I don't get a trans soon, I might be riding bitch or something in April! :(

slim616
03-22-2009, 08:03 PM
finally got around to adding some more support to my sliders. I used the old supports that originally came with the RE kit. Figure they would help displace some of downward presure from the roll cage in a rollover. Also it will give a little more support to the front LA braces for the front 60.
http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/ii359/slim6164x4/rewing.jpg
http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/ii359/slim6164x4/rewing2.jpg

also i just realizedI got shafted on my rear shafts. Turns out their 1.3" 30 spline instead of the heavy duty 1.5" 35 spline. i guess I'll just have to upgrade those when i eventually go with the 5.38 gears.

MoonWorks
03-26-2009, 11:10 PM
Got the locker installed yet? :smt038

slim616
03-27-2009, 07:05 AM
nope, waiting for the truss:(. That damn axel is to heavy to move around with the internals. Should be tapping the steering box today for hydro assist, other then that i've been taking care of a lot of littlle things non picture worthy. Also picked up the 36" irocks on h2s last night. so My baby finally has some shoes:cheer2:

slim616
04-05-2009, 09:38 PM
Still waiting on parts to come in for the front 60 (Damn tnt truss)
Anyway I decided to try to make some tube fenders to help with sliding off things in off camber situations.
I probly could of made it a little smotther but I figured it was just going to get torn up any way.
http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/ii359/slim6164x4/fender.jpg
I'm not sure if the tube will mess with the up travel of the tire or not. I know from the pic it looks like a lot, but in actuallity i'll loose maybe one inch or so. Just in case it does I only did a lite weld on it in case I have to cut it out and redesign it.
http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/ii359/slim6164x4/fender3.jpg
http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/ii359/slim6164x4/fender2.jpg

zj95maxx
04-05-2009, 10:09 PM
pretty slick, I think you should have trimmed the fender more and pushed them up more but thats just me

slim616
04-05-2009, 10:46 PM
Agreed, but with out having the front axel in its hard to tell were things will end up when flexed out. Thats why I just did a lite weld on things so i can cut it off and modify as needed.

zj95maxx
04-05-2009, 10:55 PM
I am 90% sure you will rub on that front bumper with the new tires. Look where my tube fender mounts on the front.
http://photos-b.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v2340/145/6/657390617/n657390617_5772369_7092.jpg

slim616
04-06-2009, 12:09 AM
Yea i think you may be right. i just took were i had trimmed the fenders before to fit the last 36's i had and ran that line. All well i only have about 4 hours in it. I guess that's what I get for being impatient and not waiting for the front axle to be set up to see where the tires would hit.

slim616
04-11-2009, 12:40 AM
well all the planets aligned today and I got my truss. trust me when i say it was a miracle. First it took tnt 3 weeks to actually ship the truss but at least when they did they bumped up the shipping so I would get it by this fri. So today I find a note from ups on the door at 4oclock saying that the truss needed to be signed for and would be redelivered monday. So I called them up and they said that I could come to the distribution center around 8:30pm tonight and they would have the package waiting for me. so i get there at 8:40 and the damn place is closed. The sign says they closed at 7pm. I was like WTF is going on so I asked a group of people what was up and they said that the desk was open after 7 but only 8 to 8:30 for late pick ups which the lady never mentioned. So after a few people saying sorry that I could come back monday I felt that i was screwed. I got to talking to one of the drivers and he said he may be able to help me out since i really needed the part for tomorrow. I said I would throw him some money but he said he didn't need it because he makes over 90k a year. Any way he takes me through the back way and located someone that could find the thing. They find the package and i see that the box has been torn in half then re-taped. He looks at me and say I hope that box didn't have small parts in it. As he says this I pick up the box and nut and bolts begin to fall out. i was like f-it as long as the truss was still in tacked. Anyway to make a long story short I got the thing home and everything was in the box except two washers which I can live with. So Huston we are a go for tomorrow's installation.

slim616
04-11-2009, 12:45 AM
Also I drilled and tapped my power steering pump so i guess we'll see how well that works out.

SirFuego
04-11-2009, 09:49 AM
Wow. UPS drivers make 90k a year? How old was this guy?

slim616
04-11-2009, 11:01 AM
i think he said 26 years or something like that. He is one of the two tractor trailer drivers for that hub so he gets alot of overtime. I know the regular drivers make good money also once you factor in the overtime. I think one guy told me a while back he was in the 70k range after 5 years or so.

well its pouring down rain here so the install will have to wait for tomorrow.

MoonWorks
04-11-2009, 12:24 PM
Sorry it took TNT so long to get it to you Joe. I was about to pull my hair out with these guys! I know they were tired of hearing from me about it.

Anyway, atleast you got it...and in time to get it all done before the end of the month.

slim616
04-11-2009, 04:17 PM
Sorry it took TNT so long to get it to you Joe. I was about to pull my hair out with these guys! I know they were tired of hearing from me about it.

Anyway, atleast you got it...and in time to get it all done before the end of the month.


Hey I know you had nothing to do with it taking so Long and I appreciate you keeping up on them for me. That usally just my luck i'm the oder that gets lost or takes forever to come in or both.

Now to the fun stuff, for something that was plug and play and took a shit load of grinding to make it work. Took about two hours of grinding on the drivers spring perch to snugly fit the damn thing. also what made things a little harder was that it wasn't perfectly straight but skewered about 2* from one side to the next. But in the end after looking at it on the axle and beefiness I guess it was worth all the probs. Also I thought I ordered it with the bracket to mount the hydro assist but i don't think they welded it on.
http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/ii359/slim6164x4/truss1.jpg
http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/ii359/slim6164x4/truss2.jpg

Also for the record I assume these disc are for the factory limited slip on the rear 60.
http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/ii359/slim6164x4/reargears.jpg
http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/ii359/slim6164x4/reargears2.jpg
Also a pic of the power steering box i tapped.
http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/ii359/slim6164x4/hydroassist.jpg
Looks like tomorrow is a go for getting this thing under the jeep, so it looks like two things will be resurrected again tomorrow seeing that its Easter.

zj95maxx
04-11-2009, 04:27 PM
You gunna rebuild that box? The metal shavings from tapping it are gunna mess up a lot of internal parts.

slim616
04-11-2009, 04:38 PM
no I wasn't going to rebuild it, just take it apart and get the shavings out. I hoped that a magnet would be able to get all the metal out but there are a few still floating around in there so i'll diasemble it sometime this week. This was an old one i had so I figured i give this a test run with the drilling and taking it apart before using the newer one. I'm still not really sure if i tapped it in the right spots.

Also was thinking about cutting these lower unibody supports and welding some metal at a angle to keep the tires from getting chewed up. Kind of like this
http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/ii359/slim6164x4/unibody.jpg
http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/ii359/slim6164x4/unibody2.jpg
I'm guessing this wont affect the integrity of the body any as long as I weld some metal back in.

MoonWorks
04-11-2009, 05:31 PM
Looks like limited slip to me buddy. And TNT doesn't offer a mount for hydro assist. I think you got it confused w/ the hi-steer trackbar bracket. We were discussing your steering arms etc to choose the hi-steer TB bracket or the OTK TB bracket

slim616
04-11-2009, 05:49 PM
Okay cool, so many dang options with these axles I can't keep them all straight.

jsteves
04-11-2009, 08:13 PM
I had issues with my TNT truss being out of square a bit as well. We figured mine was off just a bit more than 3*

Looks good.

zj95maxx
04-11-2009, 10:19 PM
Mine was off like this when I got it, I had to chop down the spring perch like you mentioned. I don't know why they don't just factor that in while making the truss.

http://photos-g.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-sf2p/v252/145/6/657390617/n657390617_2888174_4108.jpg

But after I chopped that shit off, it fit nicely for the most part and allowed for clean welding.
http://photos-g.ll.facebook.com/photos-ll-sf2p/v252/145/6/657390617/n657390617_2894302_736.jpg

MoonWorks
04-11-2009, 10:55 PM
I've only welded one of them in personally...It needed a little bit of trimming on the backside to clear the cast on the driver side. Other than that it fit pretty good from what I remember.

slim616
04-12-2009, 08:26 PM
got a late start today but at least i got the 60 mocked up under the jeep.
I guess this is how it always starts with a pile of parts
http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/ii359/slim6164x4/parts.jpg
Finally the tirty 30 is gone for good.
http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/ii359/slim6164x4/parts2.jpg
My upper CA were rusted a little so whith a vise and a pipe wrench i was able to get them adjusting again
http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/ii359/slim6164x4/vise.jpg
with some cutting, drilling and some more cutting i got the 60 bolted up under the jeep.
http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/ii359/slim6164x4/truss3.jpg
http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/ii359/slim6164x4/truss4.jpg
now for the money shot
http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/ii359/slim6164x4/jeep2.jpg
http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/ii359/slim6164x4/jeep.jpg
now that I know how its going to sit it looks like i'm going to have to cut out that section of metal in the unibody the tires to clear. it also looks like i'm going to have some issues with the tire and my rocker. i need to push my axel a little more front but the re long arms are just about maxed out. i guess i'll just bump stop it for now and worry about it after big dogs. Also i relized once those tires hit the ground how much small shit i have to do to be ready for big dogs so i'm not sure if i'll have time to mount the hydro ram and box.

Derek33
04-12-2009, 10:23 PM
Love the wheels

slim616
04-12-2009, 11:07 PM
I really like them also. I lucked out on them and was able to trade them (tires and wheels) straight up for 4 38" tsl tires. She got them for her wrangler with narrowed 60's and didn't realize how much back spacing they had. So after one trip out she wanted to get rid of them.

zj95maxx
04-12-2009, 11:33 PM
They are cool wheels but you will regret them after a few trips..trust me

MoonWorks
04-13-2009, 12:44 AM
Also i relized how much small shit i have to do to be ready for big dogs so i'm not sure if i'll have time to mount the hydro ram and box.

X2...I was starting to wonder the same thing. :rolleyes:


Everything you've gotten does looks good though!

slim616
04-13-2009, 07:27 AM
They are cool wheels but you will regret them after a few trips..trust me

Just out of curiosity, how come?

Thanks matt i'll be getting a hold of you a little later to order the high steer stuff. fri was crazy so I didn't get a chance to get to the bank.

zj95maxx
04-13-2009, 10:00 AM
The backspacing is a love/hate relationship. You will love that they don't stick out, but will hate it when the rocks are beating the shit out of your exposed hubs.

Also, the aluminum is quite soft as well, rocks will gash them easily and they begin to show rock rash fast.

Also, they don't hold air as great as I would like.


But they do look cool!:smt025

slim616
04-13-2009, 08:51 PM
damn, I didn't even think about the hubs:smt090

For the wheels, the guy who owned them before the lady had wheeled them hard for two years with those tires on a yj and they seemed to have held up all right.

slim616
04-20-2009, 10:44 PM
okay its comming down to the wire for icebreakers and matt AKA moonworks has worked his ass off to make sure all the parts will be here by fri. Anyway heres a pic of the rear 60 all painted up
http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/ii359/slim6164x4/truss5.jpg
I had to do some minor grinding on the inside of the diff cover for the ring gear to clear. Anyway its all bolted in and ready to go except for bleeding the brakes.

Should be doing the full weld on the front axle tomorrow and the rest of the steering parts should be in by the end of the week in time for Big dogs.

went down to the steel store and all they had for the tie rod that would fit my inserts was steel tube that is 3/8" thick.
http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/ii359/slim6164x4/P4200091.jpg
i'm guessing i won't have to worry about rocks or the ram bending that son of a bitch.

Also got a pic of my dog D.D. (short for damn dog) trying to figure out what the hell i'm doing.
http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/ii359/slim6164x4/dog.jpg

MoonWorks
04-20-2009, 10:50 PM
Glad its all coming together! Can't wait to see it all together at icebreakers. :drinkers:

You bringing DD this trip?

slim616
05-24-2009, 08:57 PM
been a little bit since i've updated but worke has picked up so i've been working as much as I can before it slows up for the summer. Anyway I ve been getting a few small things done but i finally got around to installing the psc pump and did a test run on the ram. Every seems to work great, so I'm guessing i tapped the box in the right spot.
Anyway to take care of the cooling for the hydro assist, I rigged up an old tranny cooler i had. I'm waiting for a small fan to come in that I ordered from summit that will be bolted to that and wired to a switch.
http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/ii359/slim6164x4/psc.jpg

zj95maxx
05-24-2009, 10:23 PM
You are gunna love hydro assist! Make sure you make a good, supported guard for it.

Ninteeey7GC
05-25-2009, 01:34 AM
Wow your rig is amazing ..
But I gotta say it...

Do your neighbors hate you? It's funny, you got a nice quiant little neighborhood with lawns and then BLAM tools, parts, oil, metal.. lol

Anyways, your truck is fucking SICK.

slim616
05-25-2009, 09:55 PM
lol you can't even imagine how much the neighbors hate me.

okay decided to extened the front control arms today since the tires rubbed the firewall/rocker when turned and flexed.
couple of pics before tearing the front axle out again.
http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/ii359/slim6164x4/fa1.jpg
http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/ii359/slim6164x4/fa2.jpg
i'm getting really tired of removing this axle
http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/ii359/slim6164x4/fa4.jpg
going past the point of no return
http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/ii359/slim6164x4/fa5.jpg
http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/ii359/slim6164x4/fa6.jpg
http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/ii359/slim6164x4/fa7.jpg
http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/ii359/slim6164x4/fa8.jpg
http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/ii359/slim6164x4/fa9.jpg
http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/ii359/slim6164x4/fa10.jpg
well i got the axle moved forward 2" but now the truss hits the damn track bar mount.
http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/ii359/slim6164x4/fa11.jpg
it looks like I have some room to trim the bottom of the track bar bracket off and move the track bar hole up an inch or two. hopefully this will be enough to clear the truss.

zj95maxx
05-25-2009, 10:20 PM
Copy cat on the link cutting!

on that sleeve, did you just weld the outer sleeve to the arm? or did you weld the inner sleeve, then weld the outer sleeve.. get what im saying?

slim616
05-26-2009, 10:15 AM
Copy cat on the link cutting!

on that sleeve, did you just weld the outer sleeve to the arm? or did you weld the inner sleeve, then weld the outer sleeve.. get what im saying?

mines round so I couldn't copy you:finga:
the outer sleeve is welded to the inner plug through a cut in the back that i had to put on the sleeve because it was a 1mm to small to slide on the plug and I didn't feel like breaking out the torches to heat the metal up so it would fit.

NIK5.9
05-26-2009, 01:45 PM
It looks like you can trim the corner of the truss off for more clearance then shape it lower.

Oh BTW, I like you bumpstops, its always nice to get rid of those un used hockey pucks

slim616
05-26-2009, 03:00 PM
It looks like you can trim the corner of the truss off for more clearance then shape it lower.

Oh BTW, I like you bumpstops, its always nice to get rid of those un used hockey pucks

I can't trim the truss because it hits right on the corner. So I would have to lower the whole top of the truss. And for the amount of money that thing was it hurt just to trim it to fit the 60 corectly. I think i'll just redrill the track bar bracket and cut it. This way I can also go with a larger bolt instead of the 3/8 that it was orginally drilled for.

Would you belive in MD there are only a hand full of stores that sell those damn things. At a $1 a piece I figured I would give them a try and see how well they work.

zj95maxx
05-26-2009, 03:25 PM
Joe, I just looked at my stretch. There is NO way my truss will hit the track bar bracket.. maybe your bracket is further back than mine? I dunno, but my truss behind my track bar bracket, not under it.

MoonWorks
05-26-2009, 05:22 PM
Depending on how you welded the truss on will make a difference on if it hits the TB bracket or not. The truss is supposed to be welded on parrallel w/ the face of the diff. Which it sounds like you did Joe and may be one reason why you're hitting the bracket. Shadow and I installed a TNT truss on his 30 a year or so ago and it also hit the TB bracket. He's running the RE bracket as you are as well. He cut, shapped and re-drilled a hole just as you're wanting to do and it gave him enough clearance. You're stretched more than him but hopefully it will fix your problem.

Once you get everything in place, I'd recommend welding the TB bracket to the frame to keep it in place.

Kraqa
05-26-2009, 06:32 PM
dude i'd keep the lift gate. it looks liek its in great shape. and its a colour match.

Jeeperoni91
05-26-2009, 06:33 PM
You mean 'color'

Canadians....

adgroza
05-26-2009, 10:29 PM
just read your entire thread. glad i could support your build. sorry my guy made you wait so long for that axel though!

slim616
05-27-2009, 01:32 PM
lol I still get a laugh out of that, fredrick and fredricksburg. I was like what 95 doesn't run through fredrick. He was like you sure, because i'm here at the gas station looking at it.

Hows the axle working out for you, still holding up well?

adgroza
05-31-2009, 08:16 PM
got a little noise like backlash slop, but i don't really care, i'll run it till it blows! yea, when he told me he was in virginia, i was like, what why? that was like a monkey trying to fuck a football putn that in by myself, but i got it. thanks again for the help!

slim616
05-31-2009, 11:14 PM
all right moving the axle forward has been the biggest bitch. If I would of known it would of been all this work I would of said screw it. Plus I had to cut off my tube fenders which will have to be remade. Anyway bottom line is I have most the bugs worked out to the point that I just need to install a stock yj pitman arm. The new wheel base of my jeep is 107".

http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/ii359/slim6164x4/te.jpg
http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/ii359/slim6164x4/P5310115.jpg
http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/ii359/slim6164x4/P5310113.jpg
http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/ii359/slim6164x4/P5310116.jpg

also got the fan mounted on the hydro cooler
http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/ii359/slim6164x4/P5310112.jpg

ATL ZJ
06-01-2009, 12:08 AM
Sweet fan on the cooler. Also, I'm sure moving the front axle was worth the work. Everything starts to work better when the front axle is pushed out.

slim616
07-02-2009, 09:28 PM
Just came across these pics of my original xj when I used to run the pine barrens. They were taken around nov of 2000 if i remember corectly.
http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/ii359/slim6164x4/originalxj.jpg
http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/ii359/slim6164x4/originalxj2.jpg
http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/ii359/slim6164x4/originalxj3.jpg

Ive taken a few weeks off from working on the jeep but hopefully I should get some stuff done over the weekend so I can get it up and running for GSSE.

check list
1. weld on new J.J. to lower CA
2. re weld up new UCA
3. install new hydro lines
4. retain lower part of front coils
5. retain upper rear coils
6. rear bump stops
7. new rear shocks
8. instal 4.10 gears
9. weld up rear
10. install yj pitman
11. figure out what to do with front track bar bracket.
12. some wiring issues
13. figure out why motor runs ruff at an idel sometimes.

Derek33
07-03-2009, 12:12 PM
If you get bored some day, can you take pics of where your rocker cutouts meet the body. Just curious where you cut the rockers near the doors.

slim616
10-10-2009, 06:13 PM
i didn't relize its been this long since I updated my thread so here we go. I fixed a few of the small problems it had from GSE and was able to make it out to GSSE were it did pretty good. Heres a few pics, the rest can be found under the trip report for GSSE.
http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/ii359/slim6164x4/IMG_2589.jpg
http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/ii359/slim6164x4/P7310139.jpg

One of the major problems it had out at harlan was that my 3.55 gears just weren't cutting it for crawling the bigger stuff. So I decided to throw in some 5.13 gears. I figured while i was at it i should upgrade the rear 60 to 35 splines. Here are a few pics of the process, though a full write up can be found here
http://www.mallcrawlin.com/forum/showthread.php?t=20066
http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/ii359/slim6164x4/P1010241.jpg
http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/ii359/slim6164x4/P1010243.jpg
http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/ii359/slim6164x4/P1010244.jpg
http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/ii359/slim6164x4/P1010245.jpg
http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/ii359/slim6164x4/P1010246.jpg

Anyway got every thing bolted back together and left for big dogs were i decided to see how far I could push the jeep.
http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/ii359/slim6164x4/big%20dogs/bd13.jpg
http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/ii359/slim6164x4/big%20dogs/bd18.jpg
http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/ii359/slim6164x4/big%20dogs/bd8.jpg
More pics can be found under the trip report.

other than some leaky axle seals and some coil issues the jeep held together pretty good.

Then last weekend i headed up to RC to run some red trails and had this happen on the way to the trail
http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/ii359/slim6164x4/P1010257.jpg

then on the trail i deccide to bob tail the passenger side of the jeep some
http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/ii359/slim6164x4/P1010249.jpg

then on the last 30' of the trail my ram ripped a hole in my tnt truss
http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/ii359/slim6164x4/P1010256.jpg

So after these three runs I pretty sure Ive shaken most of the problem out of the jeep so i have some sort of direction i want to go with this winter.

1. Full hydro up front (hopefully in the next week or two)
2. move front axel forward 2 more inches.
3. do something with the front suspension to soften the ride when rolling down a green trail with some speed
4. upgrade TC case (I wanted an atlas but I have some one that is giving me a good deal on a 231 with a 4 to 1 and sye already installed so i may just go with that)
5. new seats with harness
6.move rear axel back 2 to 4 inches and go with coilovers in the rear
7. sway bars
8. 38" tires with bead locks
9. fab rear winch bumper

I'm hoping to have most of this done in time to make the windrock outing with everyone.

Derek33
10-10-2009, 06:38 PM
edited out since your write up answered my questions.

Out of curiousity, what would be the results if you reamed out too much metal? say 1.6" and only had a 1.5" shaft

zj95maxx
10-10-2009, 09:31 PM
That is bizarre about your damn truss dude. Also, does your rear lower links contact your frame on uptravel?

Full hydro ftw

FortCollinsZJ
10-13-2009, 12:38 PM
Also was thinking about cutting these lower unibody supports and welding some metal at a angle to keep the tires from getting chewed up. Kind of like this
http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/ii359/slim6164x4/unibody.jpg
http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/ii359/slim6164x4/unibody2.jpg
I'm guessing this wont affect the integrity of the body any as long as I weld some metal back in.


I saw a build on a corvette (IIRC) chassis once where they were stiffining things up, they mentioned these outriggers, called torque boxes, they said they are an extension of the frame (duh) and therefore a VERY integral part of the strength of the chassis. I think if you cut them and just plated the one side it may be weaker than the formed single piece. I have thought about the same thing you are thinking, I think the best bet is to go ahead and cut it where you want, then box the entire portion, all three sides, tied together then to the frame rail, I think that would really help stiffen things up, and also serve room for your tires.

FWIW.

slim616
10-13-2009, 06:49 PM
edited out since your write up answered my questions.

Out of curiousity, what would be the results if you reamed out too much metal? say 1.6" and only had a 1.5" shaft

The only thing i could think of is that it would loose some strength.


That is bizarre about your damn truss dude. Also, does your rear lower links contact your frame on uptravel?

Full hydro ftw

I'm not really sure, I think my tires actually bottom out on my rock slider about the same time so i'm not sure what hits first. This is one of the main reasons I want to move my rear axle back a few inches.


I saw a build on a corvette (IIRC) chassis once where they were stiffining things up, they mentioned these outriggers, called torque boxes, they said they are an extension of the frame (duh) and therefore a VERY integral part of the strength of the chassis. I think if you cut them and just plated the one side it may be weaker than the formed single piece. I have thought about the same thing you are thinking, I think the best bet is to go ahead and cut it where you want, then box the entire portion, all three sides, tied together then to the frame rail, I think that would really help stiffen things up, and also serve room for your tires.

FWIW.


i ended up cutting them and haven't had any issues yet.

slim616
10-13-2009, 08:34 PM
maxx as for the ram i'm not really sure what happened. I was at RC on shoot the moon trail going up the second part of the trail when some one asked me how my steering was. "I said as a matter of a fact it sucks, what I bust a line" He said "no your ram is no longer conectected to your axel" I guess the ram was a little to big not to be reinforced and the metal just gave out.

Derek33
10-13-2009, 08:38 PM
Do your steering stops contact each other before the ram ends its cycle? If they do that could put all the stress on the mounts of the ram.

slim616
10-13-2009, 09:21 PM
I set the ram up so it was at full extension just as it hits the bumps on the one side and the steering box would max it's self out on the other. I really think i just hung it up in the rocks one to many times assuming that the ram would stall before it ripped the metal. All well, live and learn I guess.

slim616
01-15-2010, 07:29 PM
I know its been awhile since ive updated this thing but i'm in the process of doing alot of changes to the jeep to get it ready for 2010 season.

first i installed some new seats
http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/ii359/slim6164x4/P1010281.jpg

finally got around to fixing the steering
http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/ii359/slim6164x4/P1010268.jpg
http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/ii359/slim6164x4/P1010272.jpg
steering is a whole lot better now, should of saved myself some money and did this the first time around. also somebody is going to ask about how i'm supposed to remove the diff cover. the plan is when the time comes to cut off the tube and put a plug inside the half that is still welded and set it up so i can just pull a pin and the tube will slide off. kind of like the removable cages.

I should be ordering tires rims and rear 16" coilovers next week. I had wanted to get a set of 39" krawlers but was told I would have to wait a few more months so I think i'm just going to order a set of 38" maxxis. Also i have the rear bummper torn off in order to start fabbing a rear winch bumper and a spot to run my rear tube fenders to. Now i'll also be able to get rid of the hich which has a way of draging on everything. While this is all going on i plan on moving the rear axel back about 4 or 5" and move the front axle forward about 2"
http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/ii359/slim6164x4/P1010283.jpg
http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/ii359/slim6164x4/P1010282.jpg

I also figured out why my speedo stopped working on my orvis
http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/ii359/slim6164x4/P1010269.jpg

last pic of the two together. somebody should be picking up the orvis sunday for its new home in VA.
http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/ii359/slim6164x4/P1010271.jpg

slim616
01-15-2010, 07:35 PM
Also I did a write up on this in another thread but i'll throw some pics up of boaring the rear 60 out last sept.
http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/ii359/slim6164x4/P1010241.jpg
http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/ii359/slim6164x4/P1010243.jpg
http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/ii359/slim6164x4/P1010244.jpg
http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/ii359/slim6164x4/P1010245.jpg
http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/ii359/slim6164x4/P1010246.jpg

ATL ZJ
01-15-2010, 08:24 PM
Everything looks good man. How much uptravel are you planning for and what's your rear driveshaft like? The reason I ask is with my old 16" air shocks, my rear driveshaft yokes would bind at full droop with travel split: 5 up/ 11 down. Then I swapped to a 1410 yoke at the axle and installed a rear limit strap to keep it from binding. and now my new shocks back there are 14s and closer to split travel.

Keep it up... you trying to get all this done before windrock?

slim616
01-15-2010, 08:54 PM
Right now the drive shaft is square with stock slip yoke welded on. i figured once i broke it I would worry about upgrading it. i was looking to have about 4 to 5" of up travel. The only reason i was going with the 16" was because somebody i wheeled with had 16" on the rear of there xj and it seemed to do well. I figured if they were two long I could just raise the mounting point up some and add limiting straps. I value your opinion so if you think the 14" will work a whole lot better (because to be honest i have no experience in this department) ill go with those.

and yes i'm trying to get this all finished in time for windrock. I'll be moving into my new shop (50x50 building) feb 1 so this should speed up the process a whole lot faster.

ATL ZJ
01-15-2010, 09:48 PM
Tired of working in the driveway? ;)

You can really just measure to know for sure. Take a highlift or engine hoist and raise and lower the backend of your rig with the coils out. then you can see where your driveshaft binds on droop and where your rear axle hits the floor/frame on bump. Then just measure to see if 16" would be kosher. If not then go 14. Obviously more travel is desirable but not at the cost of parts eating each other.

good luck man, looking forward to wheeling with you in Feb.

MoonWorks
01-15-2010, 11:35 PM
Everything is looking really good man. Glad to see the full hydro finally going on. I thought you weren't going to post up all your new mods and you were just going to show up at the next run w/ all your new goodies! Just had to let the cat out of the bag huh?

Also, the retainer clamps on your ram are generally placed between the clamps where the ram is indexed vs outside the fittings where you have them now.

Ramsport59
01-16-2010, 12:49 AM
Just a thought, cut up your old hitch and move it up. Use it as a base for the winch.
http://c2.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images02/136/l_ee92fa7e84a748bc920fab621147fbe5.jpg
I used a Dodge Ram hitch cut up and I'm working on using it as a base to mock up my bumper.

Rick

slim616
01-16-2010, 11:22 AM
Also, the retainer clamps on your ram are generally placed between the clamps where the ram is indexed vs outside the fittings where you have them now.

damn I thought about that but it was a little too late. I had people helping me in the rush to get it done. This is were he had the clips I didn't think about it till after I welded it in and was looking at it. I think what i'll do is leave it alone for now till I see how things are working on this first trail ride. And if i have to modify things then i'll fix it. Unless this may cause an issue with the ram.

slim616
01-16-2010, 11:35 AM
Just a thought, cut up your old hitch and move it up. Use it as a base for the winch.
http://c2.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images02/136/l_ee92fa7e84a748bc920fab621147fbe5.jpg
I used a Dodge Ram hitch cut up and I'm working on using it as a base to mock up my bumper.

Rick

I considered that but, it would cause the winch to set up to high on the rear gate(which is going back on) . I really wanted to set it in between the frame rails were your receiver section is now. Also i'm going to try to keep the bumper as close the body as possible (basically the width of the winch/fairlead) in order help with my departure angles and protecting it some when i'm standing on the back of the jeep getting stuff out of the back.
http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/ii359/slim6164x4/rb.jpg

Also i'm going to swap over to the same style lights you have to keep from smashing out my rear lights.

also here are a few outside pics of the new building i'm moving in.
http://images.craigslist.org/3n63k33lb5R15Ra5R5a1c36a65b67d4f51f7b.jpg
http://images.craigslist.org/3k13md3l15P85P45P9a1c46c7cd89a9bb14b5.jpg

Ramsport59
01-16-2010, 05:16 PM
You going to fill in the corners like mine or just put them in the factory spots?

oh BTW, you made TV today!

Rick

slim616
01-16-2010, 06:59 PM
You going to fill in the corners like mine or just put them in the factory spots?

oh BTW, you made TV today!

Rick

yep, it'll look just like yours when i'm done.

slim616
01-18-2010, 10:19 PM
okay did some measurements today for my rear sprung weight. With no weight on my rear clayton's they are 19". With body weight and a few heavy things in the back to simulate tools, rear winch bumper, and spare it compressed to 16 3/4. So i read the clayton's have a spring weight of 195# which would put me about 438.75 per corner. Thus putting me about 877.5# in the rear. Im guessing this should be close seeing my one machine can only pick up around 900# and it can pick up the rear of the jeep.

Cam i think you were right that a 14 coilover may be sufficient after looking what my real rear travel was, roughly 4 up 8 or 9 down. i didn't have time to get the exact wheel travel, i'll try to do that tomorrow.

rstrucks
01-18-2010, 10:45 PM
also here are a few outside pics of the new building i'm moving in.
http://images.craigslist.org/3n63k33lb5R15Ra5R5a1c36a65b67d4f51f7b.jpg
http://images.craigslist.org/3k13md3l15P85P45P9a1c46c7cd89a9bb14b5.jpg

Nice. Renting? Do you think you'll have everything ready for GSSE-W?

slim616
01-19-2010, 12:27 AM
Yep were renting it. Around here comerical property like with the land its got would go for 700,000 plus. i really wanted to get a house that i could build a garage like that but with the economy cutting our construction work in half made the 1.2 to 1.5 million price tag a little hard to swing. So I figured I just get this and buy a house with a little garage in the spring.

yep i'm going to try to get this all done in time for GSSE-w. i work best under pressure so you'll probably see pics of the jeep still in pieces a few days before the event. i'm in the process of trying to get all the measurements together in the next few days so I can order the FOA coil overs by the end of the week.

paulkeith
01-19-2010, 12:35 AM
out of curiosity, what are you renting that for?

slim616
01-19-2010, 12:40 AM
we got a deal at $1500 month sense it was sitting empty for almost a year.

ATL ZJ
01-19-2010, 01:02 AM
i'm in the process of trying to get all the measurements together in the next few days so I can order the FOA coil overs by the end of the week.

You going reservoir or just emulsion?

If reservoir, I'd highly recommend springing for the 90 degree swivels.

bigbluezj94
01-19-2010, 01:23 AM
we got a deal at $1500 month sense it was sitting empty for almost a year.


dude thats sweet! does it have plumbing and whatnot? i want one! also want to take that steering box off your hands. do you still have the ram/lines and what not?