Project "Big Red Jeep"

[fpkites]

So, nothing from when I first got it, but this is pretty close - sold my 96 XJ and bought my 96 ZJ from my folks so I could pull my popup camper a little bit better. As of this pic, I had just put 30x9.50 Yokohama Geolandars on, and had put my CB antenna on



About a year after I got it, after just having done some mild trails (Rollins pass and equivalent), ArloGuthroJeep brought me up to Johnny Park and showed me what a Grand can really do. Just had a KOR radiator support at this point for front recovery.


Met up with some folks from another forum, and caught the bug after a trip up to Moody Hill


Sliders in March of '06


After a couple of love taps on the stock crossmember, I decided it was time to put a TC skid on - I got the crossmember/skid combo from KOR in May of 06


After Colorado 5.9 asked me "So when you gonna lift it?" at Slaughterhouse, I decided it was time to ditch the BB and find some coils. Got some 3.5" Teraflex coils and slapped them in

Drove around with the skateboard look for a little while, then found that my Geolandars should never have been siped - suckers were chunking like mad. So, Discount Tire gave me warranty credit on them to the tune of $76 a tire. Used that to jump up to 32s, and selected the new Kumho MT KL71.


Nice and equipped for the mall!

[DCHZJ]

Looking nice,
How do you like the Kumho MT?

How are then on road and off? Rock?

[fpkites]

Love them - definitely the best tire I've ever had - doesn't mean much though, it's the first MT I've ever had

On road, they have a nice hum - not a rumble. Directional tires, so they're very well mannered. Pretty resistant to hydroplaning too.

Super grippy on the trails - I've had them aired down to 20 for Carnage (near Boulder, CO), and then aired them down to 15 for a trail near Carnage. They just wrap around the rocks and grab like claws. They spit out mud like a loogie too - no racing slick behavior at all. They really add a mean look to the Heep too - I'm definitely pleased.

[1fox2go]

Nice man, those tires kinda look like the x terrains, any more plans for it?

[fpkites]

Going up another inch to clear the 32s a little better (3.5" is the bare minimum to clear that size tire without fairly significant gutting), intend to do that before GSW. Needs a rear adjustable trackbar to kick that axle back where it's supposed to be, and I'll hopefully be putting adjustable arms on it soon.

It never ends...I won't be done for a looooong time...if ever

[CurtP]

Did Discount have to order those for you? When I went to DT for a set of the KL71's, they didn't even have them in their computer system yet. They ordered them from TireRack.com and gave me their full warranty. I've had them on for several thousand miles now and have been very pleased.

I've posted about them before - these are so much better than the MTR's they replaced in the same size.

[fpkites]

Discount had to input the SKU for me. I found them at TireRack, and brought the printout into the store so they would price match. Tires came from the Kumho factory in California.

These tires have kicked ass in everything I've thrown at them. No snow yet - that's the only element I haven't tried them out in.

[DCHZJ]

It never ends...I won't be done for a looooong time...if ever

Only way to end it is to sell it.....but then you just end up with something else that drains your bank account......So keep it , Break it, fix it, then bend the Unibody and then buggy it.

[fpkites]

Yuppers!

[CurtP]

Discount had to input the SKU for me. I found them at TireRack, and brought the printout into the store so they would price match. Tires came from the Kumho factory in California.

These tires have kicked ass in everything I've thrown at them. No snow yet - that's the only element I haven't tried them out in.

They ordered mine from TireRack. They told me that directly and I saw the shipping tag on them when they arrived. I also saw what they paid for them - I wish I could have got them for that price

I had mine installed before winter and they did excellent in the snow. My only question is how durable the sidewalls are compared to the MTR.

[96zj4x4]

Nice ZJ man! miss my 96, but the 01 will get it done soon enough..

[ArloGuthroJeep]

Hey Jim if you come over tonight, I'll try cutting your side wall

[fpkites]

Fender lips are actually great...it's the damn sheet metal crap that supports the side mounts for the bumper skin. I keep bending the shit outta that.

Fender liners are almost gone too - passenger side has been trimmed very scientifically via tire rub, and driver's side is almost there too.

1.25" spacers, rear trackbar, and possibly short arms are coming soon, I think.

[redzjon31's]

Looks good so far nice work

[SuicideTireZJ]

Your drag link looks happy

[fpkites]

Tie rod has a big 'ol grin. Kissed a curb during the Denver blizzard back in December and it bent. Took it over to Astro and he said it aligned fine and the joints were good, so I'm sticking with it.

It actually straightened a little bit when I sat on a rock up at Carnage

Gotta love the beefy V8 solid tie rod.

[fpkites]

Another 1.25" higher as of last night. Big thanks to Colorado 5.9 for both the screaming deal on the pucks, as well as the help on the boost...sure wish that sucker went better, gotta be one of the worst luck BBs I've ever done.



Tires are much further from the pinch weld, which helps a bunch. Still have some spots that need some sledge hammer lovin', but less now that I got those pucks in there. I'll take official H2F measurements today to see what it's really sitting at.

[CLASH]

are those KOR sliders?

[fpkites]

Yep...LP-1s

Saved my ass many a time...rattled my wife's teeth a few times too

[Snowhobo]

I definately like it. Looks like that adjustable track bar never made it on the back yet

[fpkites]

Adjustable trackbar made it out of the garage and on the Heep tonight - big thanks to Colorado 5.9 - couldn't have done it without Scott.

Trail pics tomorrow - mild shakedown run before GSW.

[fpkites]

Kickass - 4.5" of lift or so (still haven't gotten off my lazy ass and measured) on stock arms, and it did great - I can only imagine what it'll do when I can finally get some adjustables on it. At full stuff, I had a slight cut on that front bit of pinch seam - I'll try sledgehammer lovin' first, then as a last resort I'll add another inch of bumpstop.

[JordanA]

Lookin good man.

[fpkites]

Thanks - only vibes I have seem to be at about 60mph, and it's from the front. I'm sure it's that crapola CV driveshaft. I'll have to rape an XJ at the junkyard to get a double cardan.

Rear shaft slip yoke is pretty far out now too, I'll have to keep an eye on that. Almost time for a Woody!

Tires side-hilled really good. We had a few minor ruts that I could have just driven through and dealt with the tippiness, but decided I wanted to try out the side lugs. Grabbed like claws. I was super impressed.

[fpkites]

GSW was absolutely incredible! Never knew my rig could do all that - amazing people too.

Big thanks to Kevin from Kevins Offroad for the lightbar he donated to the giveaway. Installed it tonight. Install is a little bit frustrating at times, but damn thing's beefy as all hell.



Next mod will be a taurus fan swap - WesTexZJ and K2 convinced me of that on the trail. Gotta ditch that POS clutch fan before the clutch lets loose and keeps the fan from spinning at all.