Project SANDVIPR

[MotoX5874]

this thing is awesome.

i'll have to ride with ya in the badlands sometime

the videos were sweet, you just walked up everything, i love the claws

[FlamesFearMe]

Yeah I bet you're in the dunes all the time up there - the GF's from Whitehall and we pass through Holland on 31 on the way up from Indy when we visit her mom. I'm determined to make a prolonged stop and play in the sand one of these days . You'll probably wanna bring some extra 44 shafts cuz you'll have the wheels cranked pretty hard if you run some of the Badlands trails with that wheelbase (fwiw most fullsize guys around here shorten their wheelbase to fit on the trails better). Shouldn't have a problem with vertical stuff though.

Yeah... not too sure on the "big air" thingy.... no cage yet....
That's going in this coming winter. After that though there'll be plenty of shots with the nose up, up, and away.....

If either of you are going to the dunes or are going to be near Whitehall, shoot me a PM. We can talk Jeeps and drink beers.

BTW- photobucket is blocked on this computer (I am at work) I am anxious to see the pics when I get home.

[dp96zj]

Damn that thing is long! I'm loving the wide stance too, looking sweet!

Also, how'd you tie in the stinger/front bumper under the hood?

Just curious, what are your next plans for it?

Badass rig. Keep it up!

[AprilzWarrior]

The rear Tri Link mouts into the factory lower CA mounts


waiting for more pics....

[Sandvipr]

I'll be up in the Dunes the weekend of July 25-27 with the wife. I'll shoot you a PM w/ my cell # later.

The stinger just ties into the upper radiator support for now. When we cage it this winter, I'll tie in some additional bracing to it. It keeps the rear from going ass over tea kettle right now, but I don't want to push it too hard without additional bracing.

One of the biggest things that needs to be changed is to get rid of those god-awful coils in the rear and go to coil-overs, but money talks!

[it usually runs fine]

dam that thing is stretched out good to see something different good job bitch

[AprilzWarrior]

good job bitch

LOL

[Sandvipr]

Thanks guys- I wanted something a little different that would perform well on both rocks and sand and so far I have no complaints. It's really sweet lining up to the biggest dune I can find, hitting the throttle 1/4 of the way up and completely leting off the gas 25 feet from the top and just rolling up to the crest.....

[piku303]

Thanks guys- I wanted something a little different that would perform well on both rocks and sand and so far I have no complaints. It's really sweet lining up to the biggest dune I can find, hitting the throttle 1/4 of the way up and completely leting off the gas 25 feet from the top and just rolling up to the crest.....

it would be more sweet once you get your cage to hit the throttle 1/2 way up and not let off the gas til your over the top

[Sandvipr]

Yeah.... I can't wait!!!!

[dangerousdave]

your tri-link... is that tied into the stock lowers? It seems like that should cause some kind of issue. My kevins kit would allow the arms to hit them. And are you using the stock rear bump stops?

[Sandvipr]

The lowers front and rear are tied into the reinforced sub-frame and the rear upper tri-link does mount to the stock lower control arm mounts. It doesn't hit anything through the entire travel except for the tire occasionally hitting the body because Ive been too lazy to set up the bump stops yet. I've got a really good pic of the rear compressed, but my laptop with all of those pics died this week. It will take me about a week to recover them and then I'll post them.

The pics show that the upper link is almost parallel to the ground and I'm sure that I'm going to catch some flack for that, but it works out perfectly for what I do with the rig. The pinion angle moves correcly through the full sweep of the suspention and it keeps it pointed right at the tail of the T-case- no U-joint problems! I don't want to worry about sending my driveshaft flying out from under it when I line up with 20 other trucks for a little drag race in the sand and I can fly through the dunes at whatever speed I'm comfortable with (usually over 50 MPH) and it runs out very smooth.

It has very little anti-squat, but after wheeling for years, (in my opinion) it really doesn't matter how much you have, it's you ability to compensate for what you do or do not have.... and then it's just personal preference and some dialing in.

My friend has a TON of anti-squat built into his and we have completely different driving styles but both rigs can hit the exact same obsticles in the exact same location and go right over them without spinning a tire unless it's covered in mud.

[Sandvipr]

Hi guys- I've been busy the last year and a half upgrading to a cage, 'tons, full-hydro steering, and just a good old fashond re-vamp.
I've gotten into some ametuer tough-truck comps and am looking forward to some trail challenges next season.
I'll post some of the current pics of it and some of the highlights of the build so far...





1st snow run with the current set-up last winter- locked front and rear!!!

Front steering:

h-1's with custom cut rock rings:

everything is 3/8" or 1/4" and double shear:

[Jeeptech01]

I really love the originality of this rig but I have to ask.. Have you broken any of those welds? They just look a bit rough.

[Sandvipr]

Not a single 1 (so far LOL). I'm not an expert by any means, but after 3 years of beatuing the ever-loving crap out of it, everything has held fine.

I am getting better though- and working with better tools. The complete 1st build 2 years ago was done taking my time with a 120 volt Lincoln. Now I'm running an ESAB 250. it supposed to be good up to 1/2" single pass. I haven't gotten to play with it in the HI setting yet.

I have gotten more used to it and am burning some decent welds now though....
Example:

[Jeeptech01]

10-4 lol. That looks mo better.

[Jeep Whore]

I love this. I want to see this baby in the rocks.

btw your signature says you have 38ft tall tires.

[Sandvipr]

I may be going to Rocks and Valleys this coming weekend for a snow-run. Lots of off-camber stuff there and a few decent rock crawls (covered in snow!!!). I'll try to get some vids of it and get them posted up. That won't be until the 3rd or 4th of the month though. So far it's gone pretty much everywhere I've pointed it with no issues- from sand to mud, rocks and snow. I still have to do the occasional 3-point turn due to the long wheelbase, but going to a 60 in the front with full hydro and shortening up the rear about 3" on center has helped a TON!!!

I's a little beat up now, but most of that will get handled this winter with some new sheet metal and some new paint. it should be purdy again by summer.

[Sandvipr]

I love this. I want to see this baby in the rocks.

btw your signature says you have 38ft tall tires.

that's funny! actually it's not very accurate anymore... It's gotten quite a bit taller as well. I should measure it against my wife's stock ZJ and see just how much lift I've added to it.....

I'm still running 38's (for now....)

[Stroked X]

looks sweet

[indy242003]

that's funny! actually it's not very accurate anymore... It's gotten quite a bit taller as well. I should measure it against my wife's stock ZJ and see just how much lift I've added to it.....

I'm still running 38's (for now....)

Uh, yeah, let's try to break this down for ya.

38' = 38 feet

38" = 38 inches

I think that's what he's trying to tell you.

[Sandvipr]

OK- it's been a busy winter building a YJ for a buddy of mine- but I was able to upgrade a few more items. Now it's sitting on some 42" TSL's and I've re-done the steering with some PSC componants. I think I've finally settled on a set-up that really works well.
I don't have any pics of it on the rocks-yet, but I will the middle of June.
Here's a few shots from the shake-down run behind my buddy's place:
First a couple shots of it all nice and clean sitting on the trailer:





and a few of it flexing out and playing in the mud:





and after we were done:



I'm still waiting for the picks of the log pile and the concrete barriers, but I'll post them up when I get them as well.

[zj95maxx]

I think you should lift it more

[Sandvipr]

I think you should lift it more

I hope you're joking..... I'm actually going to take a couple of inches out of it to lower the CG a little and make it easier to get in.

[CrawlerReady]

I hope you're joking..... I'm actually going to take a couple of inches out of it to lower the CG a little and make it easier to get in.

That was definitely sarcasm by Maxx....since it looks like you've got about 10-12" of lift and only need 7-8".