Project Darkness

[blackzj52]

Whats up guys, im John. iv been a long time lurker and have used to this for many write ups and such, but never really posted until recently. i had a week vacation from jeepforum and decided to get more involved over here and found that i liked my stay. anyways i figured id make both an intro and build thread at the same time.
im a freshman at Ohio State so money is very tight, and i never got a job until the end of my senior year of highschool so im not decked out on 35s or anything like that.....yet

anyway, iv got a black 96 zj limited 5.2L with the black leather interior, got it on 9/12/06 with 118k and it now has 135k

mod list:
- Addco F/R sway bars
- AEM intake
- Crystal Headlights
- Tinted taillights
- Tauras fan swap
- 16x7 4.5" bs Cragar Soft 8s
- 265/75/16 Stampede radial A/T (got for free)
- 2" RE BB
- 9007 8000k HIDs
- blue LEDs in the interior
- 4 Hella FF50s on my roof rack (silverstar bulbs)
- 2 pilot fogs as reverse lights (silverstar bulbs)
- Rustys SS
- 242
- EBC pads/rotors
- cobra 19 cb
- Pioneer DEH-P770MP
- 3" exhaust (flowmaster super 44, magnaflow cat, IRO pipes, stainless 12" tip)
- custom plates
- KOR radiator support
- Rugged Ridge Steering
- Aussie locker
- RC 4" lift kit
- JKS rear trackbar
- mopar performance ecu
- MSD Blaster Coil
- Hughes Plenum Plate
- Ujoint axle shaft conversion
- IRO Double Shear Trackbar Conversion
- CSF aluminum radiator
- 180* Thermostat
- HP30 Build (in the works) - WJ brakes, WJ Steering, MOOG balljoints, 760s, rebuild, 4.56s,
- Ported kegger mod
- RC front adj uppers
- 1" bb to make 5"


along with numerous repairs and such but i wont list those


basically i would like to build a very capable offroad rig that has some balls to it, that could beat alot of cars on the road today even when lifted (not saying ill be going around getting in street races, but just have the ability and power to beat many)


ill post a ton of pics here soon. tell me what ya think

[blackzj52]

stock. how cute






lift and 245s


bitch 2" flex pics

HIDs!

housings

















painted interior





finally no gold. put some black pinstriping over

^and that is why i have just recently named my jeep darkness

[blackzj52]

offroad/wheeling/dirty pics










taking off the bumper

i was the only one in our group of 3 to get all 4 tires up this ice ledge and out of that swimming pool. others in the group was a modded 5.0 (pushing about 300hp) explorer lifted 2" on 31" baja claws and a stock TJ on 31" buckshot mudders

i had no momentum and just sunk..




big time stuck





http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3cGEymdn5lE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99HkIjyFoMk
^the guy who made the second vid is a friend of mine but doesnt like grands and thinks theyr shit. feel free to go comment on the vid and tell him off

edit: cant figure out how to embed the vids on this forum...

[dp96zj]

Rig looks good, and I'm not one to give you shit since I'm at the 2"bb phase myself. I take it you have a thing for black, huh?

Oh yeah, when I saw the title, I did a double-take cause I thought it said "Project Dankness"

[blackzj52]

Rig looks good, and I'm not one to give you shit since I'm at the 2"bb phase myself. I take it you have a thing for black, huh?

Oh yeah, when I saw the title, I did a double-take cause I thought it said "Project Dankness"

rofl no dank here

i figured i wouldnt get too much of a response here since my jeep is still a baby, but was bored after class so i said fuck it.
i do like the black out effect, and it just so happened that my jeep was black, and once i bent 3 of my factory rims, cragars were a cheap option cuz i didnt havnt alot of money at the time, so it just put me one more step in the blacked out direction

[Spr-T-23]

looks like mine only with black rims...and cleaner.....and with the front axle still in it.......and wheeling....ok there are some diffrences......eat shit and keep wheeling

[froggo27]

Nice ZJ, get some better tires for that kind of terrain and you'll be good.

[blackzj52]

looks like mine only with black rims...and cleaner.....and with the front axle still in it.......and wheeling....ok there are some diffrences......eat shit and keep wheeling

and about 4" lower
ill catch up some day tho!

Nice ZJ, get some better tires for that kind of terrain and you'll be good.

thanks man, whenever i bump up to to 4.5" im gonna save up for some km2s i think

edit: anybody have some experience with the 242 tcase that has the tailshaft exposed? (later model 96+ 242)
if so i could use your help/insight

[blackzj52]

did some thinking the other night, im thinking that i am going to be working 2 jobs this summer
hopefully by winter ill be sitting at 4.5" on claytons front long arms
and possibly a hp30 and 88 swap. plans are starting to come together

and heres just a pic

[blackzj52]

been awhile since i updated this bitch.

done a ton of shit of offroading, and work to the ZJ since i last updated

last time my jeep was assembled it looked like this (added RC 4" lift kit)



its currently busted (blew a pinion bearing in the 30, and a carrier bearing in the 44a)

i currently have a hp30 sitting in my garage, which will be built as well as my 44a
both are getting 4.56s, and before i blew the 44a i installed an aussie.

plans for the axles:

hp30:
-yukon master install kit (in the mail)
-yukon 4.56s
-Moog BJs
-WJ brakes (already have knuckles and calipers)
-WJ steering (have draglink and tie rod)
-760 ujoints
-ujoint front driveshaft

D44a:
-yukon master install kit (in mail)
-yukon 4.56s
-aussie locker (already have)
-MVC truss


gonna be getting 2 better sets of tires here (prolly bfg ats for dd'ing, and maybe some boggers for offroad? hehe )


heres an accurate current picture (added RC upper adjustable arms and CR 1" BB)

MIGHT need to adjust the CAs a little more


im out of the bitch bb phase

[blackzj52]

tough crowd

scored a d30 truetrac the other day, so add that to my hp30 build

added CR 1" pucks putting my zj at 5" all around now - its as tall as me now, and im 6' 5"




tearing down the hp30



i know nothing crazy compared to what most of you are doing on here but im a poor college kid going to ohio state so im doing what i can

[1fox2go]

You need more aggressive tires. Also if I were doing this build I would wait and build an 8.8 instead of dropping money in the d44a. The money you spend to build that you could have an 8.8 in the back.

[ZJ TINS]

Ditto on the 8.8 But I also dont see any armor or tow points. Just do a search for those that did not have it, see some nice dents and rips, parts torn off.

[Ted_Z]

Get some rocker sliders. 5" on short arms, booo. Otherwise looks good.

[canadian_driver]

http://www.mallcrawlin.com/forum/showthread.php?t=14850

fyi

the other darkness

[blackzj52]

You need more aggressive tires. Also if I were doing this build I would wait and build an 8.8 instead of dropping money in the d44a. The money you spend to build that you could have an 8.8 in the back.

i actually priced everything out, and the 8.8 was going to cost way more. and that was even after i factored in possible money i would gain from selling my 44a and aussie. ill be basically building a super 44(A) but i wont be getting chromos yet. perhaps over the summer when i have a job and can afford them.

but yeah, the 8.8 was going to cost more and was going to take a whole lot more time (which i dont have a lot of with school) and energy than building my 44a.

i think ill be fine with the 44a tho, ill be hovering around 33s for awhile and might someday get into the 35 game. but that wont be for awhile so i should be safe

and oh yeah, iv got some of these laying around, just need some rims

Ditto on the 8.8 But I also dont see any armor or tow points. Just do a search for those that did not have it, see some nice dents and rips, parts torn off.

iv got the KOR radiator support, and a trailer hitch for recovery points
as far as armor, theres not a whole lot around here that i will need armor for (which is disappointing) without driving a couple hours. someday ill get around to making (and learning how to) a bumper. id love to base my bumper off of BLK97ZJ's bumper

absolutely love that design

Get some rocker sliders. 5" on short arms, booo. Otherwise looks good.

i was never a fan of short arms and always told myself id skip the SA phase and go straight to LAs. but july 09 hit and i was rearended and my insurance check was enough to buy myself the RC kit, and some trackbars

iv been wanting sliders for awhile, a local jeep shop can make me some for $150 they told me. ill check out their design next time i stop by and consider it for the future

http://www.mallcrawlin.com/forum/showthread.php?t=14850

fyi

the other darkness

good god. ill refrain from making any comments
man you guys are brutal over here lol

[it usually runs fine]

Im so sick of hearing this short arms are useless bullshit, You dont need fucking claytons to get off the road! Remove ur swaybars(big ass difference), make bumpstops and you will be surprised. I would get sliders and a t-skid first it gets kinda rough sometimes. A rear locker and good lines go along way. Oh and cut your fenders please.

[blackzj52]

i wouldnt say theyr useless. id just rather be on LAs. i wont be buying any. the more research i do the easier it looks to make your own. im thinking i might make my own this summer with the help of some friends who can weld for me

iv got bumpstops that the RC kit came with in the front (3" i believe).

i tried getting a tcase skid from a zj at the yard but the bolts just spun! i ended up getting the front skid, tried the rear, but rounded off the very last bolt. god i was pissed when that rounded off. i can get skids at my local pick n pull for $5

[it usually runs fine]

the front skid is useless with a lift, cut off wheels are ur friend.

[blackzj52]

ill still put it on for peace of mind.

why do you suggest i hack my fenders?

[ZJ4.Slow]

Where did you get your HIDs and have you gotten any complaints?

Nice build btw, pretty excited to see how it turns out.

[blackzj52]

Where did you get your HIDs and have you gotten any complaints?

Nice build btw, pretty excited to see how it turns out.

got them on ebay awhile back for $72 shipped. they used to be blue, but now theyve gone white (boo). theyre 8000k, or were at least. only times iv been flashed is the night i installed them because i still had my housings aimed up because the silverstars wernt cutting it. since i have aimed them a little lower (probably about stock) and havnt been flashed at all.

ill have to lower them some though because of the bigger lift i just put on

and thanks, i have thoroughly enjoyed building this vehicle

[paulkeith]

post up a picture of your beam pattern on a garage door or something similar

[1fox2go]

Building the 8.8 may be more expensive but it would handle the 35s should you decide to go there. So lets say you build the 44a and then want 35s. Now you would need to look into more upgrades for the 44a or swap an 8.8 in so in the long run the 8.8 would cost the same or less. Stock shafts on the 8.8 can handle 36s with Berk behind the wheel

Just saying

[Ted_Z]

Im so sick of hearing this short arms are useless bullshit, You dont need fucking claytons to get off the road!

Speaking from experience here... Anything over 3" of lift on short arms gives a crappy ride and you'll wear out CA bushings fast. If I had listed to the advice here I wouldn't have wasted the money.