Finally "Finished" the ZJ

[msvance]

Just thought I would share some pics. I'm currently doing a full write-up that I will post when completed.......

Pre-Build Specs
98 ZJ w/ 5.9
3.5" Tera Lift w/ 1" BB - ALL Adjustable Control Arms (short)
Sway Bar Disco's Front & Rear
32" BFG Mall Terrains
D30 - 4.10 & tru-trac
AL44 - 4.10 * factory trash lock
NP231 - Heavy Duty & 4:1 low
ARB Front Bumper
Custom Roof Rack
Custom Rock Sliders
Turbo City Dual Air Filter
"Blinged Out" Hood Vents
Blah, Blah, Blah

Post-Build Specs
~6" lift - 4.5" Rubicon Express springs on top of Radius arms up front and 3.5" front Tera springs in the rear
Custom Adjustable & Lengthened Ford Radius Arms up front (passenger side wristed) w/ RE Superflex Joint mated to the end & Custom Adjustable LongArms in Rear (2.5" 0.25" wall tubing, poly/RE Super-Flex Joint combo)using Clayton's Subframe - still 5-link
Front Ford "full-width" hp 44 - 4.10, lock right, warn lock-outs, over-the-knuckle steering (using 3/4" heims and 1.25" 3/8" wall tube)
Rear AL44 - 4.10 & welded (using 2" thick wheel adapters to match width and convert to 5x5.5 lug pattern)
Extensive trimming

and best of all 37x12.50 IROK Radials!!! :twisted:

It drives and handles GREAT (besides a little body roll w/o any sway bars. some sort of anti-rock system will come someday) The only things left for now are bumpstops/limit straps, finish the bumper I am making, build new/modify existing rock sliderz and a few other little odds and ends. A full write-up is currently in progress..........

Before Fender Trimming







After Extensive Trimming



(it actually sits 0.5" higher in the rear than the front. The pic does make it look like it's squatting tho)








a few front yard wheelin' pics













a pic next to my CJ w/ flat 36" SX's. The 37" IROKS are HUGE and definitely look real money!

[MaineZJ]

Wow, a 44A in the rear :flipoff:

It's looking good, glad to finally see someone hacking a 5.9 :thumbsup:

[BMRisko]

Looks sweet!!

[Kraqa]

hey main look at JayDee, he has a very nicly modded 5.9. silver.

[MaineZJ]

I thought JD's was less cut...

[BMRisko]

I thought JD's was less cut...

His is MORE cut, well atleast the square-cut front fenders.

[msvance]

thanks for the compliments!

Yeah, I'm going to wheel the AL44 until it blows then swap in a 9". We'll see how it holds up to being welded :shock: I have a lot of plans for the rear end (which includes some "body modifications") that I want to do at the same time as the 9" so I really didn't feel like opening that can of worms right now.

Yeah, I tried to cut just the amount needed to stuff the tires and keep it as clean looking as possible. no real need to cut any more than that. I didn't know if 6" of lift and the ability to fully stuff the 37's while barely noticing it was cut was going to be achievable or not, but I think it came pretty close. I didn't post any pics of the fenders completely trimmed out with the door molding stuff, but it turned out real real clean! The wife was even impressed which was a pretty big deal IIRC, I have it set where I have ~6" up / 8" down shock travel up front and 3.5 / 5.5 in the rear, using rancho 9000 shocks all around.

[Cue-Ball]

Looks GREAT!

[nate]

Nice! I bookmarked this page to give me ideas of what to trim. Really clean job.

It does seem like more than a 6" lift though, did you measure before/after?

[snarfer86]

NICE!! ultimately i want my rig to be kinda like that. and where did you get that sexy grill?

[gearhead313]

Looks good man.... just makes me remember how tall mine was on my Iroks: :shock:

[msvance]

thanks again for the compliments!!

Nate - Yeah, I was really excited about the outcome of the trim job. I got really really excited when my wife told be she couldn't tell anything different and that was before the trim molding. When I finish the write-up, I will provide some more detailed trim pics and I have a pic of the packaging for the molding I used to trim with. $5 for a 10' section! Also, I don't think I can really get the exact lift since I think I forgot to take the same height measurement as before with my old tires the way i estimated 6" is by knowing that the front coils are brand new 4.5" RE springs and the mount is raised 1.5" higher than the mount on the old d30. also, I assumed a f-r swap provides 3" lift (what does it really :?: ), and added that to 3.5" front Tera springs that have been supporting the 5.9 and an ARB for 80K miles or so. The rear is sitting slightly higher than the front by like 1/4 to 1/2" which is the way I prefer it. It may be at 6.5" but I don't think it's any taller than that.

snard - I think the grille is from stull industries. here's a front shot of it. i cut the lower few slots off to make room for the bumper I'm making, but not yet installed. i'll have to cut the middle part out when I add the winch....



gh - thanks. btw, how much lift did/do you have? definitely looks quite a bit taller than mine. Everyone that's see's it keeps saying how low mine looks, which is exactly what I was going for! the roof of mine is lower than the cage of the cj which is on flat 36" SX's right now.

thanks again for the compliments!!

[gearhead313]

gh - thanks. btw, how much lift did/do you have?

In that pic, i have 7.5" re springs + 2" tera boost. the back i have my front 4.5" re springs. If you want to get technical, 7.5 + 2 = 9.5"

i really dont feel like getting into that again... :roll:

[msvance]

gh - thanks. i wasn't trying to bring anaything up, just wanted a comparison since the 36" bias IROK mesures the same height as the 37" radial IROK (supposedly). i just now noticed your sig which would have answered my question....

[Kraqa]

i got a friend that will be puting my old ford 9" (i don't know if anyof you remeber that anchore) and a HPd44 front end in and he has a few Q'a about reusing the radius arms. can you snap a few close up pics? the more the marrier. and did you wrist em?

[msvance]

yep, it's wristed, this pic shows pretty much everything....



basically 2.5" RE Superflex joint welded to a piece of stock that was turned down and threaded to mate to the 2.5" tube that was tapped and welded to the radius arm. you can also see how the radius arm was wristed. there are easier ways to do it I am sure, but the joint end is the same way the rear longarms are made so we did it that way to keep it similar. let me know if you have any questions......

[Kraqa]

ya ok perfict he just doesn't have any pis of it. this will give him some good ideas.

man that hammerite is getting popular.

[POSJEEP]

i thought i was going to be the only one running this set up!
looks killer!
any pics of the rear set up?
and are you going to truss the front axel?

[msvance]

looks killer!

thanks!!

i thought i was going to be the only one running this set up!

I think there are actually several running the front hp44 w/ radius arms. the one that comes to mind first is timzjatl or something like that, but I am suprised that more people don't use the radius arm set-up! it's super simple and very functional, especially when wristing and using joints on the ends instead of the stock bushings.

and are you going to truss the front axel?

no intentions to truss at this point

any pics of the rear set up?

this is the only pic I have right now. pretty standard 5-link using claytons sub-frame, however the arms aren't quite so standard definitely a little overkill. actually, when i triangulate the uppers (same time as the 9"), i may redo those so that aren't quite so beef.......

[nate]

Cool!

You that's funny, I did the same thing on my 8.8 to extend the rear bumpstops. Spring perches aren't just for springs

[FinlayZJ]

Looks good. If you search on NAGCA NBaldwin and JayDee both posted pics of how the rotated the spring cups to get rid of that bow in the spring on the front end. It's pretty simple if I recall, and if that bow annoys you.

[msvance]

finlay - thanks! actually the perches are already rotated 180 degrees to minimize the bow, but it still bows pretty good. at some point, I could shim the mounts or make a new upper mounting point, but I have no issues with it the way it is for now. it does look pretty silly when the front is slammed tho :shock:

[POSJEEP]

i like the fact you used bushings instead of hiem joints i would think it makes for a smother ride and they are cheaper.
what do you think of relocating the shock mounts and lower control arm mounts for clearence, also do the front radius arms act as bump stops?

[msvance]

POS - I actually used RE superflex joints (johnny joints) for the ends. I like them much better than bushings and heims, but not really cheap. also, if you're talking about shocks in the rear, I did move the mount up to the middle of the axle tube. The main reason was because they were too short with the lift, but also to get out from under the axle tube. I haven't cut that part of the bracket of yet tho. I wanted to see how it turned out before I made that permanent change. I would love to move the control arm mounts up, but didn't want to mess with this axle. I'll wait until the 9" for all that.

As far as the radius arms go, I do not intend for them to act as a bumpstop. I haven't installed my bumpstops yet, but they will be the standard bumpstops so that I don't crush the unibody. The radius arm actually just rubs the bottom of the unibody at full stuff so i'm able to get full flex. When setting it all up, I was hoping that was going to be the case and glad it worked that way.

Hopefully this makes sense and answers your questions. glad you like it!

[SOLITUDE]

I know, I know... Way to revive a dead thread.

But....
I'm actually about to start the exact same build... I want to know if you can answer a few questions for me to save loads of time on research.

I'm swapping in a '77 Bronco (cast) 44 w/ radius arms. What frame mounts are you using for the front? What extensions are you using on the arms? Extension length? Where did you find the johnny joints and threaded rods?

I'll be running a 44al as well in the rear. I'm swapping a Bronco 44 in and I understand they are about 3" shorter than a "full-size" 44? What is the WMS on your "full-size" 44?

P.S. I really like your rig, and it has provided loads of inspiration and help to me.