war pony

[redneckrollercoaster]

Got some Clayton bling for Christmas! Woulda built my own but it wouldn't have been so PRETTY. No more grinding ledges with the bottom of my 231, which means less getting out to check, more WHEELING! Will have to ditch my bubba's-lip-bambi-basher front bumper to make up for the added weight! Also got some budget camlock harnesses, three 5point and two 4points so I have one less excuse for pussing out now...funny, I never guessed it was there as the wife put entire tree and blanket over it![IMG][/IMG]

[1ABrian]

sweet gifts right there. Nice build man. Absolutely love the cage!!

[redneckrollercoaster]

Just looking through the northern tool catalog and found what may be a good deal for a budget winch.http://www.northerntool.com/shop/too...rch=27582-2304
They also have an 11500#for$499 13500#$599 all the way up to 17500lb for $749. Don't know of any Jeep needing a winch THAT big but hey lol

[redneckrollercoaster]

sweet gifts right there. Nice build man. Absolutely love the cage!!

Thanks, man!

Not much of an update but it's above freezing outside and there is no slush from the sky like last weekend. Woohoo it's gonna hit 40 degrees today. Things are going to happen in my driveway. Skid's going on and maybe I'll get the interior put together finally...if I can find the screws, lol

[redneckrollercoaster]

Skid wouldn't fit over my muffler. Got a short 10-series flowmaster from bro-in-law. Put it up in there where I though it'd fit above skid. Welded exhaust all together pretty nice, put plate in place and just didn't like it there. Cut it off again to mount behind skid. WAY better! Why didn't I do this to start with damnit? Unfortunately this seems to be how I learn. Anyhow I finally got this biatch mounted and stuffed.
[IMG][/IMG][IMG][/IMG][IMG][/IMG]

[redneckrollercoaster]

http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/cs...602064258.html
Wish I was visiting Minneapolis. Two 1-ton driver-drop axles for less than most folks want for one!

[redneckrollercoaster]

Not all that impressive but I found a vid of my rig on brother-in-law's computer. Damn I need a smaller bumper! And a better turning radius lol
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OChldQl7HIA

[egg]

Sweet build man! Definitely dig the boat sides! About how far does the Clayton belly skid hang below the frame rails? Any issues getting hung up on anything yet?

Keep up the good work!

[biggoofy]

I've never gotten hung up with my Clayton skid its a great design.

[redneckrollercoaster]

Thanks, Egg! I can't fab like these other guys can, still in my 'trial and error' phase- but the thing's coming along. Have never hung on the boats or skid, but I DO beat the heck out of the rear lower arms on taller ledges. The skid hangs about 2" below the clayton stiffeners, putting it about 3-4" below the unirail. With modification you can can tuck it up higher if you need to.
And if Zack (biggoofy) says something works it DEFINITELY works. Have seen pictures of his jeep elsewhere on the web and that guy really WHEELS! He is not afraid to take the buggy/rock bouncer lines in a unibody rig at all!

[redneckrollercoaster]

Put my front bumper on craigslist, there's pics there and in this thread. http://farmington.craigslist.org/pts/3721764624.html $325 if someone wants it. I really like the looks of it, but it's just too damn big and I wanna go with something lighter and more 'tucked in'. Will post up in for sale section at some point, but wife says it's wifey time now so...

[redneckrollercoaster]

Enjoyed a little Sawzall Therapy today, man do I feel better! Nothing quite as satisfying as saying f*&k it and cutting up a unitbody...

Put tank in cargo area to create space for some bad ideas I have for back there. Will be getting a fuel cell--I wheel with my kids and DON'T like using a tank designed to be OUTSIDE on the inside...[IMG][/IMG]
Pulled my bubba-lip bambi-basher...$225 lol
[IMG][/IMG]
...and then idle hands did the devil's work
[IMG][/IMG]
The top box tube will be shortened and I'm putting a 1/4" winch plate right in front of and maybe an inch higher than the lower radiator support, rather hit winch than radiator...hopefully it'll work out. Then I'll have a professional bend me up some tube. Had to notch bottom of framehorn out as it wasn't enough to support anything, plated sides and boxed bottom back in with 1/8th plate
[IMG][/IMG]
Then I plan to relocate rear upper spring perches and inboard my shocks as the triangulated setup I have just sucks. Will build something from the rear cage for the shocks to mount to and possibly even the spring perches. I took some 4" angle iron and 1.5" round tube and made some, but don't think they're wide enough for the spring to mount into without making obnoxious noises

[CTeunuch]

That front end cut looks strangely familiar...

Looking good dude, excited to see where it goes!

[redneckrollercoaster]

That front end cut looks strangely familiar...

Looking good dude, excited to see where it goes!

Thought you might say that! The whole time I was thinking, "Man, I probably shoulda pulled the radiator and front end out like CTeunuch did..." lol. I'm a little worried it'll look weird with the winch so low, but trying to keep weight down low for cog

[Jeep Whore]

what is the end design going to look like? are you going to tuck it up close to the grill line?

i know is this is a newb question, what did you do with your airbag senors/charcoal canister? relocate or remove?

what are you going to do for the rear aswell?

edit: would you mind taking a measurement from the bottom of your grille to the top on the 2x4 coming out of the the unibody?

[redneckrollercoaster]

what is the end design going to look like? are you going to tuck it up close to the grill line?

i know is this is a newb question, what did you do with your airbag senors/charcoal canister? relocate or remove?

what are you going to do for the rear aswell?

edit: would you mind taking a measurement from the bottom of your grille to the top on the 2x4 coming out of the the unibody?

Question one. I'm flying by the seat of my pants here, I hope it will match up with grille line. Just wanted to get winch back in there to act as the crossmember I cut out, and hopefully building around that with tube will end up looking okay, maybe high clearance/kinda prerunner-ish. Just wanted a better approach angle with the winch tucked in nice and tight. Plus I hate how vulnerable my radiator is hanging down the way it does.
Question 2. Airbags scare the crap out of me, they are disabled. Haven't cut sensors out yet but did remove the controller located beneath parking brake handle when I Put the isuzu rodeo ebrake handle in there. The charcoal canister was ripped off by my wife the Carnage Queen. I replaced it with one from junkyard and it sits where the airbox used to be.
Question 3. Want to do a very minimal something with tube in the back with a receiver integrated into it like my old one, only more finished lol. I really want to just compcut the rear and push both axles toward the corners as much as possible and lower the whole thing 2"
And as for the measurement request, it's dark and cold and I just showered so I'll pm you that tomorrow sometime

[Jeep Whore]

Alright thanks, no rush on it. my thoughts for a front was doing this but for the pre 96 grille
http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/attac...401_190438.jpg

And for a rear.
http://www.nagca.com/forum/showthrea...t=31856&page=7

Idk if either one helps on making a decision

[redneckrollercoaster]

Got a little time this weekend to tinker. Think it'll come out ok eventually. My awful approach angle will be healed, I think. The new horns Will be trimmed down close to the winch at an angle, shorter at bottom. Got one side done and it almost got me an unplanned open-heart surgery. Cutoff saw wouldn't cut all the way through horn so I thought I'd use the grinder with cutoff wheel and put the horn in a vice. Lol damnit. Thank God it was cold and I had 3 layers on when the thing kicked back on me and got caught in my jacket on left side of my chest. Coat's ruined but it's a keeper.
[IMG][/IMG][IMG][/IMG]
I think I'll plate the front and put a hawse type fairlead in there and hope to get some synthetic line in there before I need to winch. Then have a real fabricator bend up some tube for the rest of it.

[redneckrollercoaster]

Working on inboarding my rear shocks. Did not like the triangulated setup I had before and was tired of the ass end bottoming out on SPEEDBUMPS. Lots to do before GSW, and trying to notch tube with a grinder and bench grinder makes progress really slow lol. Basically putting legs off rear harness bar with a brace to help with side-loading and then I took some 2x2 square tube to mount shock into. Then I'll put some braces upward from harness bar and build a 4"deep tray downward from the harness bar/jungle gym I've created so I can strap tools, coolers, etc into it over where the gas tank lives now right behind the seat. Have also ordered a TJ fuel filler bezel to put right below the rear window as the tank fill lines won't play nice with where the new shock mount lives. Haven't gotten far on front bumper really, idk if I like the centersection as I have it. Will have to go wheel the thing and see how it works.
[IMG][/IMG]
[IMG][/IMG]
[IMG][/IMG]

[redneckrollercoaster]

Sorry that last pic was pretty crappy, even by MY standards

[redneckrollercoaster]

Oh, and the reason I didn't just mount shocks in the stock location is it only gave me an inch of uptravel because I bought the 11" bilsteins clayton's 7" kit called for instead of measuring my shit like a real fabguy would have. Live and learn, I guess. Even with only one side done the damn thing feels 300 times less squishy than it did before.
[IMG][/IMG]
[IMG][/IMG]

[redneckrollercoaster]

Got other side done. Overkill but I guess it beats halfass. I'll probably put in a flange to mount spare diagonally facing back. Take liftgate off if i have to. Redneckrollercoaster a/c!
[IMG][/IM
[IMG][/IMG]G]

[egg]

I need to do something with my rear shocks too. Good work man! i guess having the cage helps with all kinds of stuff!

[redneckrollercoaster]

I need to do something with my rear shocks too. Good work man! i guess having the cage helps with all kinds of stuff!

Yeah, I guess it does. If I had a bender it wouldn't have been quite as much work and I would have done something similar to biggoofy's , only down from harness bar instead of up from the unirail as the unirail bends inward to make room for coil spring perches and then flares back out toward the end. Eventually I plan to just compcut straight to the back and stretch and maybe lower the jeep 2", but with 35's a full compcut would just look strange. I'll have to wait till I have tons and bigger meats for that as my rodeo 44 is too narrow and where the perches are the shocks and springs would line up with the bottom of the unirail if I pushed the axle rearward. Always thought it would be cool to 'bob' 8" from the back of a zj toyota-style, but to make it so liftgate goes back in and functions would take an act-of-God. Seen it done on an xj...
Lol on the less-longwinded side I discovered I could make notches with the chopsaw, and boy did that save time!

[redneckrollercoaster]

Got the tray above fuel tank done today, tomorrow I'll devise a way to mount the spare back there. Good news is it fits and the liftgate will close over it. Been an odd week. Quit my job of 11 years to go do the same thing for another company for better pay, my loyalty was never fully reciprocated and I walked in on my gm throwing me under the bus for doing what I am trained to do so I figured then was the time...Been trying to sell my mobile home for 2 years to buy a house with land and a garage...well anyhow a man came today with cash, but he won't deal with my realtor and the park manager is friends with the buyer so she thinks that entitles her to 2 grand of my sale. Whatever, I want out. Have to give realtor his 10% as well so he doesn't sue me. Yeah, whoever heard of 10% commission, and he didn't even sell it! So new job, 11 years history to no history...we'll see how the bank likes that. We already have a 90-day approval to buy a home so hopefully this doesn't screw that up. Anyhow, there's my life story. In the interim I'm pounding away at the Jeep!
[IMG][/IMG][IMG][/IMG]