DUI replacement rig, out with the xj in with the zj

[hansshanks]

Well im here sitting in the hospital while my girlfriend is in labor and bored. been here over night and the docs induced her this morning. So figured it was a good time to finally start a build thread. So back in Oct ran over a drunk driver on the freeway when he cut me off on my way back to my hotel after the military ball. My xj and his Nissan pickup were totaled. I walked away and he went to jail. My xj had 3 inch RE short arm lift, 31, sliders, and bumpers. I was planning on giving this to my oldest son as his first rig because i wanted to move up to a ZJ. well things didn't work that way.

after the wreck, my bumper did its job. Destroyed the nissan








So with the insurance money i went out and bought myself a new project. A 94 limited with a 5.2l, dana 30/35,a 2 inch budget boost, and a 249 with a bad vcc, 155k for $1200.
the night i picked it up


So the build plan.....
--already purchased--
IRO 5.5 inch long arm lift, douch tech shocks, JKS discos, xj long arm, and hack n tap SYE
249 to 242 or 231,( cant decide i have both in the garage cant make up my mind. leaning towards 242.)
Flat land 4x4 bumper plans (purchased)
Cragar 5 spoke black steel 16x8 wheels set of 5
Treadwright.com Guard Dog tires with Kedge Grip 285/75r16 set of 5

--future--
swap to a hi pinion dana 30 with axle sleves, c gussets, and alloy usa u joint tabs
swap to a rear 8.8
build storage with slide out drawers in rear cargo
thuroughly detail interior adn wash carpets and hopefully replace drivers seat bottom
install gps,dvd, stereo entertainment system to keep kids and women happy.
install cb
cut fenders as needed
cut out rockers and replace with tube steel like i did on my xj
add chasis stifening
add ofroad lighting above and below.


My ultimate goal is for this rig to be a aggresive trail rig/expo capable rig.


santa brought me some presents the day after xmas...
wheels


lift with hack n tap SYE


killing time waiting for parts to arrive i started on rear storage









and where ran out of energy. the plat form just sits on top of the wheel wells and fits inside the tie down points.



After running over the drunk, i learned that having my spare tire inside the veicle is a absolute no go. My full size spare 31 inch tire that was in the back of my xj was strapped down to prevent issues off road or roll over. but never thought of front impact. luckily my friends who were ridding with me earlier decide to take a cab to a different hotel. Because my spare came through my back seat all the way to the front of the back of the front seats. So it will go out back on a bumper mounted carrier.


To be continued...

[hansshanks]

lift kit loaded and ready to head to my sons step dads house to use his lift to install my lift



front end on






new upper track bar mount



new crossmemeber with long arm mounts







Time for the rear



dads little helper kept pulling the ladder and hammer out, said it was his favorite tool.





didnt take enough pics of the rear i was tired and working on it at 4am.

back on the ground at its new height.







first flex, best i could do with a floor jack and sway bars on front and rear













Needed to modify the pass side tie rod so i reinforced it after heating and bending



after teh kit install. I have a pretty gnarly vibe at 30mph and up. Took teh front drift shaft out to try and narrow it down. Def coming from the rear. My drive shaft is a long way out of the transfer case, so untill i can swap the tcase adn install the ahck n tap i wont be driving much. Today my tires showed up on my door step so once i am done here at the hopsital and the baby stuff settles down i can get back to the build.

I did get a chance to take it out for its first trip last weekend







my buddy brian and his wrangler
at the end of this trip apparently the motor didnt like 5 grand and no traction. blew the oil pressure sending unit apart and blue smoke and leaked like a siv all teh way home. 30 bucks later had it fixed.

[biggoofy]

5.5" and tiny tires? Wtf

[hansshanks]

as soon as i am done with the hospital and the little girl is home and settled in i will be hot on getting new shoes on the jeep.. the tires showed up in the mail today so now i just need to assemble them.

[hansshanks]

well finally got out of the hospital with the new baby. So i figured it was time for some new shoes for the hoopdy.

285/75r16 Guard Dog tires from www.treadwright.com on cragar 5 spoke steel wheels from summit racing. Mounted them up in my buddys garage with a rubber mallet and a tire iron. Put 8 oz of .12 gramm air soft bb's in each wheel to balance. Worked like a charm even smoothed out some of the rear drive shaft vibration.





then needed to test out the snow traction of the new rubber in the freshly fallen snow here. So i cruzed by my buddys house....

[hansshanks]

Sinker creek canyon near silver city idaho





my buddy luke stuck



luke getting through the interesting way



luke was supposed to drive around but went straight in.



the result of not going around



crossing by the beaver dam

[hansshanks]

Started my bumper build off the flatland 4x4 plans.

[hansshanks]

how i mounted it







fully welded just needs ground down





major grinding and quick coat of paint on. still needs final grinding, tow points, winch, and paint

[hansshanks]

[Brad S]

Looks good - glad to see the bumper came together!

[hansshanks]

Yes the bumper finaly came togeth et age alt of frustration. Even the most basic of instructions. Or just a sequence of pictures of his it mounts and goes together e would have saved me countless hours.

[tjswj]

how are you liking the treadwrights? I got a set sitting in my shop waiting to get put on my buddies wk. They seem like nice tires for the price.

[hansshanks]

I love them I habe had a set on my f350 for over 2 years. I tow heavy
Very often. They have held up very well. That is why I bought them for my jeep.

[1ABrian]

sweet pics and build man. LOVE the wheelin pics of all the rides there!!!

[hansshanks]

Thank you. I jabe beem drivimg the heck out of it got 300 miles in the last 2 months
Amd a third of that os on trails. Ill try and ipdate the pictires soon

[hansshanks]

Been a while, but here is a update.

Finally got around to building a new roof rack for my 94 jeep grand Cherokee. Have about 200$ tied up in it with the light bar. It's 1x1 .90 square tube frame and 3/4 expanded metal decking. I wanted the light bar tucked up under neath to keep it protected from branches I often encounter on the trail. I also wanted it as close to the roof as I could get and keep it flat. I used the factory roof rail mounts. Got the idea from TheKsmith's wj a while back. Needed a place to put my tent cot for the over night trips and a few bundles of firewood. I am not in love wroth the tire downs but they are strong and effective. Also not living the look of the square corners. I think I'll be making a version 2 at a layer date once I get my tubing bender up and running.

The base mounts using factory rivnuts



Perimeter 40 inches by 60 inches



Building the base



Getting it low





Adding color



Somehow missed a tiedown on passenger side.



Drivers side had it



37 inch single row light bar tucked underneath nicely. Set back so there is zero glare on the windshield or hood.





Completed







Test fit of planned load. My trailer park math worked out. Load fits as planned. It's low to the roof as planned, and the light bar is protected.