Family Wagon 1996 ZJ BUILD Cantilever Rear Suspension

[BigDaveZJ]

Thanks, I struggled with that part a bit when I hacked my rear fenders.

[Kraqa]

Here is a bit of a write up of how i did the passenger side. I've had a lot of questions on how to do it.

Remove the trim from the door and the wheel well
three screws


a nut on the backside of the door



then pull from the bottom of the door. NOT THE TOP.

wire wheel the paint off the inside of the door


then zip cut the along the exterior skin on the inside of the door








then with a grinder, grind the wheel well edge where the outer skin folds over itself.



then you can peel the rolled over edge away.



there is 2 layers



you will be left with a single layer, just the outside skin





then with this



hammer the portion of the door that you wire wheeled the paint off. this will bring the wheel well portion of the door skin up higher.



using pliers start the folding of the fender





then, with the hammer again keep folding




i sanded the paint that was chipping off the door to get a good view of the new rolled edge. this way you can slowly work the edge the way you want it



then i sanded the folded edge to prep for tack welding.



i will keep the pics coming as i dig into the wheel well on the body.

[bentwrench]

This method it's so much nicer than making filler pieces for everything. I'm surprised it came out so clean without using any relief cuts. Makes for allot less welding.

[Kraqa]

time for the body work


i traced the new fender line from the door






Zip Cut



inner fender









next i started to hammer the inner fender to stretch it out to the new body line











wire wheeled the paint off






hand bent some 1/8" plate





welded her in place





i will tack this some more then seam seal it



then i trimmed the body





hammered the inner fender again to stretch it to the new body line





then i rolled the body over the inner fender








time for the boat sides!!!


heres the line



rolled the bottom of the door using the same process as the fender well. i kept it low enough to still use the factory door seals and function of the windows.





it is just over 6" to the bottom of the doors. i will be putting in some rectangular tube below the doors. should end up with a 4" increase in clearance


one spot at the front of the rear door still needs to be rolled. i need to take the door off to finish it.

[bentwrench]

Very nice! The doors look a little familiar...

[Kraqa]

thanks. i will be reusing the factory cladding. i like the look of the cladding on the truck. and it provides some protection from trees and brush.

[Kraqa]

man this forum is slow. a build like this would be at 20 pages by now with comments a few years back.

[bentwrench]

man this forum is slow. a build like this would be at 20 pages by now with comments a few years back.

Yeah i noticed how slow the forum had really gotten which is why i joined pirate and did my build there. I joined here almost entirely fit the zj specific tech.

[Pearce]

Needs more triangulation!

[egg]

I didn't want to muddy up this awesome thread so I can re-read it faster in the future. Keep the good work up!!

[UTChavok]

man this forum is slow. a build like this would be at 20 pages by now with comments a few years back.

Ya I have noticed this too... and I can say I am not helping the situation. I used to post on my build all the time and was a lot more active but find myself forgetting to more recently. I want to see what you have planned for the rockers, hacking off my sliders and building rockers is one of my next projects.

[Ken L]

Kris, did you push the rear axle back at all or are you running it in the stock location? Also with your suspension set up, will the rear axle crab on articulation or do you expect it to move linearly up and down with no front to back swing?

I really like the rear fender and door cut. If I step up any bigger than 35s I'll likely do that to mine also.

[Kraqa]

thanks guys.

dave, the rockers should be a good project. since it involves modifying all the doors it should take a bit of effort. i will document it well though.

Ken L

the axle will be pushed back about 1". i could run it in the stock location with the 37's but it sits just a c hair to far forward in that spot. because the rear of the rear fender doesn't come down to the rocker line like the front of the rear fender. i find it looks better to be back just a bit. If i can only push it 1/2" i will. i dont want a long wheel base. i will already have to push the front out a bit.

the suspension shouldn't "crab" as you put it when flexing. it will a little, they all do. only because of the length of my arms. i have designed this with 0 degree roll steer. but as you flex you can't avoid some of the roll steer to come back. just how bad will it be? i modeled it in solidworks and i will proably get 1/2" fully flexed with 14" of travel.

[Ken L]

Kewl, thanks. I really enjoy watching your projects come together. How you think out of the box and implement things on a build are really inspiring.

I don't remember if you said anything about limit straps. Will you be running any?

[OverkillZJ]

Those huge (and clean) fenders are awesome. We've all been doing it wrong for decades! (Seriously we're getting old, because I can say that as a matter of fact.)

[Kraqa]

my shocks showed up and i figured why not do a dry fir.







this is ride height


i got the doors finished. and started on the rockers

heres the line


here it is cut away with the doors. you can see by the front fender how much clearance was gained.

[UTChavok]

I can't wait to see it all buttoned up and how it articulates. Looks really good.

And are those the regular compound trail grapplers? A buddy had them on his 2500 but I have not seen them in action on a trail rig and wondering how they do.

[Kraqa]

Thanks. The tires are toyo open country mud terrains. They are the sticky compound. Not the dot. They are awesome.

I can't wait to see it all buttoned up and how it articulates. Looks really good.

And are those the regular compound trail grapplers? A buddy had them on his 2500 but I have not seen them in action on a trail rig and wondering how they do.

[ELLLLLIOTTTTT]

Amazing. You have always been taking the ZJ game to the next level.

[UTChavok]

Thanks. The tires are toyo open country mud terrains. They are the sticky compound. Not the dot. They are awesome.

Oops I feel like a tard.. Been a while since I messed up IDing a tire.

[FortCollinsZJ]

Really looks great Kris. Your'e moving along so fast!

I'm really interested with what you'll be doing up front now.

Surely not radius arms?

Edit: Just glanced back at the CAD drawings. Looks like a four link front? I'm literally drawing mine up right now.

Four link> three for street ability I assume? It is really difficult to get the bolts in on the uppers with the drive shaft and exhaust in the way. More so the exhaust.

[Kraqa]

thanks.

the 4 link has the extra link in there for strength. plus it is easy to tune. and it is just right in my eyes. I shouldn't have a problem with the bolt locations. it fits with the drive shaft. and the exhaust all has to be redone anyways. i will likely build it out of TIG'd stainless tubing.

i'm just killing time untill my rod ends get finished on the lathe. i'm fitting them in between jobs. so its taking some time to get them done.

[CRJEeP_wj]

Parallel 4-link? I like that idea for strength. What is your plans for springs on the front? Size and style.

[FortCollinsZJ]

I had a parallel front four link on my trail ZJ and found that it was binding a TON. It was the weirdest thing. Still was the most stable setup I have ever had. The three link is worlds better for flex, but It makes my nervous braking hard.

I have headers and 3" exhaust now, so that passenger side frame rail is really crowded. Thats the only reason it's gonna be hard for me to fit that four link on the DD 5.9.

[Kraqa]

I have 14" x 2.5" coil overs for the front. The set-up will not be as involved as the front. i will be trying to not do a shock hoop like everyone does. i want to build a shock tower that is frenched into the inner fender. it will help keep debris out of the engine compartment and avoid a bunch of gaping holes.