well maybe not that bad. my leaf sprung and swamper shod rig hung with the big boys this weekend at the NARRCA event in katemcy. infact the winner (matt burkett from AGR) was running leaves front and rear and his was a spring under. i was in first after day one and i had second place 3/4 of the way through the second day until i broke a front drive shaft yoke (my fault cause i built it) . i still managed to hang on to third and beat out el jefe in his avalanch liberty. anyway it was fun and my point is that you don't have to have mega bucks in your ride to go compete......

http://www.texasoffroad.net/albums/members/albun73/Dsc02569.jpg


all the pic's can be seen HERE (http://www.texasoffroad.net/galleries/members/albun73 ) ( i stole this link from another forum)

:D

Get it!!!

I was wondering how you did. It was raining so bad here I didn't feel like driving back...too lazy:D
You kicked ass the first day...I'll post some pics later when I get home.

Joseph

hey i think it is kick ass that you did as well or better than a bunch of high dollar shop built rigs.
for those who don't know, brian built his whole rig in his on shop with a a/c stick welder and a shit load of determination. he wired the vortec 350 himself, built the frame and cage, set up the gears, i mean he did it all himself. the rig is kickass. he has dropped some bucks on a few killer items like a atlas[but he did get a smokin deal on it] and i gave him a deal on the front 60 to get me out of a bind. but it is impressive what he has done. and doing so well on the comp must have just been icing on the cake for him. congrats brian.

suhweet pics and congrats on the good finish!!!

Originally posted by High5
[B] anyway it was fun and my point is that you don't have to have mega bucks in your ride to go compete......



Amen to that. This is a sport of "amateurs", although it will gravitate to big buck pros as more sponsors wake up to the advertizing benefits. Not all the big dollar buggies are driven by capable drivers :D so home built rigs still can kick a$$ :cool:

Andy

Sweet! Neat looking terrain, where is that?

katemcy tx, it is granite, some serious tire eatin shit.

Originally posted by gunracer1
hey i think it is kick ass that you did as well or better than a bunch of high dollar shop built rigs.
for those who don't know, brian built his whole rig in his on shop with a a/c stick welder and a shit load of determination. he wired the vortec 350 himself, built the frame and cage, set up the gears, i mean he did it all himself. the rig is kickass. he has dropped some bucks on a few killer items like a atlas[but he did get a smokin deal on it] and i gave him a deal on the front 60 to get me out of a bind. but it is impressive what he has done. and doing so well on the comp must have just been icing on the cake for him. congrats brian.

All the TLCA members on the board already know this since it was featured in last month's Toyota Trails.

You should join you redneck.

:p

Congrats Brian!!!

Congrats! Its all about the home-built rigs kickin ass!

:smokin:

thanks for all the nice comments. since i have built this rig i can not count the number of people who come up and ask "why go to all the trouble of building a rig like that and not run either coils or coilovers?". I get that A LOT!!!! anyway i did it because i had an idea of making leaves work and i wanted to try it. well they work. now i just tell anyone who asks me that "let's go wheel and then you tell me why i need them".

Right there with ya man!

I personaly think that it will take a full swing and return from the link setups back to leafs :flipoff2:

More pix of the fall away shackles and spring hangers please:)

Originally posted by High5
since i have built this rig i can not count the number of people who come up and ask "why go to all the trouble of building a rig like that and not run either coils or coilovers?". I get that A LOT!!!!

Answer: because that costs a bunch of money! Some folks just don't get it :(

Originally posted by chef
More pix of the fall away shackles and spring hangers please:)
i think he just uses standard shackles.

Originally posted by chef
More pix of the fall away shackles and spring hangers please:)

they are just standard shackles. infact they are the heavy duty shackles off-road design sells for the front of thier full size chevys. the hard mount hangers are just cj style hangers i bought and the shackle ends are just the bushing kits you can buy that comes with a tube and a bushing. i used a hole saw through the frame rail for the front shackle mount and the tub was weled to the bottom of the rail in the rear.

Here is a front..

Originally posted by wngrog
Here is a front..

yeah that black paint sure doesn't show up good in pictures. also my hangers have been moved up and forward to lower it and correct the shackle angle since that pic was taken.

when i set out to build this rig i wanted it to be more stable. i wantes a firm spring that would still flex so i used the rancho part number rs44044's at all 4 corners and i mounted the bilstein 5100 shocks outboard the frame on both ends and as afar out on the axles as possible. this combination works really well. my rig is alot more stable than my jeep was. when your rig is stable you can push it further and harder.

Finally got some of the pics I took uploaded HERE (http://www.webphotos.com/list_photos.asp?mi=3&smi=2&a=120725)...

If you want any full size pics, let me know and I'll e-mail them to you...

Joseph

Originally posted by TxCruzr
Finally got some of the pics I took uploaded HERE (http://www.webphotos.com/list_photos_edit.asp?mi=1&smi=1&a=120725)...

If you want any full size pics, let me know and I'll e-mail them to you...

Joseph

Email the album to yourself and then use the link Webphotos sends you to paste here, just copy/paste from the album when you are looking at it does not work...

Try it now...

Originally posted by TxCruzr
Try it now...


This Album Does Not Exist

Ok...try THIS (http://www.webphotos.com/list_photos.asp?mi=3&smi=1&a=120725)

If that doesn't work then your SOL:flipoff2:
It should work though...

Joseph

Hey High5,

How do you have your springs setup?

Thanks,

Originally posted by TxCruzr
Ok...try THIS (http://www.webphotos.com/list_photos.asp?mi=3&smi=1&a=120725)

If that doesn't work then your SOL:flipoff2:
It should work though...

Joseph

if you dont want to do the e-mail thing, just log out and look at your albums...

Originally posted by TxCruzr
Ok...try THIS (http://www.webphotos.com/list_photos.asp?mi=3&smi=1&a=120725)

If that doesn't work then your SOL:flipoff2:
It should work though...

Joseph

yep i can see them. thanks!

Originally posted by warpdriv
How do you have your springs setup?

well i run rancho P/N RS44044 (they are 2.5" lift springs for the front of a jeep wagoneer) at all 4 corners. the 44044's have an offset center pin so i run the short side of the springs outboard both front and rear so it does not hurt the approach and departure angles. the 44044's are a kinda tall spring but i have sunk the mounts up into the frame on the front and i still need to do some work to bring the rear down some. the 44044 is a popular spring that the jeep guys run at all 4 corners and the toy mini guys run on the front of thier rigs because they flex pretty good. i just think they are too tall for most applications though. the fact that i run my hangers up in the frame and i run 42" tires make them not too tall for me. the front has a shackle reversal and my shackles are from off-road desgn and are actually made for a chevy. other than that it is just a basick spring over suspension with traction bars front and rear.

Originally posted by High5


well i run rancho P/N RS44044 (they are 2.5" lift springs for the front of a jeep wagoneer) at all 4 corners.i just think they are too tall for most applications though.

I wonder if skyjacker or somebody makes no lift wagoneer front springs that might work?

Originally posted by chef


I wonder if skyjacker or somebody makes no lift wagoneer front springs that might work?

JCWhitney has them....not a bad price either. IIRC, SpaceGhost ran them prior to switching to the coilover/link setup.

Originally posted by woody
JCWhitney has them....

yep. if you don't want/need the lift of the 44044 then the JCWhiney springs are a good choice. what i have been told is that even though the 44044's are a 2.5" lift for a waggy they equate to a 4" lift on a jeep cj or yj. i do not know how this formula works compared to FJ springs though.