a friend of mine and i argue over what is better... to build your rig, or buy parts an bolt em on... i say building is better because you can save money, make your parts stronger, and make it easy to replace... he says buyin it cuz its safer an you know how it will work and theres usually a warranty... if you worried about a warranty your not a true wheeler cuz u should be expecting to break stuff. lemme know how you feel on this subject...

Interesting idea for a thread. Although most people purchase parts, there are a lot of people that have the knowledge/skill/equipment to custom fabricate. I've got a bit of each. Just enough to have made some pricey mistakes.

My project isn't a real 'hardcore' wheelin' Jeep by any standards, but rather a mild Resto/Mod. The idea was/is to build using stock CJ5/7 parts as much as possible, upgrade where necessary, and use as many 'bolt-on' parts that can be purchased.

What I have learned is when a part says:

Bolt on: It means it bolted on to the vehicle or vehicle part it was designed from, and quite possibly will not bolt onto your vehicle or vehicle part without modification.

OEM Replacement Part: Means it may or may not work for your particular make/model/year. Always be leary when the manufacturer says will fit 76-86 models.

NOS: See the above.

Things I've learned (often the hard and expensive way):

Purchase as a starting point a vehicle that is as complete/original as you can afford. Otherwise look for one that someone else has tossed a boatload of their cash into. There are no good $500 Jeeps if your gonna dump $15K into one that you could've bought for $7K.

I've had to modify perfectly good aftermarket parts, that were designed to work on a stock vehicle...But wouldn't line-up or otherwise fit. I've also had to custom machine parts, using original parts as starting points, because I needed another fraction of an inch to mate up.

I've also learned that often it's better to fabricate the part you need, rather than search for something that you'll end up re-working anyway.

It's also less expensive (at the very least in terms of aggravation) to buy an aftermarket part instead of heavily modifying a stock part. There are a lot of good custom parts out there.

I've found that it is way better (and less expensive in the long run) to have people with more knowledge/skill/equipment do some of the work for you.

It's often cheaper to buy an entire vehicle for the parts you need, than to buy the parts separately.

Modifying one part = Modifying three other parts to work with it.

Never, Ever, Ever: Throw anything away. Replacement parts are difficult/expensive to locate.

If you've never untaken a Resto/Mod: Plan on spending 4-5 times what your original thoughts were for the project. Two to three times if you've 'been there before'.

Walk away from the project when you've hit a wall, or get another person's opinion on what to do. Overthinking things can get expensive.

a friend of mine and i argue over what is better... to build your rig, or buy parts an bolt em on... i say building is better because you can save money, make your parts stronger, and make it easy to replace... he says buyin it cuz its safer an you know how it will work and theres usually a warranty... if you worried about a warranty your not a true wheeler cuz u should be expecting to break stuff. lemme know how you feel on this subject...

If you consider time and material and everybody's time is worth something, it could be a real toss up. Example, buy or build a trailer. By the time you buy all required material and time to build, IMO in the end why not buy? Savings if any, aren't worth it to me...that is to say something safe and worth building. Mass production, price wise, is hard to beat Sometimes no way around fab work to get what you want in the end. Just my opinion.

.. if you worried about a warranty your not a true wheeler cuz u should be expecting to break stuff.

There's your problem.....

BUILD OR BUY your stuff tough enough to withstand your abuse!!! Do the research.... save up the money needed....and build/buy it strong the first time.

All too often - I see folks constantly breaking because they half/azzed put something together - built or bought, doesn't matter.

Everyone breaks sometime. It's whether or not the stuff breaks because it wasn't designed properly or built strong enough

- OR -

whether you didn't do enough research to BUY the right product. Warrantee? Warrantee will only replace the item - it won't upgrade it to a stronger item that you should've purchased in the first place.

I prefer to build, not because its cheaper (its not when you look at tool costs) but rather so I can only blame one person when I dont like how something is put together. Of course at the same time I can take credit when it is good. Building lets you take the best ideas of several sources and combine them into one finished product designed for exactly what you do.

Plus its cool when people are like "thats sweet, where can I get one?"

I am a build it person. I have way more time than money. I like to tinker with stuff. I really enjoy the pride in knowing I made something I am using.

Most warranties are only for manufacturer defects. They are not going to replace items you trash on the trail. (in most cases)

What do you have the most of?
A) Time
B) Money
If you answer A, your a builder
If you answer B, your a buyer
If you have about equal amounts of both, you do a little of both.

Some of it comes down to skill level and tools. I don't know how to weld, and don't own a welder or tube bender. So I had to buy my sliders and will have to pay someone to build my cage.

But I do all of my own wrenching---maintenance, installation. I do plan on doing my own axle swap project on my own, rather than order a bolt-on axle kit from a manufacturer.

You'll get more satisfaction from a broken POS rig on 33s than a turn key PSC chassis on 42s. When you build it, you know every aspect of it, what it can take and do, how to fix it and what to expect, I can't say the same for an off the shelf "fill in the blank".

On the other hand, if you have money, and a low fab skill level, bolt ons and paying for someone elses labor could be the only way. whatever gets you on the trail and makes you enjoy your rig the most.

Whatever gets you on the trail and makes you enjoy your rig the most.

There ya go

I have no problem with either. Some people have the mechanical ability of a peach. These people are alot better off having a pro shop work on their rigs. So who would you rather meet on the trail, the guy with absolutely no mechinacal ability in a pro built rig, or the guy who thinks he's a mechanic driving a rig that's clearly dangerous?

I do almost all my own work. Lift, built my rocker guards, engines, SYE conversion, etc...but i had a shop do my gears. Why? Because i didn't have the correct tools. Or the patience. I built my own rocker guards but i'll have a shop do my cage. I Don't have a tube bender and i can't weld overhead for crap. For me the cage is a major safety issue. Which one do i want to trust wife and grandaughter's lives to: My probably will be okay cage or a pro built cage? So i'll have the cage built. Most everything else i'll do myself.

If it fits my need and the cost is right, I buy. If it’s close to fitting my need and the cost is right, I buy and modify. If I can’t find what I need, I build…

theres alot of pros and cons for both, but we have all the tools to do whatever and if we dont have it, we have close ties to shops that do an will let us borrow what we need. i dont have anything for money... my jeep was free an it needed a new tranny, t-case, front an rear axles ect. but i live close to a salvage yard an you pull your own parts for a flat rate. ie tranny 60$ engines 130$ theres been times when were lookin around and find parts that arent on the list an can pickem up for 10 bucks like roll bars kc lites. they way i see it if you can build it, do it... but if time or experience say no, do what you have to do!

If it fits my need and the cost is right, I buy. If it’s close to fitting my need and the cost is right, I buy and modify. If I can’t find what I need, I build…

Its all right there, well said.