So axles are on their way. I go down to Leonard's Offroad closeby to talk about fabbing them underneath. He say's "I don't want the liability." Come on now. Mog axles can't be that hard to fab suspension mounts onto. Yes, there are some extra considerations beyond a conventional axle, but I'm far from conventional. His recommendation was to just go with D44 front and rear, blah, blah, blah. I thought it would be great advertising for him. He's already considered one of the best shops around. So why doesn't he want to tackle something really cool?

Well, I had considered doing it myself but there are so many things I need to get. Shop space being one of them, and then the myriad of welding tools, and experience. So I need help finding a competent place to fab my project. I'm not really up for long distance relationships. Something close to the Portland/Vancouver metro area. Help.

http://www.sn-fab.com/

Try HOLBROOK SPEACIALTIES they're in gladstone . DENNIS

Originally posted by 1990JeepXJ
His recommendation was to just go with D44 front and rear, blah, blah, blah. I thought it would be great advertising for him. He's already considered one of the best shops around. So why doesn't he want to tackle something really cool?





Why don't you ask Leonard?

I did ask Leonard. He said "I don't want the liability." I'll talk to him one more time, but every time I talk to him about any of my ideas he looks at me like I'm some kind of idiot. I don't like being treated like some kind of low profile, haven't got time for you, get outta my shop, blah, blah, blah... I'll stop there before I cause too much trouble. :D Any more shop ideas?

Woody's 4x4 in vancouver just over the bridge from portland they do good work.

Originally posted by bigshawnf
Woody's 4x4 in vancouver just over the bridge from portland they do good work.

Cool. I'll check them out. I didn't think they did custom stuff. For someone in Rhode Island you sure do know a lot about the Portland/Vancouver metro area. Did you used to live around here?
Travis

Yup lived in Portland for about 6 years. Loved it just moved east to go to grad school. Woody's always did good work for me pretty knowledgeable beats the hell outta 4wheel parts. Their number is 360 693 6840 , 6408 St. Johns Blvd.

Bring it on up. Lets build a kick ass crawler for ya!!:cool:

Originally posted by 1990JeepXJ
I did ask Leonard. He said "I don't want the liability." I'll talk to him one more time, but every time I talk to him about any of my ideas he looks at me like I'm some kind of idiot.


Well I don't know Leonard so I'm kind of taliing out of my ass but I have heard from a friend of his that he is kind of an old-school wheeler.

Are you looking for a place to wrench on your stuff or are you looking for a fab shop?




:emb:

Originally posted by liveaxle
Are you looking for a place to wrench on your stuff or are you looking for a fab shop?:emb:

Boy am I! A place to wrench on my stuff would be awsome. That's the main thing I'm lacking. Covered, flat, concete floor with enough space to tear this thing apart. Wow, that would be cool! Some stuff I would probably have to have done, aka welding up killer suspension and making mounts on the axles, but most of the rest of the stuff I know I could handle with a place to do it. Management here kinda frowns on even an oil change in their pristine complex. :rolleyes: Go figure. So, are you offering, Liveaxle? I just got off the phone minutes ago with my Mog axle supplier and talking about a place to offload these monsters. :smokin:

holbrooks man, they are the place to go. they have been in buisnees since way befor i was even born. they are the most help full couple fo guys that you will ever meet. they don't even charge to talk to ya. or even take a look at your vehicle and diagnose a 4x4 problem. they are truely a good old fashined buisness. :D
here is the number (503) 655-4747

Originally posted by 1990JeepXJ


Boy am I! A place to wrench on my stuff would be awsome. That's the main thing I'm lacking. Covered, flat, concete floor with enough space to tear this thing apart. Wow, that would be cool! Some stuff I would probably have to have done, aka welding up killer suspension and making mounts on the axles, but most of the rest of the stuff I know I could handle with a place to do it. So, are you offering, Liveaxle?


Sorry to get you excited. I don't have a place to offer you.

Well I did some calling around. Holbrook Specialties declined my custom work. They said they don't do much custom stuff. Mostly gear changes and the like. David Holbrook did recommend a guy that used to work for Richardson's 4x4 (He actually ran the place for 20 years). So I called him. Steve at Steve's Fix it Shop near Molalla. After talking with Steve for a long while I think I am real comfortable with him doing the work. He's done many 4x4 conversions on vans (many of which had unibodies), custom specialty vehicles such as ambulances and emergency recovery vehicles, and even one 4x4 Cadillac conversion. So Mog axles under my unibody XJ will be no problem. He said the easiest way to do the suspension would be a leaf spring conversion. Mostly because I want to keep the tie rod behind the axle and it would interfere with the LCA mounts.

Anyway, has anyone ever had any work done by him or know of him. Once again, he used to run the place over at Richardson's 4x4 for 20 years and now owns his own business "Steve's Fix it Shop." He sounds like a real straight shooter and said he won't do it unless it's done right. Just like it was gonna be his own rig. $40/hour plus materials, is that reasonable?

Travis, $40/hr is a great deal. Most shops charge near $70-80. Captain America is going to be so sweet man. Leaves are the way to go. Look for some info on leaf spring swaps in XJs, so you know what you want. There are a couple of guys at NAXJA that have done it, so you may want to post over there, see what you can find. If this guy's done stuff like this before, I'd feel very confident in having him do this. Look for some flexy leaf springs. Maybe some Rancho 44044 s will work. These are made for early Full Sized Cherokee front 2.5" lift springs. The CJ guys are getting like 8" lift out of these with a SOA conversion too. They may work for you. You'll probably want to have a SYE done prior to doing this. Will save some time later on.

I want to know how it turns out. I may have to employ his services when I do my RC D44 in the front of my XJ. I'll need a custom x-member built for the Ford radius arms that I want to run.

Best of luck
Steve Williams
portland_xj@hotmail.com

Come Awn!!! Get it up to S & N Fab. Obviously you don't know what they do? Do it once, do it right


.Well I don't know Leonard so I'm kind of taliing out of my ass but I have heard from a friend of his that he is kind of an old-school wheeler.

If old school is being a damn good driver, then yes I guess he is. He is a stand up guy. If he doesn't want the liability then why question his decision? Know the guy before you form an opinion about him or go by hearsay. When you gonna come out and play with us Chad? :D

I've seen some of S & N Fab's work and really like it. Thing is, they're about 5 hours North and I don't have a wallet that thick. Got any solutions? Have dreams, may travel.
Travis,
Mogified XJ

Originally posted by 1990JeepXJ
I've seen some of S & N Fab's work and really like it. Thing is, they're about 5 hours North and I don't have a wallet that thick. Got any solutions? Have dreams, may travel.
Travis,
Mogified XJ

Travis,

Give them a call first before you make assumptions. Nevermind what I just said if you already have talked to them. They are only 3 hrs from here anyway. They still get my vote. Around here I don't really have any shop recommendations.

Update. Got my 44" Boggers and axles are done. Will get custom Hummer wheels after some verified mearsurements from the axles.

So, on to the meat of the problem. Putting it all together. I'm still looking for a competent shop to talk about doing this. Been trying to get a hold of S-N Fab in Washington but they never return my calls. Are they the same as SNORT4x4? Hmm. Well, if they don't want the business, then fine. I'll persue other good shops in the area. Any one interested can e-mail me at 1990JeepXJ@Pirate4x4.com

talk to cris at off road tech, he is on sand just east of 82nd. Good guy! excellent fab work!

Originally posted by bigblaze
talk to cris at off road tech, he is on sand just east of 82nd. Good guy! excellent fab work!
Thanks. I'll check it out this weekend. BTW, never did get a chance to check out your rig. Still would like to see your tires to see how I might like the way they're cut. I got four 44" Boggers here and just itchin' to take a knife to 'em. :smokin:
Travis,
MOGified XJ

Originally posted by 1990JeepXJ
Update. Got my 44" Boggers and axles are done. Will get custom Hummer wheels after some verified mearsurements from the axles.

So, on to the meat of the problem. Putting it all together. I'm still looking for a competent shop to talk about doing this. Been trying to get a hold of S-N Fab in Washington but they never return my calls. Are they the same as SNORT4x4? Hmm. Well, if they don't want the business, then fine. I'll persue other good shops in the area. Any one interested can e-mail me at 1990JeepXJ@Pirate4x4.com

they are 2 members of SNORT
try PMing
snortclown
neckster
crash(thier buddy)
lance(maybe hes got thier number or something)

what transfer case do yo plan on using?

Right now I got a JB Conversions/Advanced Adapters SYE to bolt up temporarily just so I can get it out on the trail. I'll eventually go with an Atlas. With the massive gear reduction of the axles, I don't expect much strain on the rest of the drivetrain. As long as I don't go jumpin' the thing. :D
Travis,
MOGified XJ

dont you have to flip the ring and pinion then considering the reverse rotation caused by the gear reduction boxes. I dont know a whole lot about the 404 axles but from what i gathered you had to do something to correct this problem like using a hummer case or?

Originally posted by bigblaze
dont you have to flip the ring and pinion then considering the reverse rotation caused by the gear reduction boxes.
Mercedes thought of all that for us. They flip the ring gear 180* so that the teeth of the ring gear face the opposite side of the rig. Then the pinion also enters on this opposite side. The driveshaft spins the normal direction, but after the R/P, the axle shafts are spinning in reverse. This is then corrected by the hub gears to spin the wheels forward. Pretty cool, ehh?
Travis,
MOGified XJ

that is pretty cool and i had heard of something of the sort and for example my eaton rearend you can flip 180 but of course it also offsets the pinion to the opposite side but it does make the pinion on top and then the oiling issue . Have you checked with offroad tech yet on the installation of your axles?

Originally posted by bigblaze
1. ...my eaton rearend you can flip 180 but of course it does make the pinion on top and then the oiling issue...

2. ...Have you checked with offroad tech yet on the installation of your axles?
1. If you have the same rearend I am thinking of, then check this out. Pull the brakes, backing plates and all leaving just the spindle. Now the rear cover and the third member. Now flip the housing 180* so that the left now becomes the right and then roll it front to back 180* so that the back is now the front. The cover and the third member have the same bolt pattern. So bolt the cover back on and the third member should bolt back on in the same orientation as before. This whole deal will shift the pinion to the pass. side for offset rear axles/t-cases. All this is courtesy of one of the local guys here and I probably messed up some of the details along the way, so if it doesn't work, I shift all liability his direction. ;) (Just kiddin' Fred) Of course, since your runnin' a 203/205, none of this is really relevant. Just thought it was one of the cool perks of owning old iron like that.

2. Called and left a message to have him call me back anytime M-F after 5 p.m.

Also, somewhere someone advised that I try to PM Jason up north since it's so hard to get a hold of him. I did, and got a response from him. I figure he'll call me sometime this week. Will keep y'all updated.
Travis,
MOGified XJ

Damn Travis, You sure have done your homework!!! I can't wait to see this thing. What ever happened to that shop in Canby (or Molalla or wherever it was)? Have you talked to him some more??? Sounds like he was capable of doing such swaps, if he's done 4x4 conversions on unibody vehicles before.

Steve

S & N fab...

Do it right the first time, having to redo it will cost more in the long run...

Were ya at Neck?:)

hey travis, I do hope you get this thing roling. I'm still a little concerned about doing all this work on a xj as there is no frame, but hey if you're set on it go for it. Have you talked to anyone who has done major fab on a unibody rig? I would definetely get some input on what it entails to toughin up the unibody frame, as I'd assume the mogs will put even more leverage on the links than a normal axle would, but then again you're not going bigblock any time soon, so you may be ok.

After our talk I would also make a recomendation, and don't take this personal, but if you don't have a shop space to work, or fab experience, I would definetely hire a shop to do the work. The amount you told me you were quoted does not at all seem unreasonable to me if you brake it down hourly, plus there is always the chance that you could work something out with a shop that could cut down the price, things like stripping the old stuff off, and being a shop monkey for a few weeks to help out. The other option is to actually go try and find a job at a shop, you never know if you moonlight somewhere you may be able to cut some costs, the one thing I would not do is cut any corners. Spend the money and have it done right, you won't regret it.
patience is very important when building something like this, especially if you're on a budget, but it really will pay off in the end.
good luck and keep us posted.

Have to bring back this thread. I'm much closer to having the complete funding necessary for this project. Here are some of the lowdown on what I expect should be necessary.

Suspension: Full on link type suspension using coilovers as I don't know what the exact ride height should be in the end. As low as possible and still allow major flex without hitting the oilpan. I was thinking double triangulated four link with no link end below the axle tube height. Front axle forward of the stock location 4-6" and the rear axle moved back from the stock location 4-6".

Steering: Nothing but full hydro. Front steer only. Tie rod is already behind the axle, and if possible I'd like to get the hydro ram(s) behind the axle as well. If necessary it can go in the front because there is already a steering arm up there. Would need the orbital valve setup, all the plumbing, and possibly a new higher volume pump and gear box.

Cage: Now this one doesn't have to be immediate, but it would be nice to get it done at the same time as the suspension because mounts and tie in points need to be considered. Tie in the cage to the suspension mounts in some form so that forces get transfered to the cage and spread throughout the vehicle. Also, unibody like it is, I need each of the suspension and cage mounts to be isolated so as to not make me and my passengers deaf.

Some smaller things I can handle. I'm in the process of relocating the gas tank to make room for the rear axle moving back about 4-6". There will be major body reconstruction, some of which I can handle but probably will have the major stuff farmed out.

The vehicle will be delivered as a rolling chassis with many components already removed. Shocks, fenders, bumpers, drivelines, SYE already installed, carpet removed, back seat removed and gas tank in its place, everything disconneted from the axles except the locating arms, anything else?

So anybody know a shop that can handle this small feat? Come on. I could even call said shop a "sponsor" and they can do the work for nothing as long as I advertise and stuff for them. :D
Thanks,
Travis

Did you give Granite Motorsports (http://www.granitemotorsports.com/) a call?

NQS

Travis,

Have you talked with Over the Hill 4x4 in Portland? W’ Harold owns the shop and is exactly what you are looking for in a custom fab shop. They specialize in Toyota Land Cruisers, however they do work on other rigs. They do stuff from 1/4 elliptical, coil to air bags. W’ built his own hybred 2.5 Rockwell outers to a LC 3rd front axel, hardcore stuff. The mogs would not be any problem for the shop at all. They do outstanding work and don’t think everyone is briming with cash. Check them out at: www.overthehill4x4.com

Mark