I recently sold my K5 blazer and have bought another TJ. This build has been on going and because of request from some members here I am going to put a good portion of the build to this site and continue to update it here from here out.

This makes number 6 on the Jeeps for me and it should be a good platform to work from. It is a 2001 TJ with I6. No kids, a decent job and wonderful GF that I met wheelin has allowed me to build up this project. I’ve done the entire build in our garage with a moderate amount of tools and the guys at Copperhead fab letting me use their bender from time to time. I know that there is much better fab work out there but I would rather have the pride of doing it myself, even if it causes me to do it twice. I’m guessing here and putting this in the Hardcore section even though it is not as “Hardcore” as most but I am building most of the items myself and not relying on bolt on only.

A friend of mine had the TJ for a few years. He bought it for his wife to drive around town when she did not want to drive her vette. Come to find out she never wanted to drive the Jeep. They have had it for 3 years and haven't put 5,000 miles on it.

I had previously installed the Rancho 2.5 kit with front sway bar disconnects, new coils, 9000 series adjustable shocks, new lower control arms front and rear all for him.

I also installed the crummy chrome parts, some KC lights and a full stereo system a few years back. I am breaking into this and starting to strip down all the unwanted chrome and junk from the previous owner.

I hate to bore the people here with the minor details I too had sit in the back here on pirate for a long time reading quietly and I know there are lots of other beginning people that are searching for ideas in the background. So I’ll keep the text to a minimum while I get everyone caught up. I’ll go back and edit the text if people want more info.

A bit of a fast forward through the many evolutions of this Jeep in the 1.5 years I have had it. I will not bore everyone with the entire build process as it would be 30+ pages long. Even shortening it this will be a long build post. If you want any detailed information or pics on a part of the project let me know and I will post it up.

SRC Bumper installed with some clevis hooks and a Mile Marker 8000lb winch which decided to spool up on its own one day in the garage and scratched up the grill and burnt the motor up. (Replaced with a Warn 8000) and sprayed some Herculiner on the inside of the tub.

** One of the best 2 - minute mods you can do... is pull the visors off the mounting shafts and swap the two sides with each other so you can put the dang warning stickers on the back side. **

Just some newbie FYI's when servicing the auto trans it is easily done with the skid in place there is only one bolt near the exhaust bracket that might take a bit of work. Make sure the jeep is tilted a bit a** high and break the front of the pan loose with one rear bolt still partially installed. I filled mine back with 4 qts of oil and buttoned it up after replacing the filter and gasket. As I was disposing of the used oil I thought it would be only right to flush most of the oil in the system. I removed the driver side hose entering the radiator and installed the tube from my trans funnel over the hose and into a 1 gallon bucket. With the motor running, wheels choked, emergency brake on you can place the trans in nuetral and the pump will engage and pump fluid out of the removed hose. I filled the jug up with about 3 qts and shut it off. Dumped the used fluid and refilled the trans. Do this a couple of times until you get clean fluid pumping and you are good to go.

FYI on removing the rubber windshield bumpers from hood. A deep 10mm socket with some grease on the inside will pop them right out. Push the socket onto the bootom of the rubber flange until it contacts the hood. Give it a good twist and pull the rubber bumper off the hood. You should have the socket out already from removing the upper hood clamp brackets. Bottom hood clamp brackets are 15mm. Hood winshield hold-down bracket is a 9mm. Wiper fluid noozels pop out with a set of neeedle nose pliers and remove the hose at the double male fittings on the hose not at the noozle iteself.

P.S. Do not let a buddy reinstall your windshield tie down bracket after he has had a few beers. He will overtighten it and snap off the shaft causing you to cuss and have to order a new one even though you will never use it. You will just hate the holes in the hood.

Put some trailer LEDs in the factory body locations, stuck some reverse lights on the back and added the LED third brake light to the rim which to date has been the most noticed thing on the Jeep and makes me shake my head every time someone comments. I used the Trucklite 44030R led lights. They come as a kit with a single light unit, pigtail and the grommet. I paid $17.31 per unit. The are 44 led and plenty bright. I also installed a new flasher to fix the fast flash with the leds. The part is a Tridon EP27 and it is a direct plug and play for the original relay. All you have to do is remove 2 philips head screws from the bottom of the column cover and remove the two sections from the column. Pull out the old relay swap in the new one and button it up. It will work with both the rear only leds or both front and rear leds.

I used a hacksaw blade to make a pattern (drilled for radius of hole and screwed in for a pivot) I like this method because I have used blades and you can bend and drill them easily.

I used the lower wire opening and upper bolt hole as measurements for the placement since both were equadistant on each side.

For multiple reasons I masked off the area once placement was fixed and remarked the holes. This provides protection to the paint and keeps it from chipping. It also allowed me to prime the cut edge with rattlecan after the holes were made.

I soldered in all the connections via the guide below and ground to the double pinch weld inside the rear corners. There was nothing at all in the inners to interfere with the mounting on my 01 TJ.

You can see in the pictures that I lowered the license plate frame about 3/4", redrilled the holes and threaded them. For good measure I filled in the old holes with a bit of black gasket maker.

Jeep Wrangler TJ Factory
Wire Color Codes

Left Side:
Tail = Black/Yellow Tracer
Brake/Turn = Green/Red Tracer
Back-up = Violet/Black Tracer

Right Side:
Tail = Black/Yellow Tracer
Brake/Turn = Brown/Red Tracer
Back-Up = Violet/Black Tracer

Ok for the 3rd brake light I removed the tire and confirmed that this is a really snug fit in the factory wheel. I tapped it in place with a rubber hammer to be safe.The light will only mount from the inside of the wheel so if it did ever pop out it would be rattling inside the carrier and not on the ground. I cut the two wire trailer pigtail in half and soldered the male section onto the light (male as in the power side exposed metal) this way if I removed the spare and unplugged the light I do not have to worry about any exposed power wires for the brake lights grounding out. Plus the trailer light plugs are much better at keeping out moisture and being connected and disconnected versus the male female connections I have seen used on projects. I attached the other end to the factory third brake light wiring, loomed it up and drilled a passthrough hole in the center of the tire carrier mounting plate.

The only thing you have to be carefull with is pinching the wires between the carrier and wheel. It was an easy solution. I tossed the tire up on the carrier and just caught a few threads on each of the lugs to keep it in place, opened the tailgate and you can gain access to reach the wiring and pull it snug as you seat the wheel against the carrier. Tightened up the lugs and call the project done. Now if I want to remove the tire I just pull it off and unplug the wires. If it falls during the process the pigtail should break loose without damage.

Picked up an explorer 8.8 and installed lockrights and 4.56 front and rear. Still on the Dana 30 front axle.

Added interior winch controls, brown dog motor mounts and a JKS 1.25 body lift.

The high-lift has been mounted all over the Jeep at one point or another and there was time when the reverse a bars went from frame mount to body mount to rocker mount getting cut up more each time, a Bestop tire carrier was used on the rear with the addition of the 35’s t and 4” springs. RE adjustable uppers and track bars etc. etc.

I installed a second factory switch panel in place of my ashtray.

It was fairly simple and I had no issues but tools are key here. I removed both of the mounting legs from the switch panel with an sir saw and hacked the factory ashtrey roughly out of the dash surround. I then used a carbine burr bit on my dremel to shape all the plastic pieces. Tacked them inplace with jb weld and mounted them with plastic mender 2 part epoxy.

You will need to remove a slight bit of the width of the switch panel to get them to fit side by side. I clearanced the dash surround equally on the passenger side to make a rectangular opening. The carbine bit is one of the best tools for this because you can shave the plastic off without it melting on you. It allows very fine adjustments to be made. I use 3m "tar" style sealing compound to hold the parts together while fitting. I learned this trick many years back installing car stereos. We often had to build entire new dash panels.

I see everywhere people using Krylon Fusion to repaint the factory flares. I just need mine to look decent until I go tube so that was a bit too much work I then saw a guy with great results from using a propane torch.

Well I grabbed the heat gun and it was truly unbelieveable. I ran the gun over the flares and it was almost like the heat gun was painting them black. I think you could go buy a heat gun for not much more then the Krylon would cost and it is a handy tool to have. I tried to get some pictures but the glare just doesn"t do the work justice. The front fender was scrathced bad and the scratch is still there but it is not really noticeable now that it is all the same color. Try it, for sure before painting.


Chopped off the ends of the SRC front bumper and added some tube fenders. You’ll start to see the mild use of Herculiner beginning now. The fenders are from T&T customs and they are all top notch. The welds and bends are excellent and the fit was superb. The only question I have for them might be why they do not build them to go down far enough to cover the bottom corner of the tub? They are about 1" short of fitting perfectly at the bottom. They are made to also fit the newer Jeeps and that might be the case. No matter since my lowers are going to protect that exposed area as much as possible.

I fit the driver side up with out painting anything and in the long run I wished I had coated both before drilling anything. I got all kinds of grease from my hands on the drivers side and really had to clean in after drilling the holes. The passenger side was installed after it was coated.

The coating is all self done herc sprayed with a large 6mm nozzle on a pressure pot gun. I hit most of the surfaces with an 80 grit disk to rough it up before coating.

A tip on marking the hood hold downs and the rubber bumpers: hook the hood hold downs on the hood and coat the bottom of the bolt with some grease and simply shut the hood until the grease contacts the fender. This will be your mark to drill. Same thing with the bumpers, coat both studs with grease and sit them in place.

The directions with the fenders were somewhat ok, no pictures at all. You really do not need directions to install these but I would like to know how in the heck they are talking about relocation the factory washer reservoir. Mine has two pumps since I have a hardtop and the directions were for a single pump so I am wondering if the bottle deminsions are different? I know they wanted it moved to the rear face of the drivers fender and that was not possible with the mounts that are on my bottle plus my Jeep has all the available options so crusie and all kinds of junk are mounted on the factory fenders. I relocated everything and currently do not have a washer reservoir. I am searching for an appropriate container to build a new one. I have a good location for it on the front of the fender where it was mounted but the bottle is currently too large.

I mounted the Viar compressor on the rear of the T&T fenders so back in buisness for on board air.

The passenger side really went on beautifully. Not much to mention her as far as needed mods here excepted the PCM. With the battery trey mounted in the new location I can some minor contact between the factory hold down and the pcm. So I moved the PCM up appx 1" and redrilled its mounts in the factory bracket thus gaining some peace of mind and clearance for the battery and hold down rod. I did get a chance to reroute a large portion of the wires and cleanup many of the conections.

The K&N is now on its thrid version since it got installed. I had to cut it up once to install the Warn winch controls. This time I had to move it out completely to clear the fenders. I have seen it done many a time without any support on the tube but that makes me very nervous. So I made a mount and welded it to the grill strut. I then installed a rubber isolator between the welded mount and the clamp on the filter. It is actually just as strong in this config as it was mounted in the cold air section on the factory fenders, plus it can still be easily serviced.

I got the Brown Dog 1" up Motor mounts and the JKS 1.25" BL and read through the directions for the BL. Looked simple and turned out a-ok with no hassles. I am not going to do a full write-up on the BL or the Motor Mounts since there are some good ones floating around already.

I am going to put in a few pointers for everyone.

(1) If you are going to put in the time to install a 1" BL then do the motor mounts. It was such a clean install not having to move the radiator shroud and depending on your application you might not even have to modify the trans linkage bracket. I'd put my name on the Brown Dog motor mounts anytime they are a fine product and customer service was excellent.

(2) The JKS directions were pretty good out of the box. The one change I would make is that they said to loosen all the body mounts and then jack up one side, add the spacers, lower and then loosely install the hardware. From past experience you need to lower the body enough to catch a few threads on the new hardware but not enough to limit you from moving the body mounts by hand. For fun I lowered the body all the way down and sure enough one bolt would not line up.

(3) Here is what I did with the radiator stubbers that everyone seems to have so much trouble with. I didn’t have time to freeze them as I have seen suggested here on JF. I lubed them with silicone spray as suggested and placed them in the hole. I then used a ball joint fork to apply upwards pressure and twisted the stubber with a pair of channel locks. Each one popped right in with a few complete revolutions.

(4) Motor Mounts: There were no directions included with these; just same warnings about fitment with different models. I had already read a few reviews for the mounts so I had a good idea of what was involved. With my 4.0 and AC I found it much easier to remove the entire drv side motor mount vs removing the AC compressor. With the 4 bolts removed from the transmount I put slight pressure on the bottom of the bell housing. Removed the four motor mount bolts and then the 2 cross bolts. The cross bolts still had pressure on them so they would not come out. The more pressure I put on the bell housing the more it raised the rear of the trans. I lowered the bell housing back down till it only had slight upwards pressure and placed my atv jack with 2x4’s under the oil pan and it worked like butter taking the pressure of the cross bolts. The pas side motor mount dropped right in from the top. I loosely installed the cross bolt and 2 motor mount bolts. One the drivers side there were 3 bolts holding the motor mount to the side of the block and I was able to twist the mount enough to get the cross bolt loose. Next just wrestle the new mount in to the driver’s side, reinstall the mount to the block and loosely install the hardware on the new raised mount. Make sure you do not tighten down the cross bolts enough to where they will no still turn under slight pressure. They have lock nuts and if you tighten them too much you will get addition vibes. I actually have less now then with the factory mounts.


Added the Skyjacker flat skid with the 231 and SYE installed. Went with the Terra brackets from DC4WD they are great people with awesome customer service. So much I called him back today and ordered a Tom Woods CV shaft, front and rear upper adjustable RE control arms and the 4.56 gears for the 8.8

There is some minor fitment with the Terra brackets but it was not too bad and I did it all with a flapper wheel. I filled the factory vent and have yet to decide where I am going to place the new one. I am going to wait until I have it test fitted under the TJ to decide if I can do it where the factory abs sensor was routed.

I got all my measurements from Stu's site and double checked with my 35. Thanks for the help and info Stu!

http://www.stu-offroad.com/axle/8.8axle/8.8axle-1.htm

** Part Numbers for 8.8 swap reference **


Brake Best Select SM667 Disk brake pads for the 8.8

Napa 95342 emergency brake cable 8.8 swap (part numbers on the JU forum are incorrect)

Napa 95547 emergency brake cable 8.8 swap (part numbers on the JU forum are incorrect)

Napa 380528 rubber flex hose 8.8 swap

Napa 813-1204 3/16"x20" hard brake line 8.8 swap

Napa 813-1206 3/16"x40 hard brake line 8.8 swap

I am now almost searching for projects to work on, it is heartbreaking to look at the yukon gears for the 8.8 and an empty housing. I have to wait until Sat for some help on that project.

So I decided to do the bypass switch on the door pins. I have really big fingers and getting fuse four out is a pain in the arse.

I wanted the switch acessable from the passenger side but not noticeable as I have lots of friends that like to just flip switches to see what they do. I built a very simple 5min bracket out of some abs for the 20amp toggle to mount to.

On the 2001 TJ the main wiring harness from the fusebox goes towards the driversides. This gives you almost no slack in the wires and since I have to solder everything it made it really fun, but do-able. Cut the two yellow/black wires; soldered them together and onto one side of the switch and then back from the switch to the rear of the fuse box. Quick and easy door pin defeat switch.

Now for the actual beginning of fab work, I did some research and decided that I wanted to go ahead and build my cage from scratch so I ordered up Bendtech and got to work. Did some playing around first with the bender to get used to it and bent some pieces for the front SRC bumper. Tiff put in a hand on getting this completed.

I removed the entire cage no thanks to Jeep Engineers who must be lawsuit happy. The glue that holds down the B pillar plates and is used to fill the torx heads held better then the bolts themselves. Heck with as much glue as they used I do not think they needed any bolts. I removed the glue from the torx heads with a combination of a punch and a dental pick. If you smash the glue a couple times with a small punch and then try and pick it out it goes a lot faster. I made sure and hammered in the torx head before trying to loosen them and only had one strip. Of course it was one behind the pillar on the vertical side between the wheel well so I almost freaked out, but it came out pretty easy once I used a BFH and hammered in the next larger torx. The heads are pretty soft so it wasn't that big of a deal. I made sure and went and replaced all the hardware with hex head bolts to solve this issue in the future.

I cut off the front windshield mounts and will be plug welding them into the new tube arms for the windshield connection and made templates for the other factory location mounts. I am a bit undecided on how I will build the frame tie ins around the B pillar location but at this point I am more worried about the cage itself. I tried to purchase just the mounts for the cage along with some mounts for the factory seat belts but none of the people that sold full cage kits wanted to part with just that hardware, but I am thinking about making all these brackets in bulk in case some other people want them. I added a bit more material to the rear mounts because I am going to have multiple tubes itersecting at this point and thought that the larger foot plate would be more condusive to this and will provide another location to bolt the frame tie ins down.

Copperhead took all my templates and cut out any of the flate plate brackets I have used on the project and some of them they now offer for sale as a stock part.

All 6 mounting locations are plated top and bottom around the body. Bottom plates are 1/4" larger then top to help prevent can opener action on the tub. Front and rear mount locations will have the pictured 1" shear pins in the center made from cold roll to prevent side load shear.

Bendtech is priceless when it comes to these compound notches. The tube is fitting flawless first time. I have yet to mess up a piece of tube and this is the first project I have used the software on. The only problem with it is it seems to be too easy to just add in more tube. I've got to stop somewhere or I won't be able to get in.

While putting everything away I saw the factory sound bar setting in the parts pile and then I get carried away sometimes. I thought man those looks simple. A couple pie cuts for clearance drop it on, no big deal. I think I can even make the factory material work.

Well that would be fine except I found out that the sound bar rises above the plane of the tubes from the factory design. I just have no room to work with between the tube and the hardtop, I spent an hour sectioning the factory bar. Rosset welding the sections back together. Removing the ends to reform them without a rise.

I am now determined to make this thing work out of sure principle, but warn people in the future that these goofy side projects steal lots of time. Now I am already pondering the mounts instead of working on the rear fender design in Bendtech.

My CB will be mounted under the section where the dome light. I am used to having the main unit hidden somewhere because I only run on one channel most of the time and I think I would rather have it here and not looking at it directly all the time above my rear view mirror. The mike will be handy enough to get to and the speak.er should be easier to here since it is right next to my head.

Tiffani cut the front bumper and installed an Antirock.

I removed the rest of the AC ducting to the side vents and plugged them at the main collector. I had previously plugged them at the ends of the ducts near the outer vents but I saw no need in having the ducting in place behind the dash. As long as I have the two center vents and the main defrost I am happy. I rarely used the heater in west TX and the ac is pointless really since I always have the top removed during the warmer months.

I used spray foam and a bit of masking tape to close off the side vent openings. After it all dried I removed the masking and replaced it with the metal backed ducting tape then covered that with duct tape. I think they should be near airtight and hold up to the heater being on.

I also built the adapters for the Baja seats because the factory corbeau parts would have raised the seat another inch over the brackets that I fabed up. Overall it was a bit more work and money then I had thought to install a set of after market seats that were wide enough and at the right height to make me happy with spending the money. I got the seats mounted outboard as far as possible and at the furtherest rearward location they just touch the side of the cage. The inside also slides near snuggly against the console at full frontward movement. Overall they function perfectly and I am happy with the range of adjustment I have out of them. It is going to be possible for Tiff at 5’ to set the pedals in a good location as easily as it will be for me at 6’

Now the real redneck work begun. I borrowed a friends A frame to attempt to remove the cage intact since it is just myself and Tiff putting in the labor. The few true friends that would have lent a hand all happened to be out of town or conveniently busy at the time I needed them. I really was at a standstill and needed the cage out so I figured we would just make something work.

I never did remove the steering wheel so it is not possible to pull the dash past it or out of the vehicle. I contemplated cutting the lower dash support and making it where it could bolt back in, but never got around to it. I thought we could twist the cage out and around the dash since we can pull it away from the firewall a fair amount.

My rush to do things on my own got us in a bit of a mess. We did get the cage out but it was frustrating to say the least. We managed to get it out without breaking anything on the dash or messing up any of the paint, but it did require us to break the tacks on the B pillar mounts and a few deep gouges in the herculiner had to be repaired the following day. Without Tiff these project would have gone horribly bad. She kept me calm during the process that was really getting to me. In hindsight I should have cut the front legs off the main cage, but we had already got it hung from the A frame and I was at the point of getting it out as a whole unit just to prove it could be done.

The A frame was about 10” short of the height I needed to simply hang the cage and drive out so we had contemplated putting blocks under the legs to gain the height, but I just didn’t feel safe with the homemade A frame sitting on blocks. The A frame itself was not stable enough for me to use the winch to raise the cage. I had attempted to run the rope through my bumper, over the A frame and down to the cage. Ended up using multiple straps and sucking the cage upwards to the A frame.

Once it was all hung we had to twist swing, hang, cuss, and wish our way out of the Jeep. Then as I had Tiff drive out from under it we almost caught the B pillar leg on the spare and took the A frame down on top of everyone and the Jeep.

During the whole process I had a few neighbors drive by and none offered to help as usually. I can only imagine what kind of redneck jokes went on that night. None of my neighbors even change their own oil so I think they all are stunned by even the slightest amount of wrench work.

Once it was out I made some adjustments to the front grab handle positions. Finish welded the front legs, windshield bar, and lower mounts. Then promptly cut the front section loose from the main cage. I will just lower the windshield and finish weld those few joints and paint those few spots with it reinstalled in the Jeep.

With the front section removed. Tiff and I were able to pick the cage back up and install it back in the Jeep without help from the A frame. I then reinstalled the B pillar feet and we pulled the main sections back out. All we had to do was strap the lower mounts together and pull the inwards about 1” in order to pull the cage out. Would have been nice to go this route from the start, but I learn as I go.

I got the sound bar all put back together and the factory wiring harness reinstalled into it. The two wires that ran to the factory overhead light have now been converted to power my CB. I tapped into the factory wiring behind the dash and fused it for constant power and ground. I removed the plug from the light housing and soldered it onto the cb so now it just plugs into the mount as needed. I have had a CB installed in near the same location and I really prefer it because I do not have to look at it all the time and it doesn’t block any of the already small windshield area. I can look in the rearview and confirm what channel the cb is on without turning my head and you get used to where the knobs are without even looking. Plus with me being near deaf as is having the speaker right by my head is nice and saves me from running and external speaker.

I finished welded the cage with my buddy’s super nice Miller and installed 20 of the Tanner cage gussets for good measure. I bent the tube for the harness support and will hopefully be getting that installed along with the tube flanges tonight. That will finish up most everything but prep and paint on the cage itself.

I want to get the cage fully painted and installed for the final time before I start on the frame tie ins since they will not require removal of the cage. I had some semi gloss black enamel mixed up and shot two coats on the seat frames and brackets so hopefully tonight Tiff will have those bolted back on the seats for the last time.

I am going to use the same semi gloss to paint the cage and ties ins as I feel there isn’t much need to do the Herc on the cage itself. I think it will make for easy touchups in the future from rock rash.

I got the Harness support all fabed up and installed with tube flanges so it can be removed if we want to put the backseat in for Sonic / Sunday cruising. I notched the tube so I could weld in ½” inserts for the shoulder harnesses to bolt to.

With the wonderful needed help of Tif we got the paint booth built and the main cage painted. There are a few spots under the cage that I will have to mix up another batch of paint for in the morning and get when I can tip the cage over to reach. Overall it went on smooth and I am really happy with the finished product.


** To help answer some of the PM's I have been getting on the cage project. I got the tanner gussets from http://www.pitstopusa.com/default.aspx **

I will have to finish painting the upper windshield area on the A pillar after installation and final welding in the vehicle. I just do not want to have to jimmy this thing around to get it back in with the A pillar attached.

I got the seat belt brackets finished mounted double shear and used a sandwich plate under the body. There was just some minor clearancing required on the emergency brake bracket in order to clear the bolts.

I got the second set of No Limits windshield frame brackets in and went to install those yesterday. I had already returned one set because after test fitting them and speaking with the guys at No Limits it sounded like they were not manufactured correctly. I will give them credit that my transaction occurred over the holiday season but it took about a month to get this replacement set and there is only 1 day shipping between us. They admit tingly do not check their voicemails and it was very hard to get them on the phone. When I did get them on the phone they were super nice and seemed helpful it just took numerous times talking with them to get a resolution, but after getting the second set they are still off as bad as the first.

I decided this is just their design and it really isn’t pleasing to me but I am going to make them work as is for the moment and in the future I will take a body hammer and dolly to them to get the fit better. I think with a few pie cuts and welding, I can get them to fit correctly with the rake of the windshield. They include a molding with the parts that is supposed to fill the gap, but I think it would look very cheesy.

Overall construction of the items are top notch, my lack of umph is in the fitment. I sprayed them with Herc because there is going to be a great amount of water that gets between the guards and the body and I wanted to prevent much marring of the factory paint in order to help prevent rusting of the frame under the guards.

I got both of the rear frame tie ins completed, painted, mounted DONE. I added gussets to both sides of the bushing tabs before final fitment. During the process I decided to drop the tank in order to weld the frame sections on and found one of the two tank straps had been broken off. One of the factory “tank dirt shields” it can’t be called a skid; mounting bolts was bent up. Overall the tank skid was dented in near 2” in one spot all from mild wheeling.

I trashed the skid and called up Rokmen for a true skid replacement. I’m also going to have to do some work on the fuel filler setup to run a somewhat stock filler neck. The cage tie in took precedence over the filler and I did not want to bend that tube to clear the neck. I really am not too worried about the filler because I am going to cut the fenders comp style sometime, but for know I kind of like the challenge of making it work and I think it is possible.

I love pulling gas tanks on these. Mine was 1/2 full, bent bolts, working by myself and it was still cake in comparison to some of the trucks I have owned.

I decided to cut the side bars off and do something different with that. Still waiting on the PSC rear sides to come in, but I have to pack for work in Vegas. I just ghetto fabed up the fuel filler until I get the sides cut and installed.

I got the Rokmen gas skid installed. This is one stout piece of gear. I have used a few other gas skids of the years and this one is by far the best. Do not even shop around for a skid. This one is the cats' meow.

I made some modification to the rockers and side bars. I have to have something to aid getting in and out of the Jeep. I really do not like the extra leverage these would apply to the sides if I do set them on a rock, but that is just the price to pay for the time being. I lined them up even with the tube on the front fenders and that sits the bars up about 1.5" from the lower part of the rocker. I should end up with rocks under the rocker more often then on the bar itself.

I will look into either tying these rockers in a bit more myself or getting some that go under the Jeep and tie in at the body mounts, but other things have to get done first. These will have to work for the time being. I just have them mocked up right now as I still need to finish weld them and get some Herculiner on them. I started to remove the paint with the 7" grinder and wire wheel, but got lazy and coated them with aircraft stripper and then took the pressure washer too them. Getting old really makes you look into the easy ways of doing these projects.

I mocked up the Poison spider guards today and got all the additional holes drilled for accessories like the cb antenna and Bestop tire carrier. I welded up all the flare holes and had to fill in one of the mounting holes on the guards that will partially be covered by the tire carrier mount.

I traced out the factory fender opening and used that as a pattern to open up the rear portion of the flares. I decided to go ahead and do this because a stretch is in the future plans. I did not want to run the standard comp corners as I will not need that much room and I wanted something different then off the shelf guards.

I took part of the removed metal and added it to the lower front portion of the guards to match up perfectly with the rocker panels as the factory PS cut was about 1.5” above my rocker guards. You can see the gap on the driver’s side that needs to be filled.

Tom I will start on the driver side fabrication. I am thinking I can fill the gas filler hole and recut the hole back about 2" and make the factory filler functional again with the frame tie in. I tossed the factory plate holder and bent the plate to follow the body redrilling the mounting holes. I will reuse the two light bolts above the plate and the factory 10mm screws on the bottom. I think and additional crew or bolt might be needed on the driver side to hold the edge of the plate flush with the panel.

You can see a crease on the body where the gap is above the rocker. I know the rocker guards are stout because I hit it hard yesterday bending the corner of my flat belly skid and pushing the rocker upwards enough that is bubbled out the rear quarter. I spent a bit of time with a sledge and a 2x4 flattening everything back out.

I relocated the gas filler location appx 2.5” rearward to clear the rear frame tie ins and allow use of all the factory filler equipment. I filled in the hole on the PSC corners and the recut the entire hole in the appropriate location. By turning the filler neck about 90 degrees from the factory position I was able to clear the vent tube from the frame tie in by about .5”

Some minor grinding to flush up the rockers and a bit of touchup Herc finished out the project.

Took the Jeep out to Katemcy and watched Tiffani get it sideways in the waterfall. Not all her fault but hey she was driving. Only took a minor bit of repair work to fix the Hard Top and made me decide to sell it and the full doors before we destroyed them.

I can't find the pictures but we rolled another buggy attempting to keep the driver side of the Jeep away from the rocks while getting it out of the channel.

Well the Jeep is about to go under the knife again. I am going to start removing the T case in preparation for the Atlas II. I have decided to sell the SYE and all my 231 parts along with the Tom Woods shaft. I'm getting upgraded yokes and outputs on the Atlas so I will have him build me new ones.

Picked up a 14 bolt and a HP Ford 60. Did a large potion of the cleaning via electrolysis. All you need is a watertight non conductive container to use as the bath. I use scrap pieces of tubing that I have for the sacrificial anodes. You can use any conductive metal but it will be destroyed in the process. I have used all kinds of scrap and everything has worked about equally well. I wire these in series with bailing wire and place them around the outside of the container. This entire chain will be connected to the positive lead of my batter charger (VERY IMPORTANT TO BE POSITIVE LEAD)

The part to be cleaned is placed inside the coil of anodes but not touching any of them. The part is connected to the negative lead of the battery charger.

The solution in the bath is made of 1 tablespoon washing soda per gallon of water. No need to make it stronger it will not help. I use Armor Hammer washing soda found at all WalMarts and such in the laundry section.

Make sure the charger is reading a minimum of 5 amps and an automatic setting usually will not work. I just flip my cheapo charger to manual and let it go. The cleaning happens in a line of sight so the entire anode chain needs to go around the part or you will need to turn the part several times.

The picture of the knuckle is after the process and a light manual wire brushing. It saves a heck of a lot of time if you can get the part in a bath. One of these days I will build a bath large enough for an entire axle. You can leave the part in as long as you like it will not damage it with overexposure. You can also reuse the bath solution for as long as you like it just gets nasty quickly. You will see bubbles appearing as the process works.

Got the housing, hubs and knuckles primed and painted. I also decided that the ½ wheel studs on the 60 were not going to cut it. One the 14 bolt has 9/16 and two the hummer wheels are designed for 9/16 studs. I didn’t want what I consider to be half ton studs on a one ton axle. I figured this would be no big issue. Go grab some new studs and press them in. Well days of searching led to the conclusion that there are no 9/16 studs that fit the ford hubs without redrilling them. No biggie but the project got a bit more costly then planned. One the best match for the stud ended up being a Dorman 610-278 for the Ford one ton Truck 96-80 Type: Serrated Stud Thread: 9/16-18 Knurl Dia.: .620" Length: 2-5/8" Shoulder Length: 1" That was all fine and dandy except that I always find the Ford parts are more expensive the same Chevy parts. This was one of those cases. The near match chevy was just a tad bit larger and would have required more drilling so I went with the Ford and the studs cost $1.00 more then the Chevy per stud, not bad until you are only talking a $2.00 part. So now I ended up with $3.00 studs and the store only had 4 instock. I also had to purchase a 39/64 drill bit to redrill all the stud holes in the hubs. Another $25.00 for the stinking bit that I really can’t see myself using again. So all said what I thought would cost about $35.00 ended up costing $75.00 and I still need to purchase another $45.00 worth of lug nuts.

Off to buy a new 1 5/16th socket so I can remove the pinion.

I finished up all the painting on the knuckles, spindles, brake caliper brackets, upper kingpin cap and the lower kingpin caps. Both of the lower kingpin caps had the grease zerks broke off flush with the holes. One of the zerks came out easily with an ease out the other required a fair amount of drilling and then a reverse drill bit to remove the remainder. I re-taped both of the holes and installed new zerks.

I can’t remember where I first saw it but I can’t take credit for the idea: I cut four washers from 1/8” plate and welded them on the lower kingpins to create a guard that will hopefully save the zerks from upcoming years of rock rash.

I started work on removing the 5 or so layers of paint on the first Hummer beadlock and quickly became bored of that project. I am going to try a few different methods before I give up and search for a sandblasting company in the Lubbock area. The one I have located wanted near $20.00 for each ring and that is way ridiculous in comparison that the prices I used to pay in NM. The place I used to use would have sandblasted and powder coated them for that price.

So for now I let the first half sit with some serious paint stripper sitting on it.

Well my helper finally got back to town and back to work on the Jeep. She really got into the pressure washing last night. It is so wonderful to have someone that helps out with the projects.

Yesterday I got the Dana 60 knuckles all put back together minus the dust shields that I am not going to reuse. We got all but one of the rim halves cleaned up and stripped of the 5 multi-color layers of paint. The last rim half was on its’ second round of paint stripper.

I ground all of the rings on a 45 degree angle in preparation for welding. We primed the lower portion of the rim halves and the underside of the rock rings before we welded them up because I do not think I could have gotten a good coat on them once the rings were installed. I would be really sad to see rust starting after all the work it took to get these things cleaned up.

With the just a bit of prep work these rings were ready to weld up. I got two of them completed and totally in primer and the others will come shortly.

Well I guess no one involved knew what they were talking about when I called last week to check on the status of my order: as my Atlas arrived on Wed and that Monday they had said it was about 3 weeks out when it was already on the UPS truck. Oh well I was happy! To bad I was out on the road working at the time.

This weekend has been loaded with projects. First off I had to get the Atlas installed. Tif was a big help on this project as the case had to come in and out of the Jeep about 8 times before it was all over with. I did finally get it in there at the flattest possible position on the clocking ring which was 7 degrees. Even with the JKS 1.25” bodylift there was some heavy beating needed on about a 5”x 5” area of the floor forward of the seat mounts. I massaged this area with a 5lb sledge and then cleaned it all up with a body hammer. It looks normal from the interior.

I do have to say that the installation directions for the shifters were not very helpful. They were pretty vague at best. I ended up moving my shifters a bit more towards the front of the jeep and had to clock the bracket to clear the body with the tummy tuck. I think it would be a cake walk with a factory skid and a body lift but since I wanted the 7 degree clock a flat skid some mild tweaking was needed. It is all in now and shifts great. Too bad I have no driveshafts at the moment. I am planning on replacing the 1310 cv yokes with some flanges and running 1350 cv’s since the one tons will be going under in a few months.

I ended up with about 3/4" clearance at a minimum around the case and the skid. I think with the combination of all the mounting points, poly bushings and the frame tie ins that there shouldn't be any contact due to torque transfer on the case.

I built the block off panel for the factory shifter hole from some sheet metal I cut off the rear fenders and herculined that after I got it bolted down. I also relocated the hole some over a standard install because of clocking the case. Just a bit of the rubber boot is going to be visible now from under the console. I minor price to pay to get the 7 degree mounting.

I also drilled the skid to provide access to the Atlas drain.

I know it is going to look goofy until I get the one tons and stretch completed but I decided to start on the comp cut rear. I have always hated the way that the passenger corner looked because they are cut for the larger factory tailgate hinges and there was about a 1.5” gap between the corner and the hinge. (you can see the gap in the first picture back from a few months ago) I used some of the removed metal and cut filler panels for both of the hinge gaps and the filled in the gas filler hole that I relocated a few weeks ago ahhh. I also filled in the upper mounting holes from the Bestop tire carrier. I had a brain fart and forgot to fill in two of the holes for the license plate so I have to get those later. For now they are just herculined and not very noticable. The license plate will be going on the new tire carrier that is starting to take shape in Bendtech.

I ended up cutting right up to the body mounts at the moment but I might cut that out in the future depending on how the one tons fit under with the stretch. I really do not have to have them since the body is mounted by the cage bushings in the rear.

I put a fresh coat of my favorite herculiner on the newly transformed corners and got them bolted back on today.

The fuel cell is an RCI 2161A and I will be using the factory sending unit and fuel pump from the TJ. Copperhead Fab and I are working together to come up with a new design on the current rings used to adapt these pump setup to the RCI tank. He will be offering it as a production item when the project is complete.

I found you could notch the locating tabs (not mounting tabs) and use the factory seat bolts for the rear locations. I will drill and bolt the front locations and make some aluminum mounting straps to mount the entire assembly. I do not want to use rubber isolators like I have seen others do. The combinations of frame tie ins and the location I am mounting the cell should not see enough flex to make the isolators beneficial. (have to find a new location for the CO2 tank now)

I also have some ideas on reusing the factory fuel snap connections versus reflaring the factory hard lines and pumps to accept rubber hose and clamps. I need something between ghetto fabulous and bling. I couldn’t bring myself to by the $100.00 worth of an fittings to do this part with braded line and AN’s.

I got the tank brackets completed and installed some edge molding to protect the tank from chaffing. I decided to add the channel to the front of the brackets to provide some additional strength for no other reason then I had it and peace of mind.

Cut the hole for the pump and sending unit and completed designing the pump rings with Copperhead fabrications. Kyle is going to be offering these rings as a production item here shortly. I just couldn’t bring myself to spend the amount of money that others were wanting for such a simple item. Kyle had some great ideas to make this a more complete kit then others are offering. The inner ring fits together like a puzzle and saves the end user from having to cut the ring to insert it in the tank. The nice part about it is it locks together to provide additional support over cutting a ring and it also keeps the diameter perfect for using it as a pattern for cutting the RCI tank.

Install process of the rings is very easy. You take the upper ring and and trace your bolt hole pattern onto the tank and drill out the mounting holes. Then in the center of the bolt pattern you cut a hole large enough to get you inside the tank. I then used the upper ring bolted to the tank upside down to cut the inner circle. This hole needs to be cut to match the lower ring as it reuses the factory rubber seal so no additional gaskets or sealing compound is needed unlike other kits.

I’m now waiting on paint to dry on the upper ring before I bolt in the pump. The only issues I have found with the reusing the factory pump is it sits off the bottom of the tank by 1” I am not too worried about the unusable fuel. I have also heard that some people have had the lower spring loaded pump sleeve detach from the upper housing under hard impact. The upper pump bracket floats inside of the tube. There are three tabs on the tube that engage the upper bracket that can come loose. To prevent this I marked where the sold part of the 3 tabs located behind the tube and drilled through both the tub and tabs and inserted some machine bolts to hold the two pieces together. This will prevent the halves from coming apart inside the tank. I am doubtful that the 3 tabs themselves are going to break off from anything less then some serious impacts.

I have been considering attempting to modify the pump itself to use a hose pickup within the tank. I would use a T and two weighted pickups so on off camber situations the fuel pump not starve of fuel. At this point I am going to run the pump as is and see if there are any issues with it as is.

I cut the factory hard plastic fuel lines apart and was able to salvage the spring loaded end clips. The fuel pump end and the hard fuel line end are different sizes but I found that the barbs are the same size and fit 5/16” fuel line. You can simply cut this ends out of the factory hard plastic line and insert them into your new flex line to extend them to your fuel cell.

Moved the bracket for the CO2 tank and mounted that to the inner fender and floor where the regulator would still remain protected behind the jack and cage structure. I’ll have to build a rack now for the toolbox and raise it to clear the tank.

Got the cell fully installed and plumbed. I rebent the factory hard lines and rerouted the wiring. I've got to locate a grommet now for the cut in the floor, but with the clamps installed the hoses are not currently contacting the bed floor.

I Herced the sides and got them reinstalled last week.

Jesses over at HighAngle Driveline got me a 1350 CV one ton shaft cut and sent out for the rear. I had him install a 1350 yoke on the axle end also and just used a 1310 1350 conversion U joint for the time being until the 14 bolt is installed. I really like the machined flange that he builds for the Atlas. I will be using the same flange and a 1350 CV for the front as well when the new axles go in.

Instead of building a rack for the toolbox and blocking my rear view I installed a 40mm container to the rear floor for use as a toolbox. It is a large box with a completely removable lid and worked well last weekend.

We took a test run out at Post and the Atlas worked perfectly. It is really stiff when shifting but from past experience they smooth out quickly.

I earned some brownie points with Advanced Adapters last week. Santa came early and an identical Atlas II and shifters arrived at my door. They had entered the sales order twice for the retailer and I had a free one show up. I called them up and told them of the error and they were happy to send me out a call tag for the return. As I suspected since it was their error they would have been at the loss for the cost of the case, but I’m a firm believer that everything in life comes back to you and it just wouldn’t have been right to keep the case.

I got a few shirts from them for letting them know, but I am pushing for a set of T&E cable shifters for the TJ. We’ll see if they pull through on that one as they said they could probably make it happen.

The Jeep looks really funny with the comp cut and stock wheelbase but I can picture it completed.

***

Had a great trip to Katemcy. Did have some fuel pump issues and about distroyed the rear bumper. We almost wore through the tube in some locations from the horrible departure angle I currently have. I am so looking forward to the stretch.

I have already started fixing both issues. I added some rubber feet to the bottom of the new pump while I had it out of the tank. Completely cut the old body mounts and cross member out of the rear. I am replacing it with a 2x4 3/16" rear bumper / cross member. I also inbourded the rear body mounts and recut the corners once again. I've got the bottom fishplates in and need to get over to Copperhead fab and have some fishplates cut to cap the sides and tie into the frame. I think with the new body mounts that everything is plenty firm but I do not like the look of the open tube and there is no doubt it will be stronger with some additional fishplates on the sides.

The sealant I had used to attach the inner ring to the bottom of the cell was label “fuel safe” I can’t say it enough because it is pissing me off. So to solve this from happening again I ground down the male tabs on the inner rings to allow room for some ole faithful jb weld to be used to attach the two halves together once inside the tank. Then I enlarged 4 of the though mounting holes a bit and clamped the now solid inner ring to the tank. I filled in around the though holes effectively bonding the studs to the top of the tank. This holds no more weight the ring itself but you have to have something holding the inner ring to the top of the tank to mount everything. I also enlarged the hole for the pump seal just a bit more because the fit was a bit tight to allow for trail repairs in the future.

I replaced the two strainer again after cleaning out the tank and buttoned everything back up as well as installed another inline fuel filter down line on the supply hose because I would have been sick to see this trash make it to the fuel rail on the motor. This way the two in tank strainers are not the only thing filtering fuel before it gets to the motor. All around poor factory design. I am contemplating selling this fuel cell and pump as a unit for someone to bolt in and then replacing my entire fuel rail with one of a YJ, running a return line and then putting a chevy pump on the frame rail and using the factory pickup on a new fuel cell. This would make quick fixes in the future must less costly and easier to do once the initial conversion is made.

There was also 3 or 4 times on the trail where I was at such an extreme angle that the trans was starving for fluid and I had to really get on the gas to get any forward movement and when it locked up it was a heck of a hit like slamming it into drive with the gas pedal pressed. I’m going to go out and install a deep pan with a drain today. The pan should help this in the future and the drain will be super nice. Next time I have the trans out I am going to relocate the vent but at current in the stock location it could be very possible to suck in some water on a deep crossing and the drain would make it much easier to swap out fluids on the trail. For now I do my best to keep it out of the water but we did slide into a spot at Katemcy that brought water into the cab over the door seals. Thankfully nothing got in the trans before we hopped back on dry land.

Not much to tell today. I installed the deep transmission pan and ended up having to drop the skid to reinstall it. No big deal just hoping I could save the trouble.

I got both of the fenders removed. The driver side has everything remounted out of the well. I was able to build brackets for everything including the cruise control, two separate emission modules and the charcoal canister. Everything got mounted without having to extend any of the wiring, but I did have to modify and or replace almost all the hoses in the emissions system. I even remounted both the horns.

The passenger side is off and everything is just hanging for the moment while I decide if I am going to move the battery to the back of the Jeep or build a new mount since I thrashed the factory mount when I installed the Phantom fenders and the new mount is specific to the phantom fenders.

Got the fishplates welded on the ends of the bumper and heard of this guy using Herculiner on his Jeep and he said it worked well so I’m giving it a try on the rear bumper???

Anyways joking aside I did “roll” on a base coat to keep the metal from rusting but the wind has been way bad here the last few days and I have been unable to get the Jeep outside to spray the next two coats. The look of the rolled on finish is junk for sure.

I remounted all the passenger side components and started work on the fender skirts which will be cut from 1/8” steel (because I have it already) Just have to get some time on the plasma table at CopperHead Fab. That will not likely happen until next week as we are currently on a deadline to finish up a Toyota buggy before Sat morning.

I'm going to drop a plump line off the hood contour and cut into the new battery trey to match the curve of the hood. I will also cut a rib plate to this contour and use both to bend the plate in the same contour as the hood follows.

I will also be making a support that will attach the factory grill to the front hoop for support.

Before you say anything about the location of the winch solenoid pack remember that I have never used the factory controller as I have controls in the console. I let a guy today spend about 5 minutes making fun of where I mounted it and then I just pointed to the controls wired inside. He was a bit red in the face.

I decided not to use the Chris Durham Hood I bought.

The air filter is in about the worst location it could be in so the weekend project was to get started on relocation the KN filter under the cowl.

I got all the wires detached from the firewall and opened up the cowl area with the air saw. You can see my comfy positioning for the work.

I got some 3" exhaust tubing for free from the scrap buckets at the muffler shop and I will be welding up about 3 pieces to complete the project. I've got two of them cut in the pictures here.

Overall this will work very similar to the write-ups I have seen in the past but I decided to waive off the "tuner" parts you can get and build this from as much stuff as I already had and free scraps I can find. I did have to buy a nipple for the crankcase breather tube and a 3" rubber union. I'll also need a longer hose for the breather.

I had to cut most of the factory intake on the blower fan to clear the large K&N filter but I think it will all squeeze in with some room to spare. I'm going to weld in the tubing at the firewall intersection so the filter has a solid mount and I will rubber mount a section of the K&N tube to the throttle body and the hard tubing at the firewall.

After having the filter in open air for most of the year it still wasn't too dirty so I am not too worried about having to remove the cowl to clean the filter. I think it will be much more protected from the elements and now I should be able to drive through a fair amount of mud and water without worry. I doubt the loss in performance over the old setup will be noticeable on a mostly trail vehicle.

I finished up cutting and welding today. Got the intake welded into the firewall along with a 16 gauge surround to strengthen the area. Slapped some paint on it tonight and will start relocating and positioning the wires tom.

Lets just say I was up way too early this morning. The air intake project is now completed, wiring and all.

Back home again and I built some roll around work stations for the 1 tons out of some HF dolleys. Under $20.00 in each one now I have no excuse to keep moving forward on their completion; except funding.

A friend helped me out with a set of calipers off an old project vehicle but both of them were leaking fluid so instead of cleaning them up and rebuilding them I just used them as cores and got some new calipers at AutoZone. The conversion brackets for the 14 bolt uses 73 Chevy K20 4x4 front calipers. You can use just about all the Chevy truck calipers from 71 to about 85. I hit them with some ricer inspired red caliper paint, painted all the outboard hardware and got them all installed on the axle. Replaced the guide pins with some new ones from Auto Zone H5004

I'm going to try and get to removing the truss tonight because I need to fully weld the bottom area and also replace the axle breather tube since it is under the truss broken in the axle at the moment.

If you mount up the H1 Hummer wheels with the factory backspacing this axle is within 1/2" of the current 8.8 I think I will end up reentering the wheels to about 3 3/4 backspacing. This will get me an appx added 8" - 10" of width over the current setup.

There is a large portion of work done that is missing from these pictures, but I didn’t take the time to stop and get a camera. I cut off the truss and fully welded all the bottom joints and bored out the factory vent tube hole. I installed a brass fitting with nipple in order to accept a rubber line for extending the vent to roll cage. I also had to drill a hole in the truss in order to route the vent line from the case up through the truss and down along the control arms. It will run beside the brake line.

I also had some 11mm brake lines built at the local hose shop and replaced the 11mm banjo bolts on the calipers. I attached two mounts made from stacked washers to mount the joints between the hard lines and the rubber lines on the tubes and bent the hard lines the run under the truss and included a T near the drivers side of the truss for a single rubber line to run at the joint on the control arm, another hard line down the arm connecting another flex line and the frame side mount. I ended up using 3 sections of 3/16th line from Advanced Auto (2) PA308 8" and a single PA340 40" along with a 343521 3/16" T. This will allow the minimal length of rubber line needed and near all lines will be standard 3/16th flare so I can easily field repair. I like to have a good length of brake line on hand and a pair of vice grips so a brake in the line can be crimped off or replaced as needed. If you have a long line you can simply coil it to use in patching shorter lengths of tube on the trail.

I also purchase a “bat wing” mount from copperhead fab and have been modifying it to work with the truss. http://copperheadfab.com/index.php?a...&productid=172 The link mount is designed to be used on 1.75” tube but it easily modded to use on the flat top of the truss. I also picked up 2 of the Summit Machine 2 5/8” flex joints while at Kyle’s. http://copperheadfab.com/index.php?a...w&productid=53 These are some of my favorite joints. They are easily rebuildable and you can adjust their tension as they wear. They are top notch; Summit Machine part number SM-FJ-2.625/562!

I’ve added a rear tab to the truss in which I will be running my rear pull down winch to the axle. I’ve got to box in the structure and I’ll be taking it to Kyle’s shop next week to use the 220 welder to burn all the heavy welds in and paint the axle. Next on tap will be setting up the spool, a set of 5.13 gears and a new U bolts syle yoke. I’ll added a heavy duty cover and the 14 bolt will be ready to roll under the Jeep and receive the Air shock mounts as well as the lower control arm mounts both of which will have to wait until I get it under the Jeep.

I started boxing in the control arm mounts being sure to leave access to the grease fittings on the flex joints and just didn't like how the tab was done for the rear winch so I cut it off. I had a simple 1/2" tab that I was going to run a clevis in and then wrap the winch line through it, but I was worried that the cable would start to wear on the clevis. So I cut it off and made two gussets with a boxed bottom that would support the rear of the control arm mount and put a 5/8" clevis pin through it. I am going to cut some 3/4" tubing to put as a sleeve over the clevis kind of like a mini roller for the line.

As you can see from the first picture and previous post I had already cut a portion of the lower lip off of the 14 bolt shovel up to the bottom bolt hole. On my last 14 bolt project, I had cut the entire lower bolt hole off and welded in a flat plat of ½ inch to the bottom of the case and had the ring gear machined to clear the new bottom. This worked ok but really needed to have another hole machined and tapped in the plate because the cover would leak after hard hits.

Learning from the past and wanting to save the custom machining on a ring gear, keep the warranty and save some time I have opted for a new technique with this axle. Even with the larger cut and new plated bottom I think the clearance gains were not worth the effort. In my opinion the main issue with the 14 bolt is that it has a large flange on the back of the axle that hangs on anything that gets close to it. Hence the shovel term dubbed to these axles. On this one I cut as much was possible off the bottom of the flange before getting into the bottom bolt hole of the cover. I then took a cut off wheel and cut a bevel into the flange where enough meat was left to comfortably keep the strength of the lower cover mounting area. I then cut a few sections of sucker rod to use as filler and started creating a ramped area on the lower section of the case. I am not worried about hitting the center section but I did not want it to hang as it was drug over and obstacle. I ended up using 4 pieces of rod to create the ramp. First by bending and tacking them to the case then cutting them to shape with a cutoff wheel. I filled in the gaps with some weld and ground everything down to create the ramp.

I was tired at this point in the project and the Texas heat is getting to me so I called it quits for now, but just for kicks in the near future I will take my die grinder and a flap wheel to the start of the weld area and smooth it for a better appearance. I doubt it will help with function and nearly everything drug on the case bottom from front to back should now have a gradual ramp to follow with no protrusions to hang on. Overall I am happy with this route in comparison to the machining required in the past.

Started work on the motor / trans skid.

Brown stopped by and delivered the Precision Gear mini spool for the 14 bolt yesterday. Got it new, overstock from Ebay for less then $100.00 to my door. It simply installs in place of the stock spider gears in the two piece carrier.

I got most of the parts fabbed up today for the engine trans skid. I’ve welded up the fish plates that will bolt to the drop legs off the motor mounts. The plates will bear no weight as they are installed only to hold the drop legs under the motor mounts. The drop legs will be contoured to sit flush with the bottom of the motor mounts so as not to have a shear load placed on the mounting bolts. The bottom of the drop legs will be mounted in a similar fashion to the top of the skid.

Got the cages built around the mounting bolts. I recur the drivers side to clearance more for the driveshaft. I found that at full droop on the driver’s side and full stuff on the passenger the driveshaft would barely kiss the side of the skid. I cut about another half inch off the driver side so it should all be good now. I shot the thing with some cheap flat black, drilled a few drain holes and called it good until trail testing on the 9th. I did add a center support and could easily jack the entire vehicle from the skid without any noticeable deflection.

One of these days I will sand blast the entire skid and treat it to some good paint.

I made some progress last night. I took the plasma and rough cut all of the following dead weight. 4 upper control arm brackets, 4 lower control arm brackets, the rear track bar bracket, rear coil buckets, rear sway bar link brackets, steering box mount, and then I just ran out of things to cut off. I'll have to get the front track bar bracket with the saw-zal as it was too thick for the plasma to effectively cut off.

Now the dang countless hours of grinding and smoothing the frame can start. grrr

I also found that at the rear support brace on the truss is not going to work with my pinion angle and 1 3/4" arms. The arms would hit the mounting bolt on the drivers side at full compression. So here is where I am going with the fix. Cut the support arm in half, move the mount to the bottom of the truss and then move one of the bolt holes towards the center of the mount instead of being offset to both sides.

The grinding and smoothing of the frame still continues on and on and on.

Took a few brakes just to keep my sanity: I got the Dodge 3500 MC installed and lengthened the pushrod with a new bolt after removing the head. I also removed the front passenger brake line and installed a plug in the proportioning valve to run just a single front brake line. (napa pt# 131x3) I will run it down to a T on the front axle to keep things simple. I removed the o ring on the proportioning valve and will see how the brakes feel before moving forward. If they are not to my liking I’ll remove the proportioning valve and go with an adjustable rear valve. I am undecided on cutting brakes right now. I think the cool factor of two more levers is appealing more then the function.

Got the rear truss cut and welded; I think the bolt might work in its’ current location now that I gained ¼” clearance. I am going to wait until I mock up the rear links to see. It will be easy enough to move it after mock up. I’ll be pulling the axle again to setup the gears any-who.

Decided to start over yet again on the front bumper. Think one is going to be super simple and not as busy as the last one. Picked up a universal plate and cut it down to size and used some of the ¼” 4x2 tubing for the front.

Replaced all the wheel bearings and got the hubs installed for mockup. Dead tired and calling it a day. I only have to grind the two front uppers now so I can see the end of the frame project in the horizon.

As far as the rear links I am going to be doing a double triangulated 4 link and I think I about have all the numbers down to my liking. Hopefully my link mounts will show up next week while I am on the road with work. I bought all the link materials and will be ready to mock up the rear when parts arrive.

It was like Xmas except everything I opened had a bill with it. I did get a bit of work done on the Jeep last night. Cut, bent and welded up the fishplates and caps for the front bumper.

I also mocked up the rear axle under the Jeep and hopefully today a missing box will arrive and I can start cutting the rear links.

Right now everything seems like it will line up to following numbers:

Static Anti-Squat 62%
Roll Center Height 27 inches
Roll Axis Angle -3 degrees roll understeer
Instant Center x-Axis 142 inches
Instant Center z-Axis 33 inches

Thanks again needs to go out to Copperhead Fabrications as he let me use his bender to do the rear cross member. I have had Bendtech for some time, but just never have brought myself to get a bender setup, mainly because Copperhead lends me time on theirs.

U work for Spec Ops Brand? I got issued some of your stuff before I went to Iraq. Good swag.

Sick build. following this one.

Nice work. Cool to see the total morph of the jeep from then till now. Your also a lucky guy to have a GF who digs wheeling and helps!:)

lookin great bro. i just skimmed over and for sure will read more when i have time

Bendtech is priceless when it comes to these compound notches. The tube is fitting flawless first time. I have yet to mess up a piece of tube and this is the first project I have used the software on. The only problem with it is it seems to be too easy to just add in more tube. I've got to stop somewhere or I won't be able to get in.

I am glad to here things are going great. I would like to use this quote if I could.

Later, Cris


.

U work for Spec Ops Brand? I got issued some of your stuff before I went to Iraq. Good swag.

Hope it all worked out for you. I am on the road right now heading to Fort Benning.

Sick build. following this one.

Much appreciated.

Nice work. Cool to see the total morph of the jeep from then till now. Your also a lucky guy to have a GF who digs wheeling and helps!:)

I have done it both ways and undoubtfully having a GF that supports the same hobby is wonderful. The only problem is she does not like to just ride. I am going to pass this JP on to her sometime next year and start a single seat buggy.

lookin great bro. i just skimmed over and for sure will read more when i have time

Again appreciated.

I am glad to here things are going great. I would like to use this quote if I could.

Later, Cris


.

Cris long time since we last talked, that is another props to you that I have not needed any more direction on the program.

You are more then welcome to use my quote. PM me if you want it on Company Letterhead:smokin:

Great work!
X2 on seeing its progress :smokin:

i am just praying that my girl helps me out this much when "we" build her a rig this winter. Love the jeep. I really like what you did with the gas filler neck halfway through the build.

Well documented build! It takes a lot of time and patience to build, document, post, and then answer the inherent barage of questions that will follow.

Good to see someone building a :smokin: TJ in Lubbock. Everyone always thought my old beater was something special. :laughing: I shuttered a little to see someone working in a cramped ass Lynnwood garage with one electrical outlet, ahhh the days. :homer: Make sure and keep everything locked up tight, off road parts get stolen frequently in Lubbock. I got hit several times.

Sweet build/thread

good mod on your lower KP retainers. GeberHead pointed that one out to me on my thread.

Looks good

Brian,

Looks good man. GREAT thread. This is what I like to see. Someone that not only lets you know what they were thinking, shows what the did and good pictures to go along with it. You are a lucky man to have a girl that is into it like you are. I can't tell you how many times I wish I had just one more hand to get something done. Keep up the good work!!

:grinpimp:PS. Fawk Jeep Forum. Yank your thread off of that site:grinpimp:

Todd

It looks like you installed your shoulder harnesses about inline with the slots in your seats. Does that put the attachment point below your shoulders?

I planned on doing approximately what you did, but that put the attachment point 4-6" below my shoulder and that is a no-no according to the information provided with the belts I have. I guess I will have to put mine on the top of my seat to get the right height.

By the way man, cool looking ride... good job.

Long Beard

Great work!
X2 on seeing its progress :smokin:

:)

i am just praying that my girl helps me out this much when "we" build her a rig this winter. Love the jeep. I really like what you did with the gas filler neck halfway through the build.

Ya some of those projects were needed at the time but it hurt to cut them up and blow past them shortly after they were completed. But hey it looked nice for a few weeks like that.

Well documented build! It takes a lot of time and patience to build, document, post, and then answer the inherent barage of questions that will follow.

Good to see someone building a :smokin: TJ in Lubbock. Everyone always thought my old beater was something special. :laughing: I shuttered a little to see someone working in a cramped ass Lynnwood garage with one electrical outlet, ahhh the days. :homer: Make sure and keep everything locked up tight, off road parts get stolen frequently in Lubbock. I got hit several times.

Ya this same post took 30 pages on the "other" forum to get this much information out there, but it is much more detailed and has about 6 times the pics.

I take it you are no longer in Lubbock? Mine is under lock and key, the alarm, attack dog (ha ha) and GF keep a good eye on the toys.

Sweet build/thread

:)

good mod on your lower KP retainers. GeberHead pointed that one out to me on my thread.

Looks good

I had done the same on my K5, but too bad it was after I rubbed the grease zerks off on rocks.

Brian,

Looks good man. GREAT thread. This is what I like to see. Someone that not only lets you know what they were thinking, shows what the did and good pictures to go along with it. You are a lucky man to have a girl that is into it like you are. I can't tell you how many times I wish I had just one more hand to get something done. Keep up the good work!!

:grinpimp:PS. Fawk Jeep Forum. Yank your thread off of that site:grinpimp:

Todd

You know you miss JP, I'm trying to catch up to your rock build. I was hoping your guys in the shop would have hid the motor and trans from you a few more days so I would have some extra time.

It looks like you installed your shoulder harnesses about inline with the slots in your seats. Does that put the attachment point below your shoulders?

I planned on doing approximately what you did, but that put the attachment point 4-6" below my shoulder and that is a no-no according to the information provided with the belts I have. I guess I will have to put mine on the top of my seat to get the right height.

By the way man, cool looking ride... good job.

Long Beard

The belts are above my shoulders (6') and the mounts are within the 5deg below and 30deg above rule for most any driver or passenger that would be in the Jeep. So no worries on spinal compression here.

I got the truss tacked into place and the rear links are starting to take shape. The crossmember itself is mounted through 1 3/4 holes drilled in the frame. I will also use a fish plate around the holes once everything is finish welded and confirmed not to bind under articulation.

I might need to notch a small portion of the tub to clear the upper links on full compression. There is about 1” of clearance between the upper truss at full compression. Some bump stops will definitely be in order.

The rock light will have to go as the driveline would self clearance it on compression. I have plenty of room to clear the lower link mount with the CV at full droop and the links should help keep the shaft off of the rocks.

Tiffani offered up some help so I happily pressed on. She knocked out the lowers and even got started on the uppers. No wussy 4" grinder for this gal; she jumped straight from that to the MIG welder.

There are adjustable ends on the upper frame side joints for length and I have 3 hole mounts for vertical adjustment to get the anti squat where I want it.

Looks nice, looks similar to my build.. Keep it going.

I started so early this am that I need the light to see what was going on. Lots of thanks have to go out to Tiffani. She was a major part in all the work that got done today. We got both frame sides notched and plated. I cut the notch and welded in ¼” backing plates on the inside of the frame rail and used the same box tubing from the front and rear bumpers to make a C notch so the air shocks can be mounted inwards and rearwards at about 10 degrees both directions.

We installed two more corner bars on the rear of the cage and cut holes in the upper wheel wells for the top mounts to protrude into the well. The top of the shock is right in the upper pocket with just enough clearance to get the Nitrogen chuck on the shocks. I got both lower mounts installed on the axle and the gusset for the lower control arm mounts will tie into both the CA mounts and the air shock mounts.

We got all the bumpstops mocked up and I've got them installed as far out on the axle as possible. The length is perfect to keep the shocks from bottoming out under full compression.

Everything is going to stay tacked until final teardown.

2.5" shocks?

If so, lets hear how they work. Definately easier than keeping coils.

2.5" shocks?

If so, lets hear how they work. Definately easier than keeping coils.

Fox 2.0.... they were the right price. Under $100.00 each

Fox 2.0.... they were the right price. Under $100.00 each
Where you find that deal:eek:?! Im in the process of getting some emulsions for a good price. The exact same shocks! Please do tell

lol you know how the story goes he "found them" Very nice build i always enjoy all the picture you post up.

Where you find that deal:eek:?! Im in the process of getting some emulsions for a good price. The exact same shocks! Please do tell

lol you know how the story goes he "found them" Very nice build i always enjoy all the picture you post up.

The forsale forum here. Got the shocks and a brand new Poly Perf nitrogen fill kit and some misc goodies for $750.00

Very cool build. You have the coolest girlfreind in the univerese. Women with power tools; that brings a tear to my eye. Builds like these give me motivation to shut the comuter off and go out to the garage.

Got the three link mocked up in the front less the panhard bar. Fixed lowers and adjustable upper; I’ve got adjustment to go from about 40-100% anti-dive. I cut down the upper mount as much as possible to gain some uptravel before hitting the radiator. I still have a bit over 6” of separation between the upper and lower. I will add some gussets to the mounts since this is about the min separation I would be willing to run with 40” tires.

Tomorrow I am going to start the design work on Bendtech for the front air shock hoops, engine cross bar, and the rear suck-down winch mounting brackets.

Stuck a mild stinger on the front to protect the rope and fairlead just for kicks and notched it to mount on the 90deg leading edge of the bumper which turned out to be more work then I thought to eyeball. Next time I will stick it in Bendtech and print a template, that program has made me lazy.

Put some trailer LEDs in the factory body locations, stuck some reverse lights on the back and added the LED third brake light to the rim which to date has been the most noticed thing on the Jeep and makes me shake my head every time someone comments.

Picked up an explorer 8.8 and installed lockrights and 4.56 front and rear. Still on the Dana 30 front axle.

Added interior winch controls, brown dog motor mounts and a JKS 1.25 body lift.

The high-lift has been mounted all over the Jeep at one point or another and there was time when the reverse a bars went from frame mount to body mount to rocker mount getting cut up more each time, a Bestop tire carrier was used on the rear with the addition of the 35’s t and 4” springs. RE adjustable uppers and track bars etc. etc.

Where did you find a winch switch like that one if you dont mind me asking?

Where did you find a winch switch like that one if you dont mind me asking?

http://www.12voltguy.com/web/

This thing looks awesome! keep the pics comin

This thing looks awesome! keep the pics comin

Thanks, here are some more. If you want more specific pictures on any part of the project just ask. I have tons of detailed photos of this build. I just do not want 30 pages of pictures that people do not care about.

The middle and lower mounting points on the upper arm just clear the starter. If I was going to use the upper position I would have to remove the starter to install the bolt. I think that the upper position would have too much anti dive anyways so I will start with the middle position for now.

When I remove the brackets for final welding I will have to drill the frame to clear the bolt ends as they hit the frame. That or I will cut the bolts down until they just kiss the frame. There is enough room to have the threads just protrude through the nut so the strength would still remain the same. I just do not want to get shorter bolts as the current ones have the shoulders touching both sides of the mounts so there is no load on the threads.

yer ujoint's growing fuzzies.
Kill it.

yer ujoint's growing fuzzies.
Kill it.

I was waiting for the shroomies to start growing. I think they come shortly after the fuzzies.

I'm killing the entire shaft :smokin: No more 1310 joints.

I had some much appreciated help again last night as we attempted to mock up the front shock hoops. I had to bend 4 pieces and then sleeve the inside and weld them together to get the bend radius as sharp as I wanted it.

Took a few tries on figuring out how we wanted the mounts but overall I am super happy with it. They are set at 12deg back and 12deg in with the lower mounts gusseting between the tube and the inner C.

I figured I would roll the 39.5” Iroks up there just for a teaser photo. I'm waiting on the new centers so I can mock up some different backspacing options and keep the tires under the rig as much as possible while still allowing the low ride height and full flex. I do not think cutting the hood anymore is going to gain much clearance with as much front stretch as I have because the grill appears like it might come into contact with the tire before the hood at full lock.

The 1/2" large eye bolts really make it easy for mockup because I can hand tighten the bolts and remove them without a wrench as I mock up the air shocks.

[QUOTE=BozoWise;8806261]I had some much appreciated help again last night...
http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=394597&stc=1&d=1222998200[QUOTE]


...Lucky Bastard!

[QUOTE=BozoWise;8806261]I had some much appreciated help again last night...
http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=394597&stc=1&d=1222998200[QUOTE]


...Lucky Bastard!

thats what i was thinking

I see your van all over town and I have always wonder what you do. I live on the south end of town and if you ever need an extra set of hands give me a holler. I get bored not having a project :(

My centers came in from MRW while I was gone so I quickly got on the phone and borrowed my buddy’s plasma and cut out the old centers. The centers drop in well and fully seated they give about 3.25” backspacing. Just about what I had wanted so they turned out being an easy project. There was no need to make a jig to set the backspacing I wanted with the pressed centers. I just took a flap wheel to the inside of the rims and cleaned them down to shiny metal before welding.

I had picked up a new 220volt 210 Ironman welder before I had left and it made short work of the centers. And a few hours with the flap wheel on the cuts cleaned everything up nicely.

Broke out some degreaser and the power washer and cleaned everything up in preparation for paint. Then setup the redneck paint booth and shot all the rims with the same flat black I used on the cage (it looks shiny in the pictures because it is not dry). After looking at them all black I figured I needed some accent color on the Jeep and decided I’ll be using John Deere green for that so I taped up the centers and gave them a nice shot of color. I figure I’ll do the diff covers and the link arms the same also. Goes along with the fact that my grandfather owned a JD dealership when I was growing up and since I’m color blind it looks good to me. Amazingly enough the wind stayed calm and the painting went down without a hitch.

I took a sawzaw with a 10tpi blade and removed most of the run flat portion of the bead lock inserts. A bit of time with a 40 grit flap disk on a 7” grinder smoothed them out nicely. I am unsure why everyone seems to thing it is such a pain to remove these, it was a bit timely but not really that bad. I’m glad I did it for now as it saved me from spending the cash on the PVC inserts.

I dropped in 4,000 airsoft BB’s into each of the tires and we’ll see if that helps at all with the balancing since I still want to be able to go to Sonic and run a few errands in the Jeep from time to time.

Calling it good for the night but I’ve only got 2 of the tires complete and mounted. I did coat the O rings with RTV so hopefully tom when I put air in them they will hold. I would hate to have to break these things apart on a regular basis.

On tap for tom is mounting the other tires and checking for clearance on the rear with them installed and everything flexed out. If it all looks good I’ll be pulling the rear apart and finish welding and painting that part by the weekend.

Last night I aired up the tires and checked all the clearances on the rear and everything looks up to par. We pulled the rear axle and all the links and I fully welded everything on the axle and added the stiffening plates to the lower mounts. The 5.38 gears are in route from PORC and should go in next week.

Tiffani is taking a liking to the new welder and her welds are really showing some great improvement. Hopefully she’ll keep up the practice and in the near future I can sit and drink beer while she welds everything up. She also knocked out the disassembly of the link arms so I can fully weld all those tonight and get them and the axle ready for final paint shortly. I am very impressed as she has taken so quickly to welding and the welds are turning out much better then I did with the same amount of experience.

I'm glad you started a build thread here. Now I never have to go back to JF!! :flipoff2:

You got yourself a very nice setup, and it is getting better and better with every upgrade you do to it... You also have yourself a very nice assistant there. My wife has said she would help me build my rig when I start on it, but I don't think it will be anything like yours!! Def. a keeper!!! LOL!! I think she has earned the right for any body damage it incurs while she is driving it when you take it out again!!!

really like this build, the green rims look sweet and I am Jealous as hell of your girl. mine will barely ride in my Jeep let alone wrench on it.

really like this build, the green rims look sweet and I am Jealous as hell of your girl. mine will barely ride in my Jeep let alone wrench on it.

took the typing right out of my fingers...

great build and team work.:smokin:

mine is all about helpin but freaks at sparcs and arcs! and oil... and greese.... then she wonders why theirs not much for her to do when she volenteers lol

I'm glad you started a build thread here. Now I never have to go back to JF!! :flipoff2:

I figured it had gotten to the point of being somewhat Pirate worthy and Todd helped push me into it. Some of the questions that arrise there really make me laugh. I'll keep both of them going for the time being but I can already see the JF deing off once the membership expires.

Thanks to all for the thumbs up. Now go find a girl that'll wrench with ya, it's worth it.

I got the rear control arms painted and everything in the rear finish welded. The axle is still wet and will have to stay on the stands until the gears arrive because I have sworn off gear swaps on a creeper. I should have the gears in hand next week.

Hopefully I can get all the frame mounts painted and the arms back installed before the weekend is up.

Jeep is really coming together nicely.


Very envious of your helper... :grinpimp:

wow nice build up and pics :)

Gotta love the addition, get started, then re-do it, then do it better again :) It never ends!!!

hot jeep ;)

[QUOTE=BozoWise;8806261]I had some much appreciated help again last night...
http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=394597&stc=1&d=1222998200[QUOTE]


...Lucky Bastard!

hot jeep ;)

This wouldnt by chance be you would it?:)

your atlas looks low on fluid

You need to bring you and your helper down to Abilene and help me out.... I still have a long long ways to go.

[QUOTE=Nomercy;8811197][QUOTE=BozoWise;8806261]I had some much appreciated help again last night...
http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=394597&stc=1&d=1222998200



This wouldnt by chance be you would it?:)


maybe so :angel: ... thanks for all the compliments guys. i actually do enjoy helping. plus it gets the rig back on the rocks faster ... i'm so itching for the jeep to be done and wheeling again! :)

maybe so :angel: ... thanks for all the compliments guys. i actually do enjoy helping. plus it gets the rig back on the rocks faster ... i'm so itching for the jeep to be done and wheeling again! :)

your positive attitude goes farther in helping Brian's motivation than you will ever know. I couldn't have made it through my build without my wife's help and positive attitude. Keep it up.

your atlas looks low on fluid

Well actually I was a dumb arse and marked the sight tube with the Atlas sitting on my tranny jack uninstalled and once it was installed the mark was a bit over the fluid level. I figure I know where it is in relation so I called it good. I've yet too loose a drop of fluid or change it from the original oild that came with the case.

hot jeep ;)

Thanks I have an Internet stalker now :p You're the best!

You need to bring you and your helper down to Abilene and help me out.... I still have a long long ways to go.

We might take you up on that. I good friend of ours moved to Abiliene with his 1 ton YJ and we have yet to go check out his house. Have you met up with the Big Country 4x4 Club there in Abilene? We've wheeled with those guys a few times.

Got all of the rear brackets fully welded and everything painted. Reinstalled and greased all the joints and mounted the control arms and limiting straps.

I relocated the already relocated emissions junk for the 3rd and hopefully last time. Every time I changed the fenders I had to change how all this junk mounted and this time the canister ended up being in the way of where I want to mount my orbital. I am planning on mounting it to a plate directly on the firewall so some room had to be made. Some of the items got placed on the frame between the shock hoop and the canister and cruise control items all found a home on the fender skirt. There should now be more then enough room to get the orbital in place and allow access to the hoses. Got all the wires soldered and loomed back in place as well as replacing some of the hoses to fit the new location.

I was trying to come up with an idea on how to store an ice chest since the two camelbaks run empty well before a day on the trail is finished and I needed somewhere to keep my sammiches. I noticed an old cargo rack that I hadn’t used in some time. Come to find out it fit near perfectly over the rear portion of the cage so today I started work on the rear rack in order to block off most of the trunk area and be able to lock the tailgate and not worry so much about things walking off or coming out in a roll. Tiffani knocked out cutting the access for the fuel filler along with removing the hitch tube from the rack. The rack sits almost flush with the seats when they are slid all the way rearward and the front of the rack will be a perfect place to remote the H.U.M.P.s that hold our camelbacks.

These little side projects burn up lots of time but with no gears I figure I had to keep busy and avoid wanting to bolt up the rear axle and throw on the tires. I had 1 out of 4 tires not hold air so I had to dismount it, clean up the o-ring and rim and try round two with some extra RTV. I’ll try and fill it up tom and see if it holds this time around. Still felt like good odds to me.

(Just a little side note but these work great for mounting hydration bladders in rigs. They are large enough to place a camelbak inside with the shoulder straps and all so if you want to remove it and wear the camelback you don’t have to remove the bladder each time from the carrier. http://www.specopsbrand.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductID=70 )

Subscribed. Been awhile Bozo , I remember you on Ck5 ... Long ago... When that site wasn't the newbie section... :laughing:

We might take you up on that. I good friend of ours moved to Abiliene with his 1 ton YJ and we have yet to go check out his house. Have you met up with the Big Country 4x4 Club there in Abilene? We've wheeled with those guys a few times.


I am going to take a stab in the dark and guess you are talking about Rob? As for the club, yes I have met up with them. Unfortunately they are working on a few too many projects and I am working on a limited time schedule due to Uncle Sam having other priorities for me coming up soon.

Anyways, sorry for the thread jack. Now post some more pictures of the helper... :grinpimp:

Subscribed. Been awhile Bozo , I remember you on Ck5 ... Long ago... When that site wasn't the newbie section... :laughing:

Yup, miss that camo K5 sometimes:smokin: Been about a year since I've been on that board.

I am going to take a stab in the dark and guess you are talking about Rob? As for the club, yes I have met up with them. Unfortunately they are working on a few too many projects and I am working on a limited time schedule due to Uncle Sam having other priorities for me coming up soon.

Anyways, sorry for the thread jack. Now post some more pictures of the helper... :grinpimp:

Shoot me an email Brian.Wise@specopsbrand.com I take it your at Dyess and I'm there every so often.

Oh I want to keep the helper happy. There will be no "pirate" pics of her any time soon.

great build,
ill be watching

Shoot me an email Brian.Wise@specopsbrand.com I take it your at Dyess and I'm there every so often.

Oh I want to keep the helper happy. There will be no "pirate" pics of her any time soon.

Will do on the email...

Forgot to ask, when you painted the wheels if you painted before your welded or not? If you did not, how did you manage to get the backsides of everything coated?

Forgot to ask, when you painted the wheels if you painted before your welded or not? If you did not, how did you manage to get the backsides of everything coated?

I cut the center out of the old rim and then painted the inside of the rim. Took a flap wheel on a die grinder and removed all the paint from the weld area and welded in the new centers. Then repainted the entire wheel black and then did the green on the centers.

Not much to show today since I am waiting on parts. I put on the front radiator hoop and finish welded the entire bumper. Masked off the front end and got a few good coats of paint on everything so I could mark that off my list. I also mounted the ice chest rack and reinstalled the harness bar.

Great build man keep up the good work can't wait to see those wheels on it.

I just noticed all you guys in TX..... I was in Stephenville in March I was working on a U.S.A ( United Service Alliance ) assignment at Comanche Peak Nuclear Power Station in GlenRose. I will let you guys know when I am coming again in the spring. I met up with a few locals that wheeled but never had much time since we were working 12's. (Nuke Machinist is my main Business)

Keep up the good wok man it looks real nice:smokin:

Mac

(Nuke Machinist is my main Business)

Mac

Sounds fun.... :smokin:

Might be something I can look into. Although that would require me to go to the Navy... :(

I was never in the Navy ? You just need skillz:flipoff2:

brian put the damn welder down and come down to the shop and have a couple beers. pimpin build. keep up the good work. now i need some motivation for the yj.:smokin:

brian put the damn welder down and come down to the shop and have a couple beers. pimpin build. keep up the good work. now i need some motivation for the yj.:smokin:

Thanks for the loan on the reamer. I'll make it by the shop tom to return it.

It doesn’t feel like it but we did get a fair bit of work accomplished. Tiff removed the hubs and knuckles from the 60 so we could ream them to accept Chevy TREs from the top side of the knuckles and got both of those reinstalled on the axle.

I built a relocation bracket for the factory radiator bottle overflow out of some angle iron. I simply traced the mounting holes from the factory bracket onto the angle iron and cut it out with a combination of a cutoff wheel, drill bit and the die grinder. I used some radiuses on the gussets in order for it to fit up next to the tube on the passenger side air shock mount and tacked that all in place.

Tiff started to modify the SNF orbital mount to fit flush on the firewall while I shot a few coats of red on the new calipers for the 60 and reinstalled the winch. We’ve still got to finish clearancing on one of the support ribs on the firewall in order for the mount to sit flush but that’ll have to wait for another day. Time for a quick bite to eat and calling it a night. I’ll continue on with the steering tom.

I’m getting a bit worried as none of my gears have shown up from PORC yet and they have yet to be able to provide me with tracking information. They said everything was in stock when I ordered but now they say one of the install kits was getting dropped shipped and their not even sure of a date when they did ship the gears and install kit they had??? No clue here but I have had good luck with them in the past and I’m hoping this is just a fluke. It’s frustrating when emails do not get returned and phone calls lead to no response and no returned calls.

This is badass and will be added to the UTJ thread. you're posting some great tech :D

This is badass and will be added to the UTJ thread. you're posting some great tech :D

That's some good stuff right there; I am more then honored to be added! I've referenced that thread many times over the last year. I'll try and take some time and go back and add some detail to the text in reference to the build process since I rushed all the first half just to get the thread caught up to present day progress.

Hey man, Uber impressed with the work you gonna have it done by katemcy next weekend!?!?!:dustin:

Hey man, Uber impressed with the work you gonna have it done by katemcy next weekend!?!?!:dustin:

Ya sure count me in..... well maybe not. I'm shooting for college weekend at Katemcy Mid March. I'll be at the Canadian River next weekend with a friends buggy doing some research on antisquat numbers with his new airshocks.

Cool man we'll see you in march if not sooner. Hopefully we don't all:nuke: this year that first college weekend wasbad to the Tech Offroad guys.

I got some more parts in today. PSC orbital, PS pump and reservoir kit along with the Ballastic cover for the 14 bolt and some misc tube caps and such. Also got a 1350 yoke for the 14 bolt with U bolts instead of straps.

Finished notching the support on the firewall to clear the orbital mount but still need to drill a few more holes and touch up the notches.

I got the new steering pump installed and the serpentine belt back on, built a bracket for the reservoir to keep it right under the hood and high as possible. The problem I did run into is that the hose provided from PSC collapses easily while trying to make the bend to the pump. I’m going to play with some fittings and go talk with the local hydraulic shop and see what I can work out. I could easily make it work if I moved the reservoir behind the pump closer to the firewall but I’m thinking that it would be advantageous to have the reservoir in front of the pump.

The weekend is full of honey-do’s so no progress till next week. Gotta keep the better half / helper happy, it’s well worth it.

Still no word back on my 5.38 gears that might or might not be on their way to me… I’ve now got everything in hand to complete the back end less the gears and get it back on the tires. I’d like to get the axle back under it before I start bending tube for the rear suck-down winch. The harbor freight dolly / axle rack is great for moving this thing around the garage and less then 20 bucks, the other one I built has my tubing on it at the moment.

That diff cover from Balistic is SICK! I'm getting one too I think :smokin:

Still no word back on my 5.38 gears that might or might not be on their way to me… I’ve now got everything in hand to complete the back end less the gears and get it back on the tires. I’d like to get the axle back under it before I start bending tube for the rear suck-down winch. The harbor freight dolly / axle rack is great for moving this thing around the garage and less then 20 bucks, the other one I built has my tubing on it at the moment.

If things don't work out with PORC, give Joey a call down at 4wdfactory. I had my stuff 4 days after I ordered it, and then when my Yukon inner axle was on backorder, they sent an Alloy USA shaft instead. Great guys to deal with.

Most of my order from PORC came in yesterday. After a phone call today we agreed to disagree and I’m still waiting for the remainder of my parts so I can call this order complete and be done with it. The quality of parts were excellent, the lack of responses to emails and phone calls was frustrating.

I got the mini spool and 5.38 installed on the 14 bolt along with a strap style yoke and the Ballistic cover which Tiff did a bit of artistic painting on. Took about 5 shots to get the pattern right but it was nice having it all out from under a vehicle while sitting up the gears. The picture doesn’t show the pattern to well, cheap camera. The torque wrench got a good workout tonight.

All of the rear brake lines are plumbed and she is sitting at full bump for the night. I’ll tighten down all of the bolts tom as well as some touchup painting on the axle.

Planning on stabbing in the rear axles and pumping it full of gear oil tom. For now I have to get some measurements and box up my driveshaft to have High Angle lengthen for me.

your dog is freakin me out man.

your dog is freakin me out man.

He's vicious:mad3:

holy crap ... halo looks possessed!

looks awesome!!

you better watch your ass PETA wouldnt like the fact that you sprayed your dogs eyes to match the jeep! Rig looks awesome, keep up the good work

That diff cover from Balistic is SICK! I'm getting one too I think :smokin:

Agreed! And yeah your girl did a good job on the painting.

you better watch your ass PETA wouldnt like the fact that you sprayed your dogs eyes to match the jeep! Rig looks awesome, keep up the good work

Nah "People Eating Tasty Animals" sponsors most of our cookouts:smokin:

Welded up a new steering shaft by cutting two sets of U joints and part of a slip shaft from the old steering. The slip is short but has plenty of engagement to run the orbital at all positions of the tilt column and the U joints make the steering smooth. I had to bore one of the U joints to accept the stub shaft from the orbital and I side bored the stub shaft to accept the cross bolt on the factory joint. Took some work but I am very pleased with the results. Now I just need to get a mill because I did all of this with a die grinder and it was time consuming. I’ve still got to build a boot to fill the hole in the firewall around the stud shaft but the orbital is in its’ final home now tucked up on the firewall and should provide great routing for the lines.

That took up the entire work night.

Took Saturday off and spent the day out at the Canadian River wheeling with a great group of people. We only put my buddy’s buggy on its side once and other then that the winch cable never came out. “No name trail” still remains that and the 3 rigs that attempted it this trip all had little success. Only one major roll for the weekend and everyone walked away. After about an hour the TJ was back up and running. So overall a great time.

Sunday I started the work on completing the front end which still lacked steering and the panhard bar. Things are getting real tight under here and there is going to have to be a compromise from the best possible angle on the tie rods to an acceptable angle because I am going to be forced to move the ram a bit more forward from the axle then I had wanted. I was trying my best to have the ram and tie rod arms straight when at full lock side to side.

I’m still on the fence if I should bend the track bar to get clearance and move the ram back for a better angle or if I should keep the strength in the track bar and leave it straight. A single bend in the track bar could free up some space. The main issue right now is the trackbar to diff cover clearance. It is forcing me to move the axle end forward more to clear the cover which in turn makes me move the ram forward to clear the track bar.

Any have any thoughts on the track bar ram issue?

Looking back it might have been easier to cut the frame forward of the motor mounts and redo it all, though that would have needed to happed before the air shock mounts, radiator hoop and new bumper. At this point I’m going to get it back together and running before cutting into the frame. I miss wheeling the thing.

I miss wheeling the thing.

i miss wheeling it too ... a lot!! looking at pics from katemcy this weekend and hearing stories from canadian was rough. the jeeps gonna be awesome when it's done!!! :D

sounds like my girl! but she doesnt like riding only driving.... keeps tellin me to make her a lil buggy thing like a buddy has

I have to say this is one of my favorite builds so far, I have been following it from the start. Keep up the great tech and work, can't wait to see that thing in action!

I got a girl in Lubbock like that. only a few thousand miles away...

The rigs coming along great man, I really like the innovation on a lot of it. anyone can do cookie cutter 1 ton builds, a lot of this shows creativeness and custom touches. 2 thumbs up.

Hey man things are looking good. Are you going to have to clearance the floor pan at all for the rear upper links.

Also If you haven't thought about it something else holding down the hood would be a good idea. Those rubber hold downs will stretch enough at high way speeds to get some serious wind under the hood I would hate to see you loose a hood or windshield or frame just from towing it down there. If you roll it that ok but highway body damage is no fun.

Looks good man. Me and grant are thinking about 4 links on our rigs. We need to come by and check yours out.

Hey man things are looking good. Are you going to have to clearance the floor pan at all for the rear upper links.

Also If you haven't thought about it something else holding down the hood would be a good idea. Those rubber hold downs will stretch enough at high way speeds to get some serious wind under the hood I would hate to see you loose a hood or windshield or frame just from towing it down there. If you roll it that ok but highway body damage is no fun.

Once the tube work on the front is done there will be pins also. I plan on running tube from the radiator hoop under a new cut line on the hood and connecting to the fender skirts. Ran it like it is for a fair amount of time intown with no problems, but it hasn't seen the highway in a long time.

I had to go out of town for work again last week and most of Saturday afternoon was spent watching Texas Tech beat Texas.

Sat before the game I got some gussets cut and installed on the shock hoops and on the front truss. Built a mount to reinstall the winch solenoids on the passenger frame rail. I had to bend the antirock arms to clear the trackbar mount and the bump stops but it was not to hard using to the HF press and template to get the bends identical.

Today I finished up the axle side trackbar mount, pulled the axle, and did most of the finish welding on the front axle as well as starting to make the tie rod links for the ram.

Good lookin work man!

I like it

Any more pics of the ram mount? Looks slick, keep it up

Any more pics of the ram mount? Looks slick, keep it up

Mine Looks similar ... Here's some of mine.
http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w253/Big91RustyBucket/89%20S10%20Pickup/BIG91010-1.jpg
http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w253/Big91RustyBucket/89%20S10%20Pickup/BIG91009-1.jpg
http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w253/Big91RustyBucket/89%20S10%20Pickup/BIG91008-1.jpg
http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w253/Big91RustyBucket/89%20S10%20Pickup/BIG91006-1.jpg
http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w253/Big91RustyBucket/89%20S10%20Pickup/BIG91005.jpg
http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w253/Big91RustyBucket/89%20S10%20Pickup/BIG91004.jpg

http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w253/Big91RustyBucket/89%20S10%20Pickup/BIG91003.jpg
http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w253/Big91RustyBucket/89%20S10%20Pickup/BIG91002.jpg
http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w253/Big91RustyBucket/89%20S10%20Pickup/BIG91001.jpg

On a Chevy axle too, even better. Thanks.

On a Chevy axle too, even better. Thanks.

No Problemo :) Wish I had a High Pinion but so be it..

Any more pics of the ram mount? Looks slick, keep it up

Mines pretty much like what Rusty posted up. I did add two tabs on the plate that rests on the side of the ram's mounting feet. That way the side load is held on the tabs and not the mounting bolts. The mounting bolts now just hold the ram vertically on the plate.

I know it seems backwards put a shot a coat of paint on the axle while I had a chance and good weather. I still need to add two gussets to the lip of the ram guard and cut a section of the tube for ease of access to the center chunk. Just waiting on the tube flanges to arrive for that. I'll touch up the paint again once it is all together.

what ram is that from surplus center ? i am in the middle of doing full hydro and i need to get a ram and i have been looking for a couple of days and it is a cheap place to get rams from any info would be great thanks tanya
is it part number 9-6845 2x8

what ram is that from surplus center ? i am in the middle of doing full hydro and i need to get a ram and i have been looking for a couple of days and it is a cheap place to get rams from any info would be great thanks tanya

Part number 9-6688 2 1/2" Bore 8" Stroke $199.95


Nothing really to show for the day, but I got all the front links fully welded and cut a section out of the ram truss to allow access to the gear set. I also pulled all the bearings off the old gears and honed them all out in order to use as set-up beariings.

what materials are you using for the RhinoLiner?

what materials are you using for the RhinoLiner?

Is that a trick question? It is Herculiner. Are you wanting to know what gun I use to spray it? (3mm tip)

That's so badass

That's so badass

Much appreciated:grinpimp:

Now that it has been a day or two I can see some humor in this but at the time I was way too tired to see the funny in it. I was setting up the Detroit and 5.38s in the 60 and after about 8-9 tries I was getting really close to having it dead on. Tries 10-13 I was shocked at what some only minor changes were effecting in the pattern. I was getting clear contact on the top of the gear, not on the top face but the actual top of the gear tooth. I double checked that the gears were a matching set, backed up to my last few shim settings, I was checking everything and for the life of me couldn’t figure out why the last 3 attempts all had contact on the top of the gear. I was so frustrated that I walked away from it and took a long needed break.

Long story short, I was using a rubber handled hammer to apply pressure on the ring gear to get a good pattern and there was a tear on the handle so when I started to turn the ring gear it opened up the rubber grip and it was hitting the top of the ring gear clearing off the marking compound. I just was lucky enough to put the hammer in there the exact same on the tree attempts causing the near identical marks each time. HA HA ya its’ kinda funny now. So about 15 tries total and I got the pattern on. Man was I happy! I took the freshly repainted cover and bolted it on. I was explaining how all the parts worked on the D60 to Tiff and the reason why it was HP etc. etc. and started to turn the pinion and NO GO it would turn about a 1” each direction and then nothing. I feared I had somehow destroyed one of the bearings. I couldn’t figure out how as I always use setup bearings. Now I was really happy! I removed the cover, trying to locate the problem and realized that the bolts on the ring gear were actually making contact with the Ballistic cover, just slightly but enough that you really had too get after the pinion to make it turn. A quick call to Ballistic confirmed that they have had this issue. I took a large hammer and grinder to the cover and then confirmed with the awesome pink play doh Tiffani bought, that there were now no clearance issues.

So it’s all back together, I welded up the tube flanges and reinstalled the removable section of the truss and then I was ready to complete the steering arms. Come to find out Ballistic Fab has an mix up in their cart system and when you select the tabs I needed for the steering arm it inserts a tab with a ½” hole not a ¾” hole like I need. So now I am dead in the water again on the steering. I can’t even redrill these tabs to ¾” because the hole would end up to far off for the use I need them for. Back to waiting on more tabs.

Tiff knew I was more then frustrated and see graciously offered to take the wire wheel to both of the front axles and then even wire brushed the parts she couldn’t get to by hand and gave them a shot of flat black. So those are installed as well as the hubs and lockouts.

All the arms got painted and the joints are reinstalled with locks and grease fittings. So for today I am going to finish welding all the frame side mounts. Clean those up and get them painted. Hopefullly all before we go watch TTU keep their undefeated record.

(Now that I look at these picutures pay now mind to the marking compound as that is not the actual pattern, and yes the tabs are only tacked in place in this picture.)

Dude AWSOME build. i'm in the middle of doing a 1 ton swap myself. I have some Fox 2.0's Let me know how those work out for you......and I'll be watchin this build closely

After we watched TTU put a woop on OSU we figured we could get a bit more done on the Jeep last night. I got the lowers and the track bar installed and adjusted. I have to wait on installing the upper arm because I noticed a hair line crack in the bearing which I believe was caused by a poor hammer strike while I was trying to remove the bearings and races for painting. The machining is super tight on these joints which makes them fairly hard to disassemble so I will have to get a new spherical bearing from Ballistic next week when they replace my tabs.

I couldn’t help myself and threw on a tire just for some photo ops and to check some clearances on the fender skirt. It doesn’t look like it now but at full flex it’s going to be a tight fit I might have to do a bit more trimming and adjusting but will have to wait for the new bearing to really flex it out. I’m going to work on routing the steering hoses and a cooler setup today as well as do the Bendtech work for the cross bar hoop between the airshock mounts. I plan to fit it right under the hood to work as a engine cage and support.

Tiffani helped for a short bit getting tools and cleaning up the mess in the garage but took a break to go make me some home made pretzels and they scored second only to a 1 pound bacon and pepperjack cheese sammich. There is nothing like some homemade baked goods at 3am.



Dude AWSOME build. i'm in the middle of doing a 1 ton swap myself. I have some Fox 2.0's Let me know how those work out for you......and I'll be watchin this build closely

Man I am looking forward to being able to tell you how they work. I was hoping to be putting nitorgen in mine today but the bad bearing on my front upper control arm set me back a week on that project.

Looking good.. I still need to shoot you an email, just haven't gotten around to it between work and the toys. I also got to meet Eli at our last meeting, and I think he made it down to Katemcy with the other guys. I didn't go because I ended up overheating my F350 tow rig and warped the heads.

Anyways, you are still more than welcome to be you and your helper down. I just finished cutting the front and rear frame so I have plenty of work left. Also, it is becoming painfully obvious that I will not be able to finish before I leave in January, so it is going to have to wait until I get back in July.

Sorry to keep hijacking your thread, but its super cool to see so many badass Jeeps around here.

On a tech side, how much caster are you running for the 60? I am trying to figure out how I can set mine up so it handles good for the street and also so the DS clears the lower link.

Looking good.. I still need to shoot you an email, just haven't gotten around to it between work and the toys. I also got to meet Eli at our last meeting, and I think he made it down to Katemcy with the other guys. I didn't go because I ended up overheating my F350 tow rig and warped the heads.

Anyways, you are still more than welcome to be you and your helper down. I just finished cutting the front and rear frame so I have plenty of work left. Also, it is becoming painfully obvious that I will not be able to finish before I leave in January, so it is going to have to wait until I get back in July.

Sorry to keep hijacking your thread, but its super cool to see so many badass Jeeps around here.

On a tech side, how much caster are you running for the 60? I am trying to figure out how I can set mine up so it handles good for the street and also so the DS clears the lower link.

Off the top if my head I have a bit over 6deg caster.

Ely's Jeep made it on ESP. They made all of us ugly people get out of the video. http://sports.espn.go.com/broadband/video/videopage?videoId=3678741

The wheels look Great hope they went together fairly easy

:smokin:

Great job on the whole build:smokin:

Mac

Not much to show but I got all of the lines run and sealed up for the steering including the installation of the cooler. I decided to rivet two pieces of 1”x1” aluminum to the bottom of my rear rack and drilled out the tube to hold the tie downs that come with the cooler. I had to cut the tie downs to fit inside the tube but it all turned out really clean. I used aluminum rivets so the top blends in nicely with the rack. I’m still searching for a small fan to install in the rear but at a minimum the lines are plumbed, tested for leaks and all of the air has been purged. Spent more time cleaning up the mess of fluid from the turkey baster then anything, prefilling the lines was a mess.

I wire wheeled the caliper mounts and shot them with some paint and finished up the installation of both front brake setups as well as the caliper end flex lines. It is really nice having a shop down the street that can build about any brake or hydraulic line I could want. Hopefully I will have some free time in the next day or so to bend up the hard lines on the front axle which will complete the brake plumbing. This weekend I plan on having the brakes fully bled and ready to go.

Still waiting on Jesse to finish up the rear driveline and I’m looking for an unmolested front TJ driveshaft to modify for temporary use in the front. I believe the length would be about perfect and I would only need to run either a 1350/1310 conversion joint for the moment or replace the entire slip yoke to a 1350. Money is a big factor as the project comes closer to moving again. I would at a minimum like to have the factory converted shaft as a temporary and a future spare.

Talked with Nate at Ballistic on the website and shipping error and they do not have any of the tabs I needed in stock so he gave me a full refund. Even when problems arise the guys at Ballistic are quick to get it taken care of. I am having him send me out some tube inserts and a new joint which I will use with some bling clevis ends from Kurt at DIY. I figure it won’t hurt to have adjustable tie rod end setups and might as well do it now since I had already installed the left hand threaded tie rod ends for this exact purpose.

One thing that has always drove me nuts is when the steering wheel is off center going straight so I am going to have to figure out how to center the steering wheel with full hydro or replace the wheel altogether with one that has a little less true “up” orientation. From eyeball measurements after bleeding all the air I think my wheel is going to end up about 1/4 turn off at the moment. I’m thinking I can crack one of the pressure lines to the ram and shift the wheel over a bit without the ram moving.

OMG that's insane... I thought I was cool swapping in an EFI 302 :homer:

I think you enjoy the fabbing part more than the truck its self...

OMG that's insane... I thought I was cool swapping in an EFI 302 :homer:

I think you enjoy the fabbing part more than the truck its self...

I do like the fabbing but it is getting old quickly not having anything to wheel.

I got all of the brake lines bent, ran and completed. Started to vacuum bleed all the lines when I found that the back brakes would not draw fluid. The fronts bled out fine but nothing was going to the back. I ended up pulling the main line from the master and confirmed that there was no blockage going to either of the rear brakes and found the problem to be in the master itself. I removed the master and took apart the pistons, made a huge mess, cleaned up everything and then reassembled it all back. Works like a charm now and everything is bleed. I just get to repaint part of my frame, one of the shock hoops and a lower control arm because the brake fluid ate off most of the paint. I can say that I do not like working on brakes.

I also bent up and fully welded the engine cross bar. It runs just under the hood and should provide some protection when it goes belly up as well as support for the shock hoops.

Hopefully the steering parts and the replacement joint will arrive before the weekend so I can reinstall the front airshocks and have it in roller form before the weekend is up.

My steering parts did not make it before the weekend so I am somewhat looking for project that I can work on without them and the replacement joint. I made up some tabs for the radiator support off the shock hoops and also wired up the Viair compressor that I had laying around.

Tom I am going to go ahead and bolt up the front airshocks and reseal the front dif cover that has a very small leak.

I am also going to try and find some lights to mount in the front fender skirts since the single front mounted light is no longer going to clear the axle.

it's so close to being drivable!! :bounce:

so ... how about i give you 5 bucks and you let me drive it first ;)

it's so close to being drivable!! :bounce:

so ... how about i give you 5 bucks and you let me drive it first ;)

I charge $10.00 for passengers:D

I got in the order from Ballistic today but still waiting on the clevis ends so steering is still at a standstill. I did get the new Johnny joint so I will install the upper arm on the front and have all the suspension ready to go. I’m going to try and get the front shocks filled with oil and charged before the night is up and have it back on the ground.

Over the weekend I decide to go ahead and start on the exhaust so I dropped the skid and started reworking from the Y pipe back. I took a prebent 90 and cut it up to make the turns around the upper control arm mount and moved the exhaust closer in to the oil pan. I had to cut and redo the mount for the cat to get it to sit correctly between the skid and the floorpan. Before the cat was actually resting on top of the belly up skid. I’m pretty happy with how it turned out but I am at a loss on where I am going to install any kind of muffler. All the new pipe sits above the pan and I think I will be able to reinstall my skid under the trans and oil pan just redoing the passenger side mount to connect to the upper control arm bracket instead of the motor mount.

While I had the skid out I put a piece of angle iron on edge to act as a support for the tail end of the skid since I notched out some of the support to clear the lower rear link mounts.

The inline 6 was load with open headers and is still too load for my liking even with the cat installed so if anyone has any ideas on a supper small muffler let me know.

The first joint after the Y actually has a decent weld it looks huge in the picture because I had to pie cut the bend and hammer it into shape to reconnect it. I had welded the pie cuts back and ground the area.

Got the upper link installed and flexed out the front to double check all the clearances. It is real tight at full bump but everything looks good to go. I filled the front air shocks with a starting oil setting of 370cc and 230 psi. I will have to go higher on the psi because it is only setting at about 3.75 inches of up travel at the moment, but I can not really rock it back and forth to get them to settle with the back setting on the bump stops. So for now I have the front jack stands set at the correct height as if the tires were installed inflated and will do the same to the rear tonight. This way I can set the back about an inch higher then the front.

I’m just happy to have all the stands out from under the frame for the first time in 2 months.

Just some insight on the redneck method of filling the shocks with oil. If you fill them off the vehicle it is much easier but I came up with this method on a vehicle that we could barely get to the valves and were to lazy to remove the shocks. You can see the setup on the passenger side attached to the valve and the antenna.

I take a piece of clear tubing that fits tight on the valve itself and fill the tube itself nearly full of oil. I think this piece of tube holds appx 100CC of oil still allowing some room for air at the funnel end of the tube. I measure out the total oil volume with a syringe and transfer this to a container, that way if I loose track of the volume I can easily start over. I then transfer the measured oil to a small container a bit at a time to pour into the funnel. You can only pour in enough to fill the funnel itself as it will vapor lock and not go into the tube easily and I think it is easier to fill the funnel and then squeeze on the tube to get the oil to travel into the tubing versus pouring overhead really slowly to all the oil to fill the tube. But it all works. I take the tubing and manipulate it around to get all the air to travel upwards and the oil to stack up at the valve. This is where the length of tubing helps in volume and manipulation.

With the shock compressed I fill the tubing nearly ¾ full and then extend the shock. This sucks the oil into the shock and then I return the shock to a compressed state. Repeat a few times and you’ll have all the oil in the shock and not a single drop on the floor. I have not had great luck using the syringes to inject the oil in the valve itself because I either seal off the shock with the tip or I squirt some out the valve itself and then end up with inconsistent oil volume. (I am using the syringe that comes with a poly performace charge kit and at 20cc it takes a lot of tries to get the oil in from the valve, frustrating for someone with no patience) Make sure you have the shocks at full extension before you charge with air.

I am going to have to extend the length of the antirock links because at full extension they are limiting travel and could possibly invert. That or add some limiting straps to the front also.

The last few nights I have got a few of the odds and ends covered down on. I made new end links for the front antirock to allow for full droop without having a chance of the arms inverting. I used some DOM tube and plug welded in the factory end links and installed a solid rod inside to make the links. I would have loved to have used tube inserts and new male heims but since I had everything to do this on hand, I figured I would save the cash for the rear antirock fund jar.

I also got my steering clevis ends in from DIY4x.com. I have down business with Kert since way back in my K5 days and these ends are just in line with everything else I have bought from them. They are pure beef. I am supper happy I went this route after all. I had planned to just weld some tabs on the end links and screw the heims into the ram but while I was setting the toe in I found out how nice it is to have adjustable end links. Since I had already used left hand threads on the tie rod ends I was already good to go there and can now adjust the end links without removing either joint.

The Jeep actually saw some sunlight for the first time this morning, as I took the chance to push it outside and hose out the garage. It wasn’t as much fun pushing it back in by myself. Other then drivelines this thing is ready for some testing, gear break in and final tuning. Jesse, at High Angle, had called me earlier this week and has had some mild health issues but was confident that he would have my shaft out on the UPS truck before the end of this week. I should have that rear shaft in hand around Thanksgiving.

On a side note if anyone knows of a stock driveshaft that is near 40” at working length with a 1350 end at the axle and 1310 CV at the transfer case I would appreciate the info. I had thought about using a factory TJ front driveshaft with a conversion joint at the axle but that shafts going to be a bit short. I would like to find something that I can use for the moment as I am going to have to do more then BFH work on the floor to clear anything larger then a 1310 CV at the transfer case and the clearance for the tube itself is getting real close as is with the 1.75 tube. For now I’m still on the fence. I’ve got to run by a friends’ shop next week and take a look at a few Chevy front shafts but I think I might be able to use on of those and cut the tube to length and reuse my 1310 cv. One of these days I will be able to afford another High Angle 1350 CV plate for the 32 spline front output and a 1350 CV shaft complete from Jesse.

You can see the two tubes coming through the rear bumper which are the start of the rear suck down winch mount and for now will get welded in and have to wait for next year, because I am going to hold off until I can afford a warn to install back there instead of a cheap knock off.

Last night I removed the winch and cut an access hole under the rear of the drum as well as reworking the radiator core mount to allow for the winch line to run straight down from the drum to the axle skid. I installed a fishplate over the front of the skid and drilled that to accept a clevis end. The clevis now has a full ½” plate to mount through and it keeps the winch line on a straight pull. It worked much better then how I originally had the line ran over the bumper and back to the axle. It was well worth the time. I’ll try and get some pictures of that later. For now I have to get off to the pregame functions as TTU vs OU is coming up shortly. (which I hadn't stopped to watch this game)

Really nice work. Make sure you take someone..ie your supa hawt assistant to take pictures during your shake down run.

Really nice work. Make sure you take someone..ie your supa hawt assistant to take pictures during your shake down run.

I think the problem with that is going to be keeping her out of the drivers seat long enough to use the camera.

Maybe we'll see you at Katemcy some time next year. We have our annual event scheduled this year the first week of March and we'll be there a few times after that date also.

Which PSC pump kit did you get?

Which PSC pump kit did you get?

http://www.pscmotorsports.com/sp1200x-9705-tj-extreme-duty-ps-pump-p-272.html

http://www.pscmotorsports.com/fhpsc1603-96-ci-steering-control-valve-orbital-p-387.html

http://www.surpluscenter.com/item.asp?UID=2008112221200089&item=9-6688&catname=hydraulic

The SP-1200X pump. I have used them in the past, just make sure you can keep plenty of cool fluid going to it like most pumps it'll die a quick death without it. On this build I left the factory pulley for now, but might go a bit smaller, only trail time will tell if I need it. I really like the combination of this pump, the 8" 2.5 bore surplus city ram and the 9.6 CI orbital.

I think the problem with that is going to be keeping her out of the drivers seat long enough to use the camera.

Maybe we'll see you at Katemcy some time next year. We have our annual event scheduled this year the first week of March and we'll be there a few times after that date also.


I plan on being there hopefully opening weekend. Look forward to seeing your rig on the trail and saying hi.

Shawn

seeing the pics of the jeep out of the garage totally made my day! :D (esp. after that disappointing loss)

can't wait to drive it! ... um ... i mean ride in it ;) hehe

I love the way your Jeep sits. How far did you stretch the front?

http://www.pscmotorsports.com/sp1200x-9705-tj-extreme-duty-ps-pump-p-272.html

http://www.pscmotorsports.com/fhpsc1603-96-ci-steering-control-valve-orbital-p-387.html

http://www.surpluscenter.com/item.asp?UID=2008112221200089&item=9-6688&catname=hydraulic

The SP-1200X pump. I have used them in the past, just make sure you can keep plenty of cool fluid going to it like most pumps it'll die a quick death without it. On this build I left the factory pulley for now, but might go a bit smaller, only trail time will tell if I need it. I really like the combination of this pump, the 8" 2.5 bore surplus city ram and the 9.6 CI orbital.
I got the full PSC kit with the P style pump. I may swap out to the SP1200X so I dont have to buy the bracket, pulley and belt. Im wandering is the SP1200X will be sufficient in a full hydro application?

seeing the pics of the jeep out of the garage totally made my day! :D (esp. after that disappointing loss)

can't wait to drive it! ... um ... i mean ride in it ;) hehe

You can drive it on the trailer.

I love the way your Jeep sits. How far did you stretch the front?

8"

I got the full PSC kit with the P style pump. I may swap out to the SP1200X so I dont have to buy the bracket, pulley and belt. Im wandering is the SP1200X will be sufficient in a full hydro application?


I am and have run the SP-1200X with full hydro and if you want a bit more out of it at idle you can go to a bit smaller pulley.

Excellent job! The whole gang digs it.:eek:

http://www.friedmanarchives.com/China/Page1/images/4%20Thumbs%20Up.jpg

Awesome build!

That came out really clean.

Where did that frame side panhard mount come from?

That came out really clean.

Where did that frame side panhard mount come from?
Looks like Ballistic Fab

Excellent job! The whole gang digs it.:eek:

Ahh thanks Sean and they look so happy.

That came out really clean.

Where did that frame side panhard mount come from?

Yup, it is Ballistic Fab but I shortened it quite a bit to get it closer to the frame in order to clear the diff cover.

Did some soldering tonight and have the rock lights wired, I just need to deside on some leds lights now. Also removed the factory emergency brake handle and got my ram mount installed for the GPS. Finish welded in the rear winch mount and did some touch up painting. Nothing really to take pictures of at the moment.

You can drive it on the trailer.

That's so kind of you ;)

Nice work!! What did your final height end up at i.e. top of cage? I have my 14" shocks set to 4" of uptravel and am sitting at 79" to top of cage with the 40" iroks. I have been thinking about lowering mine another 2-3" so just curious. Thanks, Jay.

http://inlinethumb38.webshots.com/43301/2404903460101917350S600x600Q85.jpghttp://inlinethumb52.webshots.com/23155/2472530140101917350S600x600Q85.jpghttp://inlinethumb03.webshots.com/26754/2118858570101917350S600x600Q85.jpg

That is Awsome lookin man.,. don't forget to tell me how you like those shocks. thanks

Nice work!! What did your final height end up at i.e. top of cage? I have my 14" shocks set to 4" of uptravel and am sitting at 79" to top of cage with the 40" iroks. I have been thinking about lowering mine another 2-3" so just curious. Thanks, Jay.


78" to the top of the soft top channel on the windshiled frame. I have an upwards rake on the cage so the back of the cage is at 79"

I had a local shop build my front driveline this week and they had it done within 24 hours and the quality looks great. I had them use the 1310 CV I have for now because I am going to need to cut the floor to go with anything larger on the Atlas. I plan on upgrading to a 1350 at some point in the future. They retubed the shaft and installed a 1350 slip yoke. Here are some pics of me checking the length on the new shaft and then fine tuning on the airshocks after I went for a front wheel drive cruise through the neighborhood construction sites today.

I also removed the skid and took a few sections of bent 2.5" tubing to make the exhaust from the cat clear the skid. Now the end is accessable without removing the skid so I can take it to a muffler shop and see about installing some small muffler somewhere. A glasspack sized muffler is about all that I think is going to fit and I would imagine the sound of a glasspack is going to beyond annoying so I have no clue what I am going to do. I really would like it to be pretty quite so I can hear my tunes and cute co-pilot on the trail. Year of working around firearms have taken there toll on my hearing already.

I have yet to get any response back from Jesse on the status of my shaft. I had thought it would have been here by now from what he told me on the phone. Now I'm having a hard time reaching him.

Happy turkey day!

I use one of these and it works great in tight places and sounds awesome, similar to a small displacement V8 with a 4.0 I6 Jeep motor.

http://www.hushpower.com/product/29/HP-2+Series+Mufflers+-+409S.html

http://www.hushpower.com/product_images/product_photo-large_image-68.jpg (http://www.hushpower.com/product/29/HP-2+Series+Mufflers+-+409S.html)

Thanks Sean, I'm going to see if I can run one of those down local. That should fit the ticket.

Whos corners are you running? I tried looking, but did not find specifics. Still trying to decide between buying some and simply cutting some from a 4x8 sheet.

Also, I think you might be a little high on your ride height... Might want to get that checked out.:D

Whos corners are you running? I tried looking, but did not find specifics. Still trying to decide between buying some and simply cutting some from a 4x8 sheet.

PSC with stock location wheel wheels because I got them cheap, but if I had it to do again I would buy the blanks and cut the holes for the wheel wheels where I wanted them. These have been cut - rewelded a few times from different setups but since you are in the final phase anyways you should be able to cut some blanks once and be done with it. I really like the Genrights I have used on others builds.

Here are some pictures of the evolution of the sides. The have been cut and welded a few times now.

**more pics**

you even cut the hinge! :eek:

How well does your fuel cell seal? Also what did you do about the roll over vent?

I just finished the install in mine today and it leaks just about everywhere. At the pump head, at the roll over vent (not pictured is a small filter on the roll over vent *red cap*), and at the RCI filler.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v11/RockReady/IMG_1184.jpg

you even cut the hinge! :eek:

Yes I just took off the corner. The mounting bolt was unaffected and to date it has held up fine.

How well does your fuel cell seal? Also what did you do about the roll over vent?

I just finished the install in mine today and it leaks just about everywhere. At the pump head, at the roll over vent (not pictured is a small filter on the roll over vent *red cap*), and at the RCI filler.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v11/RockReady/IMG_1184.jpg

I have had no leaks at all. I put a barb fitting on the rollover vent and ran the hose to the factory charcoal canister up front. I also reused the factory connection on the pump and it has not leaked at all. I am not familiar with the connection you are using there. Is yours leaking from the fill kneck or the fill plate attached to the top of the tank?

I did use some "fuel safe" sealant on my fuel pump rings and that was a big mistake as it ended up not really being fuel safe and killed a pump on a run at Katemcy and cost me dearly. I removed all the sealant and only used it on the outer ring outside of the platis pump ring itself and just used the factory gasket on the second install and it has been perfect since. Even with the Jeep on its' side I haven't lost and fuel. I just get annoyed at the sound of the pump itself.

Did you space the pump feet out to touch the bottom of the tank? I put fuel line on mine so that the pump was not suspended in the tank.

I also suggest mounting the tank with straps as you will break the feet off the tank by themselves.

How well does your fuel cell seal? Also what did you do about the roll over vent?

I just finished the install in mine today and it leaks just about everywhere. At the pump head, at the roll over vent (not pictured is a small filter on the roll over vent *red cap*), and at the RCI filler.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v11/RockReady/IMG_1184.jpg

Mine leaked really bad as well the first time I did it, dont use the gasket provided it does work well, I used lots of silicon and it seals much better than before. Initialy the gas would pour out the top of the tank by the pump when sidehilling.

I just realized that the fuel pump gasket fell in the stock tank and I didn't use it on the RCI tank. I found the pump gasket in the bottom of the stock gas tank. Son of a bitch. I gotta pull the pump tomorrow and reinstall it.

I also need to reroute my vent line back under the jeep. It's on top of the cell and vents directly in the cab. Hopefully that'll fix it.

Mine leaked really bad as well the first time I did it, dont use the gasket provided it does work well, I used lots of silicon and it seals much better than before. Initialy the gas would pour out the top of the tank by the pump when sidehilling.

I need to do something about the roll over vent also. I need to route it under the tub of the Jeep instead of just letting it vent out the top through a little air filter. I'm getting back to work on it today and hopefully I can get it sealed up.

Get rid of that 2" filler. It is such a pain to fill. I traded mine to a friend for the aircraft style filler, but otherwise I would have just bought one from RCI for $50. After I swapped the caps the gasket leaked like crazy so I cleaned everything up and used a very thin film of blue RTV and it's tight now.

It's a pain but route the rollover vent hose in a loop around your cage with a fuel filter in line. I got wadded up in an obstacle in Virginia last summer and had to drive on my side, I lost about a gallon of fuel out of the factory RCI vent.

Ok...I got the stock rubber fuel pump gasket in the RCI tank and the fit is MUCH better than before. I made a :homer: move on that one. I think that will solve the leaking issue around the pump head of the fuel pump. I tried to find a parts store that was open today that sold AN fittings but had no luck. :mad3: So I have to wait until Monday before I can get a 90 degree AN fitting and route my roll over vent back to my evap. canister hard line under the Jeep.

I'm gonna have to wash the whole backside of the Jeep to get rid of the gas smell. I get buzzed driving it around town..:smokin:

You should hurry up with the Jeep and bring it down.. Ill let you look at my Jeep in storage if you will let me ride in yours... Sound like a fair trade? :D

You should hurry up with the Jeep and bring it down.. Ill let you look at my Jeep in storage if you will let me ride in yours... Sound like a fair trade? :D

Sounds fair. I got UPS tracking from Jesse today and he shipped out my driveline yesterday. Should be here Friday. I've been working on the drive over fenders on the trailer so I can load the Jeep up when the driveline arives and get it out to do some testing. There is defenitely going to be a polar bear run in Dec.

this is the badest of bad , please hurry up and do a test run and let us know how you like the air shocks , i am modeling my yj front three link after yours just not as hardcore it is a 79 ford hp 44 and no hydro yet . i have the coil springs and brackets but think i am going to go air shocks up front . :grinpimp:

this is the badest of bad , please hurry up and do a test run and let us know how you like the air shocks , i am modeling my yj front three link after yours just not as hardcore it is a 79 ford hp 44 and no hydro yet . i have the coil springs and brackets but think i am going to go air shocks up front . :grinpimp:

I'd love to get it out for a test run, BUT :confused: UPS got me the delivery from High Angle Driveline a day early early. I was stoked, until I opened it. Just say I still do not have my rear driveline. I'll have to try and get Jesse on the phone this am.

I'd love to get it out for a test run, BUT :confused: UPS got me the delivery from High Angle Driveline a day early early. I was stoked, until I opened it. Just say I still do not have my rear driveline. I'll have to try and get Jesse on the phone this am.

How long have you been waiting for your driveline?

How long have you been waiting for your driveline?

They were right on the ball when I had the driveline built. I think he had it built and out in a week back in April. That was when I had switched from another one of the "big" names in the driveline industry because of how slow it was taking them.

I was super happy with the turnaround and the quality of the product. So instead of having it lengthend locally I paid the extra money and sent it back to him to have the work done.

When it came time for the front shaft I went ahead and had Inland Truck Parts build it for me since they have a local location. They did not have the slip shaft I wanted instock but they had the part in and built the shaft complete within 24hrs.

I want to give him a chance to clear it all up, he seems to be a great guy just frustrating that it is been over a month and when I got it back it wasn't my driveline. He believes that mine got swapped with another customers but is checking into it and going to call me back.

I know that "stuff" happens it's just all building up on me right now since I have vacation time lleft up until the end of the year but no ability to use the Jeep because of one part.

I was really tempted to go have another shaft built from scratch at ITP today but really can't afford it right now.

Back to the waiting game.

Jesse got back to me and believes my driveshaft might be in transit to New Jersey but will not know until it is delivered on the 9th. He did offer to build me a new driveshaft and ship it overnight, and that offer alone is enough to make me happy. I do not want him to have to go to the extra cost of this since I would not be able to take it out this weekend anyways.

Right now we are going to wait until the 9th and see if the delivery to New Jersey is my driveshaft. At that time we'll figure out how to get it to me in TX. So hopefully before end of next week I will have my rear driveshaft.

TTT update on driveline???

TTT update on driveline???

Jesse confirmed that the driveline was shipped and recieved by another customer in New Jersey tuesday and that he would have it shipped from there to me to make it by the end of the week.

I've got my fingers crossed because I'm running out of vacation days and have used another one in preparation for having the driveshaft this weekend. The buddies are getting tired of me planning trips and then backing out.

I really hope it makes it here before the end of the week because I told him last week no need to rebuild the shaft and send it to me overnight because of all that additional work and cost, but that I needed it all resolved before the end of this week. But this week Jesse seemed somewhat concerned on the logistics of having the customer ship it to me, so I am a bit worried. I had the New Jersey customers shaft sent back out to him the same day I got the address so I hope that customer is as timely on his end. It is suppose to be being sent overnight so there is a little wiggle room.

I used Driveline Express in Lubbock to lengthen the front shaft on my buggy. My bill was $150 more than the quote, no phone call or explanation why it was approx. twice what the quote was. I paid the bill and have no intention of using or recommending them again.

http://www.forumspile.com/That-Is-Excellent.jpg

I used Driveline Express in Lubbock to lengthen the front shaft on my buggy. My bill was $150 more than the quote, no phone call or explanation why it was approx. twice what the quote was. I paid the bill and have no intention of using or recommending them again.

I have not heard much good about them either.

Just got home and the driveshaft was waiting on me:grinpimp:

Jesse overnighted from the customer in New Jersey so hats off for him taking care of that as I know the freight would have been nasty.

next saturday ... you, me, the jeep, and some rocks ... you up for it?!? :D

oh, i'll be driving of course ... hehe :angel:

Do you ever take a step back and think, HOLY CRAP what have i done, i should have kept the jeep stock and just built a buggy!!

Do you ever take a step back and think, HOLY CRAP what have i done, i should have kept the jeep stock and just built a buggy!!

It should would have overall been cheaper to do that but at the time I started the Jeep I did not have the tools needed for a built from scratch project and the Jeep allowed me to wheel for the 1.5 years it took to build this up. All the work but the final tons really didn't have any down time.

I plan on starting a scratch built single seat buggy next year and the Jeep will become the "family" vehicle.

The weather and some family things kept us tied up all weeekend and I wasn't able to do any wheeling that was picture worthy. I did get the heep out to our local pit, which is just that a big dirt pit. Nothing impressive but all the links clear, the Jeep feels very stable, etc. etc.

I am trying to get some people together for a Sat run at Canadian River because after this weekend I am going to stuck working without much of a day off to wheel until the end of Jan. If you want to join us give me a shout, no top, no doors but a nice set of coveralls and we'll be out there. Just hoping for winds to stay down.

We'll be out at Katemcy the first weekend of March for TTU College Weekend for sure.

Took the Jeep out Saturday for a shakedown run at Canadian River. So far we couldn’t find anything that needed to be changed. Everything seemed to work very well. No one else was up for the trip because of the cold and the holidays so we had to take it easy. I hate wheeling by ourselves.

Hopefully in late Jan we will be able to talk some people into a real trip.

Didn’t get very many action shots since there was neither one of us wanted to be the camera crew.

I can tell you that you had to really drive this thing when it was on narrows with 35’s. Now it feels much more stable and I’ll have to find that seat of the pants feeling again. Amazing what some additional width and length can do for a vehicle.

Glad to see you got it out in the dirt to play. I agree on changing from stock axles and small tires to full width 1 tons on larger tires. In mine, I have much more confidence in its capabilities. When you find that pucker factor again, you will literelly think you will die if you f-up the climb. It happened to me already and that pucker factor was through the roof like never before:eek:

Killer lookin rig.:smokin:

oh no ... you really put up that awful picture of my butt! i look like a puffed up marshmallow in my coveralls! haha.

i had fun :) can't wait for a "real" run.

At least it's a cute butt! Much prefer over the usual sausage fest here!

Merry Xmas!

I am jealous that you have something to say when your girl asks "What else do you find attractive about me other than my looks?" So many different things to choose from, welding skills, driving ability, attention to detail when fabricating. The perfect woman, she's a keeper.

Tiffani got me a set of LED backup lights for Xmas. She knows how to get to my heart for sure. Maybe Santa will bring a 6.0 next year.

I already had the wiring in place from the old bumper but decided to put these in the tub. They are wired to come on in reverse and there is also a manual switch on the dash for tailgaters.

WOW those look bright... which are those?

I have seen brighter but at the price these are the sweet.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2-LED-6-Oval-WHITE-Light-Bright-Back-up-w-grommet-12v_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp1742Q2em153Q2el1262 QQcategoryZ50069QQihZ017QQitemZ270323055066QQtcZph oto

We got the Monkey out to Post this weekend for its’ first real run since the build. Everything worked well. I’m happy with everything thus far. I did break the worn out factory transmission mount so I am replacing that with a poly mount to match the motor mounts. If that new piece shows signs of wear I will add a tail mount to the Atlas at a later date.

I’ll have it in the rocks at Katemcy on the 7th of March for Texas Tech College Weekend. If anyone can make it out give us a shout.

I was very happy with the stability and will put off installing a rear antirock until after the trip to Katmecy when I can try some better side hill testing. I do think I need a smaller pulley on the power steering pump.


**EDIT 2/7/09***

My new 2401 4.5 diameter pulley came in from PSC yesterday and I had a moment between coats of paint on the new to me trailer to get it installed. I was able to get the pump off and the old pulley removed without disconnecting any of the lines. Everything was going smooth; I checked the offset on the pulleys and confirmed they were both the same. I installed the new pulley. Went to bolt everything back up and the top two bolts were very close to being able to get a socket on them because of the smaller diameter pulley. The bottom bolt ended up being impossible. It was flush up against the inside of the pulley. I couldn’t even get a thin walled socket on it. I tried my best to tighten it by grasping the shaft of the bolt with some pliers but there was just not enough room nor could I get a wrench in there to start the bolt. I fumbled with it for a short time and then stared at it for even longer. I think I could have removed the pulley, reinstalled the pump and them reinstalled the pulley but here is what I ended up doing and I’m happy with the choice.

The factory mounting bolts are long enough that they go through the pump and all the way through the mounting bracket on the block. You can actually see some of the threads extending past the bracket. I grabbed a 8mm 1.25 nut and threaded it onto the mounting bolt and then cut about ½” off the lower mounting bolt. Then I removed the nut to chase the threads. Now I could install the bolt and it just cleared the pulley when it hit the start of the threads which allowed enough room to get socket on it. I still have plenty of thread engagement on the mounting bolt so it all appears good to go.

Lance said some guys run the factory belt with this pulley but the tensioner was almost out of adjustment and I didn’t feel that the belt was tight enough. I choose to run a 872K6 belt and it worked out perfect. The belt is now nice and tight about mid way through the range of the auto tensioner. The factory belt was a 880K6 so this one is almost an inch shorter.

Since we had already broken the clock spring, I went about trying to find a solution to the annoying airbag light on all the time. I have no desire to have a functioning airbag so I figured I would just pull the bulb, unplug the clock spring and call it good. After removing the cluster I found that there is not a replaceable bulb for the airbag light. It and the other warning lights are soldered led’s directly on the board. I did not want to remove the needles and get inside the cluster so I simply removed the clear cover and masked off a square around the airbag symbol and then used a black paint pin to color over it. A few coats and it was good to go. Turned out looking pretty nice also. If someone has a wiring diagram for the cluster we might be able to cut the tracer on the back of the board but I didn’t feel like putting that much effort into disabling the airbag light.

I removed the factory wheel and clock spring all together and installed a quick release hub and new wheel. It makes it much easier to get in and out and now I do not have to be annoyed that the steering wheel is off center all the time due to the full hydro.

I used the following Summit Racing parts:

REB-270-8645
REB-270-8630

I used a sanding disk and tapered the factory splines a tad just on the end to help coax the new hub onto the shaft. It did install tightly but since it was a slip fit and the new hub was not internally splined I did weld around the base of the hub. I had to replace the factory steering wheel bolt with a new 10mm 1.50 50mm bolt because the factory one has a fixed washer on the end that affected the hub and wheel seating completely.

Shot some black paint on the inside of the column and called irr-done. Some people said that they didn’t like how close the aftermarket wheels sit to the turn signals and wiper controls but I think there is enough room for everything to clear even with a white knuckle grip on the wheel. Since the hub is a standard 3 bolt pattern I could simply install a spacer in the future between the hub and wheel if it does become a problem. I drove around the neighborhood and I think it’ll work as is.

I also installed a poly transmission mount to replace the broken rubber mount that was on there. I cut a piece of ¼” plate and installed it between the transmission mount and the poly mount to push the atlas up a bit more just to increase clearance between the tailshaft and rear mounts. Once I broke the factory mount there was some rubbing involved and I think the new mount will solve the problem in the future since the motor itself is also setup with poly.

nice bro! im ganna have to do somethin bout my wheel... it is always in the way now with my new seats

Looking good... I am fighting the urge to go buggy right now. I am so close to it right now, but I want something I can drive on the street.

Anyways, hopefully I can still take you up on the ride sometime when I get back.

nice bro! im ganna have to do somethin bout my wheel... it is always in the way now with my new seats

I've watched your build as well, keep up the good work. I should have done the wheel awhile back before I broke the clockspring. I could have sould the clockspring for more then the wheel setup cost me.

Looking good... I am fighting the urge to go buggy right now. I am so close to it right now, but I want something I can drive on the street.

Anyways, hopefully I can still take you up on the ride sometime when I get back.

The next project I do will start with tube. Much cheaper in the end if you go this far into it. I am going to let Tiff have the Jeep and we'll start a buggy as soon as the finiancials are all there.

Let me know when you get back, your always welcome. My next time through Abilene will be on the way to Katemcy for College Weekend on the 6-8th of March.

Be safe and I appreciated and applaud your service to our country.

can i get some detail on whats removed and can be sold. im wantin to do a racing wheel with two buttons on it for shifting.

air bag

wheel

and whats the clock spring

The clockspring is what allows the wiring to work in the factory steering wheel. ie horn, airbag and cruise/stereo if you have the factory switches.

The clocksprings are different for non cruise and cruise applications. It is right behind the steering wheel when you remove it. You won't miss it.

Search on Ebay, I think they get about $100.00 for a used one and they break often so people will by it up even faster then the airbag.

I saw one of the aftermarket steering wheels at our AutoZone that has the two buttons installed on it and they had them for like $39.00 Heck that was less then I paid for mine but I didn't want the fancy look of most of the grants. I like this plain and simple wheel with no obvious orientation to what is TDC.

My clock spring still works :D

I'm doing this mod next weekend I hope. Ordering the poly 13'' wheel, Grant 3001 kit, and a 1'' spacer. Good thread over in the newb section.

FYI... used clock springs are worth about $20-$40.

Here is my write up on the steering wheel install FWIW. http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=760584

I dig your wheel. 15" I'm assuming? I went with the 13" to see how I like it. Nice thing with these wheels is that they are cheap!

FYI... used clock springs are worth about $20-$40.

Here is my write up on the steering wheel install FWIW. http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=760584

I dig your wheel. 15" I'm assuming? I went with the 13" to see how I like it. Nice thing with these wheels is that they are cheap!

Well the only ones on stEal-bay right now are $99.00 I looked for one for about 3 weeks before I went this route and I couldn't find any under $100.00 for the cruise control version. Both of the ones listed right now are non-cruise models. But in everything in life is only worth what someone is willing to pay.

Nice writeup. I just couldn't spend the money on the 3001 release when this one does the same thing. It was suppose to have the GM splines but their discription at Summit Racing is bs. It had a smooth bore, it was sized correctly and fit tight but no splines were cut. Nothing a welder couldn't fix and I never planned on putting the factory back on anyways.

I went with the 15" wheel just because I had set up the column to be non tilt and right where I liked it with the factory 15" wheel.

{I like the JF comments on your build I think I have seen you around there also}

you could add a 2" spacer ($15-20 from grant) and the wheel sits just where the stock one did for me.

http://inlinethumb06.webshots.com/8901/2638471330101917350S600x600Q85.jpg

Hmm Bozo...I might do what you did instead of buying that Grant 3001 kit. I don't plan on ever going back to the stock wheel and I do have a welder. I still might throw a 1'' spacer in there tho. I'm torn between the 13'' wheel and the 15'' :shaking:

Hmm Bozo...I might do what you did instead of buying that Grant 3001 kit. I don't plan on ever going back to the stock wheel and I do have a welder. I still might throw a 1'' spacer in there tho. I'm torn between the 13'' wheel and the 15'' :shaking:

All personal preference. I think I might add a 1" spacer on mine, but I like it where it is because of my monkey arms but the additional inch would help with Tiff driving. I think the 2" would be too much for my taste.

It did make me laugh that the steering wheel got the most "talk" out of the whole build.

Evil monkey huh?

http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/02/17/chimpanzee.attack/index.html

^^^ Man thats messed up...!!

Evil monkey huh?

http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/02/17/chimpanzee.attack/index.html

Thanks for the hijack:shaking:

I had a question about your fuel setup. I don't really have the connection to scroll through all of the pictures, so I apologize if I am asking questions you have already covered.

You are running a fuel cell and have disabled the airbags, correct? Did you pull off the little purge pump or anything at the engine? Reason for the question is so I can figure out how much of the smog stuff I can remove without the computer going on the fritz.

Here is my write up on the steering wheel install FWIW. http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=760584

I dig your wheel. 15" I'm assuming? I went with the 13" to see how I like it. Nice thing with these wheels is that they are cheap!

you could add a 2" spacer ($15-20 from grant) and the wheel sits just where the stock one did for me.


What did you both do about your airbag light being on?

I had a question about your fuel setup. I don't really have the connection to scroll through all of the pictures, so I apologize if I am asking questions you have already covered.

You are running a fuel cell and have disabled the airbags, correct? Did you pull off the little purge pump or anything at the engine? Reason for the question is so I can figure out how much of the smog stuff I can remove without the computer going on the fritz.

Yes I am running a RCI fuel cell with the factory pump. I had Copperhead Fab cut me mounting rings for the fuel pumpo assembly. I reconnected the vent on the fuel cell to the emissions box in the front of the TJ as it was on the factory tank. I do have an additional rollover valve installed on the tank inline. All the factory emissions stuff is still in tact it just has been relocated to the firewall from the factory fender location. I had to reroute and replace most of the hoses and extend the wiring to accomplish this.

The airbag computer is seperate from the engine mangement so to the best of my knoweldge and searches here, it does not effect anything other then the warning light on the dash. I had not had any performance issues with the broken clockspring which essentially was the same thing as removing the airbag. I did immediately unplug the connections from the clockspring when it broke to avoid shorting out anything with the open wires exposed inside the unit.

I haven't decided where to add the horn button but I have located the wiring to do so. I will need to get a functioning horn button installed before I have to renew my inspection here in TX.

What did you both do about your airbag light being on?



Edit: Changed Link
This> http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?p=9444607#post9444607

This> http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=576685
Hope that helps.:smokin:

That's close to what I figured would need to be done. I'll get the led out completely next time I have the windshield down since I can not remove the cluster without dropping the windshield. The cage cross bar is in the way of the mounting bolts. I would have done that from the start had I known I would not have to cut the tracers going to the led. Dang me for not doing more research into the socket that the warning lights are installed into, I never even searched over on JF. I already had the clear cover off to paint over the light so it would not have been much more work.

So people here can find the write-up on a search I've copied over your excellent write-up and stole your pictures.

*************Credit to Sean***********

Do you have a need or desire to remove a light function from your gauge cluster like that annoying shift light or airbag warning light?

What ever the reason, if you have any lights in your gauge cluster that you would like to disable, here is how I do it.

These indicator lights such as the shift, turn signals, check engine, seat belt, air bag and so on are not replaceable according to Jeep. They are soldiered to the board that the gauges are built into.

First, take note of the position of your gauges, ignition on and off. Best to do this with a cold engine and a full tank of gas.

Next, remove the entire gauge cluster from the dash as one piece. Easy to do, just a few trim panels and philips screws.

Next, take apart the cluster. First the plastic lens then the black hood. Be careful not to break the tabs.

Now, start by removing ONLY the necessary gauge needles to access the lights you wish to remove. No need to remove all of them. Then remove the little round, black clips behind the needles you just removed.

As with all of the following steps, go slow and be careful... these parts are delicate and not meant to be tampered with in the first place.

Next, pull back the gauge panel. Only the necessary amount. It is held down by two sided tape so be firm but don't jerk it. It will come off.

Now, time to remove the light. They are the square things at the bottom of the "tunnel". Prod it up a little with a pointed tool, grasp with tweezers and pull up. They come right out.

That's it. Make sure there is nothing (fragments) left in the tunnel.
Place a drop of glue on the existing two sided tape and place the gauge panel back in place.

Replace the clips and needles.

Plug back into wire harness on dash, turn key on and note gauge positions, make changes if necessary.

Put the cluster back together and install.

Note: When doing this mod it’s a good time to adjust gauge readings that are not correct or just to your liking. My tach was off 125 rpm according to the smog dyno and the fuel gauge read empty while it still had a quarter tank. Anyway, you can adjust your gauges to read the way you want them to.

That's it, hope this works as good for others as it has for me.

(Thanks Sean for the great writeup)

**My only addition from past experience replacing the needles is as follows. Once you remove the clear cover, plug the cluster back into the Jeep and then mark the location of the needles very lightly with a pencil or use masking tape to note their position. Also the best tool I have found to remove the needles are the panel removal tools that look like a U on the end. I think you can find them at most auto stores for removing the spring clips interior panels.**

im goin this route... but to each his own...

http://static.summitracing.com/global/images/prod/large/grt-741.jpg

[QUOTE=BozoWise;9444279]What did you both do about your airbag light being on?

Honestly, I am so used to it being on, I dont even notice it anymore. However, what drives me apesh!t is my steering wheel being off center after I went full hydro. I called PSC and they stated thats normal. Are you guys experiencing this?

im goin this route... but to each his own...

http://static.summitracing.com/global/images/prod/large/grt-741.jpg

Hey I have one just like that on my car, but I got the 8" version with gold chain, so I can still drive with handcuffs on. The Heep is not a great getaway vehicle so I just went with the cheap wheel.


However, what drives me apesh!t is my steering wheel being off center after I went full hydro. I called PSC and they stated thats normal. Are you guys experiencing this?

Yes another reason why I have a new steering wheel that has no orientation to see if it is off center. Since there is no longer a fixed linkage with full hydro I have yet to see one that would stay centered for long.

Looking good! Ive been in and out of the TJ threads, and this one is a cool one!


I dont mean to rain on your parade, but you can pull the bulbs out from the rear of the cluster without having to disassemble the whole thing. You just give the socket a little turn with a pair of needle nose pliers. I did this for my annoying shift light.

Looking good! Ive been in and out of the TJ threads, and this one is a cool one!


I dont mean to rain on your parade, but you can pull the bulbs out from the rear of the cluster without having to disassemble the whole thing. You just give the socket a little turn with a pair of needle nose pliers. I did this for my annoying shift light.

uuhhh....nope. :shaking: read.:homer:

Looking good! Ive been in and out of the TJ threads, and this one is a cool one!


I dont mean to rain on your parade, but you can pull the bulbs out from the rear of the cluster without having to disassemble the whole thing. You just give the socket a little turn with a pair of needle nose pliers. I did this for my annoying shift light.

Looking good! Ive been in and out of the TJ threads, and this one is a cool one!


I dont mean to rain on your parade, but you can pull the bulbs out from the rear of the cluster without having to disassemble the whole thing. You just give the socket a little turn with a pair of needle nose pliers. I did this for my annoying shift light.

Thanks for the complements, but you didn't rain on my parade since the airbag light is not a buld on any of the sockets in the rear.

Shift Light yes
High beam indicator yes
backlight for the gauges yes

airbag light - Nope it is inside the cluster.

The trip to Katemcy was a blast as usual. Everything worked out well, got a few more scratches but nothing broke and we didn’t have to pull cable for anything.

I am still tuning for better overall performance in the hydraulic steering. I had to kick the automatic into neutral on a few occasions so I could rev up the engine in order to turn in some spots. As long as the Jeep was moving forward the pump produced plenty of fluid and pressure to steer, if you wanted to turn while sitting still the pump just didn’t keep up at idle RPM if there was any binding of the tires. I’ve already got the smaller pulley from PSC so I’m going to send the pump back to them and Lance is going to bump it up a bit for output at idle.

Hopefully some of the other people there will send me some pictures of my rig as I didn’t get many on my personal camera.

It is sad that Katemcy, TX will be closing the doors forever on June 30th.

Why is Katemcy closing? That sucks, I will never be able to go there.

Why is Katemcy closing? That sucks, I will never be able to go there.

KATEMCY ROCKS CLOSES

All good things must come to an end. So it goes with Katemcy Rocks. We learned last week that we are losing our lease effective June 30, 2009. The trust department that has handled Jack Hays estate notified us that the property was not going to be leased to us again. The son who inherited the property has decided he wishes to use the property exclusively for his
family, as is his right. They may eventually build a home on the property.It has been an honor and privilege to wheel this property for 8 years. We have meet so many friends through the years and hope to see all of you back here at the Rocks before we close.

Happy Trails,
Randy, Shain, Pam, Casey, Jessica, Juanita, Jerry and Elaine

Bummer that the lease ran up. Maybe the current land owner will open it up occasionally? It would be a great $$$ maker charging $10-20 a rig. Similar to Freelings Off-Road Park in OK.

KATEMCY ROCKS CLOSES

All good things must come to an end. So it goes with Katemcy Rocks. We learned last week that we are losing our lease effective June 30, 2009. The trust department that has handled Jack Hays estate notified us that the property was not going to be leased to us again. The son who inherited the property has decided he wishes to use the property exclusively for his
family, as is his right. They may eventually build a home on the property.It has been an honor and privilege to wheel this property for 8 years. We have meet so many friends through the years and hope to see all of you back here at the Rocks before we close.

Happy Trails,
Randy, Shain, Pam, Casey, Jessica, Juanita, Jerry and Elaine


Man that just flat out sucks!!!!:( I wanted to go this past weekend but didnt have the extra cash to set aside. Are they going to keep the rest of the scheduled runs between now and closing time?

Bummer that the lease ran up. Maybe the current land owner will open it up occasionally? It would be a great $$$ maker charging $10-20 a rig. Similar to Freelings Off-Road Park in OK.

From what I have heard about the land owners son who inherited it, I doubt it will reopen ever.

Man that just flat out sucks!!!!:( I wanted to go this past weekend but didnt have the extra cash to set aside. Are they going to keep the rest of the scheduled runs between now and closing time?

Yes up until June 30 all runs are on and Randy is thinking about staying there and passing on Easter Jeep Safari so he can open up an extra weekend.

That sucks big time... That was by far the closest good place to go... Guess its mall crawling for me.

i'm bummed ... that was my favorite place in texas to go wheeling. good memories i suppose ... i'm hoping for at least one more run before they close

btw ... no pics of me wheeling ;) but ... the jeep did awesome on it's first big run! the difference in this run and the last to katemcy were great! i'm so glad it's finally on the rocks again

nice build man! love everything but the front bumper...:smokin:

nevermind man!!!!! take that back, somehow didnt notice the change...ha a long time ago...killer lookin jeep!

nice build man! love everything but the front bumper...:smokin:

nevermind man!!!!! take that back, somehow didnt notice the change...ha a long time ago...killer lookin jeep!

So I take it you were talking about the old bumper.... I never was happy with it myself. :homer:

yea, i was talkin about the old one...new setup looks damn good though! love the jeep...good color too!

http://msp21.photobucket.com/albums/b271/luvinyou963/Evil_Monkey.jpg

Ya, Sean that is the same sticker on the side of the Heep.





Well on one side, I scraped the other off at Katemcy.

clean rig. i checked it out while it was at camp....... got to see you wheel a bit from a distance. wish i could keep sheetmetal so nice :D

i had the grey yj up at baby hueys while your group was finishing up at wine and cheese. maybe ill catch you guys out there at one of the few remaining runs......i plan on making them all

clean rig. i checked it out while it was at camp....... got to see you wheel a bit from a distance. wish i could keep sheetmetal so nice :D

i had the grey yj up at baby hueys while your group was finishing up at wine and cheese. maybe ill catch you guys out there at one of the few remaining runs......i plan on making them all

Man come find me next time. I can always use another person to wheel with. I used to go to the drag boat races down in Lampassas when my uncle was a fireman there.

We will be down for the 3 day event on Memorial day.

** Not sure if I ever listed it but I ended up with 240psi 370cc in the front air schocks and 225psi and 355cc in the rear **

is that with the weight on the shocks? or fully extended?

is that with the weight on the shocks? or fully extended?

I'm confused as to the question... is it a trick? The air shocks have to be fully extended to charge with oil or nitrogen so I'll go with fully extended. I had to bleed them each time to add oil. Final charge on the air shocks ended up as listed above after a few recharges and tweeks.

I guess Satan's Playground will have a new customer after June 30th or we'll start going back out to Las Cruces.

Ya, Sean that is the same sticker on the side of the Heep.





Well on one side, I scraped the other off at Katemcy.

haha, that's freakin' awesome. Nice Jeep man. Been following it for awhile now.

We're losing Tellico over here in the Southeast :mad3: