I'm a little more than knee deep in this project but haven't ever had the patience to post it up here. I'm outta town this weekend and have the time so check it out and lemme know how it looks...the plan is this...KEEP IT SIMPLE!!

The plans include/included:

wheelbase near 100"
Toy front axle w/ high pinion ARB and cryo/heat treated 5.29s and solid spacer kit
Toy power steering (will add hydro assist)
trail gear 4 stud high steer
trunion bearing eliminator kit
spindle stud conversion
longfield lifetime wiper seals
longfield 30 spline axles
longfield chromoly hub gears
ARP knuckle studs
low range off road knuckle ball gussets/shock mounts
trail gear axle gusset
marlin eco inner axle seals
differential studs removed and replaced with button head allen screws

Toy IFS rear axle w/ elocker and cryo/heat treated 5.29s and solid spacer kit
low range off road economy rear disc conversion (front solid rotors and calipers)
marlin eco inner axle seals
shaved drain plug
differential studs removed and replaced with button head allen screws (except two long studs for elocker)

stock 1.3 motor

6.5 to 1 tcase gears
poly shifter sheet

brass tranny shifter sheet

1.5" DOM cage
corbeau baja ss seats

pro comp es3000 shocks

etc....

the start of it all...
http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm13/clemsonjeep/Samurai/DSC01549.jpg

welded tubes to housings...
http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm13/clemsonjeep/Samurai/DSC01556.jpg

the rear end hung...
http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm13/clemsonjeep/Samurai/DSC01650.jpg

checking out wheelbase options...
http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm13/clemsonjeep/Samurai/DSC01616.jpg

swapped tires to get a better idea of the stance...
http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm13/clemsonjeep/Samurai/DSC01658.jpg

converting tailgate to a drop down style...
http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm13/clemsonjeep/Samurai/DSC02725.jpg

it worked out...
http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm13/clemsonjeep/Samurai/DSC02728.jpg

cut and extended front frame rails straight out and began front mock-up...
http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm13/clemsonjeep/Samurai/DSC02963.jpg

front hangers...
http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm13/clemsonjeep/Samurai/DSC02967.jpg

shackle hangers and body mount...
http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm13/clemsonjeep/Samurai/DSC02970-1.jpg

set caster and attached spring perches...
http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm13/clemsonjeep/Samurai/DSC02966-1.jpg

passenger side perch...
http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm13/clemsonjeep/Samurai/DSC02968-1.jpg

front end set up...
http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm13/clemsonjeep/Samurai/DSC02977-1.jpg

swapped shackles front to rear (waggy front/xj rear)...
http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm13/clemsonjeep/Samurai/DSC02984-1.jpg

fabbed mount for toyota power steering pump...
http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm13/clemsonjeep/Samurai/DSC02973.jpg

side view...
http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm13/clemsonjeep/Samurai/DSC02974.jpg

current stance...
http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm13/clemsonjeep/Samurai/DSC02980-1.jpg

just a little wider with 2.5"BS wheels...
http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm13/clemsonjeep/Samurai/DSC02987-1.jpg

Looks :smokin:


how much of a pita was it to get the toy pump on there?

the toy pump really wasnt that big of a pain...i made one bracket before i came up with the current design. i had a brain fart that caused me to forget that the bracket needed to be adjustable for belt tension...i still need to add one more slotted hole parallel to the others on the back side of the bracket so that when i pry it away from the motor to apply tension it doesnt try to get cock-eyed on me

looks great. nice welds. Where you getting ur brackets: hanger brackets and axle perches? keep up the great work.

i got all the brackets from DATIN Fabrication...great service...i know i was annoying cuz i didnt know what all i needed and they were very patient and helped me figure it out even when i placed an order and called back the next day to add some more pieces they threw them in a box and got em on the way ASAP! Ed and Patty are the ones running the show if you contact them...

cool. I just bought 6.5 gears from them and really liked the service. Sounds like a great place for brackets too. thanks for the reply. sorry to clutter ur thread. should've probably pm you. delete this if u wish.

I see red x's, they're everywhere :(

works for me. refresh?

are you going to extend the front clip?
also you might want to stop those rear shackles from inverting with a plate on top of bracket.

nah im not going to extend the front clip...gonna trim it the best i can...i wanna keep the stock as well as full body look...the yota steering box will be mounted outside the frame up front there and the winch will get mounted down and in between the frame rails with the fairlead coming through the bumper. at least thats how i see it at this point.

ill prolly be putting the plate on top of the brackets like blackrider mentioned...gotta tie up some loose ends and make sure i like how everything is at this point.

Nice looking pump bracket, i just got done making mine a couple days ago.
mine was a bitch to make, i like the simplicity of yours.

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f261/rellim87/Samurai/IMG_0304.jpg

sami is looking good.

Lookin good. :)

is that a heavy door hinge? what did you do for a tensioning mechanism? looks creative.

haha no its not a door hing, thou that was the base idea of it.
Just some lathe and mill work.

Modified the stock Toyota pump bracket.
http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f261/rellim87/Samurai/IMG_0303.jpg

Engine side bracket.
http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f261/rellim87/Samurai/IMG_0302.jpg

Tension bracket.
http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f261/rellim87/Samurai/IMG_0305.jpg

It does the job.


Sorry not trying to hijack your thread.

Alex

crass it over dude. it will steer better. the waggy axle is easy to do the cross over. looks good!:smokin:

haha no its not a door hing, thou that was the base idea of it.
Just some lathe and mill work.


great work. i like it clean. i'm getting ready to deal with bracketry myslef, gotta run a big gm alternator and tc pump. i'm planning on running a single serpentine belt. i was thinking of a plate system, like in drag cars, with idler pulleys for proper contact and using a little tie rod on the alternator to tension the whole works. i got brackets on my brain, i appreciate the pics, very original. good for feeding the idea machine.

great work. i like it clean. i'm getting ready to deal with bracketry myslef, gotta run a big gm alternator and tc pump. i'm planning on running a single serpentine belt. i was thinking of a plate system, like in drag cars, with idler pulleys for proper contact and using a little tie rod on the alternator to tension the whole works. i got brackets on my brain, i appreciate the pics, very original. good for feeding the idea machine.

I was going to use a tie rod and turnbuckle for my tensioner but didn't have the parts on hand and was in a hurry to finish it up. So i just went with the classic slotted style.

Thats a lot of frame up front there, poncho.

What springs are you running in the rear?

Thats a lot of frame up front there, poncho.

not really...just enough to sink the winch into the frame and keep some good air movement into the engine...which may be larger at some point :flipoff2:

What springs are you running in the rear?

im running stock wranglers all the way around off of my 93 4 banger soft top

Thats a lot of frame up front there, poncho.

I was thinking the same thing and those are long springs
I have to say that is the cleanest toy pump install I'm ever seen

i need to get some more pics up later this week but i wanted to post up what ive been so busy working on thats kept me from taking pics...

mounted toyota IFS steering box (plated and sleeved frame)
http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm13/clemsonjeep/Samurai/DSC00128.jpg

installed 6.5 to 1 tcase gears

fabbed up homemade twin stick conversion

converted hard lines at frame to standard thread flared ends

bought toyota steering rezzy and pressure/return lines
http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm13/clemsonjeep/Samurai/DSC00129.jpg

pulled steering u joints from 90's model 4runner

i was able to use the shaft from inside the sammy steering column to makeup the top portion of the steering shaft...this is the shaft that sticks out of the firewall and just so happens to be shaped the same as the bottom rag joint portion of the engine compartment shaft so it allows the two to telescope together so i just trimmed it up so i had some slip and then englarged the holes in the rag joint end a little and bolted the yota steering joint up to it and everything came together...

http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm13/clemsonjeep/Samurai/DSC00131.jpg

http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm13/clemsonjeep/Samurai/DSC00132.jpg

http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm13/clemsonjeep/Samurai/DSC00134.jpg

finally got it out of the shop this weekend and got to drive it around a little...had to watch out for the neighbors fence without brakes...the lines i ordered from Techna-Fit came in today but there was a mixup on banjo bolt size and i received 10mmx1.0 vs. 10mmx1.5 bolts...they also managed to put a banjo fitting on the rear line instead of the standard dist. block...but they are already on schedule to make up a new rear line and ship it out to me tomorrow....so im definitely not complaining because ive had excellent service from them so far. they made two fronts at 26" long and one rear 36" long stainless steel braided with a red pvc coating for a little over 60 bucks including banjo bolts and copper washers...GIVE THEM A CALL or email STUART TROTTER...he's the president and his email is on their website www.techna-fit.com

http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm13/clemsonjeep/Samurai/DSC02501.jpg

time to start resurrecting this thread from the dead...although i dont have any pictures at the moment i will throw some up the next couple of days...heres whats happening:

cut rockers below doors and using 2x4 1/8" wall...gotta give credit to D BOZ (http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=829327)
removed front clip and started bending tube

coming up:

cage build
shock placement
gears/lockers
seats

as with more and more current builds this wont be moving at the speed of light or anything...if i had to guess id say the cage should be in by the end of february

time to start resurrecting this thread from the dead...although i dont have any pictures at the moment i will throw some up the next couple of days...heres whats happening:

cut rockers below doors and using 2x4 1/8" wall...gotta give credit to D BOZ (http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=829327)
removed front clip and started bending tube

coming up:

cage build
shock placement
gears/lockers
seats

as with more and more current builds this wont be moving at the speed of light or anything...if i had to guess id say the cage should be in by the end of february

pics (http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showpost.php?p=10831903&postcount=218)

I am definitely not the first to do it, but I am glad if it helped motivate you to get back at it. I'll be watching to see how it works for you and how you can improve it (pics with boat sides would be great ;) )

Sorry if I missed it, but what wheelbase did you end up with?

What is your plan for cutting the front clip? Looks like there might be major rubbing problems at bump.

The stance is really badass! Keep up the good work. More pics!

ill double check the wheelbase this evening...the front clip is gone...the hood is staying and i started bending up the tube for the new front clip...ill try to shoot some pics tonight as well and get them posted up too...

here's some pics of the beginning of the front tube clip and the rockers

this led to what ive been doing...
http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm13/clemsonjeep/Samurai/DSC09896.jpg
http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm13/clemsonjeep/Samurai/DSC09886.jpg
http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm13/clemsonjeep/Samurai/DSC09887.jpg
http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm13/clemsonjeep/Samurai/DSC09888.jpg
http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm13/clemsonjeep/Samurai/DSC09889.jpg
http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm13/clemsonjeep/Samurai/DSC09890.jpg

and some more cutting...
http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm13/clemsonjeep/Samurai/DSC09895.jpg
http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm13/clemsonjeep/Samurai/DSC09894.jpg
http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm13/clemsonjeep/Samurai/DSC09892.jpg
http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm13/clemsonjeep/Samurai/DSC09893.jpg

http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm13/clemsonjeep/Samurai/DSC09900.jpg

the rockers will hang out past the wheel wells a couple inches in order to provide some area for the tube fenders to tie in...

What kind of bender is that? Looks cool and portable!

Sorry if I missed it, but what wheelbase did you end up with?

exactly 100" thanks for the comments...keeps the motivation up!

What kind of bender is that? Looks cool and portable!

its the PROBENDER (www.probender.com) ...they are a vendor here... http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=734642&highlight=probender

any updates

as a matter of fact there are...but not much to show other than i got the B Hoop bent up today...as soon as im able to get some more tubing the cage will move pretty quick but while im waiting on that ill be working on the rock sliders, hood hoop, shock hoops and grill tube work

sorry for the cell pic but my wife helped me out today and ended up taking some shots
http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm13/clemsonjeep/Samurai/IMG00373.jpg

i forgot to say i also got my pair of black vinyl/black cloth corbeau baja ss's and 3" 5 point harnesses as well...thought i took a pic but evidently not...will try to tomorrow

Looks real good how long did it take to bend that b hoop looks solid

do you have any more pics?

Looks real good how long did it take to bend that b hoop looks solid

a good 4 hours...im definitely being cautious bending the DOM...at $4.50 or so a foot i don't have any room for wasted tubing...so basically bend...remove and check...bend...remove and check...

there are 6 bends...they were 38 deg, 7 deg, 83 deg, 83 deg x2. i thought i screwed up and bout lost it while working on the first 83. in order to get the 83 deg i was having to bend just a smidge past 90, well when i got to 88 deg i bumped bumped the air trigger slowly and it showed it going up and then it lost a little...i wasnt thinking and gave it a some more before it occurred to me that the gauge is set up for 0-90-0 instead of 0-180 so after i passed 90 it started counting down again...so after swearing like a sailor i decided to use a ratchet strap to try to remove around 3 deg from the bend to get it back to 83...it worked

do you have any more pics?

whatcha wanna see?

have any font and back with wheel and tires on it so we co see the width . I am going to be runing the same axles in mine . what gear ratio are you going with?

how are ur rockers being supported? are they welded to the frame? looks good where u have it

have any font and back with wheel and tires on it so we co see the width . I am going to be runing the same axles in mine . what gear ratio are you going with?

ask and ye shall receive...and as far as the gears go i havent made my final decision but i originally thought 5.89s but i want to get as much strength as i can out of my setup so i might stay with the 5.38s for a slightly larger pinion. theyve held up well in my jeep.

http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm13/clemsonjeep/Samurai/DSC02987-1.jpg


got some more done tonight. i spent a little while setting up my tubing notcher and learning a little about it but went ahead and cut and notched the first upright and burned it in place
http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm13/clemsonjeep/Samurai/DSC_0012.jpg
http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm13/clemsonjeep/Samurai/DSC_0011.jpg
http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm13/clemsonjeep/Samurai/DSC_0015.jpg
http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm13/clemsonjeep/Samurai/DSC_0020.jpg
http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm13/clemsonjeep/Samurai/DSC_0023.jpg

a better shot of the hoop
http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm13/clemsonjeep/Samurai/DSC_0021.jpg

and where its gonna attach after plating
http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm13/clemsonjeep/Samurai/DSC_0024.jpg

how are ur rockers being supported? are they welded to the frame? looks good where u have it

until tonight they werent supported by anything but the floor jack. technically they still are but at least i got one piece attached. in the end theyll be attached to the frame at the front corner with a tube straight out to the frame and the same at the back corner. i will also be cutting the front and rear of the rockers at a 45 and plating them. i will leave the rear end as long as possible to provide a smoother transition to the rear tire and to prevent being hung up with a rock in between the rocker and tire

looking good i really cant wait to start on my zuk

until tonight they werent supported by anything but the floor jack. technically they still are but at least i got one piece attached. in the end theyll be attached to the frame at the front corner with a tube straight out to the frame and the same at the back corner. i will also be cutting the front and rear of the rockers at a 45 and plating them. i will leave the rear end as long as possible to provide a smoother transition to the rear tire and to prevent being hung up with a rock in between the rocker and tire


Just tying the rocker in at the ends probably isn't enough. That's how mine is too though. I couldn't decide on how to tie it in in the middle, so I didn't, and have just wheeled it that way. It bent up into the body some, and is a little tweaked because I never gave it that vertical support in the middle. It's not too noticeable (yet), but will be if I don't do something about it. I keep hoping you come up with something for me to copy :D

Ballistic tube caps? Looks good, keep it up

yeah i love the ballistic caps. as far as the sliders go im thinkin that once i get the cage in and have the lower tubes run from the b hoop to the a pillars that i might be able to run 2 attachment points through the floor to add the vertical support. it doesnt look easy to attach the middle section to the frame with the floor being there. im still working on what im gonna do with the floor. right now im considering taking some 1 5/8" or 2" tube and cutting it in half length wise and attaching it to the underside of the sliders up close to the floor pans and see if that doesnt provide some protection. if i could just grow a pair id hack the floor up and raise it but i really really hate welding sheet metal.

yet another exciting update...i got the fender bars cut and notched for both sides and went ahead and burned the passenger side on. i dont have much room to work on the driver side right now and i dont have the rocker panel trimmed yet either. i should get that done in the next couple days and should be able to throw the matching fender bar and upright on pretty quick so i can remove it all as one piece and finish welding and go ahead and paint most of it. i wont know where ill be attaching the rest of the supports from the sliders to the frame until a little later. i also have to design my front shock mounts too.

heres where its at now...
http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm13/clemsonjeep/Samurai/DSC_0014-1.jpg
http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm13/clemsonjeep/Samurai/DSC_0016-1.jpg

it looks like when turning at full stuff, the tire may make contact with that bar.

yeah i was looking at that. i really dont have a way to test it as it sits right now and the with the situation in my shop. the way i was looking at it as i was building it was that the front end will move forward some under compression since the shackle is at the front. if it does ill just have to limit it a little. i also have a little room to play with the axle placement on the spring (3 holes in spring pad) and i also have the option of swapping in some waggy leafs that are offset a little. we'll see when we get there...thanks for helping point out what i may be missing though...i do appreciate it

ok i need some opinions...ive gotten myself questioning which axles im gonna end up running. obviously i have the danas under it now but the yota axles have definitely gained the aftermarket support that the waggy axles really dont have. sure you can get chromoly axles and hi steer arms but theyre just not as readily available or at least it doesnt seem that way.

what got me questioning this is that after i finish the cage the next big hurdle is purchasing gears and lockers seeing as the stock gears in the waggy axles just arent gonna help out at all. i was thinking if i found a decent price on a pair of yotas with 4.10s and welded em up i could at least get on the trail with this rig until i saved up for the gears i really want and the lockers that i definitely want rather than having to drop nearly 2 grand just to get the axles ready to wheel (air lockers and 5.38s).

another advantage with the yotas would be losing quite a few pounds of unsprung weight.

in any case gimme your opinions on which way you'd go!!!

go toyota everyone here in guam does a toyota axle swap it sucks because i too am looking for toy axles so i can startcmy build but it is real tight out here they are either overpriced or guys dont want to let them go

good luck and keep the updates coming

ok i need some opinions...ive gotten myself questioning which axles im gonna end up running. obviously i have the danas under it now but the yota axles have definitely gained the aftermarket support that the waggy axles really dont have. sure you can get chromoly axles and hi steer arms but theyre just not as readily available or at least it doesnt seem that way.

what got me questioning this is that after i finish the cage the next big hurdle is purchasing gears and lockers seeing as the stock gears in the waggy axles just arent gonna help out at all. i was thinking if i found a decent price on a pair of yotas with 4.10s and welded em up i could at least get on the trail with this rig until i saved up for the gears i really want and the lockers that i definitely want rather than having to drop nearly 2 grand just to get the axles ready to wheel (air lockers and 5.38s).

another advantage with the yotas would be losing quite a few pounds of unsprung weight.

in any case gimme your opinions on which way you'd go!!!


Another vote for Toy's

D44's have a 8.5" ring gear vs. the 7.8" of the mini's, but I think the biggest advantage for the Waggy's is their width (61" ?)

If you aren't dying for the width, you already answered why the Toyota's would be better :)

well i went with the yota route. the next week or so is gonna be really exciting. i finally sold my supermoto bike so i had a pile of money to drop on this project so maybe within the next two months i can get this thing out on a trail. i wont spill all of the beans just yet...gotta keep yall interested! in any case ive got quite a few goodies on the way!

i took last wednesday off and went pull a part hopping. i started in Augusta, GA where I found a 93 FJ80 with the high pinion front 3rd still in it. i yanked it out and went on to Atlanta where I was suppose to visit Nemore Rex salvage to pick up a complete rear axle out of a 99 4runner with diff lock and 4.10s. well they had a rear end but it didnt have diff lock as they had advertised. :mad3: so the journey continued into atlanta. the next stop was the U Wrench It where i found a 98 4runner with the electric locker still in it...and right next to it an IFS 4wd pickup minus the passenger side rear axle shaft but with hubs and all. we walked in the yard at 4:00, found the rigs by 4:10 and had the elocker pulled by 5:00 :flipoff2: in any case...here they are...

high pinion 3rd :grinpimp:
http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm13/clemsonjeep/Samurai/DSC_0379.jpg
elocker third
http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm13/clemsonjeep/Samurai/DSC_0381.jpg
front axle
http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm13/clemsonjeep/Samurai/DSC_0383.jpg
front axle internals
http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm13/clemsonjeep/Samurai/DSC_0384.jpg
elocker motor and FJ80 front driveshaft
http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm13/clemsonjeep/Samurai/DSC_0386.jpg
rotors from 97 4 runner...gonna use these with the IFS hubs
http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm13/clemsonjeep/Samurai/DSC_0387.jpg

Nice part hunting :D

Looking forward to seeing what you are up too

Do you mind sharing how much you picked up the HP 3rd for? When my front (lock-rite) goes :nuke: , an 80 series front would be the way to go

Very nice junk yarding indeed :smokin:

yeah i meant to throw that bit of information in there earlier...

the HP front i paid $55.55 plus a $7.61 core charge at the Pull A Part in Augusta, GA. im not too sure why a junk yard wants a core charge...but i was happy to pay it.

the ELocker rear i paid $75 for at a U Wrench It in Norcross, GA.

i plan on throwing a list together of all the costs later on like DBoz did in his build, but while i'm at it...

$75 for empty IFS housing and left side axle shaft (no drum brakes...i dont need them)
$50 per side for IFS caliper, rotor, wheel hub w/ bearings, manual hub assembly

$25 for a steering pump off of an xj cherokee along with a fluid cooler as well

then i had to revisit the Augusta yard to pick up another axle shaft minus the brake parts for $22

the ELocker rear i paid $75 for at a U Wrench It in Norcross, GA.

:eek:

Are you fawking kidding me....good lord talk about a deal!!

no sir im am not...an even "better" deal was that the reason i made the trip to atlanta in the first place was that a salvage yard just outside of conyers (NEMORE REX) showed to have a 99 4runner complete rear axle with 4.10s and an elocker for $150. i called them up to make sure they still had it on the yard (it was already pulled) and when i told the guy i was coming from SC he said he'd do $125, so i asked if he could get a picture and send it to me so i could verify the elocker was there. he said noone there had a camera...not even on their phones! longer story shorter...i showed up and found a 99 rear NON ELOCKER rear axle!!!! man i was PISSED! in any case it woulda been a great deal to get the complete axle and elocker for $125 and then possibly part out the axle.

needless to say my mood changed when i found the elocker in the U Wrench It!!!

The e-lockers I have found around here seem to be worth their weight in gold. I'd love to have one for the front of the buggy, but for $100 more I can have a ARB, if that gives you an idea of what they sell for.

:grinpimp: the brown truck brought some GOODIES by today...check em out!

http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm13/clemsonjeep/Samurai/DSC_0391.jpg
http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm13/clemsonjeep/Samurai/DSC_0392.jpg

i also picked up two more sticks of 1.5" DOM to work on the cage...hoping to knock out a pretty big chunk of it this Sunday...we'll see how that goes

I've been watching this and gathering parts to do a simular build keep the updates coming I'm diggin it!

well the cage is just now getting some lovin...removed/replaced a tj lower control arm mount that was mangled...cleaned up the shop too

heres some pics of what i got done today...ill repost with some quality pics tomorrow...

http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm13/clemsonjeep/Samurai/IMG00142-20100328-2308.jpg
http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm13/clemsonjeep/Samurai/IMG00140-20100328-2308.jpg

i also got the toyota backing plates cut down, pressed the wheel studs out of the solid axle hubs so i can take the old front rotors to get turned so theyre ready for the rear disc conversion when my parts get here...cleaned th front axle up a little more...and drooled on my longfields a little more :smokin:

well i finished cleaning up the axles tonight. the front axle in particular was a MESS! the leaf spring perches on the passenger side were a major pita to cut off too. ive got the rear axle setup ready for the elocker housing too...i had some difficulty getting it converted...mainly with drilling the holes for the new studs and keeping them straight up and down...the first time around they were both tilted the same direction and the third member would bind up on them going down so i welded em up and did it again with the help of a friend we watched the drill from two sides to keep it straight and it worked out really well! i wanted to take more pics before i came in but the battery died...

http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm13/clemsonjeep/Samurai/DSC_0462.jpg
this is where the housing has to be clearanced for the bolt holding the locking tab on the larger side bearing that the elocker uses
http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm13/clemsonjeep/Samurai/DSC_0463.jpg

well here's where im at now...ive got the a hoop installed and i took the rear bars loose and moved them out to line up with the spreaders running from the a hoop to the b hoop. i was in the process of trying to get the seats mounted last night but i need to figure out how to run the tubes in order to get the seats low enough to keep my head far enough away from the top of the cage (minimum 3"). i had seen another sammy that had 1.5" tube run straight across the top of the tranny tunnel and the seats attached without issue, but i cant find the pics to compare but when i set mine up that way i only have 2.5 to 3 inches at most.

on another note...the front axle is under the sammy...perches arent welded yet. i wanted to make sure im setting the caster correctly before i burn em in. i got all of the gussets and the truss attached though. i also got the trunion bearing eliminator kit installed...i like the fact that there are grease zerks now. the high steer arms and steering linkage went on as well...and im realy happy with how everything lined up considering i had it all built around running the dana 44.

i went ahead and installed the aluminum door handles too. that was a PITA! :mad3:

here's the pics:

http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm13/clemsonjeep/Samurai/DSC_0764.jpg
http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm13/clemsonjeep/Samurai/DSC_0763.jpg
http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm13/clemsonjeep/Samurai/DSC_0762.jpg
http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm13/clemsonjeep/Samurai/DSC_0761.jpg
http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm13/clemsonjeep/Samurai/DSC_0770.jpg
http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm13/clemsonjeep/Samurai/DSC_0771.jpg
http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm13/clemsonjeep/Samurai/DSC_0773.jpg

if i just sit the angle finder on top of the steering arm will that be accurate enough to set the caster or should i take the knuckle off and use the top trunion bearing race...

http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm13/clemsonjeep/Samurai/DSC_0768.jpg

i also spent some time making up a couple different tools to make working on the toyota axles easier...

first up is the rear axle bearing puller...basically copied the "special service tool" by cutting up an old mini truck rear housing. you bolt this to the bearing cup and then slide the tool and axle up into the shop press then turn it so that the pieces of round stock sit on the arbor and then press the axle out...

http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm13/clemsonjeep/Samurai/DSC_0779.jpg

second is the rear axle bearing installer...this is really just a convenience thing...but the round tube is pretty close to the same size as the axle shaft so you slide the bearing cup and solid retainer on the shaft then slide this tool on with the square tube up against the retainer then the pieces of flat stock sit on the arbor plates and press the axle down...

http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm13/clemsonjeep/Samurai/DSC_0780.jpg
http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm13/clemsonjeep/Samurai/DSC_0781.jpg


lastly are my differential adjuster wheel tools...i borrowed the measurements that zuk provides in his tools section and made up these three tools for when i set my gears up in the next week or two. basically the center bolt will either get a nut or get welded in place so that i can put a socket on it with my torque wrench/breaker bar and the socket head screws will get welded in place. the socket head screws are what will engage the openings in the adjuster wheels...the smallest one is for v6 and 4cyl models, the mid size is for the elocker, and the largest is for the ARB

http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm13/clemsonjeep/Samurai/DSC_0777.jpg

i need help with my seat/cage setup...

here is what i tried first...but it puts me too high
http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm13/clemsonjeep/Samurai/firsttry.jpg

here is what im thinking about trying. the attachment at the bottom of the a hoop is lowered to floor height and the tubes going from side to side are cut at the tranny tunnel and then the hoops are added in front of and behind the seats to tie to the two sides together.
http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm13/clemsonjeep/Samurai/secondidea.jpg

here is one of the very few pictures i have been able to find of a sammy...
http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm13/clemsonjeep/Samurai/seattubes.jpg

Really love your build, your leaf setup is awesome, keeping the rig low.

Got a question for you, your front leaf bracket, beside being push forward a bit, are they align to stock one or they have been outboard more?

Looking forward for some flex shot, keep the pics coming in.

if i just sit the angle finder on top of the steering arm will that be accurate enough to set the caster or should i take the knuckle off and use the top trunion bearing race...

http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm13/clemsonjeep/Samurai/DSC_0768.jpg

I usually assume the steering arm to be close enough, especially if all you are trying to do is maximize caster. I would think there is also a set relationship between the pinion and the KPA, so an angle finder on the pinion flange could determine caster, but I don't know what it is...

Progress looks great, keep the updates coming

Really love your build, your leaf setup is awesome, keeping the rig low.

Got a question for you, your front leaf bracket, beside being push forward a bit, are they align to stock one or they have been outboard more?

Looking forward for some flex shot, keep the pics coming in.

the spring mounts for the front are outboarded a couple inches...i believe the measurement from spring center pin to opposite pin was 29.5 inches. the rears are also outboarded from where the factory ones mounted

i got busy this weekend and got the front and rear diffs setup and installed. that allowed me to put the rear axle together and hook up the disc brakes. i finished up last night by putting together the passenger side of the front axle including my shiny new longfields...just minus the manual hub and chromo gears now...

didnt shoot any pics of the rear axle going together but i had the side gears in the elocker cryo treated by bobby and the heat and cryo on the ring/pinion...thanks bobby!

http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm13/clemsonjeep/Samurai/DSC_0803.jpg

front final pattern...drive...
http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm13/clemsonjeep/Samurai/DSC_0797.jpg
coast...
http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm13/clemsonjeep/Samurai/DSC_0801.jpg

ARB setup...
http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm13/clemsonjeep/Samurai/DSC_0809.jpg
http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm13/clemsonjeep/Samurai/DSC_0814.jpg

passenger side put together
http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm13/clemsonjeep/Samurai/DSC_0811.jpg

i used IFS rotors, IFS calipers, taco/4runner rotors and ground the wheel hubs down (pics later) to fit inside the rotor hat then slid them over the wheel hub and used a normal zinc plated washer for a 1/2" bolt along with grade 8 1/2" bolts and nuts to secure the caliper to the knuckle...you can see the washer between the caliper and knuckle
http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm13/clemsonjeep/Samurai/DSC_0813.jpg

clearance!
http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm13/clemsonjeep/Samurai/DSC_0815.jpg

is all of ur tubing 1.5? what is the wall? lookin real good u gonna keep the rear or cut it off? keep it comin man i got a set of fj 80 axles im cleaning noe so ill br posting my build real soon

Nice work mister.:smokin:

is all of ur tubing 1.5? what is the wall?

Yes

Nice work mister.:smokin:

Thanks Bobby!

I should get a lot done this coming weekend. My wife will be gone through Wednesday so I'll be able to spend every ounce of my time out there...hoping to knock out the rest of the cage and get it on its own weight too!

can u please specify the wall diameter of ur tubing for ur exo?

my bad... .120 (1/8) on everything

my bad... .120 (1/8) on everything

thanks man

no worries.

well i intended on building my own tcase cradle/bucket setup just cuz i like building stuff myself, but with my time frame getting shorter i think i may opt to buy one and save myself a couple days worth of fabrication and probably 20 or so cut off discs (man i need a plasma or a torch even). im thinking ill pick up the snatch from ZOR, but my budget is down to pennies now so im looking around to see if i can find any options that might help me out...like used cradles or what not...or even better someones used snatch...yeah that sounds like sloppy seconds...i think myron really enjoys it when his product names make it somewhat awkward when discussing them...i just think its funny

as far as progress goes...i finished up the front axle tonight so all i have left to do on it is weld the spring perches on. i cut off a bunch of unused stock brackets and then cleaned shop so i could crawl around underneath it and make sure i wasnt forgetting anything. im gonna be going to the pullapart this weekend to pick up a subaru master cylinder, possibly an electric fan, and hopefully find some toyota driveshafts that i can make work. the benefit of keeping this rig so low and fairly long is i dont have any need for a CV shaft other than it might allow me to tilt the rear pinion up a little more...but not enough to make it worth holding out until i find a decent front shaft to cut up.

my goal for the weekend is to finish the cage, mount the passenger seat and weld it up completely. if i get that far ill move on to finish welding all of the spring mounts and such as well. then id like to get the shocks mounted at all four corners. once i get front and rear driveshafts made up i will set the pinion angle on the rear and weld the perches in place and it will be driveable!!!! then ill spend some time on cleaning up some areas of concern like the gas tank and some wires under the hood.

its getting closer! ill get some pics up this weekend as i progress...

well didnt get as far as i wanted...didnt spend as much time as i planned in the shop on saturday since i had to work in the evening. in any case heres where its at...

http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm13/clemsonjeep/Samurai/DSC_0857.jpg

i think im happy with how the halo section turned out...gimme your suggestions...
http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm13/clemsonjeep/Samurai/DSC_0858.jpg

after i got all of the seat tabs and the tubing welded up i went ahead and painted it cuz ill actually be able to put the entire assembly in which will help out a lot since the bolts on the seat tabs are a #&*!@ to get to. im just gonna run the shoulder belts looped over the harness bar for the time being. i couldnt come up with a suitable double shear mount for them that i was happy with so i set the harness bar up to put them in an acceptable position for being looped instead of bolted...
http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm13/clemsonjeep/Samurai/DSC_0860.jpg

http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm13/clemsonjeep/Samurai/DSC_0861.jpg

and when i got tired of sweating my hind end off i took a quick ride around the block on...
http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm13/clemsonjeep/Samurai/DSC_0865.jpg

im sad you cut up that clean front clip when i would have paid you 200 for it :(

if id known i wasnt gonna run it i wouldnt have cut it up...but after i cut it and started trying to line everything up...it was in the way in too many places to justify making it work...my b

Hey when your in CO hit billings and 21rd in grand junction area also there's some great wheeln in montrose I'd wheel with you but rod bearing went out and I think she needs new rings too. But I could find some one to show you around I'm sure.

Hey when your in CO hit billings and 21rd in grand junction area also there's some great wheeln in montrose I'd wheel with you but rod bearing went out and I think she needs new rings too. But I could find some one to show you around I'm sure.

good deal...do you know clemsonkrawler? he's there in grand junction...


well...i got A LOT done in the past week that i havent updated here in the thread. ill list what i can remember and i have taken some pictures but ill wait til later this week to get them up.

tapped steering box
mounted hydraulic assist (TG Rock Assault)
welded spring perches up front and installed u bolt flip kit
welded up rear perches and tightened everything up
built front driveshaft from an FJ80 front shaft (bought it with the high pinion 3rd)
wired rear elocker...factory switch toasted while i was playing with it...oops
reinstalled hood hoop and attached it to the frame in two places on each side...more to come
installed SNATCH (red from LROR)
installed subaru outback master cylinder
installed electric fan...yet to be wired
mounted power steering cooler (off of Jeep XJ)
built battery tray...to be installed monday

all i can think of for now

i promise ill get more pics up soon...but seeing as how the state goverment here decided that confederate memorial day was important enough to give us the day off i got a lot done this weekend. i...

wired rear toyota electric locker using two relays (http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g95/mtntoys/elockerwiring.gif)
wired and plumbed front ARB
reinstalled and attached hood hoop/sliders to frame...still figuring out additional bracing
finished patching the firewall where the battery had caused it to rot over the years
built battery tray (still needs strap and hold downs)
added aux fuse block
mounted power steering reservoir (will replace with larger, nicer unit after CO trip)
attached steering lines
touched up on incomplete welds (spring hangers and such)
cleaned up wiring under dash
made diff protection...used 4" 3/16" flat and curved it to match the profile...then cut it in half so id have one for front and rear...just gotta burn em in now


i did get the steering lines attached with the intention of filling it up and trying it out but in the process of making sure the lines werent going to catch on anything...one of them got caught in between the nut on top of the pitman arm and the frame and damaged the sheath...gonna take it to get looked at at the local hydraulic shop tomorrow...always something

i need to get busy painting the cage and such...the humidity going up has sped up the flash rust...i hate rust...

heres the pics...

first up is the snatch from Low Range...in red of course
http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm13/clemsonjeep/Samurai/DSC_0867.jpg

next up are the power steering cooler and electric fan...the cooler had to be mounted like it is cuz the push through mounts wouldnt fit between the fan and the radiator so they had to come out around it perimeter which required mounting the cooler at the angle it is...worked out pretty good for routing the lines though
http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm13/clemsonjeep/Samurai/DSC_0876.jpg
http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm13/clemsonjeep/Samurai/DSC_0877.jpg

had to trim the u bolt flip kits to clear the shock mounts/knuckle gussets
http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm13/clemsonjeep/Samurai/DSC_0875.jpg

built front drive shaft
http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm13/clemsonjeep/Samurai/DSC_0868.jpg

i filled the steering up today and cycled it...works good...needs some adjustment to limit range of motion though. the electric fan comes on as it should and continues to run after cutting the motor off...good to go. filled front and rear diffs. need to fill the tcase and then start putting some time on the gears before i take it out to test things

as promised...here are some new pics of the stance...actually these are the first pictures of it with the tires and wheels on it since the toyotas have taken over. all pics are with it sitting on jack stands as low to the ground as possible without the tires touching. ill take some more in the next day or two with it sitting on the ground so you can get a better idea how it sits...but its low

http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm13/clemsonjeep/Samurai/DSC_0907.jpg
http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm13/clemsonjeep/Samurai/DSC_0911.jpg

someone asked a while back how far the tires extended past the body when it still had the dana 44s under it...well here's what it looks like with the toyotas...running IFS hubs and 2.5" BS wheels and 37" x 12.50 SSR's
http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm13/clemsonjeep/Samurai/DSC_0908.jpg
http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm13/clemsonjeep/Samurai/DSC_0913.jpg

cage is painted...bumpers are painted...frame extensions are painted...axles are painted...im no longer enjoying spray painting
http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm13/clemsonjeep/Samurai/DSC_0910.jpg
http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm13/clemsonjeep/Samurai/DSC_0912.jpg

battery box...ill have to get a pic when i take the battery out in the next day or so
http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm13/clemsonjeep/Samurai/DSC_0918.jpg

ARB compressor switch, front locker switch, Toyota ELocker momentary on - off - momentary on and "locked" indicator light
http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm13/clemsonjeep/Samurai/DSC_0914.jpg

compressor mounted under glove compartment on passenger side
http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm13/clemsonjeep/Samurai/DSC_0915.jpg

LOW RANGE got some brownie points by including this with my last order...just a nice gesture...THANKS!
http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm13/clemsonjeep/Samurai/DSC_0916.jpg

NOW...here is my question at this point...will this little bit of distance between the tie rod/drag link and the frame be too little for the amount of suspension travel i should have...should i run bumpstops if it hits too soon or should i notch the frame to allow for more movement?
http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm13/clemsonjeep/Samurai/DSC_0923.jpg

notch the frame a little bit and still always run a bump stop. so why did you go the toyota axle route when it seemed like you have a good pair under there anyway. where those just for mock up or something

well i was getting aggravated trying to find parts for the offset axles...and theres no denying the aftermarket support for the toyotas...

oh ya definitely, im just always thinkin what am i gonna break next, but i guess my toyota has a few pounds on a sammy, and my 40s arent big enough im holding out for 1 tons till 42s are in the picture, but your rig is looking good man, and you got some skills with the bender.

so i realized today that i hadnt ever really read the product description for the rat adapters. evidently if you read it you would know that it is used to mate 86-88 CV shafts to the sammy flange. seeing as how i didnt know that and the newer stuff is more readily available i picked up a 91 front shaft yesterday and dropped it off at fleet pride to get lengthened and balanced. they called and said it was ready first thing this morning so i went and picked it up and came home to find out it would bolt onto the rear axle but not to the rat adapter.... expletives

so i pulled the shaft back out as well as the adapter and spent a little time drilling the 4 holes i needed and tapping them the same size as the hardware provided. it worked out well and really makes me wonder why this pattern isnt included...theres plenty of room for it

nice. i wonder if the rat adapters will work on the fj80 driveshafts too

not sure about ALL of them, but im running a front FJ80 shaft using a rat adapter at the tcase...bolted up fine

not sure about ALL of them, but im running a front FJ80 shaft using a rat adapter at the tcase...bolted up fine

cool at least i know it will work

big steps forward this weekend...i got to take it out for its first drive on saturday to help determine where i needed to do some additional trimming and so forth. it drives great and is running really well. this morning i spent a few hours trimming the rear corners and a little off of the rocker guards where the tires were grabbing them when the suspension compresses. the biggest problem i ran into was with the steering contacting the frame rails. i notched the frame to clear the tie rod and drag link on the passenger side and being an idiot i only notched the driver side to clear the tie rod...forgetting about the hydro ram mount...crap...

after i got everything buttoned back up we loaded it up and took it out to a private wheeling area...nothing really exciting but good to test things out. ive still got some trimming to do.

the next hurdle is mounting the shocks and reworking the struts going from the rockers up to the hood hoop since the tires do come into contact with them.

heres some pics...

first poser flex shot...rear tire was hitting and steering was close to the frame here
http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm13/clemsonjeep/Samurai/DSC_0935.jpg

here's where the tires are hitting the struts
http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm13/clemsonjeep/Samurai/DSC_0936.jpg

http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm13/clemsonjeep/Samurai/DSC_0945.jpg

http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm13/clemsonjeep/Samurai/DSC_0937.jpg

http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm13/clemsonjeep/Samurai/DSC_0940.jpg

wow its pretty much done congrats on finishing up ur rig looks nice and low good job

Sick rig I love how low it sits. I want to do that to mine but try to keep it street legal at the same time.:grinpimp:

Sick rig I love how low it sits. I want to do that to mine but try to keep it street legal at the same time.:grinpimp:

thats the funny thing...its street legal here...well just as soon as i put some headlights and front turn signals on it! gotta love SC

alright well we made the trip to colorado! we pulled in on saturday afternoon and got settled in our place. sunday morning we loaded up and pulled the sammy to grand junction to meet up with my best friend from college to do some wheeling in grand junction. we unloaded the rig and drove it through town and stopped to fill it up with fuel. fired it back up and went 300 feet and it died...DIED! 1,800 miles and it DIES!!! so my buddy and i spent the rest of the day diagnosing and trying to figure out what the hell was going on. we ended up rebuilding the carburetor, installing a new fuel pump only to find out it still wouldnt run right. about the time i was going to set fire to it we got a call from a local saying he remembered he had a spare 1.3 sitting around with a carb on it so we went and picked it up and cambe back to swap the carb out. after we finished swapping it in i got in to turn the switch and NOTHING! it would turn over but with no spark. this just wasnt my day. we tried numerous different things...all the usuals...checked fuses, checked grounds, etc. long story short justin suggested putting a jumper wire in place of the fuse for the ignition...it worked! the fuse wasnt visibly blown...but wasnt completing the circuit. it runs great now and we buttoned it up around 9:45 on monday morning and took it up to billings canyon or its first REAL outing.

it worked great and didnt give us any more issues although i think the electric fan ate a rabbit or something...

liked this sign...
http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm13/clemsonjeep/Samurai/DSC_1097.jpg
http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm13/clemsonjeep/Samurai/DSC_1225.jpg
technically i actually flopped it here but it righted itself all in the same motion...no worries...
http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm13/clemsonjeep/Samurai/DSC_1118.jpg
http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm13/clemsonjeep/Samurai/DSC_1106.jpg
gatekeeper...
http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm13/clemsonjeep/Samurai/DSC_1085.jpg
this was a pretty nasty line...pic doesnt do it justice
http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm13/clemsonjeep/Samurai/DSC_1131.jpg

Billings is fun and chalenging it ate a tie rod and a drivers side rear axle shaft spun splines on passenger side. How did you like the water fall? The gate keeper can be a bitch. To bad my sami is pissed at me or I'd try to meet up with you guys and hit 21rd.

colorado!


:flipoff2: (jealous)

If you make it one more time zone, let me know, the trails here are all better than CO/UT anyways :D

Rig looks killer!

well we wrapped up the wheeling portion of our trip out west yesterday. we hit up Moab for the rusty nail trail and then headed into town for lunch and then went out to Area BFE. we ran Helldorado and then messed around in the play area before we ran out of town and had to head out...

ready to hit rusty nail
http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm13/clemsonjeep/Samurai/DSC_1325.jpg
im having trouble keeping up with all of the obstacle names but i think this was buggy hill
http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm13/clemsonjeep/Samurai/DSC_1358.jpg
GOLDEN CRACK...really...can you go to Moab and not hit this at least once?
http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm13/clemsonjeep/Samurai/DSC_1374.jpg
no name but pretty nice climb
http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm13/clemsonjeep/Samurai/DSC_1430.jpg
http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm13/clemsonjeep/Samurai/DSC_1434.jpg

Area BFE pics arent loaded yet...so just a gate shot
http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm13/clemsonjeep/Samurai/DSC_1451.jpg

looks like the zuk works awesome. cant wait to get back to moab again.

got to run Trough Trail and Sidewinder today since its our last day here. Trough Trail was great. the second spur going up the trail denied me though...gave it a couple valiant tries but opted to finish the day since we were out alone. the sidewinder trail was interesting but left some to be desired.

all of my pics of sidewinder are on the video camera so i might post some later but heres some of Trough...

http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm13/clemsonjeep/Samurai/DSC_1737.jpg
http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm13/clemsonjeep/Samurai/DSC_1746.jpg
http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm13/clemsonjeep/Samurai/DSC_1758.jpg

Good write up and good job your rig nice pics also, I'm building mine up now and have a way to go but shooting for the same stance wide and low. So I'm guessing your tires are 37's?

post up more pics and how about some vids for us to enjoy.

Awesome pics! That land make me soooo jealous, I really do wonder why I live in SC!! I am coming out next trip

I really do have to get out there some time

Hey Ryan this is John, talked to you on the phone when it wouldnt run right. nice job on the rig :smokin:

The obstacle you say has no name is "double whammy"

thanks john! i dont know if justin told ya what the problem was or not but we started out by putting a rebuild kit in the carb to correct a few issues we found. it still wouldnt run correctly after that, but just after we finished the rebuild we got a call from clint saying he had his old motor with the carb still on it so we went and picked it up and swapped the carbs. as soon as we finished bolting it on we tried to start it and quickly found out it had no spark. that was a completely new issue for the day. it had no lights on the dash when you turned the key either. i had seen this happen before but it had always "cured itself". this time that didnt happen. after hours upon hours of tracing wires and grounds and even wiring in some toggle switches to bypass the ignition switch justin suggested putting a jumper wire in place of the fuse for the ignition. i was rather confused since we had checked all of the fuses numerous times, but i did it and IT WORKED!

with another big THANK YOU! to justin i got to wheel!

thanks john! i dont know if justin told ya what the problem was or not but we started out by putting a rebuild kit in the carb to correct a few issues we found. it still wouldnt run correctly after that, but just after we finished the rebuild we got a call from clint saying he had his old motor with the carb still on it so we went and picked it up and swapped the carbs. as soon as we finished bolting it on we tried to start it and quickly found out it had no spark. that was a completely new issue for the day. it had no lights on the dash when you turned the key either. i had seen this happen before but it had always "cured itself". this time that didnt happen. after hours upon hours of tracing wires and grounds and even wiring in some toggle switches to bypass the ignition switch justin suggested putting a jumper wire in place of the fuse for the ignition. i was rather confused since we had checked all of the fuses numerous times, but i did it and IT WORKED!

with another big THANK YOU! to justin i got to wheel!

Justin is the MAN! glad you got er ironed out. Has me thinking about the pile of samy stuff I have laying around.

HAHA!! I saw your rig in colorado where it was parked on a trailer where you were stayin (Avon, CO) and was quite jealous:flipoff2: small world, where were you goi/comin from?

yeah...parking was my only concern for the trip. i had to fight to be able to park it in that lot...and putting the f250 in the parking garage at the resort was a struggle every evening

ya everyone flips $h!t when paying customers want to park there. and knowing my co-workers it was one of them. how long it take you to build it up that big?

well it was on stands for 2 years but as far as actual building time id say i could have put it together from start to finish in 2.5 to 3 months of working in the evenings and one full day each weekend. now thats assuming i had every part i needed sitting here when i started though. as we all know finding the right parts usually takes longer than the building stage

i will say this though...i was looking at some photos the other day and saw one dated April 15, 2010 and at that point i had the toyota front axle sitting on stands under the sammy, with the dana 44 rear axle still under the rear and only the B hoop and one or two other pieces in place...the toy 3rds werent built yet and the front axle was a bare housing still...

then on May 23, 2010 it had a complete cage, sliders, front and rear axles, driveshafts, brakes all around, and I mounted the tires and wheels...AND took it for its first drive!

I want to begin by saying your build is very inspirational. I have read this thread many times in an effort to get ideas for a build I am about to start.

If you don’t mind, I have a few questions. I will list them in order from most to least noobish. :D

First, are the Jeep springs you are using the same length from front to rear? I tried searching for the answer to this one but couldn’t find a definitive answer.

Secondly do you know off hand what size square tubing you used for the rear bumper? It looks larger than the square tube used up front.

You show in detail how much you removed and then added to the frame in the front, but I don’t see any pictures of your frame extensions in the rear. Any idea off hand how much you added?

In the sections where you have added to the frame, I don’t see anywhere fish plates are used to reinforce the areas you butted up 2 pieces of square tube. Is this something you added later on or did you use a slightly smaller piece of tube on the inside as an inner sleeve?

Finally, in the earlier pics from this build I believe you used the stock spring hanger location for the front mount on the rear. However, later on it appears you have cut this off and moved the mount up higher on the frame. Am I looking at this correctly, and if so is there a reason you chose to do so?

Thanks for taking the time to read these, and if you don’t mind answering them I’m sure I can come up with a few more.

I want to begin by saying your build is very inspirational. I have read this thread many times in an effort to get ideas for a build I am about to start.

If you don’t mind, I have a few questions. I will list them in order from most to least noobish. :D

First, are the Jeep springs you are using the same length from front to rear? I tried searching for the answer to this one but couldn’t find a definitive answer.

As far as I have ever seen the YJ springs are the same all the way around. The only differences being that there are different packs for 4 cylinder and 6 cylinder and hard and soft top versions.

Secondly do you know off hand what size square tubing you used for the rear bumper? It looks larger than the square tube used up front.

All of the square tubing I used is 2x4 .120 wall. That includes the front frame extensions, front bumper, rear bumper, and rock sliders. The only area I had a concern with was the thickness for the rock sliders. I only have them supported at the front and rear corners and believe me when I say I came down on them pretty hard several times out west and here at home last weekend and they arent showing any signs of deformation.

You show in detail how much you removed and then added to the frame in the front, but I don’t see any pictures of your frame extensions in the rear. Any idea off hand how much you added?

In the rear I only added enough of the 2x4 to get the rear bumper outside of the body. I believe the extension was right at 2-2.5 inches. I will double check this and post back if I'm wrong. Most of the additional wheelbase that I got was simply from moving the spring mounts to the outside of the bumpers.

In the sections where you have added to the frame, I don’t see anywhere fish plates are used to reinforce the areas you butted up 2 pieces of square tube. Is this something you added later on or did you use a slightly smaller piece of tube on the inside as an inner sleeve?

In the rear I didnt fish plate, but I used a piece of either 1.5" or 2" flat stock on top and on the bottom to brace the additions. In the front I did end up fish plating where I added the extensions. I was only able to add them to the outsides of the frame due to the location of the motor mounts. I may go back and put some flat stock on top and bottom when I get a chance. The pieces that I used for the fish plates were 3" wide and I believe they were 3/16" thick.

Finally, in the earlier pics from this build I believe you used the stock spring hanger location for the front mount on the rear. However, later on it appears you have cut this off and moved the mount up higher on the frame. Am I looking at this correctly, and if so is there a reason you chose to do so?

Good EYE! I did end up moving them back and up a bit to fix the rear shackle angle and to keep it a bit lower as well as get the hanger up out of the dirt. I cut a corner off of the 2x4 tubing to make a wedge and butted it up against the backside of the factory spring hanger and then attached the new spring hanger to the wedge. I intend to go back and cu off the front portion of the "box" structure that served as the factory mounting point and putting a good thick piece in there to tie it all together and provide a "ramp" rather than a sharp edge to catch on things. (More on this later.)

Thanks for taking the time to read these, and if you don’t mind answering them I’m sure I can come up with a few more.

No worries...I'll answer any questions the best I can...some of the stuff I did at the beginning (almost 2 years ago) is a little blurry but pretty easy to figure out just by taking a look again. Thanks for the compliments!

I just thought of some other things I hadn't mentioned that I had to change just before wrapping things up...

I swapped the 12" fan that I had first for a 14" and moved it from the engine side to the outside as a pusher. Although I didnt think I would like the look of the fan on the front it definitely looks better than the power steering cooler being rigged up on the front. It also allowed me to straighten the cooler up and place it in the center of the engine side of the radiator.

Oh yeah...I did take it wheeling locally at Gulches ORV park last Sunday. I was curious whether or not I would have the wheel speed that is necessary and to my surprise I had plenty when necessary (in 2nd gear). Since this is where I was use to wheeling my Jeep here I was able to compare the Sammy a little better. It felt A LOT more stable and predictable than my Jeep as well as the wheelbase allowing me to take some new lines that I just couldn't quite make happen with the Jeep. I was able to run Papa Gulch...which is a pretty nasty trail. I came out of it with some new body damage and shortly after the carb started acting up again so I'm looking for propane parts now!

Ive watched your thread all the way through and its one of my favs. Congrates on completion and one heck of a trip!

Thanks JJ3! I'm looking forward to being able to bring it up to TN sometime in the near future to run Windrock. I've got family in the Knoxville area so its just a matter of time...

I enjoyed reading the buildup, just beginning mine and a lot of good tech here as I want mine low as well. I must have completely missed where you mentioned what leaf springs you are using in which positions... great end product!

Love this rig. Saw it upclose in Harlan this weekend. Spent awhile eyeballing it. Nice.

Matt

Thanks! It had a rough weekend...on cosmetics anyway. We started Sunday off by running White Tail Crawl and then ended up driving around Pappy's Pass, which might have been an ATV trail (oops) to find Running Board and Tail Gate. Running Board wasn't too bad, but Tail Gate shut me down. I gave it several attempts but it just wasn't gonna happen. We left there and headed for Profanity. We ran it and as we came up to the top of it there were some rigs going up 12 that we found out were heading to Mason Jar and Lion's Den. CHA-CHING. I had been wanting to head that way, but without a group it wasn't worth the risk. We ran both trails without much trouble, but one of the ledges on Mason flexed the body and pushed the windshield against the dash bar of the cage resulting in a couple cracks. After Lion's Den we headed down 12 to leave, but I couldn't resist running the waterfall and then going up Rail Bed. Well, the waterfall leaned me over into the rock to the left and the left rear corner of the body/tailgate got caught up under it before I realized it and I tried to back out but that just pushed everything (EVERYTHING) forward! The windshield now has a curve and is cracked throughout and the driver door won't go on without ratchet strapping the door frame towards the rear!

Good times!

The day of the race we didn't get to wheel much, but after 9 when the race was officially over we drove up to Little Jagger and ran it...it's more fun after dark (or maybe its that it wasnt 90 deg. at that point). Then we ran Lower Rock Garden, and gave Killin Time a whirl, but I couldn't get it past the root ball on the right with the large rocks towards the top so we backed out.

Sounds like you had a full weekend. We didn't bring anything unfortuneately, wish we would have though, would have beat tooling around the main trails to watch the race in a CTD. It beat us to death. Loved your sammi though.

wish we would have though, would have beat tooling around the main trails to watch the race in a CTD. It beat us to death.

Pussy:flipoff2: Back up off the Silver Bullet!

Clemsonjeep, your build looks great and the finished product looked excellent up at the start/finish line in Harlan this weekend. Beyond clean and super simple. Love the stance as well.

Man I thought I recognized this rig up in Harlan. I wish I had made the connection, and went to look at it. I remember saying to my buddies that is a sweet looking sami over there, but I never came to look at it up close. Oh well maybe next time. Sweet build by the way.

guys i really appreciate all of the great compliments...definitely makes it worth the work even more.

after this last trip to harlan im pretty sure the back end of the body is gonna disappear and ill finish tubing it and swapping over to coils/coilovers. ive already got 4 of the 2.63 ballistic joints and 4 of their forged poly joints with all the tube adapters and nuts. ill be running 2" OD .25" wall DOM lowers and 1.75" .120 wall uppers. the uppers will be triangulated and the lowers slightly triangulated or maybe parallel...just havent gotten that far yet. i actually bought brackets to use TJ rear coils but since im gonna be cutting the body off i think i might wait until i can swing a set of coilovers and finish cleaning up the rear end.

does anyone know if someone produces a cab/trail cover like they make for wranglers? better yet...has anyone made their own? if so what type of material did you use?

Pussy:flipoff2: Back up off the Silver Bullet!

Clemsonjeep, your build looks great and the finished product looked excellent up at the start/finish line in Harlan this weekend. Beyond clean and super simple. Love the stance as well.


You should have been in the pass. seat biatch!!

Clemson, if I were you, I'd check out one of those upholstery shops that do alot of marine work. Boat covers etc. Shouldn't be that bad priced I wouldn't think.

http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm13/clemsonjeep/Samurai/DSC_0024.jpg


Like the stance.

Where did you get your spring hangers, if you don't mind?

Whatcha think brother..... Rubicon next year? Well, if I ever get a new rig done. :beer:

Let's do it!

Let start figuring it out then. Your shit better run this time.... the WHOLE time. :flipoff2:

I'll fit it up here on the EAST COAST before I put that crap that qualifies for gas out your way...we all know it happened immediately after the visit to the gas pump!

where those stock xj springs that u used in the rear

Nah...it's stock YJ's all the way around. I did start out with some waggy spring up front but they were too tall.

rig looks good,that red dirt looks familiar :D

Really nice build. Inspiring really and great pics.

Thanks! It's been treating me very well. I need to return the favor after the last few wheelin trips...

http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm13/clemsonjeep/Samurai/DSC00804.jpg

I'm working on redesigning the front portion of the cage so that the A pillars go up and back to the B pillar rather than being a solid hoop from driver to passenger side. The roll left the driver side top corner pushed down and back a few inches. Since my original goal was to build the cage and keep it set up to run a full top and windshield I was concerned with getting everything high enough above my head to provide the minimum recommended gap. It'll be a little while before anything happens with it, but when I get to it I'll be redoing the cage as well as 4 linking the rear.

Stay tuned...but wait a few months for the good stuff...hopefully...

Any news?? Or improvements???

Also whats your overall width?

Wish I could weld as well as you op :(.

Nice rig!

Yeah...since the last picutres were posted I have removed the windshield and targa bar. I got to take it wheeling this weekend and ended up with a small under hood fire from power steering fluid getting on the exhaust which burnt up my plug wires. Then later on in the day the driver rear spring ripped away from where I had the mount attached to the back side of the factory spring mount, but luckily it rode on the support going from the slider to the frame. I was able to take it easy on a few more trails, but pretty much ended my day.

I'm gonna be looking for a set of 14" coilovers and will begin cutting the rear apart to build the 4 link. I also plan to replace the toyota steering pump with an XJ pump I have to see what that does for my hydraulic assist. I definitely need a larger reservoir to keep it from overflowing.

I'm also planning on redoing the front portion of the cage to ditch the solid A hoop design in favor of an A pillar that goes up and back to the B hoop in order to provide more support and protection.

If you look back in my photos you might be able to see it somewhere...but I finally realized that I installed the hydraulic ram backwards so I also need to swap it around...

time to start resurrecting this thread from the dead...although i dont have any pictures at the moment i will throw some up the next couple of days...heres whats happening:

cut rockers below doors and using 2x4 1/8" wall...gotta give credit to D BOZ (http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=829327)
removed front clip and started bending tube

coming up:

cage build
shock placement
gears/lockers
seats

as with more and more current builds this wont be moving at the speed of light or anything...if i had to guess id say the cage should be in by the end of february

how's that 2x4x .120 wall holding up

Sorry for the delay on the answer...but the .120 wall is holding up really well. It's taken some really hard hits and supported the weight of the whole rig a few times with no dents, dings, bends, etc. I wouldn't hesitate to use it again at all. Hope that helps!

That's exactly what I wanted to know thanks.

Only one pic in over a year. Updates? Hows everything holding up? Still planning on linking it or have you already? More action shots?

:beer:

D

MAN...I've been avoiding this forum for some reason! Really though I got involved in RC Crawling competitively and have actually started my own website selling parts for them. I'm beginning to gather some parts here and there to do some small updates on this rig. First on the list is changing the power steering setup over to a TC style pump and a larger reservoir, but I might just have to wait on the pump and try the Yota pump with the larger reservoir.

The problem I was having was the stock Yota reservoir kept overflowing and I even had one under hood fire...not happy about that. I'm going to pick up a BMW reservoir today hopefully and I'll be trying that setup out soon so I'll make other upgrades as I go along.

Nice build but...
While your working out more armour for the cage... Why don't you get a 4 or 5point harness in there... That lap belt may not help you on a fast roll...
Kelly

There are 5 point harnesses on both sides...

Somehow I missed this build........awesome!