So, I started off a little over a year ago with this. My buddy and I had spent the day at Rimrock and were coming home when the rain started. We pulled off at the Elk Heights exit so I could don my rain gear inside my doorless ZJ. There was construction on the on ramp and the cones led us right into the slow lane of I90 where a line of cars was coming along at 70mph. I stopped, my buddy didn't. My dog was in the back sleeping and the big steel bumper saved his life.

It couldn't save the ZJ though and the insurance company totalled it. I bought it back for a fraction and started the build.


http://home.comcast.net/~susyfoto/images/rearclip/001_lg.jpg

http://home.comcast.net/~susyfoto/images/rearclip/002_lg.jpg

http://home.comcast.net/~susyfoto/images/rearclip/003_lg.jpg

ouch, that sucks

Your buddy is helping ya thou right?

Brad has helped me figure out a couple of tough (for me) things and done some work for me, yea. He's a good friend.


So at this point I had cut out 95% of the trauma from the accident. The unibody had absorbed a lot of the impact though (as they're supposed to,) and much of the damage was exhibited as a gradual warping of the right side frame rail. At the (now) rear of the body, I was an inch and a half lower at the floor with all other things being level. You can see it in this pic:

http://home.comcast.net/~susyfoto/rebuild/rearWaxleinplace_lg.jpg


My focus on building my rig has been based on a few things. Keeping it as low as possible, largest tires practical, keeping it as light as possible, keeping the track width as narrow as possible. Some of the trails up here in the PNW are pretty damn tight.

At this point I was thinking three things: departure angle, ride height and structural integrity. I extended the wheelbase two and a half inches in the rear, threw some 37's on and built around that base.

I know that cherokee cracks the chassi, but i never seen nothing like this... Are you wheeling hard? :D

Nice start!!! Keep it up!!!

looks like you got you hands full,, I like the direction you are taking,, remember to take it slow and make the build fun for you not a task..good luck and keep us posted:p

With the jeep up on jackstands, two just forward of the c-pillar under the sliders and two just aft of the radiator under the frame rails, I leveled the body and this piece of 2 x 4 x 3/16 and welded it straight to the frame rails. Since the right side is lower than the left, I added a short piece of angle to finish capping the right side frame rail and provide more support for the cross-member.

In the third picture you can see the last of the traumatic damage where the upper control arm mount ripped from the frame on impact. In the first picture you can see a piece of schedule 80 pipe being jacked up into the under side of the control arm bracket. At one point I was jacking up on the that control arm mount to see if I could get any movement back to its original position so I could weld it back together. Instead of bracket movement I ended up lifting the body off the jackstand which allowed the whole rear end to swing over and BANG! right down on the floor :shaking: I relate this incident not to highlight my embarassment but to point out that in spite of my skepticism I was able to lift the vehicle back onto the jackstands by the new cross-member only. The strength was surprising and reassuring.


http://home.comcast.net/~susyfoto/rebuild/NewRearXMember_lg.jpg

http://home.comcast.net/~susyfoto/rebuild/NewRearXMemberEnd_lg.jpg

http://home.comcast.net/~susyfoto/rebuild/RearXMember_RlowerMount_lg.jpg

I don't have a tubing bender in my garage but I have a hydraulic jack or two and a lot of steel so I bent three pieces of inch and a half x .120 wall DOM into a rough c pillar, forced it into the pocket left by the cut that is in between the inner most and outermost sheet around the old c-pillar and welded it straight to the sheets that were thick enough to take 90 amps. Then a couple more pieces of that same DOM tube, more of the 2 x 4 x 3/16 box and a couple pieces of angle to reinforce the corners of the box and voila.



http://home.comcast.net/~susyfoto/rebuild/c-pillarTubePartial_lg.jpg

http://home.comcast.net/~susyfoto/rebuild/boxCpillarTieins_lg.jpg

http://home.comcast.net/~susyfoto/rebuild/lowerbraces_straightback_lg.jpg

And the final touches on the new rear section of the Jeep. The structure/strength is done and only the suspension mounts need taken care of at this point.

Not pictured is a couple of pieces of 3/16 box tying in the old upper control mounts directly to the new cross member. Also, I spend a bunch of time, a number of sticks, and some various pieces of steel merging the ripped mount on the passenger side back to the rest of the body.

Am considering running two more pieces of the 1.5 x 0.120 wall DOM from the new cpillar tube forward, and down to the sliders but may end up replacing the existing sliders and will wait until then to do it.


http://home.comcast.net/~susyfoto/rebuild/rear_final_1_md.jpg

http://home.comcast.net/~susyfoto/rebuild/rear_final_2_md.jpg

http://home.comcast.net/~susyfoto/rebuild/rear_final_3_md.jpg

Might as well just do an entire cage rather than just run two tubes forward to the sliders.

Might as well just do an entire cage rather than just run two tubes forward to the sliders.

I don't think so. At this point, a full cage isn't needed for structural integrity; It will be more money, more work, and perhaps most importantly, more weight. Maybe if the A and B pillars were no longer intact...

Doing a halo and two A piller bars is going to take no time. When it comes to money its isnt going to take much.

If you think about all the weight you lost from cutting the back half off...you're probably equal if not a little lighter if you finish out the cage. If you don't have the money to do it...then that's another thing.

is that a 110 welder?

Doing a halo and two A piller bars is going to take no time. When it comes to money its isnt going to take much.

I guess you missed the part about not having a bender..

only about 200 in tube and another 700 for a bender .. im not sure if he is working with a mig..:shaking:

So I went to install the springs I had and determined that they would not work with the space I had, the ride height I wanted, and the amount of compression/droop I was shooting for. Figures. Well, I had a pair of SAW 2.0 air shocks that were going to go in the front but had decided to go coilover up there so, perfect.

In the following pix you can see I started with the hoops along the side of the new box construction and finally moved it up to the top. This allowed for moving the lower mount further up and for the five degree inward cant. The final cycling is similar to that pictured.

There is a smaller crossmember (2 x 2 x 1/8) running in between the sides of the new box construction that is providing the mounting point for the lateral support for the hoops. The suspensions is all cycled and no interference anywhere.

The 16 gallon RCI fuel cell was purchased after I had fabbed the new box and taken measurements. It fits almost like I had designed for it all along.

The departure angle is about 89 degrees :smokin:


http://home.comcast.net/~susyfoto/rebuild/rearairshox/straightOnClose_med.jpg

http://home.comcast.net/~susyfoto/rebuild/rearairshox/compressed2Bumpstop_med.jpg

http://home.comcast.net/~susyfoto/rebuild/rearairshox/atRideHeight_med.jpg

http://home.comcast.net/~susyfoto/rebuild/rearairshox/v2_2_md.jpg

http://home.comcast.net/~susyfoto/rebuild/rearairshox/v2_1_md.jpg

Oh, all welding done with a 220 buzz box...

Whats the wheelbase at now? Bad ass rig btw

Whats the wheelbase at now? Bad ass rig btw

113". Thanks!

have you flexed out the rear with one tire on ? it looks as though the tire will contact the shock when at full stuff and the other side at full droop - i know its hard on jackstands - but id take one tire off and let it droop - then compress the other side with the tire on - it may just be the pics - or me :flipoff2:


looks good so far -

Final shot of the fuel cell:

http://home.comcast.net/~susyfoto/rebuild/rear_final_4_lg.jpg


Up close:
http://home.comcast.net/~susyfoto/rebuild/fuelcelltop_md.jpg


The fuel pump. A holley 12-920
http://home.comcast.net/~susyfoto/rebuild/fuelpump_md.jpg


The Fuel Pressure Regulator. An AEI 13109
http://home.comcast.net/~susyfoto/rebuild/afpr_md.jpg



I fabbed up all the hoses and found an adapter that fits the stock fuel filter. I relocated the stock filter for easy access directly under the center of what's left of the rear floor.

i like the simple solution approach here,looks great so far:smokin:

http://home.comcast.net/~susyfoto/rebuild/rearairshox/compressed2Bumpstop_med.jpg

The lower joint on most air shocks that I've seen usually runs the other way on the theory that the axle articulates more than it moves front to back as it travels...

I'm assuming that you checked to make sure it wasn't bound up at full articulation... but incase you hadn't, you might want to... any binding of the mounts will likely break the shock...

Looks like a great start to a buggy...

The lower joint on most air shocks that I've seen usually runs the other way on the theory that the axle articulates more than it moves front to back as it travels...

I'm assuming that you checked to make sure it wasn't bound up at full articulation... but incase you hadn't, you might want to... any binding of the mounts will likely break the shock...

Looks like a great start to a buggy...


So I cycled the rear suspension again today to look more closely at that and it was exactly as you were saying. The lower spherical bearing housing was binding on the bracketry before full droop. Yikes. Makes perfect sense about how articulation moves the axle too. I never even thought about it. :shaking:

I'm going to move the mount up on top the tube and align them parallel with the tube. This will even out my ride compression vs. droop front to rear as well so it's perfect that this is happening. Thanks for pointing that out!


f250rollin: Looks like I'll be able to just get by the skin of my teeth without rubbing the shock body on the tire at full compression. We'll see though once I move the lower mounts up.

Really cool build and a great job so far. Thanks for all the ideas for mine!

And the dual battery setup. A red top, a yellow top, a four position master switch and just under the switch a marine isolator. A 2/0 gauge length of welding wire carries the power to the engine compartment where is gets distributed by a Phoenix Gold PD block to a number of 4 gauge wires.


http://home.comcast.net/~susyfoto/images/redyellow.jpg

Good save on XJ_Rangers part.
Why the 4-way and dual bat setup? Any reason for 00 or you just had it laying around?
I can't tell very well how your grounds are setup but your ground wires should be as big as your power wires. I'm not sure what kind of amps you're pulling or maybe the double leads on the positive is for that 4-way switch but just wanted to let you know.
I really like your work so far man.

Good save on XJ_Rangers part.
Why the 4-way and dual bat setup? Any reason for 00 or you just had it laying around?
I can't tell very well how your grounds are setup but your ground wires should be as big as your power wires. I'm not sure what kind of amps you're pulling or maybe the double leads on the positive is for that 4-way switch but just wanted to let you know.
I really like your work so far man.


Yup, the dual leads are one for the isolator and one for the switch. Power and ground are both 4 gauge. I had twenty some odd feet of the 2/0 sitting around for the last year or so doing nothing and the larger wire isn't cheap!

As to the why, I like the extra battery as a backup/spare just in case and the isolator/switch for the versatility and protection. If the on-board welder fails, just throw the switch to the off position, wire pos1 to neg2 and move the cables to the batteries. Working on a trail repair and need the inverter to run the angle grinder? Turn one of the batteries off, turn the engine off and no worries about not being able to start her again...



Thanks to all for the expressions of appreciation. It's been a real labor of love (and frustration) at times.

Ok, I was just concerned that maybe you might have been drawing amps that needed two leads of 4 gauge (if they were both going to the same place, but they're not.) but didn't think to do the same to the grounds.

Looking good.

A couple pix from tonight. The first time out of the garage in 13 months.


http://home.comcast.net/~susyfoto/rebuild/complete1_lg.JPG

http://home.comcast.net/~susyfoto/rebuild/complete2_lg.JPG

Cut down some semi truck rear fenders to throw some coverage over the rear tires and you'd be street legal in most places again... I do like the direction this is headed.

Not to question your tape measure skills, because I really like where you went with this, but I don't think you're quite sitting at 113".
I'm thinking closer to 107"-108".

this is 112:

http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e287/akxj/191.jpg

like okie said i think you're more like 105-106 honestly....also your fuel management turned out really nice, i need to get the specs from you soon as i will hopefully be doing it after christmas....

You guys know that this is a ZJ, not an XJ, right?

The ZJ has an extra four and a half inches of wheelbase from the factory.

It's 113".

Looks good Jay. I'm at 108 and by looking at where your front tire is placed in the wheel well, I'd agree with you b/c my 36" sits a lot closer to the back side of the front fender and I've atleast as much as you have on that side of the fender. Rear placement is about the same.

fuck it who really gives a shit i'm no one to judge...you probably know more than i do...

Doesn't really matter that much.
Just looked short.