It looks like i should move this from non hardcore since the plans have changed. it was originally going to just be on locked 9"s and 38"s but i have decided to go bigger since then. i picked up a roled 97 tj a few months ago for 3k. the final plan is linking it front and rear, 1 tons, selectable locker in front and detroit or spool in rear, mild sbc with th350 or 400, and eventually running it on propane.
here is what i have so far
new 44" boggers on black rockcrawler wheels
polyperformance cage
bluetorch fab diy tube fender kit
advance adapters tj sbc motor mount
summit plastic buckets with 5 pt harnesses
warn xd9000i winch installed
rustys front bumper installed
38" sxs to keep me on the trail until the build starts.

i have a little bit of experience fabbing from 3 years of high school metal shop :laughing:


i am looking for some pointers on the suspension should i 1 link with panhard, 3 link, triangulated 4 link? coils, coilovers, or nitrogen shocks?
they all seem to work great but what would people from the most hardcore crawling site on earth suggest for suspension and anything else im sure i am overlooking.

here are a few pics of what i am working with


http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c296/shibby307/tj97.jpg

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c296/shibby307/jeep38s.jpg

search?:shaking:

search?:shaking:

He's starting a build thread, chill out.



OP- If you can fit em into the budget, go with coilovers every time. Just think how adjustable they are, and that should sell you. 3link front with 4link rear is arguably the most popular choice, thanks to fitment, etc, but it's all really up to you and how comfortable you are with those high school fab skills.

Have fun and don't be afraid to build more and buy less...

thanks i think i will do the 3 link front and 4 link rear.

i should be getting the cage in and tacked together this week until i can use my buddies 220. and i found a nice mild built 383 i should be checking that out in a day or 2.

i am pretty comfortable with my skills i just dont have all of the nice fancy tools i had in school.

i got a few more pics today, and pulled the flares off so i can have a little better idea of how i will comp cut it. and a pic next to the tires to figure close to what my wheelbase will be and about how high it will sit. i have also been looking into the foa coilovers i am trying to decide between the 2.0 (around 1200 before shipping) and 2.5 (about 1400 before shipping)

now to the pics

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c296/shibby307/side.jpg

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c296/shibby307/side44.jpg

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c296/shibby307/stinger.jpg

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c296/shibby307/flex.jpg

i picked up my axles today so i can start working on them now (truss link mounts and everything else). i got a chevy 60 front and 14bt rear for $900 :smokin: now time to start searching for gears, lockers, disc brakes for the 14, chromo and other parts.

i have a little bit of experience fabbing from 3 years of high school metal shop :laughing:

Building trailers?!?! :flipoff2:

That seemed to be the only things non-first year students ever seemed to build in the metal shop at Glencoe.

I'm just amazed that they still have it in their budget to keep the metal shop around, though it was pretty good sized with some nice equipment. Definitely put me at the top of the machining class down at Oregon State.

Good luck on the build and maybe I'll see ya runnin' around.

we did alot of boats when i was there not so much on the trailers it was a good shop though a hell of alot better than forest groves metal shop and dumbass teacher.

I got a little more done today. Pulled the front fenders off and bolted the tube fender parts on to be tacked together so they should be done in a day or 2. i will get pics up as the progress gets better.
I also ordered foa 2.0 resevoir coilovers today

i got a little done today. trailered it to my buddies house to weld up the tube fenders. it just needs a little grinding and paint tomorrow and it will be 1 more thing off the list.

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c296/shibby307/jeeptube.jpg

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c296/shibby307/jeeptube1.jpg

one of the next things that will be done is the comp cut it will be done as soon as my corners show up and getting started on welding my cage.

here are a few pics of the fenders put together. i still need to dog out the grinder and primer to get them looking better.

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c296/shibby307/tjtube2-1.jpg

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c296/shibby307/tjtube.jpg

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c296/shibby307/tjtube1.jpg

nice start, keep the pics coming.

what are your plans for transfer case, since you are running a pass. drop front axle?

also, screaming deal on the tons, I wish I could find a front 60 for that around here.

How can yo work on that thing with it soooo muddy??:eek:

Looking good though!

Thanks, I have been thinking about doing a 203-205 doubler so i can still get low gears for crawling. that will come soon when an engine and trans.

What kind of wheelbase you shooting for? You're going to need a lot of stretch to make the 203/205 work and get any kind of driveline length. I'm at 103" with a Terra231 and an 8.8 and my rear d/l is only about 24" long. Keep the pics coming along.

i havent decided completely the 203-205 was just an idea since i already have both from previous projects if it is too long i will go another route.

! had a few packages show up the last few days. 4 foa 16" travel coilovers and the springs for them, my comp cut corners have also showed up. I would have all of my link parts but have been having trouble with my bank card and cant order parts, should have a new one in the next work and be able to get the rest of the parts in the next few weeks.

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c296/shibby307/coilover.jpg

nice start, keep the pics coming.

what are your plans for transfer case, since you are running a pass. drop front axle?

also, screaming deal on the tons, I wish I could find a front 60 for that around here.

the transfer case will come when i do the motor swap to run a sbc in it. im not a big fan of chevys but with ll the chevy people and hotrod builders i know i can set it up with all chevy stuff for about half of what it would cost me to run all rebuilt ford drivetrain

I like it so far and think that if you hit a fork in the road go with the bigger of the two:homer:

it looks like i have forgot to throw a pic of the new axles up. here they are
yep rusty old stock 1 tons :smokin:
they will be looking better soon.

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c296/shibby307/6014bt.jpg

How can yo work on that thing with it soooo muddy??:eek:

Looking good though!

x2, take a few and clean that thing up!

x2, take a few and clean that thing up!
its clean now. i would have cleaned it before the tube fenders but that was a last minute thing my buddy called and said he was going to be working on his cherocar and to bring my tj over to weld up the fenders

great job! Im digging it.. keep the pics coming :smokin:

I havent got much done in the last month ive been sick and working on my chevelle. The work will start up again in the next few days. I got most of the parts ordered to do my 3 and 4 link plenty of ballistic joints, tube adapters, a few brackets, and the rear truss. i still cant decide on a front truss but i am liking the sniper fabworks d60 truss since it has the built in ram mount.
i also still need to pick up some tube. i will get some pic updates in the next few days when i do my comp cut and put my corners on.

a few pics from today. got the comp cut done it needs a little cleaning up but its slowly starting to look more like a crawler

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c296/shibby307/compcut.jpg

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c296/shibby307/compcut1.jpg

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c296/shibby307/compcut2.jpg

Sorry not to hijack but why not take an extra hour and clean your rig before starting somthing like this. just makes more sense to me.

Sorry not to hijack but why not take an extra hour and clean your rig before starting somthing like this. just makes more sense to me.

the dog chewed up my hoses a few days ago. it is going to get a good cleaning inside and out this week getting it ready for the axle swap and cage.

FWIW-I just did a lot of what you are shooting for in this build. Lessons learned does not start to fully describe my build. I'm just going to start rambling on the problems I mean learning experiences I ran into while building my 97 TJ:

1. You will probably need to cut off the rear frame as I'm sure you've seen people do. Make sure you do 2 things when doing this a)make the frame at least as narrow as the "bed" of the jeep where the back seat goes. You will have to do this, especially running that wide of a tire and coil overs. The shocks won't fit otherwise. b) Go ahead and call Currie or Sway Away and see what widths the sway bars come in and match the width to the closest one you can find to the dimension listed under point a) above. Yes, you will want a swaybar.

2. Go ahead and plan on a custom skid plate. Reason one is so you can double triangulate your rear 4 link. Reason two is the stock one sucks and doesn't come close to offering enough strength or protection.

3. Speaking of link setups-3 link front is probably your only route unless you cut the front half of the frame and really spend time laying a four link out. I've seen a few done, but it takes time and usually requires boat siding from the frame to the body for a decent upper link mount location.

4. I recommend cutting the front half of the frame off-I didn't do this but wish I would have.

5. DO NOT just weld some shit to the side of the frame to mount your links to (or your skid plate) and expect it to stand up to any kind of abuse. The stock frame is very weak.

6. If you are putting that 350 on propane, do you home work and work out the right cam/compression/timing. A stock 350 will purr like a kitten but perform like a pussy on propane. A 69 dollar cam is worth every penny. I had propane but just switched to a Howell TBI system. Couldn't be happier. Also, if you are planning on a rear seat it really makes things even tighter. I mention this because a regular 80 lb ( ~8 gal) propane tank does not fit behind the stock seat location. A 16 gal fuel cell will.

7. Do not skimp on parts. While the 203/205 setup is nice, it is very heavy and long. Think front drive shaft. I had a 203/300 setup initially. Saved a lot of weight and got about 8" more compact by going w/ the Atlas 4. Also, plan on spending lots of money on that front 60. Talk to guys around here about axle/joint combos, hydro steering options, etc. I know the money sucks up front, but its nice when you only have to buy shit once. You apparently want to have a bad ass Jeep, there is no reason to half ass it.

8. Get rid of the plastic seats. You are going to have a lot of money in this thing, why skimp now. They are uncomfortable and some people say unsafe.

9. I don't think I read what tranny you plan on running, but I'd keep the length of it in mind when laying all this stuff out.

10. If you are going to have driveshafts made, I'd go 1410. They don't cost that much more.

11. Your Jeep is going to sit a lot higher to clear 44's. It is very nice to be able to use the front winch to suck down the suspension. Keep that in mind when placing front axle.

There is lots more, but these are generally the places where I think I screwed up. Remember if you half ass things and try to be tight, usually it comes back to bite you. It's not worth showing up to the ball w/ no dancing shoes. Just pay your time and money up front and don't look back.

Disclaimer: these are just my experiences. There are obviously many ways to do this. Sorry it was so long but honestly, I wish someone who has also been through this would have pulled me aside and set me straight from the go.

Any questions about how not to screw this up, just let me know and I'll try to help.

thanks for the info i have been reading tj builds on here for a few years and trying to figure out what works best im sure i can build it the way it deserves to be built. on a side note i did find a good running engine to put in it while i decide exactly what i am going to build for a sbc. it was sitting in the garage under my chevelles hood a nice peppy 305. now to find a 454 for the chevelle so i can pull it out.