Next big phase..

[53guy]

This thread is getting pretty long and can pretty much be described as my thread for my Jeep while I owned it in this forum. It has since been sold but feel free to ask any questions you see fit. Hope you enjoy the tour.

How she sat before I sold her 12/2008:





Starting 5/2007:

Got a bit of a project on my hands this time....it'll be out of the game for....well, a while. So far, here's the hit list:
-TNT frame stiffeners
-TMR front frame stiffeners
-TNT front suspension/belly pan
-TNT D44 truss front and rear
-HP dana 44, 6 lug
-LP dana 44 rear, full float, 6 lug
-Dual piston front calipers
-hydro steering
-some sort of rear discs...using chevy 44 front outers....
-High steer Chevy knuckles
-Side panel armor + LED tail light boxes
-Might be adding an endo hoop to the front bumper
-ARB's front and rear
-narrowing my Warn 8K winch to the Warn 9RK specs
-cutting the front bumper up, making it into a winch bumper while keeping the same approach angle
-Front 14" King coilovers (dual rates)
-Finally am getting a DPG gas tank skid....maybe not though...

This one is gonna be a bit expensive, but I think the hardest blow is taking it off the road again. I'm going about 2" lower than where it was sitting before for a grand total of about 5.5" of lift. I'm shooting for a lower COG than I had before while upgrading the unsprung weight. Here's a few picts of this weekends progress...

[HardcorewannabeXJ]

At least it's not wood block jack stands ALL around J/K

Looks like a fun project, what size tires you going to run on that?

[vetteboy79]

Why the enormous Ford calipers on that axle?

[TJP]

Sounds like a good build plan. Looks good too...

Going lower? With the wider axles it will feel like it is lower. The extra axle weight will also help lower the COG. I personally like 5"-6" of lift, it's a good compromise in droop vs. compression. I like to go fast too thou.

Keep us updated on your progress and keep taking pics.

[Maytag]

Looks like a nice build...


also...what bumpers are those?

[Capt. Nemo]

I followed this over on NAXJA - why the makeover so soon? You've had it offroad how many times? What's not working?

[Rokhound89]

i look forward to seeing the that front truss in use I have been thinking about getting one. I just never seen one one or any one running it so it will be nice to see.

[Capt. Nemo]

Originally Posted by Rokhound89

i look forward to seeing the that front truss in use I have been thinking about getting one. I just never seen one one or any one running it so it will be nice to see.

http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=907435

[53guy]

Originally Posted by HardcorewannabeXJ

At least it's not wood block jack stands ALL around J/K

Looks like a fun project, what size tires you going to run on that?

I just put the 4x4 there because the front end seemed kinda tippy when I took the axles out of the back. It was fine, but I left it there just in case. I definately don't trust it to keep it there and work under, but it's enough to keep it up if it did decide to go tippy on us.

Originally Posted by vetteboy79

Why the enormous Ford calipers on that axle?

I'm out crawling my brakes at the moment with 5.13's and 35's with the 2.72 or something low ratio. I'd like to put the NVG-OR 241 in when I find one for a decent price and I'd like my brakes to be able to hold me downhill and in 4low. If I can't get the dual piston's to work, like I mentioned, I think that I have a hydroboost brake set up that I can snag for cheap.

Originally Posted by TJP

Sounds like a good build plan. Looks good too...

Going lower? With the wider axles it will feel like it is lower. The extra axle weight will also help lower the COG. I personally like 5"-6" of lift, it's a good compromise in droop vs. compression. I like to go fast too thou.

Keep us updated on your progress and keep taking pics.

Well, I don't know if I'll go as low as I had mentioned. I saw a set up today with full width's, 5" of BS, and it made me think twice. I'm at about 7.5" right now, so I think that going to about 5.5 or 6 is where I'll end up anyways.

Originally Posted by Maytag

also...what bumpers are those?

Rigid Co bumpers F/R. The rear is a tire carrier version but the carrier and I got into an argument and it's in the corner right now.

Originally Posted by Capt. Nemo

I followed this over on NAXJA - why the makeover so soon? You've had it offroad how many times? What's not working?

Well, for a few reasons. I wasn't happy with the 44 rear that I had. I had to run 3" of wheel spacers to match the waggy front I had and it put my calipers out there pretty far and unprotected. Because of the mount design, I couldn't rotate the calipers up any to protect them and I was always coming down on them hard enough to bend the mount bolts and crack a rotor. So with that, I needed a new rear end and the XJ 44 is way too expensive for me and almost over rated IMO. For about the same cost as it would be for me to buy an XJ 44, I can get a 60 rear, gears, and install kit. I also snagged a HP 44 front about two weeks after I got the waggy on the road. Like you asked on NAXJA, I wanted the HP 44 anyways but couldn't find one and now that I have one, I might as well build this one. And to top it all off, someone wanted to purchase the front and rear axles anyways, so it was an easy choice to sell them, but a bit frustrating I must admit. I only got about 6 runs on the old 44's before it came off the road again.

[DBenz]

53guy,

Make sure to keep us posted on the pictures, I really like your XJ. Mine will be on blocks soon as well and some 35s. I've got the non tire carrier rigidco rear bumper and I want to cut my quarters but the end caps would look dumb, as they aren't like yours. I wonder if I could send them in and have them modified?

Anyways, Is there a reason why you shocse the 60 over sya a 9"? Like most have been doing pulling from the mid 70s Fords.

Derek

[53guy]

Originally Posted by DBenz

53guy,
I wonder if I could send them in and have them modified?

Yup, you sure can. Give Terry a call. That's what I did with mine. If you have a pretty new bumper, you shouldn't have any issues. I had an earlier style and they were built on different jigs.....we came to find out...

Originally Posted by DBenz

Anyways, Is there a reason why you shocse the 60 over sya a 9"? Like most have been doing pulling from the mid 70s Fords.

Derek

Yeah, mainly because we don't have a whole lot of yards around me.....hell, any really, and the ones that do don't keep anything earlier than mid 80's stuff so finding a 9" would have been a pain. So I do most of my yard picking from the comforts of my office and buy crap people have already pulled and decided they don't need any longer. I really like the full float rear ends, smack me if I'm wrong, but I don't know of any full float 9"s hanging out anywhere. But yeah, ease and cost were the deciding factors in the rear end. For $150 I got a 60 HD (spindles come large enough for 35 spline shafts stock). Can't beat that.

[DBenz]

So did you send in your stock end caps? And he modified them or sent you whole new ones?

I am picking up my 35s this weekend and then the bank is getting drained for my TNT stuff

[53guy]

Originally Posted by DBenz

So did you send in your stock end caps? And he modified them or sent you whole new ones?

I am picking up my 35s this weekend and then the bank is getting drained for my TNT stuff

I sent in my regular end caps and he modified them. Yeah, I have to wait a few weeks for the cash to get all my TNT stuff. I'm shooting for July 26th being done. I'd like to hit camp Jeep as it's in VA this year.

[pipehitter155]

awwwww camp jeep.....i wanna go to check out all the hot soccer moms in their new JKs....be like 'hey baby'you wanna ride in a real jeep bitch' i pity da foo'....or something that....i can picture it now...

[Jeepaholik]

I remeber you and your XJ. I wheeled with ya when DSO went to Crozet. Nice to see another full-width cherokee.

[53guy]

Originally Posted by pipehitter155

awwwww camp jeep.....i wanna go to check out all the hot soccer moms in their new JKs....be like 'hey baby'you wanna ride in a real jeep bitch' i pity da foo'....or something that....i can picture it now...

EXACTALLY!!

[pipehitter155]

updates????

[53guy]

Slow progress. Collecting parts at the moment. Ran into a hiccup where the cash was concerned and am waiting on DFAS to supply the funds that were supposed to be there months ago.

But on a more update note, I'm ditching the 60 idea, staying with a 6 lug 44 and am making a full float 44 rear that uses standard chevy/dodge/jeep dana 44 bearings and spindles. Coilovers in the front are planned instead of coils because I could use some more room on the axles for hydro assist/full hydro in the future, front shocks and coils need replacing and I wouldn't mind a better highway feel either, so coilovers are going in. Only the front at the moment because I'm not convinced that rear coilovers are really what I'd like to do yet. Rock lizard stuff is getting replaced with LED lightbox/side panel armor because I somehow destroyed the second set of stock light boxes I had....oh well, time for upgrades.

[Big91RustyBucket]

Update's?

[53guy]

nothing new since yesterday.

[53guy]

And DFAS decided to donate to the upgrades........Let the ordering begin!! The upgrade list is going to take a hit, but I don't have time to clean it up yet. Look for it later today.

[Purple99XJ]

if you're geared low enough in 4lo there wouldn't really be a need for braking at all downhill, or you could put it in nuetral and use the brakes so theres no engine power working against them while going downhill. just my $.02, looking real good though... updates?

[XJ4THEKICKIN]

Originally Posted by Purple99XJ

if you're geared low enough in 4lo there wouldn't really be a need for braking at all downhill, or you could put it in nuetral and use the brakes so theres no engine power working against them while going downhill. just my $.02, looking real good though... updates?

Your 0.02 cents sucks, awful man.

[HardcorewannabeXJ]

Originally Posted by XJ4THEKICKIN

Your 0.02 cents sucks, awful man.

x2, you can take it back

[53guy]

Alright, I go on leave on the 22nd of Sept for 14 days, so I'm hoping to get everything done in those two weeks and small things done between now and the 22nd. I need to replace my rear main seal and something in the TC is leaking, so I'm gonna have to fix that before the belly pan goes in. The list of upgrades has been edited btw.