Pirate 4x4 banner

Project White Cracker

363K views 364 replies 124 participants last post by  Swag Off Road 
#1 · (Edited)
Project White Cracker....Daily Driven TJ on 40's

I have ran and broken many, many parts in my day with a 91 Cherokee and 35” tires. These parts include (15+) broken Dana 30 parts, this includes ripping out the ball joints on a trail run, one busted front carrier in Moab, spider gears in Rubicon….I live in Oregon (2) Tera 4:1 Transfer case, Steering, Cracked frame.......uni-body, rear hatch, tail lights, lockers, and even managed to flop it on it’s side twice.

Once my life of being the poor college student had subsided, and my broken ass Cherokee was sold. I set out to build a dependable off road, daily driven TJ on 40’s
 

Attachments

See less See more
1
#292 ·
At KOH I managed to break a stock small RE super flex joint on one of the front uppers. I did not know this until I washed the rig back in Oregon.

The thought of me hauling ass across the whoops with one small RE upper joint holding my rig together did not sit well with me. Thought out that week I often drove my Jeep like I too was racing for a trophy.

After a phone call to Ballistic Fab my front axle is now 3 linked. No more 7/16" Bolts. It is now held in place with 5/8" bolts and 2" .25 wall DOM.

I modified one of there inexpensive $20 dollar brackets to weld against the frame with the 7" 5/8" bolt going thought the frame, yes it is sleeved on the inside as well.

It really is a toss up as to which version of suspension works "better" The 3 link drives better on road, but it may just be the new joints. The 3 link does flex better, but I do get more front end lift on steep climbs. It really is a toss up.

Today I started to work on a new front grill guard and boner bar as well, thoughts?

Troy
 

Attachments

#294 ·
There is room to attach a 1.25" dia piece of tubing from the rear of the fender, close to where it bolts to the tub, and tie it into the frame. Run a small bushing to allow for the body flexing. It seems like a lot of extra work but I could not believe how little of force it took to dent the cowl and tub.
 
#295 ·
I like the front bumper the only thing I would do different is make the rad. hoop a bit taller from the picture and I could be wrong it doesnt look like it will offer that much protection to the radiator in the event of a rollover. Overall though I always liked the work you did on your rig and how its turned out.
 
#296 ·
Im not really a fan of that style rad hoop. I understand that the boner bar would need to be that tall to be effetive but isnt that what the rad hoop is for. I think the rad hoop looks more like Mikey Mouse ears than anything else. You already have some unique ideas and clean designs on your rig. Use your new (hard to use) tube roller. I am sure you can come up with something new. I prefer variations of the traditional rad hoop, just not this one. But in the end, it isnt my rig.
 
#299 ·
You said the new mounts are 1" higher, do they lift the body? The reason I ask is I have 1" poly pucks, read one piece, and I would honestly prefer to rid of the 1" lift not gain 1 more. If they do I guess I could chop the pucks, hmm.
 
#300 ·
The body mounts do not physically lift your Jeep any higher. If you already have a 1" body lift on your Jeep you can weld the replacement body mounts 1" higher up on the frame once you remove the body lift puck. They can be used with no body lift up to a 2" body lift.

Troy
 
#302 ·
On your 3 link front, any issues with running the upper 3rd link shorter than your lowers? I have heard the ideal way to do it is to have all 3 links the same length? The way you have yours set up would be the way I would like to do mine. I don't really want to relocate the lowers unless it would make a diffrence on how it performs on the street and trail.
 
#304 ·
On your 3 link front, any issues with running the upper 3rd link shorter than your lowers? I have heard the ideal way to do it is to have all 3 links the same length? The way you have yours set up would be the way I would like to do mine. I don't really want to relocate the lowers unless it would make a difference on how it performs on the street and trail.
It came down to placement. If I moved the upper mount on the axle up it would hit the radiator at full compression. If I moved the rear upper mount back the driveline would barely hit it on full droop to the driver side. There is ideal placement then there is where if fits. Rarely to they ever match up.

Troy
 
#308 ·
Since your not answering your phone I figured I'd try you this way.

Just checking in to see how things are going in the shop.

Keep in touch.

-CK

p.s. Your Jeep is rad. :flipoff2:
I have been in the shop all day with a paying customer....sorry bro.:flipoff2:
 
#312 ·
Now that I am finished up with the JK drop down tailgate kit and LED tail light conversion kit I can get back to fixing up my personal Jeep.

As mentioned a few post prior, when I was in JV for the KOH event I managed to give my driver side fender a little love tap with a large rock. It barely took the paint off the fender but it did push in my fender and cowl just over 1.5". This is an area that is spot welded together and not an easy dent to fix. I started to work on a rough prototype that bolts on to the existing fender support that holds either the battery on the passenger side or the washer fluid reservoir on the driver side.

This plate attaches to the fender support bracket using the original four hole locations as well as the top two fender bolt that attach the fender to the Jeep tub. Once I create a plate for the driver side I will draw these two plates up in CAD and have them laser cut an formed out of 3/16" plate. If there is demand for this item I may just have a few more made and stick them on my website.

Let me know if anyone is interested in these bolt on fender support gussets. Just a bit of advise it is easier to install before you crush in your cowl. :laughing:

Troy
 

Attachments

#314 ·
Gents.

I am looking for a clean TJ sitting on 37" or larger tires that I can use to illustrate a new bumper I have came out with for the Jeep YJ & TJ's. I would use my Jeep but I cut off the front of my frame.

What is in it for you. If you have ever wanted to get your rig in JP, Four wheeler, Peterson's, Off-Road, etc this is your chance. In addition I will use these pictures of your Jeep on my website, and sales broacher's.

I will guarantee your rig will be published in the new products section of the magazines listed above, and to boot if you like the bumper I am selling I will sell you one for cost +10%.

I live in Oregon City and will take pictures at my shop. This will take just an hour or two.



Send me a picture and your schedule to troy@swagoffroad.com

Thanks Troy
 
#319 ·
Hot off the laser cutter......."Flat Back" Drop Down Tailgate Conversion Kit For Your YJ-TJ-LJ

Because I can't leave well enough alone, I made a few optional additions to the drop down tailgate kit.

Two panels made out strong yet light weight 3/16" aluminum. This will compliment the aluminum corners that my Jeep will soon be wearing.

I am calling this kit the "Flat Back" drop down tailgate kit. I incorporated the hinge hole locations and toggle latch that were previously on three separate plates. It cleaned up the look of the drop down tailgate kit, hence the name "Flat Back".

As an option, I am offering just the aluminum plates by themselves for those of you who have purchased a kit from me previously. The only change to installing these two aluminum panels is the addition of a new hole next to the factory latch. All other holes will line up with previously drilled holes in your tailgate. :grinpimp:

Before


After





Troy
 
#320 ·
Today I am headed out to Easter Jeep Safari. I will be at the Crawl Magazine sponsored event on Tuesday March 30th at area BFE doing an imprompt vendor display.

I will be driving my Jeep the 1100 miles straight through loaded down like the Clampits.

I have packed my Jeep with two of everything I currently sell on my website. If you want to avoid shipping costs swing on by.

If you guys see me, flag me down I will hand out free Swag stickers while in Moab.

Thanks Troy
 
#322 ·
on page 3 post number 52...

how much lift did you achieve doing that? and with stock springs correct? im in the process of doing the rear stretch with coils and wanted to keep it between 4 and 6"s of lift using the stock springs.. did you ever outboard your shocks?
thanks Troy
 
#323 ·
I used the stock springs for mock up. I ended up with RE 3.5" TJ rear springs. I never did caculate how much lift I ended up with.

I never did add a few pictures from my Moab EJS trip. I drove a total 2,480 miles round trip with 7 days of non stop wheeling and the only time I had to open the tool bag was to tighten a Ballistic Fab front upper joint that finally seated in and made a slight clunking sound. :smokin:

The wife could not get time off of work so I took the 1.5 year old boy with me. He did great considering that we drove 1,000 each way and only stopped to get fuel. I think we took the father son bonding trip to a whole new level. Too bad he won't remember it when he gets older. The faster we drove the more he laughed. When ever there was a sand whoop road I drove the Jeep like I stole it and he would laughed until it hurt. :laughing: Good times.

Troy
 

Attachments

#324 ·
This weekend I will be headed out to Portland Area Offroad Show Sunday August 8th. If your in the area and feel the need to swing on by I will have my Jeep as well as a couple of every Item listed on my website for sale.

If you want to join in the activities sign up here. http://dickhannahdealerships.com/jeeper/offroadshow.php

Troy
 
#325 ·
A couple weeks ago a group of friends and I went to the Oregon beach for a few nights of camping and a lot of blasting through the sand dunes. It was all fun and games until someone turned the lights out. Once the sun went down so did my driving ability.

The group of guys I wheel with have been slapping on HID lights to their Wranglers and Buggies I always thought of bright lights as neat but not a necessity for a daily driver/crawler, however once the speeds pick up they become a necessity. Last year I installed IPF housings and Fat Boy bulbs which were a huge improvement over stock however I still needed more light.

The front end of my Jeep has very little room to mount lights to the bumper, windshield mounted light brackets and light bars on the roof don't last too long in the trees of the PNW.

So I cam out with the "Duck Tongue" a simple no drill, grill mounted light bar that can accept up to three lights.









As soon as this bracket was pulled off the laser cutter I picked up a set of inexpensive HID lights.....:smokin: Wow these lights blow the IPF/Fat Boy combo out of the water, now if I could only run them on the highway.

Troy
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top