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Save and buy once or build as you go?

1K views 17 replies 12 participants last post by  CutterN55 
#1 · (Edited)
Just wondering what you guys experience with building solid rigs says. Looking to get a Jeep and the upgrade it with they typical stuff. Axles, lift, bumpers, bigger tires. But because of budget there is no way i can swing the purchase of the Jeep and all the mods at one time.

So do i get the jeep then buy and add one part/set of parts when funds become available....

or get the jeep and rock it stock till i can save all the money to do most if not all the mods at one time.

Thanks for your thoughts and sharing your experience.
 
#3 · (Edited)
There's no right or wrong way to do a build.

I started stock, and I've changed my rig 2 or 3 times as my desire and offroad parks changed.

I think starting stock gives you a better appreciation for the mods you do. I had just as much (or more) fun wheeling stock as I do now. It's actually pretty amazing to see how capable a stock Jeep is.

For me, it was easier to spend smaller chunks of money over time, than to spend one huge chunk of money up front.

Your best bang for the buck will be to buy a good rig that is already built...but that's not nearly as much fun.
 
#4 ·
Good advice so far:

1. Try and plan ahead to know what your end game will be will minimize, but probably not completely eliminate the need to change things more than once. Think about the type of wheeling you will likely do and whether you like to fabricate stuff more or wheel. Is wheeling going to be something you do every weekend with lots of technical obstacles or are you in an area where a serious wheeling trip is 10-15 hours of travel and you go 3X a year and you spend most of your time fabricating stuff for those occasional trips? Is this going to be a daily driver, something you occasionally drive locally on the street or a 100% non-street legal trailer queen? All of these questions will help shape your path forward.

2. Most people cannot afford to buy everything at once, but saving is SO boring so buy what you can afford now and wheel it. I would however suggest that you look at buying something that has some level of modifications already completed. Reason being is that from a cost standpoint it's much cheaper to have someone else buy the new parts and then you are essentially buying them "used" and already installed. The only downside to that would be in that you would want to know that they used "good" parts and that they were installed correctly.
 
#5 ·
Yup... plan ahead. Purchase parts in batches but don't buy parts that won't work with your future plans (except wear items such as tires).

For instance... I've got big plans for my ZJ, however, funds wont allow it right now. For the time being, I'm doing a junkyard lift and some decent rubber. By the time I finish getting parts together, the tires will be due or can be sold and I wont have much money at all in the lift.

I have to do things little by little as funds allow and also because if I take a project off the road for too long, I lose interest.
 
#6 ·
Thanks guys for the posts. Good food for thought in there. My basic plans are woods jeep. Mainly see mountain roads, mud and snow. I want as close to a bullet proof drive train as possible. And it will be part fab project and fun shop time. And after the drive train is solid and proven a chevy 350 v8 will get swapped in. But that is down the road after everything is sorted.

My initial thoughts are Dana 60's with spool in the rear and selectable locker up front. Low geared...not sure on the gearing i will need, but i want to be able to have beyond billy goat slow crawl speed. This might require more than diff gears, maybe an atlas transfer case.
Home built triangulated 4 link front and rear. Tire size somewhere around 35-38's.
Home built bumpers, skids, rock sliders, tire carrier. Most of this stuff can happen when ever i get time and really doesn't matter what else is done to the jeep.

The drive train is the one were adding one part without another really might mess with things.
 
#10 ·
IMO a big part is having a plan and thinking about the direction you are wanting to go. On my first build I made the mistake of starting too small leading to spending a lot more money in the long run. I would get to wheeling what you have and learn about what you want and the type of wheeling you want to do, then start to make the larger investments.
 
#12 ·
I love the build myself as well but did similar to climbit suggested. I found what I wanted an older Wrangler with a sbc and 3/4 ton axles. Now have changed it to 60's front and rear and slowly build the things I don't like/don't work for me. I do my modifications slowly. I can't afford to throw it all down at once so made a plan on what order to do parts and knock off things one at a time. Each took time to save up parts as I like to put it all together and have that unit set to test and make sure it's right before moving to next project
My list went like
Beadlocks
Dana 60 front
Cage
Th400
Full hydraulic steering

Efi is next then it's just upkeep

All I will say is have fun and whichever direction you go make a plan and stick with it so you save cash on rework
 
#13 ·
now that ive built one, id buy a complete rig and tweak to fit you.
im running out of blood sweat and tears to give to things other than family.

id never tell anyone to not build your own. the experiences you gain are invaluable. `
 
#16 · (Edited)
A big question to ask is how much funding are you working with and how much can you allocate? what's your wrenching/fab experience?
If it's a woods Jeep, sounds like you don't need to throw a TON of money at it. And you don't need an atlas to get good crawling gears. A granny geared tranny with a doubler or 4:1 low kit in a D300 will get you some pretty deep crawling gears.

If I was you, based on what you said your end goal was (solid woods jeep) I'd be looking for a YJ & leave it leaf sprung- SOA with waggy springs and maybe 3/4 ton Ford axles or even Waggy axles. Throw some Spartan lockers in both ends and rock and roll. Later on throw in a sb302/np435, adapt a flipped D300 (4:1 low kit), You'll be good up to 37's and it'll get you in the woods for under $10k and not have a jeep sitting in the garage for months at a time.

All these things you can prep for, accumulate your parts and do in chunks over a weekend here and there.
 
#17 ·
Good questions and great points. For budget i was hoping to get into the Jeep for under $5k and then from what i have been looking up and researching looks like I will need another $5k+ to get it were i want it.

I have been home building race cars, derby cars and rebuilding motors since i was 15. So i have a little experience but still have a ton to learn. My weakest knowledge point for Jeeps in the 4x4 drive train. Like how you were talking about a granny gear tranny or doubler.....I don't know what that means. The only gearing changes i have ever done are rear end gears or changing the whole transmission. I am learning about different gear sets in transfer cases and trying to understand all the different ways to change gearing.

This lack of understanding in the drive train is one of the reasons i want to build my rig up. I want to understand it all and how many ways there is to change gearing. Jantz's super jeep drivetrain setup still has me confused as fuck...two transmissions...and an over drive...and a transfer case. :eek:
 
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