To start things off lets do a little back story. Bought the jeep back when I was 16 when it was more or less stock other than a tired small block Chev. Over the past 7 1/2 years I slowly built it into a more capable PNW style trail jeep. The last year of jeepin it started to become a bit of a hassle with tons of little things breaking/wearing out and I started to worry almost everytime I was gonna be "that guy". Never in its life having a full tear down, it was starting to show its age and I did my best to keep it together by strapping the frame after it broke, tied cage into frame, redid the suspension, etc. Anyways, here's the old girl.
TBI 350
Dana 44's F/R
t18
4.27's w/lunchbox lockers
Dana 20
Spring under rear with yj's
Spring over front front with toyota rears
Chromoly shafts
Redhead steering box
36 tsl's
I really do appreciate all the suggestions. may have shot myself in the foot on the uppers since I already burned in the up mounts on the hsg. I'll definitely be widening the lower links and doing my best to achieve the 45*. I was trying to save most on the floor as possible, but looks like thats gonna be more work than its worth to just say there's factory metal left in it :shaking: Planning to make a flange off the "sliders" that the tube will bolt to along with various other points of mounting. Rear rails I was gonna bend up similar to the front,but after doing some thinking a two piece with mounting plate to the step in the floor is kinda the direction I'm heading. I'll try and post some updates, but dealing with fixing the front housing right now...
Hard to tell in the pics but the ram was just tacked to a piece of 2x4 to get an idea for heights. Started working on the actual mount/skid today.
Really not a fan of the over the top ram "rollcages" that I've seen on rig while surfing the web, so decided to go as low pro as possible and take the chance for damage.
I don't post much... clicked on your build thinking I was wasting my time... wow. Beautiful fab work. I too need another job. I only find used spit cups in the garbage at work...
Been pretty busy with work/life lately so progress has been pretty slowly. I plated in the front of the truss and began wrapping that up for the most part Still needing to add various gussets here and there, but you more or less get the idea on how its gonna look.
I was honestly clueless when it came to set up caster, especially since I've never driven a rig with full hydro. Talking with a lot of friends and getting their opinions on it, they kept bringing up KOH rigs and saying alot of those guys throw an ungodly amount of caster in hopes to get some feedback in the wheel. I know the farther you go it begins to strain steering components and what not, but I settled on 10*. Not having the the 3rds and drivelines to set pinion, I'm figuring to lose maybe a few degrees and still have no less than 7* at ride height.
More or less finished up the ram mount FINALLY! Just need to weld it to the housing. Didn't want to throw a ton of heat at the front end so had it tacked in only 3 spots that were easily accessible with a cut-off wheel. Pretty happy with the outcome, but there's always a few spots you wish you could go back and get a second chance at :shaking:
Wanted to place the outside gusset on the main plate, but caught myself before tacking it up there. I still need to fully weld the mounting blocks and with the gusset that close I wouldn't have been able to weld inside and out the gusset. Had to compromise and move it out farther, but still adds some strength. (Plane to add one on pass side as well, but will go on during final welding)
Where is this kind of swap meet?!? I need to find one in South Carolina like this. Love what you're doing on this thing, wish I was 1/10th as good so I could try something on my YJ besides bolt on bologna or farming out the important welding.
Plan is to keep as much of the factory tub as possible. Obviously there will be trimming needed in the rear to clear tires and will nee to modify grill slightly to account for rail height changes, but for the most part if will be a factory tub squeezed on "buggy" chassis. Also, being a on the younger side, I'm sorta thinking ahead so planning to build with the intent of a rear seat for the future.
Finally pulled the tub off my old frame to free up some space and start fitting. I'm like a damn squirrel and find the need to jump around or I get burnt out working on once thing. Not the greatest habit when it comes to making progress...
As of right now wheelbase is 102" and thats about as long as i think I'll go. Personally, much over that I think it sorta takes away from the look of a 5 and trying to keep it visually appealing as well as functional.
Goal is to have it done by this coming deer season, October 1st is the plan. As I tell everyone, the actually "building" isn't the concern its funding everything
Glad everyone is enjoying the build! More progress should be posted rather soon.
Very cool it looks great.
Curious what is inside width of your front frame rails and square rails?
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Related Threads
?
?
?
?
?
Pirate 4x4
18.7M posts
366.4K members
Since 2000
A forum community dedicated to custom off-road vehicle owners and enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about trail reports, builds, performance, modifications, classifieds, troubleshooting, fabrication, drivetrain, and more!