[Big Bird Rubicon]

First I should give a little history on my Jeep.

It's a 2004 Jeep Wrangler TJ Rubicon. Currently sitting at 55,000 miles and sitting on a set of 35's

Current specs.
Rubicon express extreme duty 5.5" Long arm lift
Dana 44 axles with Alloy USA axles and 5:13 gears (stock lockers).
Custom weld on Beadlocks
TNT high line front fenders w/4" flares
TNT High line rear fenders w/4" flares
DOT light LED tail lights
High Beam Offraod LED headlights
Poison Spyder hood louvers
Poison Spyder fully welded Cage
Warn front and rear bumpers
Warn 9.5k winch with 10k synthetic rope
Body mounted swing away tire carrier
Smitybilt reclining racing seats with 4 point harness.

The plan

Stretch front and rear axle min of 8" each.
Dana 60 front w/Alloy shafts 5:38 gears and Ox Lockers. Trussed with the Artec Industries truss and Artecs full hydro mount. Artec's weld on steering knuckle

Ford 10.5 rear Alloy shafts, Artec truss 5:38 gears, Ox locker

Artec back half kit,

Fox 14" 2.5in air shocks

Swap out the TNT rear fenders for a set of Comp cut fenders.

Fuel cell to remove stock tank

Custom 17" weld on Beadlocks with 42 in meat.

 

[Big Bird Rubicon]

I know there is some that I am missing but I have started getting stuff together for this build.

I have picked up the following already

2003 Ford front Dana 60 and rear 10.5 matched axles

Got these for a steel and started getting them prepped for adding the trusses.

Look at the size difference in these joints. Damn that's big

Got all the excess mounts removed and painted the axle to keep it from rusting

Now to wait for the trusses

 

[Big Bird Rubicon]

With the arrival of my front truss and hydro mount I was able to start getting the truss and hydro mount mocked up and welded into place. I also got the hydro steering knuckles from Artec. I know my welds are not perfect but I think I got good penetration and they will hold just fine.

 

[Big Bird Rubicon]

More pics this will bring you all to my current stopping spot in my build. Waiting on money to get my PSC Steering some other goodies.

In these pics you can see both the truss and the steering mount in place. I also got one side of the Artec hydro knuckles welded up and in place. Ran into an issue with the other side. The holes didn't line up like they should have. Artec made it right by sending me another kit. I am still seeing some issues with fitment but I can work with it I think. I also mocked up a 1"x1" bar to show the approximate location of the steering arms.

 

[DriverJC]

Looks good, just so you know the pics in the first two posts don’t work.

SUB’d


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Big Bird Rubicon]

Decided to go a different route. I found a set the same as the axles I was working on for a good price and they are 90% completed.

Just have to install the Full Hydro Artec Mount

Old axles out and getting ready to move new axles in my daughter was helping me with the removal.

rear axle out - still need to remove fuel tank and rear shocks

With the axles out I cleaned up and placed the front axle in place and fine tuned the location that it will be placed on this build

Still waiting on rims so I placed the tires in place to set the axles approximate height. rims will make is so much easier to move these beasts around.

Also realized that I could just cut and bend the front bumper to make a stubby and it would fit so much better. Used some spray paint to mark the bumper on what needs to be cut off.

Before and after cutting bumper (still need to weld the ends)

still no rims but got the fuel tank pulled and set the rear axle in approximate location.

Continues

 

[Big Bird Rubicon]

When I pulled the rear corner armor I found some nice crinkle in the fender. good thing I am going with a Comp Cut Fender

Good thing I am going with a Back Half kit from Artec Industries should give me some nice room in the back.

First mock up of rear double triangulation looking good to me.

I should have the Rims in a week and working on getting some more piping to mock up the front Control Arms. current WB is 122 in but I might drop that to about 120.

 

[DriverJC]

Looks good bro. Post a screenshot of the 4Link Calculator, or 3Link Calculator, so we can critique your numbers.

When you mock up the suspension make sure to take into account drive shaft plunge.

Joel.

 

[offroadman83]

Very nice........Look forward to more. I like seeing newer superduty axle swaps in tjs!!:smokin:

 

[DriverJC]

@Big Bird Rubicon Welcome to the Jack Stand Wheelers club. you are now

 

[vinsanity0]

Beast mode. Nice build.

 

[Big Bird Rubicon]

Beast mode. Nice build.

Thanks vinsanity0

Spent some time in the Garage today. got the tires mounted on some steel rims so I could move the axles around a little easier. mounted the front and rear tires onto the axles and have been able to get the axles off the jack-stands.

While I was mounting the tires on the axle I noticed that I could not get the tires fully on the rear axles due to the rear fenders. so I decided to cut them to get the tires on. I am planning on comp-cutting them so cutting them was not going to be an issue.

After cutting the tires fit great and its looking good.

Still need to cut out the rear frame to do the back half kit. and mock up the control arms.

 

[DriverJC]

Looking good bro.

Keep up the good work.

Joel.

 

[Big Bird Rubicon]

Having time off after having a procedure on my feet. I spent most of today under the Jeep and ended up with this sitting on the floor.

I got the Artec Industries back half kit tacked together and ready to install tomorrow. I will have to figure out how to lift the body and support it without the tall stands. And I need to cut and bend the body mounts in order to secure the rear.

 

[DriverJC]

Nice work. Keep the updates coming.

Joel.

 

[Big Bird Rubicon]

Well since I am waiting on parts or money or a combination of both. I decided to start working on my Drive Over Fenders for my Trailer.

I currently have a 18ft Flatbed Bumper Pull trailer with a 2ft dove tail. This trailer sports a 5000lbs front lift/stand and an all steel floor.

This is the only pic I can find of the trailer and it happends to have my new axles on it lol

I had some extra steel that was used as a shipping support that comes in very handy when needing some stout 1/4 steel. I actually used it to build my workbench in the garage.

anyway with only 5 pieces of this steel left I had to make it work. I started cutting and welding the drivers side together. I also had to bend it to ensure I had a good ramp for the tires to go up and down. its tough bending this crap it would not fit in my metal break due to the bends that it already had in it. so I made due.

as you can see it doesn't cover the entire original fender since the tires should not stick out that much. I should only need about 3-4 in on each side. Each piece of steel was 30 in long and about 6.5 in wide with a nice J on the inside for support. an uncut piece is visible in this picture.

After getting the fenders welded and in place I decided that it would help to have some support in the center to keep it from bowing. I used some extra 1x1 angle iron I had laying around for this.

I picked up a few nice pieces of 5 in flat stock for a great price so I was able to make some support runners

I ran out of time today . I got the second one ready for welding and should be able to get that done by Monday.

 

[Big Bird Rubicon]

Finally got some time to work on "Infidel"

Spent this morning cutting and welding together to steel for my back half kit.

I lifted the body off the frame about 4 inches or so and put the pre-welded Artec Back half kit in place. it was a tight fit but with a little motivation from a 5lbs sledge it went into place. I used the hammer to motivate it up and down to get the angle correct. then I used the new mig welder to get the lower end welded into place.

Next I took the measurements and cut my 2"x3" tubing and welded it up outside the Jeep and then I put it into place. It went in nicely with only a little motivation. I then welded the upper end in place. (if you zoom into the pics I know some of my welds suck but I am getting better.)

After getting the back half kit installed I decided to start doing a hardcore cleaning of the garage area around the Jeep. Still have some small cleaning of the workbench but its getting there. I am getting a 2" body lift to add some space

Since I have tomorrow off I will be mocking up some control arms using some 1" square stock that I have just sitting around. I am going to use some PVC tubing to get the size set up so that I can have a good idea what the interference will look like.

I am also ordering the front Fenders and Rear Comp Corners from Poison Spyder along with the last mounts that I need for the control arms. with the new fenders coming in I had to remove the old ones.

My shop just finished setting up a brand new Torchmate 4400 and I have talked to the operator about getting my DIY Beadlocks cut out. He is going to cut those and some other mount pieces for me from a sheet of 1/4" mild steel. looking to get those done in a week or two.

Stay tuned for more pics.

 

[DriverJC]

Great work. Keep it coming.

 

[boardbysled]

Whats your impression on the Kanati's? I was eyeballing them as cheap as they are.

 

[Big Bird Rubicon]

They seem like a well built tire. I have not had them on the road. I got really lucky and paid 20.00 into a Raffle and won 5 of them. I would rather have a set of 42's but you can not beat the price I got these for. lol :jeep: