[withinfocus]

Hello everyone. I've been a lurker for a while but thought you guys might be interested in my build. First it started with a stock 2004 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon that some lady drove and I'm pretty sure never once engaged 4WD. I took it from there and put a 5.5" long arm kit on it with 35" tires along with a couple other small mods:

After a couple years of that I wanted to get into more serious stuff and felt that I'd blow up my 44s if I went too much further so I decided to tear down and start a real build. The specs:

-Unimog 404 axles
-full interior cage with rear seat, all-new suspension seats
-front and rear bumper redesign with new mounts and front stinger
-rock sliders, high comp cut rear, and front tube fenders
-tubed rear chassis with wheelbase stretch
-double triangulated 4-link rear
-triangulated 4-link front
-14" ORI ST struts
-16.5" H1 double-beadlock rims with 39.5" Boggers for now

I'll keep posting updates as it progresses.

 

[withinfocus]

I decided to start with the seats and cage first. Sent the Jeep up to Terra Traction here in Jacksonville, FL and got the cage built and seats put in:

 

[withinfocus]

Axles acquired:

Full hydro and a couple other things were already built up on the axles. The previous owner took them right from the original vacuum-sealed boxing and flipped the front to work on his Land Rover. He ended up not really using them and they only hit the trails once or twice. I'm going back driver and will be using a spare housing I got with the deal.

 

[withinfocus]

Right now parts are being ordered (struts too thanks to blacksheep10, Kelly, here on Pirate). I've got all the heims and everything else needed for the 4-link:

The Jeep is now axle-less and will start getting back-halved.

 

[pcampTJ]

Why didnt you bed line the interior before putting the cage and seats in? Other than that it looks good. I look forward to seeing more

 

[miguelitojeep]

looks like a pretty cool build. looking forward to the progress

 

[withinfocus]

Why didnt you bed line the interior before putting the cage and seats in?

I thought about it but there were better things to spend money on. I should still be able to paint one on without the seats there so I might do that in the future.

 

[guahan_rubicon]

great progress. looking foward to the axle swap.

 

[Gravy]

updates?

 

[nickjc13]

yes im also wondering about updates?

 

[withinfocus]

Sorry, nothing special to report yet. Some trimming is still going on and the back-half tube chassis is being laid out. Making decisions on how high to cut the corners to fit the rear strut mounts and allow tire clearance. I'll try to get some pics in a few days.

 

[xxxjeep jake]

terra traction looks like they build some killer shit. Are all there cages one off, or do they make kits?

 

[withinfocus]

terra traction looks like they build some killer shit. Are all there cages one off, or do they make kits?

Yeah, David does some really good work. Each cage is custom-built and if you check out his gallery:

http://www.terratraction.com/gallery/projects

they all have unique qualities about them. He usually keeps his shop work to one or two vehicles at a time so he's not really making anything like a kit.

 

[Weezer]

update?

 

[withinfocus]

Sorry, I'm sucking at getting new pics. The axles have all been cleaned up and are almost ready to get worked over for hydro steer and links. I'm buying some 2" tube in the next few days for the links and I'll try to get some photos then.

 

[B.A.R.K]

I like that the "dash bar" is below the dash. Nice touch.

 

[Xcrawler]

It's great to see more and more people Useing MOG AXLES. Sweet build. Keep up the good work.

 

[85cj7boy]

The cage looks great. Just wondering if maybe there should be a bar connecting the tops of the C pillars? Looking forward to the rest of the build. Mogs are sweet.

 

[withinfocus]

The cage looks great. Just wondering if maybe there should be a bar connecting the tops of the C pillars? Looking forward to the rest of the build. Mogs are sweet.

Thought about it but checked some things and the way the cage should compress or have any weakness wouldn't be in that area. Having a bar there increases the possibilities for a head injury for the rear riders too so I stayed without it.

 

[withinfocus]

Helped put together the front axle with its new housing while I was at the shop. All the fenders are off and it'll be saw time soon. Just discovered today that the engine will need to be shifted about 4" to the passenger side so now I'm in the market for a new fan setup. The struts should be coming my way in a little over a month.