4.3L XJ

I got the other front spring on today and added grease fittings to the pivot bracket. The front stands on its own without stands now. It sits pretty high without an engine in it.

halmotors

Time to drop a 6BT in there.

ckysodkorn_xj

i've driven one =) my highschool jrotc has a motor pool and i've worked and driven one and other ones in everything from parades, offroad(the colonel was curious and too fat to drive..and i was the only one thier that drove an off road vehicle lol) to just putting around campus.

4.3L XJ

I don't think so. A 6BT weighs more than the whole vehicle. Going to stick with the aluminum stuff.

4.3L XJ

Where they really shine is in the rough stuff. They leave everything else behind.

dougy_fresh

what does one of these in similar condition to yours go for? i tried ebay a while back and had no luck

ckysodkorn_xj

i have no complaints lol. it sucks he's retiring this year and he owns them so... idk whats going to happen

4.3L XJ

Hum Wee got its rear springs today. It is looking lots better



Thought I would have a little fun too. I used to run 32s on it, but they were just a bit too tall. I will use my 31s off the XJ on it when I go to 38s on it this winter.

firstime00XJ

There is only one word to describe this build: C-O-O-L!

Gillette1987

AWESOME! Cant wait to see how it looks when all finished up!

4.3L XJ

Thanks guys. This has been fun so far. I will start making diffs soon

96_xj

This is an awesome project! I cant wait to read all of the updates!

Subscribed!

Mike1998XJ

Looks great Steve!
I'd like to hear a little more about the suspension... it sounds interesting. Could a Cherokee be rigged with a suspension like that?

Mike

4.3L XJ

That is an interesting question. First, as an engineer you will appreciate how it works. Think force moments. When you push up on an XJ wheel there is only one force besides gravity and that is up, so the vehicle accelerates upward. With the Mighty Mite there are two forces besides gravity, both pushing down from the pivot point. As the wheel is pushed up, the spring pushes down but also the frame is pushed down with equal force so they cancel each other. Hence a ride without any bounce and the vehicle only assumes a new height. So it makes little difference whether you enter a driveway or drive over the curb, the result is nearly the same.

As for putting one in an XJ. I thought about it and may do it some day. I have parts and pieces plus an extra frame to do it in a Samurai. I was planning on marketing the next phase of suspensions to the world. But you do need a good frame to handle the forces involved. The biggest thing however is that the ball game changes with a solid axle. You now have to build it with lots of ball joints. I found some I liked from Aurora and told them how many I wanted. No problem. The ones I wanted had never been made, even though they had pics in the catalogue and I would have to order a half million of each. So, I stopped that project. So the bottom line is that it is possible and would work well, but a lot of fabbing and with luck, the right ball joints.

Mike1998XJ

Is the rear suspension considered a 1/4 eliptical design?
Mike