I need to see this mythical 3rd row set up, which also leaves room for gear hahaha..
Unless all the extras are thrown on a roof rack.

I take it the 3rd row is for people under about 4 ft tall hahaha

 

I’m using a rear seat out of a 76 CJ. Here it is mocked up. I need to do the mounting but I have to drop the gas tank. And yes, it’s made for little people. There’s room on the side for a few things, but not much. I have my spare on the roof rack for now. But gear will go in the rack and spare on a rear mount carrier.

 

Thats pretty cool. I could get away with doing that for a few more years, but I only have 2 kids, so I suppose the cargo area can stay open for gear.

 

Thanks. Yeah, I only need 1 more seat technically, but I find it to be pretty sweet. Just need to finish it. Another “different” item I added was speaker pods for the dash for the times I have the doors off. They’re only 4” speakers but they’re right in front of you, so they sounds pretty good.

 

Sweet idea!

I've got some hangers and 550 cord sitting on my desk waiting to be braided up to make some hand holds like you have there near the speakers. Just need to find some time to have the wife show me how to braid it. putting some in the back seats too. Just need the nut-zerts and compression tool...

Have you taken your doors off very much? I read how its hard on the hinges or something and they can weaken faster or something.... I know it takes some grinding and cutting to get XJ doors to be removeable, but what do you know about the hinges going bad or whatever?
I've got manual windows and locks, so door removal for me would be a lot easier...

 

Honestly, I haven’t cut my hinges yet. But I do know that depending on how you cut them, can weaken the hinge. So I was going to try and do it where I have as much meat as possible. I might even run and grab an extra set from a junkyard or something to experiment with.

Thanks on the grab handles. I love them. I actually bought these from a guy that sells them on eBay. He’s a retired veteran that makes them in all different colors. $60 a pair. These are the tan/camo ones and I wanna order some for the rear now.

 

Hope everyone has a good Thanksgiving with your family and close friends.

 

Same to you. Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

 

I have my rear axle swapped in. Just need to put gear oil in adjust the new break shoes, torque my tire lugs and pull my front drive shaft. Then I can take it for a spin. Pretty stoked! If all is good I will start preparing the front axle for installation.

 

Nice, sounds like you’ve been busy. What axles did you get?

ive been busy too. I cut my fenders finally. And figured out that the set of factory tow hooks and brackets I bought off someone on Craigslist, were welded wrong. The mounting brackets were welded upside down. lol

Side note, has anyone been to Moab during the winter? I’ve never been during the winter and kinda wanna make a trip out if there’s a nice weekend of weather.

 

The axles are the same as I currently have Danna 30 and Chrysler 8.25 but they have lower gear ratio in them 4.10's, I wanted to see if they would work good for my rig. With the rear axle installed and the front drive shaft removed I have been testing it out on the streets and highways. I'm going to go with a few guys from Front Range 4x4 to the 4-mile recreation area to play on the trails. Then I have a couple weeks of vacation time that I'm planning on getting the front axle put in so I can be ready for New Years day trail run.

I really want to go to Moab in the winter time, I was a little disappointed I couldn't go the week of Thanksgiving. But I didn't trust my rig for it..

 

So a few of us are going to get together Wednesday December 30, at Rainbow falls trailhead parking lot around 9:30-10, it's a pretty fun area to run a few trails.
If any one is interested.

I got the control arm bushings for my front axle today.. Hoping to tackle swapping it in this weekend.

 

I have to work that day, damn.

 

I've only lived in CO for 3 years even though the rest of my immediate family has been here since 1997. When I used to come visit, we only went out once to off road, and I can't tell you where it was since it was 20 some odd years ago...
So, where are some of the really close places near Denver (I live in Littleton) that I can get to in about 45 minutes, not have to worry about breaking anything, and I can take the wife and kids. The Rainbow Falls area looks fairly easy according to a lot of the pics on google people have loaded... but what's some other places? I have looked at the map several times (google and my paper atlas) and I see a lot of dirt roads and stuff winding through the mountains, but I dont know if its just a flat dirt road, or if its considered and "OHV" trail, fire road, or what. And I dont want to go down some random road and get to a spot I cant turn around if needed.

 

I’ve been to a couple “easy” trail/road areas around here that I’ll have to find the names of in my off-road book. 1, is up just past Central City, that turns left from Columbine Campground. There’s a couple areas that are rocky, but it’s easy. Then there’s a few spots that are really rough. But you could probably spend a good part of the day up there with all the roads that split. I like to go up there just because it’s close. The other place is up by Idaho Springs, just south. I believe it’s Saxton Mountain Rd. But there’s a few different roads up there and you can get to the top and overlook Georgetown lake from the top of the mountain. All of these areas are open to the public unless posted. I’m always up for an easy day if you want someone to tag along. But I’ll look up the names of these actual Trails or coordinates and post them.