I just tacked the fender to the 2x6. Yea I have fun with mine and try to bash on it other times. Looking forward to the wheeling updates soon

 

The cherokee did awesome all weekend. The trails were rough, very bumpy and made for a long slow day of wheeling but the sights were well worth it. I'm definitely going to invest in better shocks as my factory rears and mystery fronts made for a spongy ride. The last shot - my kiddo couldn't have been more content all weekend long on the trails, catching a few snooses while bouncing over the rocks.

 

We did venture out onto the snow for this years annual Reject Run at Rocks and Valleys Offroad Park. Snow was a deep and heavy Wet mess! Made for the soggy areas to be hidden traps! This isn't one of them unicorn jeeps that never gets stuck either.



For now the future plans include new rear shocks, potentially some kinda pass through floor setup as these factory shocks are ok but there just isn't enough up travel because of running high clearance axle mounts and the factory location on the body. I'll elaborate more once we're into some better weather and also passed this Covid situation.

 

Got out on some private land wheeling last weekend and found the limits of my d44 axle shaft...



New axle shaft on order had me wanting to work on other things so i dug a front sway bar out of the shed and refreshed it a bit!


Old vs still old but cleaned up

Blasted and then tapped for a grease zurk to keep them old bushing freaky fresh


Blasted the sway bar and threw some paint on them. Links are on the way, though i haven't bothered with sway bars for a number of years this jeep being a more suitable driver should handle a little nicer on them turns once finished.

 

With the axle shaft replaced and the Jeep blessing weekend cancelled, we still had the wheeling itch for that weekend so we strolled on over to Rocks and Valleys for a day trip.




This basic built XJ did really well and was a comfy ride. Steering on this rig is just terrific, but comes as no surprise comparing to my MJ and my buddies rigs with their towering tires and suspension over my 4" lift and 33" tires. So i guess what i'm saying is Man do i miss playing on/around the hard obstacles with my MJ BUT its really not soo bad with a simpler but still very capable jeep like this one.

Additionally it gives me more time to stick my brothers xj into bad spots to see how nervous i can get him. Talk about being stuck between a rock and a hard place.

 

Nice! Did you see a black 2 door on 40s? My buddy was there this past sunday

 

I'm loving the simplicity of this build, and that black and red paint scheme is just gorgeous.

Basic, good-looking, and works both on- and off-road; you're onto something here!

 

Fooling around in the driveway checking compressed and ext measurements for the new rear shock setup.







Getting this dark material to come off took some trial and error but in the end, the ol hatchet did the trick! The small hole drilled in the center of the marks is actually the factory rivet spot for those cargo d-rings. I went for a 4x4 square for now.





Ill be honest, i was a little reluctant to start cutting. Probably spent an hour or so measuring and double checking clearances, but after the fact - oh boy am i excited to get this one off the list. Its been a long time coming

 

So i didn't show the templates i made but here is my fat stack of shock tower pieces. Drilling the upper shock mount holes (4-holes on the left side). The top stack of four are reinforcement plates taking my 1/8" towers to 1/4" total thickness. The bottom four stack are the main uprights that will mount from the frame. Setting the mounting holes up for some future adjustability with 1-inch separation between each of them. There are 3 holes to the right (1 of which is covered by the clamp) Those are centering holes for some "weight saving" structure (will be 2" holes) for more surface area to weld.



I realized after the fact that i don't have a 2" holes saw so i just stuck with drilling the four shock mount holes tonight and of course a little mockup.




Frame will be getting plated as well.



More to come this week, stay tuned!

 

A few more holes and some bolts and these mounts area looking awesome!



Not gonna lie, i wielded this bad boy around for a few minutes, That was until my wife came in to see the progress...






A few tack welds and these towers are in place. They still need to be enclosed and then a support bar run between them but i'm happy thus far with how they are looking.

 

I thought i had clearance for my rear seat, but i was wrong! With the rear seat sitting up right its about 1.5" shy of securing in the mounts... This just won't do!




A few drilled out welds and these mounts are on the move!




Successfully moved and secured, catastrophe averted.

 

Got the 2 side caps tacked onto the towers tonight and tacked the cross bar support into place.


This is the easy gusset that i had in mind


With those 2 gussets in place and i like the placement I'm stuck as i feel like i need more. Builders block at the moment while i brainstorm some type of tasteful addition for support.

 

So what looks like minimal progress actually involved an evening of nothing but welds.



All seamed up. Going to smooth out the corners of the towers and leave the brace plates as they are. Still need to seam the towers to the wheel wells * Sarcasm Yay *. I thought id be safe adapting the 1/8" to the factory sheet metal but dang, its working out to be a little more of a challenge than expected. Just need a little more adjusting of the welder and i'm sure they'll set in there just fine.



The free set of subwoofers still fit nicely as well... Maybe i'll build an even better fitting box that's not so haggard



Ive been back and forth on a few different setups for more tower support but after all my welding tonight and considering the additional plates that will be going on where the towers attach to the frame. I think this will be good enough. It has however led me down a path of potentially ditching the privacy board that was in place and instead sourcing a small cargo rack instead. We'll see what Marketplace has up for grabs otherwise it may just be time for a conduit cargo rack.

 

Well i finally finished all my welding for these towers, fully seamed into the wheel wells even. Threw some silicon over the welds for a little re-assurance of no leaks and then hit it with the paint. Also trimmed and fitted in the carpet but did not get pictures before i removed it for paint.



Still need to remove the old shocks and brackets

 

Carpet cleaned up and put back in along with all the interior trim.



Time to figure out a new storage option for all my stuff...


Just a preliminary setup and install. Truth be told this storage rack is already done, just waiting for paint to dry and install it for some finished product pictures.