sup guys I'm Jake, this is my build.

I picked up this 1993 cherokee country for $400
Its got a straight body clean interior and COLD AC
4.0 automatic NP231
D30 high pinion in the front
Chrysler 8.25 in the rear
129k miles
how did I get it so cheap you ask?
well the motor knocked and smoked like crazy.
but it ran!
I have no pics of when i first got it but it looked like an old man's jeep
SUPER clean with itty bitty 215 size tires on it.

me and my jeep


for the first few months i worked on it i had no camera :/
first thing i did was bought a used motor with 130k miles off craigslist for $300
threw that in there.



At first i wasn't planning on building this jeep
so I traded my buddy my front high pinion for his low pinion.
(didn't matter to me)

but then... I started looking up build logs and started getting ideas.

so here my build log!

what im doing too this jeep.

FULL CUSTOM LIFT
Long arms FRONT and REAR
3 link in the front
triangulated 4 link in the rear with coils.
going to be about 4.5" of lift
and rolling on 35s
kind of a lcog build, but not really.

(this is my first off road vehicle build)

 

after I swapped in the motor and got it running,
I started tearing stuff up.

took off this thing


cut off the lower control arm mounts



there was some rust on the underside of the passenger floor
didn't think much of it but figured id take the carpet up to take a gander at the floor.

turns out it was rotten.
holes everywhere.
frame was solid though
so I cut out the floor
and will be replacing it soon

this is the only rust on the jeep.
this wasn't a northern jeep nor a coastal jeep
so I'm thinking the condensation from the AC has been leaking onto the carpet its hole life

 

Started buying stuff.

got a high pinion dana 30 off craigslist for $80


I think dana 30 high pinions are underrated. they don't get the credit they deserve.
they are strong axles
this axle is going to work great with my set up
once I truss it.

then ordered some goodies

4.56s for the front


2.5" forged rod ends. for the front 3 link.


4.5" springs from rusty's



22' of 2" X .250wall DOM tubing

 

picked these up off craigslist
35x12.50x15
bfg mud terrains
NEW!!! 0 miles on them

$600 well spent

 

ripped out the 8.25


picked up this 8.8 out of a 99 explorer
was complete disk-to-disk



cut off all the brackets



welded the housings

 

looks like a really good start. love the plans you have for it.
keep it up, welcome to the forum.

 

awesome build! What is the purpose in welding the axle housings?

 

a common problem for 8.8s are the axle tubes twisting in the housing under torque

 

All i can say is DAMN haha looking great! Like the plan you have for it and hope to see more pics on it!

 

this is how the jeep sits right now



ive got my cross member figured out
(didnt have a camera when i built it)


everything on it is 1/4" thick


underside
removable center so i can drop the trans
center is held together with 4, grade 8, 1/2" bolts. should be plenty strong


backside


this is the passenger side mount for the lower control arm and 3rd link (upper)
theres 3.5" of separation between the upper and lower.
the upper link is mounted directly on top of the lower.
with this setup, the caster of the axle will stay the same throughout its travel.


shot from inside the jeep
the upper link mount is going to come up through the floor a little bit
you'll see
this will be boxed in and braced


shot from the front axle looking at the passenger link mounts

definitely gonna have to figure something out for that exhaust

lower arms tacked together

 

tease pics

 

Dear god, I'll be following this thread close. Keep up the good work!!

 

cut the upper control arm mount off the d30

cut out new brackets


tacked them on


not sure if the angle is quite right
but its just for mock up


cut some tubing


tacked on rod ends









turning out good so far.
everything is just tacked together
a lot to do still
and i can already see i have some adjustments to make

more to come

 

polished my D30!

trussed




and gusseted





strengthened the track bar mount


put skids on the lower control mounts
(axle flipped over)


primer


paint

 

finished up the cross member




underside


cut these out


these are welded to the top of the cross member on the inside of the frame



welded everything up



diver side


passenger side


underside

a couple of bird **** welds, but ill fix those later.


this is what I'm going to do on the outside of the frame
red is 1/4" plate
blue is weld