Just another jeep build 89xj "the hupti"
 

Warning lots of pics:sweatdrop:


I got this jeep from a guy my dad knew, he gave it to me for FREE :D
heres what it looked like when i got it, it over heated but still ran but wouldnt pass smog so we did a motor swap (no pics of that).
the motor in it now i picked up off craigslist for 400 bucks a few miles away and put a few new things on it. I didnt do too much at first as it was just my dd

http://i823.photobucket.com/albums/z...huptistock.jpg


I hate how they look stock so i picked up a lift. got a rustys 3 inch lift off craigslist for 190 bucks


next came the lift and the tires, the tires and wheels came from a friend after that i drove it for about a year til i picked up a ford ranger

it looked like this about 2 months ago and i drove and wheeled it like this for the summer while i collected parts.

http://i823.photobucket.com/albums/z...p/DSC_1551.jpg

http://i823.photobucket.com/albums/z...p/DSC_1266.jpg

those tires are great by the way and quiet. theyre hercules ats,

http://i823.photobucket.com/albums/z...p/SAM_1568.jpg

As the heat began to die down ( well i thought it was)
i decided to throw it up on jacks to begin the long arm kit on a 5.5 inch lift and 35s and build a bumper which i also make to sell to other xj people


first i made the bumper on mine cuz it was the easiest thing to do first.
http://i823.photobucket.com/albums/z...p/DSC_2082.jpg

i ran the stock rear one until i destroyed it pulling my buddy out of the creek by my house then decided to make one but havnt done it yet

http://i823.photobucket.com/albums/z.../deepcreek.jpg

I drove across that prior to my friends attempt by the way:D but this is how my bumper got destroyed


as for the long arm kit, i began my getting quite a bit of material. i got a stick of 2 inch .250 wall dom for my lcas, my dad got some 1 7/8 inch .188 wall tube from his work for the ucas, i got about 10 base plates some 3/16 and 1/4 inch to use for misc things. next i bought 7/8 heims from ruffstuffspecialties.com along with weld in inserts, misalignment spacers, ect. i took the bushings off of my old rough country adjustable arms and used the johnny joints out of themhttp://i823.photobucket.com/albums/z...p/DSC_1824.jpg


next came the cross member which is made out of 2x4 .188 wall tube


http://i823.photobucket.com/albums/z...p/DSC_2112.jpg


next i cut out some pieces of plate to help with mounting and supporting the cross member. im copying the clayton one mostly but adding a little to mine that they dont have.

http://i823.photobucket.com/albums/z...p/DSC_2108.jpg
heres a pic of it after bracing the lca mounts with some c channnel cut to fit and putting the plates one the side

http://i823.photobucket.com/albums/z...p/DSC_2133.jpg

then i got the axle strait under the jeep and measured out how long the arms need to be then cut the lcas and put those together

http://i823.photobucket.com/albums/z...p/DSC_2113.jpg


http://i823.photobucket.com/albums/z...p/DSC_2117.jpg


http://i823.photobucket.com/albums/z...p/DSC_2114.jpg


i also forgot to mention i HATE death wobble... so this will aid in fighting it incase my jeep decides to act uphttp://i823.photobucket.com/albums/z...p/DSC_2120.jpg


Thats where im at as of today. i got the holes drilled in the frame rails but its windy as heck so ill wait for it to die down to do any more work on it.
my dad is also giving me his old 35s to put on it which have about 60% tread left on them:)

Very nice. Did you build the trac bar as well?

yeah i made it too. got the parts at the steel yard and ruffstuff specialties

Very nice, love to see the home brew fabrication parts.

thanks, i dont like buying my parts unless i absolutely have to, my trac bar is far better than anyone i have ever bought too and it was alot cheaper :)


the lights on top are sold so soon there will be 4 hella hids

looks good man, hope you dont mind if i coppy you on your lift a little. i also prefer to fabricate my own parts when ever i can. just no so much income currently and welder out of gas :icon_sad:. but ill get the lift under way sooner or later then talk to you about one of those beefy track bars, they look sweet and will save me some time. thanks and keep up the good work. im gonna start up a build thread as well in a few days just need to get the next paycheck or two lol

can you show more pics of how the arms are made? i want to know how to make them

awesome job I love how you made all those parts, they look great!
congrats!

thanks guys,
as for how the arms are made ill take pics when i do the uppers tomorrow morning and get pics of it lifted. i got some springs from a guy for a supposed 4.5 inch lift but they look like they are going to lift my jeep as high as my dads xj which is at 6.5 inches, owell thatll work too as im going to 35s,
a guy near me has 5 goodyear mtrs with 70% tread for 300 bucks:D
anyone want to buy my old 31 inch all terrains? they have about 90% tread left thats worn evenly.

how long was that piece of tubbing you used for the stinger when it was stright?

im not exactly sure, i build roof racks and my friend has been handling the bumpers for me in his spare time, he dealt with the cutting/bending but i do know it was just shy of 5ft

go ahead and copy away:) its not like im trying to make money on the la lift that part is just for fun. do not copy my cross member, if you do put the brackets out towards the edge more, i put them about an inch in too far and i didnt realize that my drive shaft will hit the bracket :(
ill end up cutting them off and putting new ones on that sit further out on the cross member

take this http://i823.photobucket.com/albums/z...8/DSC_1827.jpg



put it in this

http://i823.photobucket.com/albums/z...8/DSC_2181.jpg




and weld it together GOOD as this will be holding your axle and it makes this...


http://i823.photobucket.com/albums/z...p/DSC_2117.jpg






I got the whole kit together, i need to lengthen my ucas and adjust some things on the cross member then itll be finished and ill have pics. its a good feeling when you let the axle off the jack and it sits on the ground without binding while the jeeps up high enough to put 35s on. of course shocks and springs will limit the travel but i have a good feeling about the flex factor now

Please post pics of the long arms installed. When you get a chance, thanks.

http://i823.photobucket.com/albums/z...8/DSC_1827.jpg

Where did you get this from??

theyre out of my rc adjustable control arms but its just a standard johnny joint with a weld in bung from ruff stuff and the bracket is just a piece of 3/16 flat steel that i bent in my press.

hey just wondering, where do you get yout tubing from? every where ive looked so far is hard to deal with and kinda overly expensive (i dont expect 3/16 or 1/4 dom to be cheap) . i havent bought anything yet but so far im at about 300- 350$ for heims and stuff. about how much you got into your la so far? any new pics?. sorry to take up your time im sure your busy with all the bumpers and racks and stuff. thanks in advance for the help tho :notworthy:

no worries the computer lives in the garage with me lol.
i get all my steel from pattons steel and other parts from ruffstuffspecialties.com that seems to be the way to go for the quality and price are great

haha i like the way you think. im not good at the computer, i prefer to sit behind the welder or hit stuff with a hammer. i just wanted to get someone more knowlegeable then i to point me in the right direction. thanks again

Heres a few pics of the jeep from the other day. i still have alot to clean up but this is the first time it had the long arms under it, and i am replacing the brake lines so it doesnt matter if they are hanging...

http://i823.photobucket.com/albums/z...8/DSC_2224.jpg




http://i823.photobucket.com/albums/z...8/DSC_2226.jpg





Heres how the cross member sits as of now, i have to move the mounts as i messed them up because they hit the front drive shaft, when i do that i might make the center piece removable so i can weld the side pieces to the frame rails so its guaranteed not to move between the welds and 6 bolts per side

http://i823.photobucket.com/albums/z...8/DSC_2215.jpg






Then i found this, just gotta weld it up, ill plate the frame rails soon which should help a bit

http://i823.photobucket.com/albums/z...8/DSC_2217.jpg

I havnt posted here for a bit so heres the new version of the stinger bumper

http://i823.photobucket.com/albums/z...8/DSC_2242.jpg


got the long arm kit fixed i just have to dial it in put the 35s on it and ill snap some pics of that and the trac bar and bracket.

I finally got the front together and the rear shackles on. the 1.5 inch revolver shackles gave me about 1 inch of lift so ill be about .5 inches lower in the rear compared to the front. im going to add another leaf from my stock leafs to help raise the rear so it sits even.

tomorrow its getting a little fab work on the bumpers and were finishing the rear locker.

ill post pics in a bit.

http://i823.photobucket.com/albums/z...8/DSC_2253.jpg




heres one of the trac bar bracket brace, its simple but more than enough

http://i823.photobucket.com/albums/z...8/DSC_2262.jpg


and one of the rear detroit cuz i felt like taking pictures today lol


http://i823.photobucket.com/albums/z...8/DSC_2257.jpg

no front tow points on the bumper?

yeah there are now, that was an unfinished pic of a customers bumper


http://i823.photobucket.com/albums/z...8/photo2-1.jpg

Im sure im not the only one who wants to see more..

Are these Hummer tire take offs? What size? I know you said 35s but they don't make them in a 35, thought they were 36" bias plys or 37" radials? What front springs do you have in there?

http://i823.photobucket.com/albums/z...8/DSC_2253.jpg

well yesterday my dad and i put the detroit in with the gears (456s) and what a pita that was to shim it and set the back lash, now id prolly laugh when someone says why does it cost so much to have a rear end regeared.

not much for pics on that one rightnow. i do need another cb radio though as mine got water in it and stopped working so let me know if you have anything.

next on the to do list today is go get some 6 inch hella lights and convert them to hids for the bumper, and if i can afford it ill go to the jy and pull some disc brakes off of a 6 cylinder zj so i can polish the turd and make this dana 35 stop.
my d35 is a non c clip so changing shafts is a breeze and i got some spares so if/when they snap i can swap em out in a few minutes. gonna have to do that until i get some chromoly shafts or a d44

the springs are rubicon express 4.5 inch springs, well theyre supposed to be i think theyre the 5.5 inch springs, i traded a roof rack for those and some cash:thumbup1:

the tires are goodyear mts they are 35-12.50-15s got them from a guy on craigslist

got it on the wheels:cool2:.

now to do the little boring crap like bleed the brakes ect:thumbdown:





http://i823.photobucket.com/albums/z...8/DSC_2265.jpg

today i had to notch out the corners of my bumpers because my shackles would sit on them if i didnt, im running those revolver shackles. yeah yeah give me ur crap theyre unstable blah blah, im gonna try them and if i dont like em ill sell them but i dont think they would be any worse than a 4 linked rear end which is what the jeep will get next when i get some money.

anyways i took some angle iron and put in there along with a few pieces of scraps to fill in the corners.


http://i823.photobucket.com/albums/z...8/DSC_2268.jpg






http://i823.photobucket.com/albums/z...8/DSC_2269.jpg





http://i823.photobucket.com/albums/z...8/DSC_2273.jpg




then this little thing decided to drop out of the ceiling and i almost ran into her while walking into the garage she was about shoulder high:eek:







http://i823.photobucket.com/albums/z...8/DSC_2275.jpg



I also picked these up today, 8 inch hellas, they are getting converted to hids tomorrow and mounted on my bumper :)
my buddy has them and they are just as bright as a set of 800 dollar lightforce lights. except you cant shoot these with a 12 gauge then install them and use them like the light force ones lol


http://i823.photobucket.com/albums/z...8/DSC_2282.jpg

Awesome build so far! What's your plans for paint in the future?

the bumpers, and all the new stuff will get painted black, as for the body well its going to stay that way because as rocks get in the way its gonna get dented and gouged. this isnt a dd just a wheeling rig. were going to a decent little secret trail a few miles from my house tomorrow so hopefully i can get some pics

Yeah I figured paint wasn't important, I am searching for an xj now and if needs it I think I'll get an Earl shibe(sp?) 200$ spray, or I'll shoot it. Like you said not gonna be a dd and the rocks/trees will be taring it up!

What type of welder do you use? I did some welding in my persision machining class back in highschool and I might pic it back up so when the time comes for custom bumpers I can have at it!

iv got a miller 185 mig welder with .035 wire and argon/co2 gas, it welds anything ive had to weld so far and to have a mig is irreplaceable because i can fill the gaps in something that i cut too short. i had a 2 inch gap in my bumper that i was able to fill then grind down then re do the weld so it looks like a nice looking weld

Nice, never used a mig or tig. We were taught with acetalyin and oxygen and we heldthe welding rod, sixths circular motion and what not. I was told that's not as strong as a weld from mig/tig. Do you know if thats true?

im not sure if it is or not, we have a stick welder too but we dont use it its actually for sale. the welds iv made with it hold and thats all that matters to me. iv welded a box scraper for a tractor with one so if you want to talk about stress on welds...

Haha I figured I was informed wrong but I don't have experience to argued it. 8) I guess I can look it up, I think I know where two large tanks are for dirt cheap! (if not free) but sorry for clogging up your build thread man!! Looking good tho!

well today i actually got to take it out for the first time:thumbup1:
we just went down to the spill-way by my house that is a river is from water running out of silver wood lake and lake arrowhead. the river bottom was dry in the wide sections so heading to and from a swimming hole we were hanging out at made a good chance to test out how it handles in high speed sections, the front did great and the rear, well leafs that short can only do so much, its time for coils. as for the flex, well it does great and with the front and rear detroits it does awesome i cant complain at all and the rear doesnt lock up as much as people say they do.

the only bad thing that happened today was that my dad got his yota stuck, our friend got his bronco stuck after breaking 2 u-joints in the front of his d44 at the same time so i ended up pulling both of them out.

i also have a torque converter seal that is bad so i was puking atf all day long but its a toy and if one thing is fixed something else is going to break lol

just cell pics, i dont need water in the camera.


http://i823.photobucket.com/albums/z...chmentaspx.jpg




http://i823.photobucket.com/albums/z...ik228/jeep.jpg

So yesterday i met up with cheapcherokee and picked up a ford 8.8 rear end from him since my jy hasnt had one for the past 6 months.
then today i go to the jy and i counted 11 of the effin things in there and i noticed a decline in cherokees:furious:

owell at least i helped cheapcherokee make a few bucks and got an axle at the same time :)


the transmission bell housing bolts came loose not long ago and i drove it not knowing they were loose causing the transmission pump to wear out:thumbdown:
itll be fixed monday then planning will continue for the rear 4 link new axle and roll cage to go in it :thumbup1:


i also got my hid lights set up today. ill post pics of that soon

I got it out to calico this weekend and ran it with only minor problems,
the trac bar came loose :rolleyes:

we ran odessa canyon with the wrecked4x4 guys, cool group of guys that are local to so cal.

within 10 mins into the run a guy broke a dana 35 axle shaft and didnt help my confidence as i was running 35 inch tires on a d35 for now but i had no problems with it.
revolver shackles arent as bad as people say too, i havnt had them unload yet


http://i823.photobucket.com/albums/z...8/DSC_2671.jpg







http://i823.photobucket.com/albums/z...8/DSC_2667.jpg