man nice build! and i gotta visit my cousin she lives in victorville and after seeing your stuff id like to go offroading a bit up there :P

 

Epic! Keep us updated!

 

its been windy so i cant weld or paint anything,

as of rightnow im waiting for the adapter to get here so i can bolt in the dana 300. i dont want to make changes to the front cross member until i get the new t-case in there and see what i can get away with as far as clearance. then the cutting will continue
ill post pics in a few

 

okay so i have the rear end bolted in with the links in, the springs have no weight on them but i will have to french the frame because it sits way too high in the rear end but at least i got the links in and the coils along with my home made coil buckets




i cant do much more with the cross members and links until i get the transfarcase bolted in, im waiting on the adapter as it is in the mail coming from canada.... should be here within a day or two as of now.

so i decided to start working on the front end.
did the usual cut off the old perches, pull the "slugs" out of the axle ends and install the hubs, i just bolted them in with no grease because they will come right back out to pull the carrier and put the gears and locker in.

ballistic fab coil buckets....



i got these hubs for $2 and yes they work



the axle with the new truss on it....



i cut a hole in the top of the truss for the factory vent tube. i also left a few spots unwelded for water to run out since it will see water almost daily in the summertime, like water up to the headlights kind of deep water....

 

next i started on the rear bumper,
i took some 3/4 plate that was given to me and cut out some pieces of steel for a base for the tubing....
heres the two pieces, one freshly cut with the torch, the other cleaned up, both are welded to 1/4 inch plate and gusseted now and just bolt to the factory bolt holes.





the bumper was just completed yesterday and mocked up, all the new parts will come back off to paint before i drive it.

ill post a completed pic next time i get the camera out.

should get some more work done on it today as there arent gale force winds today. hoping to get my overhead console put in and finish the cage and possibly finish painting it.

if anyone local has some xj fenders they want to give/sell me let me know i need a set for my jeep. im going to use fenders and rivet them inside the tubing to keep the factory body lines rather than use sheet metal on my fenders.

 

Looking sexy!!! sweet build man!

 

This is awesome!! I must say I wish I had that kinda scrap metal pile...someday. Thank jeepers you are single now and can get **** done on this!

 

dude this is a pretty insane build, im doing something similar with my 2 door but i love your axle setup and 4 link in the back

so what axles are you going to run with what gear ratio?

right now i have a dana 30 up front and dana 44 in the back but not sure if that will hold up with rocks

 

you shoulda seen the pile i just took to the scrap yard

i have a wagoneer 44 in the front with a ford 8.8 in the rear with 513 gears.
the ford will have a detroit locker and the front 44 is yet to be determined by funds, either a lock right or welded.

the second phase started because of a broken front ring gear that snowballed into this....

a dana 30 and 44 are great axles and i would keep them if your not planning on running anything like the hammers. that was my problem, the 35s and small axles are fine for everything i run until we went to king of the hammers and i ran a few trails after the race, then 35s feel tiny again, so now bigger tires, axles bigger everything for harder trails

more updates here in a few...

 

dang thanks dude, quick question which county are you in? im in the los angeles/ san fernando valley and some of my friends went to the king of hammers event and they said it was awesome

but i plan on doing a 6.5 long arm with 35's and nothing more then that, think they will handle it?

 

you live by Johnson OHV area?

 

yeah you can run 35s on your axles no problem especially if you have an auto transmission.
i tend to drive real smooth so i was able to drive around on a dana 35 rear end and 35s for a while, driving style is most of it though

yeah im about 40 mins from johnson valley. koh is cool this last year kinda sucked compared to all the other years because of all the rules and measures but that comes with the larger crowd that they are getting now.

going to back door at night is better than the race itself imo.

 

im running a 5 speed manual 2 door

but i havent been to king of hammers yet but i want to go

 

dude your in Hesperia? I'm in vitorville, right behind the mall to be exact lol..

Do you do fab work on the side? Like build bumpers, weld unibody bracing....ect?

 

so today i worked a bit on the cage and painted the outside of the cage along with the bumpers. i also drilled the holes for the d ring mounts on the front. not very exciting but still a pita since i was so smart as to not do it in the drill press when i had the chance lol

i did add a little tube to the inside of the cage along with a little more plate and supports.

the goal besides being street legal is to be able to have the back seat function so i can throw an air mattress back there and camp in the back even if the hatch is open it still beats a tent imo.


i was stoked on this tube as i used no measuring but eyeballed it and the bend was perfect, i cut and notched it and this is what i ended up with....



i am going to add a y shape to the inside b pillar to support it from folding if/when it rolls on its lid


heres what i added below the tubing to help support it



and a quick one of the painted cage, the same just black



I was really excited about how the rear bumper turned out but it was too dark to get a good pic so you get to wait til tomorrow to see