Project Still stupid, just sober!
 

Hey guys so I decided I am going to start a build thread to keep track of the progress on my rig. I still am not sure exactly what my final plans are but I will list the things I am sure I want.

Little bit about me. My name is Joe and I am from Santa Fe NM. I went to school at Eastern New Mexico University for Aviation Airframe and Power Plant. After that I attended Universal Technical Institute in Phoenix for Automotive Science. But life pointed me in another direction and I work in Emergency Response and Prepardness.

Anyway I have built several cars including a 700HP BMW from scratch. Point being I know My way around a engine bay. But this will be my First trail dedicated offroad rig. I am very excited to try out some ideas and learn from all you guys. So PLEASE if you see something in this thread that you know can be done better let me know. Although a lot of this will be a test bed for some crazy ideas I have had for a while.
So here are some general goals!
Chop Chop! going to chop the rear cargo area Cheromanche style
Lcog-keep it as low as possible to fit 33's there will be some hearty fender chopping
Frame - Going to put the welder to use and add lots of frame supports throught
Cage - Have not decided yet if I want to do a exo cage or internal with some sliders and corner protection
This will be a trail only rig so highway ride is not important at all
I'm not made of money so will keep it DIY wherever possible. But on the other hand this isnt a super budget build.
Interior - I dont see much more than what I need on the trails inside. All that wonderfull 80's shag has got to go!
Axles - Not sure on them yet. Like In said this is my first offroad build so research is needed. but Im sure there is a big azz axle in sight!
Other than that I'm a open book any mods that will help let me know. I really want to have this ready for the Easter Moab trip next year.
The terrain in my area is mostly sandy and lots of hills,mud, some rock here and there. So a all around kind of rig is needed.
One thing for sure is get rif of the vacuum axle disconnect, thinking of the axle swap and block off plate.

Thanks for reading here are some pics of the vehicle as I got it.
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7162/6...10f9cece_z.jpg
Untitled by joe30bmw, on Flickr
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7017/6...25697882_z.jpg
Untitled by joe30bmw, on Flickr

So how far u gonna take it

Ok so yesterday me and my buddy who has a CJ7 started working on our trucks. we took his out wheeling behind my house and looked at all the positives and negatives. to figure out what it needed. We were getting tire rub on the fenders bad when flexing so we decided we needed to lift it a little. so shackles from Autozone gave us the 2 inches he needed now the flex is insane. here is a little test pick.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jcrofts/6529091345/http://www.flickr.com/photos/jcrofts/6529091345/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/jcrofts/, on Flickr

Doing a list now of my goals. will post up in a sec

So started pulling the rear axles, springs, shocks and sways.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jcrofts/6529089497/http://www.flickr.com/photos/jcrofts/6529089497/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/jcrofts/, on Flickr
thought it looked kinda cool jacked up this will prolly be the height I would like to keep it at or lower. LCOG!
rear is perfect at that height!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jcrofts/6529085687/http://www.flickr.com/photos/jcrofts/6529085687/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/jcrofts/, on Flickr

list of goals added :)

Cool man I'm basically on the same page as you but I'm keepin stock axles till they break check out my build thread

Looks like you've got some good ideas. I don't know yout keeping it low though :thumbup:

Yeah I dont think thats gonna happen! but hey I can dream right lol. I was looking at materials for a 4 link on Balistic Fab's site and wow just the DOM for the control arms alone is gonna set me back a few hundred lol.

Sounds like this is going to be a sweet build, btw looks like you have the dana 44 in the rear which is a rare axle for the xj, nice find!

you sir are the man! thanks for the info!

You think it's too low or too high

Haha no problem man.

I am personally a fan of keeping that cog as low as possible.

Right on who needs fenders when you can have ground clearance