Is it weird that i would like to hug your xj

 

I get that sometimes........it's the guys who dont clean up after themselves which bother me............it's still a work in progress....

 

Mark, it doesn't matter how many times I see it, I love you rig! The custom front with the round lights and tear drop turn signals, the open roof, the cage, the knife as a t-case handle - it all just makes it awesome! The best part, is that you did it all yourself. Speaks volumes for the stuff you build and sell.

 

I want to see more pics of your XJ, you need to put a build link in your signature..Your Jeep is Totally freaking cool..

 

400 is not bad at all. I was just wondering what the difference between welding steel crossmembers across the car from one pillar to another would differentiate from having a cage. Isn't a rollcage, in essence, the same thing instead (a basic one) would get welded to the floor? I ask because I don't go wheelin, mostly muddin. I just wanted to do this because I wanted a cherokee that made me feel like I was in a wrangler :-)

 

the biggest problem is the xj's structural strength comes from the entire body much like a bubble...

because there is no "frame" under the body there is no support if the bubble were to "pop"...

so before we can pop the bubble we have to tie in strength in 3 (horizontal, vertical, and torsional)demensions not just 1...(horizontal)

with only a welded cross member you loose stregnth(increase flex) which would stress the under carrige to a point of failure, reducing the protection from crashes and off road extremes...

even while mudding...there is an extreme amount of torque/twist traveling throug the body of the jeep....

hope that help explains it better for ya

 

Thats a good answer right there captdarious.....I agree 100%.

Mine is caged to the floor, tied to the inner rockers, tied down the old console area, tied to the outter roof line, tied to the C & D pillars........I felt it be best to tie it thru-out the unibody structure as much as possible, I also reinforced the entire rear seating area side to side.........there was only 'maybe' one or 2 other XJ's with the rag top when I cut the roof 5 years ago, side effects were 'unknown'......I think I've covered the bases, esp. since I run unibody stiffeners as well.

Your wanting the open air feel is exactly why I did it as well, I was building a CJ when all of a sudden......my wife was expecting... After a short talk, we scrapped/sold the CJ and continued to develope the XJ...

 

Thankyou very much Matt, as far as a build write up goes.....I'll do my best as time permits, soon....(title will be "The Rolling Felony")

 

Do you (or anybody) know whos jeep this is? I'd like to know how he ran his exhaust.

 

Wow thanks for the elaboration from everyone on this topic. I guess a ragtop is a little bit farther out of my reach than I guestimated lol :-) meh I guess I'll have to be happy with lifted and doorless for now. Now on to my next hair-brained idea > : - D

 

pf

 

Great thread. New here and looking around for ideas once I get my xj. Detour, that is one awesome looking jeep. Going to really have to look into your build when I get started.

 

This ragtop kit comes with a fake Jeep attached to the bottom.

 

haha thats great...so with the ragtop you cant keep the supports that are already there cause im guessing they are actually part of the roof? ive never looked under my headliner, thats about the only place i havent looked at yet on my jeep lol

 

Two ways you could do this. My Corvette had a drain that connected to the door weather stripping. The weatherstrip would then drain it down to the bottom of the door frame to the outside. It was a nice idea until you ripped or cracked the weatherstrip.

The other is to use a flexible but firm rubber hose and run it down to and thru the tube in the doors where the door electrical wires go. Then it would drain inside the door and out the door drains like regualr rain.