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John D Super Slo-Mo Rebuild

John D

John D

NAXJA Member # 788
Location
Rockford, Mi
Some of this is a log of the last 2 years of work. I think I finally have enough to bring it up to date. LOL
Everything was going along just fine, running old style 35” MTRs, 44/9 axles and slightly tweaked 5.3L. Then I picked these up on a deal – 38” TSLSX’s



I needed to make some room so I got a set of these from T&T. They are nice pieces, but you could make them pretty easy.




Cut out the wheel opening using the typical method. Cut the inner, moved it back, laid in a patch and used 3/16” rod along the outer edge. I used JCR quarter guards with built in light boxes to cover it up and some protection. Also modified my rear bumper to fit better.





Made a front bumper that had better clearance and approach. I also pushed the steering box forward 2” for better clearance since I already pushed the axle forward. I also slipped an ATV winch in behind the recovery winch for a suckdown.



 
When I did the front frame plating I wanted to wrap it around the underside to help tie it together better so I built these.





The heavy ass Swampers weren’t stopping too well so I did the Dodge 2500/3500 MC upgrade. This is one of those things I wish I had done years ago. Cost me about 60 bucks and only about two hours including pictures.



 
Devil Inc said:
That's a nice looking rig you've got, looks like it gets the job done.
Click to expand...

Thanks

muddypunk said:
Sweet so did you use the stock booster? I would like more in the stopping department.
Click to expand...

Yes, stock booster - it's a '98. The only thing I did was use a 1/4" bolt that I rounded the head off and screwed in the proper depth. Then re-formed the stock hard lines to fit. For the money and time I have into it compared to the awesome results, it is at the top of the list of things I have done.
 
Since I don’t run airbags anymore I decided to take advantage of the space and make a front passenger grab handle. The wife is happy again.



Finally added a real shifter. The stock shifter worked fine for the rocks and trails but sucked balls on the street and the dunes.

Before


After


I had to cut out the “C” pillar part of my cage when I did my rear wheel openings since it was mounted the inner and I also planned to put the gas tank in the cargo area. This is how it was set-up before.



Cut out the floor above the gas tank and beefed it up a little. LOL







Nice an flat underneath.

 
I wanted to tie everything together and also wrap the frame like I did in the front. After lots of thought (and a hell of a lot of work) I came up with this.

Cut out and drilled a ton of holes (shoulda just bought them from Brian) to save time and effort.



And stuck the pieces together.







Made a nice little frame for the gas tank.

 
Damn John, that's some nice work!
 
Finished off the tank enclosure.





Frame tie-ins for the “C” pillar and bent up my first real pieces of tube using the sweet bender I won in the NAXJA renewal giveaway.

There’s lots to do with the cage still so don’t judge too harshly yet, ha!

I plan to run some 2.0 reservoir shocks into the cargo area and mount the spare on top of the gas tank.







 
That brings it up to date.

So here’s a question… I am debating between running a 14” or 16” shock. Obviously, I can make the mounts work for either, but do you think I can get the use out of the 16” shock while running leaf springs? The plan is to keep playing on the rocks and trails but I want to do more go-fast dune stuff too.

I did some jumping last summer and man is that fun! I was instantly hooked and will be adding some progressive bumps before I go to the dunes again.
 
John D said:
That brings it up to date.

So here’s a question… I am debating between running a 14” or 16” shock. Obviously, I can make the mounts work for either, but do you think I can get the use out of the 16” shock while running leaf springs? The plan is to keep playing on the rocks and trails but I want to do more go-fast dune stuff too.

I did some jumping last summer and man is that fun! I was instantly hooked and will be adding some progressive bumps before I go to the dunes again.
Click to expand...

Have you run full travel on it with just the main leaf... 16 seems like a lot for a Cherokee rear on leafs, but then again none of my jeeps see much airtime :D
 
John D said:
I have not done that, actually it sounds like a lot of work. Haha
Click to expand...


I know... I need to do it on the wife's rig but taking the packs apart to satisfy my need for exact measurements is a shitload of work :D

Instinct tells me 14s would work just fine. Surely you won't have too much up travel with 38's. Air bumps making contact just above ride height should keep it smooth and sexy
 
I think 14" will do the job too, I have 4-5" (closer to 4) of up available. The thing I keep thinking is someday I will have links and COs back there then I'm going to want the 16s and it would be nice to already have the correct mount.

I'm looking at the FOAs and the price is $15 more for 16 vs 14. Is there any drawback to having a shock that you can't use the full length on?
 
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