The boatside is all roughed in on the passenger side now. The inside and outside are plated with 18Ga, and the outside will eventually get a layer of 1/2" (or more...) UHMW that will (hopefully) provide some real protection.
The steering was creating some clearance issues, and I was faced with limiting uptravel about 2", but since I am stock height, that only leaves a couple inches, and that just isn’t acceptable. I was going to just lift it a bit to make up for the difference, but I decided instead to just go ahead and notch the frame on the passenger side to allow room for the drag link. I think I might have to adjust the bumpstop just a hair to make sure the drag link stays out of the oil pan on compression.
The tie rod is going to have to go under the steering arm on the driver side to avoid the track bar and mount. I tried everything I could to avoid this, but there is just no way I can put it on top without a serious decrease in uptravel. Again, I could have lifted and or bumpstopped, but this should be okay, and I can always raise it later if I really want to. In fact, my double shear mount is going to be setup to handle both positions, so if I eventually lift it, I won't have to deal with that.
The track bar is raised four or so inches and shortened just a bit, but I did my best to keep it as long as possible. It is still shorter than the drag link, but it is close. At ride height, the angles look pretty good, so I hope I won’t have any problems. The frame mount is a stock mount modified to take a stock bushing in double shear. It is kept as high as possible, and as tight to the axle as I could to avoid interfering with the tie rod. The axle mount is a piece of 2x4x0.188, which seems to be the perfect inside width for a stock bushing. I am using a rod end however, because it was the easiest way to have adjustability. A lot of folks complain about longevity on the rod ends, but I only put a couple thousand miles on my jeep as it is, so even if I need to replace it every 5k that would be a couple years... And it is easy enough to carry a spare...
As I mentioned in another thread on the crossmember, I rotated the transfer case up by re-drilling the transmission. This worked great, and allowed me to run a basically flat belly. I did have to hack the floor to get the case to fit up there, and I also had to beat the floor back pretty good to make room for the driveshaft. The shifter looks like it is going to work just fine however. Given how the seat fits fine with the raised t-case hump, and the big dent in the floor doesnt really interfere with anything, I kinda wonder why Jeep didn't do this stock. A couple inches of clearance for basically free...
The gas tank is in for the most part, and I managed to reuse the stock straps to mount it. I just put some pieces of pipe longitudinally under the ribs, and then moved the straps up and over the tank. I used a new rear crossmember for a rear attachment point, and some tabs up front for the other end. The result should be as strong as stock, or better since the straps are not having to hold the weight of the tank (unless I roll...). On the plus side, I dont have to deal with a gas tank skid, but I did lose any chance of having rear seats. Oh well, my cage design didn't really work for rear seats anyway...
A lot more to do. I have to finish the rear fenders, do the entire driver side sheet metal work, plumb the gas tank, re-plumb the transmission cooler lines, rewire the battery to go behind the passenger seat, finish up the cage details like door bars and a few gussets, install the seat harnesses, fab up shock mounts and get shocks, finish up the front/rear bumpers (though that might wait), complete the t-case skid, maybe come up with a tranny skid, and some other things here and there.
I originally thought I would be done by now, but now I am just hoping to have it ready for Sierra Fest...
More updates as they come.
Travis
