Just Another XJ on tons, coilovers, 42's, etc. Build

[freerider15]

Alright, i've been around NAXA a while and it's about time I got this thread going. Been slowly collecting parts for the last two years due to shoulder surgery last october at the ripe old age of 21 and finally "started" the build the beginning of this year. Due to some douchebag landlords I moved it to a freinds garage to start work. Been getting some things slowly worked on and knocked out in the last couple months of summer, but with it not being in my own garage progess is slower than I would like. My goal is to have it done by Spring Break this coming March. Being a full time ME student at Colorado State and working as a Tire Tech at Discount Tire takes a bit of time out of my week as well :banghead:

The rig was pristeen when I got it with 65k on the odometer, but that didn't last long :lol:

Couple pics before the teardown:

Clean driveway shot right after it was done in highschool...

Carnage Canyon in Boulder

Indy in Penrose

Yeah, I abused it to say the least :rock:

It looked like this after a flop on Upper Helldorado...and the body damage only continued after that day:

So now to the present...keeping up with buggys and other tubed out rigs has become quite the venture.

Specs on the build:

-HP60 from a '79 Ford F350
-14BFF from a mid '70's Chebby
-16" FOA Coilovers on all 4 Corners
-42" Iroks on 17" Black Steelies (weld on locks in the future)
-Double Ended Full Hydro
-Triangulated Four Link Rear
-Triangulated Four Link or 3 Link with Panhard Front
The list goes on...

Well last summer a buddy and I drove to nebraska to pick this up:

Whats that attatched to the front end!?

Got it all cleaned up and primed, and bottom of cover shaved to match D60:

After a bit of work and a LOT of money...voila!

Specs:
-5.38's, Detroit, RockCrusher Cover, Dedenbear Knuckles, PSC High Steer Arms, H.A.D. Forged 1350 Yoke, Alloy USA inners/outers, Warn 35 Spline Hubs...basically the only things stock left on the axle are the housing, caliper brackets, and hubs...everything else is new. :rock:

As well, a box containing some more toys arrived

P.O.S. double ended Full Hydro Setup

 

[freerider15]

Well this is what it looked like after a day with the sawzall...still more to be cut off:

Got these last winter...42x14R17 Iroks with about 70% Tread

 

[freerider15]

Well next was getting the frame rails sleeved...what a B*TCH.

Drilled out all the spot welds on the leafs hangers and the upper control arm mounts

Then got the rails all flap disc'd and cleaned up

Had to cut some lips off the inner part of the frame rails, weld them together and clean them up...that was oh SO fun

Once was that was all said and done...it was time to get material for sleeving. What I ended up with was...

4" x 6" x 1/4" box...

Yeah a little heavier and thicker than I would have liked to have gone, but it was cheap, and I will have a lot mounted to it, so the beef will help. Well, got to work on it cutting it in half...

Several HF grinders lost the good fight cutting that sucker in half :lol:

Driver's side fitted up

Everything will be tacked up for the time being, then I'll drop everything and weld it up fully...

Now it was time to start on my Tranny crossmember :firedevil:
I've got 300ft. of 1.75" x .120" HREW to work with on this so most things will be made out of that. I won't lie, getting the logistics worked out on this thing was a nightmare, but I got it to work out.

 

[freerider15]

Started with some tube, and this little sucker I whipped out

I don't have a lot of pictures of when I made this since I kept forgetting my camera, but I'll make sure to when I take it back off since much of the work can't be seen...

Crossmember:

Where bushing attaches to to bolt onto AW4 adapter:

The hex bolts on the bottom allow for the panels to be removed in order for access to the bushing bolt and adapter bolts.

 

[freerider15]

Yeah I know many will say I should have started over with a clean body, etc. etc. but that wasn't really an option. I needed the VIN so I could drive it on the street, and I can't afford I new rig. I don't want to build anything else either as there are more TJ's, CJ's, etc. on one tons than one can shake a stick at, I wanted something a little more original :greensmok


Back onto the building...


Did some more trimming and looked at tire placement

　
　
Now onto the 4-link. I'll be going with a double-tri setup with 2.25" x .375" DOM lowers and 1.5" x .25" DOM uppers. I'll have a mix of Ballistic and Currie Joints in the 1.25" flavor on the lowers, and 7/8" ballistic uppers. Here's the numbers i will be running on the 4-link, they took me a while to get but AS goes up during bump, and drops during droop.

My workstation and mock setup. I'm using pieces of PVC for mock up arms and to make sure things work.

　
　
Started working on the frame side setup for the links. This was interesting to tackle to say the least. Started with one tube, which I then notched to move it as far back as possible to allow driveshaft clearance....and then cut away a bit more floor :lol:

 

[freerider15]

　
Then I took some 3 x 3 x 3/16 and made the brackets
　

　

Added some bracing

　
　
It then occured to me one hit to where the notch in the cross tube, and i'll have a good and bent crossmember. So I added this...
　

I think that should hold up pretty well:thumbsup:
Might be slight overkill but oh ****in well...


Starting on the truss for the 14 bolt...

　

My first real attempt at bending tube. I will say this, bending tube is hard to repeat when you've never done it before, and notching is pain in the A$$ and can be VERY time consuming. This shouldn't be as much of a problem as I get more experienced with it.

Once I have some time I'll work on getting the rest of the links done :guitar:

 

[freerider15]

Alright pics finally

Finishing up the 14B:

Top plate welded on...this is where the upper link mounts will be.

Oh, and dimple dies arrived! :guitar:

Finishing up the truss:

 

[freerider15]

Lower link mounts top part:

Now to my subframe rails...theres a LOT of work into these. I'll try and let pics speak for themselves. The smaller holes are the 5/8" bolt through holes for the tranny crossmember and rear four link crossmember. The bigger holes will be welded, they are all 1.5" via holesaw.

Still gotta finish the other side...about halfway done with it but it takes for fuggin ever to get it done. I had them on the frame for mockup and pulled them off for final drilling and welding.

 

[freerider15]

Top view of the rear crossmember as its coming along

Braced the top of the link mounts for some added strength

 

[freerider15]

Getting the bottom plating (1/8") started

More finished product...

Installed...

Starting on the upper link mounts....got the brackets all sketched and ready to be cut out

Overall i'm pretty happy with how its turning out. I'm pretty picky with things so when they're not perfect it bothers me, but i'm accepting things not being perfectly symmetrical in areas as its hard to make them perfect with limited resources Welds aren't as great as i would like them to be, but I just need to work on consistency a little more, haven't welded this much in a while :banghead:

 

[freerider15]

Axle side upper link mounts halfway done, still have to get them plated...

Frame side upper mounts...really pleased with how these turned out

 

[freerider15]

Got em burned in...

Not too much flex steer

Next step is to get it rigged up and over to my place...then some more finishing such as removing all the shatty weld spatter :bang:

Well thats all for now...got the Jeep moved to my garage and now have the Swine Flu as I post this. Not only that but its one HELL of a week exams and more this week so progress is halted until next week...

 

[JRW7072009]

Awesome build, very nice welds and fab work. I am looking forward to more.

 

[YELLAHEEP]

Justin,

As I've said before...... your fab work is simply beautiful. Sickness in steel brutha. :thumbup:


Question about the rear 4-link mounts on the axle in this pic:

I'm looking at this and seeing that the lower mounts have pivot points (at the joints) that's above the centerline of the axle tube/shaft.

I've not seen lower arm mounts attached to an axle that high before......

Any concern that the axle won't rotate sending the pinion upwards and possibly causing the lower arms to bind up against the upper arms - particularly when torque is applied - on an uphill climb - or similar?

 

[Starboard M]

I'm looking at this and seeing that the lower mounts have pivot points (at the joints) that's above the centerline of the axle tube/shaft.

I've not seen lower arm mounts attached to an axle that high before......

Any concern that the axle won't rotate sending the pinion upwards and possibly causing the lower arms to bind up against the upper arms - particularly when torque is applied - on an uphill climb - or similar?

How is that any different than someone linking a portal axle?



I think its a dang good idea. Ive seen it done before, and have not seen any issues with the design assuming the mounts are strong.




You should ask Vetteboy about his raised links=stress goes to infinity thoughts!:laugh3:

 

[srmitchell]

This build is epic. Good job. I can't even finish frame stiffeners. haha.

You got the h1n1? That sucks.

 

[.40CalPatriot]

Damn man that is coming along very well. You have some awesome fab skills. Good luck!

 

[GSequoia]

More finished product...

Had so much fun playing with the dimple dies you just couldn't stop, eh?

 

[freerider15]

Justin,
As I've said before...... your fab work is simply beautiful. Sickness in steel brutha. :thumbup:

Question about the rear 4-link mounts on the axle in this pic:

I'm looking at this and seeing that the lower mounts have pivot points (at the joints) that's above the centerline of the axle tube/shaft.

I've not seen lower arm mounts attached to an axle that high before......

Any concern that the axle won't rotate sending the pinion upwards and possibly causing the lower arms to bind up against the upper arms - particularly when torque is applied - on an uphill climb - or similar?

Thanks Troy

As far as the links, no worry what so ever. There are quite a few build over on Pirate including Ashman that have used it and its worked great.

How is that any different than someone linking a portal axle?

I think its a dang good idea. Ive seen it done before, and have not seen any issues with the design assuming the mounts are strong.

You should ask Vetteboy about his raised links=stress goes to infinity thoughts!:laugh3:

Haha I ain't even about to ask him about that

This build is epic. Good job. I can't even finish frame stiffeners. haha.

You got the h1n1? That sucks.

Thanks for the compliments...yeah got the H1N1, about 70% better now so I should be fine mid this week.

Had so much fun playing with the dimple dies you just couldn't stop, eh?

Yeah I'm a dimple die whore, what can I say, and there will be many more in this build ...

 

[Kiefer316]

Awesome build so far. Great looking welds also can't wait to see this in person