beakie
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Ontario, Canada
up here it's not easy to find a Cherokee without a bit of rust here n there... this one is no different.
while adding TNT stiffiners last year I found the frame rails had some cancer in more places than I had thought... so this year I am cutting out some of the worst spots, and beefing things up a bit.
I'll skip the pre pics, it looked like a Cherokee on 33's with about 4.5"-5.5" of lift, a bit of trimming and some home made bumpers.
a year ago I added some tube from rear wheel well to wheel well to attach some 14" travel 5150's to. wheeled it like that a few times, was very happy with the setup, but knew it wouldn't last long (figured the wheel wells were not exactly load bearing)
so past spring I made a major cut
(excuse the poor pics, I suck at photography and my cell while being 5mp still has me at the helm, not using it properly)
in the summer I put the fuel tank in the floor
my plan was to then plate the rear frame rails... but I found the 'frame' around where the fuel filler hoses go through the rails was... well missing in a few places... so out came the plasma and sawzall
granted now would be a good time to build a proper linked rear suspension... but that's not what I am looking for right now so I am sticking with the leafs.
2x4" was a little to short to fit into the 'frame' where I cut, so I went with 2x5"x 3/16th I slotted the very bottom of the tubing so it would go under the current rails, while the same amount of tubing was inside the rails.
this area will get rosette welds, and then some fish plates extending down the rails down to the front leaf mount.
a little more added to the rear, will end up being a little shorter then stock since the bumper can attach directly to the 2x5 making for a little better departure angle
that was yesterdays tasking
today was about getting the leafs attached again. the stock frame angles out a bit, where as the way I did it meant I'd have to build out a bit to attach the leafs.
this is how I did it
from another angle
and one more
that was all the progress I made this weekend. everything turned out nicely as measurements were simple. where I cut the 2x5 was 36" inside to inside, so with just the 2x2 added to the rear, the mounting width was bang on.
still to come is to actually attach this new frame to the old rails, and re-enforce that area and tie it into the front leaf mount along the sides.
underneath I'll plate it up to the TNT stiffiners.
also planning on dove tailing the back a bit. I have a Commanche tailgate I want to put in, so the rear quarters should end up being about 4" outside of that... all in good time for that tho.
a new bumper is also in the works, but that too will be a little while down the road.
after all that... comes a hybrid cage.
not sure how often I'll get to update this, it's at my buddies and finding time to work on it isn't always easy.
thanks for looking, and providing any ideas/criticism/feedback... it's all welcome and appreciated.
while adding TNT stiffiners last year I found the frame rails had some cancer in more places than I had thought... so this year I am cutting out some of the worst spots, and beefing things up a bit.
I'll skip the pre pics, it looked like a Cherokee on 33's with about 4.5"-5.5" of lift, a bit of trimming and some home made bumpers.
a year ago I added some tube from rear wheel well to wheel well to attach some 14" travel 5150's to. wheeled it like that a few times, was very happy with the setup, but knew it wouldn't last long (figured the wheel wells were not exactly load bearing)
so past spring I made a major cut
(excuse the poor pics, I suck at photography and my cell while being 5mp still has me at the helm, not using it properly)
in the summer I put the fuel tank in the floor
my plan was to then plate the rear frame rails... but I found the 'frame' around where the fuel filler hoses go through the rails was... well missing in a few places... so out came the plasma and sawzall
granted now would be a good time to build a proper linked rear suspension... but that's not what I am looking for right now so I am sticking with the leafs.
2x4" was a little to short to fit into the 'frame' where I cut, so I went with 2x5"x 3/16th I slotted the very bottom of the tubing so it would go under the current rails, while the same amount of tubing was inside the rails.
this area will get rosette welds, and then some fish plates extending down the rails down to the front leaf mount.
a little more added to the rear, will end up being a little shorter then stock since the bumper can attach directly to the 2x5 making for a little better departure angle
that was yesterdays tasking
today was about getting the leafs attached again. the stock frame angles out a bit, where as the way I did it meant I'd have to build out a bit to attach the leafs.
this is how I did it
from another angle
and one more
that was all the progress I made this weekend. everything turned out nicely as measurements were simple. where I cut the 2x5 was 36" inside to inside, so with just the 2x2 added to the rear, the mounting width was bang on.
still to come is to actually attach this new frame to the old rails, and re-enforce that area and tie it into the front leaf mount along the sides.
underneath I'll plate it up to the TNT stiffiners.
also planning on dove tailing the back a bit. I have a Commanche tailgate I want to put in, so the rear quarters should end up being about 4" outside of that... all in good time for that tho.
a new bumper is also in the works, but that too will be a little while down the road.
after all that... comes a hybrid cage.
not sure how often I'll get to update this, it's at my buddies and finding time to work on it isn't always easy.
thanks for looking, and providing any ideas/criticism/feedback... it's all welcome and appreciated.
