rough time estimate.....

R

radardog

NAXJA Forum User
Location
redding, ca
ok so this is a question for you guys who have done the following:

plated "frame" rails with 3x3x1/4 angle

installed rocker-steps using 2x6x1/4

built/extended radius arms

installed radius arm set up in your XJ

now what i need is a rough estimate for how long it takes to do this work.
i have access to a full metal shop, with welders beders chop saws... the works. as my boss is really cool. however i cant be tying up his shop for a month or anything crazy. so i just wanted to give him a general idea for how long one of his bays was to be filled up.

i have done tons of reading on the above topics, just no one really says how long it takes.

thanks in advance for your replies
 
radardog said:
ok so this is a question for you guys who have done the following:

plated "frame" rails with 3x3x1/4 angle

installed rocker-steps using 2x6x1/4

built/extended radius arms

installed radius arm set up in your XJ

now what i need is a rough estimate for how long it takes to do this work.
i have access to a full metal shop, with welders beders chop saws... the works. as my boss is really cool. however i cant be tying up his shop for a month or anything crazy. so i just wanted to give him a general idea for how long one of his bays was to be filled up.

i have done tons of reading on the above topics, just no one really says how long it takes.

thanks in advance for your replies
Click to expand...
that really depends on your skill level, i say measure and build as much as you can before pulling into a bay, then when you occupy the bay, you will only be installing/calibrating the things that you pre-built. good luck
 
radardog said:
ok so this is a question for you guys who have done the following:

plated "frame" rails with 3x3x1/4 angle

installed rocker-steps using 2x6x1/4

built/extended radius arms

installed radius arm set up in your XJ
Click to expand...
In my opinion 1/4" is overkill and not worth the extra weight. I used 3/16" for my rockers and my frame rails. I haven't tested out the rockers yet, but I can tell you that the 3/16" on the rails has held up fine and it's only bolted on at the moment. I've slid the entire length of them on rocks and even dropped off a ledge directly onto them with no problems.

That being said, everything you mentioned can be pre-built and ready to put in before your vehicle has to tie up the shop. From there, like everyone else said, it comes down to you, your design, and how picky you are.
 
Also, a lot of the work can be done while the jeep can still be rolled/driven in and out of the shop.
 
hate to say it but this is the kind of question that if you have to ask you shouldnt' be doing it. all of the projects you speak of require a lot of thought and planning on the final layout and how they will integrate with later plans and designs. do you plan to plate the whole frame or just from wheel well to well. why a radius are design, what length, whynot a 3-4? triangulated? are you sliders going to replace your rockers are they going to incorperate a cage in future plans.
 
hadfield4wd said:
It takes a year longer than you think.

Matt
Click to expand...


fixed it

mac 'the little stuff always gets ya' gyvr
 
macgyvr said:
fixed it

mac 'the little stuff always gets ya' gyvr
Click to expand...


Amen to that!
 
well first off i have a little experience fabricating, so i am not totally incompetent, i have never done anything on this scale all at once though.

i can weld, run equipment, and have a basic working knowledge of how things work. and usually can look at something and tell if it will work or not.

my question wasnt so much how to do it, as how long it has taken you guys to do it. which , as of yet, no one has been able to answer.... i am sure some one remembers how many bloody knucled weekend they spent doing these mods.

i plan on doing all or as much of the axle mods, arm mods while the rig is still mobile, and then breaking it down for plating, and the actual swap... my hopes are to have it down for no more than two weeks... we'll see...

yes i am taking into consideration my future cage, and skids as well.
the reason i ask so many questions is because i like to feel pretty confident that i know what is basically going to happen before i start. i just want as much info as possible before i try to"F" anything up, ya dig???


and another thing, i know stuff always comes up part way through the job... stuff that is a total oh shit, that you never expected. which is why i say i HOPE to only have her down for two weeks.

i know it is a kinda lame question, but thats how i roll... ask questions, dont "F" up as much... so a little more constructive comments would be cool. i am not just a highschool kid with pipe dreams of owning a rock crawler, i have the rig, and most of the money, also have tools and a shop. i just want to pick as much knowledge form those with experience as is possible. and yes, i will post pics of before durring and after, and possible a detailed write-up of what i encountered along the way, so dont feel like your time is being wasted please.

Thank you,

Jason
 
Well, my entire frame and suspension was done in two weeks, which includes linking the front and back. You can do it if you prepare tons before hand, and have most of the parts assembled/cut to specs before the jeep even rolls into the shop. Good luck, and let us know how things come out.
 
slaping in the 350 SBC took the longest, but with all the fabbing done for the most part if you work on it every day for at least 2 hours, two weeks sounds about right, less if you get help ( knowledgable help that is ) i did all of the mods my self up untill the lift / axle swap party a month ago. with the help i got, the lift and axles were swaped out in 1 day. but keep in mind i had a similar lift already on and the axles were preped for install already.
 
Skullvarian said:
Hehe, that is funney, like your mac'no smoking around my jeep'gyver, i got a good laugh out of those:)
Click to expand...


just something i've been doing since i've been cruising the jeeps boards (late 98ish early 99...yup old and crusty on these boards compared to some)...actually stole the idea from someone else...but it works better for me...


anyways...jason...you planning on working your regular job while you are doing this?

it took me nearly two months from a cherokee with no axles or suspension under it to build a d60, a rear eaton (replacing and bearings, seals, etc), building a three link with track bar up front, four link rear, driveshafts, custom skid plate, front bumper, rewiring tail/back up lights and a WHOLE bunch of little crap that I can't even think of. i fabbed the suspension mounts and axle mounts and all that little stuff. i worked my regular job all but about two weeks that i took off to get the damn thing on the road...and when i was working i was spending 4-6 hours a night in the garage after work...working on the jeep...also installed fuel cell, ran new fuel line, brake lines all the way around...theres more, i'll think of it while i'm sleeping tonight...

***note: previous to the two month wrench session, my "frame" was already plated (read: welded with 3/16 plate) and my full cage (buggy style) was also completed***

i have the right tools, some skilz, a couple of buddies and a bunch of budweiser (killed about 5 cases a week on average)...and it was damn near two months...

you can't really estimate it. do what you can a head of time, but there will be stuff that blows your mind when it comes to how long it takes to make it work and make it right...spacers for this and that, shock mounts...or where to put the shocks...all that is a factor and every jeep is going to be different....

if you do nothing but work on your jeep for two weeks straight without working your regular job, and eat there and almost sleep there and not see your family...unless they are wrenching, you could get it done in two weeks....maybe....just all depends...

then you'll be beat after two weeks of working on it...

good luck

mac 'may the force be with you' gyvr
 
Last edited:
1/4" frame bent perfectly to match the XJ contours and "very carefully welded into place" took me about 2 full weekends. take your time with measuring and cutting. Also the XJ unibody frame is very thin. Be very cautious welding 1/4" to it!
 
90KrawlerXJ said:
1/4" frame bent perfectly to match the XJ contours and "very carefully welded into place" took me about 2 full weekends. take your time with measuring and cutting. Also the XJ unibody frame is very thin. Be very cautious welding 1/4" to it!
Click to expand...


duely noted.

my boss was saying the same thing, and offered to do it for me if i wanted him to... i opted for him to just show me, so i could learn to do it myself though.

now i do have a question, i have seen a couple rigs on here and or P4x4, and it looks like they ran straight between the wells, and then basically did the wheel well area with three straight pieces like this \_/ (but flipped over) i know it doesnt follow the contours perfectly, and you wont have a lot to weld to in the wheel well area, but how well does this work?
 
also as an after thought, how do you strip the coating crap from the frame? is there a chemical that works well, or do i just go at it with the wire wheel?
 
hadfield4wd said:
grinder
Click to expand...
as some one who welds on these "frames" often, take this advise, use a wire wheel not a grinder! these things are thin enough as is and grinding any thing off makes it that much harder to keep from blowing through.
 
steagall9301 said:
as some one who welds on these "frames" often, take this advise, use a wire wheel not a grinder! these things are thin enough as is and grinding any thing off makes it that much harder to keep from blowing through.
Click to expand...

ya i kinda just figured he meant angle grinder with a wire wheel.

i think that is going to be one of the most annoying parts of the job haha
 
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