The MiXJ

[5spd_xj]

Alright, so I figured because I'm bored at work, might as well get going on a build thread...by the way, please keep in mind that this is in fact my first build thread...I'm usually terrible at remembering to use a hoto:

I've got a 95 4 door, bought bone stock in August of 06. Rust free, from California... a rare treasure in New England.


The day she came home...

Went through a couple quick phases the following summer, 31s open/open, 33s open/locked and Clayton, then gears, rear 44, locked 30...

To cut a long story short... It's gone through a bunch of phases in the past couple years, most recent being 6.5" coils, RE leafs, 4.88s open/locked, and 37" creepies.

So, this thread will be to follow along my next stage in the build... front EB44, using my Clayton lowers and building a 3 link, chop, and cage.

Planning for the chop to look something like this, using the rear section of an MJ cab to close it in. ....save the MSpaint comments please.

So far, for the 44 I have taken all the brackets off, and acquired the following...

Mile Marker hubs
full spool (most likely will be going with a lunchbox instead...)
broncograveyard heavy duty shafts/760 u-joints
broncograveyard disc brake conversion
hi-steer arms from jeepxtremes.com
flat top knuckle (DS)


The 44 to-buy list...

passanger side flattop
gears/install kit
ballistic fab coil/LCA/shock brackets
ballistic fab OTA trackbar bracket
ballistic fab DIY crossover steering with TREs


For the chop I plan to graft in an MJ cab section that I will be picking up tomorrow afternoon, and then starting on the cage. The cage will be constructed of 1.75" .120 wall DOM, and from my guesstimations so far, I'm looking at between 140-180 feet of tubing. I'll use Ruffstuff's unibody stiffeners... the unirails could use some help anyway. quick cellphone pic for proof of that:laugh3:

And finally, for the 3 link, I'd like to build a mount off the Clayton crossmember on the passanger side, so that I can avoid the need to build a truss over the diff. Plus, I haven't been the biggest fan of the radius arm design's tendency to unload etc... it just doesn't feel stable. Hopefully doing this will help that out...

After everything's back together, I'll be looking into tires... as of right now, I'm considering 36x13.50 bias IROKs, 35x12.50 creepy crawlers, 36x12.50 SXs, and possibly 37x12.50 creepies. Any suggestions here are more than welcome

Because I'm at work, this is all I can access at the current time for pictures and whatnot... When I have a few extra minutes I'll be sure to snap/upload more of the parts I have collected, and more as they come in.

Any and all constructive criticism is more than welcome, I wanted to start this thread before I really get going in order to assure plenty of time for people to offer up their ideas/thoughts on everything...Hope you all enjoy the build

 

[asp]

any tube door plans?

let me know if/when you need help. you've certainly helped me...

what's the structure of the bed going to be? (tailgate, etc)

 

[Hackmeister]

omg it used to look like when i bought mine! same color, trim, 5speed, everythign!

 

[5spd_xj]

probably not tube doors, but i do have another set of doors that i'll eventually cut down to make half doors out of. I'm planning on having door bars when I do the cage, so those will help with keeping people in and rocks out hopefully and for the bed, i'm going to wait on that until i have everything actually done, tires and all. That way I can see what I want to do with my rear wheel wells to avoid needing much for bumpstops while keeping a lower lift height (4.5")...actually constructing the bed I must say is pretty far down on the list, haven't given that a whole lot of thought just yet heh

 

[redneckboarder]

awesome thread. and very nice looking rig I might add.

first and foremost what sort of cage design are you going with? are you going to keep the lines of the cherokee before the chop? IMO that looks extremely badass then you can still have the option of a soft top of some sort to cover things in foul weather.

second what other things have you done to the rig? like engine and interior mods, little gadgets that you might have thrown in?

as for your plans for it they sound awesome. I agree with the idea of a 3 link, I dont have a huge knowledge of suspension setups but I am trying to broaden my horizons. I have heard and read that the radius setup unloads, When i upgrade i will be going 3 or 4 link. Being that this rig sees the streets im assuming because of the license plate i would also concur with the lunchbox locker in the front so you dont end up breakin stuff.

What did your front 44 come from? im assuming a bronco?

as for your tire selection why dont you just keep the tires you have arent they 37" creepies? in all my years of running mud tires i have had lots of tires and my favorite set is the MTZs i have on now and will probly have for a good while. the only experience i had with the IROKS were on a buddys dodge and i drove that from south carolina to washington DC and by the time i was 15 min from his house i wanted to kill myself and my arms were already tired from trying to keep the bias plys straight on the road.

well there is you insightful post for the day good day and thank you

PS i might add more later when my brain works

 

[RCman]

Looks like you've got a great start and a good plan.

Few questions:
1) What does it look like currently?
2) Enclosed cabin area or open?
3) Seats/Passenger capacity? Assuming 2?
4) What size wheels? (I've said this to a few people before, if I didn't have my H1s, I would have gone with 17's for the tire selection.)
5) Staying with rear leaf springs? (not that there is any issue with that)
6) Imaginary budget and timeframe?

 

[RCman]

What did your front 44 come from? im assuming a bronco?

EB = Early Bronco

as for your tire selection why dont you just keep the tires you have arent they 37" creepies?

I believe he sold them.

 

[5spd_xj]

awesome thread. and very nice looking rig I might add.

Thank you! :wave1:

first and foremost what sort of cage design are you going with? are you going to keep the lines of the cherokee before the chop? IMO that looks extremely badass then you can still have the option of a soft top of some sort to cover things in foul weather.

Well no... more like a slantback actually, if that makes sense. quick MSpaint...thing:

second what other things have you done to the rig? like engine and interior mods, little gadgets that you might have thrown in?

Well, not much to be honest... K&N filter, 2.5" exhaust (currently cracked stock header, have aftermarket to go on) with glasspack, I have the electric fan wired to a switch inside the cab, currently have a VIAIR OBA system in the back, however that is going back to my buddy and I'm planning to build my own system...Really, that's about it. Up until I bought my daily driver this past September, I had the 2 12" Polk Audio subs in their ported box in the back, was fun cruising around and you can imagine the looks aroused by the combination of how this thing looked and sounded...

as for your plans for it they sound awesome. I agree with the idea of a 3 link, I dont have a huge knowledge of suspension setups but I am trying to broaden my horizons. I have heard and read that the radius setup unloads, When i upgrade i will be going 3 or 4 link. Being that this rig sees the streets im assuming because of the license plate i would also concur with the lunchbox locker in the front so you dont end up breakin stuff.

Yeah, my main reason for going with the lunchbox locker is for ease of turning on the rocks without having to hop out and unlock a hub heh. Either way on the street it won't make a difference, I'll just have the hubs unlocked regardless.

What did your front 44 come from? im assuming a bronco?

yes sir, mid/late 70s

as for your tire selection why dont you just keep the tires you have arent they 37" creepies? in all my years of running mud tires i have had lots of tires and my favorite set is the MTZs i have on now and will probly have for a good while. the only experience i had with the IROKS were on a buddys dodge and i drove that from south carolina to washington DC and by the time i was 15 min from his house i wanted to kill myself and my arms were already tired from trying to keep the bias plys straight on the road.

I sold my creepies to a member in my local club. The tread was getting pretty low and I knew I was gonna be doing this long project. So with him needing tires, I knew they'd be better off on his rig instead of sitting in the yard on my jeep. A buddy of mine had IROKs on his TJ and I thought they rode/drove fine. Four hour ride to Maine and back and it didn't seem much worse than the 33" truxus he had before them, which certainly surprised me. Besides that, I can't say I'm very worried at all about how they're going to ride...it's all about performance, bang for the buck. I'd love to buy myself a new set of creepies but it's over $1300 for a set of 4 35s, while I can get 5 36" IROKs for a bit over $1200. I've got a while to think about tires though. This debate is one I could use some more help with, so anyone reading this... feel free to chime in!

well there is you insightful post for the day good day and thank you

PS i might add more later when my brain works

stupendous! Thanks.

 

[RCman]

I'd love to buy myself a new set of creepies but it's over $1300 for a set of 4 35s, while I can get 5 36" IROKs for a bit over $1200. I've got a while to think about tires though. This debate is one I could use some more help with, so anyone reading this... feel free to chime in!

I paid a little less than that for my 39" Pitbulls. I can't comment on how they perform yet, but they look nice and the compound is sure soft!

 

[5spd_xj]

Looks like you've got a great start and a good plan.

thanks :cheers:

Few questions:

let's do this.

1) What does it look like currently?

Sad. In the backyard. Same as the picture with the creepies, only rollin on a set of stockers

2) Enclosed cabin area or open?

It will be enclosed...unless of course I chop/cage it, then get lazy and just quit before it actuall gets enclosed! :laugh3: Tomorrow I'll be getting the rear half of an MJ cab before it goes to the crusher, I'm hoping to go by threads I've seen here and elsewhere (namely Pirate) and get it lined up reasonably well.

3) Seats/Passenger capacity? Assuming 2?

That is correct. For now just the stock front seats, but I'm planning on some suspension seats at some point.

4) What size wheels? (I've said this to a few people before, if I didn't have my H1s, I would have gone with 17's for the tire selection.)

15s, already have them. 5 on 5.5 bolt pattern. I'll be ordering alloys for the rear 44 to match the front's pattern.

5) Staying with rear leaf springs? (not that there is any issue with that)

yup. It currently has 4.5" RE packs, with a 2" steel block. Because I'm planning to go back down to 4.5" overall lift, I'm considering taking out a leaf or two, and getting HD Engineering's shackle boxes... I have some extended shackles laying around, I'd like to be able to set up the boxes/shackles to get a good shackle angle and a little bit of lift, while taking some lift out of the pack. We'll see how that goes, still time to figure it out. For the short term, I'll just be taking out the blocks. I need to see where it will sit at after the chop and cage anyhow.

6) Imaginary budget and timeframe?

mmm if only they were real!! hmmm, well I'd say my overall budget is somewhere in the 2500-3000 range, with at least 1200 of that being for tires, assuming I do decide to buy new. As far as the timeframe is concerned, I'd like to be out wheeling by the end of the summer, maybe August or so. But let me say right at the beginning of the thread... I won't be surprised if both of those figures double before its up and running. I always seem to be able to complicate things to unnecessary proportions :twak:

 

[billyjp2]

your jeep sucks, and always will suck.

that is all

 

[Mr.OverKill]

your jeep sucks, and always will suck.

that is all

my jeep just isn't screwed up enough to chop yet, i need to roll it first or kill the A/B or C pillars

 

[5spd_xj]

hahaha thanks a ton billy!! lol

And, I don't consider my Jeep to be screwed up at all... that's not why I'm chopping it. I'm doing it BEFORE it gets screwed up so I have half a chance of starting with a somewhat straight body... it would suck trying to do a decent job on something that's been rolled or something. That's not to say mine is an angel, she's certainly got some good smashes...but I've never seen a chopped XJ and thought, "Wow, that thing must have really gotten destroyed before he decided to go that route"...

 

[tkjeeper]

Sorry 5spd, I love the look of it in the second pic, but I guess I have no foresite, keep us posted, I'm still pissed about the no rust comment, ya bastard! lol.

 

[billyjp2]

i always wanted to chop mine from the windshield back.

 

[5spd_xj]

Well, I'll be out in Palmer today to get that section of MJ cab... I can stop by your place after with the sawzall and make your dream come true too!

 

[5spd_xj]

To all the MJ lovers...:wave:

And came home with this: sorry for the poor quality photo, cell phone in the dark...

 

[ROBZ95Xj]

SWEET!

 

[foxwar71]

Very nice!!

 

[WrenchMonkey]

To all the MJ lovers...:wave:

That's cold, man, really...

And I know it's a common mod, but I'm still trying to figure: What is the point? I did consider hacking up my twodoor, but the amount of work, plus the loss of dry storage, plus the fact that I'd actually gain weight having to add the cage, I dropped it.

So, you're doing it, I'll ask you: Why?

:dunno:

Robert

(I'd guess it's mostly cause it looks cool, a little different from the crowd. It does, and that's not a bad reason. Just not enough for me, I'm too lazy for that!)