jonesinxj
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Granite Falls, WA
Dustin, how do you like the PAC coils? Needing to upgrade and have been kicking around these coil purchase for awhile
-
Welcome to the new NAXJA Forum! If your password does not work, please use "Forgot your password?" link on the log-in page. Please feel free to reach out to [email protected] if we can provide any assistance.
The Nail Salon
- Thread starter TORX
- Start date
I'm really liking them. The spring rate is pretty stiff (250#), but it handles the trails really well running at a quick pace. I prefer a stiffer setup, so this was exactly what I was going for. I was also glad to see they netted their advertised lift height. PAC makes a great product. These will definitely be the last set of coils I buy for the Nail Salon.
With the winch mounted behind the winch plate, and the brackets bolted on, my next step for the bumper was bending up some tube to make up the outer bumper. I brought the Nail Salon over to the 4500 shop, and recruited Winton to offer some guidance on the bending. 1.75x.120" DOM main tube mocked up. My goal was to keep the main tube tight to the lines of the header panel, but you can only get it so close with a 5.5" radius die. In the end I ended up making four bends on the main tube.
Notched the brackets for the tube to sit on.
After notching, I finalized the brackets, and welded them up. I took some left over hole saw remnants, and made some .250" weld washers to reinforce the clevis holes.
Moving along, I finalized the position of the main tube, and trimmed the ends to length. I wanted a lower tube to provide some more reinforcement, but didn't want the bulkiness of the 1.75" tube, so I opted to go with 1.25x.120" DOM for all additional tubing. Two 15 degree bends 17" on center, and we were good to go.
Had some notching to do for some tie-ins, so I picked up a Harbor Freight notcher. You definitely get what you pay for, but it actually does a decent job. I think I've been spoiled with the mill while working on the 4500 car.
To further reinforce the winch plate, and tie the plate and tube work together, I made some 1.25" tube tie-ins between the two.
At this point I was suppose to head to Kingsley Reservoir the following morning for some wheeling, so I yanked the bumper off after tacking a few key pieces , and started burning it all in.
For a fairlead I picked up a Smittybilt aluminum fairlead to go along with the rope. The holes already drilled weren't going to work with my narrowed winch or winch plate, so I redrilled the holes at 8.5" and started hacking away the excess material.
All smoothed out, and ready to go.
After getting the bumper reinstalled (minus paint and a few additional tubes to come) at around midnight the night before, I rolled out to Kingsley Reservoir the following morning to meet up with Nick and Scott.
It was so nice to get out and wheel again!
Nail Salon worked really well all day, and after thrashing the night before I didn't even have to use the winch.
Managed to snag the rear soft line coming off the frame on a stump, which then blew out. Vise gripped the rear brakes off, and we were back in business. Might look at making a skid for the axle side connection, or maybe it was just dumb luck on hitting it. Either way a new line is already enroute.
Trip report, HERE.
Notched the brackets for the tube to sit on.
After notching, I finalized the brackets, and welded them up. I took some left over hole saw remnants, and made some .250" weld washers to reinforce the clevis holes.
Moving along, I finalized the position of the main tube, and trimmed the ends to length. I wanted a lower tube to provide some more reinforcement, but didn't want the bulkiness of the 1.75" tube, so I opted to go with 1.25x.120" DOM for all additional tubing. Two 15 degree bends 17" on center, and we were good to go.
Had some notching to do for some tie-ins, so I picked up a Harbor Freight notcher. You definitely get what you pay for, but it actually does a decent job. I think I've been spoiled with the mill while working on the 4500 car.
To further reinforce the winch plate, and tie the plate and tube work together, I made some 1.25" tube tie-ins between the two.
At this point I was suppose to head to Kingsley Reservoir the following morning for some wheeling, so I yanked the bumper off after tacking a few key pieces , and started burning it all in.
For a fairlead I picked up a Smittybilt aluminum fairlead to go along with the rope. The holes already drilled weren't going to work with my narrowed winch or winch plate, so I redrilled the holes at 8.5" and started hacking away the excess material.
All smoothed out, and ready to go.
After getting the bumper reinstalled (minus paint and a few additional tubes to come) at around midnight the night before, I rolled out to Kingsley Reservoir the following morning to meet up with Nick and Scott.
It was so nice to get out and wheel again!
Nail Salon worked really well all day, and after thrashing the night before I didn't even have to use the winch.
Managed to snag the rear soft line coming off the frame on a stump, which then blew out. Vise gripped the rear brakes off, and we were back in business. Might look at making a skid for the axle side connection, or maybe it was just dumb luck on hitting it. Either way a new line is already enroute.
Trip report, HERE.
Last edited:
After getting back the following day I yanked the bumper off to add some final touches. I capped the main tube on the ends, and added some 1.25" tubing from the brackets out to the ends of the main tube. These should help transfer any force back to the brackets. Welded it up, and prepped it for paint.
Gave it the hammered black finish.
While the paint was drying I tackled a side project. Nick brought up a great point about adding a small light behind the winch plate to help see while re-spooling. I honestly hadn't given it any thought before, but instantly loved the idea. Got my hands on some waterproof LED strips.
They're surprisingly very bright, so I opted to install one on the bottom of the radiator support where my winch drum will ride.
I wired the LED to my in cab winch control switch (post #509), so when I arm the winch the LED turns on.
Installed the bumper, and spooled the rope in under the Jeep's weight. It stretched quite a bit and really compressed on the drum. Plenty of room!
Finished product.
Totally low profile.
I'm stoked with how it turned out. The bumpers I've built in the past usually stuck out around 10" with fairlead and winch in front of the grill, and weighed in around 70-80lbs. Pretty standard for a basic plate style winch bumper.
This design netted me approximately a 68 degree approach angle, and weighed in at 38lbs!
Gave it the hammered black finish.
While the paint was drying I tackled a side project. Nick brought up a great point about adding a small light behind the winch plate to help see while re-spooling. I honestly hadn't given it any thought before, but instantly loved the idea. Got my hands on some waterproof LED strips.
They're surprisingly very bright, so I opted to install one on the bottom of the radiator support where my winch drum will ride.
I wired the LED to my in cab winch control switch (post #509), so when I arm the winch the LED turns on.
Installed the bumper, and spooled the rope in under the Jeep's weight. It stretched quite a bit and really compressed on the drum. Plenty of room!
Finished product.
Totally low profile.
I'm stoked with how it turned out. The bumpers I've built in the past usually stuck out around 10" with fairlead and winch in front of the grill, and weighed in around 70-80lbs. Pretty standard for a basic plate style winch bumper.
This design netted me approximately a 68 degree approach angle, and weighed in at 38lbs!
knucklehead 61
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Cottage Grove, Oregon
that is a great looking bumper you built Torx!
- Location
- South San Francisco, CA
Looks awesome Dustin. Great work!
- Location
- Virginia City, NV
Its like you pulled that bumper out of my imagination. Except way better than ill be able to throw together. Nice work
Thanks, Cali bros. :cheers:
In preparation for my next project of rocker replacements, I did the removable door mod today. What a total pain in the ass project. Jeep really chose poorly on the T40 bolts for the hinges. I ended up just cutting the hinges in place.
While I will never run door-less without a cage, it does make me miss my old half doors for summer runs. Don't mind the TORXfab shop chick.
Hopefully will be picking up some steel next week, and then cutting begins.
In preparation for my next project of rocker replacements, I did the removable door mod today. What a total pain in the ass project. Jeep really chose poorly on the T40 bolts for the hinges. I ended up just cutting the hinges in place.
While I will never run door-less without a cage, it does make me miss my old half doors for summer runs. Don't mind the TORXfab shop chick.
Hopefully will be picking up some steel next week, and then cutting begins.
- Location
- WA state
Bumper looks nice. Looks like you even have room for a light bar.
LJ dude
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Vancouver, WA
Good job with the bumper and the winch.
Glad to see that you went over to Van-port Rigging. Ive been there a couple of times over the years. Always great service and quality products. My synthetic rope is from there. Ive been running it for the last 5 years and its still going strong. Most recently I picked up a tow strap for my Dodge there. Thats been another quality product.
Glad to see that you went over to Van-port Rigging. Ive been there a couple of times over the years. Always great service and quality products. My synthetic rope is from there. Ive been running it for the last 5 years and its still going strong. Most recently I picked up a tow strap for my Dodge there. Thats been another quality product.
- Location
- Vancouver British Columbia
ace work sir
Onto the next project. With the new bumper setup, I lost my Light Force lights, which I loved for any sort of night time driving. However, there was no real easy way to mount them without the lights sticking out way out past the bumper.
One of the things I learned at KOH is if you want to be cool, you need a light bar. Even the security guy had one on his SXS!
So I hit up
sponsor Olympus Offroad about their 20" Ultra Series model, which emits a mere 14,400 lumens. Daniel was quick to respond with a hell of a deal on an open box (demo) model, which was in near perfect shape. Deal!
The plan was to recess the light bar into the grill keeping the low profile look to the front end. Started by hacking out the lower header panel, and the two vertical supports. I was a bit worried this would weaken the whole structure (especially since my header panel has seen better days), but it didn't seem to effect it too much. I then made some tabs out of .134" plate which spanned from the tube to the winch plate.
Light bar mounted, it sits 1/2" above the bumper tube. The front of my radiator is very cluttered with coolers, and my winch wiring loom, but there's only so much space.
The face of the light bar sits behind the tubes centerline, so if I happen to kiss a tree the light bar is still protected.
I tapped into my existing Light Force wiring for the light bar, so the last step was trimming my grill to fit.
Waited for night fall, and yes it's ruh-tardedly bright. Cool thing I liked was swapping the Light Force's 25A fuse for a 10A. I'm sure I'll get to put the lighting to the test at Trophy Challenge.
Light bar, check.
One of the things I learned at KOH is if you want to be cool, you need a light bar. Even the security guy had one on his SXS!
So I hit up
sponsor Olympus Offroad about their 20" Ultra Series model, which emits a mere 14,400 lumens. Daniel was quick to respond with a hell of a deal on an open box (demo) model, which was in near perfect shape. Deal!The plan was to recess the light bar into the grill keeping the low profile look to the front end. Started by hacking out the lower header panel, and the two vertical supports. I was a bit worried this would weaken the whole structure (especially since my header panel has seen better days), but it didn't seem to effect it too much. I then made some tabs out of .134" plate which spanned from the tube to the winch plate.
Light bar mounted, it sits 1/2" above the bumper tube. The front of my radiator is very cluttered with coolers, and my winch wiring loom, but there's only so much space.
The face of the light bar sits behind the tubes centerline, so if I happen to kiss a tree the light bar is still protected.
I tapped into my existing Light Force wiring for the light bar, so the last step was trimming my grill to fit.
Waited for night fall, and yes it's ruh-tardedly bright. Cool thing I liked was swapping the Light Force's 25A fuse for a 10A. I'm sure I'll get to put the lighting to the test at Trophy Challenge.
Light bar, check.
Appreciate the offer, Caleb. I've been nerding out pretty heavily on the different ways to go about cutting out the rockers. Took advantage of the weather today, and decided to just dive into it. It's just metal right? Take it an add it as you please.
I knew without a doubt I wanted to run mine up to the top of the door sill plate. This would involve trimming the doors later, but the added clearance would be well worth it in my opinion. Plus I've grown to really enjoy cutting my rig apart.
First cut would be basically on the edge of the sill plate, from the front fender to the rear. On the bottom I cut along the outside of the pinch seam, leaving it intact for the time being.
Mmm, commitment.
With the rocker cut away, I had a good look at what I was dealing with. I noticed the "shelf" left over on the bottom by not fully cutting away the pinch seam. Not knowing exactly what laid behind them, I knew the first cuts would be "exploratory" cuts.
With running the rockers up to the sill plate, the left over lower pinch seam really did me no good of having around. My next cut was on the back side of the pinch seam, just before the seam in the sheetmetal. Don't cut past the seam, as this would be into your floor board.
I did a few clean up cuts all around, but for the most part the rocker was cut away to where I needed it to be. I chose not to fully cut out the sill plates, but instead hole sawed them for additional welding.
Ready for the replacement tube. I can already tell the bulge behind the kick panel, and seat belt bolt are going to interfere with the tube placement. Nothing the sparkler wrench won't fix. Also started laying out my fame tie-in / boat side mounts.
For the most part I'm winging it on this project. I know what I want in the end, it's just a matter of making it happen in between.
hards91xj
NAXJA Member #790
- Location
- Tacoma Wa.
Looks like you have a good Design, Engineer,Fab & install Team on your side.
Sometimes my team has to keep remeating .
Sometimes my team has to keep remeating .
With the body cutting behind me, I set out on getting the new replacement rockers prepped. For material I chose to go with 6x2x.188" rectangular tubing. Decided on a length (65"), 45'd the ends, and cut out some .134" plate to cap the ends.
Glued on.
Mocked up the 6x2 into position. I zeroed out the level on my quarter panel guards for a reference point since I know they are level with the rest of the Jeep.
I had to notch a bulge in the sheet metal just behind the front kick panel for the 6x2 to sit in square. Patching and welding the notch will be a fun task, but it allowed for an even 3" to the sill plates.
I initially mocked the 6x2 up at zero degrees, but couldn't get the tube to sit right. The factory rockers are actually tilted down about four degrees, so I set my tube at three.
6x2 is in place, and I was liking what I was seeing. I also gutted the drivers side of the interior in preparation for what was to come.
At this point it was time to start hacking some holes through the floor. I spent way too much time debating on where to add the frame supports. In the end I settled on four per side, all evenly spaced.*
*I oftentimes will start at the one inch mark on a tape measure for a more accurate measurement. Occasionally I will forget to account for the inch. In this case I laid out my first floor notch one inch off, which I why you see a one inch gap next to the first tie-in leg. I couldn't live with it being one inch off so I shifted it over, and will patch the hole. :doh:
After some quality time spent with the angle of the dangle and porta-band, I had my frame tie-ins made. These are made from 2x2x.120" square tubing. I chose to run the tie-ins along the bottom (2.5") and side (1.25") of the 6x2 to help resist any twisting.
Tacked on. I ran all the tie-ins at the same angle so they are all in the same plane for future boat sides. I don't feel I sacrificed any critical ground clearance, and the strength they will provide will be well worth it. Hanging a 50lb chunk of steel off sheet metal is asking a lot.
I have a few more pieces to add, then it's onto final welding, and reassembly.
Glued on.
Mocked up the 6x2 into position. I zeroed out the level on my quarter panel guards for a reference point since I know they are level with the rest of the Jeep.
I had to notch a bulge in the sheet metal just behind the front kick panel for the 6x2 to sit in square. Patching and welding the notch will be a fun task, but it allowed for an even 3" to the sill plates.
I initially mocked the 6x2 up at zero degrees, but couldn't get the tube to sit right. The factory rockers are actually tilted down about four degrees, so I set my tube at three.
6x2 is in place, and I was liking what I was seeing. I also gutted the drivers side of the interior in preparation for what was to come.
At this point it was time to start hacking some holes through the floor. I spent way too much time debating on where to add the frame supports. In the end I settled on four per side, all evenly spaced.*
*I oftentimes will start at the one inch mark on a tape measure for a more accurate measurement. Occasionally I will forget to account for the inch. In this case I laid out my first floor notch one inch off, which I why you see a one inch gap next to the first tie-in leg. I couldn't live with it being one inch off so I shifted it over, and will patch the hole. :doh:
After some quality time spent with the angle of the dangle and porta-band, I had my frame tie-ins made. These are made from 2x2x.120" square tubing. I chose to run the tie-ins along the bottom (2.5") and side (1.25") of the 6x2 to help resist any twisting.
Tacked on. I ran all the tie-ins at the same angle so they are all in the same plane for future boat sides. I don't feel I sacrificed any critical ground clearance, and the strength they will provide will be well worth it. Hanging a 50lb chunk of steel off sheet metal is asking a lot.
I have a few more pieces to add, then it's onto final welding, and reassembly.
Jbh97009
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Damascus, Oregon
Freaking awesome!! I like it!!
I'll be doing mine here pretty soon too....
I'll be doing mine here pretty soon too....
WaXJ_Skier
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Bellevue, Wa
Dammit Dustin
You are seriously making me consider putting my axles under my XJ and attending NWFest
You are seriously making me consider putting my axles under my XJ and attending NWFest
- Location
- NE Texas
I added two more end supports that will support the ends of the boat sides, but not penetrate through the floor. I did this mostly for clearance reasons as these legs are within the drop point of the tire. With all the legs built and tacked on, I pulled the entire assembly for final welding.
Welded up nicely.
With the structure back into position, I started the very tedious task of welding it all into place.
Welded around all the supports best I could. Another not so fun task.
Patched my goof up with some 16 gauge.
Tied in the front of the 6x2 into the A-pillar/cowl area with some 1.5x.188" flat bar.
With everything welded up, I shot some primer at it, and then applied some silicone around all the welds for some extra seal assurance.
Painted up the outside, and reassembled the interior. I ditched all the carpet around the trans tunnel. I'm thinking later this summer I'll pull everything out and bed line the whole interior.
Last task was fitting the doors back on. This meant having to trim approximately 1.5" off the bottoms. This leaves a gap in the bottoms of the doors, which isn't a huge deal. I'd like to say I plan on filling it in with some sheet metal, but I'm bad when it comes to finishing projects 100% (my shock hoops still aren't painted).
Driver side is complete, and I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out.
Just need to bust out the passenger side now, which hopefully will go a lot quicker now that I've done one side. I also am kicking around ideas on how I want to go about doing the actual plating for the boat sides.
It's back to the 4500 MJ this week after we took a break the last few weeks so the crew could head down to EJS in Moab. I'm burned out working on this thing, so the MJ will be a nice change for awhile.
Welded up nicely.
With the structure back into position, I started the very tedious task of welding it all into place.
Welded around all the supports best I could. Another not so fun task.
Patched my goof up with some 16 gauge.
Tied in the front of the 6x2 into the A-pillar/cowl area with some 1.5x.188" flat bar.
With everything welded up, I shot some primer at it, and then applied some silicone around all the welds for some extra seal assurance.
Painted up the outside, and reassembled the interior. I ditched all the carpet around the trans tunnel. I'm thinking later this summer I'll pull everything out and bed line the whole interior.
Last task was fitting the doors back on. This meant having to trim approximately 1.5" off the bottoms. This leaves a gap in the bottoms of the doors, which isn't a huge deal. I'd like to say I plan on filling it in with some sheet metal, but I'm bad when it comes to finishing projects 100% (my shock hoops still aren't painted).
Driver side is complete, and I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out.
Just need to bust out the passenger side now, which hopefully will go a lot quicker now that I've done one side. I also am kicking around ideas on how I want to go about doing the actual plating for the boat sides.
It's back to the 4500 MJ this week after we took a break the last few weeks so the crew could head down to EJS in Moab. I'm burned out working on this thing, so the MJ will be a nice change for awhile.
Similar threads
