The official Xota build thread

XTrmXJ said:
The toy guys say its impractical, i dont see how.. Look at some of those guys that put a SAS in and drop 350ci or bigger in, I see no differnce

X2
The Yota guys are just jealous they never thought of being this creative. They must have tiny peckers and/or low self esteem to be giving this project a D-.

Very nice work once again. Lovin' it.
 
Coming from a yota guy
Fabwork B
Creativity A
Motor A
Trans A
T-case D
Axles F
He is doing great work, it just seems senseless to do this much work and keep the weak ass dana 30.
 
davidt said:
Coming from a yota guy
Fabwork B
Creativity A
Motor A
Trans A
T-case D
Axles F
He is doing great work, it just seems senseless to do this much work and keep the weak ass dana 30.
If it works till it breaks, it shouldn't be that big of a problem. I think that starting with a good foundation leads to well planned modifications in the future, instead of just putting it all together at once. Once he learns mistakes he's made, he'll be able to correct it all while swapping out the weaker stock components, ie: axles, tcase
 
first of all i have had an xj since 1999 and love them. I also love 1st gen 4runners and plan on buying or building one thins spring. For the toyota guys ripping on ya they are a bunch of jackass' if they dont think the 4.0, aw4, 231/242 combo is a great package. I plan on droping in a stroked hi performance 4.3 in a 1st gen 4runner, but i have also imagined a 2 door xj choped behind the doors with a mj bed grafted on to make the most 4runner-ish jeep; that jeep never made. To much of a hastle for me at the moment. Plus by purchasing a 4runner i get the fiberglass top and electric heated rear glass window very helpful in michigan.

I like your xota allot (even though i would not have the patients i would have bought a 4 runner and droped in a buick 3.8 or chevy 4.3) and the guys on that 4x4wire are a bunch of pricks, its your time and money and if you like it, who cares. There are a million directions you could have gone worse, and what you did looks top notch for being on a budget. I have seen much worse with guys that spared no money or time. or worse guys that though their rig was so great.

You managed to combine both into soething that fit your goals on the cheap and did it yourself well. Man those yota guys are fags, and that comment is comming from a guy that has always loved 4runners (since i was a lil baby in 80s i always loved early broncos, all jeeps and runners) and darn near every landcruiser ever made. I think they are more in love with toyota than wheeling. They have it backwards.

Wheeling by nature is not practical, the most practical way to drive is on road in a low well handling fuel efficent cheap car, not a lifted yota. Queers!

If toyota was perfect why did so many old yotas come with the patheticly underpowered 22r. Its a great engine in terms of reliablity and gets the job done barely. It is no 4.0. So basically yota spent money on other stuff than the engine, xjs came with a great engine and so so axels. Same difference we both have to drop a few grand to make them great wheelers.
 
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I posted some of your work over on the IH8MUD land cruiser site, and well... They're not so friendly over there when it comes to Jeeps.

I like it, and think you've done a great job. I think the Yota dudes are just jealous.

I also found Arya eri?, that used to be an XJ owner over there (he owns a Yota now). He promptly put up a bunch of Jeep XJ pics up over there, and then the pissin and moanin' really got started.
 
I just routed the looms over the fender thru the window into the cab and plugged in the column.

Just the connector to the steering column to make it run? Along with all the stuff under the hood too...I've got a 4.0 swap starting soon and am just a bit curious about the wiring before I get started.

Glad you've taken a road less traveled with the build up. Plans for an external cage in the works?
 
Thanks again for your comments.

You know I wouldn't recommend this combination drivetrain and Toyota cab to someone just looking to upgrade their own Toyota. It is very tight in the engine compartment both length-wise and not much room on the sides of the engine. I do think that whenever you go big tires on a 4cyl Toyota, you have to go bigger engine if you want to drive highway speeds in the mountains.

I had a unique situation where I had a complete XJ drivetrain already locked, an engine that did not use any oil and a cheap cab/frame available.
I think I will end up with a very capable rig and still have enough power to drive up the mountain passes comfortably. Sure it's a lot of labor, but to me, that's the fun part. It's the spending big dollars that I hate. Not counting tires I should end up about $1,500.00 into this rig (course that's not counting all the money I had into the XJ) and if I hadn't rolled the XJ and put $1,500.00 into it, I still wouldn't have this capable of a rig. I know I'll soon have to replace the D35 and D30, but I would of had to do that no matter what, and it will be a pretty easy upgrade in this rig when that happens. Not to mention it will be fun turning a few heads when I drive by.

So let the haters say what they want. On the trails and getting to the trails is where it will matter.



yellowxj said:
Just the connector to the steering column to make it run? Along with all the stuff under the hood too...I've got a 4.0 swap starting soon and am just a bit curious about the wiring before I get started.

Glad you've taken a road less traveled with the build up. Plans for an external cage in the works?

Yes just the connector to the ignition switch, the computer wiring had not been routed inside at that time so they were just plugged in and set on the fenders with a ground clamped to the case. Then the wiring back to the fuel tank and pump had to be connected.

Flat bed and exo-cage are part of the project.
 
bitchin project man. I have something for those toyota guys to consider before they flap thier gums, there is a good reason yotas come out of the factory with front tow hooks firmly bolted in place....lmao....... I think it needs a jeep emblem somewhere in the rear since they will probably see more of that end anyway.
 
xjaddiction said:
I posted some of your work over on the IH8MUD land cruiser site, and well... They're not so friendly over there when it comes to Jeeps.
thats when they are stuck and ask if you have a winch or rope and you keep going and say ya think I'll need one?
 
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nice work, but with all of that work, did you ever think of getting rid of those junk axles that are under it? you said that you wanted to put some big meats under it, will the stock axles be up to the challenge of big tires? but anyways, nice work, i like the idea of something new
 
Great job , like the slope on the nose , should look better after paint. Peaple buy $60,000 cars & trucks then have a shop do $40,000 worth of work at a shop . You used $40,000 worth of brains and skill.
 
i jsut want to say WOW. the fab work and everything you have done is amazing. i jsut hope to one day be able to work 1/4 as well as u. i cant wait to see the finished product. keep up the amazing work and roll over the yotas wen ur done!!
 
Started making the front bumper. I need it built so I can trim the fender properly and then finish up the fender body work. First I made 2 bends in 1 3/4 x .120 HREW tubing and hung it by some temp. brackets.
DSC00203.jpg

Then I made the 2 end bends.
DSC00204.jpg

Then I trimmed the fender. This is a photo chop, that shows what the upper tube that will be added to the bottom will look like.
CHOP206.jpg
 
Looks like your air box is sticking above the fender..but im sure you've got that covered. Any plans on how you're going to fit the hood yet? I just picked up this thread the other day..and I am amazed at what you've done--excellent work, im excited to see the progress!
 
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