99 TJ one ton stretch/coilovers/doubler etc...

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[mattamd_xp]

Got the crossmember welded up last week. Definitely better welds using a 220 machine on 1/4"

Meanwhile it will be a couple of weeks before I get back to working on it as my 2nd son was born on Sunday morning

[Twisty]

Nice welds, and congratulations!!!

[Ian]

Nice welds, and congratulations!!!

X2

[Posimoto]

Congratulations to you and Mom, Happy Birthday to your son as well.

[burtonjeeplj]

Congrats Matt!!

Where did u end up order the miller 211 from?

[mattamd_xp]

Thanks for the congrats! Baby and Mom are doing really well.

I got the Miller off ebay new. It was only $940 with free shipping plus I got the $75 rebate off of that  I then sold my little Hobart for $300, so the total out of pocket for the 211 was $565 (plus I picked up an 80cf tank for ~$180 filled) The place I got my Powermax 45 plasma cutter from has the 211 on sale right now for $979 right now plus the $75 rebate, so if I was looking for one now, that is by far the best price. Even the place I bought mine from is now $1,100+.

http://www.weldersupply.com/productdetails.asp?cat=Mig+Welding&ID=36&pID=275

[mattamd_xp]

Got about 3 hours to work on it again this morning 
My brother-in-law was over to help so we were able to get a lot done. I decided to just shorten the Rubicon Express arms that I was trying to sell and add flex joints to the back of them. They now have flex joints and adjustability at both ends.
Got the lower front arm brackets from Poly welded together and tacked in place, lower arms made and installed, upper arm measured, track bar axle bracket tacked in, and figured out all my clearance issues. I have to cut the frame side track bar bracket off and redo it to make it lower. Need to get it parallel to the drag link setup that I'm going with. My wheelbase looks to be right around 99-100" The poly high-clearance brackets are the lowest hanging part under the Jeep. From them back nothing is more than 1/2" below the frame except the rear axle
I ordered the wrong size shock brackets back in September from Poly, so hopefully I can exchange them. I measured 1 shock for misalignment width and it was 1.25" so that's what I ordered. Only that 1 shock had 1.25" the rest are all 1.5"... So can't mount the coilovers until I get those replaced. everything is pictured ~1" above ride height. I still have 3.5-4" more uptravel in most places, so I should have 4.5-5" of overall bump travel with 72" windshield height on 35's
On to the pictures






Front upper link space

driveshaft clearance. May have to go with a 2 piece one

[Twisty]

Nice progress!  Looks very similar to Ian's build up. 

Hows the new baby?

[mattamd_xp]

Got a good amount done today on the Jeep. Started the day with the frame and axles all on jackstands and ended with the front axle on the wheels and the coilovers supporting the weight of the front. No more jackstands under the front! Still a long ways to go, but everything in the front is getting buttoned up. Clearances are wicked tight with keeping my ride height so low, but it looks like everything clears. I do have to do a little more work on the steering to make sure I can get my trackbar and drag link parallel, but in the end it's worth it to me for the overall lower height. I still have to figure out how to make the crossbar between the coilover hoops, but everything else for them is set up front.


Trackbar to fan/pulley clearance


Just snakes in front of the pulley and clears the fan by about 1/2" with having 4" of uptravel from ride height. I may end up putting in a motor lift to give me a bit more clearance, but everything fits as is.

The poly front brackets are almost setup for a front 3 link for a whole lot less than their 3 link brackets, so I'm going to make my own top to the upper link bracket and be done with it



Gotta love the clearance under the front arms


Over shot at the end of the day

[Twisty]

If you saw how close my fan was to my winch, you'd be glad you have that much space between the fan and the panhard bar.   

[mattamd_xp]

Finally got a chance to work on this a little bit again. It doesn't help that some of my free time is now taken up with helping a co-worker rebuild and swap a 4 bolt main 350 into his '68 vette, but he's paying me, so I'll give up the time for Jeep money   

Got an empty garage for the first time since Nov of 09



Just temporarily rolled it out. I still don't have a truss or upper arms on the rear axle. Used this method for now to support the weight and keep the rear from rotating up


The plan is to push it back out when I have a bit more time (have to go to the in-laws tonight) and lift the tub off the frame. Everything is ready to go, just needed a bit more time. I'll leave the tub in the driveway and throw the hardtop on it to protect it and put the chassis back into the garage to finish welding all the tacked on brackets and finish the rear axle/fuel cell setup. Than it should be roll it back out under the tub and start putting it all back together... Felt good to see it out in the daylight for the first time in over 2 years though   

[mattamd_xp]

Next time I'm going to make sure I have my engine hoist available... What a fun job by myself. At least now I have plenty of room to work on the rear suspension, coilover mounts and fuel cell mounting (under tub).

[BiGdAdDeE]

 

[mattamd_xp]

Got some time yesterday and today to clean the garage up a bit to make it easier to spend small amounts of time getting things done. Installed one of my toolboxes under the top in a semi-permanent mount to put some stuff in that I really don't need to move around in the roll-away or carry box. I now have lots of free bench space for laying stuff out.

[mattamd_xp]

Haven't touched this in almost 2 months. Got distracted with life and working on a 99 Chevy 2500 I picked up last month.  Decided to make it easier to mount the rear coil-overs and keep the ride low, so I got one of these on the way http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=889228