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[jps4jeep]

Well, this has been a long time coming so I might as well start one, I have a sh!t load of photos to  post and some are going to jump around and are not in any specific chronological order, but I will try to provide as little insight as possible and bore you with stupid commentary.

This will eventually where I put all my current work.

After I successfully destroyed my 77 blazer’s frame due to inexperience wheeler stroker motor and too big of tires (still looking for a photo) I got my first jeep in 1998, it was a 94 sport SE (the gay splash stickers down the side) this was my college budget build, it had taller home made shackles, 31” mud terrains on some chromed out rims and a welded front diff. that’s all. It was a great little wheeler and probably one of my favorite set ups ever. In December of 2000, I bought myself a lift kit for Christmas. Three days before Christmas, this happened


The Jeep was parked in the driveway of my parents house, not in gear, with the park brake on, well, the park brake popped free and the jeep rolled 130 yards down a steep hill in front of their house and eventually hit a house. It was a total loss. I ended up taking as much off it as I could prior to the insurance taking it, Sold most of what I didn’t reuse, ended up actually making money off it and then I bought the jeep I have now, another 94 sport SE that had Gay splash stickers down the side (still looking for stock pics)
Since I had the lift kit I put it on and wheeled it with the 31” Mud terrains for a while (only pic I could find)

Around 2000, 2001 I added 33” Yokahama’s on some cheap want ad black steelies


Then I got some TJ flares off ebay super cheap that were take off’s from a brand new sahara. I seriously think I only paid $60


Then I fabbed up my own OBA set up, the only thing I had to pay for was a new clutch belt and idler pulley, everything else I made, rebuilt, or got for free.




Air tank was from a Mitsubishi-fuso air brake system I got for free from a friend of a friend that worked at Detroit diesel at the time.

[jps4jeep]

All the same time, I also had a number of jeeps I dragged home to either part out or fix up and sell, here are two of the worse one’s I had.



Then I blew every last brake line in the jeep in Paragon so I finially replaced every single line and added a set of SS extended lines, which I ended up replacing a number if times because I would constantly over extend them and pull the crimp fitting out of the banjo.


Then I got some tractor lights from napa, 4 of them, at $5 a pop, plus wiring and switch I had Rock lights for about $30


Then I made this little gem, it houses switches for the OBA, Rock lights and the Dukes of hazard horn. Plus it had a tranny gauge for the T-case, Cyl head temp gauge, and a air/fuel ratio gauge.


Then I added a winch, front bumper and new rear bumper




Eventually the front diff got welded on this jeep and it stayed that way for a season,

Then I broke the pass side intermediate shaft, 2 days later I broke my leg and couldn’t drive a stick for a while, so I spent that time working in the garage and getting my axles set up and fabbing up some parts.
about a year or so earlier I scored a set of D44’s pretty much for free, I traded a set of ½ doors that I had that I got for free from a junk jeep (they were junk) and I traded my old grill guard that I actually paid for new (stupid me)

[jps4jeep]

The D44’s both go 4.88’s, and Detroit.
The front got 75 Chevy knuckles that I had flat topped milled and drilled. KOZ hi steer arms, Poison Spyder diff guard, stock waggy hubs, 75 Chevy caliper mounts, calipers and rotors (stock waggy were junk, these were free) Rear got 99 C1500 Chevy rotors, 84 Cadillac calipers, home made diff cover, and cryo’ed shafts






I had saved a lot of parts from my blazer, these were on it back when it was still 6 lug, for what ever reason I hung on to them for 6 years, so I cleaned them up and used them


I also re-used the old rear drive shaft from my blazer as the front shaft in my YJ

It was literally about a inch too long, I know it appears shorter, but the pinion on the 44 is way longer than the d30


At this point, my leafs were all either bent, broken or beat. I bought a set of pro comps from blackwhyjay (Chris) a couple years earlier for another project that never got used so I tossed those and the d44’s into the jeep, at the same time, I rerouted the brake lines so I only had one line to the rear axle then splits at the diff (stock) and one line to the front axle and splits at the diff (not stock) used the stock booster, master from a 85 E 350 and the proportioning valve from a 98 5.9 Limited Grand.

Out with the rear

Now for the front


Rear in

Front in


Made my own steering linkage from .25 wall 1.25” DOM with 1 ton TRE from a K30 Chevy.

[jps4jeep]

With the axles and new springs in, it sat way higher than it did before, even though the old springs were 4” skyjackers and these were 3.5” pro comps. So the 33” tires looks a little out of place.

Notice the nicely painted rims.
SO on went the Q78’s


Problem I ran into was that the stock pitman arm was reamed out for the 1 ton TRE, but due to the hi steer, it was contacting at ride height, ooops. So I took the steering box off thinking I woud just re-drill the frame. I decided to fab my own steering box mount and it moved the box forward 1.5 inches and out .5” away from the shackle (contacted if I just move the box forward)



I am still looking for pics of the bracket.

Then I wheeled it successfully for a couple years

[jps4jeep]

Last year I smoked 3 out of 4 of my rims at a local trail. I can honestly say I was not the hardest on my vehicle that day, J-dawg wins that hands down, but I did find the limit of aluminum wheels.


I had a set of 6 lug Chevy Wheels I got for free from Derek (Adams friend from FTR) that had been sitting in my garage for a couple years, I also had ordered a set of DIY bead locks a year or so earlier through A-Z fab through pirate. It was such a super deal I could not pass it up. So basically I would have bead locks for less than $160 bucks.






Primed


Be-dazzeled



All the mean while I had been collecting parts for the next stage of build

[jps4jeep]

Np 231-D300 Doubler from D&D Machine, Duffy from Pirate does awesome work. I already had a D300 from one of my old CJ’s and a 231 from a YJ project that I never used. Jeeptech (Chris hooked me up with a new set of planetary gears for the 231 range box!


Cable shifters from North West Fab


Tube Notcher


Jeff at Crown hooked me up with a set of (and I think they are called) up country rear leaf’s, basically stock xj rears but sit about 1.5” higher… they are going in the from, I took the A$A stock rear leaf’s and Twisty (Tim) traded some parts with me for an extra set of XJ main leafs. Made my own military wrap springs for the rear.

*edit, something is not working for these pics, will fix*

Of Course I bought a trailer, you can see my Dana 60 sitting under a tarp to the left

[Switch]

I can't wait to see more!  Thanks for the history

[jps4jeep]

These Biotches came last week.



$230 shipped for the pair

[jps4jeep]

Gonna be stretching to 106” wheel base with a Big ol’ 14 bolt rear, so this had to go, plus last trail ride I ran out of gas and it would only seem like a smart time to do it while it was empty.

Thanks Tony for helping with the tank removal. What a way to waste a Friday.. Drinking beer and spending 2 hours to take out a out a gas tank that should have only been 30 minutes


Putting in a 2162A RCI tank
Mocked up



Re-use the factory pump and sending unit, mark for the cut


Thanks again to Jeeptech (Chris) for hooking my up with a junk Fuel plate flange, allowed me to make my retainer flange for the fuel cell with out actually having to pull mine out.



Thanks to Tony for letting me use his Tig Welder. I want to keep using the stock fuel gauge, so I would re-use the stock sender, but the float hit the side of the cell and needed to be shortened by about 1.5”


Tossed it in, fit like a glove

[jps4jeep]

I will eventually sink the cell down through the body and in between the frame rails, but dues to lack of time, and desire to wheel it, this will have to do for now. So I found these poly swap bar end link bushings at auto zone.


Here is what I did with them, real nice vibration isolators if I do say so myself.



While I was at west marine buying these


I bought heat shrink water proof connectors and re-wired the fuel pump, replumbed the pump, while at west I also found a 3/8-1/4 plastic barbed hose bushing (you can kind see it in the third pic, it is white), I was going to run the vent up to the under hood area, I made a little splash guard for it and stuff, but now I will simply reuse the stock charcoal canister.




Finished her up just right

[BiGdAdDeE]

Those seats look comfy as hell.  Where'd they come from captain.  will you share?  & do they have black or green

EBAY??

[97ProjecTJ]

Those seats look comfy as hell.  Where'd they come from captain.  will you share?  & do they have black or green

EBAY??

Im gonna guess a vendor on pirate. I seen a deal just like that a week or two ago.

[BiGdAdDeE]

too bad.  I need some @ss huggers.  mine are Betop $139 hiback vinyls.  Borrrrrring.
Did you also fab that rear dif guard? Didn't look quite factory.

I bet just the bolts alone for those beadlocks cost some $$.
looks to be about 128 count and grade 8 no?

[jps4jeep]

Seats came from a pirate vendor, NE Wrangler and Tony are also getting a set, but they are paying the higher price 

I made the rear diff guard with some spare stock when I worked at Superior, that was the only good thing about that job, I had unlimited access to a fully stocked machine shop with unlimited amouts of steel.  Unfortunatly the job was rotting away at my inner being and destroying my soul, but ithappens when you work for the devil, or his step brother.

I got the hardware from McMaster Carr, it it grade 8, but I got a discount because I ordered it through my old work account and had it shipped to work. in all I think it was about $35 for all the hardware. One thing you will notice is I hate to pay full price for anything, SO I have a tendedncy of either waiting till I find the right deal, or make it myself.  The fuel cell I got off ebay for $140 shipped, I got my RCI 5 point harnesses off ebay, the pair still in date for about $90, don't recall the shipping.  I have a ton of other parts, I just don't have pics with me, as I get them up-loaded I will up date.

[Posimoto]

Well done on the fuel cell.

I like the progression of your build. Keep us posted.