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"Dirthead 509" TJ Project

178K views 1K replies 102 participants last post by  Mr. Beefy 
#1 · (Edited)
Build plan:
98TJ
3-link front, double triangulated 4 link rear
Hydro assist
79 Ford D60 front, 5.38's, undecided locker
14 B rear, 5.38's, undecided locker
Flipped D300, possibly 231-D300 doubler....if I can find the right parts:sonicjay:
4 cyl to 4.0L conversion since it was missing the 4 cyl :sonicjay:
Full cage
Highline tube fenders
Non comp cut cut
Fuel cell
I'm sure there's more.......


The story:
I picked this up on the coldest day last year....remember when it was 0 deg for a high with a -20 windchill in Jan 08, yea that day:teehee:

We bolted a front axle under it with wheel bearings and put tires on to roll it onto the trailer. Was a 4 cylinder.....minus the 4 cylinder, front axle, rear ring and pinion, airbags deployed.
Put the hood and stood the grill in place to access the damage once I got it home.

Picked up half doors and uppers this summer, color is fugly but they'll serve the purpose.
Bought a take out 4.0L and AX-15 with computer, wiring ect this summer. S.Hembree, Pwilson22000 and I set that in a couple weeks ago and started it. Tucking that up as far as I can. Folded the pinch seam up and out of the way on the firewall when I pulled the engine back out. Gained about an inch of clearance for wiring and such :thumb:


Then it came back out and S.Hembree and I cut the frame to straighten it back out. This heep was in a front collision, the frame was 1.5" taller on the drivers side, had to cut the frame to twist it back to about where it's supposed to be.

Frame gave right under the 4 cylinder motor mount. Had to cut 3 sides and 1/2 way up the fourth before it would move.

Frame tacked in place, onto front crossmember/bumper. I will be transfering my 8274 from my XJ to this one when done so I've been building the front so that it will accept that winch. Bumpmember mocked up:

Still need to put another 4" section of 1/4 across the front and brace it back. Will have to drill holes after that but I want to have the winch sitting in the bumper before putting holes in.
Relocated steering box up and hopefully out of harms way. 2/3rds done :teehee::


Still need to tap the steering box for hydro assist.
Went to LKQ last weekend and pulled a 99+ intake for $18, put that on saturday and replaced the powersteering fluid tank with one that didn't have the tab broke off the back.

Got my 14 bolt SOLID diff cover that I won at the Sundowners Rodeo this week. Also ordered disc brake brackets and D300 flip/clocking ring early this week but didn't get anything in time for this weekend. Pic of 79 D60 front and 14B rear:

Started on my flat belly kit this afternoon. Doing this one cheap for now. We'll see how it turns out. Ends cut off and sledge hammered flat :teehee:




Comments/criticism welcome, that's where the good idea's come from. Sorry for crappy pics, keep forgetting the camera.
 
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#102 ·
Weekend update:
Saturday cut the frame and straightened it out. I was working on my uphill weave(think that's what it's called). I normally run my weave downhill but I've read that it's stronger if you run uphill with it. I figure I'm going to add support either way so I might as well see what all the fuss is about. Nevermind the random welding on the frame, I was filling in cut marks :teehee: I'm just a johnny backyard welder so any critism/pointers are appreciated :thumb:. Welds were done with a Lincoln 140 something 110V welder. I'll be doing all my final welding with a Lincoln Powermig 210.


Before the second chop


Uphill on the other side:

Inside

Top section:


Spent Sunday taking my Cherokee apart. It went for it's final ride Saturday with stock tires on it. It will be missed :( It's motivation though because I'm wheelerless until I get the TJ on the road/trails.
 
#108 ·
Plates for sure. I'm thinking 3/16" or 1/4" down one side all the way back to the motor mounts on each frame rail. Looking at it, IMO, the best way to do it would be to cut it off on it's way up to the motor mounts and replace from there. I didn't feel that ambitiuos. I was surprised it ended up as straight as is did. The fancy laser level said it was within .1 deg from one side to the other......unfortunately I know I have more angle than that in the concrete so it's...........sort of straight :sonicjay:
 
#115 ·
Acted like a little kid when I got home from work today :sonicjay:
RCI fuel cell 2161A showed up from ebay yesterday :woot:
TJ fuel cell adapter from Copperhead fab in route, :whiz:$19 to ship a fuel cell ring
Front and Rear diff covers, 7/8 heims with adapters and jam nuts in route from http://www.ruffstuffspecialties.com/ $10 to ship all that :rock:
Tyres showed up today :rock: ntwonline.com running a special :thumb:
Rims also showed up today :rock: ebay special on those too.
Tires are 16/40-16 Interco LTB's at 101lbs/tire
Rims are GM stock aluminum beadlocks made by Hutchison and weigh 48lbs on the scale.




Happy Camper........XJ gone, parts here........doesn't look like much does it :(
 
#121 ·
did you get it all the way one ( the wheel ) and it was flush at the back of the hub? Butler is running the same wheels on a HP60, and we had to take the wheels over to ToolMakerPrevo to machine the centers out abit to clear the center of the hub at the base of the studs.
 
#124 · (Edited)
Just got my fuel cell adapter ring from Copperhead fab. I'll call them in the morning and ask for a refund. It's like JP fab changed thier name :( Pics to follow.
Ok where do I start. No bolts, gasket, ect(not advertised on thier site, my bad and not really that big of deal)
Sides don't physically fit together. Having built most everything myself thus far I'm not at all impressed with buying a product that is supposed to be finished and then having to grind to get it to fit together.



Here you can see that they torched over the part that is supposed to fit together inside the tank. I even flipped it over and the 2 pieces don't fit together.

Here you can see where they ran a drill through because the plasma blowout on the back side is so severe.

Being a manufacturing engineer that specializes in machining...... less than impressed is an understatement. Factor thier $10 "handling" charge that they add into thier shipping and I can say that I won't ever be buying any item from them again. They flat out shipped a product where the pieces don't fit together. It takes about 30 seconds from a quality control standpoint to check fitment prior to packaging the final product into a box and they failed to do that. Very dissapointed indeed:(
 
#125 ·
doesnt that piss you off when you buy a new item and you have to modify it to work.give them hell, that is not exceptable.
 
#127 ·
Didn't get any pictures over the weekend. I reinforced the front frame on the inside of the frame where I cut it. I welded my 14B truss corners. I decided to lay the 14B in one more time before burning everything home. I moved the front D60 into place and finish welded the upper together and tacked it in place. I finished welding my rear links and am using them to get the front together. Don't really have any more than that, only worked on it on saturday. Our CTOR meet and greet on saturday night did CTB2 and I in :teehee:. I started burning my lower links in on Sunday morning and stopped because I was doing more harm that good in the state that I was in :sonicjay: I did find out that my rims have a 1/4" lip inside the mounting bore that impead mounting the rims on a ford D60 front. CTB2 took that lip off to match the rest of the bore and the rims fit now. So I have to modify the other 3 rims and I can mount tires. Not really looking forward to that :sonicjay: That's about it for updates. I'll be working on it all weekend this weekend though so hopefully I have front and rear axles under it come sunday afternoon :thumb:
 
#133 ·
should i post pics of my copperhead beadlocks ?? i will give him props on hi customer service though.. i called him after i received my 1st batch. and told him how fucked up they were.. looked like a pissed off 4 yr old cut them out with a hacksaw.. Edges were all Slag holes had been drilled to clear the slag like yours and none lined up.. i got 2 or 3 different sizes.. ( i realize outers are a little bigger) so i called him and said i cant use this crap.. and i have a trip planning where i need these next weekend.. he was on the phone calling me the next day to verify everything with me as they reprogrammed their machine and cut me out another batch which were at my door 2 days later..
 
#134 ·
That's cool that they hooked you up. I hardly doubt I'm the first person to buy thier fuel cell ring though. I don't think it's a matter of positioning, it's a matter of quality, well specifically the lack there of. When I purchase a product from a company, I just want to install it and go. Since the sides of this ring don't fit together, I can't install it therefore the manufacturer didn't fulfill thier obligation IMO. If I wanted to do all that work to design it, I'd quote it and have it made local instead :beer: This isn't a set of DIY fenders, it's a fuel cell ring that slides together inside a hole and traps the fuel sender unit to fuel cell. It shouldn't be grind to fit :(. To top it all off, it was $19 in shipping and "handling" to get this thing to my house. It'd be $4 to ship with USPS. $15 handling fee? I will not buy another product from Copperhead Fab. :whiz: shotty quality, :whiz:$19 shipping and handling for a $55.20 item that fits in an envelope. That's just my opinion based on my experience.
 
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