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WhiteRhino's Latest Mods

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317K views 2K replies 189 participants last post by  whiterhino 
#1 ·
Sometime late last summer I was talking to Jim about modding his jeep and it snowballed and somehow I got in the middle of it. before I knew what was going on I agreed to build his jeep over again pretty much. The goal was lots of strength and a nice cushy ride while providing clearance for 40's in the future.

The entire build/arguing/problem solving thread is here: http://www.misfitoffroad.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=8991&start=0

it will be completely finished and wheelable in the next couple weeks.
here are a few pictures of the build:
 

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#820 ·
Seats looks really comfortable. While I think double harnesses are great for personal protection I have heard comments that they were pretty restrictive when it came to general trail riding. In general because they don't have the self retracting roller at the attachment point. Do these have it or is it a fixed mount?
If it's fixed are you going to put in a secondary belt system?

Center grab bar: Nice idea. I assume you'll move the radio back further as I remember it being up close to the windshield. Or was it farther back than I remember?

You going to wait till you scratch the tubes before you paint them black?

j-kb8ymf
 
#821 ·
We're headed a different direction with the seat belts. Seems that after a typical day of trail riding we are whipped. I've had several people tell me that with a full harness, your body/muscles don't have near as much strain on them when you actually let the seat do all the work and the straps keep you in the seat. So, we're going to give that a try. I believe that allowing the outside harness be a little looser will allow enough flexibility to stick my head out and watch the tires during slow technical "safe" situations. As a side note, the harness shown has been on the driver's side for a couple years but Dianne wanted the retractable on the passenger side. I had already bought both so it's a matter of if she doesn't like the harness, I'll put the retractable one back in.

The HAM radio is now in the dash. CB location is yet TBD but I don't think I want it overhead anymore.

Yes on the tubes except the rocker tubes. They will be going black right away since my painter knew they were going black and he didn't waste paint on the tube.
 
#834 ·
Lots of progress tonight thanks to kb8ymf, offroadian & johnnyj. Items accomplished.
Fill rear diff with fluid.
Grease & install rear driveshaft
Install shifter & hook up shifter cable.
Install tailgate.
Mount blingy licence plate holder & plate to tailgate.
Install passenger seat & harness.
Install second battery & wire up winch.
Install rocker guards.
Install windshield.
Install windshield hoop.
Tune new shock with additional oil.
Install gas tank cap bezel.

We lifted it off the ground with the hoist & started the engine and verified the shifter and brakes work. Now I need to charge the shocks and it can be driven.

It looks like I will need to remake one of my windshield hoop to cage tie in's, it just doesn't line up quite right. We also had a minor setback where my brake lights & turn signals are acting up. With some research, it seems that it might be the wiring harness connector (OEM) or possibly my turn signal switch is malfunctioning. So, that's going to create some aggravation.


Sitting at ride height







So, the big ticket items remaining.
Charge shocks.
Figure out turn signal/brake lights.
Make new hoop tie in.
Wire inside winch controls, CB & HAM radios.
Install rear seat. (for the dog)
Install soft top.
Build front wheel wells.
Install windshield squirter bottle/pump.

Let's roll. :naughty:
 
#840 ·
We also had a minor setback where my brake lights & turn signals are acting up. With some research, it seems that it might be the wiring harness connector (OEM) or possibly my turn signal switch is malfunctioning. So, that's going to create some aggravation.
I just ran into the same problem on mine. Brake lights sometimes worked, rear turn signals worked, but not front. Wiggle the emergency flnashers switch and stuff would work, then not...... After tearing apart the wiring in the back, I found a dead short I couldn't explain. Ended up being the turn signal switch in the steering column corroded, replaced and everything works.

Looking good!
 
#841 ·
That's what I'm afraid of Lucas. I was so geeked last weekend when all the wiring worked without a lot of hassle. Now it's a setback. It was kinda discouraging when I was up in the air testing the shifter and brakes and Johnny says "how come your front turn signals are coming on when you hit the brakes?". :sonicjay:
 
#844 ·
Looking good.

With all the wheeling you do and how hard you use it, I'm surprised you don't have triangulation at the B pillar like most people run. Is your thinking that the triangulated horizontal spreaders going from the B to the C pillar will serve the same purpose well enough? Not criticizing, just trying to understand the thinking.....because I've got good triangulation between the B and C pillars also and have been considering whether I should still add it behind the seats as well. At this point I'm thinking I'll do V shaped bars to act as both the triangulation and the harness mounts.
 
#845 ·
No offense taken. :thumb: When you say "most people", no one I know comes to mind that has a triangulated B pillar. :confused: Most of my "hard" wheeling has been slow rock crawling. I have flopped many times and rolled once but my roll was not catastrophic. It was almost slow motion. I've never been one to challenge a hill that will result in a hard roll. Not that it can't happen on a lesser hill but that hasn't been my style. Helmet hill comes to mind. It can only be made with a full on throttle commitment. If you don't make it, you will hit hard on your side. I tried crawling it with the stickies & got 1/3 way up. That was good enough for me, I backed out. I've always hated the triangulated B pillars where there is a slanted bar directly behind the seats. As a mostly casual wheeler, they make access a PITA. I'm not the hardcore wheeler many seem to think I am. Ask Erin, he'll tell you I'm a puss.:finger:
 
#846 ·
Hmmm maybe not so much a Michigan thing then, I just remember seeing a ton of cage and chassis builds with B pillar triangulation. No one specific comes to mind so it was probably mostly on pirate. I can absolutely see the benefit in a hard roll but for most people it's overkill. I don't plan on putting my rig through the hell a lot of the guys do, but sh1t happens. If I happen to have a hard roll or flop I'd rather not have to worry about tweaking the whole cage.
 
#847 ·
Agreed. I know the racers do it. And since Michigan has mostly lot crawlers, not many people would do that to their cage. :teehee: I was pretty concerned that when I actually got around to reassembly that the cage and windshield hoop were tweaked and with a new straight body that it would be a problem. Yes, I had to run a drill through a couple holes to help with alignment but all in all, it went back together with minimal issues.
 
#850 ·
Jim, I had the same problem with my lights when I got it put my jeep back together. My issue was a chassis ground problem, because everything was painted all nice...lol. I ran a ground wire from the body to the frame and also a seperate one for the front grill to the frame. As well as one directly from the battery to the frame....That fixed it for me....good luck..


Another thing to note if you run a Aluminum Radiator you should run a ground wire from the radiator to a chassis ground....this keeps them from corroding from the inside out....
 
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