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Lightweight, Baby!

30K views 141 replies 19 participants last post by  John D 
#1 · (Edited)
Well, after deciding to be done with the XJ and go without a Jeep for the summer.... I held out for three and a half weeks before finding something new.

In my defense, it does align pretty close to what my future goal was:
CJ7, LS base, stock or 1/2 ton axles, 33” tires, clean frame, clean body and able to drive.

As purchased:
5.3L/4L60/300.
Long tube headers with dual 3” Flowmasters.
D30 front and D44 rear with spool.
Fiberglass tub, fenders and hood.
Clean frame.
Gray vinyl wrap.
Newer Bestop seats front and rear.

Issues:
Needs tuning.
Brakes work but pedal goes to the floor.
Steering turns much more right than left.
Wiring is a mess inside and out.

Goals for this one are:
Something my wife can drive.
Dependable daily driver for summer.
More time driving than upgrading.
Fun and fast-ish
Sand will be only off-road.
Maybe 1/2 ton axles.


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#108 ·
Nice,looks similar to a G-wagon or rover radius arm setup. Very cool.
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Yes it is and seeing what the some of the desert Toyota guys were doing inspired the design for my radius arms. I originally considered buying a set of these and then making the brackets work but in the end I just couldn’t justify the cost. They are super cool arms, just not that cool.

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#110 ·
It’s been a productive couple weeks. I got started on making axle brackets for the front radius arms and then pulled axles, steering box, fuel tank, transmission cooler, brake lines, rear bumper and cage tie-ins. I cut off shock mounts, leaf spring mounts and a weirdly placed rear body mount crossmember. I took out the 2” body lift and will need to adjust or relocate all body/frame mounts this week. I also started stripping paint from the frame. Lots of dust in the barn today. Oh, and the parts already came back from powder coating and they turned out great.
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#111 ·
Once the body lift was off, I started messing around suspension ideas and front axle placement. I think I can fit a 12” shock in the front while stretching the axle forward about 5”. This is a very rough mock-up of axle and frame height.

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#112 ·
Not a whole lot going on right now. I’ve been doing some maintenance and fixing my cars and my kids’ cars ahead of the winter season. Ordered a bunch of stuff from Barnes on Black Friday which just arrived. I also tore an old armoire apart and did some remodeling to my bench top. back to working on the Jeep project soon.


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#114 ·
Finally finished the radius arm axle mounts and tacked in place so I had to do a little test :)

Hoping to have the outers together tomorrow and then picking up some material from Elenbaas in Greenville for steering, track bar and trusses. My son with the TIG welding skills will be home this weekend to help make the steering pretty.

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#117 ·
I put my outers together last week and wanted to see how it would look with the wheel on but the wheel was hitting the brake caliper bracket. Double checked everything, but everything looked right. Tried to put the caliper and pads on but the inside pad wouldn’t fit between the rotor and caliper. I’ve done the 5x5.5 Chevy outer conversion on my XJ and never had any issues. I scoured 100’s of old threads and found a few with the same issue but no answers and then finally, my brain clicked while reading an unrelated thread and I realized the 1/2 ton caliper brackets I got are actually 3/4 ton brackets. Already spent money to have the brackets powder coated and the eBay seller is being a douchebag. I ordered a new set of 1/2 brackets from PartsMike.

in other (good) news, my front truss turned out great and I couldn’t be happier. I cut the truss out of 3x6 .250.

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#121 ·
The track bar was next and took some figuring because of the passenger side diff. It’s much easier dealing with a driver drop.

I made up some paper templates for the track bar brackets and had a local guy cut them out for me. Everything turned out great and I even got to use the press brake I made to form one of the pieces perfectly.

I used a piece of conduit to mock-up and capture the bend. It ended up being just under 33” long and 3° which perfectly matches the drag link. I only have a 1.75” die for my bender so I’ll have a buddy bend piece of 1.5” for me this week.

I also made up the lower shock mount pads so I can start on the shock towers for upper mounts next weekend. I have some neat ideas in mind, hopefully it turns out

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#123 ·
Brian at the Jeep Armory in Cedar Springs helped me out with the track bar bend and it turned out perfectly. Got it all welded up and clear coated so I can install and flex the front axle around and make sure everything is good for clearance. Front upper shock mounts are next and I have a decent start on my templates.

I’ve had this idea for sometime to adapt tractor seats to mount on my hoist and finally did it. I’m hosting the neighborhood boys beer and bourbon night in February so this will be cool.

 
#126 ·
I picked up a DeWalt metal saw and it’s awesome. I was cutting 1/8” super easy and fast but several people gave the saw good reviews for 3/16 and 1/4 material. It does make a lot of metal chips but no dust and easy to sweep up! Pics of cutting out my shock tower pieces


 
#128 ·
Spent a bunch on time this week making lighting and electrical upgrades in my barn. Super bright and easy for old people eyes now!

I did start on my front shock mount idea. It’s coming along with some trial and error. Hopefully I can make it look like wat I have pictured in my head.


 
#130 ·
I finished the 1st front upper shock mount and it turned out exactly how I imagined. It’s all hand cut so it’s far from perfect but I think it’s pretty good. Most of the pieces are already cut for the other side so hopefully I’ll get that done this week. This will allow a 14” shock to fit.

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#132 ·
the shock mounts were incredibly tedious but I got them right and I’m super happy with how they turned out. I drilled some 1” tube at 21” centers to mock the collapsed 14” shock and for the 1st time, the front is not on jack stands!!! I turned the Jeep around 180° (small shop problems) and promptly put it back up onto jack stands :) I’ll be starting on the rear this week and as my son said today, “this is where it gets super cool”.

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