Lowering a Jeep - Page 4

Jeeper4ever · 05-14-2008, 04:13 PM

Come on guys, give him a break. Even this "Drag Jeep" has some flexing ability up front. That still makes it a Jeep right?

giggityjeeper · 05-14-2008, 04:34 PM

man poor guy will never post in here again....

ImportEater · 05-14-2008, 04:39 PM

This thread went from funny, to weird, then off to spooky, then abit of mind boggling, and then hit scarey in a shorter time a Jeep can run a quarter mile. WTF

**Lee3333** · 05-14-2008, 05:36 PM

Sorry but I aint giving up so fast. Remember-the Mustang and Corvette both originally came with 6 cylinder engines and were considered 'ladies cars'. The GTO was, I believe, a LeMans meant as an econocar. The creed of hot rodders is to take a machine designed for one thing and build it for speed.

IMHO, the Jeep is the perfect starting point. It is easy to work on, already has a chassis, has TONS of parts available for it, has a removable top and doors for the summer, so A/C is not required, and is fun to drive. And, IMHO it looks great.

As you can see from some of the photos posted, others have gone where I intend to. Also, IMHO, it is foolish to spend tons of money on off road wheels, bajillion lights, bumpers, etc just to drive on errands on city streets with no intention of going off road.

It is interesting how JeepFreak 81 also posted street rods. I have noticed the same basic lines, and that is part of the reason I fell in love with this project.

91YJ4X4 · 05-14-2008, 05:38 PM

I dont know why everyone is hating on you Lee, I can see most of em aren't reading what your tryng to do and why your doing it. I think its a cool *** project and am looking foward to seeing crusin down the street. Gonna be movin to NYC in a few months so ill look out for ya! good luck with it

ooh yea two words, wheelie machine!

91YJ4X4 · 05-14-2008, 05:40 PM

Oh yeah curious what kinda hood your gonna run?

ImportEater · 05-14-2008, 05:51 PM

Lee, I think youll do fine. With the pic you posted you can really see your not way off your rocker. I think it could look pretty cool and way against the grain with these rigs. I had a buddy in Key West years ago with a lowered YJ. And yes, it was a hopper,(hydro setup). I loved it. I personally wheel more than drive on the streets anymore so I need a trail rig. Done rightly, not like a flaming turd, your rig can look sweet and be fast. My stock YJ crusies on the highway real nice at 100. From Cleveland to Florida, to Dallas, back to Cleveland.

What color scheme you running with also how low are you planning on going? And one other thing, you are going to provide pics right?

ImportEater · 05-14-2008, 05:53 PM

Also, you consider a dovetail? Not sure how well it would help, but I would think it would help overall aero.

xeroid81 · 05-14-2008, 06:29 PM

All those vehicles in the picture held the road good at top speed. except for the jeep.Look at the wheel bases on all the non-jeep vehicles. For some reason you don't get it but do what you want with it. You're obviously intent on copying one those guys who did that. So go ahead. Why ask what anyone else what they think. If you think it looks do it! WE DON'T HAVE TO LIKE IT!

chriscisme · 05-14-2008, 06:43 PM

i say let the man do it...jeeps are about having something diffrent right..well hes doing something diffrent with something diffrent, more power to ya.

**TrailWorthyFab** · 05-14-2008, 07:10 PM

Honestly. After reading more of your posts. Go for it. You and I live in 2 dif. worlds. I'm a country boy that lives out side of town. I have bird dogs and own horses and team rope and Bird hunt. I'm not sure if I have ever paid to park somewhere other than the airport. You live in NYC "GET A ROPE". j/K I do understand after reading more that you never wanted it to be something for off road. The only reason I and others had a hard time with this is that is the exact reason we have jeeps IS to go off road. Let me put it like this. If you were part of a BMW forum and I showed up on there telling you I wanted to convert a BMW to a 4wd hunting unit. You would think I was crazy. I guess that is what we are faced with looking at what you want to do to your jeep. But after reading over what you have said. I think it would be fun for your lifestyle. Keep us posted as you go. There are a lot of people on here that have put small blocks in them and you can get a lot of help with that part. Keep us posted

Todd

Jeepfreak81 · 05-14-2008, 09:28 PM

Building a street jeep is fine different strokes for different folks, but he plans to run it down the 1/4 mile... and just by lowering it with 'blocks' or removing a couple leafs it will not be safe to do so. If he really wants to do it he needs to take a SERIOUS look at the suspension setup on that drag jeep posted above... I GUARANTEE that it is not a $500 backyard special suspension.

If he is going to bastardize it, at least bastardize it properly.

USMC SouthernYJ · 05-14-2008, 09:33 PM

I'm going against the grain on this and sayin hell yeah, go for it.

Obviously, 99.99999999% of people on this forum have their jeeps to go offroad and do some crazy ****...and you're the .0000000001% that wants their jeep for something else. If you can do it and love it while you're doing it, more power to ya man. I completely agree with you on the people that get wranglers and lift the hell out of them just for the looks and never have any intention of taking them offroad..but, whatever.

Lowering a wrangler...not my cup of tea, but I'm pumped to see how it turns out

Good luck and can't wait to see some pics of this bad boy. Subscribed

Jkanly · 05-14-2008, 09:56 PM

I don't believe that we are hating on you by any means, just a little bit concerned. The Jeep, simply put, is not a hotrod and was not intended to be a hotrod. They are top heavy to begin with and are not designed to handle high speeds.

That aside; you are going to have to cut on the frame a bit in order to lower it any more than it is. Leaf springs can only go so low. Here is a picture of the front and rear of a drag jeep. The rear is of a beefed up ford 9". As you can see, they've completely removed the front axel and have installed what looks like a tractor driveshaft

**Lee3333** · 05-14-2008, 10:23 PM

You are right abut the leaf's- I was looking at them and they are flat right now-no arch to reduce. I am going to bring it to a spring shop to see what ideas they have, but from what I understand, changing to a 4 bar, or Cherokee front axle really is not that big a deal for a good shop to do.

I really like those photos-especially the front end. Very clean and simple, like a street rod.

I know I am not doing the norm, but let me ask everybody here something. What if I decided to build it for off road. What could I possibly do that is different, to make my Jeep stand out from the crowd? What hasnt been done 10 million times before to a Jeep? Most everybody has it raised 4 or 6 inches, big wheels and tires, monster bumpers, a bunch of lights, etc.

I want something that you dont see everyday, that is fun to drive, and that will turn heads at car shows.