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Project Junk Yard

4K views 30 replies 14 participants last post by  red87yj 
#1 ·
Alright guys, I have been thinking about doing this for a while, but now that I am doing a major overhaul, I think its about time. I needed to build my jeep with the lowest cost parts possible since I am a college student. (No new parts here!)

I started with a 1987 Jeep Wrangler that I picked up for cheap. It had a 4.2 with a knock, a pugot (sic) trans that was loud as hell in 5th. Obviously I had a lot of chips to bargain with. So needless to say I got the vehicle for very little. What I knew I was getting however, was a California vehicle. Amazing for this part of the country. I wheeled it stock a couple of time with a bad motor.



Then I started to tear off all of the chrome, lift the jeep with a 3.5 inch BDS lift and threw a set of 31 LTBs that I had on my old 88 Blazer. I wheeled it like this for a little while, but the motor still sounded like some one was beating on it with a hammer.



The next step was to start the search for a new engine. I liked the idea of a FI motor and the fact that a 4.0 dropped in place of a 4.2 made this a no brainer. Thanks to JF I found someone who was local who had totaled their jeep with a motor that was perfect for my situation. It even came with an AX 15. The jeep that it came from was a 95 so it was the better version of the AX 15 with an external slave cylinder. This was one of the more difficult things that I have done on this jeep. I HATE ELECTORAL WORK!!



Now that I had a drive line that was starting to be respectable, it was getting to be time to fix the dreaded D35 axle. (Here comes the Junk Yard parts). I picked up an axle from the local you-pull-it yard. It was an open diff 8.8 with 3.55 gears. The whopping price of $50 was a such huge hit to my wallet, that I went to get a matching D30 from an XJ. This axle was $75, so far I'm not doing too bad huh? (No pics of any of this.) I friends father of mine did all of the welding for a case of beer. Awesome to know people huh?
 
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#3 ·
now that I had this new set of axles, I decided that it was time to get a new set of meats. I really like the MT Baja Claws. 35's were not too much more than the 33's so it was an easy decision to be the one in my group with the biggest tires. (NFC off-road is a small group) In order to fit these tires, I got a set of TJ flairs form a fellow JFer. The difference between 31's and 35's is pretty noticeable.

Before


After


I wheeled like this for a while and had not had a breakage at all.



The next big step in my build came when I went to the scratch and dent sale at Quadratec. The warehouse is about 30 min from my house. I found a D44 lunch box locker for $50. So i had to get a D44 axle to use this! Back to the junk yard. I picked up a D44 from a Waggy for $75. I loved the idea of manual hubs. The only downside was that I could not easily match the bolt patterns. So, no big problem, I just wheel with 2 different spares. Plus i had a set of 6x5.5 laying around from the Blazer.

The only pic I have of the 2 different bolt patters...


I knew I had to deal with some driveshaft issues since I did not spend the money on a SYE, so it was back to the junk yard to pick up a dana 300. I wanted to go this route because it bolted up to what I had, and the 4 to 1 was much less expensive compared to the tera kit for the NP231. Plus the legendary strength of this case I knew would stand up to whatever I threw at it. I got a kit to flip the t-case, and saved my pennies until I had enough to buy the AA 4 to 1 kit. I had read too many bad things about the tera kit for the 300.

While i was working on the drive line again, I got the itch to upgrade the transmission again. My brother had a NV 3550 sitting in our garage that he had been planning on putting into his Comanche, but he decided that he liked the auto trans, so I had a free trans! In it went.

Anyway, what brings us up to where I'm at now, I got a set of high-steer knuckles for a D44 with the arms already on them. I tried setting this up SUA but it does not want to work. I am currently trying to get everything set up for a SOA suspension. I have the perches welded on to the axles (they will be replaced with proper ones later, this is all mock-up stuff). Mostly I am trying to get my ride height as low as possible. I will post up some pics of where I am at now. I have 2 leaves pulled out of each leaf pack and I am liking the very soft springs. They are getting close to completely flat, but I need to work everything out still and get all of the rest of the parts that I need.

This is where the jeep is sitting now, I will get some current pics tomorrow, and maybe figure out some steering stuff...
Later
Zach
 
#6 ·
lol i was at this past tent sale in august i had the brown 87 yj in the yj catagory show
 
#8 ·
nah, the jeep is off the road. I really miss driving the thing though. The 3.55's are not really that bad. Plus at 65 mph the engine is just about idle producing about 30 mpg. Also, with the 4 to 1 t-case I have never had a problem with gearing. I got the axles from the junkyard so I'll use what ever gear pattern I can. Being in college sucks, but I'd love to get 4.56 or 4.88.
Later
Zach
 
#14 ·
Absolutely! What trans are you running? Going from the the ba 10/5 to the NV 3550 I think has made the most difference for the overall feel of the jeep.
Later
Zach
 
#16 ·
My only advice to you, is to dive in with both hands and don't look back. The best way to learn how to fix and modify something is to not have the money to pay someone else to do it for you. HAHA sad but true.

No real progress on anything today some welding on the tube fenders, but mostly just studying for finals... I have been throwing around the idea of picking up a set of XJ leaf springs to stretch the rear this weekend. I figure that this is the time to do it as long as I have the whole thing blown apart... The only downside to doing this is the fact that the gas tank would have to be moved to the bed of the jeep. I know I have seen people lift the tank a couple of inches into the body, but I have never seen a detailed write up about how it was done.

I like the idea of long and low, but I'm not too pumped about stretching the front and having to deal with the steering issues. Who knows...
Later
Zach
 
#17 · (Edited)
here is where the jeep sits now (in my drive way). The pics are not great, but the drivers side fender is done, but the passenger side still needs some paint and cleaning up.



















And the reason that I have not had too much time to work on my Jeep, is that I am making a set of tube fenders for my brothers 'manche.



I still need a lot of work on this thing, but my buddies are planning a trip soon, so that I have some incentive to get this thing done! My weld in steering ends should be in tomorrow, so I'll see if I can get some steering on this on this jeep this weekend. What are everyone thoughts on only using 3 leaves in the front and 2 in the rear? The springs are military wrapped, so I'm not too worried about breaking a leaf and not getting home. At the very least, I could limp it off the trail. In keeping with the theme of the build, I don't have the money to buy a new set of springs with less arch in them.
Later
Zach

P.S. I know everything (and I mean everything) is loose on the Jeep. This is just a mock up and its sitting in my drive way, not moving at all. Also, my sheet metal welding sucks, I know, but I'm working on it.
 
#18 ·
I was running the AX 15 but I had to sell the jeep cause of school 3 weeks ago, speaking of not having money so you do stuff yourself haha... but the PO originally swapped a 4.2 in(I still don't know why...) and there was originally a 4.0 so the AX15 was still there, I ended up getting a new one with the 4.0 swap... I was having problems with the carb and the harness was all hacked so after all the new stuff I thought I'd need I had found a solid 4.0 on ebay for 750 with a new clutch too so I picked that up :thumbsup:
 
#19 · (Edited)
No real progress recently, I'm suffering from a shortage of cash. Mostly I'm waiting on ordering some parts. For now, the jeep is back upon jack stands in the drive way, I was not happy with the front pinion angle, so off came the perches and I rewelded them. Since its not on the road, I decided that the castor could suffer a bit. (I don't want to cut the inner C's off and reweld them.)

The steering is turning out to be a major pain in the butt. I had everything mocked up and ready to burn in, but the tie rod and draglink were contacting each other. To fix this, I will be running the draglink to the high steer arm and the tie rod will be below the knuckle. I'm not too worried about it being so low since I am using 1.5x.25 DOM and Chevy 1 ton TRE's. I have to get the knuckles reamed out to the right size, but the local machine shop is closed for the week, on the jack stands it will stay. (Anyone have a reamer that they want to sell???)

The rear axle needs the pinion angle tweaked as well. (I don't think I was on top of my game that day.) But that should not take too long. I need to get a wrap bar together.

Thats it for now, hopefully I can get some stuff together and get back on the trails soon!
Later
Zach
 
#20 ·
Quick up date... Its getting close to being done. I'll get up some more pics as soon as I can get the Dig. Camera back. The steering worked out well with the over/under set up. The longer break lines are on, as well as the shocks. There are some small things that still need to be done, but the majority of things have been checked off the list.

I got bored while waiting for parts, so I went to the hardware store and got enough PVC to make a snorkel. It worked out quite well. There is a hole in the front of the box that 2 inch PVC fits into perfectly. Some glue and silicone and the whole intake is ready for some water. My buddy is already trying to talk me into the 5ft deep mud hole at Rousch Creek. What is everyone doing about the computer? I relocated it to inside of tub of the firewall, so I get to watch it drown instead of just guessing.

Later
Zach
 
#25 ·
BTW those fenders on the Jeep look sick.
only in north jersey huh? How does 150 sound? haha... maybe. But really, if you are interested send me a pm and I'll see if I can hook you up too. Maybe the bender won't just sit there in my garage so I can smash my knee on it. I have already got my practice out of the way.

As for the 5 ft. hole, yeah I'm not a big fan of mud and water, but I though a snorkel would be cool. I have put way too much work into the jeep just to sink it into a hole that will chew up everything, but maybe then I could get that chevy V8 that my buddy has.

After I finish up the SOA, I think that the next step will be a regear... either a 4.56 or a 4.88.

thats all for now
Later
Zach
 
#23 ·
I say go for it, all this work isn't just for some mild trails. Hit it hard. If something breaks, you know what needs to be upgraded.

I'm watching my plans over the next 5 years take place. this is a great thread. Expect a couple of questions in the future.

:cheers: :drool:

Nice work on the budget. I'm feelin ya. Soph at UMass
 
#26 ·
Yeah, I think that I am coming to realize that. I have had the jeep up on the engine hoist a couple of times looking for binding and clearance. I think that I may have already bent one of the rears. I think that I'll be looking into RE SOA springs. Since they are BDS springs, I think I'll replace what is broken, bolt all of the packs back together and maybe sell them to recoup some of the costs.
Later
Zach
 
#27 ·
alright, she is DONE! At least for the most part. Its sitting on my trailer getting ready for a wheelin trip tomorrow. Pics to be posted soon. Before I got the whole thing loaded up, I put the red-neck RTI ramp (tires and a 2x8) to the test. The ramp worked out to be 25* slope, and I scored a 1000. I am very pleased with that considering the budget of this Jeep.

I'm thinking about a set of XJ sprigs in the rear. I am having a problem with contact between gas tank and the diff cover. The tank will be moved to the bed of the jeep since there is no rear seat in the Jeep. When the jeep was flexed out there was no actual contact between the two, but from the looks of it, it is way too close for comfort.

As for axle wrap, I held the breaks, put the X case in rear low and let the clutch out. The rear tires spun with minimal wrap, so for now, it should be good, but needless to say, there will be a comp-cut in the near future of my Jeep. I don't really want to stretch the front of the Jeep as I am pretty happy with the steering, and I do not want to mess with that.

Later
Zach
 
#28 ·
pics of today... I bent the christ out of the rear leaves, but the fronts are great. Im thinking XJ rears soon.













great day, we didn't hit too much, but I'm very happy with the performance of the Jeep.
 
#30 ·
its been a good long time since I updated this thread. I dont have any current pis of the jeep, I'll have to take them soon. Currently the jeep is on XJ springs in the rear. The wheel base is about 106 with stock location in the front. The 35's are going to have to go soon. I love the baja claws but the 35's are starting to lead to a lot of diff. bashing. I hate to admit it, but my brother on 37 is tearing me up. As I knew they would, the XJ's are wrapping to hell. I made a call to A to Z fab, and the parts that I need to fix that are on their way. I have been playing with the idea of doing a triangulated 4 link in the rear, but I dont know how well coil overs or air springs (I really like the idea of air springs) would work with stock(ish) axles. I would want to outboard them, but there is no room to weld anything to. If anyone has any info on doing this, I would love to see it. I like my axles now, and I dont want to change them. Thats it for now, I'll add some pics of how the jeep currently sits.
Later
Zach
 
#31 ·
Hey guys,

Its been more than a year since I have updated this build. Since then, I scored a set of J20 axles (a 44 and a 60), a set of 39.5 inch Irocks, some homemade bead locks, and welded the diffs. Since then I have gotten a horse barn with the girlfriend and no longer have time to wheel. Unfortunately the Jeep has been sitting for about 8 months and is starting to collect dust and rust! I will take some pictures today and see if I can still post up without that upgraded account.

I'm doing this update as a kiss good bye to the girl, it breaks my heart to see the thing in the driveway not getting used and rusting away. I have not decided if I want to part out or if I want to sell as a complete package. At this point if anyone has any interest shoot me an E-mail since I don't post here often. The addy is zd444218@sju.edu. I'll get some pictures up at some point today.

Later,
Zach
 
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