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GTX's low rider TJ build

122K views 687 replies 82 participants last post by  offroader80 
#1 ·
GTX's low rider TJ build - now 4500 Ultra4 wannabe

***updated Dec 2015 - This has turned into a nearly full blown 4500 Ultra4 wannabe build!

The 1/2 ton version of the build is complete (I broke my D30 in half at the dunes) and moving onto one tons, see page 39 for 1 ton Eaton hybrid
***


For the fastest updates, follow me on Instagram: @jeeps4Trevin

I'm nearly finished with the first "phase" of things. I know a few of my buddies on here have wanted to see it so I'm posting up.

First up, background-

'97 TJ Sport
4.0/AX-15/NP231
LP D30 with 3.55s
D35 with 4.10s
Smittybuilt bumper
chrome EVERYWHERE
sagging 4" Skyjackoff lift
3" bodylift...yeah, wow

The good stuff:

Full banks stainless exhaust, the good kind of header and flowmaster
came with a HP30 with 4.10s
got a great deal on it
swapped in 4.0 with less miles and all is good
Alpine deck and 6.5s, Kicker 5 1/4s
Came with 35 MTRs in good shape on black steelies
Sold some of the crap for cash
hard top
hard doors too

The plan (old, see last pages)
long arms - done, with stretch
0-1" suspension lift, 1" body lift done
cage
8.8 swap done
HP30 swap done
4.10s done
locked on both ends done
RCV shafts done
SYE + CV done
35" Krawlers on alum rims done
warn upright winch done
high line fenders done
sliders
rear corner armor done
front and rear bumpers

I'll add more to the list and update as time and build goes on.

This belonged to a guy's wife. She just liked having a lifted Jeep to ride around in, didn't care about 4wd or anything like that. Can't blame her, it's a cool Jeep. The sound of the full exhaust is awesome!

Pics when I got her


Euro tails :laughing:


Pics now, page 45-



 
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#340 ·
Stuffed the hp30 with the 4.10s and Lockwrong then threw on the Crane cover. Slid in the RCVs and filled it with 80w-90.


Ran hard lines for the 8.8 and welded some studs to hold everything in place


I ordered shocks...found them in the classifieds. I'll wait til they get here to give up the goods but they're 11" travel so I should be able to get away with a standard shock mount. Had a lot of problems getting the CAD files into Torchmate software so I may not even be able to get the brackets cutout in a timely manner anyway. I may set up the bender and make some simple upper shock mounts instead of the Ford towers anyway.

So this led me to painting the 8.8 now instead of later


Then I took the sawzall to the tub and also banged out the rear tub supports since they were in the way


Finished the forward truss system too, grade 8 everything


Ground down the washers so everything sits together nicely...little details
 
#342 ·
Got the front factory flex lines removed and picked up some braided stainless lines from another local jeeper. I've had these brake tabs since my last build and finally got to use them. Came out well-


Then I reassembled the front suspension and got the front axle at full stuff. This is how much room I have between the pitman arm and diff cover - quite a bit! I should be able to use my stock arm but might get the blingin arm cut anyway. Stock waggy arm was barely touching the diff, could probably make it work (waggy arm in pic).


Everything is very tight at full stuff, paper thin tolerances but it all clears and rotates!


I don't have any good pics of it right now, but I reused old body lift pucks to limit the bump and make sure the diff and track bar don't get into each other. They're about 1.25" inches tall if anyone is wondering and go underneath the coil retainers on the axle. I'll snap a pic when they're installed.

Angles aren't the best on the track bar but it will work. Like I said, it will be redesigned later with the future axle and this is paper thin


Everything else clears easily and well.


I would have gotten the rear axle under the rig but needed to heat up the tank and get it back in place in the new skid. It's easier to install the skid without anything else under the rear of the Jeep so once I get the tank molded I'll be able to put the axle in place and bolt up the rear links and fab the final spring buckets for the frame.
 
#349 ·
would like to go with the 300 myself
Thank you, the 300 is worth it.

I jealous of how much motivation you have to work so much and make so much progress. I enjoy seeing your thread pop up on pirate and here. My build or lack there of is similar to what you have going on except I've not made any forward progress in too long. Dig the 300 and krawlers, I've been kicking around a doubler for the 4-popper I have and trying to get my hands on my buddy's 35 krawlers. What will be the final wheelbase do you think?

One thing that's been stopping me is trusses for my axles. Are you not concerned with .25" being to thin with how you have it? Seems the norm is atleast 3/8" unless boxed in. I have a sheet of .25 and wanted to use it but I'm not trying to add a bunch of weight if I don't have too.
Thanks! Final wb is going to be 101 +/- 1". The 1/4" wall plate will be fine, it's heavily trussed and has forward support too. This truss doesn't weigh too much and I can box it more if I get concerned. Thing is, a lot of people have seen my truss and nobody has said a word of concern. The factory 4 link mounts are sheet metal in comparison, barely 10g steel and they're not even fully boxed, for reference. 1/4" does not bend easily!

As usual, great work man! I wish I had just half of your fab skills.
Thank you! Practice practice practice :cheers2:
 
#346 ·
I jealous of how much motivation you have to work so much and make so much progress. I enjoy seeing your thread pop up on pirate and here. My build or lack there of is similar to what you have going on except I've not made any forward progress in too long. Dig the 300 and krawlers, I've been kicking around a doubler for the 4-popper I have and trying to get my hands on my buddy's 35 krawlers. What will be the final wheelbase do you think?


One thing that's been stopping me is trusses for my axles. Are you not concerned with .25" being to thin with how you have it? Seems the norm is atleast 3/8" unless boxed in. I have a sheet of .25 and wanted to use it but I'm not trying to add a bunch of weight if I don't have too.
 
#353 ·
Thanks, can't afford to buy brackets :laugh:

Looks nice man. :D
thanks! :cheers2:

Man I wish I had as much engineering skills as you. Your welds look nice! keep doing a good job so the rest of us know what to do! You've already helped convince me to remould my stock gas tank to make room for my g2 dana 60
Thanks! I have my work cut out for me still but I enjoy fab work a lot. Good to know my pics and info has come to help others!

LOL, I have pimped gtx's thread elsewhere too. It has a lot of good info in there.
Thanks! :cheers:
 
#354 ·
Can't find my stock pitman arm (have no idea where I put it), anyone wanna send me one? :D

Tank is molded and set


Reassembly will begin tonight. Painted the link mounts on the frame so this should be the last time I bolt up the suspension :smokin: then I'll make the upper spring buckets. Once that's done and everything is painted and bolted in I can finally start the np435/d300 install.

Picked up the 8 ton HF air/hydro ram for the bender too :grinpimp:

Oh and the welding cart has been completed too:
 
#355 ·
Tonight was one of those nights that I spend 6 hours in the shop and I feel like I was out there for 45 minutes...but I guess that's what happens sometimes. Oh and I dropped the tank and skid on my ankle...that felt nice.

Tank, skid, and rear suspension in place. Need to fab the coil mounts, hope to do that tomorrow morning. Once those are burnt in place I can start the brakes until my shocks finally get here.

So...new question is - do I want to use the Ford shock towers I have now or bend some tube for the rear end? It will be easier to tie in the cage to the frame later on and be set up for coilovers.

 
#356 ·
Yet another weekend when it feels like I did nothing. Saturday I spent the entire morning and afternoon just checking for clearances and cycling the suspension. I had to pound and cut some sheetmetal that wouldn't let the tank sit back enough to clear where the axle is currently set. From where it sits right now, I have about 4.5"-5" stretch and the JJs are fully threaded in the arms. If I want more stretch, I can get another 1-2" easily if I thread them out a little bit but the tank would have to be ditched and a fuel cell installed. If I put any other rear end in this rig it wouldn't fit with this much stretch. Just a caution to those of you modifying the skid - if you fully push back the axle, you have to make sure to make the indent HUGE. Oh and my biggest problem was the axle tubes hitting the tank under full compression.

Cliff notes from rear suspension:

-At 6.5" separation and no lift, upper links WILL hit the tub. I had to move the links down to 5.5" separation.
-axle tubes will hit the tank skid on full compression before the diff cover on the 8.8 and a large cutout
-put your brake lines on TOP of the truss, not the back
-make sure your truss is set to 0" with your pinion angle already set, glad I did this
-make the back of the axle flat and smooth, all of it

Cliff notes from front end:

-factory UCA brackets get in the way
-track bar brackets aren't fun to make
-.250 wall for peace of mind
-dana 30s are much easier to cycle than an 8.8
-shock placement and overall fitment is much easier in the front
-if you want to link or stretch your rig, start with the front
-3" can be attained, only tricky part is the track bar

I'll add to that later I'm sure. Oh and I am going to let the 8.8 and tank skid do a little "self clearance" because the skid is a little tweaked from the last owner. Not sure how long I'll have a regular tank. Probably put in a fuel cell on the next build.

List of items accomplished this weekend:

finished molding the tank, installed pump and lines
tank and skid installed
rear suspension installed and cycled
front suspension installed and cycled
front brake lines installed and finished
track bar sleeved and welded
FOUND my stock pitman arm
installed the antirock
painted the frame brackets (still need a little more final welding)
realized I will not use Ford shock towers; will be bending tube

New shocks will be here tomorrow, new CPS got here yesterday. A trip to the hardware store will get remaining missing items so I can wrap this up.

New to-do list:

weld on rear upper coil buckets
remove old clutch
remove old pilot bushing
install new pilot bushing
align pilot bushing
check bellhousing for runout
check runout on trans
install clutch
install release bearing
install lever arm
install np435
build d300
bench test d300 and twin sticks; troubleshoot
install d300
weld remaining unfinished frame brackets
notch rear frame
bend tube for shocks
make shock tabs; install and mock up shocks
hard mount fuel lines
hard mount brake lines
fill trans and tcase
fill tank with gas
reinstall stock parts and battery
fab battery hold down or box
fab center tunnel cover
cut armor and reinstall

Whew...what a list!

Started to fab the frame side rear coil buckets but ran out of welding wire and the guys at the welding shop sold me the wrong stuff. Damn! These are cut at the angle of the frame so they are parallel to the axle side coil bucket.

 
#362 ·
Thank you, hoping to have it done and wheeling on the 23rd/24th of March. :eek:

Just went through the build. It's going great. I can't wait to see how it does on the trail with the new suspension.
Thanks, I'm very excited too. Might have to bump up to a 2" lift and 37s just to get clearance I want...but I'm all for that!

Read the whole build. Thanks for the Cliff notes at the end. Like what you did with the front coil buckets, for alittle extra stretch. Would of been easier going straight to a fuel cell to start. Got a similar build I'm doing, but with an ATX backhalf kit for the frame and fuel cell. Thanks for sharing your build. Sub'd....Johnie
No problem. Probably would have been easier with a fuel cell but I wanted the cargo space and economically it was a good try even if it doesn't work out. I will give it another shot with a 2nd tank if I can't get it all to fit right. I might try to put in a fuel cell or take a shot at building one myself that uses a stock TJ sending unit. With the abilities and skills I've learned so far it wouldn't take much for me to design a unit and have it cut out with a plasma cnc. Then just TIG it up...but I don't know how to TIG yet. :laugh:

You could very well see my rig under the knife again next winter with a back half, fuel cell, and a new front axle with 37s attached :cheers2:
 
#361 ·
Read the whole build. Thanks for the Cliff notes at the end. Like what you did with the front coil buckets, for alittle extra stretch. Would of been easier going straight to a fuel cell to start. Got a similar build I'm doing, but with an ATX backhalf kit for the frame and fuel cell. Thanks for sharing your build. Sub'd....Johnie
 
#371 ·
These might be out of order but I'm still dazed and out of whack from the last few days in the shop. Tomorrow will be a long day, hope to have just about everything done and only the little stuff left - tighten bolts, go over everything, double check welds, paint a little bit, mount fuel/brake lines, etc.

used the bread method to remove the ax15 pilot bushing


used some aluminum foil on new (Novak) pilot bushing, I think my crank is a few thousandths off


used the spare np435 input to align the new clutch Ford/CJ clutch and pressure plate (AX15)


all those bags gotta go in the pink case


CPS mount done and ready to go


pulled out the trans, slapped on the adapter


welded the rear spring retainers, they're meant to make contact on full bump. rear uptravel is right at 5" right now but the tub and tank skid may not like the last 2"...haha!
 
#372 ·
Kinda flip flopping around here on pics but it all comes together anyhow...

Found the neutral spot in the np435 and put on the top cover, then tested the shifting - all good


installed the AX15 clutch release bearing (throwout bearing) and it will NOT work, too thick


Here's why, contacts the pressure plate-


D300 twin stick setup went well...except when I decided I was too smart to remember that the cables have to shift OUT and had to weld on the 2.25" I cut short




 
#373 ·
Takes us to today, I'm almost finished with the rear shock hoops...

bent some plate, made some traces, cut off some side tube, and some corner mounts-


cut out the shock mounts


bent the tube...didn't snap any pics but the HF ram has been a pain in my ***. I made two 150 degree bends manually pumping the jack...took me about 10 minutes per bend instead of 2 and I was dead tired! haha.

Burnt in the shock tabs, I'll snap pics of the rest of it tomorrow.


frame cutout
 
#374 ·
Don't have time to give a full update but here's a quick rundown-

trans is in place, bolted up finally but there is still a 1/2" gap
need to attach pivot arm, couldn't mate everything with it in place
swapped the ax15 throwout bearing for a 80 cj7 4.2 unit
CJ clutch master and slave cylinders have been fitted and adapted with brackets
Bent the 1/4" (I believe) line for the clutch system, just need to fill and bleed it (tips welcome)
suspension is done and fully welded, ready to go
need to install the rear shocks - BBCS 11" from Poly
pitman arm still isn't machined...going to yell at them again tomorrow, gave it to them friday
d300 is assembled and put in some fluid to make sure it's sealed
need to finish fabbing the cable shifter mounts for the tub


Almost done...have to work tomorrow but will do some work tomorrow night. Thursday is THE day to get things done. Friday is going to be "final check" day and driving the Jeep a bit to dial in everything for the 90 minute drive to the trail.
 
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