Jeep Enthusiast Forums banner

Blood, sweat and beers... a.k.a. voodooJK build.

253K views 556 replies 173 participants last post by  WiscoJeepGuy 
#1 ·
I bought some 6 x 3/16" steel and built a front stubby bumper...





Studs









I don't do much MIG welding, mostly TIG, but it didn't turn out too bad...



Grinding down the welds...











I used the MIG welder at work. I recently moved and had no 220 outlet in the garage to run my TIG, as soon as I did I made a bar and got some d-ring mounts on. Eventually it'll have a winch so I can't put the stock fogs back in the center, so I mounted some Hellas.











I got the 220v outlet wired up in the garage and fired up the TIG for the first time this year. I'm a little rusty, but it didn't turn out too bad. I used some angle iron and made some light mounts...





 
See less See more
20
#185 ·
These are the Hellas with a clear cover over the lense. I got the covers on Amazon, I think they're for Hella 1000s...





Switches for lights and compressor...



Replaced my budget boost with Rock Krawler 3.5 springs, Rokmen LCAs, JKS adjustable track bars, Bilstein 5100s, lengthened the sway bar links and some longer break lines.









Budget boost cell phone pic...



New suspension...

 
#188 ·
I don't know if my mall crawler is hardcore enough to rock the big black boner bar like yours is! :D

Looks great, VoodooJK? :laugh:
It just sounds so different :dunno:
I need to get some Bilstein's to keep up with you guys but my RC's won't blow out like everyone says they will!
I think you need to get some more new pics and get in the JK of the Month contest! :thumbsup:
If we don't get some more Jeeps in the contest then I'll have to enter and we all know that the TJ guys will have a field day with my 2wd JK winning the contest :fistlaugh:
:tea:
The Ducati is gone. :(

I'm not too original with screen names, but figured I should change it so I'm not like the guys that wear all the Harley stuff and don't even ride! :D

These are the first off road Bilsteins I've had, but there sports car stuff has always been my favorite. Once again I'm very happy though, rides better than stock. I did the Rock Krawler springs at the same time, so I'm sure they get some of the credit.

I do need to get on a trail again here soon for some pics... fricking snow!!!

I didn't know Jeep make a 2 door JK???

:rofl: :cheers2:
 
#187 ·
Looks great, VoodooJK? :laugh:
It just sounds so different :dunno:
I need to get some Bilstein's to keep up with you guys but my RC's won't blow out like everyone says they will!
I think you need to get some more new pics and get in the JK of the Month contest! :thumbsup:
If we don't get some more Jeeps in the contest then I'll have to enter and we all know that the TJ guys will have a field day with my 2wd JK winning the contest :fistlaugh:
:tea:
 
#192 ·
Thanks! :cheers2:

The amount of skill you have makes me want to flip a table it's so good.
Do it! I like to run stuff over in the driveway with the Jeep. It's a little more civilized than abusing furniture, but my wife says it makes us look trashy. :rolleyes: It's more fun than trying to make $5 on Craigslist!

Very nice!I have a mount there to and i was wondering where you have the cord coming out?I have mine coming out by the carpet and dash but i don't like it there because it makes the carpet stick out.I want to move it but it won't really matter as i am getting the interior line-x.But do you have pics of that part please?
Thanks.

My cord is mounted to the panel under the glove box door. The panel detaches, so I figure it's replacable if I decide I don't want to run this setup in the future. Behind the panel is the module. I don't have a pic right now though, sorry.
 
#193 ·
You should move further north....I need a Jeep friend in Thornton.

We should get a M&G together sometime soon.
 
#195 ·
Replied.

When i said "If you're using a winch, use 1/4" for that", I meant only for the winch mounting. The top, sides, 3/16" is plenty and the 1/4" will be unnecessary extra weight.

You should move further north....I need a Jeep friend in Thornton.

We should get a M&G together sometime soon.
Definitely. I'm always trying to get rballman to get his garage queen on a trail too.. :D
 
#198 ·
Thanks! :cheers2:

fantastic work man, great job. Are you in colorado? ride a duc? im in COS.
Thank. Yep, Littleton. I've been Ducati-less for a few months now. I have a trend of selling things before the project gets crazy... I wanted to cut the rear half of the frame off, replace it with one I would build out of aluminum, fab a carbon solo seat with a sheetmetal muffler under it.

Here's some of my bike build...

http://www.ducatimonsterforum.org/index.php?topic=16615.0

 
#199 ·
Hey man AWESOME LOOKING BUMPERS!!!!! :drool:

Do you have by any chance have to demensions or some scratch work up of these!? I mean i guess i could do it but it just seems like i would be doing a $H!T Load of cutting and recutting....and thats bad for buisness lol. any help would be awesome!
 
#200 ·
Hey man AWESOME LOOKING BUMPERS!!!!! :drool:

Do you have by any chance have to demensions or some scratch work up of these!? I mean i guess i could do it but it just seems like i would be doing a $H!T Load of cutting and recutting....and thats bad for buisness lol. any help would be awesome!
Thanks.

It's really pretty simple. Just decide what you want your bumper to look like, remove the stock bumper and build one from cardboard. If there's and angle you don't like, it's not a big deal to re-do it. I don't usually do this, but some people do. There are sometimes when I have needed to, though...




I can tell you that all of the steel is 3/16 x 6". The front of the bumper is 38" wide. With that measurement you can start building it from cardboard without pulling your stock bumper.
 
#201 ·
When you welded up the seams for the bumper, I noticed that you ground your welds down on the outside for aesthetic appeal, are those seams welded on the inside as well? If not, doesn't grinding down your welds decrease the strength of said welds by a good deal?

I'm just curious, I actually have been using your build as inspiration for my own. I have a 2010 JKU and just managed to get a welder and start practicing (having had no prior experience). Now I just need to be able to afford some descent steel.

Thanks for the inspiration, the whole thing looks great.
 
#203 ·
Or green. Or silver. Or white. Ooh, or tan! Red wasn't my first choice. :D

When you welded up the seams for the bumper, I noticed that you ground your welds down on the outside for aesthetic appeal, are those seams welded on the inside as well? If not, doesn't grinding down your welds decrease the strength of said welds by a good deal?

I'm just curious, I actually have been using your build as inspiration for my own. I have a 2010 JKU and just managed to get a welder and start practicing (having had no prior experience). Now I just need to be able to afford some descent steel.

Thanks for the inspiration, the whole thing looks great.
Thanks.

I googled welding joints and this popped up first.

http://www.mydiscounttools.com/estore/articles/welding/WeldingJOINTS.html

Using that chart to answer your question, yes and no. Depends on the type of joint you're welding. If you are welding a butt joint on a pipe you would grind a vee groove and fill that with your weld. If you have complete penetration and no defects or inclusions, etc., you can grind it smooth and you're weld is as strong or stronger than the rest of the pipe. That is how the bar on my bumper is made. It is sections of straight and pre-bent curved pipe.

On the flat steel of the bumper I did a corner joint and if you look at the diagram, most of that weld is ground off, yes, I welded on the back side. Since the only real structural part of my bumper is the front, all the other pieces are stitch welded on the back, not a solid bead.

The mount for the winch IS seam welded and is 1/4" plate.

I've lengthened sway bars links by welding a piece in to the center and you can't tell. They are ground smooth and it is solid. I took bend and x-ray test when I learned to stick, MIG and TIG weld, to qualify for welding permits, but I never applied for the permits because I was only taking the classes for fun.

:cheers2:
 
#204 ·
Awesome, thanks for the help. I kinda assumed that you had done some back welding for strength, particularly with the front piece. Like I said before, your work looks fantastic and is inspiring. I find myself wishing I live in CO :D.
 
#206 ·
I bought some Xenon narrow flares and painted them because I haven't had the time to finish my tube fenders. I'm running the stock fenders right now because the Xenons are one of the crappiest products I've ever purchased.

Build one! For the 100 bucks and change, if you can make one, you can't beat the cost.
 
#209 ·
$75 Magmaflow sweetness...





Stock exhaust with the muffler sectioned in and painted...





Tailpipe for now, made with pieces from the stock muffler...



Half of the stock muffler was caved in from trail damage. I didn't do this expecting any horsepower increase, but I did expect some unwanted increase in sound. It's not as bad as I thought it would be.
 
#214 ·
My wife asked if we could go to Moab for a vacation. So, me being the caring, understanding husband that I am, I said sure. "But wait, I need new tires, mine are horrible on the highway and Moab is a 5 hour drive." So, she told me to buy some new tires. :D

First I needed these...




TIG welding these SUCKED! But I'm a TIG'r, not a MIG'r. MIG's easy, I just don't have one. The gaps on these things were HUGE! I ran out of argon welding on the lowers. So lowers and sleeves will have to wait 'til I fill my tank.

I did little welds to try to save my ball joints 'til I can upgrade.



Teraflex sleeves...








I found a set of what are apparently unicorn tires...



Next to the ol' tiny 37s...



Got some pumped up kicks...









After I fill my tank, I'll finish lower Cs, sleeves and fab an axle truss for the front and maybe build a rear truss.

:cheers2:
 
#227 ·
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top