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Tarantula_TJ Rubicon Build

464K views 4K replies 171 participants last post by  AngryTJ 
#1 ·
UPDATED 12/19/2013***

Story:
I purchased this Jeep back in 2011 with the intent of a mild build and enjoying some offroading on the East Coast. Through Jeepforum I met a small group of guys that invited me to go wheelin for my first time at Rausch Creek, PA. Little did I know how I would get so hooked!

As the obsession grew my game plan was always to have a weekend warrior that would be able to drive to the trails, take a beating, and drive home. With that in mind I started to dig into many projects I would have never imagined trying on my own. I also received help from some great guys out there to get the rig where is it today. Like all of you my jeep has become part of my life.

Back in June I had the opportunity to take a cross-country trip to Colorado and Moab. What made the trip so unique was being able to drive my jeep from CT over 2,200 miles out there and wheel with a bunch of other forum members for 7 straight days! It was one of the greatest experiences a jeeper could have and I'm extremely happy with how the jeep performed. I hope to make it an annual trip to wheel with so many of the great guys on this forum and explore different parts of the US and the wheelin terrain it offers.

I still have a few things to do to the rig but I'm almost at the point where I can just wheel, repair and repeat. If you have any questions about my rig feel free to ask. Thanks for looking!

Mods:
Engine:
• 4.0 I-6 w/ Brown Dog 1" MML & custom Hendrix hiline hood covering it up!
Transmission:
• 6 speed w/ Lopro mount
Transfer Case:
• NV241 w/ Novak shifter
Front axle:
• Dana 44 locked w/ Riddler cover, Superior Shafts, Synergy Ball joints, Alloy axle seals & lower CA skids
Rear axle:
• Dana 44 locked w/ Riddler cover, TnT Truss & Superior Shafts
Gear Ratio:
• 4:11
Suspension:
• Custom stretched rear 4-link 98" WB
• 1" Daystar BL
• OME 930/949 coils
• Front and Rear Antirock Swaybars
• Savvy Alum front upper and lower alum control arms
• 12" outboarded rear Bilsteins
Tires:
• 35x12.5r15 Goodyear MTR/Kevlars
Wheels:
• 15x8 Alum Raceline Monster Beadlocks
Recovery:
• Warn 9.5ti w/ Viking synthetic line. Poly Front half Rollcage w/ custom rear additions
Armor:
• UCF ultra high clearance tcase skid & engine skid, UCF Windshield armor
• Savvy Alum front bumper
• Warn Rear bumper w/ tire carrier
• Rokmen Sliders & Steering skid
• PSC 3" flare Defender Hilines w/ matching rear flares
• Genright Stretched corners & EXT tank
Accessories:
• JKS adj front track bar
• Tom Woods Driveshaft
• Currie Steering w/ Savvy tie rod
• 4pt harness'
• Balistic Fab Battery tie-down box
Awaiting install:
• Evo Front axle sleeve's
• Vanco Big Brake kit
• Front tie rod flip w/ raised sway bar brackets
• Gusset front axle C's
Final Mods list:
488 gears
Hydro assist
3 link front suspension
Yukon Zip or ARB lockers

The starting point:




Where she sits now




 
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6
#780 ·
Purchased some new bilsteins tonight, got 12" travel front 5100s and 11" travel rear 5125s.

Also made a friend with the guy I bought my MTRs from, talked about doin some wheelin trips together and got on the topic of different mods he has installed on his rig. Discussed how he installed his entire clayton longarm kit himself and loves working on jeeps. Our convo eventually lead to me asking if he'd be willing to do all the welding for me on a 4link rear suspension. Being the nice guy that he is he said absolutely so now Im saving up for the following:

Genright 4 link rear kit


TNT rear 44 truss and outboarding kit



Thinking of using these poly brackets for the rear uppers on the truss


The plan is to correct the rear upper spring perches as well but retain the current 4" zone coils I have now and run without a sway bar until I can save up more for the Currie rear antirock.

Planning to purchase everything separately and collecting parts until I can afford it all and tackle the project all at once. Estimated timetable Im thinking is roughly a month or two depending on how work goes in the next couple weeks and if I get a favorable monthly commission check. We'll see but I'm excited!
 
#781 ·
Lu, I need a application for employment
 
#783 ·
The Poly rear 4 link kit is cheaper and includes literally the same stuff......FYI, Poly was the first to come out with that frame bracket design.

http://www.polyperformance.com/shop...y-Bronco-Jeep-CJ-TJ-YJ-Universal-p-16802.html

Since you're planning on using a truss for the upper link mounts, you'll want to contact them and ask them to remove the standalone rear upper axle brackets. That'd be a good time to ask for a deal, too.....I make all of my purchases through Tommy FYI. As for the brackets you're talking about using at the truss, I'd scratch those. They'll sit too tall. You want to keep the uppers tucked down as close to the diff as possible. Just use separate tabs.
 
#787 ·
Why not save $150 & do the Ford shock towers? Mine are mounted higher than what their brackets look to be capable of. I'm running 12" shocks in the back & with switching my coils this past weekend to the 2 1/2" RC, my mount actually needs to move up another 1" to 1 1/2" to maintain the 6" up & 6" down that I want.

Mine are definitely higher & need to go even higher. Compare their locations to the bubble in the tub.
 
#788 ·
Why not save $150 & do the Ford shock towers? Mine are mounted higher than what their brackets look to be capable of. I'm running 12" shocks in the back & with switching my coils this past weekend to the 2 1/2" RC, my mount actually needs to move up another 1" to 1 1/2" to maintain the 6" up & 6" down that I want.

Mine are definitely higher & need to go even higher. Compare their locations to the bubble in the tub.
Whered you get your ford towers? Did you have to modify them at all to run the 5125s with them?

Also Imped what are your thoughts on the Artec kit with rod ends instead of JJs? Seems a bit cheaper.

http://artecindustries.3dcartstores...B--Triangulated-Adjustable-Uppers-_p_276.html
 
#794 ·
#795 ·
Had a late night tinkering with the rig yesterday with a buddy. First order of business was to adjust the novak cable shifter since after I completely my tummy tuck I wasnt getting into 4lo anymore. After a sh** ton of tinkering with it, its finally shifting smoothly throughout every gear.

Second thing we tackled was the engine skid. Got all the holes drilled where it meets the tcase skid (which was not fun having to get through 1/4" steel while on your back trying to apply upward pressure) and bolted everything in place. After that I drilled a hole in the back of the tcase skid to run a bolt and attach my locker pumps to the skid keeping them tucked.





Glad I could scratch those items off the to do list and finally got around to unbolting my spare tire this morning to put the dynabeads in and get it mounted on my tire carrier. Planning a trip to Rausch this weekend and really hoping the rain doesnt ruin the trip.
 
#798 ·
#813 ·
Thanks Drew

That bumper does look great. Really like the color. It seems to shift in different shots. In one it looks black and in another, it just looks like tinted aluminum. You going to put some lights up on those tabs? Kinda high up for fogs, but a nice set of KCs maybe with black lens covers would look mean even if you never used them. Time for a winch now.

Mike. Love your new Avatar. You must have a great photographer. hehehe
I def still need a winch and I plan to run some lights for sure. I have these tabs that I can run lights right above the recovery hooks and/or on the brush guard. Not sure if I want to have lights in both locations.

The color came out awesome, looks even better in person.

So nice. I have not really been a fan of the Savvy bumper till now. I really like the look of that.
Thanks Hendrix :cheers2:

The bumper looks good....it's just missing a little something.
Some lights and a winch?? :ghost:
 
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