Heres my shot at a build thread. i never took a lot of pics through the yrs but i will try to get everyone up to date. most of this build thread is from my build over on Wranglerboard.com
I bought my YJ when i was 16 yrs old. almost 9 yrs ago. she already had a 4" procomp lift and some 33" bfg mud terrains. that and the sweet 2" round bumpers were the only mods on it.
i ran that setup all through high school and thought i was on top of the world. my jeep could do anything. i added some lights and some bushwackers flares
when i was 19 i joined the military and moved to Virginia. with multiple deployments to Iraq and non-stop training my 3 yrs there i only wheeled ONCE on the east coast.
right before my only run out there i went out and bought a smittybilt tire carrier so i can have a spare for the trail ride. a couple months afterwards i bought a matching pro comp front bumper and got rid of my tube bumpers.
here i am in Gore, Va
and the new front bumper i bought
rear tire carrier
after 3 yrs on the east coast i begged and pleaded and got stationed in San Diego. once getting out here everthing pretty much went down hill.
within my first month here i bought a welder and started fabbing some stuff up.
my first project was my rock sliders
i wheeled a little around SD and back home in vegas some more then came another deployment. while on deployment i ordered a couple parts and went right to work installing them when i returned Dec 2010.
Spent a couple hrs yesterday and today working on my front shock hoops. I got them all welded up, when i get back from Vegas for the holidays I will finish it up. The only thing I have left to do is cut my inner fenders, paint and install the shocks.
Heres my litle build up.
First thing I did was remove my fenders
Then I cut off the old mounts. I used a sawzall to get the main piece then a 4 1/2 grinder to get the rest
After that it was ground smooth
Now it was time to start working on the mounts. I wanted to plate the frame because I've seen pictures of hoops tearing holes in the frame.
I started with some cardboard to make a template
then I traced it onto some steel. 4 pieces
cut out and smoothed
then i used some clamps to mock everything up
I then tacked the hoops to the plates and pulled it to make sure i got a good weld. I traced the plates to make sure when i went to weld them in they were in the same spot as when i mocked them up.
Hoop to plate weld
tacked in
and some final weld pics. I started to run out of gas so some of the welds show it
And a profile shot
Well thats it for now. I hop on a plane in a couple hrs. I will update when I get back from Christmas vacation
Ok guys, time for an update. I just recently got back to NC from my Christmas vacation in Las Vegas. First thing i did when I got home was play a round of golf , but after that I decided to finish up my hoops.
The only thing left I needed to do was cutout my fenders, paint then install the shocks. I know, I know. I said I was going to add some supports, and I will, just not at this time.
to start off I marked on the fender where I needed to cut.
I used a 4 1/2" grinder to make the cut, then afterwards I put some door edge trim on it to avoid the sharp edges.
Passenger fender cut and installed. I already painted the hoops by now as well.
Comes up through the top of the fender into the engine compartment
and some finished pictures with the shocks installed. I think it came out pretty sweet.
Your work looks great. I can't wait to have to do some of the work you do, if that makes sense. Lol. Are you gunna put some sheet metal over the hole? You don't seem to do much mud. JW
Looks great Chris. My wife and I will be moving into a house in a couple months. The best part is it has a garage which will be for the jeep. I have a welder waiting on me as well. So hopefully things will get interesting.
Did some poser flex shots today to see how much better the travel is with the new shocks and hoops. I LIKE IT!! I still had more travel i couldve used as well, just thought that was a good enough spot to stop and check it out
Only a couple more things to do and she's ready to be wheeled. Too bad Uwharrie doesnt open back up until April. :thumbdown:
I run the same hoops with no supports on top and I've never had ne issues. Have u ever had ne experience working with these hoops or had said issues with them? Cuz they r pure beef lol I don't see them ever ripping off.
When I got rid of my TJ and got my YJ, I really started to hate it. But I'm slowly loving YJ's more than I ever could love a TJ. And your YJ is definitely the perfect rig. Trade you my soul for that YJ. haha.
When I got rid of my TJ and got my YJ, I really started to hate it. But I'm slowly loving YJ's more than I ever could love a TJ. And your YJ is definitely the perfect rig. Trade you my soul for that YJ. haha.
Sleeving the axle looks sweet. I suspected that's what they were talking about but not sure.
You gonna do the u-bolt eliminator plates? Please do pictures. I'll enjoy watching.
No new progress on the Jeep lately but I did pick up a new toy.
Ive been wanting to upgrade to a 220V welder recently and so ive been casually looking around. I ended up finding a MM175 on CL today for what I thought was a good deal. I went and looked at it and it ended up following me home. Im going to try it out and see how I like it. If I like how it feels and it lays down some nice beads I'll put my Hobart 140 up for sale on CL to recoup some money for the upgrade.
No new progress on the Jeep lately but I did pick up a new toy.
Ive been wanting to upgrade to a 220V welder recently and so ive been casually looking around. I ended up finding a MM175 on CL today for what I thought was a good deal. I went and looked at it and it ended up following me home. Im going to try it out and see how I like it. If I like how it feels and it lays down some nice beads I'll put my Hobart 140 up for sale on CL to recoup some money for the upgrade.
I just my donor Lincoln this weekend. It has flux core wire which I've never welded with. Either way it will be nice having a way to repair my jeep. First thing are the body mounts and a frame patch at the steering box.
Well to start off it can weld 1/4" single pass. A major improvement that i see is that while welding most things that i weld on my HH140 I'm maxing out my welder. My heat setting is maxed out and i have to do a lot of prep to get good penetration. I will have to still do prep with the MM175 but less prep and get way more penetration. I also shouldn't hit my duty cycle that often anymore either.
Thanks. Ill try to go nice and slow when i do the tank. I might have to have someone help me so i don't rush it. I do all my work solo so ill have to ask around.
Kind like what Skyj said. I dont have a back seat but i have a big pelican case in the rear for tools as well as my air tank. I wouldnt mind doing a fuel cell when the time comes that i need one. But for now i can just get away with dimpling the stock tank. You cant beat having room for a stretch and still having the tank underneath.
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