[Mr.Crowley]

I figured I start my build thread as it seems like theres alot of them starting..Its not going to be a high dollar build..Hell anyone can call a vender and have stuff shipped to make life easier..Not my style..With 3 cj's to support I need all the money I can get..Hot dogs for dinner sucks after a while..

Basicly I wanna show that you can build a capable rock cj in your back yard with little money spent..I'm shooting for a under 2000 dollar budget..I think Im gonna come in way under it,but tires and rims will cost me the most I think..

The LizzardQueen..You say why on earth would you call it that..It is what I call my wife..It started on the trails in the summer..Every ride we went on she had caught a lizzard,Letting them crawl all over the inside of the jeep..I know kinda lame but I dig it..

I got this cj for a trade..An 83..3.54 narrow track axles..arggg..thats gonna change..A np435..the lowest geared tranny offered by a car manufaturer..The compound first gear is 6.68..and the reverse is up in the 8's..The frame is as solid as it can be..Very impressive for a rust belt cj..

The projected plans..
full width chevy axles
soa on badly sagged 4'' springs..My reason is that they should flex like crazy with alot of droop.
!/4 eliptical rear shackles..Just to let it droop some more
rear disk conversion
adding to factory 93 and newer style family roll rar..
I already got axles comming to me this saturday..There out of a 72 chevy 3/4 ton..The rear is an Eaton rear..This thing is huge!! 4.10's already loaded.Some people say its what the gm 14 bolt was designed after..A full floating,3rd member drop out is about the cream of the crop..The down side,,there old and parts are kinda hard to find,but axles and diffs are swappable with a gm 14ff.

The front is a dana 44..I opted for the older model cuz they had come with a passenger side flat top knuckle from the factory..One less thing I would have to source if I went newer..I am also going to be pulling other parts and scrapping it when done with it to recoup some moneys..

Im going to out boarding the front spring hangers my self,styled after Poison spiders full width kit..At least the front rear out boards any way..I like the fact that there adjustable for leaf changes..Thats about it right now..This weekend I will have a few more pics up and a couple of fixes I need to make before it gets cold out..I need to fix the rear hatch hinge bolts..Two of them snapped off with the bolt inside the top so I gotta figure out how to get them out without destroying the fiberglass..

___________________________________________________________________________
My price tally..

electric fans and mounting hardware 25$
72 3/4 ton chevy''for d30 and eaton rear with 4.10's...300$
Flowmaster one chamber muffler..0$
35'' tires..0$
relays and wiring for fans 0$
variety pack of cut off,gringing and flap wheels 10.00$
One gallon jug of PB Blaster 20.00$
Diff cover for the rear Eaton 14.00$
4 small 90 degree fab magnents 4.00$
1 laquer marker 3.00$
3/16 X3''x6' steel,2 8''x6''1/4'' plates 4 cutoff wheels 17.00$
YJ spring bushings 17.00$
--------------
...396$
Scrapped truck after rears where yanked... credit of 170$
_______________
total as of January feb.11th $ 243
2' of 2.50'' for spring perches $ 8.50
10' of 1.50'' dom for anti wrap bar $ 16.00
1'' dom for wrap bar $ 4.50
2 grinding wheels $ 5.00
spool of welding wire $ 11.40
--total as of feb16th ---------------
$288.40

 

[137978]

I'm still new here so IDK if my opinion counts yet or not haha but has anyone ever though of making a build forum so we wouldn't have to dig through the threads for the sweet builds

 

[Mr.Crowley]

I think as long as its a vaild suggustion all are welcome..and yes it would be a great idea to have that..Maybe a mod can suggest that to the powers that be..

 

[Floridazed]

I really dig those original looking rims. Plain, but very utilitarian.
Good luck with the build.
Where are those little dunes at? Is that your local testing grounds?

 

[Mr.Crowley]

That is actually a motor cross track I built in the woods across the street from my house..Once a year I run a bob cat over there to fix it up and change it around..Mainly for my nepfew..He's an up and comming racer on the way to the pro's..I havent ridden in a year since breaking a few ribs and a bone in my wrist during a district race..

 

[burtonsnowman]

This is awesome...*subscribed*

And we shold have a build forum. - Maybe one for each of the current "model" forums...like a CJ Build Forum, YJ Build Forum, etc.

The threads come up so frequently, it would be very useful.





Anyway, good work! I can't wait to see updates!

 

[bigjoe]

Keep us posted and be sure to let us know your cost break-down when finished. Goodluck.

 

[kconnor123]

I like your buildup thread but i have some reservations about your strict 2000 buck limit....I hope you can do it but it seems few can.

Another observation is if your ride is an 83, why is it running narrow track axles? I thought they switched over in 82 to solely wide tracks? Did the PO install narrow tracks aftermarket?

 

[Mr.Crowley]

I like your buildup thread but i have some reservations about your strict 2000 buck limit....I hope you can do it but it seems few can.

Another observation is if your ride is an 83, why is it running narrow track axles? I thought they switched over in 82 to solely wide tracks? Did the PO install narrow tracks aftermarket?

Yes some one swapped them over to NT's..I think that the original rears where geared and locked ''by the way it was built''..and when it was sold at one point the swapped crappy axles in it..

 

[Mr.Crowley]

As for the budget,Im gonna be putting a list of costs up at the very top post to keep a tally up..I'm gonna be junk yard hopping,bardering and begging to get under that budget..

 

[Mr.Crowley]

I got the doner home this morning..Man this is gonna be wideeeeeee..Im loving it..

 

[Mr.Crowley]

Looking into thse for the axle swap for the rear..Seems like a decent kit,but wondering if there pad is as long as another companys anti wrap perches

http://www.ruffstuffspecialties.com/catalog/14-bolt-simple-swap-p-184.html

found these..Looks decent for out boarding the front springs
http://www.ruffstuffspecialties.com/catalog/mounting-platform-p-187.html

 

[tahoe wheelers]

Those both look like good options and not bad for pricing. I just might go that route for my 1 ton swap instead of fabricating the outboarding spring mounts.

 

[Mr.Crowley]

I decided to install the couple of electric fans I have been sitting on for a while now..I pulled them out of a motor home during the summer..20 bucks for both..They fit perfectly next to each other and plenty of room for the water pump pully..pics will be up shorty

 

[sanmiam]

You must be close - I remember seeing that on CraigsList for quite awhile after I bought mine. To say I am jelous is an uderstatement - the NP435 is what I'm now paying gobs of $$ to swap into mine - not to mention the patching of the rear frame that I had initially thought was great. Nutz!!!

 

[Mr.Crowley]

I contacted him in the early summer..No response for about 4 months and then out of the blue he emailed me..After going to see it I wasnt going to let it get away..

 

[Mr.Crowley]

tommorows project is to finish up the wiring on the fans and strip out the carpet and give it a good cleaning..Its filthy in and out..Well heres the fans I put in..I think they fit perfectly..I was short two studs for the water pump pully..Ill pick them up shortly..

 

[Mr.Crowley]

well finished up the wiring,runs nice and cool..throttle responce is a little better after shedding the heavy fan..But while on the way to my inlaws for christmas dinner,the heater core decided to let loose that magic steam..make that 2 heater cores I gotta replace..Other than that Scrapping the pickup this week along with some other old engines to turn that money over into Mountain Off road full width kit..I really dont have the time to make my own as I'm heading to connecticut next month for work for about 4 months..And I wanna get the jeep up on the axles atleast..

I rounded up the two XJ CV drive shafts I scrounged from OK Four Wheel Drives dumpster while at OktoberFest...Funny story,too long for a forum..I plan on using them if the slip yokes work out for me..With the buggy spring rear perches I may have to get a long spline slip yoke and graft it in..

 

[Mr.Crowley]

Well after a long delay of being in Ct. for a few weeks I got a little time on the LizzardQueen..

Started out sizing up the situation and picking the tool of destruction to get the u-bolts off..This is why cutting your ends of the u-bolts is important and even better a flip or skids..

These are the OME 4 way shocks..Kinda like coil overs..Road nice but gotta go longer..Notice how with the wrong shock length it will kill your droop...With the correct length shock I could have gain over 4'' of droop..

I leveled out the frame taking an average of a few spots and dropped a plum bob to the centerline of the axle..Why well just to keep myself in check when placing the new axles..I am shooting for a 2'' stretch in the front and will give me a pair of checks and measures..

Even after soaking the stearing box/drivers side shackle hanger bolts for almost a month,the most rearward one spun on the inside..So I decided well why not just cut the end of the hanger off and use the rest as the bracket spacer..I would have to use one anyways..

For the spring hangers I slit the side Locator peice that was welded and grinded the rivets from underneath..I Plan on reusing them so I didnt want to destroy them..I ground the rivits till a small wack with my BFH would show the outline crack of the rivit..Then took a pry bar and wiggled them loose..

Just a sneek preview of the width this things gonna be..The camera played a little trick as it looks much much wider than it will be..

]I am at the point now in the front that I am fabbing up a bumper with the front out board brackets integrated in it..Kinda like the BTF one but with out the SRS..
Also making a price list of all the shock tabs,spring perches,u-bolts and a few fancy gussets Ill be using..

 

[Mr.Crowley]

got a little ahead today..Whent to my favorite metal shop and picked up some steel and cut off wheels..Made the front out boards out of a scrap peice of angle I had bent up last year..I decided to build the out board and bumper bracket as one unit..That bolts on using the 4 bolt holes for the bumper along with the two holes that hold the winch plate bracket on..After I drill the holes for the winch plate bracket in the angle Ill add a few gussets and round the rear corner or angle it..The bumper I got off a buddy of mine in a trade..Most of the metal in it came off a locomotive including the tow loops at the bottom..Very hefty and weighs about 40-50 lbs..

I made a template of the rear out boards outa an old boot box last night..I untaped it today to trace the triangles for the end gussets..Worked out well.
Plus it gave me a chance to use a carbide metal cutting blade in my old chop saw..MUST USE FACE SHEILD WITH THAT TYPE OF BLADE>>>Chunks of hot steel get through everywhere..

Nifty baby magnets I picked up at H/F last week..

Finished product..Will add the gusset thats set in place after final position of the hanger is made..