#iwannagofast ZJ build

[Johnny Quest]

Flipped a coin, and ended up moving the upper mount back 3” or so. It’s not welded in place in this pic, but thats pretty much where it’ll end up.



I might as well also take this opportunity to outboard the upper mount just a bit. Right now, it’s sitting wider at the bottom than the top. (Don’t mind the temporary scrap metal in there to help shim everything; that’s not staying).

 

[N-Smooth]

I support this

 

[Johnny Quest]

Finally getting back to this. Life has thrown a pretty big curveball lately (got laid off), so this hasn’t exactly been a priority. Anyway, got the rear unibody stiffener welded in, and chopped out all the stock coil mount stuff. Welded up a bracket out of 1/4” plate that comes off the side of the framerail. Also ran a piece of 1.5” DOM up through the floor that I can use as a tie in for a cage when that time comes.

It’s ugly, I’m not proud of my welds, or my fabrication, but it’ll hold. Probably.

 

[Hickey]

Finally getting back to this. Life has thrown a pretty big curveball lately (got laid off), so this hasn’t exactly been a priority. Anyway, got the rear unibody stiffener welded in, and chopped out all the stock coil mount stuff. Welded up a bracket out of 1/4” plate that comes off the side of the framerail. Also ran a piece of 1.5” DOM up through the floor that I can use as a tie in for a cage when that time comes.

It’s ugly, I’m not proud of my welds, or my fabrication, but it’ll hold. Probably.

View attachment 156460

View attachment 156459

The 1.5” on the top is a really good idea. 😎

 

[Johnny Quest]

The 1.5” on the top is a really good idea. 😎

Thanks! I might plate it from the inside as well; cut a 1.5” hole in a 4x4 square or whatever, and weld that to the floor and around the tube for more support. Idk.

 

[Hickey]

Thanks! I might plate it from the inside as well; cut a 1.5” hole in a 4x4 square or whatever, and weld that to the floor and around the tube for more support. Idk.

Also not a terrible idea.

 

[Johnny Quest]

It won’t hurt anything so I might as well. It’ll weather-proof that area as well.

 

[Johnny Quest]

Pulled this out last night, and started to drill some holes in it before one of the kids woke up screaming, so work came to a halt again. Gonna try to finish drilling, and tap the holes tonight, so I can piece together the rest of the hydro assist. Most likely going to have to upgrade the power steering pump to help push the extra fluid.

 

[Johnny Quest]

Picked up some shocks this week, along with a box of brackets.


Started with the rear shock setup. The inside bracket will be tied into a shock tower of some kind; I’ll worry about that next.


Other than the bumpstop needing some adjustment, it looks like it should be pretty well dialed. The shocks have about 12” of travel, and are sitting almost perfectly vertical throughout the arc of travel.

 

[Greg]

Great addition!

 

[Johnny Quest]

Did some suuuper fancy CAD tonight so I could turn this 3/8” scrap into some front upper shock mounts. In stock form, the ZJ utilizes a stem on the front upper shock mount. That wasn’t going to work for this build, so here we are.

Cut, trace, cut some more, and then drill.


And here’s where those go. This is the drivers front corner, and the coil seat is to the left of my hand. This plate will be the outer of the two; the inner will be spaced out enough from the unibody to slide a nut behind.


Why is that bolt hole so offset? Because JLU rear shocks on the front of a ZJ.

 

[Johnny Quest]

The next decision is the lower shock mount position, and I need help deciding which way to go. The lower shock mount seen here is going to be removed. It’s part of the Artec truss system, and there’s nothing wrong with the design, it just isn’t going to work for me.

The first two pictures are of the lower shock being mounted outboard of the LCA mount, inline with the LCA bolt. This tilts the shock out considerably, and also potentially gets close to the brake caliper at full lock.

The 3rd and 4th pics show the lower shock being mounted to the inside of the LCA mount; it would be inline with that bolt again. This is more straight up and down, as it moves that shock in about 3.5-4”. Which *might* present noticeable handling differences? Or it might not. What it won’t do is have any clearance issues with the brake caliper, but at full droop, it will pull the shock toward the framerail.

Why not on top of the LCA mount? Because that would leave me with about 3” of uptravel.

So inside, or outside the LCA is the question.

Outside LCA:

Outside LCA:


Inside LCA (actual position would be slightly more forward):

Inside LCA:

 

[Hickey]

I’m happy to see you pushing yourself to expand your fabrication limits.

For the shock placement, it’s difficult to see all of the interference issues, but the inboard mount will give you better side to side articulation. The outboard mount will give better suspension control but less articulation.

 

[Johnny Quest]

How does the saying go- “if it fits, it ships”?

Well, this fits, just barely. That brake caliper is right in there at full lock, but there’s still a touch of breathing room, so we’re good. Close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades, so this will have to do. If I ever have to pull the LCA, then the shock will have to come out first, which is will be pain in the ass for future-me, but whatever.

 

[kmboren]

How does the saying go- “if it fits, it ships”?

Well, this fits, just barely. That brake caliper is right in there at full lock, but there’s still a touch of breathing room, so we’re good. Close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades, so this will have to do. If I ever have to pull the LCA, then the shock will have to come out first, which is will be pain in the ass for future-me, but whatever.
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Make sure your future brake line will not interfere.

 

[Johnny Quest]

Make sure your future brake line will not interfere.

Good call. The brake line is in there on the right side of the frame. The bolt for the shock does sneak right under that fitting though. I’ll get everything tacked in place this weekend and cycle it again before burning it home.

 

[bryson]

That looks like it'll be all sorts of mixed up on compression... If the shock shaft barely clears at droop, is there any way the shock body will clear on compression? It sure looks like there will be interference...

 

[Johnny Quest]

I’m going to tack weld the bracket and cycle everything, but this is full droop full lock. I’ll probably have to cut off that tab on the shock eyelet so it doesn’t hit the LCA mount at full droop. If it’s turned 180°, then it will definitely hit the caliper at full lock.

 

[Johnny Quest]

@bryson overview of everything at full droop/full bump. Shock is just sitting there, but that’s basically where it’s going to end up.

 

[Mouse]

Poly Performance used to make some link/shock tab combos that would place the shock there (XJs and TJs were target vehicles) - should work like you want it as long as you can still get to the link end.