NEW Rig????.....OK....XJ is cool and capable, butttttt

[pokeyYJ]

CJ/YJ/TJ's are all cool, as are Sami's, and Yota's. But its all been done before, nothing against guys that are building them or that are running them. But I think that its time for some different rigs on the trails. Just a thought!

 

[mbryson]

Originally posted by pokeyYJ
CJ/YJ/TJ's are all cool, as are Sami's, and Yota's. But its all been done before, nothing against guys that are building them or that are running them. But I think that its time for some different rigs on the trails. Just a thought!

I'm with you on uniqueness, but I keep coming back to cost. The Jeep is hard to beat on the mighty $

 

[Caleb]

Originally posted by mbryson



I'm with you on uniqueness, but I keep coming back to cost. The Jeep is hard to beat on the mighty $

Yep $$$ is a lot better when doing a common swap cause you have competition out there so you usually get better pricing...

the funny thing is that when I first started my build-up everyone wasn;t running a 4.3L and Th350 and everyone didn;t have 60s etc...my build up was original to a point but I have taken so damn long that almost everything is WAY common now...

 

[mbryson]

Another thing that I've just come up with is the 'ideal' wheelbase. It would seem to me that something in the 104-110" area would be ideal, but that might be kind of hard to keep street legal?

To get that, I'm probably linking up at least one end to get the axles out there.

 

[Caleb]

I'm at 102" right now abd will be at about 104" when I put on my waggy springs and I have leafs front and rear...I did add onto my frame though...

 

[Andy]

Marc, I don't know why you always do this. If your that unhappy with the Cherokee, sell it and start over. And another thing, what does it matter what we would build? You know exactly what you want, so do it. Since your asking though I think a great platform for a build up is a YJ, as soon as the Hero dies that's next. So quit web wheeling and get out there while you still can, trust me I know.

 

[Greg]

Andy, your probably very right. I think almost everyone gets the 'grass is greener on the other side of the fence' attitude, atleast once..... including myself!


Here's a rig kinda like I was talking about....

He's running leafs front & rear, a 60 & 14 Bolt, the stock 6 Cyl, stock Auto Tranny and a 231 with a 4 to1. With a set of 37" MT/Rs the thing could be very streetable. He does run a set of those wide-as-hell flares to cover the Swampers.

He wheels it everywhere. The weekend this was taken we did Pritchett, The Helldorados & The Proving Grounds.

 

[TigerStripe40]

How 'bout something along these lines? This is something that I have been dreaming about for a long whiles (PhotoCHOP courtesy of WasatchCruiser aka BoxRocket from POR).

Basically, a 93-97 Land Cruiser frame, suspension, and axles, with a custom extra cab and bed. I like this approach because you get a torquey DOHC fuel injected inline 6, a bomb proof tranny and axles, with factory lockers, and coil spring suspension.

Though for $$ I would probably look for a rolled K5 blazer, chop off the body, and put on a CJ/YJ/TJ tub after making the appropriate mod's to the frame. My choice would be for a 6.5 litre turbo-diesel for fuel economy reasons.

Just a few ideas.

 

[Caleb]

Originally posted by TigerStripe40

Though for $$ I would probably look for a rolled K5 blazer, chop off the body, and put on a CJ/YJ/TJ tub after making the appropriate mod's to the frame. My choice would be for a 6.5 litre turbo-diesel for fuel economy reasons.

Just a few ideas.

why use a K5 frame??? I'm really curious why you say that???

 

[TigerStripe40]

Originally posted by supergper



why use a K5 frame??? I'm really curious why you say that???

Let me first say that I am not all that familiar with Chevy stuff. But here is my reasoning.

Secondly, he already SAID he liked the GM stuff.

Also, CHOP THE BODY OFF.

K5 Blazer already has a short ish wheel base, near what he is looking for.

K5 blazer already has axles in a spring over configureation.

K5 blazer comes with a choice of a gas V8, or a Diesel V8.

All the K5's I have seen have an automatic transmission (not sure if that's what he wanted), and transfer case. (again, not sure which T-case those have, but isn';t it an NP203 or 205?) That said, an AtlasII is an easy swap.

I think that with a K5 blazer to start with, he can have something that will be wheelable along the entire build up process, with cheap, and commonly available replacement parts.

Just my thinking.
But again, I don't know THAT much about GM/Chevy stuff.

 

[mbryson]

Originally posted by Andy
Marc, I don't know why you always do this. If your that unhappy with the Cherokee, sell it and start over. And another thing, what does it matter what we would build? You know exactly what you want, so do it. Since your asking though I think a great platform for a build up is a YJ, as soon as the Hero dies that's next. So quit web wheeling and get out there while you still can, trust me I know.

I'm quite impressed with the Cherokee. It's a great rig and is very capable. I built on the 'low buck' mostly, and it's got very few compromises as a daily driver/weekend trail rig. I just think I'm ready to maybe take another step and get a few of the things that I wished I had on the XJ (removeable top and rollover surviveability).

The only thing I wish I could do with it is do Upper Proving Grounds and Upper Helldorado type stuff. I think you'd agree that the unibody and D30 would not appreciate those kinds of challenges over the long term. I like it a lot and it's still a very respectable daily driver. To be able to do those two trails and get some reliability back (I'd like some axle strength) and some larger tires to keep the distance under the diff's similar to what I have now, I've kind of decided the XJ is not the ideal platform for those types of trails. In my opinion, ANY rig that can run Pritchett without needing a winch is a pretty respectable rig. My XJ can and has done that, and I really am quite impressed with what it's done for as little knowledge as I started with and what little cash I have into the rig as a whole. I've learned from a lot of my friends on what not to do as far as expense and haven't made a lot of mistakes while building, but have made a few...nothing serious.


I fully intend to keep the current XJ operational while I build the new one so I don't have to take time off the trail like you've done. It looks like the Bronco/buggy will be way on the sweet when you are done, and it will all be worth it at that point, but you've taken a lot of time between trail rides while building.

I kind of want to get something going over the next 12-18 months and hopefully have it completed before my current XJ's motor dies. The thing is kind of tired.

 

[Caleb]

Originally posted by TigerStripe40


Let me first say that I am not all that familiar with Chevy stuff. But here is my reasoning.

Secondly, he already SAID he liked the GM stuff.

Also, CHOP THE BODY OFF.

K5 Blazer already has a short ish wheel base, near what he is looking for.

K5 blazer already has axles in a spring over configureation.

K5 blazer comes with a choice of a gas V8, or a Diesel V8.

All the K5's I have seen have an automatic transmission (not sure if that's what he wanted), and transfer case. (again, not sure which T-case those have, but isn';t it an NP203 or 205?) That said, an AtlasII is an easy swap.

I think that with a K5 blazer to start with, he can have something that will be wheelable along the entire build up process, with cheap, and commonly available replacement parts.

Just my thinking.
But again, I don't know THAT much about GM/Chevy stuff.

those are all valid points and I was just curious...some things to think about though is that he wants D60s...no K5 has ever come stock with D60s so he's changing axles anyways...changing wheelbase isnt too much work, you mostly just have to deal with the fender wells wich he would have to do anyways to put a Jeep body on...the motor may or may not be positioned right so he may end-up having to move it anyways so why not save the head ache of removing stuff and just start from scratch (YJ frame)...your thinking is good but I think it would prolly be more work to swap a body onto a K5 frame than to swap the K5 drivetrain onto the YJ frame and have it exactly how you want the first time...

 

[pokeyYJ]

Marc, do you want to have a hard top to put on in the winter? I was thinking that if you didn't. You could take something totally off the wall and cut the top off and get a custom top made for it.

 

[mbryson]

Originally posted by pokeyYJ
Marc, do you want to have a hard top to put on in the winter? I was thinking that if you didn't. You could take something totally off the wall and cut the top off and get a custom top made for it.

Yeah, hard top to put on any time I feel like I need/want it. A/C and a decent stereo.....If I feel like DRIVING it to Moab in February, I'll want a hardtop {probably be on a trailer, though}. If my tow rig is down for whatever reason, I want to be able to drive the rig to work for a few days and not be too bitchy about it.

I've thought of the butchered XJ body/softtop, but I don't want to reinforce what I cut out and hope I covered everything. The XJ is a great rig. I really respect what the Jeep engineers did when they designed it. I'm sure it was NEVER thought of in '82-84 when it was designed that people would even put 33" tires on something with that small of wheel tubs, let alone 35" or greater. The rig holds up pretty well for what it is, IMHO.

When I build something with the D60's, it WON'T be an XJ. They are heavy and would rip the body apart pretty quickly, I'd bet.

 

[N-Smooth]

i was thinking of starting a tube buggy out of a k5 but there are a few pros and cons.
-they have a frame..pro
-some came with a sbc fi...pro
-they are just big, with a huge frontend you can't see over imho...con
-they came with crap for axles...con
-it would be easy to swap a d60 and 14b...pro
-a t-case doubler would be pretty basic and sweet...pro
-they have a good wheelbase imho...pro
-you can get a rolled one or rusted one and hack it up...pro

those are just a few points i wanted to make. i think a k5 would be cool besides the big ass hood. my uncle has one and you can barely see over the hood. maybe if you were to take off the whole body and the frontend you could lower the drivetrain by the motor mounts and tranny mount. that would sacrifice some breakover on the tranny mount but i think it would be worth it to be able to see over a custom fiberglass hood than the big ass stock one.
just opinions of mine.

-nate

 

[RockMonkey]

Marc, I think you're on the right track here, and everyone knows that you will end up with a YJ cause they're cheap, and a great platform to start with... Just a note on the wheelbase thing. I'd stick a lot closer to 104 than 110. Mine's at 107 and makes steep gnarly climbs easier than most, but my breakover angle leaves something to be desired (you don't want to make it super tall to fix this...), and my turning radius is a bit huge. I think for an all purpose rock-rig 104 is just about right. My next rig, which I can't start 'till we move to a bigger garage (oops, I mean house) will be a little shorter wheelbase than my Jeep. Also, 60s are cool (or are they uncool now?) but you might want to heck into the price of mog axles before you lay any cash down... Just a thought.

 

[mbryson]

Fun thread I just ran across in my searches

 

[Kiel]

obviously you should have built the samurai

 

[N-Smooth]

Blast from the past! Makes me feel old...

 

[mbryson]

The funny part of this conversation is I have Caleb's Jeep