Compromises-
- Thread starter IXNAYXJ
- Start date
Backwoods Rambler
Explorer
Anymore pics of the rear cargo area?
Master-Pull
Supporting Sponsor
Wow I have been wheeling with IXNAYXJ for the past year and a half, and watching that rig go from stock to nearly destroyed has been great. The pictures of it with straight body panels really make me laugh, currently Matt has thrashed his jeep and it is just about toast. Unibodys are great.
-Alex
-Alex
Backwoods Rambler
Explorer
WOW!! I would be divorced if my vehicles life cycles were 1.5yrs. :Wow1:
Heck, it's taken me 2+ years just to build it to a competent level as an expedition rig / very mild crawler.
Heck, it's taken me 2+ years just to build it to a competent level as an expedition rig / very mild crawler.
IXNAYXJ
Adventurer
I didn't see that this thread got revived, but since it did, I guess I'll respond with some results. The '98, dubbed IXNAY mkII, now has about 177k miles on it, about 20k more than when I got it. This has all been done either on the road going to trails or on trails themselves. This includes three trips to Moab, totaling about a month, one trip to the Rubicon and countless smaller, local trips. I have slept in the rig most of these trips and find it very comfortable for up to about two weeks; then it's time for a real bed.
It has grown somewhat, going to 37" Goodyear MT/R w/ Kevlars, though I ended up lowering it slightly from where the SAME suspension (same RE coils, leafs and Bilstein 5100s) was on my old '94 when I ran 33's. I added a Currie Anti-Rock sway bar and with the lowered ride height and relatively low weight (appx. 5000 lbs completely loaded to the brim, 4600 lbs in fighting trim) it is extremely stable in sidehill situations. Places that I used to be hesitant to drive I now find myself taking at 25 mph. Though I was let down in this spot:
The front axle has been upgraded from my constantly failing Yukon shafts and joints to Superiors and CTM u-joints. Since the change I have not had a single failure, despite the switch from 35's to 37's. In the rear axle, I swapped out my Detroit and Dutchman shafts for a Superior Super 8.8 kit; this included a set of their shafts and a c-clip eliminator. At the same time I installed an ARB selectable air locker.
I cannot describe how huge of a difference the selectable in the rear made. I run almost exclusively in either 2-low (Terra kit) or 4-low, rear open. This allows the front tires to pull up obsticles rather than be pushed up them by the locked rear axle; when the tires are turned this can make all the difference in the world. Also, in loose boulder fields, rocky trails, or sloppy, muddy trail sections, leaving the rear open acts like a cutting brake...basically pivoting on the inside rear tire, the fronts doing all the work. I swear it's almost like magic.
Here she is in 2008, on the historic Naches Wagon Trail, first established in 1853 connecting Eastern and Western Washington:
Funny random picture...notice the tire tracks:
EJS 2008, posing with the stars of the week, Sarge and JT:
At EJS in 2009, we (I use that term in the Charles Lindbergh sense) ran Upper Helldorado at Area BFE in Moab, one of the better days of wheeling in my life. Though the trail was short, it took most of an afternoon for our group to squeeze through. Mk II didn't emerge unhurt, however...I broke large, nearly impossible to find back rear glass at this point:
The "Water Fall." It could also be called the "Friggin' Vertical Wall:"
Getting to wheel with Mr. Walker Evans himself was a treat, and an experience I will always treasure:. His comment of, "It's nice to meet a magazine guy who can actually drive" made my year.
One of the best two weeks of my life. Special thanks to the guys from Moab 4x4 Outpost who busted their guts all week to keep my (and a whole lot of other folk's) rigs on the trail. I broke two rear drive shaft u-joints, though the Reel driveshaft with Cornay joint is still doing fine after about 15k miles.
During that trip, mk II was shot by Four Wheeler photog Robin Stover and ended up in the Sept. issue. That makes three magazines she has shown up in. :lol:
Another angle, from my camera being operated by a buddy. Note how light the front end is:
-----Matt-----
It has grown somewhat, going to 37" Goodyear MT/R w/ Kevlars, though I ended up lowering it slightly from where the SAME suspension (same RE coils, leafs and Bilstein 5100s) was on my old '94 when I ran 33's. I added a Currie Anti-Rock sway bar and with the lowered ride height and relatively low weight (appx. 5000 lbs completely loaded to the brim, 4600 lbs in fighting trim) it is extremely stable in sidehill situations. Places that I used to be hesitant to drive I now find myself taking at 25 mph. Though I was let down in this spot:
The front axle has been upgraded from my constantly failing Yukon shafts and joints to Superiors and CTM u-joints. Since the change I have not had a single failure, despite the switch from 35's to 37's. In the rear axle, I swapped out my Detroit and Dutchman shafts for a Superior Super 8.8 kit; this included a set of their shafts and a c-clip eliminator. At the same time I installed an ARB selectable air locker.
I cannot describe how huge of a difference the selectable in the rear made. I run almost exclusively in either 2-low (Terra kit) or 4-low, rear open. This allows the front tires to pull up obsticles rather than be pushed up them by the locked rear axle; when the tires are turned this can make all the difference in the world. Also, in loose boulder fields, rocky trails, or sloppy, muddy trail sections, leaving the rear open acts like a cutting brake...basically pivoting on the inside rear tire, the fronts doing all the work. I swear it's almost like magic.
Here she is in 2008, on the historic Naches Wagon Trail, first established in 1853 connecting Eastern and Western Washington:
Funny random picture...notice the tire tracks:
EJS 2008, posing with the stars of the week, Sarge and JT:
At EJS in 2009, we (I use that term in the Charles Lindbergh sense) ran Upper Helldorado at Area BFE in Moab, one of the better days of wheeling in my life. Though the trail was short, it took most of an afternoon for our group to squeeze through. Mk II didn't emerge unhurt, however...I broke large, nearly impossible to find back rear glass at this point:
The "Water Fall." It could also be called the "Friggin' Vertical Wall:"
Getting to wheel with Mr. Walker Evans himself was a treat, and an experience I will always treasure:. His comment of, "It's nice to meet a magazine guy who can actually drive" made my year.
One of the best two weeks of my life. Special thanks to the guys from Moab 4x4 Outpost who busted their guts all week to keep my (and a whole lot of other folk's) rigs on the trail. I broke two rear drive shaft u-joints, though the Reel driveshaft with Cornay joint is still doing fine after about 15k miles.
During that trip, mk II was shot by Four Wheeler photog Robin Stover and ended up in the Sept. issue. That makes three magazines she has shown up in. :lol:
Another angle, from my camera being operated by a buddy. Note how light the front end is:
-----Matt-----
IXNAYXJ
Adventurer
On a trip to Montana, I used a RC Crawler CRAWL Magazine sticker to cover the ever present airbag warning light, and the check gauges telling me the thing was over heating...always.
Alpine lakes along the Continental Divide. If you've never wheeled MT, do so, you won't regret it:
Another highlight was my recent trip to the Rubicon Trail; the history combined with the amazing scenery, mixed together in a place that exemplifies what can be accomplished in the efforts of maintaining and keeping trails open when we as a group put our minds to it.
It's been a great ride, but I'm again at an impasse. I want something that I can beat on without having to worry about so much sheet metal. In all honesty, mk II is looking kind of tired and the drive train is in need of freshening. I'd like to re-do my steering to include hydro assist and fix some issues with geometry that make it somewhat challenging to drive on the freeway. I had more or less resigned myself to building a YJ like everyone else is doing right now, but looking back through these pictures has reminded me how much I've enjoyed the XJ.
I get an honest to goodness 15.3 mpg. It's comfy-ish over long distances. It's capable as hell and always surprises people who assume it's just another unibody grocery getter, even people who should know better. I think the 103" wheelbase (stretched one inch f/r) is about perfect for all around wheeling. I love being self-sufficient, able to cover large distances, wheel as hard as I want on some of the hardest trails there are, and drive home. Haul 5 people, camera gear, provid shelter in blizzards, desert wind storms, be a home for weeks at a time.
I'm going to be taking it to the King of the Hammers race at Johnson Valley in 2010; this might be the final ride of mk II. Those trails chew up and spit out rigs bigger and better than mine; if that is where it ends, well then that's it. But then what? I feel like I fulfilled my vision of a couple years ago of a not-quite-zero compromise, but-pretty-close, expedition/wheeler. Do I do it all again...? Strip all my parts, buy a $1500 XJ, build another cage and buy myself another 2-years? Ugh. Decisions, decisions.
Here are pics as of last weekend, at the PNWJeep Meet & Greet:
Enjoying a breakfast burrito in 'bed.'
Set up for a 4-day weekend, with everything for one person. Still lots of room:
Sorry for the ramble, but I was feeling nostalgic. If anybody has questions about the rig, the trips, the lessons learned, feel free to ask and I'll do my best to respond.
-----Matt-----
Alpine lakes along the Continental Divide. If you've never wheeled MT, do so, you won't regret it:
Another highlight was my recent trip to the Rubicon Trail; the history combined with the amazing scenery, mixed together in a place that exemplifies what can be accomplished in the efforts of maintaining and keeping trails open when we as a group put our minds to it.
It's been a great ride, but I'm again at an impasse. I want something that I can beat on without having to worry about so much sheet metal. In all honesty, mk II is looking kind of tired and the drive train is in need of freshening. I'd like to re-do my steering to include hydro assist and fix some issues with geometry that make it somewhat challenging to drive on the freeway. I had more or less resigned myself to building a YJ like everyone else is doing right now, but looking back through these pictures has reminded me how much I've enjoyed the XJ.
I get an honest to goodness 15.3 mpg. It's comfy-ish over long distances. It's capable as hell and always surprises people who assume it's just another unibody grocery getter, even people who should know better. I think the 103" wheelbase (stretched one inch f/r) is about perfect for all around wheeling. I love being self-sufficient, able to cover large distances, wheel as hard as I want on some of the hardest trails there are, and drive home. Haul 5 people, camera gear, provid shelter in blizzards, desert wind storms, be a home for weeks at a time.
I'm going to be taking it to the King of the Hammers race at Johnson Valley in 2010; this might be the final ride of mk II. Those trails chew up and spit out rigs bigger and better than mine; if that is where it ends, well then that's it. But then what? I feel like I fulfilled my vision of a couple years ago of a not-quite-zero compromise, but-pretty-close, expedition/wheeler. Do I do it all again...? Strip all my parts, buy a $1500 XJ, build another cage and buy myself another 2-years? Ugh. Decisions, decisions.
Here are pics as of last weekend, at the PNWJeep Meet & Greet:
Enjoying a breakfast burrito in 'bed.'
Set up for a 4-day weekend, with everything for one person. Still lots of room:
Sorry for the ramble, but I was feeling nostalgic. If anybody has questions about the rig, the trips, the lessons learned, feel free to ask and I'll do my best to respond.
-----Matt-----
XXXpedition
Explorer
hey matt,
i love the jeep and especially that front bumper...
if i would still live in the states i'd build up another xj. i loved mine and i would do it again (of course better)
if i had your skills i'd stay with the xj. why? 'cause you said it. there are a lot of wranglers out there...
anyhow, great build. looking forward to the next on ;-)
sven
i love the jeep and especially that front bumper...
if i would still live in the states i'd build up another xj. i loved mine and i would do it again (of course better
)if i had your skills i'd stay with the xj. why? 'cause you said it. there are a lot of wranglers out there...
anyhow, great build. looking forward to the next on ;-)
sven
jeepmedic46
Expedition Leader
That XJ turned out great, Can't wait to see what you do.:ylsmoke:
Root Moose
Expedition Leader
I think this just may be the coolest XJ in the world.
I dunno what to say about Mk III... YJs are cool and all but there is something about a full bodied rig getting beat on that has lots of appeal.
I dunno what to say about Mk III... YJs are cool and all but there is something about a full bodied rig getting beat on that has lots of appeal.