Exrunners Xj

SixLug

Explorer
Ok, got some work done on the rear brackets for the mudflaps. Pics:

0322091453.jpg

Bottom piece with 2 holes in it is one of the arms that will hold the flap. These two holes will mount to an L-bracket with detent pins, eventually. For right now, since I dont want to drop $25 on pins, Im going to more permanently mount them with some nuts and bolts. Still removable, just with a 7/16" wrench.

0322091453a.jpg

The arms are 1/2" C-channel aluminum. So to reinforce the mounting points, I used some 1/4" thick x 3/4" wide aluminum flat stock and made two 3" pieces, and hammered them into the C-channel, then drilled the mounting holes. This should help with some extra support. The aluminum arms are 16" long each for the rear.

0322091453b.jpg

This is just a view of the 1/4" x 3/4" flat stock in the C-channel.

0322091552.jpg

Ok, this was the toughest part for the rear. The drob bracket was a piece of 1 1/4" x 1/4" flat stock that was 6" long to start with. The hard part was just figuring the angle and amount of drop, etc, to keep it far enough from the leaf spring, but low enough to allow for the downward angle of the arm holding the mud flap. I used L-brackets that were 2"x2" with holes that were 1 1/8" apart on each arm. Im using 1/4" diameter bolts with lock nuts holding the L-brackets to the drop brackets, self tapping screws for the drop brackets to the frames, and eventually 1/4" detent pins for the quick releases. From the front of the rear shackle box to the trailing edge of the L-bracket is 6 1/4".

0322091552a.jpg

View of the clearance b/w the arm and the leaf spring, which is like 2 1/4" at the lowest point or so, which near the rear of the leaf spring is plenty.

0322091551.jpg

Heres sort of what it will look like when installed. Thats an 11"x17" piece of copy paper hanging from the bracket. The flaps will be 12"x18".

As of now, the parts are disassembled and primed ready for black paint. The drop brackets have been trimmed of excess aluminum for esthetics. The downward angle of the rear arms was provided by a hammer, after the drop brackets were attached to the "frame". The front hangers will be much simpler, as they will be L-brackets simply mounted to the "frame" and the arms extending outward...no drop brackets needed. Hope this helps anyone interested.

*sorry for the quality of pictures...Im using a cell phone to take the pics when I can.
 
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SixLug

Explorer
yes duals from the muffler back...no "wow" needed. They suck...on there when I bought the rig. Where the duals attach to the muffler is rotted out and they arent even physically attached to the back of the muffler anymore. Makes for pretty loud noise. As you can see, the right pipe is higher than the left, b/c I had to wire rope it to the hitch mounts b/c it was hanging and dangling and banging around when I drove. If I could, Id replace it with a completely stock and hole-free exhaust. I also dont like the fact that there is no heat shield around the drivers side of the gas tank but there is on the pass. side where the stock exhaust would exit. It might be ok if it were higher quaility, but who needs duals on a straight 6 anyway? ha ha. Just my opinion.

As for the flaps...thank you. I worked for probably 7-8 hrs and only got the rears finished...ha ha. There was a lot of test fitting and stuff and running up and down the stairs in the shop to the cutting and drilling tools. They will look much better and cleaner when finished though. For those who may think "flimsy", think again, ha ha...these are turning out to be quite sturdy.
 
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saburai

Explorer
Yeah the wow was not a "WOW!" kinda wow. It was more like a wow??:sombrero:

Nice truck, when you get a chance, ditch the extra pipes:victory:
 

SixLug

Explorer
OK, got some more work done. The rears are finished, except for adding the mudflaps themselves. They are painted though and Im going to give them a few days to cure before putting them together while I wait on the flaps.

0323091919.jpg

rear bracket parts finished and painted.

0323091920.jpg

how they will be assembled.

Here are the front brackets. They were much simpler to make and mount, as there are no drop brackets needed. The front arms, with L-brackets installed, are 17" long altogether. (you can see my note for the front brackets: "Turn wheels all the way and measure." With the wheels at full lock, there will be no contact with the tires and mudflaps.)
0323091815.jpg


0323091816.jpg

How they are mounted. The mounting points put the arms directly below the very front of the pinch seam, shown below.
0323091824.jpg


0323091816a.jpg

Showing how they look from behind. As you can see, with the flaps installed they will give complete coverage of the tires.

Then next three pictures are mock ups with an 11" x 17" piece of paper, and again, the flaps will be 12" x 18".
0323091821.jpg


0323091822.jpg


0323091823.jpg


Front brackets primed and ready for paint tomorrow. Ill update when I get more done.
0323091923.jpg


A side note: If the flaps happen to put too much stress on the arms, etc, I have figured out a way that I will add one more L-bracket to each out towards the edges. The L will face forward, but I will bend up the tip to make sort of a J facing forward, like a bucket or something, that will support the weight of the flaps. A small slot cut into the flaps at this point will allow them to be slipped over the upright of the J and into place. If you have no idea what Im talking about, Ill show you with pictures later...ha.
 
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SixLug

Explorer
Like I said, to each their own..ha. I know this is going to be a pretty unpopular mod for most people. They wont look nearly so invasive when its not a WHITE sheet of paper and the aluminum is black IMO. But, Ill continue to update the thread when they are finished. They should arrive tomorrow, according to the UPS tracker!!! Wo0t.

BTW, why "mud flaps" and not mud flaps...? Not even good enough to be referred to as mud flaps huh??? ha ha. J/K.
 
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SixLug

Explorer
FIN!

Finally got them done. I dont have any pics of the last part of the process. It was basically just me attaching the flaps to the brackets and cutting the flaps to size, etc. Simple, but time consuming.

I freakin LOVE the way it looks, and it makes it a bit more unique to all other XJs out there...so to all you haters...:ar15: ha ha...

Pics...(all cell phone, sorry again. The first two have a dif. filter going on, thats why they are blue.)

0325091614.jpg


0325091612.jpg


0325091608a.jpg


0325091607b.jpg


0325091607a.jpg


0325091607.jpg
 

ExpoMike

Well-known member
Actually they look much better being all black. I have been thinking of something like this, more for the rear, so I can keep the mud, rocks and dirt off my trailer when I am towing it.

Man, I have so many ideas and projects I want to do to my Cherokee but I am in the middle of my '68 Chevy C10 project and need to get that back on the road before I have room again to work on Jeep projects.
 

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