Rusty762's Project Overlander TJ 8

[Rusty762]

Finished burning in everything and started prepping for paint.



Bought some POR-15 and used it on the entire rear frame and mounts and painted the Rock Jock with it. A fair amount of the day was spent prepping everything with degreaser and etching the metal. Got the T, lines and mounts for my Crown brake lines. I am running Crown SS lines from my JK rear calipers to the truss, then running hard line to the T and then back to some SS line at both ends of the drivers side upper arm.





I had some concerns about the POR-15 product and how it would adhere to the stock paint on the frame and is the reason I spent some extra time degreasing and etching everything. POR is very viscous (almost water consistency) and the first coat had streaks, after sitting for a couple minutes the streaks go away and after sitting for 30 minutes it almost looks like powder coat. I applied two coats, it takes approximately 2-6 hours to setup then you can apply the second coat.







Here is a picture of the bump stop installed. It is simple but get's the job done and is easy to adjust for any tire size changes I make to the rig.



Almost Everything reinstalled! Need to change the springs out to 150/250 and then install the sway bar.

 

[iluv83vettes]

Nice build. Just wondering ... were you just looking for an LJ and came across a nice one that happened to be a Rubicon or were you searching for a Rubicon? Only reason I ask is it seems like you have taken everything off that made it a Rubicon instead of the base model.

 

[Rusty762]

Nice build. Just wondering ... were you just looking for an LJ and came across a nice one that happened to be a Rubicon or were you searching for a Rubicon? Only reason I ask is it seems like you have taken everything off that made it a Rubicon instead of the base model.

The vehicle was purchased with long distance driving to remote places like Moab and Colorado in mind, My plan originally was to leave the stock axles and run 35's, after looking at the cost of upgrading the rear axle to survive the type of wheeling I plan on doing the decision was made to buy a Rock Jock 60. I will not have to worry about this axle when I am 1000's of mile from home and after selling my Rubi 44 it ended up costing me about $3000. The 241 transfer case is the heart of the Rubicon and is still in the rig, the axles are nothing more than a dressed up Dana 30. I looked at several non LJ's that were low mileage and not much cheaper than the Rubi I purchased. Not sure what else you consider Rubicon that was taken off? If I had to do it over again I might buy a standard LJ but then an Atlas transfer case would have to be purchased and I would probably get Rock Jock 60's front and back.

 

[Septu]

Curious as to why you'd chop the roof to the J8 style... you've just lost a ton of storage space - at least the dry, safe out of sight storage space. I mean the build is amazing. But one usually wants more secure storage space, not less. I'm running a deck cover on my JK, but then I run my soft top in the summer. If I was going to some 3rd world country (Mexico, etc) I'd be running my hard top.

 

[Rusty762]

Curious as to why you'd chop the roof to the J8 style... you've just lost a ton of storage space - at least the dry, safe out of sight storage space. I mean the build is amazing. But one usually wants more secure storage space, not less. I'm running a deck cover on my JK, but then I run my soft top in the summer. If I was going to some 3rd world country (Mexico, etc) I'd be running my hard top.

Jeez, I am working as fast as I can . I have big plans for the rear and I am in the final stages of the custom cage/storage area. The places I wheel a hard top does not survive, I am not driving fire roads only. This rig will see hard use on the Rocks in addition to pavement and dirt roads, the stock hardtop also was noisy as hell driving down the road, majority of the noise came from the bed once the carpet was removed which was an inch thick of insulation. With the half cab the bed noise is no longer present, I have a lot of insulation in the front part of the cab and its no longer your typical noisy jeep. I will have a rack incorporated into the bed that will keep everything below it out of reach/sight, lockable containers for tools and other necessities will also be incorporated into the cage/bed. Not sure of your financial situation but I do not poo money and have to do this build in stages, it took me the better part of a year to gather all the parts for the stretch/4 link. I do not do anything half ***, be patient and watch the build as it develops. No plans to go out of country right now.

 

[Septu]

It wasn't a criticism, I was curious, so I asked We don't have the rocks and whatnot up here, removing the hardtop to limit damage is probably the last thing that comes to mind up here for us.

Noise concerns and temps (we get -40 come winter) is one of the main reasons I haven't pulled the carpet in my JK yet. And no I'm not made of money, my JK build, and my m101 trailer build have been and will continue to both be fairly slow. I think being a days drive from the boarder, I'd be checking things out down there often - but then that's my ideal vacation (4 weeks exploring/camping in Mexico). But until I'm rich, I'll have to settle for nearby Alaska.

But it's a fantastic build. Can't wait to see what you come up with for the rear rack/storage system.

 

[Rusty762]

It wasn't a criticism, I was curious, so I asked We don't have the rocks and whatnot up here, removing the hardtop to limit damage is probably the last thing that comes to mind up here for us.

Noise concerns and temps (we get -40 come winter) is one of the main reasons I haven't pulled the carpet in my JK yet. And no I'm not made of money, my JK build, and my m101 trailer build have been and will continue to both be fairly slow. I think being a days drive from the boarder, I'd be checking things out down there often - but then that's my ideal vacation (4 weeks exploring/camping in Mexico). But until I'm rich, I'll have to settle for nearby Alaska.

But it's a fantastic build. Can't wait to see what you come up with for the rear rack/storage system.

No Worries man, I am not easily offended. Yeah the hardtop had to go wish I could have kept it and gear hanging off the back is not going to cut it either, will have the spare bed mounted and a roof rack for light cargo like tents, etc..

Checked out your build, cool rig and trailer and love the area your in. Been to Alaska several times, mostly to dive but have done some hiking and plan to drive the jeep up there eventually.

 

[Rusty762]

Lighter springs came in last week so installed those this weekend, original recommendation was 200/300. Even with 300lbs of gear in back I could not get full stuff, so I installed some 150/200 and it seems much better but I am sure I will have to do some tweaking.



Mounted the Reservoirs with some hose clamps, seems like most of the work right now is simple but its satisfying seeing everything starting to come together.





Got the rear sway bar hooked up, torqued all of the duroflex joints and double checked that the axles were squared up.





Reinstalled the gas tank, double checked clearances on the truss and diff. Everything looks good, Getting pumped to see how all of this is going to work on the trail!



Had Tom Wood modify my previous driveline I bought from Savvy, it had 1310's at the double cardan and yoke, had them replace the yoke with a 1350 and lengthen the shaft to work with my stretch. After talking with them a bit I decided to order an additional rear drive shaft with 1350's all around, this also allows me to go to a 3" tube, man this thing is beef and now I have a spare. They are a great company to work with, they only had my driveshaft for one day and know what customer service means, they also gave me their sponsored racers discount (thanks guys you rock!). Sorry did not take any good pics of the driveline.





Pushed it out for some more flexing test, checked the driveline length.



There is still roughly 4.5 inches of up travel in the picture, I split the travel 7 up and 7 down. The tire hit the body and prevented me from hitting bumps, Going to cut them out this weekend and either order some blank corners or go another direction. Here is better picture showing the travel left in the shock, this is also before the sway bar was installed. Forgot to mention I bought some of the AGM sliders for the King shocks, so much more precise than the crappy sliders King gives you with the shocks, you would think these would come with a $800 shock.




Next on the list is to cut the rear wheel wells, not sure about flares yet but I am leaning towards something like this.

 

[marshal]

im not a fan of chris durham and everyone that rides his nuts like hes a god.

this is much more crisp. Rokmen:

 

[RugerTrailer]

What are you plans for front fenders ?

 

[Wyoming Shooter]

1. Awesome build!

2. Love your avatar. I use that pic for my wallpaper.

3. An MG 34?! You suck! :victory:

 

[Rusty762]

im not a fan of chris durham and everyone that rides his nuts like hes a god.

this is much more crisp. Rokmen:

I like the Rokmens and the only issue is I am in California, need to have 50% of the tire covered so I am most likely going with Metal Cloaks in the front with 6" flare that I can remove at the trailhead.

What are you plans for front fenders ?

At this point leaning towards the MetalCloaks for ease of removal at the trailhead and not having to cut the hood.

1. Awesome build!

2. Love your avatar. I use that pic for my wallpaper.

3. An MG 34?! You suck! :victory:

Thanks, it is almost done. The MG is sweet, wish I had me a Browning .30 caliber.

 

[Rusty762]

Finished the Jeep up this weekend and drove it home.

First thing to work on was an air cleaner solution, I was going to buy a MAC's cold air intake but after talking with some friends that run a smog station I found out that I had to have the stock air cleaner to pass visual inspection. My front coil over towers are right where the stock air box was originally mounted. My dad had a great idea to modify the stock box slightly to fit into the area above the tower.

First we cut the bottom out and made a new floor with standoffs.





This allowed it to fit above the tower and under the strut for the hood, its super tight but fits. Forgot to take a picture of that, will post one tomorrow. Then the issue was the tube from the throttle body was too high as the original mount was angled up at 45 degrees. We cut that out and put a piece of PVC that exited straight.





Had a small section of brake line to finish on the rear, two stainless flex lines at the diff and frame, welded a small tab on the frame and mounted them up and bled the brakes.



The original plan was to drive it down to the valley to get an exhaust put it, luck would have it that my dad had some exhaust hanging in his shop, couple of cherry bombs, a flowmaster and an Elca. The Elca looked like it might fit in the tight confines I had to work with. We cut the flange off the cat and mounted the exhaust up to see hear the sound, at idle it is a nice low rumble and mellows out with an increase in throttle. Score, my dads YJ needs new seats so I am trading him my seats when I buy my new PRP's this winter.





Next on the list was to check out the toe in, it was close but made some adjustments and took it for a short drive. There was no wandering or death wobble, it felt very solid. I just need to adjust my drag link so my steering wheel is straight! My drive back to Monterey is 3 hours, I cant believe how well the rig tracks and handles. It drives better on the road then it did when it was stock, the only improvement would be some better front brakes which I will do at some point. I think the BFG All terrains are one of the reasons it rides so smooth, no tire hum or noise of any kind. The 245/16 MTR's I had before were stupid loud and even though they might be a better tire off road for long distance travels the BFG's will be a welcome change.

Of course the time spent building the rear suspension accounts for a large part of the reason the rig rides so well, my parents property has some nice jeep trails with lots of granite. I took her out for a couple of twist ups to see how the suspension works, I am amazed and will leave it at that. Headed into Swamp Lake in two weeks and will post some pics of the rig in action.

The Man, The Myth, The Legend (to me) my dad Jerry,he had me wheeling before I could walk and we spent every free weekend as a family out on the trails, thanks dad!. This was a killer project the two of us enjoyed working on together and we both learned a lot about suspension. Hopefully next year I will be installing a Rock Jock 60 in the front if funds allow it.

 

[jscusmcvet]

Finished the Jeep up this weekend and drove it home.

My dad had a great idea to modify the stock box slightly to fit into the area above the tower.

Score, my dads YJ needs new seats so I am trading him my seats when I buy my new PRP's this winter.

The Man, The Myth, The Legend (to me) my dad Jerry,he had me wheeling before I could walk and we spent every free weekend as a family out on the trails, thanks dad!.

OK, so as a wheeling Dad, who spent a few hours yesterday wrenching on my son's 2000 TJ, I have to say thank you for your comments. Your pops may never see this, but hopefully you are telling him as much as you can. My boy has been wheeling with me his whole life, and is a better driver than me on the trails... our adventures together both behind the wheel and on our backs on the floor of the shop are what his growing up and my life have been made of. So congratulations on your build... so sweet... but more so congrats to your Dad who has raised a son who wrenches, wheels, shoots and from the looks of it enjoys an adventurous life. It is what we all hope to pass on to our kids.

OK, so a little sappy, but really, congrats to your Dad and I hope you are regularly spending time with him and letting him know he is awesome...

John

 

[Rusty762]

Thanks John, appreciate your words. I let him know as much as I can, the time we spend outdoors together and working on our rigs are some of the most memorable moments in my life. Congrats to you for being involved in your sons life and working on his jeep with him, the lessons we learn when we are young stick with us for a lifetime, be safe and enjoy life!