88 XJ..." The Abomination"

marty79 said:
I've done one and it was with the proper kit and put together by a professional...now I was wanting to do it without the 600 kit but don't have the drivetrain length for that setup..
this is what I'm wanting to do View attachment 212977
but wheelbase isn't gonna work unless I extend it which is not in my build plans anytime soon..
and the picture i just thought it was cool wasn't trying to prove anything.
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Have you considered just really low gears in the axles? D44 5.13 gears can be found cheap and easy or if you really wanna go slow 5.89
 
GotWood said:
I understand you have an internal cage but it may be.,... well we won't open that can of worms..
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actually got rid of most of that too...just left what was in the rear hatch area and the front pillars to the dash and through floor but cut out all the rest of it....as far as anchor points in rear it has that smaller trailer hitch mounted through gas tank skid and tied in from factory to the unibody rail all along rear so that works and don't think I will need the rear bumper...doors I'm going to just gut them as I've done before where from outside you wouldn't know it but from inside you see just a shell...makes big difference on weight as right now they are heavy to take on and off.
I figured if I take advise on shedding weight off my rig, might as well go as far as I can go with it otherwise not really worth it the way I see it. couple hundred is not much but if I do all this stuff, it will equal close to 600 by the time all done and said.
 
BUCKEYE PERFORMANCE INC. said:
Have you considered just really low gears in the axles? D44 5.13 gears can be found cheap and easy or if you really wanna go slow 5.89
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yeah i have and since this has the factory 4:09 which should be able to sell for street runners, i guess for now I'm going to save and plan for biggest gears these can handle while I figure out the wheelbase/doubler issue later on.
Didn't know they had 5:89...that's pretty low. Thanks for the input on that
 
chrishundley138 said:
To get more droop out of chevy springs you need the main leaf. Only real benefit of them is the length..
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I didn't use the main leaf cause it was same length as the XJ but thicker which seemed stiffer so i kept my main leaf, added one more main XJ leaf, then the K5 ones and it rides good and has good arch...descent flex but i think my shackle angle needs to be dropped or lengthened but ain't gonna mess with the rear setup until i decide if I extend wheelbase, go 4 link, etc...
 
marty79 said:
I didn't use the main leaf cause it was same length as the XJ but thicker which seemed stiffer so i kept my main leaf, added one more main XJ leaf, then the K5 ones and it rides good and has good arch...descent flex but i think my shackle angle needs to be dropped or lengthened but ain't gonna mess with the rear setup until i decide if I extend wheelbase, go 4 link, etc...
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If you use chevy springs from a 1500 they are about a foot longer than stock xj springs..
 
chrishundley138 said:
If you use chevy springs from a 1500 they are about a foot longer than stock xj springs..
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no these were off a 76 K5 Blazer..same length eye to eye but center pin offset. I had hoped for the longer chevy leafs but it was left over of a partout and gave me good lift without blocks or having 3xj packs combined lol.
 
it was very rough with 3xj leafpacks lol but this chevy pack rides really good and since i have 2main xj ones then the k5 without the short thick one, they are decent ride for what they are
 
Glad to see you are making the XJ lighter, when I first got into wheeling someone told me "it is a lot easier to throw a tennis ball up a hill than it is a bowling ball"

That being said, my ZJ was heavy, but the 5.2 helped with that.
 
BigClay said:
Glad to see you are making the XJ lighter, when I first got into wheeling someone told me "it is a lot easier to throw a tennis ball up a hill than it is a bowling ball"

That being said, my ZJ was heavy, but the 5.2 helped with that.
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yeah I want to cut the top completely off with doors and all but wife won't let me lol...decided to leave the bumpers alone as i do mess around the yard and run through trees and push scrap cars around with em lol...even at the Flats couple times they came in handy on some tight turns and one trail kinda ran up onto a tree and that fiberglass rear hatch wouldn't take much at all for it to fold.
Stay tuned folks....XJ getting a makeover (minor but still a makeover)...pictures coming soon
 
anvilrubi said:
Marty do you run this thing on the highway?
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oh no, I've been privilaged to trailer my jeep for the last year or so. After 16yrs of wheeling and driving to trails, it's been really nice and a blessing to go to a Off Road Park and enjoy camping and wheeling with the family with peace of mind that we can make it home.
 
Glad to see that you are taking the weight reduction advice!
BE careful to not go over board here.

On an XJ (or really any uniframe/unibody vehicle) the entire outer envelope is a structural system.
You would be shocked how structurally supportive the glass actually is. Dont remove that. Also the doors, dont hack them up to the point where they lose rigidity. Gut them, sure, take the panels and such off them, dont go into cutting the shell up. If you remove any metal from the body it needs to be replaced by structural bars.
 
Ron said:
Glad to see that you are taking the weight reduction advice!
BE careful to not go over board here.

On an XJ (or really any uniframe/unibody vehicle) the entire outer envelope is a structural system.
You would be shocked how structurally supportive the glass actually is. Dont remove that. Also the doors, dont hack them up to the point where they lose rigidity. Gut them, sure, take the panels and such off them, dont go into cutting the shell up. If you remove any metal from the body it needs to be replaced by structural bars.
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i thought about that and left them alone.....
Well the Jeep got a "Makeover" lol and ready for this year's season.....remember it's a toy so i just rolled & brushed it on no taping just a quick cut in and roll. Figure with new bigger axles and gearing it needed a new face. I like it much better!!
new paint front view.jpg
New paint drivers side.jpg
drivers side control arm.jpg
new paint rear hatch.jpg
new paint pass side view.jpg
pass control arm.jpg
 
I have to admit, i was really amazed how some good paint (especially thick oil based brushed/rolled on) made such a difference on stuff like the front bumper and control arms....i really like how the front bumper looks now and my control arms look halfway descent painted...for me anyways.
and yeah i should've cut that one plate even...got in a hurry to get it done and out of the way.
 
BUCKEYE PERFORMANCE INC. said:
Have you considered just really low gears in the axles? D44 5.13 gears can be found cheap and easy or if you really wanna go slow 5.89
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i was looking up gears and online shows the carrier brake is 3:73/4:10...I don't understand this. Since these have the factory 4:09, does that mean it has the bigger carrier that would work with any/all bigger gears? thank you
 
marty79 said:
i was looking up gears and online shows the carrier brake is 3:73/4:10...I don't understand this. Since these have the factory 4:09, does that mean it has the bigger carrier that would work with any/all bigger gears? thank you
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You have what's considered 4.10 so you should be fine on carrier.
 
I think Mr.Fuller's wife or friend must of taken over! I can't belive he is taking advice and actually made his jeep "look" like it wasn't a death trap!..something tells me his threads are going to stay below 18 pages! Good job Mr. Fuller!!.....
 
krehel24 said:
I think Mr.Fuller's wife or friend must of taken over! I can't belive he is taking advice and actually made his jeep "look" like it wasn't a death trap!..something tells me his threads are going to stay below 18 pages! Good job Mr. Fuller!!.....
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A turd is a turd, no matter how much polish one applies..
 
krehel24 said:
I think Mr.Fuller's wife or friend must of taken over! I can't belive he is taking advice and actually made his jeep "look" like it wasn't a death trap!..something tells me his threads are going to stay below 18 pages! Good job Mr. Fuller!!.....
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ha ha. I really don't mind advise. I admit I don't take advise well at all when given in derogatory form or such,..same with don't take orders very well and I do admit, but if advise is given in a way that I can take and handle without feeling degraded as a person, I'm all ears. thanks for the like on the jeep, it has really grown on me today as the sun was out and jeep was shining and you're right....it's not such an "abomination" to look at.
 
Paint really made the rig, I like it
 
that isn't a paint made that's thick enough to cover up that turd
 
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