Betsy's Build

[Black Bear]

I have one you can borrow.

get some 20ga, and we will bent up a patch for your floor.

 

[cburgin]

What wheel spacers are those? Awesome build, man.

 

[ScottR]

I found the wheel spacers on ebay from a dealer; lugs-n-stuff. They are very nice, great price, includes lug nuts and shipping. Very happy with them so far. I guess the real test is when I actually drive/wheel with them.

Scott

 

[ScottR]

About a week ago I worked on the rear suspension. I mounted the axle mount for the ORI- however it needed to be moved out so the ORI would clear the frame when it is extended.
Where the mount was located-


But with the brake caliper was in the way of moving the mount out. So I moved it from here-


To here-


I actually moved the bracket and swapped the caliper with the set from the other side so the bleeder screw would be on top.

Here is a pic from above-


Does anybody see any issues with doing this?

 

[ScottR]

Today was Operation Plasma Cutter- Ken wants his tool back soon. I did a bunch of random projects but here are a couple of the bigger ones-

Cut the hole for the rear tail lights in the crusher corners. I also recessed a third brake light into the tailgate since I will likely not put a tire carrier on the jeep. The wire in the pic (for the old third brake light) has been removed. I ran it within the rear tailgate to the light.


I welded on a tab for my CB antenna.


I notched the winch plate to fit over the raised steering box. The plate definitely needs a coat of paint.


Next step is to finish mounting the rear ORI's.

 

[livetorun]

I like the new third brake light! Good idea for the antenna also. Been thinking where to put mine and it never dawned on me to weld a tab to the corner like that.

 

[AlxJ64]

I REALLY like this build! I read through a few of the last pages and its very clean work! You will love the ORIs. I am still getting mine dialed in and are by far worth the money and time to make them work!

 

[ScottR]

I REALLY like this build! I read through a few of the last pages and its very clean work! You will love the ORIs. I am still getting mine dialed in and are by far worth the money and time to make them work!

Thanks for the compliments. Some days in the garage are definitely better than others. But I am trying to take my time and do each step right and not rush. I don't want to regret taking shortcuts in the future.
The football season (NCSU) and now the holidays are keeping me from working on the jeep as much as I would like. Hope to get the mounts for the rear ORIs figured out soon. Trying to find the optimal position to clear the tire with the axle flexed up and clearing the frame with the axle flexed down. I am really looking forward to driving the jeep with the ORIs.

 

[AlxJ64]

I ended up notching out my frame rails to create sufficient room for mine to clear everything during stuff, droop, etc. With those H2s, its going to be even tighter for you. I am running a 69" WMS rear axle too (65" w/ 2" spacers on either side).

Here is a picture if you don't mind. I don't want to clutter your build thread.

 

[98jeeptj]

Looking good.

 

[ScottR]

It has been a while since I have been able to get in the garage to work on the jeep. Family, work and the holidays have kept us very busy lately.
Today, I worked on the rear links. I was having an issue of the ORI's rubbing the tire and frame at full compression/extension. I finally figured out that I had too much rear steer and it was causing fitment issues. So, I moved the link mount on the frame forward so I could make the links longer. The lower links went from 27.5" to 33" long.

I had to cut part of the t-case skid and lost one of the bolts that attachs it in the process. I will add another bolt.




Here is the clearance of the tire/ORI at full flex/stuff. Plenty of room.


Here is the axle at full flex/extension. The ORI does not rub on the frame anymore!


Now that I have this side figured out the other side will be finished in no time.

 

[02dmax]

Nice work so far man.

 

[ScottR]

This past weekend I was able to work in the garage for several hours. I got the passenger side rear frame and axle mounts installed.

Here is the frame cutout-


Here is the bracket tacked in place.


I also tacked the driver side in place.


Next step is to mount the gas tank.

 

[Scibetta]

It's moving right along although I'm guessing it might not feel that way to you. Keep it going as Springtime will be here before you know it.

Looking Good

 

[ScottR]

It's moving right along although I'm guessing it might not feel that way to you. Keep it going as Springtime will be here before you know it.
Looking Good

Thanks Craig- yeah, it seems to move very slowly sometimes. A good thing is that most of the difficult things are figured out. The front fenders will take some time but shouldn't be too bad.

Tonight I installed the gas tank to check clearance of the rear axle and ORIs.


Plenty of room for the axle.


Started working on the rock rails.

 

[BRUISER]

man that gas tank fits very nice..

 

[/dev/yj]

Really starting to come together - can "see" it now! Looking good!

 

[ScottR]

I took today off from work to spend some time on the jeep today.
I finished the rock rails on both sides. I cut the rear of the rails to match the rear wheel well openings.

Driver side-


Passenger side-


I cut the front bumper to clearance the front tires. The stock front bumper is one of the things that is not being upgraded. Going to see how long I can make it last. Going strong for 14 years.

 

[ScottR]

Worked on the front driver fender. Here is the tube bent. It has one 7 degree bend and a 83 degree bend. Here it is against a straight tube so you can see the two bends.


Here is the tube tacked in place.


With hood closed.


Using some posterboard to figure out the shape of the sheet metal for the top of the fender.


Pulled the rear axle out and am putting the final (I hope) welds on the brackets.

 

[BRUISER]

looks awesome.. where did you get the tube? I thought you needed some..

 

[ScottR]

I do need some.
I ran out of tube so I started working on the rear axle. I need some tube for the passenger fender and a support for each fender. I will take some measurements and see how much I need.

 

[ScottR]

John came over a couple of nights ago and helped me with the 14 Bolt Shave kit. I got the one from TMR Customs.

Here is the amount of clearance I have under the differential at ride height before the shave kit ~12.5".


Here is the axle with the bottom facing up just after we made the cut.


Here it is with the piece removed and cleaned up.


We couldn't tack the plate in place until we could confirm that the ring gear would not rub. I dropped off the ring gear at ECGS this morning and Chase had it ready by lunch time. Here you can see the nice job they did.


Installed, clears great.


Here you can see how much of the diff cover that needed to be cut off.

 

[ScottR]

Here is the axle with the diff cover cut and the shave plates tacked to the differential housing and the cover.


Ken is coming over tomorrow with his torch. We need to get the housing to 400 degrees before we weld it. Then, we will wrap it in a welding blanket to let it cool slowly.

 

[Black Bear]

that turned out nice. and quick turnaround on the gear work.

 

[ScottR]

Ken brought over his torch and we heated the plate and diff up to 400+ degrees before we started welding.


Here is the plate welded on.


Here is the clearance with the shave kit- 14". That is 1.5" more than a standard 14 Bolt. (Essentially increased my tire size by 3".)


Here is the diff cover with the shave kit plate welded on.


Here is the cover painted and installed.