My new rig

[77GreenMachine]

So this ain’t gonna be much of a build thread, but I’ve made some changes and I’m sure I will do more so I wanted to keep that here and introduce everyone to my new rig.

Quick rundown on the details:
5.3 with BTR cam and springs
FAST EZ 2.0 engine management
Monster TH350
Atlas 3.8
KP60/14 bolt
5:38s with Detroit’s F/R
4 link rear
The dreaded unreliable 3 link front

ORIs all around
Full skids
Corbeau XPs with Aces Racing harnesses
Rev Limit Fab 6 point cage.

Can cruise down the road at 55 nicely.

I had been in the market looking for a bit, I saw this pop up in Portsmouth VA on a Saturday evening. I talked to the wife, explained it had all the good parts at a price that wouldn’t last long. She said if you think it’s the one, don’t let it get away. I only had $7k cash in hand and it was a Saturday night. A few phone calls later a good friend of mine got out of bed and loaned me quite a bit of money. Funny thing about that, we were counting money when he asked how long I thought it’d take to pay him back. I said “ummm like Monday when the bank opens” and he was like “oh I thought this was a loan loan” I said “no but I’m glad to know you was so willing to loan me this kind of money for several months” lol.


Anyways, a text to @CasterTroy to see if he was down for a road trip at 6am the next morning and I was set. We made the drive, met the owner who was awesome, test drive it for LS noises, and I was happy. I paid the man and we headed back south, it was a long day but we ate good!
It was setup as a 2 seater when I bought it. Originally planned to cut the back of the cage and rework it, but then after hating most everything about the cage I ditched it altogether and of course had Chris over at Rev Limit Fab build me a new one, with a lot of help from @adamk.
Here’s how it looked when I bought it.

 

[77GreenMachine]

So I wheeled it one time at The Good Evening Ranch, just me and my boy. We had a blast! The Jeep rides amazing, handled great, had tons of power compared to what I’m used to, and sang the song of my people when pinned to the floor.

 

[77GreenMachine]

So after The Ranch, I removed the ultra wide PRP seats and sold them plus the cage that was in it, sent Chris 1,421 pics of cages I liked and turned him lose. What was produced was nothing short of EXACTLY what I wanted!!
I have wanted a 1 ton V8 Jeep for 10+ years, it’s been the goal for a long time. I was shooting for a buggy actually but my budget didn’t quite allow it, but I’ll get there soon enough. This is a huge step in the right direction, and I can’t thank my wife enough for sticking with me and this STUPID hobby.

 

[Clubbs]

Congrats man. Now tell us what's in it already...

 

[77GreenMachine]

Congrats man. Now tell us what's in it already...

My bad, I’ll edit the first post.

 

[ncsutj]

Man that purple cage turned out fanfuckingtastic.

 

[R Q]

What’s the wheelbase?

 

[ghost]

That looks like Ironman blue to me..... Congrats.... Oh yea why hate on the 3 link?

 

[77GreenMachine]

What’s the wheelbase?

104”

I’d prefer more and eventually it’ll get to 114”-116”

 

[77GreenMachine]

Oh yea why hate on the 3 link?

I’m colorblind and blues and greens looks the same to me. Took my daughter to Lowe’s and had 6 cans of blue in my hands and asked which one matched the harnesses. I’m told it matches.

As for the 3 link, complete sarcasm, I guess you don’t follow the other thread.

 

[Monkeynono]

damn, that is a good looking YJ

What front fenders?

 

[StretchASU]

That thing is slick.

 

[77GreenMachine]

damn, that is a good looking YJ

What front fenders?

GenRight. It has GenRight armor all the way around.

 

[DonYukon]

Looks awesome . I like the new cage

 

[ghost]

I’m colorblind and blues and greens looks the same to me. Took my daughter to Lowe’s and had 6 cans of blue in my hands and asked which one matched the harnesses. I’m told it matches.

As for the 3 link, complete sarcasm, I guess you don’t follow the other thread.

What does the can say? Sail Blue? No I don't think I'm in the 3 link thread but I need to probably post in it or start one.

 

[CasterTroy]

a text to @CasterTroy to see if he was down for a road trip at 6am the next morning and I was set.

We made the drive, met the owner who was awesome, test drive it for LS noises, and I was happy.

I paid the man and we headed back south, it was a long day but we ate good!

Here’s how it looked when I bought it.

He left out the part about the "Powerade" that came with it

 

[Bebop]

He's too scared to hit it.





HAHA !

Good to see your new rig @77GreenMachine

 

[CasterTroy]

He's too scared to hit it.

You've not seen him at 5:01pm

 

[ponykilr]

Looks great

 

[77GreenMachine]

He's too scared to hit it.





HAHA !

Good to see your new rig @77GreenMachine

Yup, you right. As a single income household with a wife and 2 kids, I blew my wad on this rig. It’ll sit for a long time if I blow it up so I don’t need any extra encouragement.

 

[NickMaul]

Came all that way and didn’t even say hi

My XJ coilovers came off that rig

 

[77GreenMachine]

Came all that way and didn’t even say hi

My XJ coilovers came off that rig

Not sad I missed you

Yeah dude said they were “stiff as a wedding dick” so he switched to ORIs. I can only assume they weren’t setup right cause all the coilovers I’ve been around were fantastic.

 

[amcjeepman]

Awesome! So cool to see the payoff for all that you've done to get to this point! Cannot wait until we are on the trail together!

 

[77GreenMachine]

So I now have 4 trips on this rig. Went to The Ranch a month and a half ago and all was well, until it wasn’t. I was coming out the top of Chadilac and something squeeled for a few seconds and then it sounded like a drive shaft fell out. Tink, tink tink is what I hear rolling down the trail. I looked at @adamk like WTH?? And he said SHUT IT DOWN!

He walks over and reaches under the Jeep and then shows me my power steering pulley. Still attached to the shaft! It just shot out of the pump. I winched out and Derek drug me back to our cabin. I replaced the pump the next day, that was an ordeal but I’ll spare you the details.

I also noticed the Jeep would shoot up to 225 fast, and even got to 255 a few times. When I got it home I addressed the janky plastic shroud that didn’t even almost fit. I ordered a matching shroud from the same company that made the radiator, Assault Racing. That was a complete disaster to say the least. Never again.

I never got the shrouds, yes plural, that I paid for. I paid @hurt4x4 to build me a custom one in time to go to Ivy Branch. I regret not taking pictures of what a great job he did, I also regret not asking if someone local could do it to begin with.

I got the Jeep back together on Thursday, and left for Ivy on Friday. I also swapped in a 165* thermostat and a 1950CFM Spal fan. It runs cooler now but will still spike when beating on it or climbing a long hill. I will need to address the radiator but trying to wait till spring, it should be fine when it cools off. Just have to stop sometimes, as it will come back down very fast.

I say all that to say I’m happy to announce that short of the steering pump, which the bearings failed and was clearly stock, and choosing the change the fan setup, I’ve now been out 4 times with no issues. Always back on the trailer and basically ready to wheel. I just came home from Kairos and I left it on the trailer cause I’m just gonna bolt check and fluid check it and head south with it shortly. That’s a really good feeling.

 

[Jody Treadway]

Bigger pulley to slow down the pump? Or was the pump just old and worn out?