Alright, a couple of you have asked to see some pics of what I've been up to, so for you and all of my silent masses of adoring fans, here it is: my new build thread. If you don't understand the title now, hang in there. I think you will eventually.
I welcome criticism, even if I argue. Smart-ass comments are welcome too, as I will no doubt be making plenty of my own. Taking oneself too seriously is very bad for the soul and mental health.
First, some background. When I bought my 2000 TJ Sport back in late '05, it was lifted and pretty. Factory Dana 44 w/ 3.73s and Trac-Lok, NV3550 5spd (I like manuals), a strong 4.0, tilt steering, and AC. P.O. put in a Teraflex 4” short arm lift (flexy lower links, front swaybar quick discos, rear shock relocators, rear trac bar relocator, drop pitman arm, and bigger shocks), a good SYE, Tom Woods CV rear DS, 33” BGF KMs, and Eagle Alloys, a steering skid, and a nice CB. I got it out of state cheaper than I could find a stocker on the West Coast, but I would learn the cost of even a pretty clean, 5-year-old used vehicle from the Rustbelt: broken bolts and studs everywhere. Shock install turning into a late-nighter with the fuel tank dropped, the body jacked up off of the frame, and a Dremel. Stuff like that.
I caught it up on maintenance, cleaned up the surface rust on the frame and axles, and did some minor upgrades. Wheeled it, drifted it down dirt roads. Detailed it.
Rolled it.
Fixed and Upgraded it. Bilstein 5100s, rollcage (Poison Spyder kit), flexy upper links, front Aussie locker, wheelbase to 95-1/2” (woot!), longer, braided brake lines, blah, blah.
Did some trail maintenance.
The Jeep was a lot of fun, but by this time, due to a manufactures defect, 1st gear was almost unusable. More on that later. Got a new bumper, new tailgate, new homemade steering, fixed tweaked parking brake bracket, and other stuff.
Too much flex for this parking brake bracket.
Add dash of angle iron. Would lock 'em up after this.
This little mod brought my front bumper 1-1/2” closer to the frame for a little better approach angle, but I could no longer fit a larger-bodied winch like the Warn 8274 or M12000 on there without it hanging over.
Caught a bass.
Rolled it again, racing a buddy in the desert late at night. The cage, imperfect as it was, held up without visible deformation. The driver's door got a little wonked on the window frame, and the driver side mirror was destroyed. The windshield got a single, long crack along the top, and the windshield frame was a little tweaked. Had a lot more wheeling fun the next day, after I got all the rocks out of my tire beads. Drove and wheeled it with that same windshield for about 6 months, until it started to fall out.
The morning after:
Showed some MJR guys how it's almost done. Predicably, my trans kept popping out of first, and second was just too high. Still, a rear locker and I think I might have had it. That constipated look on my face was me trying to baby the clutch. Was talking about getting a new NV3550, when Art (aw12345) suggested an NV4500. I'd read about them, but I don't think I'd thought seriously about it. About a month later to the day I had bought one eBay. More on that shortly.
Showed some MJR guys how its...Oops.
Got a new rear bumper. Got a winch that fit my front bumper. Jeep flexed very well for having short arms. The old-style TeraFlex control arms were threaded together in the middle, and had unlimited flex, but the bushings wore out too quickly.
More fun with MJR folks.
By now I'd been through about 5 or 6 windshields and 2 windshield frames. I made a heavy-duty frame that doesn't depend on mastic glue to hold the glass in. That crap is for passenger cars, IMO. Wheeled some more.
Tie-ins came a few months later.
New AGR steering gear (got it cheap). It's kinda pretty, so here's a pic.
Put in a rear Aussie Locker. Wheeled a little more.
So that covers about 4 years and brings us up to 2010, except I glossed over the part where I bought a new transmission in early 2009. My Jeep was the first year with the NV3550 5-spd, and it was a really cool little tranny, except that one year had a defect in the internal shift linkage. The parts were about 450 times more expensive than they should have been, and the tranny required an expensive jig to reassemble (they are much cheaper now). I thought about buying or making the jig. I thought about buying a new 3550, and came pretty close. But I'd heard about this super, duper, ultimate 4x4 5-spd called the NV4500. In fact, a couple of MJR folks (Art) suggested I throw one in, which was something like telling Kim Jong Un that he's Napolean: highly irrational, yet a very appealing thought, nonetheless.
I welcome criticism, even if I argue. Smart-ass comments are welcome too, as I will no doubt be making plenty of my own. Taking oneself too seriously is very bad for the soul and mental health.
First, some background. When I bought my 2000 TJ Sport back in late '05, it was lifted and pretty. Factory Dana 44 w/ 3.73s and Trac-Lok, NV3550 5spd (I like manuals), a strong 4.0, tilt steering, and AC. P.O. put in a Teraflex 4” short arm lift (flexy lower links, front swaybar quick discos, rear shock relocators, rear trac bar relocator, drop pitman arm, and bigger shocks), a good SYE, Tom Woods CV rear DS, 33” BGF KMs, and Eagle Alloys, a steering skid, and a nice CB. I got it out of state cheaper than I could find a stocker on the West Coast, but I would learn the cost of even a pretty clean, 5-year-old used vehicle from the Rustbelt: broken bolts and studs everywhere. Shock install turning into a late-nighter with the fuel tank dropped, the body jacked up off of the frame, and a Dremel. Stuff like that.
I caught it up on maintenance, cleaned up the surface rust on the frame and axles, and did some minor upgrades. Wheeled it, drifted it down dirt roads. Detailed it.
Rolled it.
Fixed and Upgraded it. Bilstein 5100s, rollcage (Poison Spyder kit), flexy upper links, front Aussie locker, wheelbase to 95-1/2” (woot!), longer, braided brake lines, blah, blah.
Did some trail maintenance.
The Jeep was a lot of fun, but by this time, due to a manufactures defect, 1st gear was almost unusable. More on that later. Got a new bumper, new tailgate, new homemade steering, fixed tweaked parking brake bracket, and other stuff.
Too much flex for this parking brake bracket.
Add dash of angle iron. Would lock 'em up after this.
This little mod brought my front bumper 1-1/2” closer to the frame for a little better approach angle, but I could no longer fit a larger-bodied winch like the Warn 8274 or M12000 on there without it hanging over.
Caught a bass.
Rolled it again, racing a buddy in the desert late at night. The cage, imperfect as it was, held up without visible deformation. The driver's door got a little wonked on the window frame, and the driver side mirror was destroyed. The windshield got a single, long crack along the top, and the windshield frame was a little tweaked. Had a lot more wheeling fun the next day, after I got all the rocks out of my tire beads. Drove and wheeled it with that same windshield for about 6 months, until it started to fall out.
The morning after:
Showed some MJR guys how it's almost done. Predicably, my trans kept popping out of first, and second was just too high. Still, a rear locker and I think I might have had it. That constipated look on my face was me trying to baby the clutch. Was talking about getting a new NV3550, when Art (aw12345) suggested an NV4500. I'd read about them, but I don't think I'd thought seriously about it. About a month later to the day I had bought one eBay. More on that shortly.
Showed some MJR guys how its...Oops.
Got a new rear bumper. Got a winch that fit my front bumper. Jeep flexed very well for having short arms. The old-style TeraFlex control arms were threaded together in the middle, and had unlimited flex, but the bushings wore out too quickly.
More fun with MJR folks.
By now I'd been through about 5 or 6 windshields and 2 windshield frames. I made a heavy-duty frame that doesn't depend on mastic glue to hold the glass in. That crap is for passenger cars, IMO. Wheeled some more.
Tie-ins came a few months later.
New AGR steering gear (got it cheap). It's kinda pretty, so here's a pic.
Put in a rear Aussie Locker. Wheeled a little more.
So that covers about 4 years and brings us up to 2010, except I glossed over the part where I bought a new transmission in early 2009. My Jeep was the first year with the NV3550 5-spd, and it was a really cool little tranny, except that one year had a defect in the internal shift linkage. The parts were about 450 times more expensive than they should have been, and the tranny required an expensive jig to reassemble (they are much cheaper now). I thought about buying or making the jig. I thought about buying a new 3550, and came pretty close. But I'd heard about this super, duper, ultimate 4x4 5-spd called the NV4500. In fact, a couple of MJR folks (Art) suggested I throw one in, which was something like telling Kim Jong Un that he's Napolean: highly irrational, yet a very appealing thought, nonetheless.
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