Stage II - bigger, heavier, slower.

[SirFuego]

Awesome! I love how you aren't afraid to try stuff even with that pretty body.

[Derek33]

even with that pretty body.

We're still talking about the Jeep, I hope.

[indy242003]

We're still talking about the Jeep, I hope.

Haha! That's funny.


On another note..... I have never bent my claytons arms like that. I have beat them hard on the front and rear. I did change (made) the brackets to a high clearence type. Sure scrapes, dings, gouged, but never "c" shaped them. Maybe i have not bashed them as hard as thought I did. Are the ZJ arms that different from the WJ (location, material)?

[jdconti9484]

I didn't realize it until after you left crozet, but I did bend a claytons arm bad enough that I'm gonna replace it.

[slim616]

I second that you try to make it down to a big dogs event, some of the best wheeling on the east coast.

[zj95maxx]

Yeah, it's a place you need to trust your spotter too. That was the last thing we did for the day and I had told myself not to do it as the possibility of major damage wasn't worth it. I still wouldn't/couldn't do it forwards like those guys did.

I've been meaning to give you a shout, been busy.

The cool kids do it forward


You bent that control arm on the rock that everyone gets highcentered on? shit sucks man.

Looks good.

[rstrucks]

The cool kids do it forward

You bent that control arm on the rock that everyone gets highcentered on? shit sucks man.

<------- Not cool. I might try it next time I'm there. I just don't know if my track width is wide enough or if I have a good enough approach angle to even get started up it.

I second that you try to make it down to a big dogs event, some of the best wheeling on the east coast.

Just yesterday I was talking with Moonworks Matt about heading up to a BD event soon. I think something in the fall would work out best. The 11+ hour tow makes it a little tough to get up there.

[SirFuego]

Just yesterday I was talking with Moonworks Matt about heading up to a BD event soon. I think something in the fall would work out best. The 11+ hour tow makes it a little tough to get up there.

Cool! See you in September then

[rstrucks]

I think I'm gonna try for that one. If I can get past GSSE w/o too much carnage I should be able to find some time to get up there. Matt was saying that the Sept. event is a 3 day (IIRC) event, is that right? Is there a BD event that is not so well attended? I'm not much on crowds.

[zj95maxx]

Is there a BD event that is not so well attended. I'm not much on crowds.

Every bigdogs is a blowout of people. rednecks that is

[slim616]

I think I'm gonna try for that one. If I can get past GSSE w/o too much carnage I should be able to find some time to get up there. Matt was saying that the Sept. event is a 3 day (IIRC) event, is that right. Is there a BD event that is not so well attended. I'm not much on crowds.

aug, but there is a reason its not well attended.

[rstrucks]

Getting started on another round of modifications. I plan on doing the following in the next couple months;
- hydro steering
- internal/external cage
- plate portions of the unibody frame
- trim fenders/bumpers to increase clearance
- tube fenders
- get my t-case shifter fixed (again)
- 3 link front (if time allows before GSSE)
- relocate trans cooler or at least re-route the lines

First thing I did was strip the interior to prep for the cage.





Once I had access I removed the stock t-case linkage. I had it working for a while but it always ended up getting pulled out of one of the brackets. It's out of focus and hard to see but I just made a direct linkage to the t-case. I had to cut off the lever/arm attached to the shifter handle and reclock it to get it to work. It works well just sitting there, hopefully all my drivetrain mounts are in good enough shape to keep it from jumping out of gear boucing down a trail........ we'll see. I did try to use an old YJ t-case shifter I had laying around but there is no way it would work w/o major modification - to the point it's not worth it to use.



Pulled my steering box for hydro assist. Checked the steering box mounting area after seeing zj95's pic the other day and sure enough there is a crack developing near the top bolt. It'll get plated and reinforced.



Also trimmed some sheetmetal behind the front bumper that the tires kept getting into. I'm also going to trim a good bit off my bumper to increase clearance.

[SirFuego]

Looking forward to seeing what you come up with for the cage!!

What is that black thing filling in the hole in the top middle of the pic? I don't remember having anything like that in my 93?

And I'm sure you already know this, but don't trim your bumper too much -- or else you'll constantly be breaking lights and needing to do the robot mod to yours

[canadian_driver]

my 98 has that black filler as well, not sure what its for

[AgitatedPancake]

Fuego that's just a big foam plug if it is what I think it is, the WJ had a few similar things. I'd guess just for keeping crap out. *EDIT* Actually now I see it has tabs...so it's plastic. I dunno lol!

I agree about the headlights though, definately want to protect them. if your leaving it like that. That's pretty similar to mine now, and I'm going to be a little worried if I don't have em protected before the first trip

[paulkeith]

The two 96s i've had plus my 98 have that. Probably just to keep gunk out.

Looking good ryan. Are you going to put the interior back in after its caged? The "luxury" of your interior was one of the cool things about your rig.

[SirFuego]

The two 96s i've had plus my 98 have that. Probably just to keep gunk out.

Well, the primary reason I asked was that I didn't even HAVE a hole in mine to plug up. Weight or cost savings perhaps?

[chadjans]

I would suggest cutting out all of the sheet metal seat mounts and replacing with horizontial tubes coming from your B pilar and floor door bars.

Learn from my mistake. I will be replacing mine with the rocker cut outs I plan on doing.

[jdconti9484]

Wow, can't wait to see how the cage turns out. X2 is the interior going back in?

[downtowncb]

Is that a trans temp gauge you're adding to the shifter?

I really like how close your winch sits to the crossmember without totally cutting it out.

[rstrucks]

I am putting as much of the interior back in as I can. I want it to look pretty clean when done.

What is that black thing filling in the hole in the top middle of the pic? I don't remember having anything like that in my 93?

And I'm sure you already know this, but don't trim your bumper too much -- or else you'll constantly be breaking lights and needing to do the robot mod to yours

Its s plastic plug for........ ? Not sure.

The bumper is cut already. I'll get some pics in the next couple of days. I tried to maximize ground clearance while still leaving enough to be functional. No Robot mod yet.

I would suggest cutting out all of the sheet metal seat mounts and replacing with horizontial tubes coming from your B pilar and floor door bars.

I'll reinforce them for now but I'll probably hold off on tube mounts for a little while. What problem did you have? Would simple reinforcing have stopped the problem?

Is that a trans temp gauge you're adding to the shifter?

Haha, nah. Not yet anyway. The gauge has been living just below my center console lid and next to the parking brake handle cut out. It faces forward and I have it rotated up so I can read it pretty easily.

[chadjans]

I'll reinforce them for now but I'll probably hold off on tube mounts for a little while. What problem did you have? Would simple reinforcing have stopped the problem?

The problem is that they are not part of the cage, only part of the floor pan.

[AgitatedPancake]

The problem is that they are not part of the cage, only part of the floor pan.

So to answer his question, I'm assuming you ripped yours off?

[goldensd]

Nice Work and great pics!!!!

Can't wait to see the cage details as well. I've been thinking about that one and trying to figure out some of the details to get it strong and still keep the interior intact and everything looking clean. Can't wait to see you ideas and approach to it.

I'm sure it will come out pretty sweet!

[rstrucks]

Cage is just about finished. There are a couple of braces to add and the front A-pillar will also tie into the wheelwell protection but for the most part it's done. I know it is not as strong as it could be but I'm pretty satisfied with how it turned out and I really didn't want to add another hundred pounds of tube to an already heavy rig. I figure it should handle a light roll or a flop with out too much carnage. If it gets hurt too bad I'll just swap my drivetrain parts into a TJ or something. The purpose of the int/ext cage was more to protect the passangers in a roll and to help keep the sheetmetal somewhat clean by allowing me to lean up against trees or limbs without worrying about busting the glass out of it........ hopefully.

I tried to build it as low profile as possible as it is right now I may have a hard time getting the ZJ out of the garage.