pingpong

I strongly suggest, at least 3/16, or 1/4 for any part of the bumper. Anything less then that, the weld would be stronger then host material making it easy to break off. The bumper that Jeff has of mine, was made using 2x4x1/4 "C" Channel, as well as 2x4x1/4 wall tubing. It weighs a ton, but if you watch any of the video of me bashing on it, you will realize why I built it so tuff. Also what kinda welding equipemtn do you have? It makes a difference on what I would choose to build, and what I wouldnt consider building. Tow points and bumpers take a lot of abuse, and the need for good welds, and quality materials are important.

Use flat bar down the side of the frame rails. Use the same holes that the steering box bolts to on the drivers side, and use as many holes as possible on the passenger side. Take a look at Rigidco.com Terry has the best mounting system out there in my opinion. His stuff is pure beef. His lead time now is 4-6 months though

What kinda bender do you have? Also what kind of tubing are you going to use?

Just ask the wrangler owners how much gear they can carry :brows: Then show them your registration, if you are lucky you have one that says AMC, but if not it says jeep on it all the same. Then tell them they can follow me anytime they want on a trail ride, but I can gaurantee one thing... They won't think of a MJ the same after that

I don't know how to post pics :eek: but if someone wants to post pics, I can give pics all the way back to when my rig was stock till now. I represeent the fringe of the MJ guys though :brows: The only thing on my rig that is still Jeep is the drivetrain, and what is left of the body :banana:

NO... he has a 3 link upfront, and a triangulated 4 link in the rear. His wheel base is 122" I think. They stretched it a lil. The Green CJ7 has 1/4 ellipticals. he is also propane powered :nuts: Now do you all see why my rig is so abused ;)

I have seen 2 D30's that appeared to be un altered in the local j-yard with 6 point bolts holding the unit bearing in. These were CV shaft equipped xj's. You are also right about the different style calipers too.

Prepping a vehicle for paint yourself almost always ends up with bad results. Most shops won't even let you do this. Keep in mind if you are asking us how to sand a vehicle propperly.. you are probrably all ready in over your head

Do us all a favor and don't BUY PARTS FROM RUSTY'S. We really don't want to hear you cry like everyone else. Just go buy some RE coils, and make your own AAL

Pete you are absolutely right about the strength of a D30. Especially with later 297 style shafts. I wheel my rig kinda hard :evil: or at least that is what some ppl say :shake: If all you are going to run is 33's then I say find some 297 style u-joints, and run it. You should have zero issues. As for axle prices.. a u-wrench it style of J-yard charges the same for any axle. It doesn't matter if it is a front d60, or a rear d35... they don't care :smart: Regearing an axle is going to cost parts plus labor. It is cheaper to regear a d44 then it is a d60 :dunno: for some reason.. regearing a d44 is cheaper then regearing a d30 also :eek: Labor should be the same, or close to it :brows: also not all d30 are created equal. Some are High pinion (pinion above axle center line), some are low pinion, and then there are the vacum disconnect axles. Also from 92 and later in the XJ if it is equipped with ABS it will have 297 u-joints

Remembering off the top of my head ;) I think it is 110ft/lbs. Remember to torque it down in steps. also rememebr ther is a correct order to torque bolts down in. Try doing a google search on this, or check in Naxja, or Jeepforum. When I rebuilt the motor in my XJ, I never applied any gasket sealer to it, and had zero issues

More then likely It could have been any XJ with a 242 t-case or as Jeff said an early model XJ. One way to tell is the early model xj's SOME used regular 6 point bolts :eek:

Most of the time if I can find it locally I buy it that way. never worth the wait, especially when the price difference wasn't even that much

Full Size Jeep. I.E. the gand wagoneer/Cherokee, and the j series trucks.

Not everyone would build a truggy the same way :roll: That was the point I was trying to make. :mad: Some ppl still want their rig to be "street legal" and play make believe that it is :brows: I chose my safety over street legality :D so I have to wait another couple of yrs till I could put some antique plates on it so I don't have to get it inspected :nuts: :banana:

Not all ZJ coils are created equal. The v-8 ones supposedly gain more lift then the I-6 ones. The I-6 ones as far as I know are exactly the same.

They are exactly the same. I am not sure about the u-joint thing though.

That just means that the floor are not rotted out yet :smart:

:thwak: There is no such thing as an Insta-truggy kit :brows: 6 grand later, and I am still refining my design :smart: Also exo-cages are best built to the customers preference. :brows: I know a bunch of ppl who say I wouldn't have done my rig the way you did yours :nuts: Especially with the door bars and the windshield supports :nuts: I took a different route when I had my tube work done. :brows: I took a safety first perspective :deal: especially knowing the way I wheel, my rig has to be able to survive a catastrophic roll :eek: Never know how bad it will get and when :chillin: Keep in mind.. bolt on kits are only as strong as the fasteners :banana:

Try living ina rural community, and working during the day. UPs/Fedex/DHL won't drop ship anything cause of where I live. So unless someone is home they won't leave the package. To make it worse... before I fenced the back yard in, the UPS man would leave packages in the garage, but when it came time to return soemthng, he wouldn't pick it up off of the back steps even though it was properly boxed up, and had shipping labels on it

post the link to it

Belive it or not.... I never touch the t-case skid :eek: Thats Scott. His rig is pretty nice. 350/350 combo with a d300 with 4 to 1. not sure of his axle ratio, but I think it is 4.56. Full Hydro steering on recentered H1 rims, and 42's. That was thats rig only second run. the finished it back in March I think

I am looking for a weld in cage kit. Heck if I could find a kit that was bent properly using the correct material, I would buy it. My specs would be a minimium of 1.75 x.120 Dom, with 3/16 plates. More then likely I will start building my interior cage here soon. I really need the added safety

Nice looking Rock rails. As for the pinch seam. It all depends on how hard you are going to bash on them. If you wheel like I do... I say add the pinch seam mount :brows:

I suppose I could modify a cage to make it work :dunno: but I would prefer to have a cage designed for a Pick-up, and not a station wagon. :roll: If I was going to make a cage kit work, I would use a s-10 or toyota cage work, as they are cheap, and made by several manufacturer's. :smart: More then likely, If I can't find what I want available commercially(sp) I will have one custom built. My safety is worth more then a few bucks it would cost to have one built. :brows: