jbain

So the Brown truck dropped off my RCV's last night..... it felt like Christmas in September....

Thanks hornbrod, guess I'll raise the rear also.... should have kept that cowl hood I built back at the beginning of my build.

Not sure if I'm digging these vents or not.... what say the experts?

Finally got around to getting some hood vents in….. Picked these up off the front of a mid 90’s Grand Am. Should do a good job getting the hot air out from under the hood.

Drove up to Canton Ohio today and picked up a new Detroit Full Case Locker for my new front axle as well as a Riddler Diff cover. Other than some new calipers I think I'm done buying stuff.... now it's time for the fun part.... assembly.

I've still yet to see the magazine but my buddy posted this up over on our club site......

Thanks Willy.... I sent that in a long time ago.... kinda forgot all about it.

Ordered my RCV's and slugs last night..... wow..... those bad boys aren't cheap. I was able to get the pinion angle set as well as the inner C's and coil buckets all mounted up last night. Now just to finish up the truss and weld on the upper mounts and I'm ready for a Detroit and a set of 488's to get installed next weekend.

I used seats from an 04 Grand in mine.... I used 98 XJ sliders bolted to the bottom of the seats, then I cut the raised floorpan section from the same 98 and welded it into my floorboard. I decided to add the floorpan from a 98 so I could make any seat swaps in the future a bolt only modification. Chase my build thread back... there are lots of pics.

wow.... that would be something to see....

Your right about the spares.... I thought long and hard about building in a fuseable link..... and a hub would probably be the first thing to go but that's why I'm staying with lockin-lockouts instead of going with the slugs. I know the stock axles will never hold up to 38's.... I see people breaking chromoly stubs pretty regular..... I just hate to keep buying 130.00 axles. So I figure if I break a RCV with my 38's I'll be one of the only people to ever do it and that will be worth the short day just for the story and video that would go with it..... but I appreciate anyone's experience or just thoughts on the subject.

So the waggy axles I bought turned out to be 72-79 passengers drop instead of 80-91 drivers drop so I've been mulling over what to do. Lots of options from JY stockers for 50 each, Chromoly with CTM's for a cool grand or just bite the bullet and buy a set of RCV's and get it over with. I called up RCV performance last night and the guy I talked to said no extra charge for using a Waggy inner with a ford outer..... however the bill was still 1,400.00 dollars for the set. Since the RCV's are 30 spline outer instead of 19 I had 2 choices for hubs.... RCV's slugs for 200.00 or a set of Warn Premiums for about the same. It doesn't take a mathematician to realize I was getting in deep in a hurry.... plus I still need a front locker and hydro assist. So on the way to work this morning I discussed with the wife going to the bank for the fundage..... I get a modest allowance every month to support my habit but If I waited on that money to compound it would be way after Christmas before I was finished. So I now plan to go straight to RCV's with the assistance of the local bank ........ As bad as it hurts to open up the wallet, it's gonna be nice to know as long as I stay under a 40 inch tire those guys at RCV will replace a broken shaft no questions asked.... and they will even pick up the shipping.

I think if you sell this Jeep you will look back years from now and regret that decision...... you have one of the nicest MJ's ever built and they are getting harder to find every day. Also think of all the hours you have tied up in it and think about starting over..... I personally couldn't imagine it. Your right about it not being a good DD but Craigslist is full of junk that can be had cheap that gets the kind of mileage you need. Often we get tied up on making the right decision for our situation at the time..... look down the road 5 years and imagine yourself driving a Honda..... just my .02 cents.

All I can say is wow..... those pics are awesome..... being able to access remote places like that is what Off Roading is all about. Those pics of Pucker Ridge should be a lesson to everyone on here that's building a trail rig...... Tall trucks look cool but LCG gets the job done..... :thumbsup:

I've searched and read alot trying to decide what my MJ would look like in a couple years when I move up to ton's.... very nice pipe work.... excellent job on the coping .... subscribed :popcorn:

Pucker Ridge is no joke.... absolutely love the counterweight...... your definitely lucky to get to wheel in such a beautiful location of the county, I always enjoy your pics so keep em' coming.

Yep I cut off the brackets on my Dana 44 as well as my inner C's and narrowed it with a grinder and cutting wheel.....

I was thinking sometime in early October or something like that..... time for people to get it on their Calenders..... I checked out Piqua and that's would be on the other side of Columbus for me. By the way... nice look MJ you got there.

Great story..... and a very nice MJ.... I hope you get your wish.... :thumbsup:

You know what's cool is you could almost have yours do double duty.... I'll have to go back and check out your build.... the bumper i'm running was one a guy built just for Harlan and he didn't take into account the the width once the bumper slid under the front fascia (which is why it's too narrow for my front) .... well anyway my last bumper was not built for a winch so I bought this one just to have a winch and always planned on building another. Now I'm considering making my next bumper flat and moving my winch behind.

I really like that winch mounted like that..... I plan to put a small one there to use as a suck down winch..... Keep up the good work....

:popcorn:

Well instead of a trail ride how about we plan the first annual MJ only Meet and Greet...... We could shine up our Comanches and take over a restaurant parking lot in Columbus. I just did a quick check and there is a Sonic Drive In within a Giant Eagle parking lot just off the 270 beltway in Columbus..... so plenty of parking. Personally I couldnt' think of a better way to spend a Saturday evening then to get together and look at a bunch of MJ's and eat some Sonic Chilly Dogs. Logistics is a snap... we just need a date.

Gotta love the way an MJ flexes....... :thumbsup:

I've been wanting to make a trip to Wellsville..... I hear you need someone who know's the area to keep you from getting in to trouble though. I'm game for a centralized location with some nice scenery.... hit some gravel roads and do some exploring.