Ronbo

I bought a few things for the truck lately. I bought a new radiator since the old one had a small leak in it and the fluid was kind of a brown pond water color. I think the truck sat for a while since the original owner had passed away and his son in law sold the truck to me. I also bought a new Warn M8000 winch with synthetic line. I had the same winch on my YJ and like it a lot. The old one had the steel cable so I am looking forward to the synthetic rope on this one. I also ordered a JCR weld together front bumper which is still in route. When it gets here I will get more practice at my welding, it will be fun. I started a welding class the other date at the Bates Technical College. Its a 30 hour course that concentrates on MIG and TIG welding. I have never had an formal training for welding even though I have done it off and on for years. Its been fun so far, we started off with about a ten minute classroom lecture and then we TIG welded for the next 3 hours on aluminum. First time I ever TIG welded and I really enjoyed it, might have to buy a TIG welder.

Glad I could help Nick and thanks for the compliment. Ron

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I like the looks of the truck and steps your taking on your build. Do you know where you want the build to get to, tire size, lift amount and so on? I was thinking about the Clayton long arms for mine but I wasn't sure that I liked how far they hung down under the frame. I went with the TNT setup because the control arms hook into the belly pan which, tucking them up higher. I also like the TNT system since it braced the belly pan by bolts going thru the frame rather than mounting to the nutserts only. Is the Clayton system designed to weld to the frame also? Great build and a good looking truck. This is the first time I read your build but I will keep following it to check on where it goes. Ron

Nice start I look forward to seeing what you do with it. Ron

jbain, I really like the stance also but I know its going to settle some. The truck does not have any real weight in it yet like a tool box, spare tire, cage and all the other stuff carried by off road enthusiast. The front springs are new and the rear has the SOA flip so I know they will settle in some I just hope its not a huge amount but we will see. Its nice that you are following and like the build, Ron

I am running 5.5" TNT long arms in the front with a SOA set up in the rear.

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Cool truck, it's not my color of Orange but I don't own it. It would be cool to have one of the last ones built. What engine and transmission does it have, how many miles when you sold it? Ron

I did some more work on the truck tonight. I clearance the rear fenders, removed the plastic air dam from under the bumper, relocated my horn and greased everything. I take it to the tire shop tomorrow to have it aligned and then I can start driving it a little and get the gears broken in. The weather is supposed to be good for the next couple of days so I will get the truck out of the shop and start working on the rock sliders. I am going to try and copy the ones from H3RESQ's build. I like the way they look with the tube and the kick outs. I will also add the kick outs to the rear bumper like Jason has on his, its a nice touch. I will try to get more pictures up soon. Ron

Eliminator, thanks its been a lot of fun so far. What model 92 did you have and where is it now? Jbain, the factory skid in mine is made from plastic that I can bend with my hand. I am worried that some good rocks my tear the gas tank. I don't know what Harlan and Ivy are but I am assuming they are some good trails around your area. I would like to go back east and run some trails sometime. Thanks for the comments, Ron

Zack, I do not have one at this time but it is something that I want to build. The tank does seem vulnerable where it is at and I don't think the factory skid plate will do all that much. Having said that I always wanted one for my Wrangler but never got around to buying/building one and it did OK. I did have to take the factory skid off after running Fordyce Creek and pound some dents out of it. I have it on the list to do but I am not sure when I will be able to get to it. If you build a good one for yours can you make two and give the other one to me? LOL Ron

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Dscowell, For the front I just cut them for the rear because of the spot welds it will be a cut and fold. I used a cutoff wheel on a 41/2 inch grinder and it went pretty easy. There are two braces inn the front you might want to take out depending on what tire your running and how aggressive your cut is. Also take the horn off and relocate it somewhere else so the tire doesn't remove it for you. I taped it off first and then marked it with a marker. The tape protects the paint so you don't get a lot of chipping. Ron

Yeah I was thinking of doing that also just for that reason. Ron

I had the same issue with my Wrangler YJ one time. We were in Moab UT and planning on a long overnight run. I started the Jeep and went to put in gas, worked great. Pumped the gas and started the Jeep to move it to a parking space, worked great. Got some supply's and started it to go back to our campground, started fine. When we got ready to roll out I turned the key and got nothing. I could hear the solenoid but the starter wouldn't turn. Tapped it with a hammer and got it to start. Drove down to a parts store to buy a new one. Spent about 20 minutes changing it out in the parking lot. I was glad it quit working when it did because the trail we ran was 100 miles long and we only saw 2 motorcycles. We had to help the motorcyclist as one of them had put a 1 inch round hole through his oil pan, BMW 800 Adventurer. He did not have anything to fix it and he was 45 miles from Moab but that's another story. Ron

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Mike to some really good photos. I wish my truck had been ready so I could have gone with you. Yellow Jacket hill looked like it would be pretty tough with all that mud making the rocks so slick. How did the ARB's work are you loving them? Ron

Cool dude I was wondering if you were ever going to get those installed. How do they work, I know you tried them once it got dark? See you Saturday. Ron

Did some work on the Comanche today. I put the rear axle back in hopefully for the final time. I installed the new painted Diff Covers, got the brake rotors and calipers put back on and secured the soft lines to the axle. Because of the truss I think I am just going to buy a new hard line instead of attempting to make the old hard line work. It fits but it looks funky and its too long for the space that I have. I then started working on modifying the emergency brake cables to fit the Ford 8,8 axle that's under the truck now. I pulled a proportioning valve from a 97 XJ today at the scrap yard so I could eliminate the load sensing brake line that I will not be using. I was also looking for a WJ brake booster for the truck because with regular sized tires the brakes did not feel all that great. My new center console came in yesterday from Tuffy. I plan on getting it installed tomorrow if everything goes like I hope. I have my rear driveshaft on order and I expect it any day. I also have Lower Bar Pin Eliminators and Upper Shock Conversion kit from JKS that are supposed to be here Thursday. I have a feeling these may be late do to the weather back East. I have two friends, Willy and Keith, coming over on Saturday so I am hoping we can get the front axle all dialed in and some of the other little things worked out. I'm itching to start building the rock sliders and then a front bumper for the truck. I will try to take some photos and get them posted. Ron

I am running 4.88 gear ratio with ARB air lockers. Ron

I did not weigh them but I would guess between 55 and 70 pounds but I'm not sure. The tire weight is listed on the Cooper web site and the wheels are about 20 lbs. Hope this helps, Ron

Thanks for the information. I like the TNT long arm set up it keeps everything tucked up nice and tight to the belly of the truck. There are some systems that hang down a couple of inches which kind of defeats the purpose of a lift. Also the lower control arms are bent to allow for more ground clearance and they tubes are very sturdy. I am not a fan of the Bushwacker flares as we have some really tight trails and I have seen them ripped off of other rigs or if you press against trees or other hard objects they don't offer much protection. I may clearance the fenders as needed and then build some tube fenders which will give good coverage and still offer protection. The Army footlocker is a neat idea but with the rain we get in Washington I would need a good weather tight metal box with good seals. I will probably buy one that will sit in the bed and go from rail to rail such as a Weather guard or Dee Zee type box. I need to bed line the truck bed first with some spray in type bed liner. Ron

Thanks for the compliments, its starting to come together but there is a lot more to do. When I get the lift done I will start on the rock sliders. roll cage and then the front winch bumper. Before I can get to any off that I have to install the ARB compressor and plumb the air lines for the lockers. I need to install the center console, mount the spare tire carrier and get a storage box for the bed to hold all the gear. Yeah lots to still do. Ron