Incommando

So....did GM just run out of ideas or what? Chevy Image Not Found Saturn Image Not Found You should see them parked near each other...

Well done. I love painted factory rims.

Good way to get shot (or shot at) in today's society. Edit: Don't get your panties in a knot about my comment either because: (1) You know its true, and (2) you know I've seen it. Now we wait for the first fool to say "Oh well, I'd shoot back...." Please link some articles that show definitely that people get shot for driving slow in front of ricers. (1) No, it is not true at least in in any statistically measurable way. (2) No, I have never seen it despite being a retired cop from a s(*&hole city that is generally on the "20 most dangerous cities in America" list. Please document the time you saw it because, you know, if we have all seen it that would include you as, as well. Even actual "road rage" shootings are so rare, like real stranger child abductions, that when one happens anywhere in the country it is news everywhere. Therefore people think ( or more accurately don't think) that such things are (1) far more common than they are (2) something new. Now it is more likely, but still extremely rare, if the encounter keeps escalating over a period of time and distance but that scenario is not what is referenced in either comment. I know I know....someone read it on the internet.... :banana: Be sure not to flash your headlights at oncoming cars with their brights on as that will get you shot as a gang initiation. It most be true as it was on the internet, as well :doh: But if you forward this post to 47 people within 18 seconds the mythological being of your choice will grant you three wishes and cure polio. :yes: . There was an elderly lady out where I live who was being tailed real close by some guy and when he passed her she flashed her brights at him so he quickly slammed on his breaks got out and pulled her out of her vehicle then proceeded to run her over. Where I live about 45 min from Tampa people get shot over that kind of stupid crap all the time. I got my passenger side door kicked in once in a similar situation. That there might be a very rare example of something happening ( or at least having been reported as having happened that way) in no way makes it a statistical probability worth worrying about. Around 3000 die in the US each year from choking...but we still eat solid foods. I can't find a single verifiable" I only flashed my headlights and they killed me for it" story. Is this is the story to which you refer? It is the only one close to the situation that you related but does not involve the sympathy-invoking term "elderly. If this is it there is a lot more to it: http://www.abcactionnews.com/news/region-south-pinellas/st-petersburg/sppd-arrest-made-in-st-pete-road-rage-incident ^ That is two parties being stupid and it escalating and is hardly an "innocent party" crime. She went looking for trouble and found it. Do you have any links to reports of the incident to which you refer or any of the other "flash your brights" incidents? Remember that even if you do read something in a legitimate paper that in no way makes it what actually happened. And not to put too fine a point on it but often there is sometimes much more to " there I was, minding my own business, and I just flashed my lights when my door got kicked in" stories then gets told. Human nature is still human nature in both cases and it is human nature to shade a story in one's own favor. I have researched these urban legends and so have others. Barring the occasional freak circumstance of ridiculously low possibility they are pretty much BS. http://www.snopes.com/crime/gangs/pullover.asp

I wish I had had enough body left to keep stock flares at stock height.

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Troof

Go to a site like Rusty's or Zone. They will list the part # of the shocks that they use for the lift height. Then cross reference that shock to the specifications pages, also found on their sites. https://zoneoffroad.com/product-shocks?ma=6&mo=140&ye=1991 https://zoneoffroad.com/catalog/catalog-shocks-guide.pdf If you need a different height just find one that has the same mounting on each end and have at it.

Good deal!

265/75/r16. Roughly a 32x11 or so. These measured just smidge over 32" when mounted.

Time to cut off the perches and start over... On the plus side new perches are cheap if you need them

The actual FSJ Grand Wagoneer ('84-'91) was a mall crawler. Small white wall car tires. Crappy np229 AWD transfer case. Large overhangs. Turd of a 360 (all 144 horsepower of it). Horrible 2.71 gear ratios. A new 2014 Grand Chero would out wheel it handily. Even the earlier FSJ Waggy's ( the loaded versions were called Limited before the Grand designation was made in 1984 to differentiate it from the downsized XJ version) suffered some of these same faults and had to be lifted to the moon to get a tire of any size on them. If the Grand Waggy had continued uninterrupted do you really think it would not have been modernized? Do you think it would still be body on frame and with live axles front and rear? Heck no. Modern market factors would still be the same and would dictate a lot more sophistication from an up-market SUV. And as to price: the last gen Grand Waggy was very expensive despite being almost unchanged from the 1963 version. No wood trim? Of course not. It is 2014. Do you expect it to have an 8-track player and 3-speed auto as well? If whoever reads this is old enough to remember that far back they would recall that probably the most hated jeep ever was the '84 XJ. No frame. No power. Tiny tires. Styling stolen from a Volvo 240 wagon... the vehicle that Jeep actually compared the '84 XJ to in its advertising. The appearance package XJ & ZJ versions of a Wagoneer don't really rate in the same class as wither the proposed Grand Waggy or the FSJ version. Some of the most capable factory jeeps are being built now. The JK is more capable than any of the stock CJ's and the Rubi has capabilities in factory form that would make it superior to a fairly modified CJ. The 2dr TJ version of the Unlimited in Rubicon form is arguably the most capable stock jeep ever.The new Dart-based Cherokee Trailhawk could probably wheel circles around any version of a stock soccer mom XJ while being a much better vehicle in terms of comfort, drivability, power, & handling. The same will probably be true in a stock-to-stock comparison of a '91 Grand Waggy to a 2018 version. The new one will have more power, better MPG, and be faster with turning and stopping abilities undreamed of in the previous mall crawler as well. A sophisticated, albeit electronic, all wheel drive system will no doubt leave the NP229 behind, too. I love Jeeps. I have owned 14 from a CJ2a to a 2014 Patriot 4x4 for DD duties. But that doesn't mean I can't be realistic about automotive technology.

Actually it is the larger version of the same platform. Think of a 3 row-er similar to the Grand's cousin, the Durango.

Got the Rusty's braided front brake hoses on. Got the front brakes on. Got the front shocks on but they require pressing out the original bushings and inserting the news ones that came with the BPE kit. Got the Aussie in the rear. Slapped on the rims/tires

Got the Rusty's braided front brake hoses on. Got the front brakes on. Got the front shocks on but the require pressing out the original sleepless and inserting the news ones that came with the BPE kit. Got the Aussie in the rear. Slapped on the rims/tires

Nice. Mini's, Fiat 500's, and Smart cars are about the least reliable cars out there.

Good score on that rear. It is a solid upgrade....especially considering the vast majority of MJ's came with D35's. Even the semi-float Dana 60's are definitely stronger than a Dana 44 rear. On average the tube diameter (2.5-3."...2.75 in an MJ vs 3.0-3.5") and thickness ( commonly .25" vs .50" ) is greater The ring (8.5" vs 9.75") & pinion (1.375" vs 1.625") are stronger, as well. You will probably find that the SF D60 has a GVWR of at least 150% of the average D44. Equal in strength? Hmmm... Although people say "well they are both 30 spline..." the 44's shaft will probably be about 1.31" in diameter while the 60 will be 1.46". Sure they have the same spline count but don't get caught up in internet "well every one says...." Spline count is hardly the be all/end all that some web wheelers think. If you happen to go a to full float D60 then your axle shafts are basically much stronger than their dimensions as you have removed much of the load on them. For the front you probably have seen all of the various kits out there to put the factory suspension on a new axle. Tube space is often a trouble with those, though. I am a big fan of Barnes 4wd for builder parts but ruff-stuff makes some great parts,too. Although it may look easier I think the average front leaf spring conversion would take away from the inherent qualities of even the factory 4-link system. I will eventually 3-link mine when I go bigger on the axles. Something like this whether I source all of the parts individually or buy a kit: http://www.barnes4wd.com/Three-Link-Suspension-DIY-Kit-1-14-Chromoly-Heims_p_182.html

I guess a lot of people like posers. Those fenders are about worthless anywhere off-road but a desert environment. They would last 12 seconds on a wooded trail or on rocks that would get you off camber. Look how many people put fairly high lifts on their jeeps and oversized tires and never go farther off-road than a gravel parking lot.

Hey. Thanks for the reply. I thought I sent an email yesterday but I sent it to the wrong addy. Will try again.

Thanks. Mechanically it is very sound but yeah, the body is beyond saving without spending much more than the truck would be worth.

Must just be the angle the pic was taken, But your rear axle looks like two feet narrower than the front Been thinking of doing the TJ flares on mine, Was it much of a hassle getting them to work? No hassle. Those were a quick slap-on. They were put on after I trimmed off all of the area around the factory flares due to rust. I intend to replace them and do a better job. How I did them was to trim off the lip on the back of the TJ flares. I then put masking tape on the body around the new widened wheel wells so that I could easily see any alignment marks that I made. Then I put the flares up to the body and aligned them with the crease in the body. I loosely clamped them on. I then marked the flare's mounting holes onto the tape on the body, took the flares back off, and drilled the holes. I sprayed a little paint on the fresh holes and bolted the flares back on. You could also ( don't laugh) zip tie the flares on so instead of bolting them so that they would give if you hit something off road instead of tearing. Or with a couple of bucks worth of zip ties you could attach them with zip ties & remove them altogether to go 'wheeling and pop them back on quickly when you went back on the road. I also did the cut & fold on the body behind the rear wheel wells to better match the flare line. Both axles are from the same '98 XJ. Although the rear axles on MJ's/XJ's are a tad narrower then the fronts it must be the camera angle. It does look a lot more narrow in that pic, though. With the spacers and wider tires It will look better.

tires? track bar mount on drivers side? I would start with re-torquing everything.

Lift is on...still buttoning some things up....

OOOkay...lift is ON! The thing sets very level using the parts listed above. I will see if the front settles some. They are quality RE springs so I don't expect much settling, if any, though. This shot also shows why, despite just a personal preference against poser "off-roaders," I will not mind beating this MJ off-road. Of course I took my other MJ off-road and it was pretty darn nice for a rust-belt jeep so.... I still have to get the rest of the shifter parts, pull the rear axle and burn in the perches (they are just tacked on now), shock tabs, shorten the drive shaft, and set the front control arms.

Time will tell. I think that most of his success was drafted in front of him.

A couple of more shots. The control arms are not adjusted yet. And why i don't care about the body on this....