jbain Posted February 3, 2014 Author Share Posted February 3, 2014 They are some really great trails..... whitemanche..... as for the helmets Ivy is part of the Hatfield and McCoy trail system and helmets are required inside the park. Your yearly pass must be displayed on the left side of the helmet. What is the point of a helmet if you don't strap it on and don't wear a seat belt? Willy None..... I hope that answered your question..... LOL Jerry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbain Posted February 9, 2014 Author Share Posted February 9, 2014 Picked up a set of used 35’s to run on the hardtop….. I also spent yesterday dropping from 6.5 back to 4.5 inches of lift… took it for a drive and was able to hit and comfortable drive Interstate speed for the first time. Now I gotta bolt back up the SX’s and measure for bump stops and limiting straps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbain Posted February 9, 2014 Author Share Posted February 9, 2014 My son and I put the SX’s back on so we could do some measuring… Then we did a little flexin’ to measure for bump and strap length…. Then into the front yard for some snow/poser pics… Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Posted February 10, 2014 Share Posted February 10, 2014 Looking good! One of my favorite builds for sure! I may steal a few ideas for my cage when I do one;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbain Posted February 10, 2014 Author Share Posted February 10, 2014 Thanks Thomas.... but you wouldn't be stealing any cage ideas from me because I stole them from the Zone Offroad MJ.... anything I can do to help ..... just let me know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbain Posted February 19, 2014 Author Share Posted February 19, 2014 Finally got the radio installed in the MJ…… haven’t been able to because the cross bar for the roll cage runs behind the dash and makes it too shallow for a normal install. I built a custom bracket and then picked up a cover for a cavalier and trimmed it to fit. I didn’t want to put the speakers in the doors since they are removable so I mounted them to the roll bar…. At least now I’ve got Tunes when I’m wheelin’ Earlier today I took some leftover pieces of lexan and built some headlight covers…… I eventually plan to put a couple red KC decals on the covers to make it more like a Pro Truck….. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
88whitemanche Posted February 20, 2014 Share Posted February 20, 2014 I remember when I finally put a radio in my truck a year and a half without it and the day I put it in I felt weird...I was really getting accustomed to the stunned silence my truck was doing when driving down down the hwy.... The headlight covers look good.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbain Posted February 20, 2014 Author Share Posted February 20, 2014 I wanted something to make the front of Chief look a little different than all the others...... but I'm still not sure if I'm loving them or not..... best part is if I decide to chuck them it didn't cost me anything to build them and other than 4 small holes in my Bezel's it's no worse for wear..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SW86 Posted February 20, 2014 Share Posted February 20, 2014 Is that your Chevy? Is there a lift thrown on there? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbain Posted February 20, 2014 Author Share Posted February 20, 2014 Just a leveling kit for the front.... but that kinda makes it look like it's lifted.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SW86 Posted February 21, 2014 Share Posted February 21, 2014 I guess the pic was throwing me off. I've got the same truck but white. I was debating on bilsteins adjustable struts for the front. I've got no spacers or anything so mine kind of nose dives Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbain Posted February 21, 2014 Author Share Posted February 21, 2014 I really don't like the rake these trucks came factory with.... I really like how it looks with the leveling kit but on the negative side when I'm towing I set down in the back instead of setting level. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SW86 Posted February 21, 2014 Share Posted February 21, 2014 Yeah only down side is the sag look when towing but i really need the extra front clearance. Working and living in the country I drive over some crazy stuff. I just don't like the cheapo strut spacer blocks. I know it's not enough strut travel loss to matter but still... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbain Posted February 24, 2014 Author Share Posted February 24, 2014 Right on..... mine however is just a tow rig..... My hockey pucks came in the mail over the weekend so I drilled them and countersunk the top puck. I'm off Thursday so I hope to drill and tap the spring perch and get it bumpstoped. How many pucks are you guys running? Now that I'm down to 4.5 inches of lift I only have 3 inches of uptravel. Not that I think I need any more than that but I'm stacking 4 pucks to keep the shock from bottoming out.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spectormj Posted February 25, 2014 Share Posted February 25, 2014 bad @$$ rig you got Jbain How easy was getting the internal cage done cause now i want one Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbain Posted February 25, 2014 Author Share Posted February 25, 2014 I think the cage was the easiest part (of course our Club's "Cage Guy" is really good at his craft) the worse part was getting the dash back in and fitting tight. I ended up going through 3 of them before I was happy with the fit...... I've probably got 40 hours just in the back glass alone..... since the bars run at an angle it's not just a round hole.... instead it's oblong.... then the radio wouldn't fit and I had to build custom mounts on the side..... blah... blah... blah. Now that it's finished I'm glad I did it but I don't think I'll ever do another one..... next time it's an EXO all the way. Better protection, more room inside the cab..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spectormj Posted February 25, 2014 Share Posted February 25, 2014 I like the exos but for what i do cause i want to keep the crawl look to a min and i won't be going through the back glass just in the cab Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbain Posted February 25, 2014 Author Share Posted February 25, 2014 you get your cage in PM me before you start on your dash.. I've got some tips that may save you a bunch of time and headaches. Good luck and hit me up if you need anything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spectormj Posted February 25, 2014 Share Posted February 25, 2014 Will do which would be better to mount my cb over head? double bar or single Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbain Posted February 25, 2014 Author Share Posted February 25, 2014 I wanted a double bar for that very reason... but went with a single bar because we have to wear helmets when we wheel IVY... so the more room the better. If your never planning to wear headgear I'd say go with two.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spectormj Posted February 25, 2014 Share Posted February 25, 2014 I don't wheel at parks that force a helmet i only wear helmets during rafting and climbing just cause in a rig i feel it would limit my visablity Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbain Posted February 27, 2014 Author Share Posted February 27, 2014 Was finally able to get the bump stops and Limit straps finished up. Here is the front a full droop The spring upseats about 2.5 inches This is full stuff on the opposite side This is what it looks like on the bump… before I bottomed out the shock… now I have about 1 inch Here is the rear at full stuff This is what it looks like on the bump Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbain Posted February 27, 2014 Author Share Posted February 27, 2014 Here are a couple more pics that show the pucks a little better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spectormj Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 Ideas ideas ideas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbain Posted March 5, 2014 Author Share Posted March 5, 2014 I went ahead and lengthened my Limit Straps 3.5 inches today by using 3 links of chain. This made a huge difference in my Droop. I also took the strap off an old paintball mask and made some flexible straps to hold my limit straps against my springs. Before I added the extension I took it to the hill I use as my RTI ramp and my Clinometer said 23 degrees when I started to teeter. After the extension I pulled up to the mark I made and I was only at 17 degrees…. So the extension helped a lot. Here are a couple pics. After the last trip to IVY I had to borrow my brothers taillights from his racing MJ because I had broken both of mine…. So I made a couple covers out of sheet metal. As soon as my LED’s arrive I’ll pull them back off and hang them but this should work for next weekend’s trip. Then I decided to take one of the ratchet straps I got for Christmas and make a “Jerry” “Rigged” suck down strap. I plan to add a 2500 pound Harbor Freight in the future but for now I just wanted a way to keep the nose down when climbing. My trackbar has a bar the runs from frame rail to frame rail just below the oil pan. So I modified the strap a little and this is how it turned out. With very little effort I was able to pull the front down 2 inches. Then I drove it for a few miles on rough road and put it on an incline. I’ve been on this bank a few times and it feels pretty steep… but with the strap on it felt much better…. From the pic you can see how much the front is down….. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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