well I've finally bit the bullet SAS

[section525]

No weekend update??

 

[TarHeel085]

No weekend update??

nope, i worked all weekend and am still working on grinding the frame to where i want it. plus im rethinking my coil buckets.

the stock TJ frame bends right where the coil buckets sit so therefore there is a bend in them. i would have to make custom gussets and bracketry to make them fit. prob going to plate the frame and bolt on a set of first gen buckets since they have the coil and shock integrated like the TJ and i would much rather rely on bolts for strength then trusting someones welds since i know i cant weld myself.

 

[TarHeel085]

heres the weekend update, frame is where i want it. now i realize ill be building my own coil buckets and shock hoops. going to be interesting for sure.

 

[TarHeel085]

slowly but surely

 

[TarHeel085]

daddy got a new pair of shoes!

 

[FU MONSTER]

Its is going to be a sweet Exploder!!!what parts if any are you selling?

 

[TarHeel085]

thanks man, im still trying to get rid of the 4.10 front diff & 2" body lift.

 

[nssj2]

going to be a cool build! btw, how the #$% did you get those MTRs, if that is indeed what they are? Everywhere here is sold out till the middle of June :thumbdwn:

 

[damarble]

Looking good so far!

Not to toot my own horn, but try to copy my build as close as possible, it worked amazing. If the guy that setup my gears hadn't screwed it up so bad, and if I was throwing a big heavy diesel up front, I'd still be running it happily. The only thing I would NOT do is mount the shock towers like I did. I fed nuts inside the frame and welded them in, then bolted the F250 towers up. Ended up cracking the frame. If you want to try a similar approach make sure you drill through to the other side and put a sleeve in.

Don't buy any DIY steering kits unless you intend to move the tracbar mount. The funky Jeep brackets will interfere. Just use stock V8 ZJ steering, it's fairly beefy. The drag link will be a little too long, I cut about 3/4" off the threads, then use a pitman arm TRE from a 84 J10, it's the right length and threads.

The XJ springs are a little on the soft side, yes. But I ran them for quite a while and they worked pretty good and didn't sag too much over time. I believe my springs were 6" Rough Country, I gave them to my XJ buddy that had Rubicon Express 3.5" coils and he loves them, much softer and better ride for his rig. The RE coils are rated ~240 lbs, the RC ~180.

I see you ended up with the adjustable coil buckets from Ballistic. Good choice, but I had to modify mine, my coils sat like this \ / and the buckets rubbed my tires.



I've got my whole front end torn up right now for the engine swap, let me know if you need any specific pictures and I'll get some.

 

[TarHeel085]

going to be a cool build! btw, how the #$% did you get those MTRs, if that is indeed what they are? Everywhere here is sold out till the middle of June :thumbdwn:

lol i got them from the local dist center. i would check that out to get them.

and damarble, thats what ive been trying to do haha. how did you get around the dip in the frame where the stock shock went? could you get me some pictures of your steering box setup and coil/shocks? thanks man!

 

[damarble]

Ha, it's good to see my hours of planning and trial and error go to good use. Now that I've done mine I could bang out any 2nd gen pretty quick using the same scheme.

There's really only one place to fit the buckets, and you have to stagger the adjusting rails, one on the inside of the bucket and one outside. I have a date with the truck this afternoon so I'll snap some pics for you.

Edit- Didn't get a pic of the steering box yet, it's kinda covered up and I spend the entire evening prepping and installing my rear axle. And the pic of the coil bucket came out terrible, I'll have to retake it.

 

[damarble]

These pictures leave something to be desired but it's all I could do with my cell cam.

Here's the coil bucket and shock tower, that chunk of plate behind the shock tower was a temporary reinforcement until i could fix the crack properly.

Bucket and tower removed, note the frame damage. And I got lazy and didn't cut off all the upper IFS brackets, they were a PITA in the tight space. I'm going to finish them off from the inside when the motor is out.

Outside of steering box mount. I incorporated the trackbar bracket. Note the top bolt is in a sleeve braced back to the fame.

Inside box mount. I had to make small stand offs to get it to sit right, and welded those to another plate against the frame.

 

[TarHeel085]

sweet! thanks man, glad to see my setup is turning out very similar to yours! more progress yest.

 

[damarble]

Looks like you mounted your buckets about 2" more forward and a bit higher. My reasons for mounted the brackets with the hooks under the frame, first, it gave the coil a slight rearward tilt, second, the greatest forced working on the bucket are pushing upwards, so the hooks support as much as the welds.

I think your shock tower will be OK since you mounted it a little lower and welded it vs bolting.

 

[TarHeel085]

yeah its a LITTLE forward lol

who says you cant fit a 35" tire in a Saab

 

[damarble]

Anything can be done if you're determined! I got 4 33s into a Neon before!


Looking pretty good! But count on your ride height being about 4" more than you've got it now to have any kind of uptravel.

One downside of how far you have it forward, a stock first gen front driveshaft won't fit anymore.

 

[TarHeel085]

the tire isnt on the ground yet as i havent finished the third link yet and mounted the track bar.

i unfortunately found that out about the driveshaft the hard way, just gonna have to be custom = more $

 

[TarHeel085]

dropped off the earth for a while, work consumed my life progress regardless:

travel limited by the garage floor.

33's vs 35's

at ride height, 6" Rusty's xj coils up front with the buckets adjusted as far up as i want to go.

 

[TarHeel085]

my solution to the rear crossmember

 

[olskool reddevil]