ok tell me what to do with the duke

[colman]

I have a 81 cj5 with 258, 4.0 head, tbi, NT d44 rear with 4.10 and detroit, NT d30 front 4.10, 4 to 1 in the d300, flat skid plate and a good t-176, tj flares, full cage, shackle reversal and enough lift to clear 33's(actually measure 31"). (actually some of this is not done but will be completed soon regardless of decisions to stretch)

The question is should i rebuild a set of waggy d44's that I have (the rear is offset from a q-track) and go get some 6 lug rims for the 37" mtr's in the garage and install the BTF stretchkit for the rear with xj springs and waggy springs up front in SOA application or keep what i have and get a beater to do this to. I have all of the parts to do the conversion except the rims and some odds and ends.

I know all of what is involved (which is alot)and can do it but the cj is nice, straight and rust free and i have been getting the 3rd degree from a few people about cutting up such a nice cj.

[colman]

you can see as she sits in my avatar (almost)

[bcolman]

dont cut the body, you will regret it because it is in such good shape. and dad will kill you.

[eight]

Yea that's too clean to cut up. Comp cut looks like ass and makes the jeep worthless as a jeep. Put all that stuff in a samurai.

[DirrrtyGirl]

do what ever you want!!!!! Ur building it you and no one else, and thats all that matters....It just comes down to if you want to have a pimp trail rig or a P.O.S. You can wheel it and have fun with it and not trash it on the rocks if you protect it properly and are more cautious when you wheel. U don't have to wheel balls out to have a good time.

from jordan

[agjohn02]

im surprised that was jordans response. ask him how much he paid for his and how much frame work it needed.

[eight]

Jordan's is an old jeep. Coleman's has a good frame. No reason not to put the waggy axles and 37s on it, just don't cut the **** out of it. It's easy to wheel a jeep without ****ing it up. The body's not that easy to hit if you watch what you're doing at all, especially with the wider axles.

[CheapJeep]

X2 on what Kopecki said.

That BTF stretch kit "requires" you to comp cut it, but I'm sure you could get away without going that route. With that being said, I still think that if you do it cleanly and right, comp cuts look good, it's all about the quality of work you do and time spent doing it.

[TxCruzr]

I'm with jordan. You don't have to find a hunk of junk to wheel. There is nothing wrong with wheeling something thats nice, it just makes you try a little harder to keep from bashing the body. Mine was clean as hell what I first got it, and still for the most part is if I tube the front fenders. I have no regret.
Make a nice clean rig. Look at Hughe's yj, perfect example.

[savvyaggie]

exactly!!! I love wheeling something that I can bet the hell out of(my Jeep), but I can asure you my next rig will definitly be pimped out... Im talkn 20" spinners and all!!!!

The whole thing is that this is something that you need to decide, because u dont want to say "I should of" or "What I really wanted to" in the end.

[savvyaggie]

im surprised that was jordans response. ask him how much he paid for his and how much frame work it needed.


My Jeep wasnt that bad, I had the frame fixed in about 2 hours. and I havn't had anyother frame trouble with it.

I am 100% happy with my purchase!!!!!!! But my next rig will be pimpd out!!!

[TxCruzr]

Build a rig your going to be proud of and not like "yeah, thats my hunk of rusted junk over there."

[agjohn02]

My Jeep wasnt that bad, I had the frame fixed in about 2 hours. and I havn't had anyother frame trouble with it.

I am 100% happy with my purchase!!!!!!! But my next rig will be pimpd out!!!


i think you got a heck of a deal. that was my point. but, you had to beef the frame.

could you still do the stretch kit with other than xj springs and not have to comp cut it all the way. leave it looking like a jeep?

[BMFScout]

Just go roll it, then the decision is made for you, it's very liberating.

[agjohn02]

I'm with jordan. You don't have to find a hunk of junk to wheel. There is nothing wrong with wheeling something thats nice, it just makes you try a little harder to keep from bashing the body. Mine was clean as hell what I first got it, and still for the most part is if I tube the front fenders. I have no regret.
Make a nice clean rig. Look at Hughe's yj, perfect example.


going off of club logic, i have never seen you wheel, therefor that must mean you never do... i just dont like wheeling with most of you losers:flipoff2:


take into account this quote is from an individual that hasnt got sense enough to come in out of the rain. i.e.- he drives a topless cruiser year round. wheeling a nice vehicle is not fun if you dont want to mess up the body. when i look at cody's jeep, i see a bashed rear quarter with rust on it. you cannot wheel like you want to and keep a rig straight. i have come too close for comfort too many times, to the point where i dont enjoy wheeling the scout anymore. i bought it as a daily driver because it was in good shape. if i had been buying a trail rig, i would have bought something rougher and spent my money on axles instead of the LT1. even my springover and reverse shackle was done more for road manners than off-road ability. if i ever want to sell it, which i do someday, i want to keep it straight. the decision ultimately lies with you. do you want to wheel the snot out of your jeep and tear up the body eventually, or do you want to do that to something else. you can build a nice trail rig, but you must do it with the understanding that it will get messed up. i know someone thats doing that very thing right now. you cant shoot your cans and keep them full too.

[TxCruzr]

going off of club logic, i have never seen you wheel, therefor that must mean you never do... i just dont like wheeling with most of you losers:flipoff2:


I never wheel, never broken anything, never dented anything, and never layed it over a time or two. :flipoff2:

I drive it topless in the rain cause I don't care. One day I'll be too old for it so I'm gonna enjoy it now. Its too much fun to drive to let a little rain ruin it.
Ask Cody if he regrets spending the time on the body work. I bet not. Its a sick jeep and it looks hella bad. Yeah your going to get body damage but try to protect against it (rockers, quarter panels, body armor, etc).
If your worried about body damage then build a buggy, other wise it probably is going to happen. The more you get out on the trail, the better you'll get at picking lines and protecting the body. Just paint it a color that you can match with a can of rustoleum.

Look at it this way, when you look at the rigs in the magazines or on POR or whatever and you think to yourself "I'd like to build mine like that," or something along those lines, does that rig usually look like it was just pulled from a wreck or does it look like a clean capable rig? There you go, decide which you want. And if you think you can't have a nice clean capable rig, your full of ****.

[eight]

And if you think you can't have a nice clean capable rig, your full of ****.


Yep. For a good example look up Matt Conley. Or lissa's jeep and lynda's old jeep had been wheeled alot and still look pretty good. Mine would look good again with a little paint. Cooper's has been on plenty of trips and I think the only damage was from lissa hitting him. Josh Alley's CJ5 didn't have any damage either I think. Troy had wheeled the **** out of his and last I saw it it still looked pretty good, but that was before they ran it in comps.

[colman]

can i even make the offset d44 work?
if not why?

[eight]

I say not a good idea. Scour the junk yards for a centered 44 from a cherokee. Reason being that the offset one will increase your u-joint angle, and even though it may not bind normally, it'll blow out quicker when you get the axle wrapping. Also u-joint life decreases with any increase in angle. I've set up some pretty bad angles so that they wouldn't even vibrate, but you still had to change the joints at about every oil change.

[CRaSHnBuRN]

can i even make the offset d44 work?
if not why?

What lug pattern does the front have? 5 or 6? my guess is 5 by kopeckis xj comment, but if you used a 6 lug, you could pick up a factory disk braked Isuzu D44 (pretty sure there is one at Gordons right now). Or maybe a disk braked isuzu 12 bolt (not related to chevy 12 bolt) that is very beefy and cheap (or free). Its alot stronger than a D44 or toy axle, and can be had in several widths, but the only drawback is the only gearset readily available is the stock 4.56s

As for wheel a nice rig or a junker, here is my opinion. Pretty rigs are nice because they look good. You can wheel the hell out of them and keep them nice, but all that can change in a second out on the trail, so keep that in mind. Personally, I don't really care about stuff like paint (case in point, my ugly ass 4runner), but I hate rusty rigs or vehicles with alot of body damage or crappy mods allready done to it before I start. Its nice to start on a fresh, clean slate.

[stx4wheeler]

swap the axles and dont stretch it with the blue torch kit, comp cut looks like ass, as for the its to nice part, its only a cj there are 18 million restored or others out there if you want one at a later date.

[colman]

well as of tonight i have decided to ad 2" spacers to the rear, a 2" body lift to clear the clocked t-case that i have the 4:1 in, finish the flat skid and put on the 37's and go from there. hopefully i can get away with a cv shaft in the rear and not have to stretch. anyone know someone who wants a stretch kit?

[CheapJeep]

So much for that stretch kit... It'll work for any CJ5,7,8, 76-86

[Reckless]

Im building my Z71 to BTHO it. I think nice rigs are cool and all, but its the ugly rigs that make people say, " that POS did that"!!!! Look at sharpes its uglier than hell and very capible, but i abandoned my jeep swap because its cherry, no dents or dings and good paint.

[CheapJeep]

See, my CJ-5 was a big pile of **** when I first got it. It was missing the right rear hanger bolt and the leaf spring would slap the frame rail, the exhaust downtube was held in place to the manifold by vice grips that were tied to the hood so I wouldn't lose them. Then there was alot of bondo, rust holes, and what looks to be a forklift puncture on the passenger side. That's why I am doing so much shiznit to it, if I cut stuff off it's not a big deal but I understand why you wouldn't want to chop up your 5. It is nice and like Joseph, Kopecki, and others have said you can still wheel a clean vehicle.

[agjohn02]

i kept waiting for conlee to bash a fender this weekend to post it in this thread and say "na-na-nah-boo-boo". he didnt and wheeled it has hard as anybody else. although he did get it in one spot that threatened damage and quit. if half of kopecki's tub wasnt made out of plate and pipe it would be caved in.

[CRaSHnBuRN]

yeah, I think most people don't realize that the only reason kopecki's stays nice is because most of his body panels no longer fall into the sheetmetal category.

[JeepPhisherman]

i kept waiting for conlee to bash a fender this weekend to post it in this thread and say "na-na-nah-boo-boo". he didnt and wheeled it has hard as anybody else. although he did get it in one spot that threatened damage and quit. if half of kopecki's tub wasnt made out of plate and pipe it would be caved in.

he got a new dent on black sheep, i don't care if he said it was there before, I was standing 10" away and saw the mother****er dent! he does have just about the cleanest rig in the club, street or trail.

[eight]

Yea so mine's a little thicker than most. Really its the bondo that keeps it looking decent.

Yall saw conlee wheel one trip, that jeep's probably been on more trips than any other vehicle in the club.