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The Nail Salon

Thank you for the flasher info.
Keep up the great work on this build.
Love the small personal touches - like JeepForceOne's fuel door.
 
So you're pretty happy with the springs and leafs so far? I'm still looking at getting a set of those leafs, and maybe even some coils as well. Are the leafs flexing pretty good? How did your shackle angle come out and about how much lift did they net?
They're stiff.

The coils are noticeably stiffer than my old Rubicon Express springs. Paired with some Bilsteins, the front end is pretty firm. However, that's kind of what I was going for. I'm still getting use to it's handling off road, but the combo seems to do pretty good in the rough stuff. I'll admit I'm probably asking a lot from my short arms, but the springs/shocks I'm happy with.

The leafs are another story. I'm sure they're still getting broken in, so I'm giving it time. However, the length is too short in my opinion. Shackle angle is pretty vertical, and looks like most aftermarket spring angles. Can't really comment on the spring since I know the shackle isn't exactly working too efficiently as is. I know they seem to be pretty stiff like the BDS coils. Unloaded the rear end is pretty firm, but once I get some weight in the back the rear end starts working a bit more.

I'll run the suspension how it is probably the rest of the year, and then decide what to do with it. The idea I'm tossing around now is going with a custom mid-arm on the front, and a longer main leaf in the rear.

As for lift height, no idea. If I had to guess I'd say I'm sitting around 5" - 4.5". The springs are still settling, and I have no armor on it yet. If you need measurements let me know. That's one thing I forgot to do before lifting it.
NICE! Glad to see you have a rig again that didnt take long at all Look forward to wheeling with ya again soon!
Thanks, Pat. I'm hoping to make some runs with you guys this year.

IMG_0032.jpg
 
Talked myself into starting a new project today. Stopped by Eastside Steel in Vancouver, and picked up some steel for some basic rock sliders. If you're wondering why I'm doing sliders and not replacements refer to post #22.

10ft 2x2x.120 square, 10ft 1x1.20 angle, 5ft 2x.188 flat, and four chunks of scrap 2x1x.120 rect. I'll also be reusing the stand off bars from Dellstopjeep's Red Mustache Ride.
P1070354.jpg


Started by cutting the main rails down to 60" and 45'ing the ends.
P1070355.jpg


After I had the main rails cut to length, I cut some filler plates for the ends out of the 2" flat bar. Beveled the sides for welding.
P1070357.jpg


Gave them the Hobart Treatment.
P1070359.jpg


After some flap disc treatment I got the ends blended in.
P1070360.jpg


Cut the base plates that will bolt to the frame rails. Drilled holes for the mounting hardware, and added a radius to the corners.
P1070362.jpg


Here's the basic design I'm going for. The 1" angle will be used to tie into the pinch seam. I think it will help spread the load better than just flat bar.
P1070363.jpg


We'll see how much I can get done tomorrow.
 
They're stiff.

The coils are noticeably stiffer than my old Rubicon Express springs. Paired with some Bilsteins, the front end is pretty firm. However, that's kind of what I was going for. I'm still getting use to it's handling off road, but the combo seems to do pretty good in the rough stuff. I'll admit I'm probably asking a lot from my short arms, but the springs/shocks I'm happy with.

The leafs are another story. I'm sure they're still getting broken in, so I'm giving it time. However, the length is too short in my opinion. Shackle angle is pretty vertical, and looks like most aftermarket spring angles. Can't really comment on the spring since I know the shackle isn't exactly working too efficiently as is. I know they seem to be pretty stiff like the BDS coils. Unloaded the rear end is pretty firm, but once I get some weight in the back the rear end starts working a bit more.

I'll run the suspension how it is probably the rest of the year, and then decide what to do with it. The idea I'm tossing around now is going with a custom mid-arm on the front, and a longer main leaf in the rear.
Definitely keep me updated on how you like the setup down the road. I'm a little upset to hear the shackle angle isn't very good. I was really hoping BDS used a little longer main leaf. The coils sound like what I'm going for. I would really like my front end to be a little stiffer. I'm running Bilstein 7100's up front now in the 278/75 valving and although I haven't been offroad much with them the front end could definitely be a little stiffer. My coils are soft though (180 lbs) so that would be my next change before messing with the Bilstein valving anymore. I'm also looking to do a 3 link mid-arm (passenger upper) down the road as well so we'll see who gets done first. :greensmok

Thanks for the response Dustin!
 
starting to feel Torxafied.. I just got my Tera 2low, Detroit locker (D30) and they are all sitting on a stack of Cooper STT's..

along with steel from Eastside steel..

:gee:
 
Got some more fab time in.

Started by mocking up the main slider rails into position. Once I convinced myself they were at a good position, I measured for the 2x1 slider to frame tubes. FYI, XJ's unibodies taper in toward the front. If you don't account for this your slider won't match the body lines.
P1070364.jpg


Next I worked on laying out the bolt holes for my pinch seam tie ins. Got them drilled, and then bolted into place.
P1070370.jpg


Last variable to figure out was the frame plate positions. I mocked everything up once again, and drilled the holes for the mounting plates.
P1070372.jpg


With all the bolt on pieces in place, I could finally start tacking things together. Profanity was used during this phase. Nothing like spatter burning it's way through your hoodie, and t-shirt.
P1070373.jpg


With everything tacked, I pulled the whole assembly out.
P1070376.jpg


Next I needed to fit the stand off bars to the 2x2 tube. When I cut them off Red Mustache Ride I wasn't too concerned about cut quality. Needless to say I had to re-cut all the tubes to equal lengths.
P1070377.jpg


Prepped the tubes for welding.
P1070379.jpg


Still need to do final welding on it, but the passenger side is complete. Pretty happy with the turn out. Stand offs stick out far enough to where they should protect the body, but not be a total PITA getting in and out like some I've seen.
P1070383.jpg


Hoping the drivers side should be pretty much the same and, I can just use my same measurements. Should be able to crank it out tomorrow, and get them both welded up.
 
starting to feel Torxafied.. I just got my Tera 2low, Detroit locker (D30) and they are all sitting on a stack of Cooper STT's..

along with steel from Eastside steel..

:gee:
I'm a trend setter, what can I say.

Dustin what do you think of the allieds? sold off my trailreadys and my new build I'm thinking of using the allieds.
No regrets.

When thinking about wheels for the Nail Salon, I figured since I would be buying new wheels anyways, why not step up and go with bead locks off the bat?

I figured I had three options. Inner Air Locks, which I decided against due to their reliability (I've heard of leaks developing over time), and the fine print saying no pressures lower than 5psi. Double bead lock, the turn off for this was $$$. Lastly was the traditional outer bead lock.

While I support local companies such as Trail Ready, Allied's are going to do the exact same thing at under half the cost. I figured they would work fine for what I would use them for. You can always add a inner rim stiffener if you're worried about bending the wheels at all.

I think they're a quality product, priced right. They don't have the bling factor of a Walker Evans, but they work just the same. I'm actually running no balance on mine currently, and they're smooth at 70mph. Had them in the snow and they held the bead at 3psi all day. All in all, I'm a happy customer.
 
Driver side got put together tonight.
P1070389.jpg


Spent some time welding them up.
P1070392.jpg


P1070396.jpg


Ready for paint.
P1070398.jpg


Checked my wire supply. 10lbs of wire almost gone. Lasted me through two years, and a lot of projects though. Guess I need to pick up another spool before starting the winch bumper.
P1070397.jpg
 
Looks great, definitely gonna fit better then the ones on the stocker. I think they are JCR, or JMR, or terra flex or...... I can't remember. Hell I don't even remember what I said that made Darren feel inclined to edit my post two days ago. I need sleep.
 
Looks great, definitely gonna fit better then the ones on the stocker. I think they are JCR, or JMR, or terra flex or...... I can't remember. Hell I don't even remember what I said that made Darren feel inclined to edit my post two days ago. I need sleep.


sliders look great dustin. gj as usual
 
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Got some primer and paint on the sliders this weekend. Bolted them on today. I'm happy with how they turned out.
P1070402.jpg

They look great, Dustin!

I'm also happy with how they turned out, because I just got an idea:

Dibs on buying these TORX Sliders from you when you do your post #22 mini-boat-sides project sometime in the future.

Didn't think the vultures would start circling this soon, did you?
 
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