Why I won't be doing any wheeling this year.

[knucklehead 61]

whoa there captain sawzall!
i didn't cut that much out of my fenders & i am running 42's!
you did inspire me to plate my rear frame section today, although i did it a bit differently just to be...well, different.

 

[srmitchell]

NOOB your gona get water in youre fenders!!

Haha can't wait to see what you have planned.

 

[EricsXJ]

Yep the rear axle will be moving back 5".

As far as the fenders go, there will be some material added back....

 

[mcguyver_xj]

Strech the rear?

i'm thinking comp cut

 

[Voteban]

i'm thinking comp cut

That's already done... :conceited

 

[sunburned]

Holy crap, now that's an update. Went a little nuts with the cutoff wheel, eh? 5" back is quite drastic, looking forward to more progress pics.

 

[XJLI]

youre gonna want more tire with that much strech. my buddy had 37s on his, ~5" lift with a 6" strech and got hung up everywhere. he stepped up to 39.5" pitbulls for this season.

 

[Missiletech]

More updates!!

 

[EricsXJ]

Yeah sorry I have made a little bit of progress but nothing spectacular. I've been in Vegas for a week (work related :shhh: of course) and have been busy with our booth we are doing at a local convention. Hopefully I'll have an update to give soon.

 

[marc davis]

You know; I love seeing all the stuff you guys come up with. But at some point I start to wonder why you start with a XJ at all and don't build from scratch. I mean, honestly, stand back and see what you've done to that fine piece of american engineering. Cut it to shreds. And what did it ever do to you except dutifully haul you around through thick and thin...

Just kidding. Looks like fun. Keep up the good work.

 

[EricsXJ]

Here's a shot of the back. More pics next week of the sides.

 

[Missiletech]

Dammit Man! I want to see your wrap around tubes. I have guards that wrap around but I'm trying to figure how I want to tie it in up forward. Right now it's riveted to the inside of the rear door, I'd prefer something more solid.

 

[sunburned]

Damn, that rear hatch shave is cleeeean. Now, more progress pics!

 

[EricsXJ]

Damn, that rear hatch shave is cleeeean. Now, more progress pics!

None of the hatch is shaved, its all stock.

 

[DeftwillP]

Perhaps he means the logo and emblem shave.

 

[NW99XJ]

Wow!..... Cant wait to see this progress.....
How nervous were YOU when you started cuttin the sides like that?
Do the rear doors still seal? Or are those getting modified too?

 

[EricsXJ]

Perhaps he means the logo and emblem shave.

Oh yeah, I forgot about that. I did that when I was doing body work and prepping it for the tan paint job. I also removed the license plate light-holder thingy. Since I don't have a rear tire carrier anymore the license plate bracket will be relocated back to center.

Wow!..... Cant wait to see this progress.....
How nervous were YOU when you started cuttin the sides like that?
Do the rear doors still seal? Or are those getting modified too?

I wasn't nervous at all. I'm used to it - I've been cutting into this thing for years now. I just make sure I have a plan before hand and know exactly what I'm trying to accomplish before I make the cut.

The rear doors will have to be modified to fit back on and I haven't done that yet (probably won't until wintertime at the earliest). You'll see why they won't fit when I post more pics this weekend.

 

[EricsXJ]

Here's this weeks update:

I already showed what the rear of the Jeep will look like. Here's a shot from the side.

Now over to the driver side. This pic shows how high up I went with the tube which is why I'll need to trim the outer lip of the doors to get them back on. The goal is to try and maintain some of the stock door to fender opening relationship, otherwise it doesn't flow with the body lines of the XJ. But speaking of body lines, I'm pretty much creating my own but trying to still have it look like an XJ.

Tubing will stay tight to the "body".

 

[EricsXJ]

From the interior I'm connecting it with the cage. I had to rework the C-pillar legs to make clearance for the coilovers. There will be more bracing added once I get a better idea on where the upper mount for the coilovers will be.

From a different angle:

I cut the floor just about flush with the frame rails for the coilovers. I think I may have enough room, but until I do some testing I won't know. I may have to notch the frame rail slightly and I've gone back and forth about doing it now or waiting to see if it really is necessary. At most I think about 1" deeper in would be sufficient.

Here's the side shot again. Overall I gained only 1" vertical clearance between tire and fender, but the big difference is the clearance gained in front and behind the tire. The axle still has to be moved back 5" so until then you'll just have to view it in your mind.

 

[Alboy97XJ]

I'm thinking you'll need bigger than 37's with the new wheelbase Eric..... But looks good!!!