Frame plating?

Hey guys, I know there are other's out there who are wondering or have done what I am about to do but I can't find the exact answer I am looking for. On my 92' xj, i am swapping in a D44 HP out of a 79' Bronco as well as a locked up Ford 9" in the rear.
In the rear I am wanting to leave it fairly simple and stay with leaf springs, however, I am having difficulties finding the ones i would like. People tell me to the chevy 63" springs, but I think those are just far to long for a 4 door xj. Also I am build "slide" shackles, not drop shackles like every body else. lol
In the front I am getting rid of coils , no springs nothing...instead I will be installing 18" travel Fox 2.0 pogo style shocks. in order to do so though, I need to build hoops off the so called "frame." Instead of lifting the tuck into the sky, I will build the mounts through the hood, to keep my center of gravity as low as possible, but still have tons of drop flex. to keep it structurely safe and sound I need to build a cross brace that goes from one hoop to the other across the engine.
My point for all this being, how far should I plate the frame? How thick of steel should I use? Should I bolt though it as well?
Also, what are any ones thoughts on my build idea?
Thank you
Zack

first off get 2.5's, 2.0's are to small for a xj, secondly theres a few vendors that make stiffners, check out ruffstuff and hd offroad, if you want to make your own 3x3x3/16 angle iron will do

Plate multiple planes, not just the outside. Build study shock hoops and tie them in, engine cage setup too. Just get some 3/16 plate and start going to town, cardboard templates make it easy work.

I would plate the entire frame from bumper to bumper on both sides and the bottom. While you are at it I would reinforce the front crossmember. With what you have in mind I would even consider building a whole front end cage surrounding the engine and tied into the frame at at least 4 points.

X2

Inside of front frame horns firewall to front valence, bottom and sides of frame rails from bumper to bumper. Track bar brace and stout front bumper (custom with the plating since the frame is wider) to tie the front together. Weld the sides to the bottom so it forms a box.

Its a big job but best done BEFORE you trash the chassis. I did everything but the inside of the front frame horns and after 7 years of wheeling hard I spent two years chasing down DW. Plating inside the frame horns and a front cross member fixed it.

I used 3/16th on the outside and bottom of the frame from bumper to lower control arm mounts. I used HDoffroadengineering ( vendor) frame stiffeners from LCA mount to front leaf spring mount. I used 1/8 inch on the inside of the front frame horns.

Tons of threads on this.

John

18" is a ton of travel. It will be difficult to keep your driveshaft alive with that much down travel.

I would recommend sticking with 12 or 14" travel shocks.

plating all 3 sides of the frame is a bit nutty. ruffstuff plating in the middle and HDO stiffs for front and rear will suffice. add onto the steering area as needed. you'll have plenty of good cage tie-ins with that setup.
if you plan on racing, jumping, or rock bouncing your jeep. clearly you might want to go a little more heavy duty. I'd way rather cut out my entire frame and buggy the jeep if I really wanted to romp on it

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/jeep...e-stiffening-does-plating-really-do-much.html

Plating the inside, outside and bottom of the rails up front is very important, especially when coil over hoops are gunna be mounted to it. I've seen a mild XJ with a decent bumper hit a tree and the front rail with just outside plating still bent. You really gotta reinforce at least two planes to help strength it up to the flexing that happens.

foxwar71 said:

Plating the inside, outside and bottom of the rails up front is very important, especially when coil over hoops are gunna be mounted to it. I've seen a mild XJ with a decent bumper hit a tree and the front rail with just outside plating still bent. You really gotta reinforce at least two planes to help strength it up to the flexing that happens.

Click to expand...

I mentioned add onto the steering area as needed. coilovers would be on an as-needed basis. but even plating just the outers and connecting the hoops to an engine cage/stinger should hold very firmly. my inners will get plated up well when I make the jump from coil springs too. can't hurt

but for now, I think I'll skip it and try to avoid trees