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The Nail Salon

Jesus. just read through quite a few pages of this. superb craftsmanship. really lights a fire to not give up on building. machining is a major hurdle i'll have to overcome but with a decent welder, i see progress in my future. i'm subscribing to this thread.
 
Meanwhile, I worked on getting the new 2.0's mounted up today. :cool:
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:D

Can I ask the part number for the Fox's?
Thank you.
 
Jesus. just read through quite a few pages of this. superb craftsmanship. really lights a fire to not give up on building. machining is a major hurdle i'll have to overcome but with a decent welder, i see progress in my future. i'm subscribing to this thread.
Thanks, good to know this thread is still getting some views.


Can I ask the part number for the Fox's?
Thank you.
I believe I got them through Poly, # FOX-985-24-058


Nothing new to report on the Jeep. Winter has been pretty tame this year in the PNW, so I haven't even gotten it out for a snow run this year.
 
Hauled the Nail Salon down to KOH this year. I helped pit for the PORwheelers 4882 legends car. Did some pre-running with race car on some of the rock trails.
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I really want to go back to JV and spend some time rec wheeling, it's such an awesome place.
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KOH week was a blast as usual. Always something to see.
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The guys finished the EMC race which was a victory in itself.
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Managed to break a rear window on Sun Bonnet. I used it as an excuse to switch over to plastic. Found some cheap sheets at the Home Depot, and cut them to size.
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Got the Jeep out last weekend, weather was awesome, and the Jeep did good.
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Did a little maintenance this weekend trying to get the Jeep a bit more dialed in for OTC. My water pump bearing started knocking, rather than push my luck I swapped it out.
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Changed the Atlas oil with some fresh 15W50 synthetic.
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Engine got an oil change as well, filter had 4/17 written on it... whoops. The Jeep seems to be ready for another trip out, possibly this coming weekend!
 
Way overdue for a good update. Not much has changed with the drive train over the last year or two, but she did lose a little weight...

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Wow, that's horrible picture quality. I will try to fix that.
 
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Nick and I got the Jeeps out to TSF a few weeks ago. It's nice just to be able to cruise at our pace, and cover ground. No issues, we started from the west end, and worked our way back to Rogers. Stick-in-the-Nose, a lap or two on Waterfall, Upper Crushers, and all the little filler trails in between.

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I noticed a clunk in my front suspension, and traced it out to a blown front shock (Bilstein 7100). Wasn't too happy, but I haven't been easy on it by any means ( wannabe racecar).

The 7100's are re-buildable, but I chose to go with something different. I wanted to get away from the upper bar pin adapters I've been running, and wanted to switch back to something with a bushing. So, some new remote resi Fox 2.0's arrived this week. The 7100 is toast, no pressure left in it, and oil has been spewing out all over my axle. Not sure exactly the cause of death.
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The 7100's will go on the shelf. I'll tear them apart and rebuild them eventually. Maybe put them in the rear with a softer valving.

Meanwhile, I worked on getting the new 2.0's mounted up today. :cool:
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They fit very close to the short body 7100's, since they don't require the stem adapter. I pulled the front coils, and measured full bump, and full droop. I want to set them up for 5" up, 7" down, so I'll need to drop my axle side brackets down 1". No biggie.

With the new shocks, and new lower heims, I took the Jeep on a quick test run, and wow what a difference. The front end is quiet, and much softer over bumps. I think the 360/80 7100 valving was too much before. The next run out is going to be fun. :D
Did you find doing these shocks was worth it for an average wheeler, or were they mainly for better performance at KOH.
 
Did you find doing these shocks was worth it for an average wheeler, or were they mainly for better performance at KOH.
For an average wheeler, not worth it. They are good quality shocks, but not needed for most in my opinion. For where we live, and the type of wheeling most of us do, a standard Bilstein 5100 or the like does just fine. The majority of us don't push our rigs hard enough to experience shock fade where a resi shock will come into play. Not to mention, how many of us are going to rebuild our shocks or play with the valving? If not, then why pay extra for that option? How many of us properly set up our bumps and limit straps to protect our shocks? If not, then why buy a fancy shock just to kill it by bottoming it out? Just get a good sealed emulsion shock.

I think they are good quality shocks though, and remember them being noticeably better on my rig. I've had them three years now, and they're still going strong. I should probably pull them and have them serviced. My jeep is still by no means good at the go fast stuff. It was embarrassing running it in the whoops down at KOH. Porpoise! I might be biased though, as I've gotten kind of use to an 8 shock car. ;)
 
Little update, the Nail Salon is still going strong. I put her on a diet last winter, ditching the hatch, a few windows, and stretched the rear wheel wells by 8". I also deleted the stock tank, and went with a 15 gallon RCI cell with Walbro pump and pick ups. Turned out way better than I thought, and I totally dig the openness on the trail.

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Still manage to get her out every now and then. Trips to TSF, Oregon Trophy Challenge, and King of the Hammers.
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I have since built a rear tube bumper.
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Also, she's still streetable. Ask RedJeep2.0 when he rallied her back from TSF. :cool:
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Any updates Dustin @TORX ?
 
Any updates Dustin @TORX ?
The Nail Salon is still around! I had it down at the NAXJA Moab event in October. We had a few trail/condo repairs throughout the week, but it wheeled hard. Great trip!

Currently prepping it for another year at Oregon Trophy Challenge with Team6.

I'm way over do for a good update in this thread. I kind of miss the days of Photobucket and a desktop PC. I'll see about getting some pics and updates posted.
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The nice thing is you can now host your pictures directly on NAXJA, and not have to worry about things like Fotofuckit. You can even post from your phone.

David Bricker / SYR
 
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