Ben and Kami’s TJ Overhaul

benjy

Rarely wrenches
Supporting Member
Location
Moab
Kami and I have dreamed of building our rig since the day we met. About three years ago, we both sold our jeeps and united funds to buy our TJ and a fuel efficient civic. At the time this jeep was a perfect fit for us, as we were still living in apartments and it was a daily driver. It had D44s, ARBs, 4.56s, 6” long arm kit, and lots of other goodies. We drove that thing to and from quite a few trails, fully loaded with all our camping gear and a dog.

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The time has now come to build our rig :greg:

We have two simple requirements for this build. First, we want an extremely capable family/recreation oriented rock crawler, capable of wheeling in a variety of different environments (and speeds :D). Second, we don’t want to be left wishing we had done anything different, and have to revisit that later. This is not to imply that once this phase of the build is done it will be exactly how we want it. For example, the 4.0 will remain, possibly to be swapped later in favor of a V8 (a few years down the road). Enough said, right? Let’s get to the good stuff.

Here is the plan:

Drivetrain
  • Engine: Stock 4.0
  • Transmission: Stock NV3550 – Auto will wait for the V8
  • Transfer case: Atlas 2 Speed 4.3:1
  • Rear axle: Clearanced 14 bolt 65” WMS, 5.13s, disc conversion, and a Detroit
  • Front Axle: HP D60 69” WMS, Detroit, Yukon 35 spline inners/outers with “super” joints, Yukon drive flanges

Suspension
  • Fox 2.0 14” coil-over remote reservoir shocks front and rear
  • Fox airbumps

Other Details
  • 40” Maxxis Treps
  • 17” Walker Evans Beadlocks, black powder coated wheels, polished rings
  • Custom tube fenders and highline hood
  • Howe full hydro steering, single ended ram, load reactive valve
  • Boatsides
  • 108-ish” wheelbase
  • The cage was built by Mig Off Road, a shop back east. They did a pretty good job, through the dash and tied into the frame. Some modifications will likely be done.
  • We already have PRP’s with 5 point harnesses.

Estimated completion: March 2010

edit: After broken promises by BHR, this build was completed by yours truly, with help from Casey Beach
 
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Greg

Make RME Rockcrawling Again!
Admin
Very cool Ben & Kami! I've been looking forward to this build thread for some time, I'm excited to see it come together. What's it look like now?
 

big cherokee

a.r.c fabrication
Location
layton
good to hear guys, congrats,

hope it will be ready for memorial day next year as i will be there or die trying :rofl:

keep the pics coming as progress comes.
 

Slangy

Sgt. CulPepper
Location
Utah
I can't follow this, makes me jealous.
Sounds like it is going to be awesome. Can't wait to see it finished.
 

Caleb

Well-Known Member
Location
Riverton
I'm looking forward to this build, but so far, without any progress pics, this thread is pretty much useless. :p
 

benjy

Rarely wrenches
Supporting Member
Location
Moab
that sounds like a bad a$$ build, i'd like some 40 inch treps on my jeep!!

I'm excited to see how they perform... and how long they last :rofl:

Very cool Ben & Kami! I've been looking forward to this build thread for some time, I'm excited to see it come together. What's it look like now?

It feels good to finally be able to start this thread. I don't know how many times I read your build thread imagining how I wanted ours to end up.
It's looking pretty sad right now, this is how it currently sits :-\

IMG_1069.jpg


hope it will be ready for memorial day next year as i will be there or die trying :rofl:

it better be ready for memorial, we have a few trips planned before then to break her in ;)

What are you planning on doing with your front D44 and ARB?

I sold the suspension, axles, wheels/tires as a package deal a few months ago.
 

benjy

Rarely wrenches
Supporting Member
Location
Moab
Progress Pics?? Ben Jammin it time to post up some pics!!:D

All the progress is on your shoulders at this point ;)

I'm looking forward to this build, but so far, without any progress pics, this thread is pretty much useless. :p

:rofl:

I've gained new respect for BHR and the amount of time they spend on builds like this. I have been helping out the build process along the way, mostly in the tear down stage.

Kami and I are both in school and working full time jobs. Instead of "date nights," we've been working on the jeep together :D

IMG_1010.jpg


The first step in the process was to cut off the back half of our frame in order to clear the coilovers

Pointofnoreturn_img_1.jpg


And a new one was made that followed the inside of the tub

IMG_1065.jpg


IMG_1068.jpg
 

jevyguy

Active Member
I am glad to here that there is finally some progress. Went with coil overs instead of coils hu? :) Can't wait to see it, and go wheel with you two again.
 

big cherokee

a.r.c fabrication
Location
layton
looks good ben and kami, my wife just said if we did not have kids she would come over to the shop and help with the build i have going on right now.

plus no date nights means money towards the jeep. :D


i will see you guys down at memorial day this year for sure.
 
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