Well well, it has been a long while since I posted here, and a lot has happened. In my defense I tried to do an update but the forum bugged and I couldn't post it and then I got busy and forgot to update. I'm going to try and keep this short and sweet, and I can go into more detail if anyway has questions.
TLDR: Finished lower part of rear bumper, Finished 8.8 swap, finished HP 30 swap, went to 35's, drove 1700 miles to CO and UT to wheel for a week and drove home (4k miles total).
Bumper:
Finished the wrap around portion and got it all welded up. At the bottom Ill have some pics from the trip where youll be able to see the more finished product. Next up is to build the swing out!
Axles:
Approximately 2 weeks before the trip the jeep looked like this! AHHH
Due to time constraints and drive length I decided to have the axles professionally regeard to 4.56's. Not much else to really say about em. Rear axle is your standard 8.8 swap with the IRO kit. It does still have the stock LSD and I added a ruff stuff diff cover.
Front axle is trussed and gusseted using artecs kit, and has a powertrax no slip auto locker. as well as a ruff stuff diff cover.
Chassis/Gen:
I painted the lower door edge cleaning up some rust
And this would be a great time to show that I cut the front fenders a tad more for the 35's. Mostly went forward to meet the bumper and went a littler higher. Honestly I don't think I needed all of it as I now have plenty of clearance, but thats okay I think it came out pretty good
I have never had overheating problems but I didnt want to start 1700 miles from home in Moab UT. I added hood louvers and a trans cooler
Well enough of the build thats boring, lets see some wheeling!
At this point I am very very happy with how the rig turned out. Super proud of being able to drive 1700 miles wheel for a week and drive home with no issues. It was truly the trip of a lifetime and I wouldn't want to do it in anything other than the Jeep I built.
This trip has only made me more excited to work on the Jeep and keep tweaking and tuning it. So the next steps:
-Swing out for spare tire, Jerry can, high lift
-Cargo management
-Shift the rear axle backwards (Target 1-2")
-WJ PS pump and cooler
PS
I should also add I did not do this trip alone. The Jeep group I am apart of (Mid Ohio Jeep Organization) planned the trip and convoyed out together. I am so thankful to have found such a good group of jeepers who do so many cool trips. We are already planning to attend the Moab trip next year as well!
