Ownership Verified: BCS repeatedly breaks, fixes, and re-breaks his Jeep

JipJopJones said:
Sweet deal.

Don't the up country shocks/springs give you an extra 1" or so of lift?
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Yeah, they'll give me an inch or so over stock. My current springs have seen a lot of miles are likely a bit on the saggy side, so I might get a bit more than an inch over its current stance. If I have the opportunity, I'll get some 1.5"-2" spacers for a 3" overall lift, should only be $100 or less for those.

matt2000 said:
Coil springs are over-rated. :p
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Hardy-har har. :p
 
Sweet Jesus, that looks almost exactly like my friend's ZJ Limited that he's selling for $2000. And it's in even worse nick than that. No idea how you got that for only 500 bucks, but nice work. :thumbup:
 
So, I finally found time to throw on the new(er) suspension bits yesterday:

Old!
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Old spring & new spring
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Back together!
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I had a morning FSAE meeting so I didn't get started as early as I wanted, so I ended up running out of daylight and doing the last corner by trouble light. :lol:
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The next day!
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Comparison:
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I know it's not much and it doesn't really come out in pictures, but I gained 1.5" in the back and 1" in the front. I think it really improves the vehicles' stance if nothing else! I can always add in some 1.5-2" spacers if I decide I need more lift.



Hey, one of my roof rack bars is missing! Tune in tomorrow to find out why!
 
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If I remember correctly the GC comes stock with 275/65R16's. With 2" of lift you can go up to a 31" tire... I think. It was a long time ago that I spec'd out a Grand Cherokee for a lift.

And hey, you can always trim fenders.
 
Speculation: Roof rack bar is off to drill and mount lights.
 
JipJopJones said:
If I remember correctly the GC comes stock with 275/65R16's. With 2" of lift you can go up to a 31" tire... I think. It was a long time ago that I spec'd out a Grand Cherokee for a lift.

And hey, you can always trim fenders.
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275's!?! I think that's a little optimistic. ;)

With the 16" wheels, I believe that 235/60R16 is the stock tire. I can theoretically tuck 30" under it as she sits, but the extra inch the BB gives (that's assuming a 1" spacer, which is pretty uncommon - I'd likely end up with a 2" spacer for a 3" lift overall) I could definitely run 31".


I also wanted to mount the front tow hooks, but none of the usual places carries the type of Grade 12 bolts I need. I'll likely have to get them from Fastenal when I go to grab the nutserts for the TC skidplate.
 
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Fun little build you've got going.

And you better be bolting far too much candlepower for that Jeep's own good to those roof bars. Or installing a Safari box complete with ladder.
 
Man, if only $500 would get something half-decent here.......

I doubt I'd even get a scooter for that cash here.
 
Well, I guess the ZJ is different, but I'm pretty sure the WJ came with 275's stock.

Good to hear you are planning for 31's though, it's the size to be at if you want to start doing trails and such.
 
Spectre said:
Speculation: Roof rack bar is off to drill and mount lights.
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deltableh said:
Fun little build you've got going.

And you better be bolting far too much candlepower for that Jeep's own good to those roof bars. Or installing a Safari box complete with ladder.
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Right you are, a light bar it is! I've done some prelim stuff for a safari box in Solidworks, but I've gotta do some more welding practice before I tackle that particular project.

So, I hadn't originally intended to do a lightbar until I had some offroading credentials under my belt, but a friend of mine is an avid ice-climber and he and his crew like doing that kinda crazy thing at night but can't always bring a big generator and lights to light the glacial face. Coincidentally, a local store had some H3 light units for dirt cheap and I had a spare roof rack bar, so for $40 worth of extra materials, I figured what the heck.


Holes, drilled!
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Also, feeding the wires through the bar was a massive pain in the ass, but I wanted them mostly hidden.

Finishing up the wiring:
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Testing!
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They're not as kickass as the more expensive units, but they put out a solid amount of light and I've made all the connections modular so I can just swap lights if I feel the need. It's all mounted on the Jeep and wired into the cab via a relay, but I haven't had a chance to take pictures of the completed job yet. I also wired it so the whole bar is completely removable in minutes.

Ghetto lightbar FTW!
 
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That looks sick nasty, nice work. :D
 
It rained, so I had to snap some pics! Thank goodness for weather-sealed cameras, haha!

Underexposed to show light spacing:

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What it really looks like in person:

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It's really friggin' bright! It's like my headlights are superfluous, haha!
 
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Heh.

I have had a spare roof bar for the Pathfinder and some Hellas I intend to do the same thing with for quite a while, but other projects keep getting in the way. :p

Looks good, though!
 
Now you can blind people when they cut you off! Heh, that's a great cheap Jeep build you've got going. I wish it was so easy (cheap) to build up a $500 BMW. :p
 
Damn dude, That's a sweet light bar.

I'll have to remember that little trick next time I find myself with an SUV in need of lighting.

PS. That underexposed picture looks bad ass!
 
nsx_23 said:
Man, if only $500 would get something half-decent here.......

I doubt I'd even get a scooter for that cash here.
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You're not looking hard enough! You can get something drivable for around that money, bit of a shit box for less if you look in the right places...
 
I approve of this thread. You inspire me :D +1

EDIT: Damn, I must shallowly unearth more bodies of rep before repping again.
 
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airmenair said:
I approve of this thread. You inspire me :D +1

EDIT: Damn, I must shallowly unearth more bodies of rep before repping again.
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No worries, I repped him for ya.
 
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