Knuckles...

I have high expectations for my front D44. Yes it is high pinion and yes it is the beefy 3/4 ton variety, but its still a D44. I also have big plans for it. Its probably going to be more expensive than any D44 should be. Even though it'll have some high dollar parts in it, some times the little things help out tremendously as well. I know what you're thinking. What little thing am I going to do that could possibly make a decent difference? Knuckle gussets.

Those inner C's are semi beefy as is, but it would make me feel better if they had some 1/4" plate gussets behind them. I plan on making boxed out gussets, similar to the Ballistic ones, but they've got my own twist on them. I started making a template for them, but got pulled off before I could finish. They will be beefy. There is the possibility that I could have some one to make a cad file for these. What does this mean? It means I need to find out how much my work will charge me for table time on their plasma table. If enough people want them to cover the cost of material and table time, then why not make a bunch of them? I don't know if I want to go through the hassle, but if it helps fund my build then I may consider it.

Its an option. Either way my D44 will get these gussets. If I have a day off during the week (which has been happening a lot and is a huge cause of my lack of money for my Jeep), then I'll try and at least finish my templates for the gussets and make as much progress on them as I can. Its a cheap and easy project that I can do right now with my work related lack of funding. I've got a few other ideas as far as cheap way to beef up the D44, but they're just ideas at this point. I need to do more research before I start talking about what else is in my head.

Very soon!

I have some promising news. While my hours at work have brought the suck hardcore and prevented me from picking up more much needed parts to finish my Jeep, I will more than likely start building very soon. The Mazda in front of my dad's shop is now gone, so there is room for my Jeep. There are a couple daily driver issues to work out, which shouldn't be a big deal, and some consumables to acquire. First on the list of parts to install is my Rokmen Hiline fenders. This will tell me how much room I will have to extend my shock towers up. I should be able to fit 14" travel shocks fairly easily. I have a couple things left to get before I can start and finish my front suspension. I need shocks, springs, TnT front stretch kit, ford shock towers, and a little DOM. The TnT stretch kit is the big expensive item. Everything else is manageable. Either way, I'm going to start on that first after the tube fenders. Then I'll move to the rear suspension. I'll get it rolling on new suspension and axles and then I'll pull the axles out and finish those up. Its going to be a long process, but it'll all get done in time.

Props to Gen-Right

I just wanted to express my happiness with Gen-Right Offroad. I ordered their new D60 truss and not only was the quality excellent, but they shipped it here extremely fast. I wasn't even expecting it to be here until next week. I ordered it Wednesday and got it Friday. It seems to be typical of how fast they get stuff out. The last time I ordered from them they got my stuff out equally fast. So if you need suspension parts fast, then I highly recommend them. I will be using them again for more of my rear suspension and misc suspension stuff.

Very minor update.

Its been a long while since I last posted. I'm still daily driving the Jeep. There's another project taking up space in front of my dad's shop, so I haven't been able to drop the Jeep off as there is no room. I'm in no hurry. On top of that it just seems like work is a bit touch and go. Its there and I am working, but the work load some times is a bit light for some days. Not to mention the last 4 weeks I missed one day every week for various reasons. So I haven't been able to get too far ahead to order as many parts as I would have liked to.

Now the good news. I did order Gen-Right's new rear 60 truss about 5 minutes ago. Its a good looking unit. I'll post pics when it gets here.

Here is a link to the truss:
http://www.genright.com/ProductInfo.aspx?productid=RSM4060

More bling...

I've got the majority of my front suspension parts now, so I figured it was time to post an update and show off a little bling.

I've got 3 weldable 2.63" ballistic fab joints, 3 forged chromolly 2.63" ballistic fab joints, jam nuts (yay!), ballistic fab xj/tj combo brackets, ballistic fab link tower, and gen-right 3 link frame brackets.

Maybe if I have nothing better to do some time in the near future I'll bust out all my bling parts in my parts pile and tease you guys some more.

New bling...

Just a small update. Some of the parts I ordered came in. I got my Gen-Right 3-link brackets. They got here super fast and the quality of the brackets is awesome. Mad props to Gen Right for their insanely fast service and hight quality.

I'm still waiting on my Ballistic Fab backets and joints, but I just ordered them the other day. I cant wait to get them as well. I've always been impressed with Ballistic's service and quality. I need to get a hold of TnT Custsoms to find out about their front stretch kit. I will more than likely be ording that as well provided it does what I want.

Update...

I've got a bit of an update. I've ordered the majority of my front suspension parts. I have Ballistic spring pad/shock mount/LCA combo brackets ordered, Ballistic link tower, 3 Ballistic weld in flex joints, 3 regular Ballistic Flex joints, jamb nuts, and Gen-Right 3 link frame brackets ordered. I'm up in the air as far as link material. So I need to figure that out before I order tubing adapters. I have awhile until the Jeep will even go down to be worked on, so its not a big deal. Oh yeah, I also need to call TnT Customs about their front stretch kit. That will basically allow me to stretch my front end 3". If I remember correctly it will relocate my steering box, coil spring perches, shock mounts, and all that good stuff. Essentially taking out all the guess work for me. If the price is right and its everything I remember it being before they took it off their online store, then I'll be ordering that very shortly.

If I can swing it, I want to push my front axle forward 3" and push my rear back 5". That would give me a 101" wheel base, which is the same as an XJ. It should be a heck of a lot more nice in the steep crazy stuff compared to 93.4". If the turning radius does bug me, well, I think I still may do cutting brakes for the rear even though I have a HPD44 instead of the HPD60 I planned on. I'll just have to go easy on sharp turning.

Any way, that is my update. When the parts come in, I'll post up some pictures.