Project XJ

[Kaan]

I keep thinking i want a jeep... but i can work from home when it snows i think i'd rather buy something completely useless.

[Jeff]

I keep thinking i want a jeep... but i can work from home when it snows i think i'd rather buy something completely useless.

You have one already don't you? :wink:

XJ's are fun and cheap. A stock example (late model) with decent miles (150ish) should cost you less then $2000. A few mods and a small lift...under $4. Can be had with a standard transmission if you look hard enough. Stock they get good fuel economy, 1and 20 for me. Now I get like 10-12 and 18-19. Depends how the wind blows.

[Kaan]

You have one already don't you? :wink:

I guess you could say that lol... I know they can be had cheaply and are a blast... I borrowed my moms XJ for a while. Though that XJ never saw higher than 16mpg. I think i'd like a two door manual if i were looking.

[Jeff]

I guess you could say that lol... I know they can be had cheaply and are a blast... I borrowed my moms XJ for a while. Though that XJ never saw higher than 16mpg. I think i'd like a two door manual if i were looking.

Depends on the year. Most of the older ones actually got better fuel economy. Later ones (99+) have 3 cats so they are not as high. Its a freakin tractor motor in the damn things, it can only do but so good. The EPA gets involved and you are S.O.L.

[Jeff]

As discussed in an earlier post I recently acquired some Hella 500 lights from the NOVA board. These are 55w halogen lamps( KC Daylighters are 110w). I have $50 in the 4 lamps I kept for my rig (sold the other two). Including the first version of the brackets about $20 in mounting and $25 in covers. A new pair of these lamps costs about $65-80 depending on where you buy them. So I think I made out pretty good at $100. Pre-made mounts would cost another $60 almost any way you went and none of them would give me the drop I wanted. I wanted a low profile look. Here are the pics! comments would be great. At this point they are not shown wired up or aimed. I will get pics of the light pattern up once I get them hooked up. I'm running 12ga wire to these babies.







Custom cut shelf bracket and a 3/4in conduit clamp. Turned out pretty nice.

[Dave]

Lookin good! Those bolts off the lamps are a little close to the paint for my taste, but for an offroader thats probably not a big concern and I imagine the low profile makes it less likely to hit anything and make it hit the roof.

My only criticism is that it looks like the lamps are set far enough back that the cab front may impede the lower portion of the light cone. Course, that's what the front lights are for...

[Jeff]

Lookin good! Those bolts off the lamps are a little close to the paint for my taste, but for an offroader thats probably not a big concern and I imagine the low profile makes it less likely to hit anything and make it hit the roof.

My only criticism is that it looks like the lamps are set far enough back that the cab front may impede the lower portion of the light cone. Course, that's what the front lights are for...

It must be the photo being misleading. If those bolts are hitting the roof I have bigger problems...like my whole roof rack must be crushed and I am likely upside down. Even if they were bent and forced down they would not hit. I'm not sure about the light beam yet, but I am going to aim them in a wide ark (the outside two will point out a little) right infront of where the low beams hit. I want them way out there.

[Jeff]

Well we had our first wheeling outing the past Sunday! Of course I got some pics but I am waiting on some of what I hope will be the best to come in the mail. Another fellow Zach knows from JK forum joined us and he had a sport cam on the whole trip as well as a Rebel. So he took some of the best pics and he said he would just mail me a CD with all the hi-res pics!

Where we went - Its a 10 mile Jeep/ATV trail cut though the National Forest in Fort Valley, VA. Its given name is Peter's Mill Trail but most local people call it "Powell Mountain Trail." Its a popular low level trail that is mostly rocky. Nearly all the water crossings and mud areas have been closed off "for the benefit of the ecology."

How I "did" - I made it out the other side! But no one expected any different. It really is an easy trail. We only took one real excursion off the trail that was a little more interesting but for the most part it was like a bad logging road. I racked my front diff one good time on a rock but no damage. Also my track bar drop bracket came loose and the result is a loud popping noise on turns on the street (no sway bar) so I am going to modify that here today to hopefully prevent this problem in the future. Further I have decided it might be a good idea to get an aftermarket oil pressure gauge because I saw several periods of no oil pressure on my factory gauge. I am pretty sure this is an electrical problem but it is still rather unnerving.

What I learned - Well, I think I need more approach angle. I was surprised at what it could do on our little off trail trip though. The only way to get it up taller is to really jack it up more and I know I don't really want to do that. I look forward to pushing it more on future runs in different places. I think I need a front diff cover, an electric primary cooling can, and maybe some hood vents to help keep engine temps down. I also may need to cut my fenders and raise the flares.

On with the pics! Moar to come when I get the disc.

We went in on the Woodstock side. Here we are airing down tires to around 20psi and I am disconnecting my front swaybar. I found one of my links had a cracked weld but it was not a good weld job to begin with. That has been resolved.


About a quarter of the way in there was a large rock on the side that we decided to use to test flex. By this time I had already popped loose my right front fender flair so I wasn't confident.



Zach drove up on it like it was nothing! Needless to say it was a little more work for "The Minivan."




Stuffed...like Thanksgiving Turkey Needs MOAR lift.

Around the 5 mile mark there is a "pond" that we stopped at to have lunch and directly across the trail from it is an ATV play area and what looks like a clearing for camping. Our friend in the stockish Unlimited parked up for a photo op. He didn't disconnect so he didn't want to push it, he was just out to take a simple ride.


Lunch break!




Then we decided that the hill he parked up on needed to be scaled. I went first, I don't have any pics of me going up but I have one pic of my attempt to come down. This made by butthole pucker a bit, the roof rack is about 3in from the tree in this picture. I was able to back up from this point and I came down the other way...waiting on the pics!


Zach of course needed to "Show me how its done" after I got out and naturally he took Anne with him. For whatever reason she stayed out when I tried it (shes a smart girl!)


It took me like 3 tries...In a wrangler with lockers it took him like 5. After giving him the expected shit such as "If you want I can go up there and we can hook a strap to you." He gave her hell and got up there. But to his credit he came down the way I could not, actually touch the top of his door to the free. It was a cool pic.




That's all I have for now! I really look forward to our next trip, probably Peter's Mill in reverse or down to Flag Pole in Harrisonburg. Here we were at the trails end photo op on the Edinburg side of the trail.

[Jeff]

Few more pics!

Zach vs. that big rock


Me going up that hill


Checking it out, see the rock behind the right rear tire? That was what I racked my diff on trying to come out from up there


Me coming out the other way. I had no idea how deep that water was, lucky it wasn't but 20in.




Zach coming back out the way I went up.


Just to show how close he got...I still think he touched the tree with the top of the door at one point.


That's all we really got. It was a bunch of fun!

[ScottyB]

i never realized how wide the new wranglers are....

looks good man! if you could raise those sliders a bit you might get a little better breakover. i thought your approach angle looked pretty good.

with that rack on there it might make sense to run limb risers. not sure how you'd attached them at the low end though.

[Jeff]

What kind of vehicle is that pictured? It looks like the trucks you see in MW2 sitting all around. Which I assumed were a fictional variant on the Soviet UAZ-469. But that there is it...whatever that is. Landrover of some type?

[LC619FR]

That is a Land Rover Defender 110. You could run a tab under the hood and run the wire cable from the roof rack to the hood. Yes the new wranglers are wide and yes Jeff I did touch the tree with the door.

[Jeff]

That is a Land Rover Defender 110. You could run a tab under the hood and run the wire cable from the roof rack to the hood. Yes the new wranglers are wide and yes Jeff I did touch the tree with the door.

So...much....win....



I think I just need to get a Land Rover.... I could do limb risers pretty easy. just make some brackets to mount to the inner fender and thread the ends of some 3/8in rod. I thought about making a set. The width of a JK is one of the major reasons I would rather have a TJ.

[Steve85]

I used to work for Land Rover North America when they were HQ'ed in Lanham. We handled the fleet, accessory and engineering dept and off road training vehicles. Defender 110 with the exoskeleton is one of my favorite vehicles EVER. They used diesel versions for Camel Trophy. That was a fun job, every other week a set of technicians would come in for four days of classroom and one day of off road training. So much fun beating the crap out of Range Rovers and Discovery's..they are incredibly capable.

Be prepared for sticker shock shopping for what is a barren vehicle that even in the mid 90's at $35K (for the Defender 90, Defender 110 was VERY limited) the "vent" was a handle inside that opened a hole in the cowl. The Discovery has all Defender underpinnings but obviously a bit more civilized package. Older Range Rover County is also a Defender underneath but with adjustable ride height.

Love me some Land Rovers...

[Jeff]

Found a Defender Pickup with a Diesel on ebay for $4500....I was tempted. But then I remembered it is an old British POS. A friend tried to sell me his Range Rover (not the sport...but the big body) for $8,000....It was pretty baller, but he was getting rid of it because it was getting expensive to keep up. He ended up selling it and getting a 2007 Range Rover. His wife has a 05 Discovery.

What kind of stuff to the Defenders use underneath? Dana axles? Anything I would know about?

[Steve85]

Underneath features are a fully boxed frame (not C-channel) solid axles front and rear, coil springs, 4 wheel discs and full time 4WD. All sound pretty standard these days but go back and compare to Exploder/Cherokee/etc from the same time frame and you'll see these were always truly capable off roaders. If you're out there and you see a Discovery, take a few minutes to talk to the owner and check it out, heavy duty underneath...

On later examples like pictured above, the body, engine (all aluminum design purchased from Buick) and transmission (ZF) are all aluminum giving it a relatively low COG for its clearance. I think the test track in Lanham had a 45-48 degree tilt that they were stable on. It was steep enough to scare most on it. They came standard though with 4 oil leaks and one coolant leak, though most were fixed during "Operation Pride". I'm not sure who made the axles... ARB makes air lockers for them though.

Most of what you'll find in Defenders will be will be various European spec models and US model D 90's are just $$$.

And just a little tidbit of info...the Defender's were designed after all the WWII Jeeps left behind primarily as farm vehicles. Aluminum was used for the body because it was more plentiful in the UK at the time than steel. I'm guessing the "template" had a role in the Defender name.

I want a mid 90's Range Rover County LWB.

[HAULN-SS]

My uncle had one of those when he lived in phoenix..and actually, they seemed to be all over the place out there. It was pretty nice, too.

[Jeff]

We had a 92 Range Rover LWB here for like 5 mins....wholesaled it for like $2,000. It was pretty neat.

[Kaan]

Jeff... seriously? your sig doesnt say "Chrysler - Dodge - Jeep - Busted Shit Factory" does it? No one i know with a Range Rover or Land Rover is happy they aquired them!

[Jeff]

"Chrysler - Dodge - Jeep - Busted Shit Factory"

Think about that for a second.... :lol:

I was thinking a Defender 90 hull with a 5.7L Hemi, 4 speed truck automatic, NPG transfer case, Dana 44's with 4.10's and ox lockers front and rear... That would be a dream machine. But basically a Dodge pickup with a Land Rover body on it. Easy to work on at least. You could import a Defender from Canada for "parts" then buy a wrecked Hemi pickup for the donor drivetrain. Get it registered with a "hot rod" title and vin number and you could be set. Unique trail machine with plenty of reliable power. In before Rex with "WHY NOT A 350!!!??!?!?!!!!" The answer? Chrysler - Dodge - Jeep - Busted Shit Factory.