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Bigwalton's LJ - Formerly "The LJ gets some big tire love"

cchambers said:
Question? Since you have worked on both a newer jeep the LJ and a CLASSIC CJ8. Which one was easer to work on or modafiy? ( not counting the rivet problem you had on the lift of the LJ) I see all the neat stuff for TJ,LJ and JKs. Is it realy simpler to get them into a DD and trail truck? That is using all the neet after market stuff.

The only real way I see making a CJ a true trail brute is some kind of 3 or 4 link with coil over shocks. And that my frends is something I'm not willing to tackle.
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Easier? The LJ isnt rusty and has lived a much easier life, along with the giant aftermarket, it's got to be easier to work on and the options are limitless.

As for making a DD, if you start with one (the LJ was and is) of course it is easier.

Can you do it with a CJ? Absolutely. I will say that they ride very differently, not that one is better than the other, but different.

Links for a trail brute? To be quite frank, I don't know how you could look around on here for any amount of time and think that :confused:

I can think of a dozen rigs that prove that wrong without even trying.
 
Bad Karma said:
but anyways, back to topic. The LJ looks awesome! I always liked those. I helped my buddy build one with a Nth Degree lift kit. seriously sweet (and expensive) suspension.
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Thanks! If I had unlimited funds, the Nth degree kit would have been what I went with. I used my discount certificate from the SOA national to decide on Black Diamond :D

LJs are the "new" Scramblers in terms of limited years and fewer numbers and the Rubicon just that much more. Only better thing would have been a rubi sahara or if I'd been able to talk Kate into electric lime green.

We can trade Kate's JK in on the next Jeep, but the LJ isn't going anywhere, just like the postal :smokin:
 
i'm sure in a few year i'll be kicking myself for not buying my buddys LJ when he sold it... (i sorta am already.)
 
Just was having a rotten weekend working on the jeep. Im close to being done. But the body lift didnt go in right. Didnt get to prime or paint the dash or windsheld frame. Still have to fit the grill to the fenders to make them look right. There just is a lot of TJ,JK in my area and they drive by.
Just want the scrambler on the road. Got burned out cutting and chopping the jeep. Thinking a newer Jeep might have been simpler to build.
 
Bad Karma said:
i'm sure in a few year i'll be kicking myself for not buying my buddys LJ when he sold it... (i sorta am already.)
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I love my LT. I like the addl room in back. Rides great. and it was before they changed the "look" of the jeep. Im not real fond of the new style the of Wranglers. Its like I told my friend who now has sellers remorse.. you'll find another one, there out there ya just got to look
 
cchambers said:
Just was having a rotten weekend working on the jeep. Im close to being done. But the body lift didnt go in right. Didnt get to prime or paint the dash or windsheld frame. Still have to fit the grill to the fenders to make them look right. There just is a lot of TJ,JK in my area and they drive by.
Just want the scrambler on the road. Got burned out cutting and chopping the jeep. Thinking a newer Jeep might have been simpler to build.
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I've found that one of the important parts of working on a project is knowing when to take a break. You lose more than you gain by trying to keep at things once you've passed a certain point of frustration and it's better to take some time off and come back when you're ready to get at it again. Just my :twocents:

Everyone gets to that point sometime. :shrug:
 
skiptown said:
I love my LT. I like the addl room in back. Rides great. and it was before they changed the "look" of the jeep. Im not real fond of the new style the of Wranglers. Its like I told my friend who now has sellers remorse.. you'll find another one, there out there ya just got to look
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How did I not know you had an LJ too?
 
bigwalton said:
I've found that one of the important parts of working on a project is knowing when to take a break. You lose more than you gain by trying to keep at things once you've passed a certain point of frustration and it's better to take some time off and come back when you're ready to get at it again. Just my :twocents:

Everyone gets to that point sometime. :shrug:
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well said... i know its time to stop and take a break when i cant find a tool that i just had, look around the whole shop for it, only to find it exactly where I looked first when i lost it. :angry:
 
Bad Karma said:
well said... i know its time to stop and take a break when i cant find a tool that i just had, look around the whole shop for it, only to find it exactly where I looked first when i lost it. :angry:
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I know it's time when said tool is then found sticking out of the drywall across the garage. :D
 
Thanks guys I just wanted to make the CO Scramble. But more rust in the tub. that took a extra 2 weeks with the wheel tubs. Then it snow balled from there............. I let the jeep sit Monday and more than likely today. Get my sanatie back. Start on her later this week...... Want her done before the snow hits....... I need to take my own advice and have fun building the jeep.
 
cchambers said:
Thanks guys I just wanted to make the CO Scramble. But more rust in the tub. that took a extra 2 weeks with the wheel tubs. Then it snow balled from there............. I let the jeep sit Monday and more than likely today. Get my sanatie back. Start on her later this week...... Want her done before the snow hits....... I need to take my own advice and have fun building the jeep.
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second thing I learned is that deadlines on projects are rarely ever good :D

I like that last bit though, have fun!! :woot:
 
bigwalton said:
second thing I learned is that deadlines on projects are rarely ever good :D

I like that last bit though, have fun!! :woot:
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deadlines are the easiest way to get things done the way you dont like it.... remeber what i always say....
"what ever is temporary is permanent and whatever is permanent is temporary" and "do it right or do it twice"
 
cchambers said:
Question? Since you have worked on both a newer jeep the LJ and a CLASSIC CJ8. Which one was easer to work on or modafiy? ( not counting the rivet problem you had on the lift of the LJ) I see all the neat stuff for TJ,LJ and JKs. Is it realy simpler to get them into a DD and trail truck? That is using all the neet after market stuff.

The only real way I see making a CJ a true trail brute is some kind of 3 or 4 link with coil over shocks. And that my frends is something I'm not willing to tackle.
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Whoah, how did I miss this????

I couldn't disagree more. If you've read magazines lately, not only is there a trend away from links, there's a trend away from SOA lifts. So SUA leaf springs, with the newest spring/metal technology is being seen as not only on par with coils/links for full size rigs (buggies are a totally different thing) but often preferable.

I'm curious what the definition of a "trail brute" is in your mind. Because if you're talking about a full bodied rig, I simply don't see the significant advantage of getting into all the trouble with a link suspension. Now a long arm over a short arm, IF you have one to start with, makes sense to me, but I'd never think, for one second, about switching a leaf sprung Jeep to links personally.

Yes, the LJ was cleaner, less rusty, etc. to work on, but the link setup is just flat out more complicated with more parts/pieces and the adjustability of the caster was frankly a PITA and something I always worry about coming undone, along with the multitude of other bolts to come loose when you factor in trackbars, and four links on each axle, where leafs are so simple and easy to "set and forget".

Each has advantages, but I completely disagree with the idea that you can't make a leaf sprung CJ an insane trail rig. :twocents:


WHOOPS: just noticed I didn't miss the post, I just hadn't seen the last page of the thread, sorry!!
 
Just ordered some new stuff for myself for my birthday.

New entry guards to replace my broken plastic ones and a rear tailgate opening guard and ORF front and rear bumpers, on sale with free shipping at 4WD hardware. Great deal on bumpers I'd always liked the look of and I DESPERATELY needed a receiver mount in the back for pulling the Bantam trailer around. Maybe this will motivate me to clean up that trailer...

The nightcrawler bumper I have on the front of this was never really complete. It's modular and I always wanted to get the shackle mounts and end caps, I should have known it would never happen if I didn't get them all together. Now you can't find any of those parts, so it's always going to look "incomplete" and my welder isn't strong enough to build endcaps on my own (I have more pressing things on this an the postal that need my time anyway). So this deal to finally have matching bumpers F/R was too good to pass up.

Can't wait to get them in and installed!! I hope the free ground shipping doesn't take forever! :fingerscrossed:
 
Well your a bad influence. I put LT265x75R16 Duratracks on my LJ. So far I am impressed they are quiet and I have seen a slight mileage improvement over my previous LT265x75R16 BFG MT KM and 33x13.5R15 BFG MT KM. To clear the bigger tires on mine, it has a JKS ACOS installed. This allowed me to take the sag out from the winch and the tuffy box in the rear and add about a inch with out changing anything else. I have a line on a tummy tucker skid plate to replace the "shovel" factory skid plate other than that, mine is not going up any more, The Girl friend has enough trouble getting in it as it.



(This is my LJ RubiconTrail Guiding at Bantam Jeep last year. )


AS for working on new LJ, verse oid CJs CJs for trails any day. Granted my LJ Rubicon is extremely capable and did not take much to make it a tiny bit better, (ACOS, skid plating and winch), but it is complex. It is not not easy to fix if something bends or breaks and a lot of things are not easily serviceable to prevent failure (non-servicable bearing and U joints. In addition it feels unstable in off chamber or articulated situations in comparison to my much higher lifted CJs because the axles have a little sideways movement due to the swing of the track bar I know its NOT really, but it is {strange} when you don't have the same thing in a CJ.

There is something to be said about owning and keeping and upgrading 4 other CJs+ for the cost of 1 LJ. That said The LJ is my go to daily driver, it is as close to a "car" comfort level as I want to get.
 
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Nice, a tummy tuck would be the last piece of the puzzle for me as well, this one won't get any taller than this for sure.
 
After remembering that Daystar still owed me 5 bushings for the body lift, I called again and they, again, said they'd ship them immediately, again. A couple days later I get two boxes from Daystar, each box had a set of 5 of the missing bushings. I guess the most recent shipment shook loose the previous one.

Installed them today, so I finally have a complete body lift.

Also went hunting the clunking noise in the front end that I've had since the lift. Seemed like it might be the sway at disconnects, so disconnected them and went for a ride (with the windows out!) and no more clunking, will have to see about quieting these things down.
 
Nice morning for a windowless drive for coffee. Just took a coat and hat! :woot:

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