05' JMT's Twin Teenager's Rubicon Build

JMT said:
Lots of pain and progress today. The rear axle is back under the rig. We don’t have everything back together yet. We had to wait on the bumpstop cups to dry. Tomorrow we’ll button up the rear.

The front is painted except the bumpstop cups. That was an oversight. They’re really bad. We should have bought them weeks ago to have on hand. 😬 No we’re having to take them down to bare metal. Hopefully by Saturday evening we can get the front together.

If so, the plan on Sunday is to dial everything in and go for a test drive.

I’ve cleaned up soo many bolts it’s ridiculous. , but we’ve saved most of the OEM nuts and bolts. This time tgey are getting a lot of anti-seize.

ZJ TR conversion, new steering damper, new RockJock springs, new Rancho 5000X shocks, rear Adams DC, front and rear JKS TB, Currie angled relocation bracket, MC rear CA’s, BMB Brake pads up front. This will be an @Irun ideal 33’s rig except for two parts we are waiting on; front driveshaft and front CA’s. 🙂 pics tomorrow. I’m exhausted.
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Forward progress is good. It's a tremendous amount of work to clean up all the rust, but the effort is worth it. Plus, once you get ahead of it, the rest is routine upkeep!
DrDmoney said:
Wrenching on his own rig like this will give him the confidence to tackle other things in life and there’s no price you could put on the father and son time that you are having.
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Very well said, and full of truth!
 
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Update. Now I know why it took me five years to build my Jeep. Trying to build one in a week on a 4” lift is no joke! 😅

Front just needs Dorman extended brake lines, TB and ZJ TR . Then we can get everything dialed in and aligned 😅😅😅

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It was the best of days. It was the worst of days.

We coasted through the final installs: ZJ Tie Rod, new Steering Damper, JKS front TB. Brought the rig to ride height at 16” on the front hubs and dialed the rear pinion in. Dorman extended brake lines installed. Torqued everything to spec. It took awhile. We were all over the rig. The exhaust will need some work to clearance the shock body. Then it happened. We need to bleed the brakes, but the master cylinder reservoir ran dry. We don’t have a kit to bleed the master cylinder, so we’re stuck. Going to have to figure out some plugs for the ports so we can bench bleed it. On top of that, we can’t get the two lines disconnected from the master, and we’re afraid to strip them. We’re soaking them in penetrant and hoping tomorrow. We need to get this rig on the road. Work and school are calling. We have cut two corners in this build, but in time we will resolve them. Otherwise it’s a perfect 33’s build.

5.25” uptravel! Bumpstop is perfect for a soft bump.

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It’s going to be an unstoppable rig on 33’s, especially without brakes! 🤣

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Happy new year! Thanks for stopping by to check out this build. 17 years old! Father-Son building lifelong relationship for the future. He’s doing soo good. He’s awesome and wants the brakes done right. He has a fetish with braking. It comes from his work with Mountain Bikes. He’s a bike builder at N Division Bike Shop here in Spokane. He builds everything from Cruisers to full suspension E-Bikes. His own bike is awesome (and upgraded braking system).
 
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JMT said:
Video walk around update. Conclusion to phase 2: Suspension

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Looks GOOD Kaleb.(SP?) Dang Nab good. Now you just need my Nth Degree Tummy Tuck and you'll be ready to hit some trails.

Great work dad & son. Glad you guys are doing this and it's fun to watch as you progress.

What happened to all your snow?
 
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Wildman said:
Looks GOOD Kaleb.(SP?) Dang Nab good. Now you just need my Nth Degree Tummy Tuck and you'll be ready to hit some trails.

Great work dad & son. Glad you guys are doing this and it's fun to watch as you progress.

What happened to all your snow?
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Once Christmas passed we got some temps up to 46-47* and it melted off quick. It’s still covering the ground, but the parking lots like the one I video’d in are clear.

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DrDmoney said:
I threw that in just in case he was a sticker guy. 😎
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Now you know. He's proud of it all, and I'll leave the rest to him.

On my part, thank you. Without you this would have been impossible.
 
He says next on the docket is some new rear brake calipers and BMB pads for the rear. He's hardcore about braking! He swears by it in MTB. It's interesting. He's taught me something here.

I taught him to stay on 33's or the braking issue would be muy mas $$$$$$$.

We broke his pads in today. Of course, I've memorized the BMB procedure, and it's much like MTB, just you don't have to go 40mph on a MTB.

I'm wondering if I should go ahead and do the front mid-arm on my rig so I can move my short MC arms over to his rig. 🤪
 
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You need to let him learn how to wheel his rig as it sits now. He's got a WAY more capable rig than his abilities so let his skills catch up prior to anymore mods. That is just IMO. He should learn to pick lines and not use his lockers as much as possible also. It will pay off later on.
 
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Wildman said:
You need to let him learn how to wheel his rig as it sits now. He's got a WAY more capable rig than his abilities so let his skills catch up prior to anymore mods. That is just IMO. He should learn to pick lines and not use his lockers as much as possible also. It will pay off later on.
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He really needs front adjustable CA’s with 4.25” lift. Just my opinion. I meant to measure his caster. I’ll do that tomorrow.
 
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