Alright fellers,
Long time lurker here and used the site for a lot of tech and topical info. Figured I needed to join and give back a little of what I have taken over the years. Diesel master tech, I’ve completed about 75 full diesel conversions in my shop with Cummins, Mercedes and VW engines. Full fab shop and the skills to use it. So now it begins.
I’ve spent the last decade elbow deep in other peoples projects. The one question I always got was where’s your rig? Well, spending so much time in the shop for others leaves little time for me. That needed to change. So after some soul searching I decided it was time to partially retire. I sat down and thought about what I, me, personally wanted. I wanted a TJ. For me it always seemed like the perfect platform and for me I like the looks. I sourced a clean 98 4.0 5
Speed Sahara as the base of everything. I’ve been driving it for the last month or so. Diesel is life so the choice was made to use the OM617 Mercedes diesel. Oh, not a stock motor children. How would that look for the diesel daddy to go stock. So this little five banger is getting the works. I’m looking for 250 hp and I’ll get it with just a few mods. We dragged the engine home, tore it down and got it ready for machine work. Sourced the needed parts and moved on to the next thing.
Axles: with the aftermarket support given for the super duty axles it seemed like an obvious choice. I sourced a set from a 2003 f350 for 600 bucks. To these I’ll stuff 5:38 gears, chrome shafts, ox lockers and probably arctec truss kits. More because it seems the easiest and most complete setup.
Lift: terra flex, long arm suspension with a few upgrades. 4.5” which will end up being closer to 6” with the axles truss brackets.
Tires and wheels: I want to run 38’s or 40’s. Undetermined at this point. Wheels, I really want to run something simple, steel and heavy duty. I’m leaning towards the stock ford spare tire wheels. They are almost flat on the front with a deeeep offset. Which will tuck them back under the truck. They’re cheap and they’re tough. I like go, not show.
Structural and overview: what I’m looking for is essentially a “stock” looking rig. I know, 40’s ain’t going to look stock but hear me out. No comp cuts, no big lift,
No tube fenders. I don’t want a competition rig. I want a comfortable beast of a rig that will go wherever I point it. Trail or mid. Then zip down to the grocery store or out on the island to the beach. So follow along as I get it going. Most of the parts have been sourced. Now it’s just doing the work.
Long time lurker here and used the site for a lot of tech and topical info. Figured I needed to join and give back a little of what I have taken over the years. Diesel master tech, I’ve completed about 75 full diesel conversions in my shop with Cummins, Mercedes and VW engines. Full fab shop and the skills to use it. So now it begins.
I’ve spent the last decade elbow deep in other peoples projects. The one question I always got was where’s your rig? Well, spending so much time in the shop for others leaves little time for me. That needed to change. So after some soul searching I decided it was time to partially retire. I sat down and thought about what I, me, personally wanted. I wanted a TJ. For me it always seemed like the perfect platform and for me I like the looks. I sourced a clean 98 4.0 5
Speed Sahara as the base of everything. I’ve been driving it for the last month or so. Diesel is life so the choice was made to use the OM617 Mercedes diesel. Oh, not a stock motor children. How would that look for the diesel daddy to go stock. So this little five banger is getting the works. I’m looking for 250 hp and I’ll get it with just a few mods. We dragged the engine home, tore it down and got it ready for machine work. Sourced the needed parts and moved on to the next thing.
Axles: with the aftermarket support given for the super duty axles it seemed like an obvious choice. I sourced a set from a 2003 f350 for 600 bucks. To these I’ll stuff 5:38 gears, chrome shafts, ox lockers and probably arctec truss kits. More because it seems the easiest and most complete setup.
Lift: terra flex, long arm suspension with a few upgrades. 4.5” which will end up being closer to 6” with the axles truss brackets.
Tires and wheels: I want to run 38’s or 40’s. Undetermined at this point. Wheels, I really want to run something simple, steel and heavy duty. I’m leaning towards the stock ford spare tire wheels. They are almost flat on the front with a deeeep offset. Which will tuck them back under the truck. They’re cheap and they’re tough. I like go, not show.
Structural and overview: what I’m looking for is essentially a “stock” looking rig. I know, 40’s ain’t going to look stock but hear me out. No comp cuts, no big lift,
No tube fenders. I don’t want a competition rig. I want a comfortable beast of a rig that will go wherever I point it. Trail or mid. Then zip down to the grocery store or out on the island to the beach. So follow along as I get it going. Most of the parts have been sourced. Now it’s just doing the work.
