Matt's TJ build from Chandler Arizona

tobiism

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Sep 27, 2024
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Chandler AZ
Hey everybody! This is Matt from Chandler arizona. I recently picked up my 2001 TJ Wrangler. Currently the build is on a rock crawler 4 in long arm suspension with a Dana 44 rear and a Dana 30 front. 488 gears Spool in the rear lunch box in the front. Recently I installed a Yukon spin free hub kit. Soon I will find out if I can make that Yukon spin-free hub kit work with the WJ knuckle swap. Front axle is currently a low pinion but I have a high pinion 30 that I'm building for it(30 spline revolution chromoly inner axles with yukon air locker). Rims are beadlocks with 35 inch tires.
The previous owner had had a stroker kit put in the engine and when I went to look at it he was very disappointed in the performance. But it seemed to drive well enough so I bought it anyway. The fan would only blow out through the defroster vents so I ordered a new climate control panel for it. When I pulled the dash apart I found out that the previous owner had had a radio installed and when they took the dash apart they had unplugged the vacuum lines from the climate control and never plugged them back in. Of course this led to a massive vacuum leak which caused the engine to run like crap. Once I put everything back together I couldn't believe just how much torque the Stroker motor has.(winning!) I've already taken it through Upper and Lower Terminator, Predator and Anaconda(on a night run with the Arizona4Lo facebook group) and one of the things I found out was that the previous owner had had a 2 low rear put into the transfer case. I couldn't figure out why I was only getting back wheel spinning when I was in four low but now I know. Anyway I'm really excited to get to know how to drive this Jeep with the 35 inch tires(19" belly height)before I make the jump up to anything bigger.
I have a mid- level fab shop at home with welders, tube notcher/jd32 bender, fixture table and lathe. If there's anyone here from my area who needs access to that kind of equipment just let me know. I am always up for criticism as I'm coming to jeeps from old Volkswagens. I know I have a lot to learn.
Anyway this site has been super informative. I look forward to sharing more with everyone.
Cheers!
Matt T

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The Jeep is a manual so my first real upgrade planned is a hydraulic handbrake to free up my right foot in sketchy spots. After that I want to add light-ness to this pig. The smittybuilt rear bumper is coming off. An aluminum fuel cell will be built for more rear clearance(installed in the cargo area). Spare tire moved inside and then all of the armor will be changed out for aluminum built at home.
 
The first thing I did when I bought it was add a twin Viair compressor setup with outlets at the driver and passenger seat. Basically when I get to the trail I hook up all four Airlines and can control the inflate / deflate at the manifold at the rear. I just open the dump valve and watch all four tires drop to the desired pressure and close it.

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Welcome to the forum! I look forward to following your work. I used to live in Prescott Valley, miss the easy access to great wheeling such as Table Mesa!
 
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