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LJ-7
Part 2
Lizard's Custom Home Built and Rebuilt CJ-7
By Gene Ferris AKA "Lizard"
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A true Jeep nut just can’t ever leave well enough alone can they. I guess I qualify for that title too cause here I go again with another Lizard Jeep!
This story is a continuation of the ongoing saga of my CJ7. Anyone reading this may want to backup and read the previous article I wrote in ’97 to see where it all started. Here it is 2002 and I have pretty much started over, even though the CJ is the same (well, at least it has the same serial number!), and the goal for the finished project is the same. The difference is just that I’ve had a lot of new ideas inspired by some of the incredible rigs seen competing in the ever expanding sport of Rock Crawling. And if that wasn’t reason enough to build a new Jeep, I got a new Sawzall for Christmas and badly needed something to cut up!
Just
as in my last article, the goal of this new project is to build something as
radical as possible but still keep it a practical daily driver. Yes we’ve all
seen more radical machines with license plates, but I wonder how comfy it is to
drive some of those machines to work everyday, in all kinds of weather, at
freeway speeds in excess of 75MPH, and still be able to pack up the girlfriend
and dog for a weekend camping trip?
Between
the time I sat down at the computer designing it on AutoCAD, and the time it
rolled out the garage door, the design for the CJ changed several times.
I wanted the new frame to be a simple yet functional mix of
rectangular and round tubing. I wanted the body to be removable in sections so
that I don’t have to worry about body damage. I wanted to be able to use the
factory soft top. I wanted it to be at least a few hundred pounds lighter, have
better ground clearance, better approach and departure angles, a smooth bottom
for sliding over rocks, and a four link suspension with coil overs at both ends.
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Many people have asked why I didn’t build the frame all from round tubing like the fancy rock buggies you see at ARCA events. I feel that the only purpose some of those machines have is to prove the tube bending capabilities of it’s owner. Some of them are horribly complex mazes of tubing. I’m not a great tube bender, so I have nothing to prove. Besides this is a daily driver and crawling through the window, Dukes of Hazard style, just isn’t for me.
As you’ll soon see, many of my original design ideas never left the garage. There are several reasons for this, but the number one reason is laziness. This Jeep turned into a fourteen month project and I wanted it out of the garage NOW!
I
wanted a four link suspension at both ends, but the stock frame just wasn’t
going to work with my ideas. I wanted to stretch the wheelbase out to around 98
inches, and I wanted to avoid the weird problems that most people have when
building a suspension like this, mainly the rear axle trying to do the steering,
and engine torque trying to flop the vehicle on it’s side when corning. I felt
that the main problems were that the lower control arms are too short and are
mounted too far up and out where they attach to the frame. The upper control
arms also need to keep the pinion angle pointed in such a way that the U-joint
never binds.
As long as I’m building a frame, I might as well make it integrated with the roll cage. By doing this I can make the main frame rails out of fairly light duty material and yet have it be even stronger and have greater torsional rigidity than the stock frame. Of course this approach causes a few problems with putting a body on the frame. No problem – I own a Sawzall!
It also needed to be fairly simple because I’m not a company that specializes in custom fabrication. I’m just your average guy working in my garage that happens to own a welder and a big hammer.
This
is where is gets strange. I don’t like tall vehicles, yet most everyone just
lifts the suspension or body, or both, away from the tires to gain the clearance
they need. I took a completely different approach. I cut three inches off of the
bottom of the body which means the floor went bye-bye (did I mention that I own
a Sawzall?). I then cut the wheel wells up three inches into the body. The
result is the same wheel clearance, yet the CJ sits three inches lower. The rear
quarter panels are cut from the rest of the body near the front of the door
opening and can be removed with just four bolts. In fact, the thing will run
without a body just fine. The only part that can’t be removed is the main cowl
that holds the dash board and wiring. Using this approach gave me a lot of
design freedom for the rear suspension and shocks where the stock sheet metal
would have been in the way. It also allowed me to move the gas tank up for quite
a bit more ground clearance. When everything was in place and I was happy with
the results, I built wheel wells and floors out of 16 gage aluminum.
I’m also sick of worrying about scratching the paint. From now on it’s flat black from a spray can! It doesn’t get any simpler than that, and it shines about the same as the nearly 20 year old factory paint that was on it. Next time it gets dented, just pound it out and repaint the spot. Looks great. Get over it.
I’m using the same Dana 44 axles with 4.55 gears and ARB’s that were mentioned in my last article. However, there have been some minor changes.
I converted to rear disk brakes using a kit from TSM that uses Cadillac Eldorado calipers. Overall I’m very happy with my new stopping power, but there are problems with the calipers used in this kit. First, they are VERY expensive calipers! Second, the emergency brake is good only for getting through the state inspection. Fred Flintstone emergency brakes would be more effective. Third, the emergency brake take-up requires a huge volume of brake fluid to keep the pedal from just going to the floor.
None of these problems have anything to do with the quality of the TSM kit. Their workmanship was top notch and I highly recommend their products. The problem is with the emergency brake design of the Cadillac calipers.
I got around most of these problems by building a little gadget that allows me to adjust the play out of the calipers with a bolt. This gets rid of the take-up and gives me back a decent brake pedal without switching to a master cylinder that has a huge volume (which also decreases brake system pressure). In fact, I use a ’93 YJ master cylinder and power booster. The stopping power is now excellent! But I essentially have no emergency brake.
The front axle has had a few changes also. In my last article I mentioned that I may switch to Chevy ½ ton brakes and Ford rotors with internal splined hubs. Well, I did it. It was a pricey conversion but I now have bigger brakes and a stronger hub and outer axle. The unexpected part of this conversion was that the front track width increased by about an inch and a quarter (or more) per side. Not a bad thing, but it looked a little funny with the rear axle, so I added one inch spacers to the rear axle.
I
also bought steering arms from Dynatrac that allow the tie rod and draglink to
be mounted on top of the knuckles. This required finding one of the old and
increasingly rare Chevy passenger side knuckles that have the flat top. Then it
requires a little machine work to bolt the arm to it. I made the tie rod and
draglink myself out of 1 1/8 OD DOM tubing. All tie rod ends have ¾ inch
threads.
This setup looks slick and rocks can never get to it, but there are problems with the draglink. When the suspension is fully stuffed on the passenger side, the draglink hits the frame. I may have to lower the bump stops. The other problem is that when it’s fully twisted with the passenger side dropped and the drivers side stuffed, the tie rod end runs out of travel and binds. Not cool. That could lead to a major trail failure. This needs to get fixed soon before I break a rod end and get stranded. I’ve seen some aftermarket steering arms that are milled flat on the end to correct this problem. But I bought mine back in ’98 and I don’t think any of the few manufacturers building these arms then were aware of this problem. I think I will switch to a spherical rod end with more misalignment travel for that one end, and maybe put a small bend in the drag link to fix the frame clearance problem.
Yup, I still have the same 700R4 that I bitched about endlessly in my last article. In fact all my friends that told me I would learn to love it were right on! I can’t imagine ever going back to a stick shift! Most of my complaints stemmed from a single maladjustment that was easily remedied - I had the TV cable pulled too tight. This raised the pump pressure and made for some violent shifting. After fixing that I just had to go through the normal learning curve of how to get the most out if this transmission while 4-wheeling. Now that I’m used to it I’ll never go back!
Same
Dana 300 as before, but it’s been clocked 30 degrees, which brings it up
horizontal. I didn’t buy any fancy adapters for this, I just built a drill
fixture that allowed me to accurately poke new holes into the Novak adapter. I
had hoped that as the front driveshaft was rotated up it would also move out far
enough to clear the 700R4, but it didn’t happen. It was soooo close, but not
close enough. So next I’m on the phone crying help to the folks at Tom
Wood’s Custom Drive Shafts. Tom built me a new front driveshaft with a center
bearing and ten inches of slip yoke travel. I now have a much stronger driveline
that goes around corners.
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Same old Tuned Port 350 as before. What can I say, I love this engine. The only changes are a switch to electric fans, which was required because my radiator will no longer sit vertical because of the lowered body. I also switched to a K&N air cleaner that fits directly onto the throttle body and no longer uses the MAF sensor. I did not switch to the 1990 and newer ECU and wiring, I merely unplugged the MAF sensor. I know this is a very controversial subject, and this is definitely not the correct way to do it, but it works. I had some hotrod buddies tell me that people in his crowd have been doing this for years and it works just fine except that the SES light is always on. Just for the hell of it I tried it. I was very surprised to find that I could not detect any difference at all in the engines performance. Maybe someday I’ll have some unexpected problem raise it’s ugly head with this system, but for now it stays. It sure cleans up the air cleaner routing and just makes the engine compartment look much better.
This is the part that makes it all happen. It’s also the part that brings out the strongest opinions from people. I’ve seen some just bizarre designs over the last few years. Some that work, and some that just leave you scratching your head and wondering aloud “what were they thinking when they designed this boat anchor?”. Well, I’ve got my opinions too, and I think my design is a bit on the conservative side.
The first thing you notice about my CJ is that It’s not a four link with coil-overs at either end, even though I said that was a major part of my design goal. There are a couple of reasons for these changes, and a couple of people to blame (or thank?). First, I’ve always thought that a leaf spring with shackles at the back is a great design that is hard to beat for the front of a 4x4. It just plain works, so why mess with a good thing?
But the real deciding factor for using front leaf springs came from watching Rock Crawling Championships. One of the teams in particular that has always caught my eye is the Campbell’s from AZ. These guys have been doing this for years and always finish very near the front of the pack. They build some radical machines and can build whatever they want. And what do you always see on the front of their buggies? Why leaf springs of course. Kind of makes ya wanta say hmmmm….
The only real change on my front suspension from the last CJ is that the springs that were on the back are now on the front. Why? Because I always thought that the front end was just a bit too soft. The rear springs had one extra leaf and I thought they might be about perfect on the front.
I also changed shocks. The front Rancho 9112’s were never quite long enough, so I switched to 9012’s. They have about 13.5 inches of travel as compared to about 10.5 for the 9112’s. Now I actually have an inch left over!
My
rear suspension is quite a bit like something that you might see at an ARCA
event, except that it’s a bit lower and has a bit less travel. I spent quite a
bit of time designing this on AutoCAD and working it through it’s travel on
the computer before I ever picked up the welder. To avoid the rear steering and
lifting that many designs seem to have, I wanted the lower control arms to be
mounted as low and as narrow as possible where they connect to the frame. On the
axle they connect much wider, at the same width as the springs. They also blend
in nicely with the skid plate so that nothing should catch rocks too bad. The
lower arms use stock CJ leaf spring bushings at the front and 1 ¼ inch
spherical rod ends at the axle end.
The
upper control arms are much shorter and tip the axle back as it drops to keep
the pinion angle as straight as possible to avoid binding. These arms use ¾
inch spherical rod ends at each end.
I know that in my last article I complained about noise from using rod ends to connect the axle to frame instead of something with rubber in it. But as it turns out my fresh ring and pinion were about to self destruct and got noisier by the minute. New gears fixed the noise problem. The installer replaced everything for free.
The one thing about the rear suspension design that made me nervous was that it has a very high roll center. On the street the high roll center should reduce body roll in corners, but will increase the tendency to lift the inside tire. On the trail the high roll center might tend to force articulation in some situations. I was very unsure about building it like this, but then did it anyway.
And what about those missing coil overs? Have you priced those things? Need I say more? I see lots of very capable machines around with separate coils springs and shocks that work fine, just look at any TJ. I can think of a lot more productive ways to spend $2000. I like to get the most bang for my bucks, so I bought a new camera instead.
So
what are those rear coils anyway? They are stock springs from the front of a six
cylinder TJ. The shocks are the same Rancho 9112’s that were previously on the
front. I used them only because I just happened to have them. Ideally I should
have used 9012’s like I have now on the front. But the way I have them mounted
I get about 16 inches of vertical travel at the axle. I was worried that because
of the angle I mounted them at, that they would not be effective enough. I was
even thinking about double shocking the back. But as it turns out the single
9112 is plenty. I even backed off the setting from 4 to 3, which is the same
setting that I used with the old leaf springs.
I was very unsure about using the TJ springs, so I made everything very adjustable. I can use most any spring that has the same OD dimensions as the TJ springs. Everything just unbolts and adjusts in one inch increments in just minutes. The upper mounts are also infinitely adjustable through a one inch stroke for fine tuning. Fact is I’m already thinking about switching to the longer XJ springs. Maybe next week (month, year, etc….).
One thing that I screwed up is when I made the misalignment spacers for the 1 ¼ rod ends, They only allow for just over 20 degrees of misalignment, which is barely enough. I have already redesigned the spacers to a 30+ degree version. Sometime soon I’ll install the longer Rancho 9012’s, the longer XJ springs, the new misalignment spacers, and limiting straps.
Many
people wonder why I kept the CJ so low. Lowering the body 3 inches makes it seem
very low, yet it also has a lot of room underneath. It’s almost like it’s
been compressed. The bottom went up, yet the top came down. My flat skid plate
has 19 inches of air underneath it, and the bumpers have 28 inches. The rocker
panel is 27.5 inches high, yet where you step in, it is only 31 inches. It’s a
kind of different approach, but it has worked fine, and it keeps the center of
gravity low.
I’m also about ready to buy some new tires and can’t decide whether or not get 37 inchers or stick with 35’s (35’s are probably plenty for my purpose). Either way they will be either Goodyear MT/R’s or the Super Swamper Radial SSR’s. I’ve never used anything but BFG’s, time for a little variety in life.
Regardless of which tire I get, the bumpstops are already set accordingly for 37’s. Even at full stuff, there is never anyplace where the tire is closer than about an inch and a half from hitting anywhere.
Lets start with street manners. The ride is a bit firmer than I thought, which is a good thing cause I was really worried that the TJ springs I used on the rear would be very mushy, now I think they’re about perfect. Moving the old rear leaves to the front also worked just as I had hoped. It rides firm without ever being rough or bouncy.
But
the real surprise was the just unbelievable stability. Without any exaggeration
at all, I can honestly say that this is the most stable, straightest tracking
Jeep that I have ever driven! And I have driven and owned lots of Jeeps over the
years! Previous to this CJ I would have said that my stock ’99 TJ was the best
pavement driver, but this CJ blows it away. It doesn’t matter whether we’re
talking about being on the freeway at 80MPH with a crosswind, or a twisty back
road with lots of surprise bumps in the middle of the corners. It just handles
it all in stride. It doesn’t have any of the wild body roll of the last
suspension, yet it never wants to lift the inside corners during sharp turns
either.
There is also absolutely no bump steer, roll steer, or any other kind of steer that doesn’t involve direct input from the steering wheel. Overall, I couldn’t be happier with its road manners. And as you can see, there isn’t an anti-roll bar is sight anywhere.
As I write this I haven’t done any really difficult trails with it yet as it’s only been running a couple of weeks now. If we’re talking Moab’s rating system, 3.5 to 4 is about all it’s been on, but I’m very impressed with what I’ve seen so far.
My
first day out I got stuck in deep sand. Sand always has a way of bringing out
the worst is suspensions. Leaf springs wind up and bounce violently. And many,
if not most, linked-in coil spring systems I’ve seen can do a fine job
mimicking leaf springs wrapping up. Mine just took it in stride! There was not a
hint of bouncing! I left it in two wheel drive, clicked on the ARB, used more of
the skinny pedal, and had a ball playing in the sand. I can even slide the back
end around just like I do with my ATV, yet it never feels like it wants to flop
over. My old spring-over suspension would have been shiny side down for sure!
As you can see from some of the pictures, there is no
articulation steering from the rear suspension at all! It’s even better than I
had planned.
I tried a couple of things that were kind of strange, but that’s how great things are found out right? Not in my case, but at least I found out what doesn’t work. There are really just two things that I took a chance on, and then a third problem that just sort of “happened”.
First, Even with my huge radiator I’ve never completely cured the overheating problem. It’s not a huge problem, but really annoying. The ambient temperature has to be over a hundred degrees for the engine to get up to 220, or sometimes even 230. These temps are not really going to damage anything, but I don’t like it.
I
thought that moving the transmission cooler away from the main radiator and into
the back of the CJ would cure that. Since I have no rear floor in the back (yet)
I put the transmission and gas coolers there with their own 12 inch fan. Air
flow was free to come from under the Jeep, pass through the coolers, and go out
the back over the tailgate. We haven’t yet had any weather hot enough to see
what kind of difference it would make to the engine temp, but the transmission
was running much hotter than ever! Bad plan. I put the trans cooler back in
front of the radiator. I also tried one of the stacked plate coolers that are
supposed to be the best even though they are much smaller. It made the situation
even worse, but I blame that on the position of the cooler in relation to my
engine fans rather than the cooler design.
Problem
two; Since I had most of the space in the back committed to coolers and fans, I
thought why not use the rest of the space for the 3 inch Flowmaster muffler?
Ground clearance would be excellent! I’d just put it behind the drivers seat
and run the tailpipe up and over the gas tank and through the tailgate. Simple
and easy to build, great idea huh? Not! Not only was it LOUD, but the vacuum
that forms behind the windshield as you drive just pulls all of the exhaust
right into your face. I might as well have mounted the tail pipe in the
dashboard.
So I had a local muffler shop build me a “normal” exhaust system. It took him a while to snake the big 3 inch pipe through the maze of linkage of my rear suspension and not interfere with the articulation, but he did it. I also switched to a 3 inch MagnaFlow muffler instead of the Flowmaster. The MagnaFlow has less restriction (it’s straight through! Not a baffle or louver in sight!) but my reason for the switch is because it’s much quieter than the Flowmaster. A sure sign of old age?
Problem
three; No leg room. I knew that raising the floor would cost leg room, but then
I screwed up and moved the main roll bar too far forward by about three inches.
A bad combination for sure. Actually, even though it’s a little cozy, it still
fits me fine. But I’m only 5 ft. 8 in. tall, there won’t be any 6 footers
behind the wheel, at least not comfortable 6 footers!
I still need to finish the storage area behind the seats and mount the spare tire. These changes will be completed by the time you read this. I’m going to enclose the rear storage area level with the top of the wheel wells, and mount the spare tire on top of it. The cover will lift up with the spare to reveal a semi-sealed storage area. For camping trips when I need more room in the back I’ll mount the spare to a special hitch receptacle.
There is also another piece of 1 ¾ inch tubing that goes over the engine and connects the shock towers together. It’s already bent into shape, someday I’ll glue it in place.
I also have a few more skid plates that need to be installed. Most are already built, I just need to get over this lazy streak. Been working on it for so long, now I just want to drive it!
Many people have asked me if I intend to get in the Rock Crawling events with this new rig. The answer is no. Hell, I even dropped out of being a trail leader for the Red Rock 4-Wheelers Easter Jeep Safari. Just don’t like huge rowdy crowds anymore. I only stayed with the Safari as long as I did because of my wife Sudie. But she passed on a few years back. Now I’ve moved on.
Also, as fancy as this new CJ seems, I don’t think it is competitive in it’s current form. This is a machine built with many compromises to make it a great dual purpose machine. If I were building a competition only machine there would be many changes – like no windshield washer squirters J
Would I do anything different next time?
You Bet! Parts of this CJ were designed well in advance, others sections were designed as I went. I found many things that could have been done simpler, cleaner, stronger, and cheaper. Much of the time building this machine was spent staring at it and wondering “what the hell do I do now?”. Future versions could be built in a third, or even a quarter of the time.
Of
course this raises the question of “will there be future versions?”.
Possibly. I’ve had a surprising number of people ask if I’d build them one
similar to it. Since the frame was designed for use with a four link suspension
and coils overs at both ends, it would be a snap to covert. Most any
engine/transmission and axle configuration would also be super easy to swap in.
With a few changes, this platform could go from mild mannered trail rig to a
full race buggy. Maybe it’s time to open shop? Maybe, but I doubt it.
Of the fourteen months I’ve spent building this thing, five months I didn’t even touch it, three months I worked on it full time, and the rest was just a few hours at a time here and there.
Depends on what kind of power tool I get for Christmas next year!
See Part 1 of this article from several years ago.
Gene Ferris AKA "Lizard"
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