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Varg In Jeep's Clothing

Discussion in 'Builds and Fabricators Forum' started by ITLKSEZ, Aug 20, 2015.

  1. Jun 16, 2021
    ITLKSEZ

    ITLKSEZ Hope for the best, prepare for the worst

    Liberty Lake, WA
    Joined:
    Aug 13, 2015
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    6,656
    Well, I wasn’t planning on starting this today, but it’s done. I took the easy way out and just drilled new holes in the frame mounts so the buckets could move 1” lower, then trimmed 1” off the bottoms so they don’t protrude.

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    Any/all wheel shimmy is gone, it rides way better offroad, and it looks so much better. It’s amazing the difference just 1” can make.

    [​IMG]
     
    Muzikp, mortten, tomasinator and 14 others like this.
  2. Jun 16, 2021
    johneyboy03

    johneyboy03 The green beast

    Quebec, Canada
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    Jan 15, 2011
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    Everything is in the detail. Happy that you got rid of the wobble.
     
    ITLKSEZ likes this.
  3. Jun 17, 2021
    ITLKSEZ

    ITLKSEZ Hope for the best, prepare for the worst

    Liberty Lake, WA
    Joined:
    Aug 13, 2015
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    We hit about 50 miles of FS roads, and roads classified as “Jeep/UTV” trails today. The extra inch of uptravel is a game changer.

    I have one more thing I want to try… I’m going to see if I can swap the shocks front to rear. Even on their softest setting, the 9000 series Ranchos are a hair too stiff out back; some of the hits are jarring. I think they would feel right at home up front with the softer coils and more weight.

    Pics from today:

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    We came down this hill to the road. It was a bit butt-puckery where it drops into the road.

    [​IMG]
     
  4. Jun 17, 2021
    73 cj5

    73 cj5 Not ready for the junkyard yet

    Clinton, Mississippi
    Joined:
    Jan 10, 2014
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    What's the elevation out there?
     
  5. Jun 17, 2021
    colojeepguy

    colojeepguy Colorado Springs

    At the foot of...
    Joined:
    Apr 4, 2010
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    7,110
    That has been my favorite part of owning a Jeep...making memories with the kids! :)
     
    Ol Fogie, 46ODDFIRE and ITLKSEZ like this.
  6. Jun 17, 2021
    johneyboy03

    johneyboy03 The green beast

    Quebec, Canada
    Joined:
    Jan 15, 2011
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    2,115
    I realy like the stance of the jeep :)

    Yes all the hard work for couple's of hour or fun with the kids. I would say it worth every second of hard work :)
     
    Ol Fogie, ITLKSEZ and colojeepguy like this.
  7. Jun 17, 2021
    ITLKSEZ

    ITLKSEZ Hope for the best, prepare for the worst

    Liberty Lake, WA
    Joined:
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    The valley floors are around 2200’ and the highest we went yesterday was 5200’. The highest peaks in our immediate area are around 7000’.
     
    Ol Fogie likes this.
  8. Jun 17, 2021
    ITLKSEZ

    ITLKSEZ Hope for the best, prepare for the worst

    Liberty Lake, WA
    Joined:
    Aug 13, 2015
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    I swapped the shocks around this morning and took it out for a drive to drop eggs off at the food bank. It was the exact difference I hoped/expected it to be.
    :bananatool:

    The 9000 series shocks are very strong on the speed-sensitive valving. Normal driving was fine, but on sharp impacts, they’d practically lock up and wreck your spine when mounted in the rear. Up front, I don’t feel that effect at all. Putting the old Rugged Trail shocks out back was perfect.
     
  9. Jun 23, 2021
    ITLKSEZ

    ITLKSEZ Hope for the best, prepare for the worst

    Liberty Lake, WA
    Joined:
    Aug 13, 2015
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    We’ve been having really hot temps lately. I’ve noticed a slight drop in power up long climbs, and I’m wondering if it’s the location of the air intake. It’s basically just an open hole in the firewall adjacent to the manifold, sucking super-heated air. I’ve been wanting to do something with it since day one, but exactly what, I wasn’t sure. Space in this engine compartment is not easy to come by, and routing it to the front of the bay is realistically unachievable.

    I stole the intake boot off a scrap engine and clamped it to the boot sticking out of the firewall after making a stiffening ring to fit inside.

    [​IMG]

    This routed the intake to a spot on the inner fender that was large enough to cut a hole and stick it through.

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    I’ll eventually make a splash guard to cover it.
     
    mortten, 73 cj5, 47v6 and 5 others like this.
  10. Jun 23, 2021
    ITLKSEZ

    ITLKSEZ Hope for the best, prepare for the worst

    Liberty Lake, WA
    Joined:
    Aug 13, 2015
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    Noticeable improvement! It almost feels like I added a small turbo when getting on the freeway. Wind it out to 4500 and it pulls hard the whole way through all the gears. I think the hot air was forcing the ECU to dial back the timing to the point that it was choking.
     
    73 cj5, blalp! and FinoCJ like this.
  11. Jun 23, 2021
    FinoCJ

    FinoCJ 1970 CJ5 Staff Member

    Bozeman, MT
    Joined:
    Jul 18, 2013
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    5,593
    So I probably missed this when you did the engine install, but your air intake hose goes through the firewall into the cab? So then to connect into the intake manifold it passes back through the firewall into the engine compartment?
     
  12. Jun 23, 2021
    ITLKSEZ

    ITLKSEZ Hope for the best, prepare for the worst

    Liberty Lake, WA
    Joined:
    Aug 13, 2015
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    Yes. The way the cage is positioned in the engine compartment, the only direction I could go with the intake, MAF sensor and air box (and the only place I could fit it) was under the dash. The MAF sensor is above the driver’s feet, and the air box is above the passenger’s feet. I could’ve left it open in the cab, but an intake opening is LOUD. I wanted the noise outside, so I just turned it and shot it out the firewall, figuring I’d address it further some day in the future.
     
    FinoCJ likes this.
  13. Jun 23, 2021
    ITLKSEZ

    ITLKSEZ Hope for the best, prepare for the worst

    Liberty Lake, WA
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    FinoCJ likes this.
  14. Jun 23, 2021
    duffer

    duffer Rodent Power

    Bozeman, MT
    Joined:
    Sep 17, 2009
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    Lower intake air temp but isn't that going to require a lot more air filter cleaning? The challenges of fitting a lot of stuff in a small space----------

    As disgusting as I see them on JKs, maybe a snorkel is in your future.
     
  15. Jun 23, 2021
    ITLKSEZ

    ITLKSEZ Hope for the best, prepare for the worst

    Liberty Lake, WA
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    You ain’t kidding.
    Maybe? Filters are cheap, I’m not too concerned. The opening is offset from the tread a ways, so junk won’t get thrown directly at it. If it turns out to be an issue, I have a “plan B” in mind.

    [​IMG]

    :sick: :D
     
    givemethewillys and Fireball like this.
  16. Jun 29, 2021
    ITLKSEZ

    ITLKSEZ Hope for the best, prepare for the worst

    Liberty Lake, WA
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    Ok, I finally found a rear spring setup I’m extremely happy with. Swapping the shocks front/rear was a big improvement, but the thick Dakota spring ended up being way too harsh of a spring rate. I found that 90% of my compression was only using the end 6” of the spring packs. Jumping on the rear bumper would only impact it by about 1”.

    This morning while the shop was *only* 80°, I reassembled the YJ packs, and I made a small traction bar and welded it to the lower spring plate. I found a nice little snubber in my bin of misc. rubber stuff.

    [​IMG]

    The location of this bar is adjustable by where it’s located when the u-bolts get tightened. I have it fairly tight to start with.

    [​IMG]

    It feels really good out on the road. I might back it off a hair and see how it feels.

    [​IMG]

    The suspension now feels very balanced. Front/rear firmness is as close to equal as I could ever want. Both f/r move about 2” when jumping on the bumpers. Wrap is unnoticeable. I’ll twist it up offroad and see what this tube does to the spring dynamics.


    Also, while the paint on that was drying, I attempted “Air Intake V2.0”

    There’s a construction zone near here that is very dusty dirt, and I was able to hang out the door and watch what the dust around the front wheel was doing. It was wrapping up into the wheelwell more than I expected, so moving the intake further forward was a priority.

    This may be the most low-rent mod I’ve done to this, but it’ll have to do until I come up with something better. I grabbed some 3” rigid dryer duct from Ace and fit it in place with stick-on zip tie mounts.

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    It’s barely visible unless you’re looking for it.

    [​IMG]
     
    47v6, Rich M., tymbom and 4 others like this.
  17. Jun 29, 2021
    73 cj5

    73 cj5 Not ready for the junkyard yet

    Clinton, Mississippi
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    Cowl induction out of the question?
     
  18. Jun 29, 2021
    ITLKSEZ

    ITLKSEZ Hope for the best, prepare for the worst

    Liberty Lake, WA
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    Yeah, for a few reasons.
     
  19. Jun 29, 2021
    FinoCJ

    FinoCJ 1970 CJ5 Staff Member

    Bozeman, MT
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    If the duct was painted body color or black it would be even less noticeable...but given it's accordion nature, it might be impossible to paint. I guess if you decide to keep the location permanent, you could use something fixed/solid/not flexible and it would paint better...
     
    jzeber and Twin2 like this.
  20. Jun 29, 2021
    jzeber

    jzeber Well-Known Member 2022 Sponsor

    Morgan Hill, Ca
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    Nov 15, 2003
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    How about a piece of flat tube with one round end where it connects at the body. I think some newer vehicles use something similar.
     
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