My "new" Jeep YJ! Check out the Before and After photos!
A lot of custom work went into this project.
Cory
Alumnus of the Class of 2006
We are so proud of you and your accomplishments!
Now, if we can see a similar picture in about four years from college!
(26 May, 2006)
BEFORE (right)
AFTER (left and below)
...and on the Rubicon Trail
SPRING 2006: This jeep went from a stock front and rear to a Dana 44 front and a Ford 9 inch rear with a Tru-Hi9 third member and a SpiderTrax axle housing. The gearing is 5/13 and the dif cover is from Rockcrusher. The steering is high pinion and the steering box is from PSC. There is also a ram assist. Both drive shafts had to be replaced; both are one ton capacity. The transfer case was replaced to accommodate the new lower gearing; it is an Atlas 2 (4.3:1). A lot of custom work had to be done such as shock mounts, spring mounts, bump-stop mounts, etc. The brake lines had to be made and an air line system had to be installed. Air lockers (5.14 ARB) were installed in both front and rear. The rims are Champion 17" beadlocks and the tires are Goodyear Wrangler 40/17 MT/Rs. The lift is spring over axle. The axles are chromoly. The spindles pattern is 5 x 5.5. A lot of interior work had to be done as well. The roll cage is from Poison Spider, as are the fender cuts. The winch houses a 20,000 pound-capacity rope and hook.
I plan to replace the front end for a Dana 60 (those tires are huge) . Also, the hood and grill will be replaced with that of a CJ so it won't look like a YJ anymore. This will be done during the Spring of 2007 and hopefully a Dana 60 front end for 2008 (if I win the lottery I can do that sooner).
NOTE:John and I did all the work. He guided me through this project since he has built a few jeeps before and knows exactly what needs to be done, where to get the best parts, and how to make things work when they don't want to work. I had a heap of fun working on this beast and it was even more special because John was my mentor! John's quite an artist when it comes to mechanical engineering and metal work. He really has his act together. This took SIX straight weeks to build - not too bad!
Stacey tried NOT to ride the entire way with white knuckles!
Julie gave it the ol' college try!
On Tuesday, October 3, 2006, President G.W. Bush visited our quiet community in CA, where he attended a political fundraiser for Senator Doolittle's campaign. The $2000/plate luncheon was held at the local Country Club.This location is about a mile away from where I work. His enterage landed at the school across the street from where I teach. Though I did not see 'W' or his motorcade (I was teaching class), I did manage to get the photos of his birds, some Secret Service folks, and some of the local law enforcement hired to help with security that day. All the photos were taken where I work or within a few hundred feet of where I work.
U.S. President George W. Bush visits us!
A military bird on the grounds of the junior high school.
The President's bird! Marine One
Local CHP and two Secret Service agents guarding the birds and motorcade at the school.
Secret Service agents
There are three schools that are within the same block; an elementary school, a junior high school, and a high school (where I teach). The elementary school children made a huge banner to welcome the President (right).
Security in front of my school
Cory and Stacey
SPRING 2007: After I removed the winch and the YJ radiator, grill and hood, John began making plans to replace those YJ parts with a CJ hood and grill. To make this work, John determined that there are two options. One option is to raise the body up 2 inches. Because this beast already has a high center of gravity, he decided this isn't an option.
The other option, though more complicated, is best: John is having a custom-made radiator that has a shorter core than that of a CJ or YJ. Also, he moved the steering box down. This required him to fabricate a new mount to attach to the frame. That done and the radiator ordered, the only thing left to do is modify the CJ grill by tapering the lower two corners so that it will "drop" into place. He will cut the corners so that the CJ hood and the top of the CJ grill will be flush.
So now my YJ is truly a CJ-WannaBe! (Spring 2007)
CJ hood
YJ radiator, grill, hood
CJ grill
And if you wondered...
...whether or not John can do such a job making my YJ look like a CJ, then check out the tire rack he built for my birthday present. He had to make the thing strong enough to support that 40 inch MT/R and rim. He had to use two latches (one on the bottom at the bumper and one on top attached to the roll cage) to keep the beastly tire static. He built the bumper as well.
Notice the upper latch / support
X
This is the now-replaced old Ford housing covered by the X
What was once a Jeep JY...
...is now a Jeep CJ!!! (Okay, maybe aYCJ)
This project was more difficult and time consuming than John originally thought it would be:
Among the many things John had to do, the obvious were to make the CJ hood and grill fit the YJ frame, which is a longer frame than a CJ. Both grill and hood had to be stripped, sanded, primed, and painted. The grill had to be cut and welded in several places including the bottom corners and the inside where the radiator had to be placed. Because the CJ hood is shorter, the entire engine compartment is shorter (including the tranni). This meant the radiator only fit behind the grill if the fan and clutch were removed. Even with a shorter clutch, the fan butted up against the radiator. We bought dual electronic fans since they took up less space. Even these didn't fit so John had to strip the fan housing down a half inch as well as cut into the back of the grill to move the radiator forward. (Even the headlight buckets had to be trimmed from behind.) This meant the hood had to be modified because the radiator (which also had to be custom built and fitted) sat up too high and the hood could not close over it; the radiator could not be moved down any further because of the steering box. John cut a space out of the hood and reinforced it so that the hood would close over the radiator. Then, the YJ tube fenders were too long so I had to order the same but for a CJ. John had to design and build the fender skirts. Because of all this modification, the steering box had to be pushed back so a new mount had to be built for it. The sway bar up-swing was affected too so that had to be dealt with. John had to install a lot of new electrical components and rewire the lights, the ignition, the fans, etc. It doesn't sound like much but a lot of time went into problem solving, design, fabrication, welding, etc. But that ugly square-headlight YJ now looks like a CJ. Next summer I will have the entire thing professionally painted.
The license plate: Wanna Be A CJ!
AND IT'S DONE! June 12, 2007
John so rocks!
An 8 mile RT hike to Ralston Peak, 9300 feet on June 23, 07 just one day before the Angora Fire began - and quite near the area of the fire.
Top L: Stacey and Jada enjoy a
break at the summit. Lake Tahoe
behind her.
Top R: me and John at summit.
Lower L: Stacey, John and Julie
having a snack.
Lower R: The J-Dawg (and my
feet)
Right: Aloha Lake below
Pyramid Peak (not seen here).
and, in the foreground, Lake of
the Woods
Making the sloping kerf for the face cut while Jesse, the Forest Service evaluator, looks on.
Pounding the two wedges in where the backcut was made to prevent the tree from falling back on itself.
This was a 14 inch diameter tree. It was also the 12th tree I cut down, limbed and bucked in 10 hours. I am now a certfied A feller. Jesse told me to go for the B Feller certification but I was too tired! John made the B Feller certification. Either way, now I can legally cut trees on Forest Service property for FOTR and FOE.
TIMBER!!! And there she goes!!!
CHAINSAW CERTIFICATION was a 32-hour class that included classroom time and field training. This took place between 3/30 - 4/12, 2008 with the US Forest Service. (I was the only female!)
In June 2008 I became a National Registered and State - County Registered EMT.
It was time to say goodbye to my beloved Ford (250K miles) so this is my "new" ride: a 2006 Dodge Ram 2500 Turbo Diesel Mega Cab.
