New Front End

[steenh]

I finally bit the bullet and probably went a little overboard which is sometimes my achilles heal but... I've had this truck for 3 yrs, have built it into exactly what I wanted it to be. About as built for wheeling as a hundy can get without 35's (which may still come someday).

The truck had a tough life before I got it from a looks perspective. I didn't and still don't care. It's very nice to have something where a ding (I have lots) or scratch is no concern. What I hadn't done was address the front end. All bushings were shot, rusty this, rusty that, bearings shot, no trail spares etc...

Went to my friends at ACC (in Atlanta) and opened the checkbook. I plan to keep this truck for a LONG time so I wanted to get it done right.

The end result is an entirely new front end with Carls UCA's as my "upgrade" part. The ACC guys also now are doing powdercoating, so that of course had to be part of the fun.

Here's the final result. Had to get pics this morning because this afternoon, it'll all be a muddy mess...

Last thing on my list will be skids from Slee at some point.

 

[Kigiin]

Whoa... what color is the truck?

 

[nautilus]

We are going to need a lot more information.

Any many more pictures.

Does this work increase total travel?

 

[mot]

YOWZA!!

Love to see more pics!

 

[FullyLitLED]

We are going to need a lot more information.

Any many more pictures.

Does this work increase total travel?

more pictures, pls! I've always wondered how x-terrains looked on a hundy

 

[02 Beast]

More info, pics and prices...

 

[farinvail]

Cool, I like the sparkle. If you're just gonna throw the old UCA I'd like them please.

 

[2000UZJ]

Those JT's have a lot more travel, saw them in person today and they look great!


but I will tell you this, make sure your lockers are working so you can test out the JT's on some climbs...

 

[2000UZJ]

more pictures, pls! I've always wondered how x-terrains looked on a hundy

.......

 

[steenh]

Those JT's have a lot more travel, saw them in person today and they look great!


but I will tell you this, make sure your lockers are working so you can test out the JT's on some climbs...

Pretty sure I kept up with you "squeaky".

 

[2000UZJ]

Pretty sure I kept up with you "squeaky".

that SOB is squeaky huh? But for not having lockers today.... i was shocked.


everybody could hear my suspension squeaking away

 

[steenh]

Well, have to say I was very impressed today. We didn't do anything to extreme and I haven't seen pics of the front travel to compare, but some of the comments were that it was noticable. Right now the shocks are limiting the travel of the UCA's so I probably have 1-1/2" extra now, and could get more with different shocks.

What pics would you like to see? You may have tapped out my photographic skills, but let me know and I'll do what I can.

The tires are Procomps... They are OK. Performance is good, wear is fair, noise is good... but I doubt any of them will last a lifetime. I've had one replaced under warranty for sidewall cut, and 2 others that will go any day. If I didn't have two new ones on the front and just 15k miles on the rears, I'd ditch them and get something else. FWIW.

Truck is silver, I'm a die-hard Ga Bulldawg, so I had to go with the red and black powder... and I like it! ACC/Smoking Gun did a fantastic job on all of it. (not affiliated other than I give them my money and feel good about it)

Fairinvail, if I can still get the old UCA's, they are yours. Not sure what condition or where they are right now, but I'll make a call.

I haven't done any measurements yet, but can at some point. Just got the truck yesterday and beat on it a little today.

If you'd like to see it in person, GSMTR is right around the corner! (shameless plug)

Let me know what other info you'd like and I'll do my best to fill you in.

 

[steenh]

have you driven with those xterrains on the freeway? are they noisy?

Yep, I've put a ton of miles on the freeway. They are not bad at all at speed. You hear them at lower speeds <10 mph, but at highway speed they are very quiet for the tread pattern... still don't like them though

 

[FullyLitLED]

Yep, I've put a ton of miles on the freeway. They are not bad at all at speed. You hear them at lower speeds <10 mph, but at highway speed they are very quiet for the tread pattern... still don't like them though

looks like I wont be getting those if they are as bad as you say they are. I was considering xterrains or baja claws but I heard that the baja claws are really noisy too

 

[deerhunter1557]

I heard that the baja claws are really noisy too

Ive also heard that they wear very quickly.

 

[pman]

you can see the extra front end droop in this video

YouTube - 100 Series Cruisers Amicalola Falls 5-15-10

 

[2000UZJ]

you can see the extra front end droop in this video

YouTube - 100 Series Cruisers Amicalola Falls 5-15-10

did Kermit the frog hiccup at 4 seconds?

 

[1loudLX]

hahaha

 

[steenh]

So, to try and repay some of the mindshare debt I have to this forum (and I never will get there) here is some more info on the JT UCA's.

My truck has the OME TBars and 860 springs in the rear. I have the Tbars cranked up quite a bit.

Here's how it sits from a distance...

I measured middle of the axle to the lip of the fender at rest and it's at 22.75"

The UCA's look like this...

I measured at just about full droop and got a measurement of 24.75". The full droop is limited by the shock length, not the UCA hitting the shock.

UCA's look like this, but I just noticed the angle of this shot sucks... there is about 1/2" of play before the UCA hits the shock... I know it doesn't look like itb.

So, with my Tbars cranked to where they are, I have 2" of droop left.

I'm sure there are some measurements out there to see what kind of overall increase to travel this represnts but unfortunately I don't have comparisons to share.

 

[Anthony.L]

steenh, thanks for the pics and info. I'm definitely liking the JT arms (they are local to me).

Have you tried going over any sharp speed bumps yet, does the front hit hard with only 2" of droop?

I'm thinking about keeping my t-bars where they are currently and add these LCA to just get more droop with the current height.