Builds Schmutz FZJ80 build thread (6 Viewers)

[Schmutz]

Saturday only presented a few hours of 'shop time'. But I did manage to get the rack welded together, and the pre-wires threaded for the lighting. Someone on MUD suggested using old wire at this point, which one can use to pull the actual wire later.

I'm using 1" O.D. 0.83 wall thickness. The side spacers are 3/16". Getting the front setback for the upper rail was a tedious process. I wanted the angle to match the windscreen angle as closely as possible. Had to mock-up all kinds of lumber across the roof and up the windshield to find the angle...Here's hoping it looks alright when installed.

 

[Schmutz]

Oh, and I unwrapped the packaging on the ARB bumper today. My excitement was tainted with disappointment, since this is what it looked like when the delivery driver dragged it out the back doors of his truck, and we lifted it to my driveway:

That doesn't bode well...

 

[Schmutz]

so one doesn't need a magnifying glass to find the offending blemishes. PC is gouged and scraped back to bare metal in half a dozen places. Worst hit are the winch fairlead-roller shroud and the recovery points:

 

[Schmutz]

Now before you all start trying to either console me, or counsel me to suck it up and get over it...Here's what I posted on someone else's damaged bumper thread (Damaged arb bumper straight from ups):

"Honestly, I'm ok with sanding and painting. I have my big-boy pants on, and I know my bumper is going to take some abuse from wheeling, and will end up getting sanded and painted regularly . I think it's just the principle of the matter: one pays big bucks for a new bumper, and receives one that looks like it has been wheeled over the Rubicon Trail already...I guess I wanted the first scars to come from my adventures -not from ineffective packaging. Enough said. I'll get off my soap box now"

Sound reasonable? Ok then. Enough said.

Nevertheless, this experience is part of my build process, so it gets documented

 

[Schmutz]

tinker-time on Sunday avo...Per the suggestion of @ppc back on page three, welded a little angle iron on the ARB compressor mounting bracket. Will see whether this reduces the vibration and noise...

 

[Schmutz]

Also today welded the mesh floor to the roof rack, and fab'd some brackets that hold the LED light bar to the front of the rack. The brackets which came with the light were rather flimsy, and I can foresee failure when I'm wheeling hard. Pretty pleased with the outcome

Still need to build a wind-fairing on the sloped front of the rack. Not sure if I should use a piece of black 1/8" thick plastic that I have, and attach it with rivets, or use a piece of metal and spot weld it in place...

 

[Schmutz]

the last two weeks have flown by like a whirlwind -a good one though. Put in a few long days and past-mid-nights to get everything assembled and installed for the Moab trip. In short, here's the breakdown:

• fab'd, painted, installed safari basket roof rack (used six Gamiviti towers in the end)
• installed 42" LED light bar on roof rack
• installed two 4" LED back up lights on roof rack
• fab'd mounting plates for sliders, fitted & welded legs to sliders, fab'd custom front PS leg (which involved local exhaust shop to bend the pipe), painted, installed sliders -tested them by lifting the side of the truck with a jack (was I relieved when they passed that test)
• fab'd, painted & installed custom swaybar disconnect brackets
• installed new ARB winch bar and my current winch -which involved fab'ing 1/4" steel spacers
• drained and refilled front and rear diff (oil in center diff was clear as honey, so left it for now; front diff oil was nasty black sludge; rear diff oil was acceptable, but changed it anyway)
• removed rear receiver hitch, since last year it scraped rocks frequently
• 5w 30 oil changed and new OEM filter
• all fluids,filters, belts...etc checked
• topped up AC, since it has been weakening

The foregoing is not an exhaustive list, but you get the idea, and most of you can appreciate the time factor involved...
Now for a few pics. Safari basket and sliders painted and ready
:

Wiring to lighting goes through this enlarged (factory roof-rack) hole via a rubber grommet:

LED light bar on front:

I'm particularly proud of my custom mechanism to adjust angle of the bar, and hold it in place when wheeling:

After 1500 miles of driving this last week, (including about 150 miles of gnarly off-road trails), everything held up and performed amazingly!

 

[Schmutz]

Sliders were fun to install, as many of you know...

The Slee mounting kit:

so I had to fab the mounting plates. Used 1/4" steel:

test fit before welding it all up properly:

Idaho paint booth:

(temperatures are dropping up here. This was a sub-sixty degree day...

 

[Schmutz]

The ARB winch bar was a PITA! For an item that is supposed to bolt right on...over four hours later I put the first bolt in. First obstacle came when removing the factory recovery hooks. One of the bolts snapped in half...

Fortunately, I was able to drill a 1/8" hole through the retained portion, which released the pressure just enough that I could twist it out with a pair of small channel-locks. Then, challenge two: I discovered that either the frame on my truck is tweaked, or the new bar itself is defective. Space between frame was 25-1/2". Corresponding measurements on bar was 25-13/16". Somehow I had to find a way to spread the frame 5/16" apart. Ratchet strap around the bumper mounting tubes, trying to pull them together, yielded maybe 1/128" -if that. In the end had to cut two pieces of hard 2x4 with a progressive angle and pound them down between the frame:

Once everything fit, the winch wouldn't fit the bar. NOTE to BADLAND winch users: you will need to fab two spacers of at least 1/4" material to get this winch to fit.

Anyway, like i said...over 4 hours later the bumper was bolted on. Had to twist the AC Dryer up and over so it would remain safely behind the protection of the bumper. When reinstalling the factory recovery hooks/loops it took another hour of tweaking and hammering, and finally carving both DS holes in the new bumper with a die-grinder so they would accept the bolts...Perhaps this winch bar was a 'second' after all. Here's hoping I don't have to take it off again

 

[Schmutz]

Oh, nearly forgot my little sway bar disconnect brackets. Researched the method used by other MUDDERs and fab'd these up:

They work great! Sway bar held in place with two 2" x 3/8" stainless steel Clevis Pins. Less than a minute to connect or disconnect. Love the greater articulation without the sway bar attached.

 

[Schmutz]

With all the foregoing accomplished, it was off to Moab for 3 days on the White Rim Trail, plus some playing around on Fins'n'Things and some wheeling up to Top of The World and back. All the mods have been field-tested in full expedition mode (that means over 1000 pounds of passengers and gear) -to my complete satisfaction!

Day one on the White Rim Trail:

Field-Testing mods on Top Of The World Trail:

 

[Schmutz]

BTW, I found an effecive (and fun) way to hide those blemishes in my winch bar...

 

[Zimbwanabe]

Awesome write up! For a guy on as budget, you have a lot of cool stuff! Good fab work! I'm jealous!

 

[Schmutz]

@Zimbwanabe thanks for the encouragement

 

[Schmutz]

I come from a European style track-racing background, where the goal is to reduce the weight of ones vehicle by removing as much as possible from it. Therefore, I must confess that the whole concept of ADDING weight to a vehicle, such as with body armor, goes against everything I know. Academically I appreciate its necessity and value. But it still feels wrong. Why just this last week before my Moab trip I added over 400 pounds of accessories. (Just for kicks and giggles I weighed the items before their installation). Here's the breakdown:

• ARB winch bar + mounting hardware 119.8
• 9000k winch (with steel cable) 74.2
• sliders, plates + mounting hardware 81.1
• safari rack 96.8
• 6 Gamaviti towers 15.2
• LED bar + rear lights 12.6
• swaybar disconnects/clevis pins 1.4

TOTAL: 401.1 pounds

And then we added 5 passengers, spare fuel, a weeks worth of food, clothing, and camping gear...Wait a minute, you all know what an expedition requires. I guess I just lament that my mpg on the Interstate and highway dropped to 11+. But now I know why. And I also think an upgrade in braking power is justifiable.

 

[Schmutz]

These 80s are pretty awesome. After a year of Wheeling, and hitting some pretty gnarly trails, I thought I better take mine in for an alignment. Turns out, with their fancy new year Eagle-Eye alignment machine, everything was within specs and needed no adjustment.

 

[NLXTACY]

Congrats!

Things are moving along nicely on your truck. Nice fab skills!

 

[dogfishlake]

Very nice work, looks great. Your paint booth at least comes with great background scenery!

 

[gearinstalls.com]

Nice fab skills Schmutz
I really like that "Idaho paint booth".
All that weight and stock gears.....I'll work with you if you ever decide
to send your 3rds to me for a re-gear....or maybe a Harrop e-locker or something.
Nitro Gear is an excellent choice
Ken

 

[tpizza01]

Rig looks good!!! Love the roof rack!