Manivan is under construction

[Spazbyt]

I have been very slowly building on Manivan sense 2014. Now that I'm working on the drivetrain things are starting to increase in speed and intensity which should now make for a more entertaining build thread but more importantly, this thread should give me a place to sound my increasing amount of questions. My only regret is not starting this thread years ago so I could have had a better record of Manivans progress so far. Well, better late then never.

Fresh off the showroom floor

N-fab and lightbar like any self-respecting mall crawler.


Finally got a 3" lift and 35's


Evo pro series bumper, skins, sliders, rock stars, evap skid. LoD destroyer rear bumper and tire carrier.


Prorock 44 with 5.13s and ARB locker.

Pulled the rear end for lockers, gears, rust removal, and weld on track bar bracket.


That brings us up to date. Thanks to everybody who has helped me with questions I have had over the years.

 

[WJCO]

Looking good.

 

[Elroy231]

Your jeep is lookin good! That locker will sure help !

 

[Spazbyt]

I'm trying to clean everything up while the rear end is out. My rear brake lines were rubbing on the shock bodies and after a few winters, they were starting to look pretty ruff. I hit them with a wire wheel and a flap disc to clean them up a bit. I had a can of paint laying around that matched perfectly. Luckily I had just enough paint because this can was at least 21 years old so finding more would have been, tricky.

 

[WJCO]

I'm trying to clean everything up while the rear end is out. My rear brake lines were rubbing on the shock bodies and after a few winters, they were starting to look pretty ruff. I hit them with a wire wheel and a flap disc to clean them up a bit. I had a can of paint laying around that matched perfectly. Luckily I had just enough paint because this can was at least 21 years old so finding more would have been, tricky.

Looks brand new.

 

[Spazbyt]

I got a Synergy front track bar/hydro bracket. I plan on having hydro assist in the future but as of now I'm just running a steering stabilizer. My question is if I have the hydro tabs welded on now how do I run a stabilizer? I'm thinking about either machining the eye loop of the stabilizer down to the same thickness as a hydro ram. Or space out the ram tabs so they fit a stabilizer eye loop and make spacers to take up the extra thickness when I move to a ram. Welding the hydro tabs on later seems like a PITA but I'm not a welder so maybe I'm overthinking this.

 

[DirtHeadDavis]

Build's looking good! Out of curiosity what 3" lift are you running? Trying to find the perfect height for my JK as the 3.5" ones I am currently set on are starting to look too tall for 35s.

 

[Spazbyt]

I'm using coils from a Terraflex 3" lift kit. They are probably the firmest coils I have felt in a JK but at least they didn't settle too much. A few guys I know with 3.5" coils ride almost the same height as mine but with the added benefit of a smoother ride. It all depends on how much weight you are adding.

 

[Spazbyt]

Got the synergy rear trackbar bracket burned on. Now it's off to powder coat.

 

[wjtstudios]

Nice welds

 

[black pearl]

Looking good!

 

[Spazbyt]

The 35 Spline axle shafts showed up today. I already ordered tone rings and seal retainers not knowing they come with the shafts. Well, at least I didn't go through the trouble getting the shitty old ones off just to find shiny new ones in the box.

 

[Spazbyt]

Got the axles assembled last night. Damn things barely fit in the press but after some fuckery it all worked out.

 

[Spazbyt]

Drilled the locker out for half inch hardware. Need to get the ring gear bolted on some time this weekend.

 

[Spazbyt]

Huzzah! After almost a year I finally got Manivan back on the road. I built her a Prorock 44 with a ARB and rebuilt the rear 44 with a ARB and 35 spline shafts. It was my first time setting up gears and well let's just say it was a learning experience. After being damn near nickel and dimed to death by special tools and broken parts it's finally finished. At least now I have all the tools and "knowledge" heaven forbid I have to do it again any time soon. I have been driving her to work the past few days and (knock on wood) nothing seems out of the ordinary.

To celebrate this momentous occasion I did a quick cell phone photo shot.

 

[Spazbyt]

I thought after getting the Evo contole arms on I would be forced to cut the fenders but it looks like I just barely clear.

 

[Spazbyt]

Welp, this time I may have bit off more then I can chew. Genright roll cage showed up and its going to be quite the project for me. I have done very little welding so the goal is to get all the mounting plates installed and tack weld the cage to together then remover it to have a professional welder burn it all together. I have a 110 welder and I'm not sure if it will tack this thing together well enough. Looks like a new welder could be on my Christmas list.

 

[TonyT]

Welp, this time I may have bit off more then I can chew. Genright role cage showed up and its going to be quite the project for me. I have done very little welding so the goal is to get all the mounting plates installed and tack weld the cage to together then remover it to have a professional welder burn it all together. I have a 110 welder and I'm not sure if it will tack this thing together well enough. Looks like a new welder could be on my Christmas list.

I bought a miller 211 and a friend and I did my cage over a couple days. The 110v outlets worked okay for tacking, but anything more and it was struggling for penetration. We went to HomeDepot and made a 220v extension cord to go into the laundry room off my garage and 220v was much better. (I have since had an electrician put a 220 outlet in the garage.)

My advice would be to weld as much as you can in the jeep before removal for finish welding. I still had to use ratchet straps and a hi-lift to get some bolts through after powder coat.

Probably saved $1K or so doing it all ourselves even after purchasing the welder. However, while we made some memories (my dad came over to help.) My welds look like total amateur-hour and that's something I see every time I'm near it. And I also don't like that we did the A-bar in the windshield.

Denton Racing in Phoenix makes some nice end-caps for the dash opening.

 

[Spazbyt]

I bought a miller 211 and a friend and I did my cage over a couple days. The 110v outlets worked okay for tacking, but anything more and it was struggling for penetration. We went to HomeDepot and made a 220v extension cord to go into the laundry room off my garage and 220v was much better. (I have since had an electrician put a 220 outlet in the garage.)

My advice would be to weld as much as you can in the jeep before removal for finish welding. I still had to use ratchet straps and a hi-lift to get some bolts through after powder coat.

Probably saved $1K or so doing it all ourselves even after purchasing the welder. However, while we made some memories (my dad came over to help.) My welds look like total amateur-hour and that's something I see every time I'm near it. And I also don't like that we did the A-bar in the windshield.

Denton Racing in Phoenix makes some nice end-caps for the dash opening.

Yours turned out nice!

Admittedly the V and X bar looks bad ass. Although I didn't do the V bar in fear of it being annoying. I'm sure its something you get used to but I chickened out and I just know my wife would have hated it. As much as I would like to have the X bar (if only to keep my kids from kicking the back of my seat) It looks like it takes up a little bit of valuable space. I have 2 car seats and a booster seat shoe horned back there for at least a few more years so I need all the room I can get.

I was worried that just tacks wouldn't keep the whole thing from warping. Maybe I can make a template some how after I tack it all so that I can make sure its not warping when it gets fully welded?

Are you happy with the gray powder coat? I was thinking either 20% gloss black or 20% gloss gray.

 

[TonyT]

Yours turned out nice!

Admittedly the V and X bar looks bad ass. Although I didn't do the V bar in fear of it being annoying. I'm sure its something you get used to but I chickened out and I just know my wife would have hated it. As much as I would like to have the X bar (if only to keep my kids from kicking the back of my seat) It looks like it takes up a little bit of valuable space. I have 2 car seats and a booster seat shoe horned back there for at least a few more years so I need all the room I can get.

I was worried that just tacks wouldn't keep the whole thing from warping. Maybe I can make a template some how after I tack it all so that I can make sure its not warping when it gets fully welded?

Are you happy with the gray powder coat? I was thinking either 20% gloss black or 20% gloss gray.

Thanks! Its been great and certainly good insurance for the trails. I'm glad I waited through the years until a full cage was available.

V-bar would be more useful than the A. I would really like to have a rearview mirror up there, and will eventually chop them off so I can put one of those digital rearview mirrors up there. Buddy of mine has the X with the factory seats, I can't fit in his backseat anymore. I have PRP seats front and rear on some custom mounts and they really help maximize occupant room. My neighbor is 6'5" and he sat in the back on our last Moab trip all day long, no problem. You might be able to do a aftermarket bench seat for the three kids? (Just wide enough to sit back between the C-pillars.)

You'd have to have a serious jig to keep it straight while welding. Genright has a jig they weld up orders on, not sure what it looks like.

The gray powder coat has been great. Im not too creative in that area. I just wanted something that would hide dust and scratches.