Thx guys.

 

Just got the JP mag! Congrats man, pics and article came out great...now come on over to the east coast so i can see this beast in person!

 

Wow that is one AMAZING JKU! That has gotta be the baddest one I've ever seen! Incredible job Bob, hat's off to you!

 

Thanks all.

Joneszj...Come to CO!

 

Here are some more upgrades to Rex. (were posted in a separate thread, but I deleted it).



Jack "The Painter" did this with his air brush:

Little Rex Escapes

Little Rex is in, Big Rex is stuck inside:

Little Rex has Won:

Here are some pics of the Cage and Interior:

Backseat

Cage

Rear Cage

Front Cage

Added RCV's

Also upgraded the tranny with racing type internals

 

Moon Buggy!

Jeep transformed into a lunar landing buggy is more like it.

DAMN THAT HING IS SICK!

 

Here is a video that the Paint Shop (Body Works by Steve) did. They point out to watch it in full screen with the volume up. Nice of them to do.

http://player.vimeo.com/video/29708941?autoplay=1

 

Great pics and article!!! (and great Jeep of course!!!) Congrats!!!

 

I got to see this rig wheel, in person at jeep camp earlier this year! what an awesome rig! And the guys from TnT were some of the nicest guys I have met in a long tim. Not to mention all of their rigs are SICK, and these guys know how to wheel! I hope to have one of their suspensions on my rig eventually.

Congrats on the JP feature Pat!

Will you be at jeep camp again in '12? Im hoping I make it, and hopefully I will be in my JKU, instead of riding shotgun again!

 

Will you be at jeep camp again in '12? Im hoping I make it, and hopefully I will be in my JKU, instead of riding shotgun again!

Thanks! I will be at Jeep camp with both rigs. I look forward to seeing you again. We changed configuration on my front drive shaft, so I ought not to be breaking it again!

Tremendous build! Don't know how I missed this until just now.

Thank you!

 

Tremendous build! Don't know how I missed this until just now.

 

Dang! Congrats on the JP shoot

 

Grooving the TSL/SX's

I was out snow bashing with a bunch of CO guys. They asked me why my TSL/SX's weren't grooved for better traction and flex. Huh? says I. So they explained that I should cut rubber off the tires to make more "teeth" and to reduce stiffness over rocks. I looked up tire groovers. Bought one. Used it. Took about an hour to do all four. The ride is a lot quieter and they worked well on the trail.

Before (ignore that it is flat, that was just an oops on a trail)

After:

 

Great job being featured in JP!

 

Thx! TnT really gets the credit though.

Right now TnT is doing a couple builds for my buddies. Both of them have two doors. One of them, is getting a build so that as Greg, the owner, says, "it will out climb Rex". Should be fun to see.

 

Will definitely be fun to see. I gotta get down to TnT to check out the builds!

 

Amazing. Epic for sure!

 

New steering gear

After taco'ing the tie rod and drag link at Rock Junction, we decided to make the steering more "robust".

Here are some pics of the y-arms

We put in 1350 cv in the drive line too.

Also Rex was supposed to get a Torq axle. However, it seems that Torq can't deliver. I've twisted three D-60 axle shafts so far, no huge deal but irritating. I put stickies on Rex for the serious rock crawling events, so having a more robust axle is key. I'll put the SX's back on for street and normal trail use, but the stickies do made a huge difference on rocks--but they are harder on parts. Goal is still to be able to drive on the street as well as trails.

We are in the midst of planning mods to make Rex the ultimate trail jeep (go fast and still crawl extremely well). If you all have 'out of the box' suggestions as to what we be really cool, i'd like to hear them.

 

Also Rex was supposed to get a Torq axle. However, it seems that Torq can't deliver.

What happened? Were they going to do tone rings?

If you really want to go over board, give Tube Works a call...

I've twisted three D-60 axle shafts so far, no huge deal but irritating

Try to get a set in 300M??

We are in the midst of planning mods to make Rex the ultimate trail jeep (go fast and still crawl extremely well). If you all have 'out of the box' suggestions as to what we be really cool, i'd like to hear them.

Too many to list here...

 

Putting Trail Ready Double Beadlocks wheels with TSL/SX rubber.

I've been having burping problems with the SX's below 11psi. I love the SX's because they are so tough. However that thick sidewall leads to burping with a heavy rig like Rex at low psi.

The inner piece pins the tire walls on both sides.

The ring of the beadlock is sealed with an O ring. The metal ring slides between the inner lock and the wheel.

 

Still confused on how this will actually "pinch" the tire on both the inner and outer bead?

 

This inner ring goes around the wheel and inside the tire:

It pinches the inner bead as it is pressed and locked by a metal insert, and the ring bolts down to hold the whole thing together.

You can see the metal insert (below the ring) and the ring itself in this pic.

The whole set up reminds me of Stauns in that it is an internal "fitting" that holds the inner bead in place. Of course in this case the internal "fitting" is a piece of plastic pipe, and it is held together with the metal rings on the on the outer rim.

 

Still confused. :bawling:

On a traditional double beadlock like a hummer wheel, the wheel itself is actually two pieces. The PVC insert goes in the tire and as you tighten the bolts, the two pieces come closer together sandwiching the tire bead to the PVC insert.

Here I see the PVC insert but cant figure out what will apply pressure to each bead to push it against the insert.

 

That grey thing in your pic is the same piece as the shiny metal thing in my pic. I should have taken it off the wheel. Looks very similar in shape.

 

Jim. Thx for message. Those things happen. I wish you the best. Pat

 

In response to a question from a jeep brother:

Here are some pics of the inside of the b pillar. The top half is removable. The lower half is pretty much factory with the exception it has a mount that bolts to the cage.

The top half was cut off and mounts to the lower hall with a pin. The top bolts to the cage. It is finished with sheet metal, 16g. Then painted.

With the seat in normal position.

The mount to the cage for the lower half. This is looking down.

The flange to top of cage

The pillar installed and removed.

 

Is there any particular advantage to the ylink long arm set up vs running with traditional independent upper links?

 

I've had both on Rex. I've had a 4" and 6" long 4 arm set up, and the the TnT y-link with a 3.5 inch lift (what's currently on there).

When the 4 arm set ups were "new" they were fine. However I wheeled the heck out of Rex. As I did so I bent arms, mounts, tore the mounts off of the frame, broke the drag link mount, broke teack bar mount, struggled with keeping the bump steer away, and of course alignment was out after every trip.

With the y-arms, once they made parts big enough for the fat pig Rex, I have bent an arm, bent a track bar. Rarely is the alignment out, no bump steer issues or anything. Bottom line is that I can wheel the heck out of it, not worried about breaking, then hit the highway for home. So drives nice on trail and road and is robust in my experience.

 

Very nice ride and exceptional craftsmanship. I really like the cage.

 

Thanks. The credit for the build goes to TnT!

 

Do you have anymore pictures of the rear tube armor being built. I like the idea and have been trying to figure out how to go about doing mine.

 

Ill look.