Episodes in this Series
Welcome to the Money Pit Classifieds Jeep LJ rock crawler build! This build will be completed in a standard 2-car garage to show how anyone who has some basic fabrication and welding skills can build a very high-quality rock crawler without the need for engineering and CAD experience and without expensive tools like a tube bender, hydraulic shear, hydraulic brake, laser or a water jet machine.
Please click on the link at the bottom of this page to read all of the episodes in this series.
We decided to build our rock-crawler on a Jeep LJ platform for a few reasons. The first and most important is the ability to stretch the wheel base to about 115 inches. We wanted to build a trail rig capable of hauling ass to the beginning of the trail, so low and long without compromising its rock crawling ability is key. The second reason is the availability of aftermarket parts for the Jeep LJ, especially for the suspension. There are some incredible suspension options, but it was never a question for us: GenRight Tracer suspension is just the right suspension that will make this LJ perform exactly how we want.
We set out looking for a nice LJ, but soon after looking at a few clean, low mileage units, we realized that most of what we would be buying would end up in the scrap pile. It didn't take long to figure out that all we really needed was a frame, tub and a title. It made perfect sense to look for a salvage title Jeep that had little or no body or frame damage. So when we called Sgt Jeep in Rosamond, CA to see what they might have, they had just received a 2005 LJ that after having been hit in the front suspension, the front axle was pushed back about 1-1/2”. We drove to Rosamond to take a look.
The Jeep was in fair condition. It had about 100k miles on it and some surface rust on the frame and some minor body rust issues told us that it had probably spent some of its life on the East coast. None of this damage scared us, so we made a deal and brought it home. Part of our deal was that they would buy back all of the parts we didn't want. Perfect for both of us! Parts like the engine, trans, transfer case, air bags, hood, fenders, seats, dash, roll cage and hardtop will all get loaded up and shipped back to the seller.
The second line of business was to design the build parts list. Having been on the trail with Jeeps for many years, we've come to recognize which vehicles really perform well. That made it easy to come up with the initial parts list:
2005 Jeep LJ
LS3-430 HP
Maximum Transmission 4L80 Reverse Manual Valve Body
Advance Adapters Atlas 3.0 Transfer Case
GenRight Tracer Suspension
Currie Extreme 60 and 70 differentials with 5.38:1 gears
Summit Machine 7075 Aluminum Links
Summit Machine Flex Joint
King bumpstops
PSC hydraulic assist steering
GenRight Aluminum High Line aluminum fenders
GenRight Steel bumpers
GenRight Aluminum body armor
GenRight Fast Back roll cage
Raceline wheels
King 2.5x14” coil over Shocks Mickey Thompson Tires
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