Outer Limits 4x4 Board

Started on this on Thursday on a day off. Got a little way so far but still a lot to do.

Had to first make some brackets, the XJ is a unibody so has no frame as such. I widened the holes at the end of the unibody where a nut strip goes for the towbar and replaced it with a 6mm strip to help support the towbar.



And made up these mounts.



You can see the steel bar running back and covering the towbar holes, it is now drilled with nuts welded on the back.



Mounted up the main bar after welding in the spindle, the spindle isn't fully welded in these pics.



Bent and mounted some side plates.





Trimmed them. The guards are also being trimmed to match to allow 32's to fit and flex.



And started to box under the taillights. Still plenty to do though.







Cheers
Steve

cant wait to see the finsihed product...n1

lookin' good dude. I would suggest you make supports back to the chassis from the side wings or near the corners. - a heavy whack on the corner will kill your taillights instantly

awesome fab work very nice

Good stuff

Good to see some-one having a go .
Looks good and would look grouse painted in the Jeeps colour too.

Nothing but high praise here to. Looks strong and very neat. Can't wait to see the finished job.

Looking real good there.

The plan is to have the main bar done by the end of the weekend, still a lot of fabrication to go on it and then plenty of grinding etc to make it smooth. I also ordered a bear claw latch today, about $30. Its rated to 2000lbs and 30g and means the tyre carrier will be closed just like a car door and open with a thumb catch Hopefully it'll work ok.

Cheers
Steve

Nice work, what are using for the top of the bar alloy check plate or something else ? There was a thread a while ago from a guy who made a nice front bar for a jeep and would go well with your rear bar.

Loanrangie wrote:Nice work, what are using for the top of the bar alloy check plate or something else ? There was a thread a while ago from a guy who made a nice front bar for a jeep and would go well with your rear bar.

Alloy checkerplate is going on top to fill the gap Was the front bar this one?



Because if it was thats my one, I posted a thread up on here about it's construction Also made rockrails since then. The Jeep has changed a bit since then, also has new wheels and 32's on the way.

Cheers
Steve

Steve F wrote:etc to make it smooth. I also ordered a bear claw latch today, about $30. Its rated to 2000lbs and 30g and means the tyre carrier will be closed just like a car door and open with a thumb catch Hopefully it'll work ok.

Cheers
Steve

Care to share any info on this latch ?

Cheers

Steve F wrote:

Loanrangie wrote:Nice work, what are using for the top of the bar alloy check plate or something else ? There was a thread a while ago from a guy who made a nice front bar for a jeep and would go well with your rear bar.

Alloy checkerplate is going on top to fill the gap Was the front bar this one?



Because if it was thats my one, I posted a thread up on here about it's construction Also made rockrails since then. The Jeep has changed a bit since then, also has new wheels and 32's on the way.

Cheers
Steve

LOL, i thought it looked familiar !

pongo wrote:

Steve F wrote:etc to make it smooth. I also ordered a bear claw latch today, about $30. Its rated to 2000lbs and 30g and means the tyre carrier will be closed just like a car door and open with a thumb catch Hopefully it'll work ok.

Cheers
Steve

Care to share any info on this latch ?

Cheers

It's the 1-400 in this PDF. It's the same sort of thing ARB are doing with thier new bars.

http://www.eberhard.com/PDF/section_1.pdf

Cheers
Steve

Lookin good m8,

Keep us up to date.

Spock

Got some more done this morning, it takes me longer than I expect as I keep setting my goals a little higher, I think it's worth the time and effort though





The overall look is what I was going for so I'm happy so far



Cheers
Steve

Did you stick the stub axle right through the bar and welded it on bottom too? Or is it just welded to the top section of the bumper?

PJ.zook wrote:Did you stick the stub axle right through the bar and welded it on bottom too? Or is it just welded to the top section of the bumper?

It goes all the way through and is welded top and bottom. Also the stub axle section going through the bar is longer than the section poking out which also helps strengthen it.

Just enough to add a lot of strength and to get some weld on it.



Cheers
Steve

Sweet. Im making my own and was wondering about strength of stub axle. Dont ya love Supercheap Auto, theyre cheap as chips

Got the most part of the bar done now, just need to grind back a few bits, fill a few bits and get some checkerplate for the top. Should get it painted this week and then I start on the carrier.







Cheers
Steve

Also looks like I'll be mounting LED's in the bar as well and here's why It did make the whole job a lot easier though.





Cheers
Steve

Did you machine the sleeve to fit wheel bearings yourself or can you buy them like that?

Keep up the great work. It looks awesome.

Your level of craftsmanship is impeccable.

Nelso wrote:Did you machine the sleeve to fit wheel bearings yourself or can you buy them like that?

Keep up the great work. It looks awesome.

Bought them like that from http://www.trailerparts.net.au/shop

Cheers
Steve

rOd wrote:Your level of craftsmanship is impeccable.

Totally agree... phenomenal

Awesome work there!

Thanks for the compliments guys.

Added some paint tonight (more to go on tomorrow night), hides a multitude of sins Also got my latch, it just fits in a 50x50 RHS with 5mm wall, perfect. The top part of the L will be poking through a slot in the arm and used to release the lock. I may add a bit more of a handle to it. I'll also add a spring to it to stop it rattling around.







Cheers
Steve

My god I'm starting to understand the "Jeep thing"
That looks sweet as

The bar is pretty much done, just need to mount the stud for the latch (will do that when I make the swingaway) and also need to put some alloy checkerpate on top to bring it closer to the tailgate and fill the gap between body and bar.

The lights aren't wired up yet either (Rear/Brake) and I haven't decided if I'll add indicators as well but left plenty of room for them. It's been a fun project and I'm looking forward to starting on stage two.





Cheers
Steve

thats unreal, im about to start work on mine, wont be that classy though, just hope is functional

Go the indicators it'll finish the job off nicely.

Here's a pic of mine, it's an Opposite Lock item but the $2 trailer lights they fit died after they filled with mud so I cut the Hella LEDs in and put the reverse lights in the old holes.