Out back, the Rubicon Express long arms were ditched in favor of a custom triangulated four-link built by Twisted Customs to do away with the factory rear track bar. In a really nice touch, Twisted Customs frenched the rear frame rails in order to cleanly mount the rear coilover buckets. A pair of 14-inch Fox coilovers suspends the rear of the Jeep and the resulting 7-inch rear stretch combined with the 1-inch front stretch translates into a 104-inch wheelbase.
Naturally, because the rear axle is now where the stock fuel tank should be, a custom 17-gallon fuel cell was mounted in the rear of the Jeep. However, since Rick wanted to retain the use of his back seat for his grandkids, he commissioned Twisted Fabrications to build a cell that would utilize the factory fuel pump/sending unit assembly and that would still allow the rear seat to be installed.
All of this clears room for the 38.5x14.50-16 Maxxis Creepy Crawler tires mounted on 16x10 Champion Baja C3 bead locks with a 3.5-inch backspacing.
A man after our own hearts, Rick didn't dabble too heavily in niceties when it came to adding flash. Inside, the stock seats received a set of seat covers and the steering wheel got a parts-store cover to hide the cracked and peeling leather. Otherwise, the interior, roll cage, and instruments are just as they were when Rick bought the Jeep brand-new back in 1998.
Outside, however, certain allowances had to be made in the name of survivability and off-roadability. For starters, the factory bumpers got axed for the pair of home-built ones you see in the photos. An 8,000-pound Ramsey winch hangs from the front, and the fender skins were replaced with a set of Poison Spyder Customs tube fenders for bashability. Likewise, some Poison Spyder Crusher Corners with Crusher Flares adorn the rear body skins. The whole shebang was lifted with a 1-inch body lift to clear a little room for the big NV4500 tranny, and it was then sprayed in new black paint by Tony Jimenez of Jimenez Auto Creations in Dumas, Texas.
Most of the Jeep is pretty burly, but there are a few areas that Rick is still going to address. For starters, he'll be swapping out all the rod ends on the vehicle for some top-quality chromoly pieces to ensure he never relives his harrowing experience of losing the front axle at road speeds. And, while the ram assist Rick built using an agricultural cylinder works well at low speeds, the volume of fluid it sucks from the pump creates a lag in the steering that is unsettling. Again, Rick is planning on going with a more realistically sized ram from PSC.
Rick really likes the elimination of the rear track bar and claims the triangulated four-link was a great addition. And there's just no beating the quality and looks of those Champion bead lock wheels.
I gave Rick's Jeep a brief once-over while it was still on his trailer in pieces. I really dug the thought put into the mounting of the rear coilovers, the Spider 9 axlehousings, and the overall quality of the build. However, had it not been for Rick's tenacity in getting his Jeep fixed, I probably wouldn't have tracked him down to talk with him about the TJ. Seeing a guy lying in a wet pool of melted snow in miserable 30-degree weather for the better part of a day and a half so he can hit the trails is one thing. But to take a second hit on the chin and come back swinging, fixing the mangled front suspension after losing the axle on the road, is something else. You just gotta admire that kind of never-say-die spirit.
-Christian Hazel
Vehicle: '98 Wrangler TJ
Engine: Stock 4.0L
Transmission: '98 Dodge NV4500
Transfer Case: Atlas II, 4.3:1 low
Axles: Twisted Customs-built Spider 9 (front and rear)
Wheels: 16x10 Champion bead lock, 3.5-inch backspacing
Tires: 38.5x14.50-16 Maxxis Creepy Crawler
Built For: Family fun and hard trails
Estimated Cost: $30,000