Last time in "Shrink Ray TJ, Pt. 1" (Nov. '12), we introduced you to our slightly harebrained idea of making a TJ smaller and lighter rather than longer, taller, and larger. We covered how we trimmed down the front of the Jeep, making it shorter and lighter while retaining the stock wheelbase. Ultimately we were able to cut about 8-inches from the front of our ’97 SE TJ. Now our approach angle is close to zero with 33-inch tires. Well, the story doesn’t end there—we also had some different plans to modify, lighten, and beef up the caboose of our little TJ. With a little help from our friends at GenRight Off Road and a little home garage engineering we were able to trim 6 inches from the back of our TJ. The idea is similar to stretching the wheelbase of a TJ backwards, which GenRight has been doing for years. Instead we used the company’s parts to push the back of the Jeep forward, hack off some sheetmetal and increase the departure angle of the rig all while dropping a few pounds with help from PRP Seats. We also were able to add significant strength to the rear corners and rollcage of the Wrangler and cleaned up some dings and big ol’ dents our TJ had acquired after a year or so of wheeling all over the Southwest. How did we do it, how much weight did we save? Follow along and see!
Jeep Diet
As of this writing, our TJ weighs 3,520 lbs with a couple of spare axleshafts, a full top, and a 240lb driver. That’s only 140lbs more than the stock weight of our TJ when we bought it (with driver of similar weight). In all, our Shrink Ray project dropped 200 lbs from our TJ. And that’s with the addition of, bigger tires, a grille hoop, tube fenders, corner armor, heavy-duty steering, and a high-steer knuckle.
Here is the wear on our TJ’s caboose, backside, stinker, whatever you wanna call it. You can see that our TJ’s ba-donk-a-donk hung out enough to come in to contact with mother Earth more than just once or twice. Oops!
We started the teardown by...
We started the teardown by emptying what gas was left in the stock tank. How’d we do this? Well, we disconnected the fuel line near the top of the tank and fished it into a 5-gallon gas can. We then jumpered the fuel pump relay with a short piece of wire. The in-tank pump drained the tank for us.
This is our GenRight Off Road...
This is our GenRight Off Road Crawler Comp Gas Tank for TJ or LJ. The intended purpose of this part allows the end user to move the rear axle backwards 6 or 7 inches. We pushed it forward until it was close to hitting the rear axle. This allowed us to see what parts we would have to move and how much space we could chop off the back of the TJ. Quickly we realized that the stock shock placement wasn’t gonna work. Also the second to last crossmember that is the backbone for the upper shock mounts would hit the top of the gas tank and fuel pump housing.
Oh boy, out comes the air...
Oh boy, out comes the air saw. Let’s hope this works! We decided to trim 6 inches off the back of our TJ’s tub. We might have been able to cut off another inch, but then we’d have to get into cutting and moving the back of the rollcage. That would mean a custom ‘cage or sleeving the stock rollbar and would make fitting the bowless soft top back on the Jeep very difficult.
The GenRight tank comes with...
The GenRight tank comes with a super-stout skidplate. The forward mount of the tank skid is supposed to be secured to the frame via a bolt and sleeve. Because we pushed the tank and skid forward, this bolt would miss the framerail on our TJ. The solution was to drill a hole and weld in a threaded bung. We could then weld an angled bracket onto the skidplate that catches that threaded insert with a bolt. This way the stout tank is firmly mounted to the frame for those times when we set the gas tank down on a rock.
Here is the notch we had to...
Here is the notch we had to cut in the second-to-last crossmember to clear the fuel pump housing We used a plasma cutter—wouldn’t you if you had the choice? Also notice the patch on the Toyota rear axle. Apparently there was a slight fitment issue and yea, the stock gas tank skidplate basically rubbed a hole in the axle.
We built a new rear crossmember...
We built a new rear crossmember out of a length of 13⁄4-inch, 0.120-wall DOM tubing and a length of 3⁄16-inch plate. We welded the tube into the frame and then added the plate. We then stitched the two together and welded on some bolts to serve as the rear gas tank skid mount.
We trimmed off all the excess...
We trimmed off all the excess factory sheetmetal to save weight. We also took this time to add in C-pillar tie-ins to the frame. This strengthens up the cage of the Jeep significantly. It also allows us to tie our corner protection from GenRight Off Road to the rollcage and frame. So when we lean the TJ over on the rear corners they should hold up.
Here is our solution for replacing...
Here is our solution for replacing all that factory sheetmetal. Originally we planned on using lightweight aluminum corner blanks, but although steel is heavier, it’s also stronger and we can weld to it. We opted for steel blank corners from GenRight Off Road. These are pushed forward from their intended placement 6 inches. We then planned where to cut wheelwells and traced and re-cut the opening for the door.
We made a gigantic compass...
We made a gigantic compass out of wood, a nail, and a permanent marker and used it to draw big ol’ 35-inch wheelwells on each of the GenRight corner blanks. We then trimmed the blanks with our plasma cutter and cleaned up the edges with our 41⁄2-inch angle grinder. We did the same for the new door opening and then bolted them in place. Once installed, we clear-coated the bare metal to keep with the raw industrial look of the Jeep.
Our pal, Chris Durham, previously...
Our pal, Chris Durham, previously sold us on the idea of moving our rear shocks outboard of the frame. This solves our packaging issue with the tank sitting further forward, and also allows a TJ like ours to run longer rear shocks without cutting up the frame or the tub floor. To do this on the cheap, Durham told us to use these Ford shock brackets (PN E5TZ-18183-A) and new lower shock mounts on the axle.
We trimmed the Ford brackets...
We trimmed the Ford brackets and tucked the shocks up in the wheelwell. Here you can see the top of the shock and bracket peeking out above the tire. Yea, the tires rub the bracket and shock a little, but not enough to damage either. We may add wheel spacers someday. Durham also told us how easy it is to build brackets like this with a couple pieces of 11⁄4 x 1⁄4-inch plate, some 2x 3⁄16-inch plate, a vice to bend the plate, and a drill, but we only paid about $13 each for the brackets from the Ford dealership. The new lower shock mounts cost more than that!
We had C&C Fabrication bend...
We had C&C Fabrication bend up the 1⁄8-inch aluminum fill plate in the back of our TJ. The little notches in the corners of the fill-plate allow access to a hitch pin that fits in factory 3⁄4-inch holes in the framerail. Slip in a tow strap and run the pin through the loop and we have two lightweight rear tow points. We also added some flush-mount LED taillights and a license plate light to keep the fuzz off our back (we hope). Nope the fill plate does not open. That’s okay we’ll reach over it. It saved us lots of weight over the stock tailgate, which is very heavy. Besides, ours was bent. See how our much better departure angle is. We would be dragging our rear here if the Jeep were stock length.
Our factory seats were pretty torn up and abused. They were also fairly heavy and we are trying to save weight. We swapped them for a pair of super-nice, super-comfy, lightweight PRP Daily Driver seats. Did we mention they are comfortable? Just after this picture was taken we parked the Jeep on an incline sat back and took a nap. It’s a rough life. Someone has to test this stuff. The two PRP seats save us 11 pounds over the stock worn-out units. We also dropped the plate rockerguards in favor of some tubular versions. Are they stronger than the plate guards? Maybe not, but they are lighter.