Spring Moab trip is out of the way so now its time to get back to this.

I figured out all the brake stuff both on my existing '97 SAS Sport as well as for this build. So, irrespective of my caliper choice for the new axle I have potential master cylinders and I know which one I'll need for what calipers. The Wilwood 'E' pads have been working great - noisy as hell but they work really well, especially off road.

I'm still sticking with the ProRocks for axles. I still need to talk to Dynatrac and figure out what the front one will look like. Unless there's some horked up geometry issue with the steering it looks like it might be a good idea to go with the new JK axles and JK brakes. Its a LOT easier to get JK brake and hub parts than D52 parts from the '70s.

On to the next thing to figure out. The change to the '1-ton' steering on the black '97 Sport has been great. Over a year now and the joints are still good. Unfortunately the steering box isn't doing so hot. For some reason I can't figure out I've gone through three steering boxes in four years. I had a new one slapped on the big Sport three months ago and its already loosening up. Which I know by now is just the beginning of the end. Another issue I never had with the original steering box. Sigh.

So its time to work out a replacement. I was looking at going with the upgraded '70s Saginaw Bronco ported for hydraulic assist - and FINALLY doing hydraulic assist. I stopped by the shop this morning and they were in the process of replacing the steering and box on one of their race trucks. PSC is selling both a ported and un-ported version of the new 'Grand Cherokee' box which apparently is an almost direct bolt in for the Ford Saginaw. It looks like a modernized version of the late '90s Mitsu box.

I need to talk to PSC about the pump, box and whatever, do a little research and then have everything installed. I still have a lot of little details to work out on this but the plan is to have it installed on the '97 by July and ready for Moab in Aug. If everything goes well I'll move onto the suspension.

I keep waffling on the front suspension and whether of not to do the 3-link or go with an extended radius arm setup. If I KNEW the 3-link wasn't going to turn into a architectural nightmare, I'd just do it, but ....

BUT, one of the fab guys gave me a good idea. To avoid the track bar/oil pan clearance issue, the plan is to do the 2" body lift and then raise the engine and transmission 1". I'm not keen on that from a CG standpoint but if I can cut 2-3" off the frame height, move the body up 2" and the engine up 1", at worst it'll all wash and at best I'll end up with a CG that's maybe (at least) 1" lower than the '97 while still running 37"s. And, while I'll have 22-23" of ground clearance to the frame (down from 25"), the transmission & transfer cases will sit 1" higher in the frame which will give them a little more protection.

The last couple trips to UT have been a kind of a PITA. The Easter Jeep guys fix the trails up and by the time we get there they've been flooded out. A lot of the trails have a lot more off camber/washout crud than they used to 10-13 years ago and a lot of the old mining, etc. trails scattered over southern UT are just getting old and degrading. So, moved to the top of my list is widening the track another 1.5-2" over my '97. That combined with the (hopefully) lower CG will make a huge difference in stability if the current abilities of my '97 are any indicator. The trick will be to do this without having to do body work.

Anyway, the project isn't dead. Its just not moving as fast as I wish it was.

Edward