Have you ever....
 

Had so much money in your junk, that you was afraid to
add it all up. It may make you sick the next time you roll
it over and you keep going, in hopes that it will flip back up on
its wheels. My wife would be proud if she only knew......

i was at that point with the pumpkin... it was a bit insane actually... made me sick to think about it. sad part was that most of the money put into it was long gone.... previous axles and parts etc...

the worst part was looking back and saying, "wow, i could have built this for a 10th of the price if i had known what i had wanted all along..."

But does anyone ever really know what they want?

I do now.

i also do now...

Well, of course, you do now. but you didn't then. But at some point you might change your mind and want to change it to something else. As technology grows and changes. you always want the bigger and badder things in life. yes?

yes, i guess i shouldn't say i know what i want now... but i can safely say that i have a much better idea about it.

It is just as important to know what i don't want...

- I don't want stock jeep axles, no matter what jeep they came out of... I built a set of stock CJ axles with ARB's, gears, chromos, etc.... man that was retarded.

- I don't want a daily driver rig to drive on the trail... did it for a long time, did my time you might say. the stress of "oh my god how am i going to get home if i break" and "then how am i going to get to work/school tomorrow".

- I don't want an enclosed rig, whether it be hard top, soft top, whatever. the most covering i want is a bikini top, even in the dead of winter.

- I don't want anything less than 40" tires, ever again. Once you go black... well you know what i mean.

- I don't want anyone else working on my junk, ever again, for any reason. you learn by doing. I got soaked for at least $30k in just labor back when i had no idea what i was doing.

- I don't want an RV, or fifth wheel, or pop up, or anything like that. It's tent or hotel for me. Or sleep in my truck, etc... I don't need a second house to take care of. I have too much maintanance on my real house already.

i guess i could go on for hours about it... it's funny what you learn along the way...

ARP .......hub studs is the latest vender i helped support
hopefully no more 3 wheelin

ARP, nice. i have some of their hardware as well...

Back in my street racing days I sat down with the wife and started figuring up what I had dumped into the Camaro . I stopped at $25k and that did not include the price of the car.
I have often said I would have loved to put that $$ in a rig , but now the kids are older and need braces and sports and ....... I could go on for days :eek: .
I know what I want in a rig now , but I would be divorced and living in my RV ( no, I would have to buy back my old RV ) if I switched rigs or at least started a new one right now . So for now the YJ will have to do !
Mine is a DD but with a catch , I do not need it to get to work , nor do I need it on a daily basis . In fact I just got the tranny put back in today from the break at Harlan , I will be buttoning everything else up in the morning and momma will have her garage space back.
I'm just sitting back and waiting for the credit card bill to show up ! Momma will be so happy with me when she see's just how much Haran cost me :rolleyes:

I completely agree.

- Started with CJ in boxes and did a complete restoration only to tear it apart and part it out because it was too nice to wheel and it was the only way I could get decent money back out of it.

- Went thru multiple cheap YJs only to sell or part out for a better one

- Had current YJ for just over a year, started stock, went to 8.8 & D30 with 4.10s, and am now going to SOA with HPD44 & D60.

Started added up what I will have in my Jeep when finished and I will easily be above 15k and that is with finding some good deals.

JeepHD, don't get caught in a continuing cycle. Start looking for a front 60 now.

Truggy may look like scrap but I have more than I care to think about in it. With the truggy build I was able to stay on track for the most part and not waste money on parts that would be useless to me later. Learned my lesson a few times on previous builds on small upgrades performed when large upgrades should have been done first. All in learning though I guess :D

I would have went 60, but the 44 came with an OX locker in it so I am sticking with it for now. I have chormoly shafts with superjoints for it, so I should be ok. It also weighs less than the 60 which will be nice. I think the 44 will hold for me, I hope.

Yep, Syko said the same thing about that "temporary" 44 in the front... with Chromos and CTMs... Broke the axle, tossed the joint far enough that we couldn't find it (by the way, they won't exchange without the trunion...) and this is what the hub looked like... it was a fantastic sounding blast... that's for SURE... I'm with Paul.

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b2...67_097_032.jpg

Ouch, did you really have to show me that? Anyone have a good price on a 78-79 Ford D60 front???? What vehicle and engine was he running the 44 on?

if by "good price" you mean good for the seller, as he takes your ass thru the wringer, then yes.

those axles are a hot commodity now, if you find one for less that $1000 in junkyard shape, yer doing pretty good.

good luck, if you find a tractor trailer full of them sitting in a field for $200 a piece, i will take whatever you don't want, and retire.

And there in lies a the reason I have a HPD44. As usual, I am overbudget enough with these changes as it is.

Here's some more 44 carnage that you're NOT going to be able to fix on the trail:
http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r...0/100_0391.jpg
http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r...0/100_0396.jpg

that was on 33s...

Thanks guys! Really, thanks a lot! Way to build my confidence in the axle!

36" iroks, pretty light rig, with a 302.

that kinda reminds me of Harlan :eek: :eek:

nah, it will hold up fine, yer just gonna have to wheel like a puss, and bypass all the hard stuff.... hahhaahha.

Oh well, guess I will get some carnage pics next summer to add to the collection. Maybe I will find a 60 to put in next winter. The 44 has to be better than the 30