280GE Build

stjjames

Observer
Thought I would start a thread here as well.
This is my buddies rig, but he isn't the forum hound I am :sombrero:
It'll be a recreational wheeling / camping / hunting / DD rig - I myself fancy for camping as long as I can & often for a week plus, as far away from other folk & less capable rigs as possible.
He picked this rig up to replace his 69' S2A.
He desired a sealed cab (the LR leaked), with more interior room, for folk & gear.

Couple of Pics of the S2A ( the TJ is mine) ;

3c11e085.jpg

P1010072-1.jpg

P1010078.jpg

vince2.jpg

VinceonArchers4.jpg

Vincetryingtoroll.jpg

Landieflex.jpg


He picked up this 1985 280GE out of Texas. Inline six, four speed auto, VG80 transfer case, 4.88 gears, etc, for $5K - with a blown transfercase. He quickly squared the T/C away & had it road worthy. Slapping a fresh set of 32" Kevlars on it & proceeded to take it out on the trail, which was short lived. It hardly made it 200 meters before a rock punctured the gas tank & he was headed home in shame :p
He wanted to get in squared away, similarly to the S2A - so he could at least get it on the trail.

Best Before shot I have handy . . .

4258b6a7.jpg
 

stjjames

Observer
We dropped it off at Those guys rods & Customs up in Bremerton. He has done a slew of work to my rig & decided, since he was particularly well versed in XJ's - he would be the right guy to fab some junk for the G. Aside from the frame, The G isn't a - huge - departure from an XJ. The goal was to get it trail worthy & armored up from the beltline down - without compromising the overall look of the G. From 50 feet we're hoping it all looks rather stock . . . ish.

First thing was to address the particularly low & vulnerable rockers. XJ style rocker replacements were chosen - though it was found there was considerably more reinforcing material in the G than an XJ - I guess that justifies some of the weight :coffeedrink:
Full cut away & weld in replacement, with a small kicker - to try & keep the tree's at bay :elkgrin:

Rockers.jpg


Underside;

RockerUnder.jpg


Flat Belly skids, an oil pan skid is in the works soon enough - potentially just a armored stock unit, with plate welded to the circumference.

Skid2.jpg


The stock radiator was shot, so a (much cheaper than an OEM replacement :Wow1: ) Griffin aluminum unit was chosen as a replacement. custom mounts had to be made both on top & bottom.
Topside mounts, easy-peasy.

Radiatormounttop.jpg


The lower mounts are tied in to the front crossmember, shoring up the whole front end.

RadiatorSupport.jpg
 

stjjames

Observer
Gas Tank was definitely in need of some up-armouring after its ill fated first venture :D You can see it's tied into the rear bumper.

GasSkid.jpg


And speaking of the rear bumper.
In process;

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And with the low-rider rear tire carrier - still looking for a matching wheel if anyone has one for sale :ylsmoke:

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stjjames

Observer
Moving around to the front - we knew the front fenders wouldn't survive in stock form & were prohibitively expensive to replace - so Vince (the owner) opted for Defender ' trophy" style fenders.

In process;

8be6b003.jpg

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Inside;
Looking Forward;

FendersInside1.jpg


And Aft;

FenderInside2.jpg


Antenna mount;

RadioBox.jpg


And done, minus headlights.

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Strong!

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Onto the front bumper.
He wanted a winch mount, up kicks to keep the rough off the grill & to be stout enough to slay wayward deer.

Top side shot, along with a better shot of the radiator supports;

Winchmounttop.jpg


Under side;

Winchmountunder.jpg
 
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stjjames

Observer
And, his freestanding light bar. This may end up being tied into a roof rack / rub bar arraignment . . .

LightBar.jpg


Mount & fender transition.

LIghtbarFenders.jpg


That wraps up Pat's work on it. The first day we got it back, we tossed the winch from my Tj onto it - I'm going to M8000's front & rear.

Oil cooler relocated (Pat actually did this)

OilCooler.jpg


We had to trim away both grill & supports abit - but with all of the reinforcement, these became mostly trivial.

Winchclearance.jpg


And after relocating the 3 pointed star - so mean looking !!!

FrontSex.jpg
 

stjjames

Observer
Aaaand, with heads & turns - still waiting on the trim rings from RoversNorth.
He's gonna put the front flare, front mud flap thingy back on - to further it's stock appearance.

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Though, in those pics you may have spied his dented rocker kicker . . .
Their going to have to be redesigned abit, using 3 tube supports, instead of 2 plate units. When we were flexing it out, he started to slip forward & gave it some gas, it tagged the tree with the full weight of the rig on two wheels :D
A proper first day home & way to christen a rig that will see a healthy amount of trail time.
I circled where his rocker hit the tree, haha.

6009f844.jpg

oops.jpg


That pretty much brings us up to date.
A roof rack, sand ladders, communication equipment ( CB, VHF & Ham radios ) are in the immediate future. Well until we hybrid cage it & toss 404's & 37's under it - I mean, for the cost of gears for this thing, we may as well buy a D300 & 404 axles - cheaper in the longrun, or so I'm trying to convince him :elkgrin:

5319.jpg
 

mk216v

Der Chef der Fahrzeuge
Thanks - definitely more to come !
The owner is in Portland as well - we'll be making trips out to TSF & HooDoo soon enough. :ylsmoke:

TSF as in Tillamook State Forest?
I've been out there the past few weekends. :smiley_drive:
 

stjjames

Observer
TSF as in Tillamook State Forest?
I've been out there the past few weekends. :smiley_drive:

Correct sir!
What trails are you guys running ?
All of the rover pics were out at TSF - I think it's the best place in the area & have been Biking, riding, shooting, hiking & wheeling out there since I was a wee welp. We normally go, FB5 - hit the rock pile, then do one of, or both of the Crushers loop(s), Rockyuphill, Airplane hill - now thats its open (the G can likely handle the filter, but will prolly pass on the main obstacle), can opener (again, the G will skip this - it's gotten nasty !), then the waterfall, which should be fun for the G ! We'll be heading out to Naches & of course the Rubicon as well ! And likely many gear laden camping trips in central Oregon !
I think the rig should be able to pic it's way through the upper crushers, in the dry.


Crushers8.jpg


Vince on Hogsback, even in the dry the lack of lockers denied him !

VinceonHogsBack4.jpg


Trying to roll it on RockyUp(down)Hill - the G will be able to tackle it going up & will be a well suited & fun trail for it I think !

VinceonArchers.jpg

VinceonArchers5-1.jpg


My rig - sure is pretty in the winter !

P1010049.jpg

P1010073.jpg


Anyhow, enough non-G photo whoring ! New G pics coming soon !!!
 

stjjames

Observer
Where exactly are those in TSF showing the Rover?

Ironically, Vince - the rigs owner - sold his sweet 92 Mk2 16v GLi to buy the rover & really wanted a red or white G.
In the above post I posted the trails they were taken on.
As for the first page pics.

Top of FB5
P1010072-1.jpg


Random fire road, his quarter panel discovered a stump !
P1010078.jpg


Back entrance to the lower crushers
vince2.jpg


RockyUpHill
VinceonArchers4.jpg


FB5
Vincetryingtoroll.jpg

Landieflex.jpg
 

mk216v

Der Chef der Fahrzeuge
Perfect, thanks for the further detail.
Well, my red G is for sale if he's interested. :)

Back to the 280GE build!
 

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