Vince's Sandstorm TJ
By Tim & Mike Rogers, TMR Customs
Vince set out with the goal of building his own streetable 1 ton TJ that could haul him and his camping gear to and from the trails and it had to be done on a tight budget. He had to spend his money wisely, purchasing new parts where it made sense and purchasing used parts to finish the build within his budget.
After picking up a 1999 6-cylinder TJ the next step was finding a set of diffs. Vince took our advice and went with a Ford hi pinion Dana 60 front and a 14 bolt rear. He quickly ditched the overweight 14 bolt drums and swapped in our TMR disc conversion kit. Next we recommended our TMR Customs long arm kits, as they are easy for a DIY’er to install. The front 3 link and rear 4 link would be perfect for Vince’s intended hard core use, providing more than enough suspension travel and flex. TMR link kits ride smoother than a stock Jeep and have the ability to set the wheelbase anywhere between stock and 110”. Vince decided to stretch his rig out to 100” of wheel base. A tow rig was not in the budget so the Jeep had to maintain good road manners.
Armed with your basic welder, grinder, simple hand tools and a 1-1/2 car garage, Vince set out on his build. With the TMR Customs 3 & 4 link kits roughed in place he added our front Dana 60 truss and rear 14 bolt truss with pinion guard to finish things off. We recommended Radflo remote reservoir coil-over shocks up front and kept it budget friendly in the back with a set of TJ springs and Rancho long travel shocks. The TMR Customs universal front shock towers and tie-in kit made quick work of mounting the coil-overs, and our coil buckets worked well in the rear. Vince went with factory Ford shock towers to mount the Rancho’s on a budget and added anti-rock sway bars from Currie Enterprises to keep the suspension in check.
TMR Customs heavy duty steering kit with chromoly rod ends install easily and the rod ends with high misalignment spacers provided enough flex during down travel whereas a tie rod end would have bound up. To power the steering Vince chose a Red Neck Ram hydro assist kit with a TMR Customs steering box skid plate for added peace of mind.
Vince found a great deal on some used 39.5” Irok’s and a set of wheels with TMR Customs bead locks already installed. After installing a pair of Tom Woods drive shafts it was time to take the rig out for its maiden voyage. The Jeep performed well above expectations and the least of Vince’s worries was breaking parts or incurring body damage – this rig was built for a beating! Vince finished the build off with rear corner guards from Blue Torch Fab, front stinger bumper, rear flush mount bumper, rocker guards and front tube fenders from TMR Customs.
He can tackle the toughest trails with confidence knowing his rig will get him home in comfort. Best of all it was built with simple hand tools, on a budget and in his own garage!