BDS Project KJ: Parts/Progress on the Daily
BDS Project KJ: Parts/Progress on the Daily
There was plenty of commotion around the BDS R&D Shop when I stopped by Friday late afternoon. Seems the approaching deadline to have the KJ prepped in time for the 2013 Ultimate Adventure has brought the team together as they work to complete suspension, drivetrain, cage, body mods, fuel cell and more. I mentioned in the last post parts have been arriving on the daily are are prepped for install. There’s still a number of areas that require fabrication and finish welding. Suspension linkage is nearly completed and uses a 4-link front and triangulated 4-link rear. 14” stroke Fox 2.5 remote coilovers arrived and are awaiting a set of Pac Racing springs to be installed (will have more on the coil specs when they arrive). Fox 2.0 bump stops will be installed soon to help keep our soon to arrive 40” Nitto Trail Grapplers off of the fenders. Up front our PSC JK steering box has been mounted to a reinforced front “framerail” and accepts the OE steering shaft linkage. The “framerail” is being notched to allow the track bar clearance at full compression.
BDS Project KJ Progress, Rear Fabrication
BDS Project KJ Progress, Rear Fabrication
This week the guys are fabbing up the rear of the KJ. After discussing the options to mount the rear suspension, roll cage, spare tire, fuel cell, dual batteries, air compressor, and more into the rear of this Liberty, the decision was made to remove the OE trunk floor and build a new subfloor that will act as a skid plate and give us additional storage space.  We’ve seen some comments on the message boards about not much Liberty left, and this week’s update won’t help our case. That being said the guys are making progress and while the visual of the rear layout may not make total sense yet, it should as they fab work comes together. The plan is to build a fuel cell to mount at the bottom of the subfloor. It will be taller on the driver’s side to incorporate additional fuel storage and allow us to reinstall the OE fuel sending unit and OE filler door location. Dual batteries will be mounted driver’s side forward of the fuel cell, air compressor mounted on the passenger side. Spare tire will be mounted at slant and additional space will be allotted for tool storage and spare parts.
Fox Shocks for Project KJ
More goodies arrived today for Project KJ, the ’05 Liberty CRD being built to take on the 2013 Ultimate Adventure. This special delivery comes from our friends at Fox Racing who just dropped off a set of 14” stroke, 2.5” remote coilovers and 2.0 bumps to be mounted at all 4 corners. We’ll have more on these as they get mounted in place over the next couple days as we move closer to getting this chassis rolling again. One month to go until the start of the 2013 Ultimate Adventure. Follow along with the build up at BDS Project KJ buildup.
Project KJ special delivery… Gears, Lockers, & Axle Shafts
Special Delivery just came in from our friends at JustDifferentials.com, 5.13 Nitro gears, master overhaul kit, Ox Locker with air actuator for the front along with Nitro 30-spline axle shafts. In the rear we’re going with 5.13 Nitro gears, ARB Air Locker and 35-spline Nitro axle shafts. Both lockers will be plumbed into an ARB twin air compressor. All great parts going into our Project Liberty CRD. Stay tuned for more…
BDS Project KJ Update: Suspension Fab Part #1
BDS Project KJ Update: This week the guys are busy working on the suspension of our little Liberty CRD. Up front, lower control arms are fabbed up and the unibody has been reinforced to mount the LCA brackets. Upper arms and track bar mount going in soon. In the rear, a triangulated 4-link has resides to improve suspension travel and eliminate the need for a rear track bar as space is limited. Fox Racing 14” remote 2.5 coilovers and 2.0 bumps are in route to the shop to install next week.
After cycling the rear suspension, its becoming apparent that much more trimming will be necessary to clear the 40” meats. It’s something we had planned on with a modest preliminary cut, but the extent to which we will need to trim and rework the fenders will be extensive so we can get the full potential out of our new suspension.
BDS Project KJ: Suspension, Cage, & Drivetrain
BDS Project KJ: Suspension, Cage, & Drivetrain
It’s been a few weeks since we checked in on Project KJ, the ’05 Liberty CRD being overhauled in BDS’s R&D shop for this year’s Ultimate Adventure (UA). When it comes to building a rig for the UA, it’s got to be capable on any terrain; mud, rocks, dirt, sand, snow, and even asphalt. Reliability is key as each day of the week long 1000+ mile adventure is filled with trails, highway time, and varying weather conditions. The rig needs to carry driver/co-driver, food, camping gear, and spare parts.