Brute Build Wrecked TJ + LJ question

[hammell13]

I have 3 wrecked jeeps and an 04 bare frame right now and trying to decide which ones to fix and which one to turn into a brute.

I have a 2006 Rubicon SWB 70,000 miles hit in front runs and drives CLEAN TITLE 6 Speed

I have a 2005 Rubicon LJ 50,000 miles Smacked in the rear hard, will need a tub gate etc salvage title. 6 Speed

Then I have an 04 LJ Smacked in the front with 52,000 miles, will need a frame or section and a front clip with bags, salvage title Auto

I also have a bare 04 SWB bare frame for the Brute.

I will be using one of the LJ S to fix the other.

My question is do I just fix the 06 Rubi and resell it because the resale will be higher. I am building this brute for myself and will not sell it so salvage title means nothing to me. Or do I turn this into the brute?

If I fix the 06 for resale, my next thought was to fix the 04 LJ with the 05 LJ Rubi parts and use the 05 Rubi for the conversion. I will not need the 05 Rubi front end as I will be using a highline kit and doing a hemi conversion on the brute nor will I need the frame as I have the bare 04 one. Going this route I would be using the 05 LJ Rubi as my donor with the 04 SWB frame I have laying here, then I will just fix the 06 Rubi and 04 LJ for resale.

Also, like I said this Brute is for me so I don't care if it has a salvage title.

I guess there is option 3 and fix the 04 LJ for resale and build 2 Brutes, but I would need to have the 2nd Brute sold before I even build it.

Any thoughts or suggestions?

[Ben Hedrick]

My thoughts are; A clean title anything is always better. A clean title Brute will have the most value both now and later on. I say build the Brute off the clean title, then fixe the other up as needed...

If the Brute is for you and you don't care about the title, then start with the bare frame and build it from scratch. All custom.

Just my two cents worth.

Ben

[hammell13]

My thoughts are; A clean title anything is always better. A clean title Brute will have the most value both now and later on. I say build the Brute off the clean title, then fixe the other up as needed...

If the Brute is for you and you don't care about the title, then start with the bare frame and build it from scratch. All custom.

Just my two cents worth.

Ben

I agree with you 100% a clean title anything is always better:), that is just a given. I think the plan that I will be going with is start with the bare frame, I will turn the LJ Rubi into a brute as it is hit in the rear and the rear tub is messed up anyway, and since I will be keeping it for myself, I don't care about the title status.

Then fix the 04 LJ with the front clip and front half of the frame off the 05 Rubi as I will be using a highline kit for the brute and using the bare LJ frame. I will sell the 04 LJ Auto Soft top when I am done, black on black.

As for the 06 SWB Rubi I will save it for later date and decide later then either to turn it into a brute or fix it and sell it as a stock rubi. I can decide that when I am fixing the 04 LJ and building the brute.

This will be a long process I have 5 other personal vehicles I have right now to fix before I will have time to get these jeeps done. I am currently repairing (in my spare time) an 08 impala SS, an 08 Silverado 1500 Ex cab, and 2 2010 nissan sentras, and minor work on my 95 Jaguar, so I can sell them all, well I will be keeping the silverado for awhile. So I have alot to do before I hit these Jeep projects hard. I already have the brute kit @ my shop, I just need to get these other vehicles done first. In writing this I didn't realize how much I have to do first, wow I have alot I need to do. I need to hire someone to fix all these for me, but I am such a cheap a$$ and that will cut into profits. :D

As for the 05 Rubi engine and trans does anyone have a need for them as I am installing a hemi and an auto, so these will be comming out.

Anyway that is my plan for now, hold off on the 06 until I get my other ones done, maybe I can find someone that wants a complete custom built brute, from a Rubi Chassis.

Buy the way your brute build and complete vehicle looks nice, good luck with the sale.

[Ben Hedrick]

Thanks for the kudos on my Brute! And you will LOVE yours too!

Sounds like when you find the time, you've got a great plan.

Post some pics when you do start it.

Thanks, Ben

[gamecockdb20]

where are you located? If you decide to se the lj I will buy the backhalf off you. Tub and frame

[hammell13]

where are you located? If you decide to se the lj I will buy the backhalf off you. Tub and frame

I am fixing the 04 LJ that is hit in the front and the 05 LJ that I am converting into a brute is smacked in the rear, the only thing salvageable on the rear would be the R quarter panel

[billiebob]

Short Wheelbase TJs are limited to a 2000# towing capacity. LJs are rated to tow 3500#. To me the LJ is the best choice for a Brute.:D

[hammell13]

Short Wheelbase TJs are limited to a 2000# towing capacity. LJs are rated to tow 3500#. To me the LJ is the best choice for a Brute.:D

OK, I guess I really don't understand. If you convert an LJ you are shortening the frame and then adding extensions, while and SWB you are just adding extensions to the frame, in either case chances are you are redoing the suspension, so towing capacity goes by by when you change that. This is not going to be a stock suspension brute, so I dont get how towing capacity would affect anything. In the end you are getting the same length brute LJ vs SWB. Either way I will lifting it and adding a hemi, so I don't think I am concerned about towing capacity.

[w00ht]

OK, I guess I really don't understand. If you convert an LJ you are shortening the frame and then adding extensions, while and SWB you are just adding extensions to the frame, in either case chances are you are redoing the suspension, so towing capacity goes by by when you change that. This is not going to be a stock suspension brute, so I dont get how towing capacity would affect anything. In the end you are getting the same length brute LJ vs SWB. Either way I will lifting it and adding a hemi, so I don't think I am concerned about towing capacity.

I think he's just talking about being questioned by a Highway Patrolman, in that caes it matters what is stamped on the GVWR Plate.

Oh I would build the SWB. It will be worth more in the long run and you'll have a straighter frame when you start cutting and welding. Fix the LWB rubi since they are more sought after and it's newer. Part out the rest.

[billiebob]

w00ht, Right.

The sticker is what counts. You can cut & weld all you want but it would take an Engineer to change the weight rating. And it would not be cheap. Just depends on whether or not you need to tow more than 2000#.:D

[hammell13]

w00ht, Right.

The sticker is what counts. You can cut & weld all you want but it would take an Engineer to change the weight rating. And it would not be cheap. Just depends on whether or not you need to tow more than 2000#.:D

I guess I have never had to deal with that before, I don't haul anything commercial, but I know I have overloaded my truck just by shear weight and but its towing capacity, and never been stopped by the cops. Cops here in MN, don't really care, you could be pulling a 30' camper with a Plymoth Horizon if you wanted to, and they would really only care if your speeding. I have had many half ton vehicles and pulled way way over there DOT towing rating. Where are you guys from that they make a big deal about it?
Thanks
Andy

[w00ht]

I guess I have never had to deal with that before, I don't haul anything commercial, but I know I have overloaded my truck just by shear weight and but its towing capacity, and never been stopped by the cops. Cops here in MN, don't really care, you could be pulling a 30' camper with a Plymoth Horizon if you wanted to, and they would really only care if your speeding. I have had many half ton vehicles and pulled way way over there DOT towing rating. Where are you guys from that they make a big deal about it?
Thanks
Andy

Both NC and VA troopers won't hesitate to call a mobile scale van out to a traffic stop if they think your over weight since it is a danger to public safety (and it's an easy win in court). Even though I live in San Diego now I'm fairly certain CHP wouldn't hesitate either.

[hammell13]

Both NC and VA troopers won't hesitate to call a mobile scale van out to a traffic stop if they think your over weight since it is a danger to public safety (and it's an easy win in court). Even though I live in San Diego now I'm fairly certain CHP wouldn't hesitate either.

I thought that was just if you were a commercial vehicle. I have been ND SD MN IA WI MI IN IL, and every time I have gone through there I knew I was pulling way over what is listed on my door sticker. Went by at least 100 cops on my various trips, never bothered me.

[billiebob]

You will get away with it until someone gets killed & they realize "a vehicle was over weight".

Then watch out. DUI & Cell Phones are the focus now. Over weight RVs will soon become a focus.:D

[djb_rh]

You're highly unlikely in any state to get scaled just because you look overweight if you're in anything *not* a truck. I know people in NC who were in normal passenger pickup trucks that were scaled, but they had payloads showing that were *likely* commercial and they were close to overweight. But a Jeep? Or a Brute? Unlikely you'd get scaled.

THAT SAID, it is the accident case where you get hosed BIG TIME. Why? Because it doesn't even take scales. There simply aren't many trailers out there that are going to have a 2k rating on them...most are well above that. So you're in a wreck, there's a CHANCE that you're at fault, and the officer checks the door sticker. Hmm, 2k tow rating. Trailer? 3500 pound rating. Bam, you're illegal. Strike one, EVEN IF YOU AREN'T ACTUALLY OVERWEIGHT. That's right, it's illegal to just be towing something RATED for more than you are rated for, whether it actually is or not.

And once you start down that slippery slope of being illegal, you start having to prove you weren't at fault, too. Now you better figure out how to get that load scaled if it truly isn't above the 2k total. And if you ARE over the 2k, whether you've done all the frame upgrades that an LJ and it's 3500 pound capacity would have had, you're REALLY hosed.

In this day of lawsuits do you really want to take chances like that? I guess plenty of people do, or they wouldn't overload their pickups and trailers with drywall from Home Depot and head down the road, too. *sigh*


--Donnie