The Problem
Every bad idea deserves a beginning.
This one started as a Jeep TJ.
At some point between “just a few upgrades” and cutting perfectly good factory parts off with a grinder, things got a little out of hand. What was supposed to be a capable weekend rig turned into years of fabrication, late nights, broken parts, and questionable financial decisions disguised as progress.
The factory drivetrain didn’t survive. Neither did the axles. Or the suspension. Or most of the original plan.
One-ton axles, Turbo LS power, coilovers, custom fabrication, and a pile of lessons learned the hard way transformed a simple Jeep into something much harder to explain. Half crawler, half science experiment, and completely committed to making easy trails unnecessarily complicated.
Built in a garage. Fueled by stubbornness. Refined by failure.
Every scratch has a story. Every weld has a reason. Every upgrade was absolutely, definitely, without question supposed to be “the last one.”
It isn’t perfect. It was never supposed to be.
This is what happens when creativity, poor impulse control, and a welder are left unsupervised.
CHASSIS
645 Fabworx 4-seat Trail series.
1.75 x .120 DOM.
POWERPLANT
6.0 LS, Big ass eBay Turbo, 4L60E
SUSPENSION
Double Triangulated 4-link front and rear.
F: 14" travel FOX Coilovers | R: 16" travel FOX 2.5 Air Shocks.
AXLES
F: Superduty Dana 60, 4.88, Spooled | R: Sterling 10.5, 4.88, Detroit Locker.
Engineering Approach
The approach has always been function first. Parts aren’t added because they look cool — they earn their place by solving a problem. Suspension geometry, packaging constraints, serviceability, strength, and reliability all drive the decisions behind the build.
A background in mechanical design mixed with garage fabrication means every upgrade lives somewhere between computer-aided engineering and old-fashioned trial and error. The CAD model might say it works, but the rocks always get the final vote.
Measure twice. Cut once. Redesign three times. Then cut it apart next winter because there was obviously a better way to do it with even less money in the budget.
Fabrication
DOM Structual connections are notched, MIG hot pass welded, and TIG capped for precision and excellence in craftsmanship.
The Result
Eventually, a platform capable of surviving high-speed tree bashing and occasional ducking will be finished.
"SHITICON" will remain in a perpetual state of incompleteness as the trails become tougher, rocks become rowdier, and money keeps flowing.
