well "Tomahawk" is now road legal. 
I've probably put about 100 miles on it and overall it rides nice and is very solid (no squeaks, rattles, etc.)
Problems:  Tcase is still leaking  although not as bad - I hope the adaptor isn't cracked or something, that would suck - but I guess i'll be pulling the Tcase again - Yaayy.  Turn signal switch is wacky, works fine during the day but at night when I use the signals the hi beams flash on and off instead! LOL - ordered a new turn signal switch, cam and a hi-beam switch for good measure - guess i'll be diving back into the column.

Overall I'm super happy with how it came out and drives.
I still need a front driveshaft so hopefully i'll get that soon so I can wheel this thing.  The only down side to this rig is i'm not expecting much articulation with 48" springs all around.

since I already did a dual relay upgrade to the headlight circuit a temporary fix was easy to prevent the hi beams from blinking with the turn signal switch............. I just pulled the relay fuse for the hi beam circuit. 

yee haw 

Awesome Job Eric.

Incredible is about the only way to describe your build.

Wow, thanks for the compliments guys.   
And thank you for all the comments and input too. 
The interesting thing with this build is that it pretty much turned out exactly how i pictured it from the beginning.  I believe that was due inlarge part to sticking to the plan in hopes of a reasonably fast build.  I learned a lot from building Judge but i went into a lot of new territory with this build.   

thanks Bill, you got me thinking about a flag mount. 

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a couple of pics of my yj next to a coworker's jk with 2" lift and 33's.

it looks mean next to that jk 
again great job !!!

That is how a jeep should've been built! Looks great, Eric!

Eric,
Tomahawk is AWESOME!!!!! You should be proud of this build.
Jim

PS;
You should be proud of ALL your builds!

Whats next

X2 on that! 

thanks for props guys!

and MOPAR.....  I knew this was going to be a major undertaking for one person, working with spare time, fabbing pretty much everything, with a spring time finish goal.  this level of self-imposed work ethic and perseverance was unprecedented for myself, especially for this duration.  It was an advanced lesson of self discipline and commitment for me. 

half the motivation was to show my wife and daughter that the heep I rolled into the garage would run one day! 

apparently the jury was still out with my wife until I took her out to lunch in it and as we were leaving the parking lot 3 guys that worked for Hendricks Motorsports were staring at it and one of them said "that thing is cool".  then she had a big smile on her face.  my daughter was convinced as soon as it was drivable. 

on a side note - I think I broke a leaf in the rear right spring pack.  the jeep is sittig about an inch or so lower on the right and the leaf pack has a slight "S" in it compared to the left side.  I think I may have heard it pop, but i'm not sure if that's realistic or not.  they were the stock ones that came with the jeep - I guess i'll be buying stock replacements but i'm considering going with 6 leaf packs over the 5. 

 

My replacement springs came in yesterday and I got around to installing them tonight.  They added 3/8" lift over the "good" used spring height.
I also corrected the "Dodge Perch Stagger" on my '91 D60F by making a "zero rate" 1/2" spring spacer.
The tomahawk now sits level with the exception of the left front which is 1/8" higher.
The spacer is actually part of the spring pack so it can't be displaced in relation to the spring pack OR the pumpkin perch since the locating stud is intact.  I know everybody frowns on front spacers (myself included) but this was most practical/cost effective way to address it with reasonable safety.

Pic 01 shows the stock spring which was removed - I couldn't find a broken leaf but I didn't take it apart either.
         it's hard to tell in the photo but that spring is S'd pretty good.
Pic 02 shows the new spring - much better arch.

wow just caught up on the build great work and a wicked rig especially liked the cross member work that front shaft sounds pretty beefy!

Finally cured my Tcase leak over the weekend. 
Third time's a charm - It was a simple oversight, I needed to fill the unused clocking stud holes and goop some sealant over the slightly recessed taper head bolts.   
Bone dry now. 

Picked up my driveshaft and installed it too.  It's heavy.  All 1350 with 2"ODx.25"wall DOM for the main shaft.  The clearance should be fine although the "installed 1" pic doesn't show it well.

I BELIEVE TOMAHAWK IS READY FOR A WHEELING TRIP!!! 
I'll probably go to URE either this weekend or next and see how it goes.

Last pic is a speckled hen for everybody! 

Impressed with that Jeep! Look forward to seeing it in action.

Congratulations on a job well done!!!

 

Those pics are great, the reason I will stick with leaf springs if I build a jeep for trails. You can get plenty of flex for what I do and don't worry about all the other issues that coil sprung can be...great build.

cool till you hit the water and mud.   

lookin good 

looking good! looks like you're getting some good articulation

I would've never said Judge was a flex monster - but I will always say it worked well on the trails, of course the drivetrain and tires are a big reason for this.
After comparing the photos I was impressed with how the YJ flexed more than Judge, even with a 12" shorter wheelbase and shorter springs in the back.  The biggest difference is in the rear and I can attribute this to two things:  the spring perches are about 1.5" inboard on each side (to match the jeep frame rails) compared to the dodge perch locations AND apparently it's true that flat springs flex more.  I guess an additional point is the fact that the jeep springs are softer (rate) as well - although they share the same width (2.5").
All-in-all, i'm still a fan of leaf springs - for the simplicity, nostalgia, and THEY WORK.   

I still have dreams of building a f/r linked rig one day though.....
and a pre-runner.....
and a wooden sailboat.....
of course there's the rx7 in my backyard in need of a drivetrain.....
oh yeah - the honey dew list! 

I've been having a hard time getting an automated electric fan setup.
It works great, using the override switch, but I've tried two different "relay light-off" setups and for some reason I keep blowing fuses.  I had a discussion with a guy at Hollister (who make several custom relays setups for Ford/GM fans) and he basically corroborated my findings.  So now I just installed a thermal switch that connects to the relay ground connection.  The main reason I didn't go this route in the beginning was I wanted an adjustable setup.  Now it's set at 200 degrees ON (ground circuit closes) and 185 OFF (ground circuit opens).

I had to remove the upper steel tube and weld in a bung and a grounding post to ground the tube to the engine.

no trails yet but that will change soon.
if there's no response to the RCC get together ride at URE (hasn't been yet) then I'll go by myself and shoot for a Gulches trip after that.

thanks Wolf.
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Put the top and doors on JIC I need to park it outside in the elements.
getting ready to do some concrete countertops and need to use the garage.

Absolutely no response on the URE fall wheeling idea........ 

Eric, you have a right to be very pleased with that rig!!
Well done, great attention to detail, and looks all business and FUN to drive! I see a LOT of jeeps and this one really sticks out as a great rig.
Bring it out sometime so we can go test it on the rocks.