Bessy the Rock Rod - A Crawler Built in Stages

Rickyd said:

Nice looking cheap solution. What tool bag is that? It looks handy

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Thats a good question. I'm not sure! That's my buddy Tommy's tool bag. He does automation work so he is a savant when it comes to helping me organize my dash wiring rats nest.

Picture heavy update time! The roll cage and dash projects are done. I still need to fabricate a roof panel. We got everything buttoned up and I am just about ready to go wheeling memorial weekend!


I weighed the Jeep before tear down (with the factory roll bar, factory dash, heater, seat brackets, windshield ect) and it was 3421 lbs on the roller tires. Stripped of non essentials with the new roll cage and dash completed it lost 27 pounds! Final weight on roller tires is 3394 lbs.



I got the stickys out of storage and put them back on. Setup for wheeling, she weighs in at 3670 lbs. Not bad considering the cage is 263 lbs.











The dash it complete! Headlights and turn signals now operate via rocker switches.

I built a dang roof for the Jeep this week!

It took some experimenting but it turned out pretty good. I started by creating a template with thin strips of wood held together by hot glue. I then transferred the template onto a sheet of 6061 .100" aluminum. I tried cutting with a jigsaw w/ a lubricated soft metal blade (because that's what I read about on the internet). That didn't cut well so I switched to an angle grinder with a cheap cutoff wheel and that worked great. I then attempted rolling the front edge by clamping the sheet over a big pipe and dead blow hammering the heck out of it. When that didn't work, I brought the sheet to a local fab shop and they put a nice smooth roll in it for me.

I applied an adhesive backed 5mm thick foam headliner (boat flooring) to help with noise/rattles, heat from the sun, and aesthetics.

Lastly, I sanded the scratches out of the aluminum with 220, 320, 400, and then 600 grit on the orbital to give it a low maintenance satin sheen before applying a ceramic coating.

NashvilleTJ said:

Love the roof. Nice work.

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Thank you. I am proud of how it turned out!

B00mb00m said:

Wow that turned out great! I’d like to do that also. Is the bend only at the front? Tough to tell if sides have a roll also. How did the shop know how much and what diameter to roll it?

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The bend/roll only exists at the front. The sides and back are flat (the cut roof edge lands right at the top center of the roll cage tubing all the way around). I marked the start of the radius on the sheet and provided the shop with a sample chunk of tube (scrap from the cage build) that was bent to the same radius and angle for them to work with. Had I not had the sample of tube, they also would have accepted a trace of the radius on cardboard or the whole vehicle if necessary. They offered to roll it or do a bump bend (several small bends on a press brake). We both agreed rolling would have a smoother look. I waited to drill the mounting holes until after they bent it.

I made some floor mats out of some leftover headliner material and gave the Jeep a good warsh. I spent some time working out an electric fan issue and then topped off fluids. She's all ready for wheeling this weekend at a couple local spots!

-sean- said:

What a Hotrod, I absolutely dig this rig! This thread is an absolute gold mine of information and ideas. Excellent work Kyle

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Thanks a bunch for the kind words Sean. Your L-TJ was definitely an inspiration for me and my build. That rig was seriously legendary.
For those that aren't familiar, search " The L-TJ " on jeepforum.

Update on the Jeep build: Nothing has really changed on the rig. I enjoyed several Jeeping weekends locally and had a great wheeling season. Everything on the Jeep has been working awesome (minus some wiring frustrations with the Derale electric fan). I made it through the wheeling season without any major breakage. These little Dana 44s are still going strong .

Long term, I would still like to move to full hydro steering, rework the front bumper/winch (possibly sinking the winch into the grill or placing it behind the grill), add disc brakes to the rear and add some good cutting brakes. I also am in desperate need of an oil pan skid and should really replaced my banged up, caved in oil pan. In the short term, I plan to just continue to enjoy it. I took the stickies off for winter. The Jeep will be tucked away for a while so I can tend to some other overdue projects.

Scroll down to enjoy pictures and video from wheeling this year.

















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This month, I sold my daily driver/tow vehicle (a 2019 Silverado 1500 4x4 w/ 4.3L V6) and picked up a 2019 2500hd 4x4 6.0L gas. I was not content towing the Jeep with the V6 half ton truck but holy smokes does the 3/4 ton make towing more enjoyable. We're planning some longer distance wheeling trips in the future and having a more capable tow vehicle should help make that safer and more enjoyable.

Irun said:

This reminds me of a Chris Duram Motorsports build he did. It had a chopped and narrowed JK body on a TJ frame, with a custom 5.9L Mopar engine. Very nicely done!

https://www.facebook.com/reel/10153534661246705https://www.facebook.com/reel/10153534661246705
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I have always been a fan of his builds! That JK was bad to the bone! That JK and this TJ he built certainly inspired aspects of my build.