Well this little goofball darted out across the eastbound two lanes from a QT assumedly to turn left and head west. The truck to my right blocked my view of him and somehow missed him but I had time to say "shi," and that was all until I was driving through and launching off the front of his car.




He was way shook up but okay. And he had insurance.
My vehicle just about looked ok, save for the front end being dropped. It didn't even puncture the new radiator. The only body damage is in one spot hidden by the slider.

But, he hit my tire which pushed the force into my frame. It's only a few suspension parts lost, but the frame is what the insurance people shook their head at.

The plan:
Buyback ✓
Purchase frame ($300) ✓
Move everything over
Rebuild front suspension.

The new:
I'm tired of the limited travel upfront, using the t-bars cranked up, and all the problems that go along with the rougher ride, i.e. going through bushings, metal fatigue.

The options:
Of course the Jeep guys shout SAS, but I'm not sold on that option for my needs. I run mine as a DD and mostly exploration rig. Some rocks, but mostly stuff to get me to the end of a trail for camping and hiking out from there. I'm not a fan of driving the big rocks slowly- I am the cameraman (or codriver) for those events.

It's looking like a long travel IFS would benefit my rig more. Since I'm obviously invested in this vehicle, taking the restore/salvage title, and running another 120K miles in it, it would make sense to put some money in the parts that have cost the most in maintenance already. The beating I put on my suspension has already had me ripping out the LCA shock mounts twice, and I've rewelded much of the radiator area brackets metal.

My X currently has the 3" Calmini SL and 2" BL.

I would have to buy LCA's, shocks, and t-bars anyway (not sure about the Calmini UCA's status). Presumably, I'd have a driveable vehicle after the replacement of those parts and the frame swap.

Any thoughts or opinions on my assumptions, options, etc?
I'm still a simple guy with a simple budget (who also lost his job a week before this snafu) so I won't be going too over the top with this rebuild. If I go full suspension replacement, I will have a friend's shop building it out.

Thanks for the help.

Was there a question in there somewhere?

It sounds like you have a plan already?




The down side to a salvage title is once you go that route, and its damaged again...what's its value?

You would need to work that out. lots of guys got fouled up when their rig with a book value of $2k and $10K in mods is wrecked...esp when the mods themselves didn't survive.

If its their fault, I think you can force them to make it the way it was.

If its your insurance, you're probably screwed.

Well I guess if the plan sounds good then I'll take that as an answer too I'm still sounding it out in my own head.

I was happy enough with the insurance payout.

Picked up the frame Wednesday



I may have to cut into the front fenders some for the new suspension. I've been looking into what lines would still look good if it comes to that.

Thanks for the response, TJ.