Recon H3 build

[ReconH3]

Instead of just linking my build to a another forum, I thought I'd write one up for this one, since I will continue to work on it here in NC. I started this project early 2009 when I was still living in California. As you can see it has been dragging on. Partly due to my having to travel so damn much, and not being able to supervise the build directly. Partly due to the one of the builders not taking it seriously and not working on the requested schedule. I would leave for 6 months, and when I would return, nothing had been done. They would do everything when I was there, and would finish just when I was about to leave again. This means that other than road testing, I didn't have a chance to go out a play with it. Only reason I didn't stopped using them, is that their knowledge, and craftsmanship is about as good as it gets. Like every project of this magnitude, we encountered many glitches. Many have been worked out, but many still need ironing out. This is what my H3 used to look like when I first got it. I Custom ordered it from the factory so I would be guaranteed I would get it just how I wanted it. No Chrome. No sunroof. Slightly different interior with basic sound system.

 

[ReconH3]

After years of having many Jeeps (Willys, CJ, XJ, ZJ, TJ, WJ, JK) I decided to get an H3 because I wanted something that could be an everyday driver. I really only got it because the WJ Grand Cherokee was no longer available as new. I'm really not a friend of IFS, but since everything out there was IFS I figured I would give the Hummer a try. Didn't want an H2, but I found the I5 in the H3 too weak. So I waited for the Alpha V8 to come out. I custom ordered it because I wanted to make sure it had no chrome and sunroof. As an everyday driver, I really love it. I couldn't be happier. I also love the look of the H3. Especially when some tree-hugger Prius driver gives you the dirty look. Now as far as a 4x4 is concerned, I quickly learned that it was never going to meet my standards. I didn't want something to compete with, but I did want something that wasn't going to blow up every time I went wheeling. Even if I hate IFS, I was willing to give it a chance. What really tipped the scales was the weakness of the front end. I mean the whole front end. Steering, Diff size, CVs, tierods, etc. So because of this, I decided to take a leap off the deep end. Here are some of the cosmetic changes we made at the beginning. Hope you guys like them.

I got rid of those horrible plastic door handles that are way too flimsy for a real 4x4. You can get a peek of the slant-back rear, and the 6 point roll-cage.

Here's another peek of the slant-back with the military taillights. The finished product will be much better integrated.
Believe it or not, by removing all the rear glass, the H3 has become quite a bit lighter. The tailgate still works, and will still house the spare tire. Upper hinge had to be lowered and the whole structure around it reinforced.

Here you can see how the upper hinge was lowered and then reinforced.

 

[ReconH3]

More pics of the finished interior.

The roll cage has padding on it now, but I don't have any pics. When I get back I'll add some more.

 

[ReconH3]

Here's the body nearly finished being brought to have the solid axle conversion done and suspension.

 

[ReconH3]

Here is a pic of the front solid axle conversion. ProRock60 with JK steering setup.

Rear EvoLever setup also on ProRock60. The trick thing about these axles is that they are Dynatrac's first fully compatible axle with all the factory electronics (ABS, etc...) Plug and play and everything works without error codes or flashing lights. Part of the reason that this setup works is because I used the same axles front and rear. Another solid axle conversion was done on a white H3T, only he kept the factory rear axle. This gave all kinds of electronics issues. Another mod that had to be done, was to remove the front locking hubs, and replace it drive flanges. There was always some smart guy that would unlock the hubs. Since this is a full-time 4WD vehicle, it would cause all kinds of issues. The drive flanges avoided this problem.

 

[ReconH3]

Better pic of the rear setup after it was finished.

 

[ReconH3]

This was the first time it came down from the lift. Still needed a lot of work done. Whole front bumper had to be remade using a military HMMWV bumper with it's original Warn short drum M12,000 winch. Snorkel is also missing, as well as the matching Hutchinson bead-locks.

 

[ReconH3]

Here's a pic from the rear so you can see the finished slantback. No rear bumper or spare tire yet. In this pic it's sitting on 40s I went with 5 on 5.5 wheel pattern since I already had many wheels in this pattern. If I could do it over I would definitely pick something like a 8 bolt pattern. Much stronger and can handle the weight much better.

This is a pic next to a JK with 42s and the same suspension setup.

 

[ReconH3]

After doing some extensive road testing, we saw that everything was running great and that there were no electronics issues. The JK steering box was a little weak, so we planned to upgrade to a ram assist. Good thing is that the PSC Steering box already came plumbed for it. Just before I left for my next trip overseas, I had to try it on a ramp. Here are some pics. This was a 30 degree ramp. The ARB lockers hadn't been hooked up, nor did I air down, so it's not at it's full potential.

Still no bumpers, but with the matching Hutchinson bead-locks, and IROK 37's.

 

[ReconH3]

After having been gone for six months, I came back to find that nothing had been done. They were supposed to have done both the front and rear bumper, install the snorkel, and fab up the ram assist. Not a thing. It was very frustrating.

Here's what the front bumper is starting to look like. It's actually a HMMWV winch bumper made by Warn that houses a short drum version of a M12000. The bumper fits like it was designed for the H3. There were some mods required. I decided to add the the oem fog lights to cover up some of the bodywork that the original bumper hides. They are angled down and out. More like rock-lights than fog lights. I planned to keep the OEM push bar and d-rings to try to keep that factory look. Since we were running out of time, instead of making a rear bumper, we just got an ARB one and did some mods to it. This is were the compromises started to happen due to the lack of keeping up with the schedule.

 

[rockcity]

damn! Looks good so far!

 

[ReconH3]

Here is what the near finished project looks like.

Front bumper and snorkel installed and color matched.

Rear also done and color matched.

Details of the second d-ring that was added, as well as the backup camera. The original ARB bumper doesn't have the two d-rings, or the hole for the backup camera. It's a must now that there is no rearview mirror or window.

 

[ReconH3]

Final, and most important detail, before she went off to SEMA. I was gone by then, so I didn't get to try it...... again

 

[ReconH3]

Finally got to go to try out the rig for photo shoot. Only got one pic though. Was too busy looking things over. Nothing too extreme. Peterson's 4Wheel & Off-Road was doing an article on it, and I wanted to see if there were any issues. All crazy builds like this always do. The two hour drive on the freeway was eventless. It drives very well and that's great because it's my daily driver. Onto the rocks. The suspension worked great but I did run into a problem. The JK steering box is inadequate for this size rig. It would lock up all the time. It's a Howe modified version and still it couldn't handle it. The rig now has the PSC ram assist. Had to do something with the front brake lines because they get very close to the coils and would hate to pinch them. Once the day warmed up I started to see the temp gauge rise. It never went passed 3/4 but then I wasn't wheeling hard. Will have to do something to improve it. Maybe some additional electric fans and a tranny cooler. The first thing I did when I arrived to NC was have a tranny cooler installed courtesy of Lee at TLC Transmission. Other than that, it went pretty good.

 

[ReconH3]

Here's a pic of the ram assist finally on, as well as the Currie anti-rock sway bar. There's one in the rear too.

The funny thing is the white H3T was also in for the same setup. Not every day that you see two solid axle H3s in the same place.

Hittin the hills near Castaic to test the H3. Wanted to hit some more serious trails but they were all closed. Both H3s did well. The 3T was a bit stiff in the rear since it had the factory leafs. I discovered I hadn't hooked up my e-brake. Also one of my small pre-cats is also crushed and rattling around. Plan to remove it since it has no sensors and is so exposed. All in all it was a good day even if I didn't get to do any more extreme wheeling.

 

[ReconH3]

One of the first things I did when the H3 arrived in NC, was to go to the local 4Wheel Parts in Raleigh, to check if things were rubbing or binding. Instead of putting it on the lift we decided to ramp it on their 20 degree ramp. I had to stop when the rear e-brake line was about to pop. The heim joint at the pitman arm was also at it's limit. All fixable things fortunately. The cool thing is that it was at, or close to 1000, and after the fixes it will give even more I was a very happy camper.

 

[ReconH3]

The day after ramping it I went to Mud Devil's Playground where I finally got try out the H3. Nothing too hardcore since there were still some issues that needed to be worked out. These were the only pics that a guy took. I was too exited that I forgot to get somebody to take some.

The rig felt great but heavy. I've been spoiled with a superlight TJ. Even then it performed extremely well and didn't have to gun it at any moment. Once I iron out some kinks, I'll feel much more confident trying out some more hardcore stuff

 

[ReconH3]

Here's a great pic Redlyner took of my H3 at Mud Devils Playground.

I got quite a lot of positive feedback. Great people at the event. They did want me to wheel it harder and also enter the rockcrawling comp. Unfortunately without UCP that was out of the question. Oil pans are exposed and tranny selector could get snagged in a second. Left wheel ebrake needs rerouting. It gets too tight and could pop in an instant. Tie rod needs to be flipped because heim is also at it's limit before suspension runs out of travel. All simple fixes fortunately but it does require time and tools. The front and rear axle need to be shifted an inch so wheels don't rub. I can also raise the coil overs an inch or two since I have room in the garage. Chase at ECGS has already looked into the necessary mods and says he can help out.

 

[ReconH3]

Some more great pics by Redlyner, coming out of a mud hole and onto some rocks.

 

[ReconH3]

damn! Looks good so far!

Thanks Lots work and waiting around, and I'm still dying to try it out properly.

 

[ReconH3]

I'll be Stateside from May 31st till August 2nd. Unfortunately I will only be home in NC from June 22nd till July 22nd. Better than nothing. First thing I do is get on the H3 and try to get as much done as possible.

Objectives in order of importance:

1. Under Carriage Protection. Too many exposed vital components right now. Can't put the H3 through it's paces with everything exposed.

2. Correct steering issue with pitman arm heim binding at full flex. Probably convert to a high-steer setup.

3. Fix the rear left e-brake cable. Also needs to be lengthened to match suspension travel also at full flex.

4. Fix spare tire mount. Needs to be shortened and lowered so wheel doesn't create too much leverage.

5. Fabricate dual jerry can holder in place of spare tire mount. It's for when I get adventurous and put the spare inside the vehicle.

6. Look into a dual alternator setup, and install many little accessories I have be collecting in the last 6 months. Including a proper CB setup.

That's a lot of stuff to try to do in a month. That includes wheeling on the weekends if everything works out Hopefully there will be some fun event I can go to in that short period.

 

[HGSR]

DAAAANG BROTHER!

 

[iluv_mud]

The flats benefit ride is 6/24-6/26

 

[ReconH3]

The flats benefit ride is 6/24-6/26

Where is that located? I'm still new to the area

 

[Blaze]

I remember seeing the build when you started it on another board. This thing is siiiiiiiiiick!