Before

After

Current

• Remove old body
• Remove old fuel system
  • Tank
  • Lines
• Remove brake lines
• Remove engine
• Clean frame
• Wash frame
• Replace front U joints
• Repair frame
  • Body Mounts
  • Left & Right Rear Frame Members
  • Gas Tank Cross Member
  • Secondary Cross Member
  • Driver Side frame by transmission
  • Rider Side front by front end
• Sandblast frame
• Rustproof frame
• Reinstall front end axel and hardware
• Reinstall rear axel
• Reinstall front and rear bumpers
• New brake lines
• New gas tank
• New fuel lines
• Reinstall engine
• Body
  • Fix body dents
  • Paint body
  • Install body
  • Install Fenders
  • Install Grill
  • Install Windshield
  • Install Tailgate
• Interior
  • Break/clutch pedals
  • Dashboard
  • Steering wheel
  • Seats
  • Center console
  • Rollbar
  • Canvas Top
• Electrical system
• Repair Wreck Damage
  • Straighten Frame
  • Replace Leaf Springs
  • Replace front shocks
  • Straighten tie rod
  • Straighten & Paint Front Fender
  • Replace side marker light
  • Get Comprehensive Insurance Coverage
• Winter 2004 Upgrade
  • Two Barrel Carb
  • Herculiner on floor
  • Paint Roll Bar
  • Replace starter
  • Replace front u-joints
  • Reorient air compressor
• Winter 2005 Upgrade
  • Two new axels w/ 3.4 gears
• Spring 2006 Upgrade
  • New (old) engine!
• Spring 2008 Upgrade
  • Roll Cage!

Roll Cage - Yes, I'm alive! Contrary to popular opinion. And yes I have actually done something to the Jeep! Or should I say, I've paid someone to do something to her for me? I don't have a welder or tubing bender or the skill to wield either but I know somebody who does and I got him to make a roll cage for me! Gotta love buddies from 4x4 clubs, thanks Smitty! You do good work!

I wanted this addition to protect the new additions to the family. Alex 3 and Nathan 15 mo. will soon be riding around in the back seat and I wanted steel above and behind their heads. Now I have it. Can't wait to get out on the trail this summer, it's been too long!

Friday, October 27, 2006

Pinion bearings, engines and suction guns - Ok, yea, yea, yea... it's been a few weeks... er... months... er...OK!... years since I last posted. I've been a little busy. We have a new passenger for the Jeep, my 18 month old son, Alex (I'll have him under the Jeep with me any day now.). And a second new passenger due in about 5 weeks. Needless to say, the Jeep hasn't gotten as much attention as she used to.

But, I'm going out on a trail ride this weekend and had to get her road/trail worthy so I've had an excuse to work on her a little. So, to catch everyone up on the last year or so... the biggest bit of work I've done was a full axle swap front and back last winter. I killed the front differential climbing a long hill. Threw the front pinion bearing and the gears kina ate themselves. One of the members of the club had an old CJ-5 carcass sitting out behind his garage that had 3.4 gears. He didn't want them (too high for him, he's running 4.3 I think.) Me? I've had 2.7's in the old girl all along and 3.4's are a step up! I graciously took them and stuck them under her last fall.

I then took her out the next spring and it was wonderful! All 15 minutes of it. Till my engine seized up. Spun the rear crank bearing. Once again a friend from the club (Tiretown.org) saved my ass with a spare 258 straight six he had sitting out back. One poor man's rebuild (new main rear seal and oil pump) later she was installed and I was back in action.

Took her out a couple of times over the summer and it's great. The new gears are amazing. Second best mod I've done to her. Second only to the locker in the rear.

So, I'm driving back from a local festival (on a level paved road I might add) with Jen and Alex when I hear a strange noise coming from the rear axle. I get home and look under it and see the rear pinion shaft is wobbling all around. Uh oh! After pulling the rear axle out, I see the pinion bearings are shot and luckily I didn't kill the gears. Phew. Stuck in some new bearings and put it back on and we're good again.

Monday, March 22, 2004

Wiring in the Plug - I got a female plug from Radio Shack to match the male that I put on the end of the power cable. I then connected the red wire to the center post on the female connector. The ground wire from the drill got connected to the outer shell of the connector. The third connector is a normally-closed switch connected to the outer shell. I connected it to the connector that connected to the battery. This way, when the cable is plugged in, it disconnects the ground lead of the battery.

I drilled a hole big enough for the connector in the plastic plate that covered the wires in the drill. I figured that mounting the connector there would a) protect it and b) make it so I would have to remove the battery to hook up the wire. You could just as easily put the connector any where you could find space in the drill.

And that's it! I now have a 12v drill that I can use on the trail all day if I need to. And it only cost me bout $20. Gotta love it.

The Plug and Cord - First step was to make the cord. I used the 12v cigarette lighter plug and wire from an old auto vacuum dust-buster like thing. You could find the same on one of those cheep little air compressors or just about anything that runs off the cigarette lighter.

I attached a power plug from another device that I happen to have lying around. You can just as easily get one from Radio Shack for a few bucks. Be sure to connect the center connector of the cigarette lighter plug to the center post of the female power connector.

12v Jeep Powered Drill - A little side project. I picked up this 12v drill at Harbor Freight a few months ago for something like $15 during a sale. I thought, it's inexpensive. If I drop it in the mud and kill it I'm not out much. But for $15 you don't get that great of a battery. It lasts about 10 minutes if I'm lucky. And only holds a charge for a day or two.

But I bought it with a plan in mind. I could have gotten one with a higher voltage battery but I wanted the 12v for a reason. I figured I could just attach a wire to the battery clips and then to the Jeep battery and I've got a drill that will last all day! Read on.

Sunday, March 21, 2004

Drying - All done! Now to let it dry for a day or two. Then everything gets bolted back in. Including the newly painted roll bar. I also stopped by a local tire store and got an old truck tire inner tube. I'll cut pieces out of it and put it in between the roll bar and the tub. This will keep the metal from rubbing the paint off. More soon!

All Covered - Here it is painted all over. The tape is still on. According to the directions, I left it dry for about an hour or so and then put a second coat on the edges. This softens up the paint around the tape so it will peal off easily. After the second coat on the edges, I pealed off the tape. Then it got to sit for 3 or 4 hours till it was dry to the touch. Then a second coat all over and we are done!

Finally! The goop goes on! - The day of painting has finally arrived! I was ready to paint it two weeks ago but a family member ended up in the hospital and I had to put it off for another day. Then a typical Ohio early spring snow storm kept me from doing it till today. 50 deg. and rain. That's ok, though because it is Herculiner actually uses the moisture in the air to start the curing process. So, rain on!

First off, tape around all the edges. 2" up from the floor all the way around. Then after donning a pair of rubber gloves, I start glopping this stuff on. It feels like putting roof tar on it. Thick black tar like stuff with ground up rubber granules in it.

First job is to paint around the edges with the brush.

Correcting Past Sins - Two years ago when I put the Jeep back together I got a little impatient and put the roll bar (correction, sport bar) back on without painting the new metal plates I had welded on the bottom to replace the old rusted out ones.

You would think that after grinding off the old ones, having new ones made fabricated and then welded on that I would paint the damn things so they wouldn't suffer the same fate. No.

So, here I am two years later with a wire-wheel on my trusty 4" grinder cleaning off the rust in preparation for a coat of POR-15. Then a couple of coats of rattle-can black and the bar is ready to go back on.

Saturday, March 20, 2004

Herculiner -After 2 years of wheeling, despite the rubber floor maps we have in the Jeep, the paint is getting all scratched an worn out under the mats. So, I decided to put truck bed liner on the floor to protect it and got a gallon of Herculiner.

The first step of painting anything (as we all well know) is to clean it. Emptying out the Jeep took half the afternoon. The other half was spent sweeping and wiping out the tub. Next I did something you would never have dreamed I would do. Cleaned out the edges with a tooth brush and a water spray bottle. It was the only way I could get the dirt out of the seams and crevices. It was a surreal experience considering all the dirt and mud I've taken her through.

Next I had to scuff up the paint with a paint scuff pad (I dont' know ecactly what to call it, one comes with the Herculiner and I got a couple of more from a local automotive paint store.) And then finally I wiped her all down with Xylene (paint thinner like stuff that works wtih the Herculiner.)

Custom Throttle Linkage - The new carb. wanted to have the throttle cable pulling directly back towards the firewall and the old one pulled straight down. So a couple of pieces of metal (left over 1/8" plate from some former project and an electric box cover) and some creative fabrication and we have the stuff you see in these pictures.

Motorcraft 2100 2-barrel Carburetor - She has a new set of lungs! After extensive on-line research (Thank you Pirate4x4.com) I decided to put a Motorcraft 2100 carb in my Jeep. According to most every post on the subject this is a great carb. It is inexpensive ($50 at the junk yard, $12 rebuild kit), easy to rebuild, and forgiving to the novice carb. adjuster/rebuilder.

I got a two barrel intake manifold from an old donor CJ at a local junk yard. I blew out the inside of the manifold with a sand blaster to get the rust and cob-webs out. After drilling and tapping out one of the bolt holes I got it all assembled and bolted on.

Next was the carb. Thanks to my best friend's father, Rich, I rebuilt the carb. And with a $12 adapter from Summit Racing I had it bolted on. Next, on to the custom throttle linkage.

Yes, I'm alive -- Contrary to popular belief, I am not dead. Just busy with life. Over the winter I decided to do two upgrades to the Jeep. New two barrel carburetor. Paint the inside floor with Herculiner. Both are now completed and I'm finally posting the details of both.

Tuesday, May 20, 2003

I did indeed finally get my locker about two weeks ago. It went in pretty easily seeing as the axel was sitting on my garage floor. I'll post complete details about my rear-end rebuild in the next few days. Suffice it to say that I took her out over Easter weekend and definitely had fun because I broke it but good. More details soon.

Wednesday, April 09, 2003

Second Locker Update - Still no locker. Apparently they are *still* backordered from the manufacturer. Mumble... BTW, 4 Wheel Parts is not very good at calling you back. I have called several times in one day only to be told they would find out the status of my order and call me back. Then they don't and I have to call the next day. Very poor customer service if you ask me.