[uglyoldbob]

What a long post. Maybe I talk/type too much. I know, I know, pics or ban. They should come tomorrow night (March 13). Oh wait I just realized that Friday is the 13th. Oh well.
It looks like it is time to start posting on the build status for my yj. I don't have enormous plans for it, but I do have extensive plans for it. The goal here is to have this vehicle last and last (like most people).

Bought it on the 10 of February for 2900. Looking back I probably overpaid for it but the lack of rust made it worth it to me.

Replaced the radiator and heater hoses. Changed the tires and rims (already had these, dad rolled his xj). Had to change 5 wheel studs (all on one tire). Figured out an easy way to remove lug nuts from a spinning wheel stud.

I made some shifter boots for it a few weeks ago out of some thick rubber from a large water tube (not sure what to call it). They turned out mostly good, but could be better.

There is hardly any rust to be found. I will be herculining the inside tomorrow and will get pictures if the camera will cooperate with me.
I also want to get the frame lined with a some sort of protection.

I will be putting a 4bt cummins diesel into it and am gathering parts and I will lay out the parts beforehand. I will do my best to run an intercooler and keep the A/C and somehow get some OBA and an alternator welding system (those will probably get delayed - although the alternator welder won't be too hard for me to fabricate, yes I said fabricate).
The goal for that part of the project is to remove the 4.0, and bolt up the 4bt and then drive it.

I will reuse the ax-15 and existing driveline. I also need to install a SYE and uninstall a transfer case lowering kit.

I have a hard top and I will try to remove the roll bars to get the herculiner done better.

I am not going to be running a rear seat. Instead I will fabricate a locking toolbox to pretty much the same profile of the wheel wells. I need to fabricate a bead roller first to do it properly though. Once this is done, I will fabricate a center console that connects to the lock box and pop a few informational gauges into the top of the console.

My transmission has strange issues shifting. I put some penzoil syncromesh in it about 250-300 miles ago. It shifts great when cold (~50F or below). Once it warms up, it is picky about shifting into 3rd and 4th. It seems like a combination of worn synchronizers and worn clutch parts. It seems to be picky about vehicle speed (25-30 mph) to shift into 3rd and I haven't quite figured out 4th. Once I figured out the trick for 3rd, 4th gear problems mostly disappeared. I will probably need to replace a few parts in the transmission when the workshop is ready.

I think based on the current colors on the jeep, that a red top, white doors, and a blue body (red, white, and blue of the American flag) could look good. There also is the flat tan paint pattern which I find to look very good.

I plan on sticking with 31" or 32" tires. Based on numerous calculations, the 3.07 gearing will be perfect for the diesel motor. Though I could have a higher numerical gear for the 4.0L, I am not really concerned about it.

I got the engine transmission adapter and the engine so far. Need to do some welding on the leaking exhaust manifold (4.0L motor) for the time being until I get all my parts ready for the swap. There will be lots of measuring and plenty of mockups that will decrease the amount of time the swap takes after the 4.0L is pulled.

Still diagnosing some odd popping noises (think of a loose bolt scraping on the edge of some 3/16" sheet metal) in the rear end.

Got the e-brake recall done on my yj today. Now I don't have to press the e-brake to release it. The brakes need work though.

I will post pictures on my website (links to it in my sig) when I take them and also (try to) post them here.

[uglyoldbob]

Here are some pictures after the first layer of herculiner. Also pictured is the shifter I made.
EDIT: Pictures fixed. Click the pictures to see the large versions.

[Goobersbro]

if you use a website to host your photos (such as photobucket) there is normally an option somewhere to resize your photos you want the 600x800 size or something close i dont know if its exatly 600x800 might be like 620x840 but you get the point

[uglyoldbob]

I have a server and my own hosting for the website. It's way better than photobucket, but has some downsides, like pictures. I prefer to keep them at the largest size and have the browser shrink them. I know it is possible (html code), I just don't know how to do it on this forum.

[Goobersbro]

by the way it looks really good

[uglyoldbob]

I was unable to remove the rollbars because all the T45 bits we had were broken. I finished the back of the jeep that same night. I threw up the herculiner on some spots that I didn't prep as a test to see if they would start to peel.
Now that I have the proper flash equipment I can get much better pictures.
I ordered a ready welder with cold start. Some alternator mods and I could do some light welding with the jeep. Unfortunately I don't have an HO alternator until I get the diesel motor installed. If I remember correctly, my alternator is externally regulated by the ECU from the factory. I will probably re-use that regulator (even though the diesel motor's alternator is internally regulated).
When the workshop is completed, I will be able to do more work with herculiner (hit the spots that are unreachable without removing everything).
I also started working on the rear security bin. The front of the box comes right up to where the floor pan goes up (between the front seats and the rear seat). It comes right up to the top of the wheelwells, and it goes most of the way to the tailgate.
Here are the rough measurements I have taken. I should have made templates in cardboard before cutting any metal though (plasma cutter btw). The front piece is 11.25" X 36.25". The top piece is 44.75" X 34". The back piece is 11" X 36". The back piece will swing downwards and have locks on it. More pictures will come when I remember to take them. This piece will hold/store 36 1/6 cubic feet of space.
Based on measurements I have taken so far, making a cardboard template helps a lot. So will having 2 people to do your measurements because it is hard to tell if the end of your tape measure is on the spot you want it from 4 or 5 feet away.

I also have a 1000 watt pure sine wave inverter. I will post pictures of the waveforms of modified sinewave inverters (the cheap ones) vs the pure sine wave inverters vs household A/C (they might be hard to get pictures of though).

[uglyoldbob]

Here are some pictures. The back is already muddy from the tire and other things.

[uglyoldbob]

This is a picture of how I want to paint the jeep. I will probably go with plat instead of glossy paint.

[uglyoldbob]

Pictures fixed.