[johnrezz]

Here are some pictures of the engine in........... Almost there!!!

[yjcrawlr]

Man. That looks clean enough to eat off of! The valve cover might even make grill marks. Nice Job!

[johnrezz]

Yeah I cant wait to get it muddy

[johnrezz]

So after some series work it is alive!!!! now I have a few more things to do like replace a Throw out bearing, finish my exhaust and re work my dash and I should be good to go.....
We are still trying to get the tune just right, we are almost there, but, untill I get the exhaust hung I will have to wait.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=de6AcbCrWUE (if youtube video does not display below!!!

[YT]<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/de6AcbCrWUE&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/de6AcbCrWUE&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>[/YT]

[johnrezz]

why does the youtube video not display?

[tygo]

beautiful work!

[johnrezz]

OK got the video to post..........

[zeus87gn]

Very nice work there!
I'm glad to see you mounted your Holley correctly!

[twomanyjeeps]

I'm jealous of how fast it cranks over. I rebuild my 4.0 with fuel injection and it doesn't crank over as fast, my wiring prolly sucks or maybe its the budget starter motor but at any rate, excellent work.

[johnrezz]

Yeah cranks right up, I am using a stock starter but I do have an HEI distributor, 8mm wires and good plugs.....
Now if I can figure out how to filter the gay music out of the background

[twomanyjeeps]

Lol its all good, we all have our guilty pleasures when it comes to music, you don't want to hear my "feel good 80's" playlist. Think my battery cables and ground are the most likely culprit. Great work again.

[RedWrangler90]

that engine looks AWESOME!

[johnrezz]

When I decided to rebuild this YJ I thought I would start with the engine before anything else. Why bother with the suspension and add-ons when the power-plant is not worthy. So, I am pretty satisfied with what I have done and now it is time to move on. I will show you some more of what I have done including some other upgrades I have made and some things that need to be fixed.

Cooling:
I decided while I had the entire thing apart that I would replace the cooling system. I installed a new Radiator, Heater Core, Hoses and high flow pump. I also went ahead and replaced the heater blower motor with a 74 Bronco motor. It makes a huge difference and I actually can drive my rig in the winter and not freeze my tail off….
This is a 2.5” solid aluminum radiator from summit. It was around 160.00 vs well over 200 for the OEM inferior radiator. With this radiator brackets had to be made and added on. With some help from the boys over at JTR we fab’d some 90’s out of aluminum and welded them to the tanks. Installation at this point was pretty straight forward. We simply used the same radiator bolt holes on one side and drilled new ones on the other. We also put a 3500 CFM Flex fan to replace the old clutch fan. Now I need to build a fan shroud over the top of this very scary fan!

This picture is so you can see the hoses. with the new radiator I had to run different than OEM. As you see I have a Zip-tie holding the upper hose away from the pulley, this is temporary and I need to find a permanent solution. I was hoping to find a flex hose with a 22.5 bend on the end but if not I will have to cut the radiator port and weld it back on at an angle. But for now it will do….

Since I have this GIANT winch on the front of my rig we put a 1500CFM secondary electric fan on. We mounted it low on the radiator to make up for loss of air flow. I mounted the controls on the wheel well and placed an over ride switch on the dash (you can see the fan behind the grill)


Motor mounts:
Not much to say here but I replaced the stock motor mounts with some Urethane motor mounts

HEI Distributor:
This is from CRT performance and replaces the entire stock ignition system. I have not quite got the timing advance right but I am close….

Carb and intake:
This was a score…. I got a Holley 500CFM 4412 off ebay for 125 bucks. It was brand new and even had the chrome finish. This is a great carb that is normally used for circle track racing since it is easily tuned. I am still working on the proper jetting but like the timing I am close.
The intake is from Clifford Performance. I was originally going to put rollers on the engine but decided this was money better spent, I am glad I did it..

Exhaust:
I went with a stock exhaust manifold since it did not vary much from a header. This one was 60.00 new verse 300+ for a header. I did not think I would get enough gain for the $$$. From there I made my own pipe. I took the turn between the oil pan and the tranny since my old one went under my tranny and had been smashed more than once. I made the section crossing over removable so I can take it off if need be. I have a Flowmaster off road exhaust that I am not happy with. The performance is great but I am too old to be driving around in a ridiculously loud Jeep, I will replace this soon. But for now I will hide as I drive my neighborhood. I have not put a turn down on the muffler since I am just going to take it off.



CONTINUED IN NEXT POST....

[johnrezz]

***CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS POST*****

Interior:
I replaced the high quality stock gauge cluster with new Autometer Phantom gauges. I really wanted Phantom 2’s but they do not have a good selection yet. I used the Autometer replacement panel. It was a quick and easy install. I like the pod an think it looks good in the Jeep. I was not sure about it from looking at other people’s pictures but I can assure you that the black does not stand out or look bad against the gray like it does in the pictures. I would have to assume the flash is what makes it look bad. I am going to replace the Tachometer and the speedometer at a later date but since they work fine I decided to wait.
I did run into some issues with these gauges but most were self inflicted. First I used a mechanical oil pressure gauge and I kinked the hose while placing the panel in the dash. It bends very easy so take my advice and go buy extra fittings so you have some on hand. I also had two of the light wires pull out of their crimps. I was very gentle on them and it still happened so take good care. The other fun thing is keeping all of the colored light covers on, if you tip the gauges over they fall off in the gauge so be sure to check before you put the pod in…. One other thing, I originally had a mechanical water temp gauge but it was only available in 3/8npt and would have required me to machine a spot on the head so I switched back to an electric sending unit.

Here is a night shot, I think I am going to change the color since the Red blends with the needle making it hard to see, but still pretty cool 

This is a shot of my Posi-Loc, manual choke and my electric fan override switch. The switch came came off of one of my power tools….. I have a lot more work to do to the dash. I am going to make a new harness to clean it up some and cut out all of the dead wires. I also need to add a stereo and install my CB.

Seats:
Bestop seats, these actually came with the jeep along with the center console. I have no back seat but I am going to buy the matching rear at some point. I also need to replace all of the safety belts, only one works.

And last but not least I had to add the most important thing that I am sure gives me at least 50+ HP, “THE STICKERS”


So that is where I am at…… Next and not necessarily in this order, comes:
1. Replace the leaking throw out bearing (Did you catch that in the pictures above???)
2. New tire carrier and front bumpers (home made of course)
3. Roll cage, I have a sport cage and I need to beef it up since I wheel with my kid in the back all the time.
4. New springs since the 1 year old Rough Country springs are all bending and sagging
5. Interior, new rear seat, new belts, new radio and some re-wiring
6. From there it is on to the axles but that is going to take some research……..
There is much more to do but this is what I can think of off the top of my head…..
John

[johnrezz]

Well I cleaned the old girl off and put her away for awhile. I am off to Iraq and will return in the summer. At least the snow will be gone and I can go straight to the trails to break my new stuff!!!!!!!
I did not get everything that I wanted done before punching out but I am pretty close......