Custom 2001 Jeep Wrangler Military Project - Page 11

KhakiTJ03 · 10-17-2008, 07:00 PM

T-weeny

Fantastic job! You really went the extra mile with the top, etc. I find it hard to even make a critical comment. The ONLY thing I dont like are the wheels. I think a nice solid, body-colored steel wheel would look great. Check out Stockton Wheels, if youre interested. Again, great job.

tatooweeny · 10-18-2008, 10:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KhakiTJ03

T-weeny

Fantastic job! You really went the extra mile with the top, etc. I find it hard to even make a critical comment. The ONLY thing I dont like are the wheels. I think a nice solid, body-colored steel wheel would look great. Check out Stockton Wheels, if youre interested. Again, great job.

Thanks for the comments! Of all the car/truck projects I've done, this one gets the most critiques. (Both positive & negative) I agree, those wheels were not my first choice either. At the time, I had 3 tires suddenly crap out on me (The tires were extremely worn) & I needed something cheap to replace the factory aluminum rims & tires. I went with wider tires for wheeling purposes. I wish I had known about Stockton wheels though... someday I'll replace them, so now I have another option for rims.
Thanks again! -Jake

Renegade86 · 10-20-2008, 05:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tatooweeny

Aren't those gauges 24 volt though? They are cool, but I don't want anything humvee on my Jeep!

Agree. It's like cross breeding a purebred.

kevbow007 · 10-24-2008, 05:31 PM

looks sweet!!

frog557 · 10-25-2008, 01:38 PM

damn man thats sweet

Wynne · 10-26-2008, 01:14 AM

Probably one of the coolest things I have seen on the site...that thing is awesome.

CraigJenkins1 · 11-09-2008, 12:21 AM

Are you going to use the factory dash skelaton? How are you going to get around that? BTW I have reccently bought flat fenders and considered going with the mb front look and decided tonight that od would be cool (saw a jeep truck with a cherokee front end that was od) at my apartment so I searched for a od tj and I found yours beautiful work man I never could imagine that it would look so good! You are now my wallpaper.

**Panici** · 11-09-2008, 02:54 AM

Wow what a build!

Nothing like getting a jeep back to it's roots

Truly a 1-off rig

CraigJenkins1 · 11-09-2008, 05:56 PM

hey how big are those front turn signal lights and where can I find them?

tatooweeny · 11-10-2008, 02:32 PM

[QUOTE=CraigJenkins1;5976162]Are you going to use the factory dash skelaton? How are you going to get around that? QUOTE]

The old dash will be completely replaced with either a vintage dash or a fabricated piece. I just haven't had time to do anything with it lately. Thanks for asking! I'll try to get some pics up soon.

tatooweeny · 11-10-2008, 02:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CraigJenkins1

hey how big are those front turn signal lights and where can I find them?

They are approximately 2 1/2 to 3 inches wide & 4.5 to 5 inches in lenth. They are military 24 volt blackout lights. You can find the lights on Ebay for around $25.00 to $50.00 depending on the deal you get. The problem is that they are not a bolt on deal. You have to modify the lenses, the housing inside (to hold a 12 volt bulb), and then find a way to mount them by fabbing a bracket, drilling holes in grill, etc. Good luck! -Jake

tatooweeny · 11-23-2008, 12:06 AM

Hello, and welcome back to my money pit, er, Jeep thread. I finally had some time to finish a couple more things, plus find a fix for my previous attempts at securing my doors. I'll post a couple projects at a time. Enjoy...

Here it is...finally mounted! It's a 24v ww2 era siren, but can run on 12 volts. It's still VERY loud. When I finish the dash, I'll have a button for it.

As you can see, it doesn't have the rear cover that most WW2 Jeep sirens had. It's because this came off of a larger M37 or possibly an M-725 Jeep Ambulance & was mounted behind the grill or just behind the front bumper. It's still water resistant though, & I like the less bulkier look as well.

It doesn't have the sought after V grill, but I didn't have to spend over 300 clams to buy this either.

This is a pre WW2 MB/GPW rubber hood rest. These were used in production before the rubber shortage in late 42' early 43'. Of course, they are reproductions but are well made.

Another shot of the rubber blocks. They are made of solid green rubber, just like the originals. They mount in the same spot as my TJ window rests, I just had to drill an additional hole for each side.

tatooweeny · 11-23-2008, 12:42 AM

Here's a 24 volt M37 horn I picked up off of Ebay. I modified the original military mount to attach to Tj's bumper gusset/frame & the Warn steering box skid plate. Once I install a step-up 12-24v converter, I'll wire a horn button into my dash (As soon as I finish my dash!).

Here is a wide shot. I mounted it there because my recovery tank will be mounted just to the right of it, bolted to the grill (You'll see this mounted soon). I plan on getting another horn and mounting it on the opposite side, evenly spaced with the other one.

I don't know if you noticed, but if you look closely my screws for the blackout lights/turn signals, they appear to be rusting... Have to replace those!

Here's my mud flaps/guards mounted for the rainy season. They are quick release/detachable, so if I decide i want to plow through a mud hole & make a mess, I can.

I'm gonna redo these & bring them in a little. I think they stick out too far. I just wanted to cover the whole tire so I wouldn't kick up rocks into people's car windows or worse... police car's windows.

shiftless06 · 11-23-2008, 12:43 AM

great build, very original and very detailed

tatooweeny · 11-23-2008, 02:07 AM

FINALLY! I found a suitable handle to secure the doors. Now that everything has been tested & works properly, I will disassemble everything and start on the painting of them. The original ones never really worked right, and would constantly loosen in the wind. You had to practically hold the doors while driving faster than 40 mph.

Here's a close-up shot of the handle. As you can see, my handles now lock. The handles have a really tight feel to them, and it takes a little force to open or close, which I wanted. I didn't want door locks for security reasons mind you (As you all know, soft top Jeeps are never really "secure"), I just wanted to lock them in place while driving, mainly the passenger side when I'm alone. I have to unzip the window a little to lock the driver's side door (not a big deal really), but if I need to get out in a hurry, I designed the inside latch to break loose with a little force. By the way, you'll never guess what these door handles are originally intended for!

I'll give you a riddle to solve on the last pic...

Here's an inside shot to show you how they hold the doors in place. As the handle is turned, the angled bends in the latch first move smoothly over the canvas covered rod (Its got a rubber tip to keep from cutting into the canvas), then has another bend that grabs and falls into a groove, so to speak. It took awhile to fine tune those bends, but perseverance is a virtue of mine!

The red rubber cover/protector of the latch will eventually be green or black rubber. As I mentioned before, if the doors are locked and I need to get out fast (accident?), I just grab the red latch and pull up hard (breakaway nylon bushings). The inside handles were the original CJ external ones I had. I might someday make a beauty cover for the inside of the mount, but for now they are funtional, lockable, and I can drive freeway speeds without fear of launching my doors into space when a sudden gush of wind hits them! LOL

This pic just shows just how much inside latch was needed to actually hold the doors in place. Unless the rods supporting the door break (doubtfull because they are 3/8 inch steel rod), it's a pretty fail safe door now because the handle is designed to be tight when opening & closing. But just to be safe, I added one last thing...

This is an updated pic of the rods. I drilled a hole and tapped threads for a screw to hold it together (There is no force on the screw). Without a screw or pin, it could have popped out of the hole while driving & then my doors & sides would have loosened and could have possibly gotten damaged. What's nice is that it still can be disassembled quickly for dropping the top. I just added another tool (allen key) to my whatchamacallit box.

So, here's the riddle as to what these door handles are manufactured for...

What's larger than most family cars or trucks, can fit inside a standard 2-car garage, and is something that most of us see everyday while driving to work?