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Got the hole for the newly built and converted column cut.
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AMC 401 Jeep CJ7 Build with Tech Write-ups and lots of Pics
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This is a build up that my father and I started when I was 14. I am now 23! Everything has been done by us with mostly my money. It has been a great learning experience which has helped me in my career and through trade school. Most of these posts are taken from the blog my dad started in 2006. http://quadra-trac-jeep-cj7-buildup.blogspot.com/2006_03_01_archive.html
So here we go.
March 2006
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Here it is as we first layed eyes on it in May of 2004 at "The Jeep Shop" in Chester Springs, Pa. http://www.thejeepshop.net/ Originally from Florida, we checked the frame for rust and said ok. The owner would remove the 401 that was presently installed for a customer and we could have the rest for $500.00. The rest being a 400 turbo with quadra-trac. power steering, manual disc brakes and a dana 30 up front and amc 20 in the rear. Along with a tilt column and tac dash, a totally waisted body and a good set of sellable tires and wheels.
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Here we are the weekend of 4th of July 2004. Now if that isn't a happy face nothing is. Powered by enthusiasm, I'd say. All we had to do to transport was to strap the torque converter in so it wouldn't fall out and load it up. That's Homer from "Moyers Car Care" of Friedensburg. Pa. doing the roll back thing, he's a real car guy that loves his job.
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Here we are in Ghostbusters Headquarters, (got that sign from Burger King when the kids were younger, I think it's time to put it on Ebay.) Teardown began almost immediately, this is the easy part you really don't have to give a rat's a-- about damaging anything. After we got the front sheetmetal off, it was alot easier accessing the fire wall, wireing and brake stuff. Jeff is starting to get hooked on the smell of WD-40 though, it's like he can't get enough of it. We did tag any useable items and took lots of detailed photos for future reference. Believe me when I say it's easy to forget.
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Well it just keeps going. Here we are two generations of Jeep building. Jeff senior on top in 1980 building his CJ5 and junior on bottom doing his thing at present. You just can't describe the feeling that comes from building a Jeep. The knowledge, respect, satisfaction, glory and bonding. All I can say is get your kids involved and they will gain all those traits. The memories that come out of something of this magnitude will last a life time. The parts hunting, bartering and trading. The new freinds that you will gain and places you will go that you normally wouldn't have if not for this mechanical wonder. And yes, even computer skills are learned when making up fake I.D.'s to get into those "no one under 18 allowed" u-pull junkyards. These are all life skills that will come in handy later on down the road.
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After we rolled the chassis back into "headquarters" (damn I gotta get rid of that sign) out came the 400 turbo and quadra trac. These will be rebuilt and reused, we are firm believers in this set-up. Have it in my J10 with over 200,000 trouble free miles. Reliability is great, you can still get parts and the full time traction is outstanding. Did I mention a 401 is going in this? oh yeh, that's the title of this blog. It was originally a 304 jeep but a previous owner installed a 401 and the "Jeep Shop from Chester Springs" pulled the engine for a customer and sold us the rest for $500.00. I already had a rebuildable 401 core so wasn't worried. In the meantime we stumbled across a 7,000 mile rebuilt one. More on that later. We yanked the rears and leafsprings and was left with a bare frame. Found a couple of rust throughs, but all in the boxing sections, not in the major frame areas. This Jeep came out of Florida so it lead a better life than here in the northeast. We are also going to experiment with the 400 turbo by installing "switch pitch". This was used by G.M. from 1965 to 1967. What it is, is a variable stator torque converter which gives you hi stall, low stall in one unit. In other words hi performance and fuel economy at the flick of a switch. You can also split shift it as you manually run up through the gears. I have a couple of these transmissions laying around so I'll keep you updated. A shackle reversal up front along with YJ springs are also slated for this project. Want to go with wide track (56") axles. The front is no problem but the AMC 20 offset differential rear was never made in wide track version, because wide track wasn't available until they stopped using quadra trac after 1979. I am not crazy about using spacers with 2 piece axles, so we'll see.
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April 2006
Now that we have everything disassembled we can clean it up. I had said that this Jeep came out of Florida, well I think some of it came along for the ride. Then they wonder why the shorelines are diminishing. We must have washed out a ton of sand. Took a long garden hose and fished it up through the frame rail, worked really great. Found two areas that needed replacement with fresh metal. It was luckily confined to the boxed areas where the metal is of thinner gauge and not in anything structural. Simply cut out the bad areas and bent and shaped new material and welded in place. Be careful in doing the welding as not to get one area hot at one time, it is possible to bend a frame rail, rather stitch short areas and let cool before welding again. Take lots of measurements before and after. Haven't decided yet on what primer and paint to use to protect this yet. Would like to rust proof the insides of the rails. I don't know if any shops have a long wand to stick up the rail and spray it from the inside while dragging it out. Maybe if somebody out there knows of anything they can let me know. I have time for this yet, as we will be doing fabrication next.
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http://mountainoffroad.com/more.htm I ordered the unwelded kit version because it was cheaper and I wanted my son to learn some valuable welding.
The kit number is 7686-20 for $165.00 plus $24.29 shipping. To line everything up I stuck a threaded rod through both assemblies and again took lots of measurements. At the time I hadn't yet ordered the Wrangler springs for up front and since the CJ springs are narrower I used the back springs which are the same width as Wrangler springs to mock everything up. Make sure everything is square to the frame rails because if not this will only shorten the life of the bushings. Had to do a lot of shimming and tweaking (sledge hammer) to obtain this. For more info on the pros and cons on shackle reversals check out JP Magazine http://www.jpmagazine.com/ they did a great article.
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Well the springs finely got here. We wanted only a 2" lift for several reasons, safety, looks and the fact that a dropped pitman arm is not needed until after 2". We certainly didn't want to be bothered with bump steer, since this will be a daily driver and should be a pleasure to drive. We also wanted to go with 31" tires and with a shackle reversal kit it moves the front axle ahead by 1 1/2" which if you look at a side view of a stock CJ the front wheel is too far back in the wheel opening. So when you go to a larger tire you end up with clearance problems. The springs I got from my local Chysler dealer Outten in Hamburg, Pa. http://www.outtencars.com/location/hamburg-pa/index.jsp The service manager there is Brian Moyer who also runs Blue Mountain Jeep Alliance Club http://www.bmja.org/ He is a real Jeep guy and he advised me on the springs. We used Wrangler front springs part # OK-BDS-00420 and CJ rear springs part # OK-BDS-00425. These cost a total of $317.89 and was cheaper than a lift kit in which we would not have used many of the parts and also this way I could mix and match Wrangler/CJ springs. The Wrangler springs ride softer than the CJ and are also wider than CJ so we are hoping the rear springs are not too stiff. The reason we didn't go with Wrangler rear is because they are longer and I didn't want to have to mess with relocating spring mounts. I guess we will find out after it is on the road if we made a mistake or not. The rear part of the shackle reversal kit comes with a bushing tube that must be drilled and welded into the frame. The instructions for locating them are based on an assembled vehicle with all the weight. We didn't have that luxury. The shackle must be a little past centerline with all the weight on, it will bump and actually lift the Jeep when it tries to move back as the suspension travels. We actually had them too far front and when I got the bright idea to compress the springs with a bar clamp, the shackle moved too far back and ran out of travel. So I had to redrill the frame and weld in filler pieces in the original holes. Oh well, lessons will be learned. The bushing kit is from J.C Whitney http://www.jcwhitney.com/autoparts/StoreCatalogDisplay/c-10101/s-10101 catalog part #38166 or mfg. part # 1-1005 or 1-100 and cost $29.95. They are of the urethane type and I am sure will squeak. Gonna try and install some grease fittings to compansate.
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After hastily spending $250. On a wide track front dana 30 so we could obtain the 56" track we still were not sure what to do with the rear. As I stated before an offset differential amc 20 was never produced in wide track, only a centered differential version was made after quadra trac was discontinued in 1979. So after some very precise measuring it was determined dana 44's from a quadra trac equipped Wagoneer could be used by shortening only one side of each housing. This could only have worked out better if we would not have bought the dana 30 front. Needless to say we lost are ***** on that purchase. So here is how it all went together. Front axle from 1979 quadra trac Wagoneer, shorten driverside by 4" and move spring perch in to give 27 1/4" spring center to center, (which is stock CJ). This will give you a track of 56", equal to stock CJ wide track. The original long driverside axle shaft can also be cut down and resplined, no need to have a custom axle made. The passengerside spring perch is cast into the housing and cannot be moved, but just happens to be in the right spot, and since we switched to Wrangler front springs they are the same width as Wagoneer. Otherwise the spring perches on a dana 30 wide track are too narrow. This will also align the pinion angle up correctly. And remember that the shackle reversal kit moved the axle ahead 1 1/2", so if you stuck with a dana 30 you would have to lengthen the front driveshaft 1 1/2", BUT and this is the neat part, a dana 44 differential housing is 1 1/2" longer, OH YEH, a stock front driveshaft bolts right up, no lengthening. Use the Wagoneer spring u bolt plates and relocate the driverside shock mount to match the passengerside. Upper wide track bolt on shock mounts will have to replace the welded on narrow track shock mounts.
Okay, rear dana 44 from 1979 quadra trac Wagoneer. Shorten the driverside by 2 3/4" and relocate the spring perches to the bottom. Again the stock axle can be shortened and resplined. The differential center line will still be off center by 1 1/2" from the transfercase but if you use a double carden driveshaft it will eliminate any vibration. The alternative to this was to shorten the passengerside by 1 1/2" and the driverside by 1 1/4" but then you would have to get custom axle shafts made for both sides. It worked out cheaper to have a double carden driveshaft made. The rear spring u bolt plates are stock CJ with the shock mounts with the u bolt holes elongated with a milling machine tc accommodate the bigger diameter axle.
So there you go strong dana 44's front and rear to handle all the torque from that 401. We stayed with the 6 bolt lug pattern because we had factory chrome wagon wheels and is a stronger set-up. This also gives you G.M. type front disc brake calipers which I prefer over the CJ type, a little easier to change pads. Keen eyes will see no rear brakes, you can stick with the drums or go with rear disc brakes like we are.
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May 2006
This post will get a bit technical so if part numbers and details bore you, you might want to move on. If you think you might like to duplicate a steering set-up like this then I can save you a lot of aggravation and money on Advil, read on because this turned out pretty sweet.
Do in part to switching to Dana 44's and keeping the Wagoneer spindles we ended up with only one tie rod end hole on the passenger side instead of two like the CJ. This proved to be troublesome in figuring out a tie rod set up. The Wagoneer tie rod has an intregrated tie rod end and would have to be shortened. We wanted to eliminate problems in the future when a tie rod end goes bad that another custom tie rod wouldn't have to be made plus the down time. Also with the shackle reversal moving the axle forward 1 1/2" brought the tie rod that much closer to the pitman arm. I see now why M.O.R.E.
http://www.mountainoffroad.com/ doesn't recommend a dropped pitman arm, it would obviously hit the tie rod. But we wanted to keep everything as parallel as possible to eliminate bump steer with the 2" lift and that meant a dropped arm. The dropped arm came from a 1987 Wrangler (square headlight) as did the beefier sway bar. The good old boys at B & S Auto Parts in Pine Grove loaned me an extra spicer parts book and after a few nights of reading and measuring I decided on a tie rod end incorporating a tapered hole for a drag link for a 1/2 ton Chevy. This gave me the same size ball end as a Wagoneer (bigger than a CJ) and the extra hole that was needed for the drag link that was eliminated off the spindle. (Spicer part number 401-1275. cost $18.29) The only problem is that this end is designed for the driver side of the Chevy thus the tapered hole, which was designed for a steering dampener was facing the wrong way, but happened to be smaller than the draglink tapered end. The hole had to be enlarged from the other end. So I did some searching for tapered reamers and found what I needed on Ebay. Damn isn't technology great? The reamer is an Xcut brand #5952, 1 1/2" taper per foot, bought from Ebay seller tltrades at his Ebay store XKUT for $47.99. I measured with a dial calipers what the large diameter of the hole should be and put a piece of tape on the reamer to get the depth, then mounted the tie rod end on a drill press and slowly reamed it out. The driverside tie rod end is a Spicer part number 401-1134, cost $34.89. The main tie rod is the only mildly custom part, but if you never damage it, will never need to be replaced. It is made from a 1979 Jeep J10. I have seen these in 2 versions totally straight or a bend to give extra clearance for the pitman arm, get the straight one. Cut off the end with the lefthand thread to a length of 32" and have the end rethreaded 7/8 - 18 left hand, this will be the only machine shop work performed, unless you have access to one. I am a machinist by trade so I was able to take it to work and wrote a program for a cnc lathe and thread it there. You will also have to put a bend in it, at a 13" centerline from the lefthand threaded end to clear the pitman arm. ( Of course do this after it's rethreaded or you wont be able to chuck it in a lathe.) The bend was perfomed with a hydraulic pipe bender from Harbor Freight http://harborfreight.com/ item number 32888-svga cost $74.99 and a little bit of heat. The tie rod end and tie rod are connected with Spicer adjuster sleeves part number 425-1002 cost $7.33 each. The drag link is a Spicer part number 405-1009 cost $46.00. The threaded end was shortened by 1" and rethreaded with a 7/8 - 18 righthand die purchased from MSC http://www1.mscdirect.com/cgi/nnsrhm part number 03938180 cost $32.62. A Spicer tie rod end, part number 401-1224 cost $49.88 and another adjuster sleeve rounds out the drag link. Connect this end to the Wrangler pitman arm. As you can see everything is pretty well parallel and as the suspension travels the pitman arm now clears the bend in the main tie rod. You can also install a shock dampener and brackets from a J10 with no clearance issues. The sway bar from the Wrangler can be mounted in the stock location on the frame, but the legs are straight unlike the curved down ones on a CJ requiring longer connecting links and is also wider. Well it just happens that unmodified links from a J10 are the correct length, but will have to be mounted on the inside of the swaybar instead of the outside. The tapered holes in the sway bar are facing the wrong way for this. You know that reamer that was purchased for the tie rod end? Yep, same size, just mount on a drill press and ream half way thru and the tapered bolt can then be used from the J10. This makes for one beefy set up with full adjustability, and readily available replacement parts that can be easily modified at home.
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I told you earlier I would fill you in on a 401 that I stumbled on, so here it is. I called Jasper Motors http://jaspermotors.com/ about a 4.2 engine for my Eagle and just for the heck of it asked if they had any 401's. The guy laughed, said "the last core that came thru here was $1000.00." I told him about the CJ project, and he said "you should talk to my brother Ross Peterson, he's an AMC guru." Called him up and told him what we were into and he asked if we had the 401 built yet? No we aren't that far yet. Wanna buy one already built with 7000 miles on it? Turns out he built it himself for a Wagoneer he had, then ended up selling it minus the engine to a friend of his. It is built basically stock .030 over with premium parts and then balanced, has a rare R4B Edelbrock intake that was made for AMC to use in the SC/Ramblers. The torque curve is a little too high for the CJ, so we will be selling the intake. In the Wagoneer with a 400 Turbo and quadra trac, on a wet road moving at speed and dumped it into 2nd gear it would brake all 4 tires loose. By this time I'm figuring this thing is out of our price range, but had to ask how much? $3000.00!! Crap, I can't have one built for that. The bad part was he already sent adds out to AMC publications to sell it, but they didn't hit the news stands yet. So I had very little time to think it over. So needless to say I sent a down payment and picked it up 2 months later. He had a really nice run stand, so we could hear it run. You could actually put your hand on the valve cover and hardly feel it running that's how well balanced it is. Can't wait to get this thing installed.
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Moving to the rear we added a sway bar from Addco Manufacturing http://www.addco.net/. They make sway bars for all sorts of vehicles. (Got one for my J10 years ago and they even made a special one for my CJ5). Part number OOK1-260-OU. 3/4" diameter and cost $134.00 for the CJ7. I was a little leary that the bend in the center of it was going to clear the offset differential. Turned out the way they wanted it installed, this was going to interfere with our exhaust plans. It was to be installed with the center bend going over the driveshaft, fastened to the bottom of the frame rails, with the legs pointing towards the back and the ends fastened to the top of the leaf springs. Our plans for a dual in/dual out transverse muffler hung from the crossmember above the axle wasn't going to cut it. So I turned it around with the legs facing forward and the centered bend going over the top of the axle the way I originally thought it was to be installed. Luckily there was enough clearance for the offset differential. Had to fabricate mounts welded to the top of the axle tubes, and then another set of wedge shaped mounts welded under the frame rails. I used their u-brackets, but ran into a problem with their links not long enough. Did some measuring and determined that a set I had for the front of my 1967 Olds 442 were the perfect length. These are made by TRW http://www.trw.com/home/main/0,,,FF.html part number 18053. The rear shocks were gotten thru B & S Auto Parts. They were kind enough to copy spec pages out of their Monroe gatalog, http://www.monroe.com/ took that and determined which ones we needed, they are part number 34802, cost $77.95.
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How about a little driveshaft technology? Since we put a 2" suspension lift on this thing and with the longer pinion nose of the Dana 44 the already short drive shaft exceeded the 10 deg. max angle per a single u-joint. Plus looking down at the driveshaft it did not line up with the differential by 1 1/2". So now we have a compound angle to deal with. Everything I have read states that if the pinion angle is parallel with the output shaft and it doesn't exceeds 10 deg. a single u-joint can be used at each end. What a lot of people do if the angle does exceed 10 degs. is they tilt the pinion up so that it is parallel with the driveshaft. That's ok if you run a double carden joint on one end and a single on the pinion end. You see it takes 2 u-joints at the same angle to cancel out any vibration, as they turn they do not run at a steady speed, they run fast & slow. Therefore a second joint on the same end is needed to cancel out any vibration. When the driveshaft is parallel to the axle it will not set up a vibration. In our case we could have gotten away with tilting the pinion up if the pinion would have been in a straight line to the driveshaft looking down on it, but it was 1 1/2" off center. (compound angle) So we needed a double carden on each end to cancel out 2 different alignment issues. Several shops told me it would only vibrate slightly at different times and that a double carden was not needed. Well this thing is going to be street driven, and if it can be built with no vibration, then it will be built with no vibration. I knew of Tom Woods http://www.4xshaft.com/index.html but figured a local shop would be cheaper. The same shop that shortened the axles also did driveshafts. So I told Hartman Driveshaft and Axle, of Reading Pa. what I wanted. At first he claimed that we didn't need a double carden on each end that the vibration would be minimal. I persisted, even gave him some carden yokes to reuse and gave me a verbal quote of $500 to $600. Till it was all said and done the total was $944.73. OUCH!!! Now don't get me wrong, this shop does super quality work, did a great job on the axles, and takes pride in their workmanship. The killer driveshaft will never brake and the quality is impeccable, I'm just saying, shop around. I could have had the same shaft built by Woods and delivered to my door with a warranty for $650.00. Oh well, at least the front drive shaft is stock and only will require a rebuild.
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A little safety goes a long way in the shop, and we always try to practice that. Here is Jeff drilling out some reinforcement plates for the front shock mounts. The originals were shorter and welded to the frame, but since we switched to a wide trac axle we needed the longer shock towers as on the later Jeeps. I think the frame I took these off of had crush sleeves inside the frame rails, so we added these plates to eliminate any collapsing of the rails. Front shocks, again the good boys at B & S Auto Parts came thru with technical data so I could measure and come up with a standard shock. Also Monroe, part number 34821, cost $73.46. I took measurements off the donor frame but then moved them front to coincide with the shackle reversal moving the axle ahead. I also took a hole saw and drilled a drain hole at the bottom outside of the shock tower to eliminate any dirt and water being trapped between the shock mount and frame.
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We picked up this 20 gal. poly. gas tank at the Blue Mountain Jeep Alliance http://www.bmja.org/ yearly flea market in Orwigsburg for $20.00 and a skid plate from I guess a Wrangler at EZ Pull & Save in New Ringgold. (Phone 570-386-2171). All we had to do was lower the skid plate and change it from two hold down straps to one. A length of steel was added to the second crossmember to achieve this. Also sliced a little off the right side to clear the leaf springs. A new rear crossmember was fabricated from 2 x 4 box tubing. Just cut holes in for the frame rails and slid it on. Take notice we had to reverse the shackle mounts to clear the new crossmember because it is bigger than the frame. The centerline of the shackle pivot point was kept the same so as not to disturb the geometry. The old tub was set on to scribe a radius on the ends of the crossmember to match the body. This will give a bit more protection for the corner of the body and I never liked how the factory crossmember looked anyhow. We are also thinking about notching out the crossmember for the exhaust, this should look pretty trick. We'll just take a piece of pipe and slice it in half and notch out the crossmember and weld it in place, sort of muscle car era look.
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July 2006
Finally, "the body". Bought the tub, fenders and hood from Shell Valley out of Nebraska http://www.shellvalley.com/Replicas_and_Jeeps/Jeep/faq.asp I was a little leary buying sight unseen but they had a good reputation and the guy I dealt with "Dana" seemed pretty knowledgeable and up front. Little did I know but these guys are really into what they do. Shipping would have been $500.00 but I found out that they come into Carlisle for the kit car show with their cobra bodies so I asked if they had room to bring my body along and they obliged and only charged me $300.00 for shipping. Body cost was $2,174.00. Well I must say I was very happy when I saw the quality of the body. Double wall construction. All the other bodies I have seen had one downfall, the upper back corner of the door opening, where the door latch is, flexed and made shutting the door a chore. I can tell you right now, this one don't give at all. The tailgate opening was my other concern, would the stock steel tailgate fit. I positioned ours and had a nice even gap all the way around. I can only hope the steel doors will fit the same. They did bring a fiberglass windshield along at my request to look at. They explained that if you run with a soft top or no top that they have a tendency to flex, but is alright with a hardtop. The quality again was first rate but with the chances of this hardtop coming off I passed in favor of a steel one. I just know it will rust, you just can't seal them totally. Maybe I'll just have to try a little harder to convince Jeffrey to leave the hardtop on. To transport the body I cut some 2 x 6's to fit across the bedliner and ran straps to the hold downs at the front and back near the floor, this way the box for the hood slipped right underneath and the fender boxes I put in the tub. Next post I'll have some installation tips.
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ust thought I would show you the one man lifting device I made. I took a length of rectangular tubing and sliced it (channel would also work I just didn't have any) then welded on some slotted pieces to hook a length of chain into. A piece of 3/4" thick wood goes between the body and the tubing (now channel) to protect the body. A length of pipe longer than the body is wide was cut with a piece of metal with a hole in to fit my chain hoist was welded in the middle along with 2 bolts (heads down) to keep the length of chain from sliding on each end spaced just a little wider than the body. The center link of each chain was painted red for easy identification of the center link. Just hook the ends onto the bracket and run up over the pipe onto the bolts. The channels can be slid front or back to find the balance point of the body.
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Lost no time in placing the body on the frame, (just had to see how it looked). Even the rollbar fits well. I had gotten an installation video from 4 wheel drive hardware http://www.catalogs.com/search_3.asp?id=959&depid=33 to get a little educated, and picked up a few things from it. The way they start out, they place four 2" spacers at the middle mounts and measure the remaining mounts, then mount the hood, then the fenders and grille and whatever length mount the grille takes that's what is is. My problem with this method is that it wont always cosmetically look ok. I wound up with way too much of a gap at the rear crossmember and next to none at the grille. Trying to correct this we kept adjusting the mount lengths in the middle which kept rocking the gaps back and forth. I finally got tired of doing this so instead I started with the rear crossmember, Got a nice 1/2" gap then put two 1" mounts up front as a starting point. I checked for clearance in the middle which was ok. Then the hood was mounted, the fenders and the grille. The grille mount was adjusted until it was cosmetically correct by lifting the front of the tub which in turn allowed the front body mounts to fall into place. Now that the front and back where correct we made sure everything cleared in the middle, measured the rest of the body mounts and cut them. Now keep in mind we put no body lift on this, if you do, it can still be done using this method with a lot less hassle. Reinforcing strips are used at the mounting points of the body and fenders. This made for a very ridgid setup, you could actually lift at the grille and lift the front of the body if needed. I can remember going to shows and seeing Jeeps with no body lift with a very unsightly gap at the rear crossmember or at the grille. If you start in the back this can be elliminated. Again I can't say enough about this Shell Valley body. Give them a call or check them out on the web. http://www.shellvalley.com/
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In this view you can see the difference that the shackle reversal made in moving the front axle ahead, centers the wheel a little better in the opening. Can't wait to get those 31's mounted on those factory chrome wagon wheels. Had to cut out for the taller wide track shock mounts, a saber saw made quick work of this. Start out by cutting only a little at a time. It's easier to remove than to add. We will probably add a rubber shield to cover the outside of the shock and mount to help cut down dirt from entering into the engine bay.
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August 2006
Jeffrey wanted some kind of hood scoop for the CJ and we had looked at some "Bulge Hoods" which all had a raised center section but it just took away from the classic design that he wanted to retain. So the search was on. We needed something that would be close to the shape of the center raised section of a stock hood and the 401 emblems had to fit on the sides (that was a must) . These emblems were puchased off Ebay from member "berg102" http://feedback.ebay.com/ws/eBayISA...items=25&page=1&frompage=-1&iid=-1&de=off. These are really top quality metal (not plastic) hand painted U.S. made. The hood scoop came from CJ Pony out of Harrisburg, Pa. http://www.cjponyparts.com/. This is strickly a Ford Mustang store so we felt a little out of place, but the people could not have been nicer. They even went out to the dumpster for a piece of cardboard so we could scribe a footprint of the scoop so we could see before we bought it, if it would fit the hood. The hood scoop had to clear the Laredo stripes we planned for the Jeep. If we would use it with the opening towards the front it would interfear with the stripes. So Jeffrey decides "how about cowl induction"? So we turned it around with the opening in the back and everything should clear. We might order a stripe kit first to make sure. As you can see this thing comes with studs glassed in so installation should be a snap. Stay tuned for the installation.
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So here we go.
March 2006
Here it is as we first layed eyes on it in May of 2004 at "The Jeep Shop" in Chester Springs, Pa. http://www.thejeepshop.net/ Originally from Florida, we checked the frame for rust and said ok. The owner would remove the 401 that was presently installed for a customer and we could have the rest for $500.00. The rest being a 400 turbo with quadra-trac. power steering, manual disc brakes and a dana 30 up front and amc 20 in the rear. Along with a tilt column and tac dash, a totally waisted body and a good set of sellable tires and wheels.
Here we are the weekend of 4th of July 2004. Now if that isn't a happy face nothing is. Powered by enthusiasm, I'd say. All we had to do to transport was to strap the torque converter in so it wouldn't fall out and load it up. That's Homer from "Moyers Car Care" of Friedensburg. Pa. doing the roll back thing, he's a real car guy that loves his job.
Here we are in Ghostbusters Headquarters, (got that sign from Burger King when the kids were younger, I think it's time to put it on Ebay.) Teardown began almost immediately, this is the easy part you really don't have to give a rat's a-- about damaging anything. After we got the front sheetmetal off, it was alot easier accessing the fire wall, wireing and brake stuff. Jeff is starting to get hooked on the smell of WD-40 though, it's like he can't get enough of it. We did tag any useable items and took lots of detailed photos for future reference. Believe me when I say it's easy to forget.
Well it just keeps going. Here we are two generations of Jeep building. Jeff senior on top in 1980 building his CJ5 and junior on bottom doing his thing at present. You just can't describe the feeling that comes from building a Jeep. The knowledge, respect, satisfaction, glory and bonding. All I can say is get your kids involved and they will gain all those traits. The memories that come out of something of this magnitude will last a life time. The parts hunting, bartering and trading. The new freinds that you will gain and places you will go that you normally wouldn't have if not for this mechanical wonder. And yes, even computer skills are learned when making up fake I.D.'s to get into those "no one under 18 allowed" u-pull junkyards. These are all life skills that will come in handy later on down the road.
After we rolled the chassis back into "headquarters" (damn I gotta get rid of that sign) out came the 400 turbo and quadra trac. These will be rebuilt and reused, we are firm believers in this set-up. Have it in my J10 with over 200,000 trouble free miles. Reliability is great, you can still get parts and the full time traction is outstanding. Did I mention a 401 is going in this? oh yeh, that's the title of this blog. It was originally a 304 jeep but a previous owner installed a 401 and the "Jeep Shop from Chester Springs" pulled the engine for a customer and sold us the rest for $500.00. I already had a rebuildable 401 core so wasn't worried. In the meantime we stumbled across a 7,000 mile rebuilt one. More on that later. We yanked the rears and leafsprings and was left with a bare frame. Found a couple of rust throughs, but all in the boxing sections, not in the major frame areas. This Jeep came out of Florida so it lead a better life than here in the northeast. We are also going to experiment with the 400 turbo by installing "switch pitch". This was used by G.M. from 1965 to 1967. What it is, is a variable stator torque converter which gives you hi stall, low stall in one unit. In other words hi performance and fuel economy at the flick of a switch. You can also split shift it as you manually run up through the gears. I have a couple of these transmissions laying around so I'll keep you updated. A shackle reversal up front along with YJ springs are also slated for this project. Want to go with wide track (56") axles. The front is no problem but the AMC 20 offset differential rear was never made in wide track version, because wide track wasn't available until they stopped using quadra trac after 1979. I am not crazy about using spacers with 2 piece axles, so we'll see.
April 2006
Now that we have everything disassembled we can clean it up. I had said that this Jeep came out of Florida, well I think some of it came along for the ride. Then they wonder why the shorelines are diminishing. We must have washed out a ton of sand. Took a long garden hose and fished it up through the frame rail, worked really great. Found two areas that needed replacement with fresh metal. It was luckily confined to the boxed areas where the metal is of thinner gauge and not in anything structural. Simply cut out the bad areas and bent and shaped new material and welded in place. Be careful in doing the welding as not to get one area hot at one time, it is possible to bend a frame rail, rather stitch short areas and let cool before welding again. Take lots of measurements before and after. Haven't decided yet on what primer and paint to use to protect this yet. Would like to rust proof the insides of the rails. I don't know if any shops have a long wand to stick up the rail and spray it from the inside while dragging it out. Maybe if somebody out there knows of anything they can let me know. I have time for this yet, as we will be doing fabrication next.
http://mountainoffroad.com/more.htm I ordered the unwelded kit version because it was cheaper and I wanted my son to learn some valuable welding.
The kit number is 7686-20 for $165.00 plus $24.29 shipping. To line everything up I stuck a threaded rod through both assemblies and again took lots of measurements. At the time I hadn't yet ordered the Wrangler springs for up front and since the CJ springs are narrower I used the back springs which are the same width as Wrangler springs to mock everything up. Make sure everything is square to the frame rails because if not this will only shorten the life of the bushings. Had to do a lot of shimming and tweaking (sledge hammer) to obtain this. For more info on the pros and cons on shackle reversals check out JP Magazine http://www.jpmagazine.com/ they did a great article.
Well the springs finely got here. We wanted only a 2" lift for several reasons, safety, looks and the fact that a dropped pitman arm is not needed until after 2". We certainly didn't want to be bothered with bump steer, since this will be a daily driver and should be a pleasure to drive. We also wanted to go with 31" tires and with a shackle reversal kit it moves the front axle ahead by 1 1/2" which if you look at a side view of a stock CJ the front wheel is too far back in the wheel opening. So when you go to a larger tire you end up with clearance problems. The springs I got from my local Chysler dealer Outten in Hamburg, Pa. http://www.outtencars.com/location/hamburg-pa/index.jsp The service manager there is Brian Moyer who also runs Blue Mountain Jeep Alliance Club http://www.bmja.org/ He is a real Jeep guy and he advised me on the springs. We used Wrangler front springs part # OK-BDS-00420 and CJ rear springs part # OK-BDS-00425. These cost a total of $317.89 and was cheaper than a lift kit in which we would not have used many of the parts and also this way I could mix and match Wrangler/CJ springs. The Wrangler springs ride softer than the CJ and are also wider than CJ so we are hoping the rear springs are not too stiff. The reason we didn't go with Wrangler rear is because they are longer and I didn't want to have to mess with relocating spring mounts. I guess we will find out after it is on the road if we made a mistake or not. The rear part of the shackle reversal kit comes with a bushing tube that must be drilled and welded into the frame. The instructions for locating them are based on an assembled vehicle with all the weight. We didn't have that luxury. The shackle must be a little past centerline with all the weight on, it will bump and actually lift the Jeep when it tries to move back as the suspension travels. We actually had them too far front and when I got the bright idea to compress the springs with a bar clamp, the shackle moved too far back and ran out of travel. So I had to redrill the frame and weld in filler pieces in the original holes. Oh well, lessons will be learned. The bushing kit is from J.C Whitney http://www.jcwhitney.com/autoparts/StoreCatalogDisplay/c-10101/s-10101 catalog part #38166 or mfg. part # 1-1005 or 1-100 and cost $29.95. They are of the urethane type and I am sure will squeak. Gonna try and install some grease fittings to compansate.
After hastily spending $250. On a wide track front dana 30 so we could obtain the 56" track we still were not sure what to do with the rear. As I stated before an offset differential amc 20 was never produced in wide track, only a centered differential version was made after quadra trac was discontinued in 1979. So after some very precise measuring it was determined dana 44's from a quadra trac equipped Wagoneer could be used by shortening only one side of each housing. This could only have worked out better if we would not have bought the dana 30 front. Needless to say we lost are ***** on that purchase. So here is how it all went together. Front axle from 1979 quadra trac Wagoneer, shorten driverside by 4" and move spring perch in to give 27 1/4" spring center to center, (which is stock CJ). This will give you a track of 56", equal to stock CJ wide track. The original long driverside axle shaft can also be cut down and resplined, no need to have a custom axle made. The passengerside spring perch is cast into the housing and cannot be moved, but just happens to be in the right spot, and since we switched to Wrangler front springs they are the same width as Wagoneer. Otherwise the spring perches on a dana 30 wide track are too narrow. This will also align the pinion angle up correctly. And remember that the shackle reversal kit moved the axle ahead 1 1/2", so if you stuck with a dana 30 you would have to lengthen the front driveshaft 1 1/2", BUT and this is the neat part, a dana 44 differential housing is 1 1/2" longer, OH YEH, a stock front driveshaft bolts right up, no lengthening. Use the Wagoneer spring u bolt plates and relocate the driverside shock mount to match the passengerside. Upper wide track bolt on shock mounts will have to replace the welded on narrow track shock mounts.
Okay, rear dana 44 from 1979 quadra trac Wagoneer. Shorten the driverside by 2 3/4" and relocate the spring perches to the bottom. Again the stock axle can be shortened and resplined. The differential center line will still be off center by 1 1/2" from the transfercase but if you use a double carden driveshaft it will eliminate any vibration. The alternative to this was to shorten the passengerside by 1 1/2" and the driverside by 1 1/4" but then you would have to get custom axle shafts made for both sides. It worked out cheaper to have a double carden driveshaft made. The rear spring u bolt plates are stock CJ with the shock mounts with the u bolt holes elongated with a milling machine tc accommodate the bigger diameter axle.
So there you go strong dana 44's front and rear to handle all the torque from that 401. We stayed with the 6 bolt lug pattern because we had factory chrome wagon wheels and is a stronger set-up. This also gives you G.M. type front disc brake calipers which I prefer over the CJ type, a little easier to change pads. Keen eyes will see no rear brakes, you can stick with the drums or go with rear disc brakes like we are.
May 2006
This post will get a bit technical so if part numbers and details bore you, you might want to move on. If you think you might like to duplicate a steering set-up like this then I can save you a lot of aggravation and money on Advil, read on because this turned out pretty sweet.
Do in part to switching to Dana 44's and keeping the Wagoneer spindles we ended up with only one tie rod end hole on the passenger side instead of two like the CJ. This proved to be troublesome in figuring out a tie rod set up. The Wagoneer tie rod has an intregrated tie rod end and would have to be shortened. We wanted to eliminate problems in the future when a tie rod end goes bad that another custom tie rod wouldn't have to be made plus the down time. Also with the shackle reversal moving the axle forward 1 1/2" brought the tie rod that much closer to the pitman arm. I see now why M.O.R.E.
http://www.mountainoffroad.com/ doesn't recommend a dropped pitman arm, it would obviously hit the tie rod. But we wanted to keep everything as parallel as possible to eliminate bump steer with the 2" lift and that meant a dropped arm. The dropped arm came from a 1987 Wrangler (square headlight) as did the beefier sway bar. The good old boys at B & S Auto Parts in Pine Grove loaned me an extra spicer parts book and after a few nights of reading and measuring I decided on a tie rod end incorporating a tapered hole for a drag link for a 1/2 ton Chevy. This gave me the same size ball end as a Wagoneer (bigger than a CJ) and the extra hole that was needed for the drag link that was eliminated off the spindle. (Spicer part number 401-1275. cost $18.29) The only problem is that this end is designed for the driver side of the Chevy thus the tapered hole, which was designed for a steering dampener was facing the wrong way, but happened to be smaller than the draglink tapered end. The hole had to be enlarged from the other end. So I did some searching for tapered reamers and found what I needed on Ebay. Damn isn't technology great? The reamer is an Xcut brand #5952, 1 1/2" taper per foot, bought from Ebay seller tltrades at his Ebay store XKUT for $47.99. I measured with a dial calipers what the large diameter of the hole should be and put a piece of tape on the reamer to get the depth, then mounted the tie rod end on a drill press and slowly reamed it out. The driverside tie rod end is a Spicer part number 401-1134, cost $34.89. The main tie rod is the only mildly custom part, but if you never damage it, will never need to be replaced. It is made from a 1979 Jeep J10. I have seen these in 2 versions totally straight or a bend to give extra clearance for the pitman arm, get the straight one. Cut off the end with the lefthand thread to a length of 32" and have the end rethreaded 7/8 - 18 left hand, this will be the only machine shop work performed, unless you have access to one. I am a machinist by trade so I was able to take it to work and wrote a program for a cnc lathe and thread it there. You will also have to put a bend in it, at a 13" centerline from the lefthand threaded end to clear the pitman arm. ( Of course do this after it's rethreaded or you wont be able to chuck it in a lathe.) The bend was perfomed with a hydraulic pipe bender from Harbor Freight http://harborfreight.com/ item number 32888-svga cost $74.99 and a little bit of heat. The tie rod end and tie rod are connected with Spicer adjuster sleeves part number 425-1002 cost $7.33 each. The drag link is a Spicer part number 405-1009 cost $46.00. The threaded end was shortened by 1" and rethreaded with a 7/8 - 18 righthand die purchased from MSC http://www1.mscdirect.com/cgi/nnsrhm part number 03938180 cost $32.62. A Spicer tie rod end, part number 401-1224 cost $49.88 and another adjuster sleeve rounds out the drag link. Connect this end to the Wrangler pitman arm. As you can see everything is pretty well parallel and as the suspension travels the pitman arm now clears the bend in the main tie rod. You can also install a shock dampener and brackets from a J10 with no clearance issues. The sway bar from the Wrangler can be mounted in the stock location on the frame, but the legs are straight unlike the curved down ones on a CJ requiring longer connecting links and is also wider. Well it just happens that unmodified links from a J10 are the correct length, but will have to be mounted on the inside of the swaybar instead of the outside. The tapered holes in the sway bar are facing the wrong way for this. You know that reamer that was purchased for the tie rod end? Yep, same size, just mount on a drill press and ream half way thru and the tapered bolt can then be used from the J10. This makes for one beefy set up with full adjustability, and readily available replacement parts that can be easily modified at home.
I told you earlier I would fill you in on a 401 that I stumbled on, so here it is. I called Jasper Motors http://jaspermotors.com/ about a 4.2 engine for my Eagle and just for the heck of it asked if they had any 401's. The guy laughed, said "the last core that came thru here was $1000.00." I told him about the CJ project, and he said "you should talk to my brother Ross Peterson, he's an AMC guru." Called him up and told him what we were into and he asked if we had the 401 built yet? No we aren't that far yet. Wanna buy one already built with 7000 miles on it? Turns out he built it himself for a Wagoneer he had, then ended up selling it minus the engine to a friend of his. It is built basically stock .030 over with premium parts and then balanced, has a rare R4B Edelbrock intake that was made for AMC to use in the SC/Ramblers. The torque curve is a little too high for the CJ, so we will be selling the intake. In the Wagoneer with a 400 Turbo and quadra trac, on a wet road moving at speed and dumped it into 2nd gear it would brake all 4 tires loose. By this time I'm figuring this thing is out of our price range, but had to ask how much? $3000.00!! Crap, I can't have one built for that. The bad part was he already sent adds out to AMC publications to sell it, but they didn't hit the news stands yet. So I had very little time to think it over. So needless to say I sent a down payment and picked it up 2 months later. He had a really nice run stand, so we could hear it run. You could actually put your hand on the valve cover and hardly feel it running that's how well balanced it is. Can't wait to get this thing installed.
Moving to the rear we added a sway bar from Addco Manufacturing http://www.addco.net/. They make sway bars for all sorts of vehicles. (Got one for my J10 years ago and they even made a special one for my CJ5). Part number OOK1-260-OU. 3/4" diameter and cost $134.00 for the CJ7. I was a little leary that the bend in the center of it was going to clear the offset differential. Turned out the way they wanted it installed, this was going to interfere with our exhaust plans. It was to be installed with the center bend going over the driveshaft, fastened to the bottom of the frame rails, with the legs pointing towards the back and the ends fastened to the top of the leaf springs. Our plans for a dual in/dual out transverse muffler hung from the crossmember above the axle wasn't going to cut it. So I turned it around with the legs facing forward and the centered bend going over the top of the axle the way I originally thought it was to be installed. Luckily there was enough clearance for the offset differential. Had to fabricate mounts welded to the top of the axle tubes, and then another set of wedge shaped mounts welded under the frame rails. I used their u-brackets, but ran into a problem with their links not long enough. Did some measuring and determined that a set I had for the front of my 1967 Olds 442 were the perfect length. These are made by TRW http://www.trw.com/home/main/0,,,FF.html part number 18053. The rear shocks were gotten thru B & S Auto Parts. They were kind enough to copy spec pages out of their Monroe gatalog, http://www.monroe.com/ took that and determined which ones we needed, they are part number 34802, cost $77.95.
How about a little driveshaft technology? Since we put a 2" suspension lift on this thing and with the longer pinion nose of the Dana 44 the already short drive shaft exceeded the 10 deg. max angle per a single u-joint. Plus looking down at the driveshaft it did not line up with the differential by 1 1/2". So now we have a compound angle to deal with. Everything I have read states that if the pinion angle is parallel with the output shaft and it doesn't exceeds 10 deg. a single u-joint can be used at each end. What a lot of people do if the angle does exceed 10 degs. is they tilt the pinion up so that it is parallel with the driveshaft. That's ok if you run a double carden joint on one end and a single on the pinion end. You see it takes 2 u-joints at the same angle to cancel out any vibration, as they turn they do not run at a steady speed, they run fast & slow. Therefore a second joint on the same end is needed to cancel out any vibration. When the driveshaft is parallel to the axle it will not set up a vibration. In our case we could have gotten away with tilting the pinion up if the pinion would have been in a straight line to the driveshaft looking down on it, but it was 1 1/2" off center. (compound angle) So we needed a double carden on each end to cancel out 2 different alignment issues. Several shops told me it would only vibrate slightly at different times and that a double carden was not needed. Well this thing is going to be street driven, and if it can be built with no vibration, then it will be built with no vibration. I knew of Tom Woods http://www.4xshaft.com/index.html but figured a local shop would be cheaper. The same shop that shortened the axles also did driveshafts. So I told Hartman Driveshaft and Axle, of Reading Pa. what I wanted. At first he claimed that we didn't need a double carden on each end that the vibration would be minimal. I persisted, even gave him some carden yokes to reuse and gave me a verbal quote of $500 to $600. Till it was all said and done the total was $944.73. OUCH!!! Now don't get me wrong, this shop does super quality work, did a great job on the axles, and takes pride in their workmanship. The killer driveshaft will never brake and the quality is impeccable, I'm just saying, shop around. I could have had the same shaft built by Woods and delivered to my door with a warranty for $650.00. Oh well, at least the front drive shaft is stock and only will require a rebuild.
A little safety goes a long way in the shop, and we always try to practice that. Here is Jeff drilling out some reinforcement plates for the front shock mounts. The originals were shorter and welded to the frame, but since we switched to a wide trac axle we needed the longer shock towers as on the later Jeeps. I think the frame I took these off of had crush sleeves inside the frame rails, so we added these plates to eliminate any collapsing of the rails. Front shocks, again the good boys at B & S Auto Parts came thru with technical data so I could measure and come up with a standard shock. Also Monroe, part number 34821, cost $73.46. I took measurements off the donor frame but then moved them front to coincide with the shackle reversal moving the axle ahead. I also took a hole saw and drilled a drain hole at the bottom outside of the shock tower to eliminate any dirt and water being trapped between the shock mount and frame.
We picked up this 20 gal. poly. gas tank at the Blue Mountain Jeep Alliance http://www.bmja.org/ yearly flea market in Orwigsburg for $20.00 and a skid plate from I guess a Wrangler at EZ Pull & Save in New Ringgold. (Phone 570-386-2171). All we had to do was lower the skid plate and change it from two hold down straps to one. A length of steel was added to the second crossmember to achieve this. Also sliced a little off the right side to clear the leaf springs. A new rear crossmember was fabricated from 2 x 4 box tubing. Just cut holes in for the frame rails and slid it on. Take notice we had to reverse the shackle mounts to clear the new crossmember because it is bigger than the frame. The centerline of the shackle pivot point was kept the same so as not to disturb the geometry. The old tub was set on to scribe a radius on the ends of the crossmember to match the body. This will give a bit more protection for the corner of the body and I never liked how the factory crossmember looked anyhow. We are also thinking about notching out the crossmember for the exhaust, this should look pretty trick. We'll just take a piece of pipe and slice it in half and notch out the crossmember and weld it in place, sort of muscle car era look.
July 2006
Finally, "the body". Bought the tub, fenders and hood from Shell Valley out of Nebraska http://www.shellvalley.com/Replicas_and_Jeeps/Jeep/faq.asp I was a little leary buying sight unseen but they had a good reputation and the guy I dealt with "Dana" seemed pretty knowledgeable and up front. Little did I know but these guys are really into what they do. Shipping would have been $500.00 but I found out that they come into Carlisle for the kit car show with their cobra bodies so I asked if they had room to bring my body along and they obliged and only charged me $300.00 for shipping. Body cost was $2,174.00. Well I must say I was very happy when I saw the quality of the body. Double wall construction. All the other bodies I have seen had one downfall, the upper back corner of the door opening, where the door latch is, flexed and made shutting the door a chore. I can tell you right now, this one don't give at all. The tailgate opening was my other concern, would the stock steel tailgate fit. I positioned ours and had a nice even gap all the way around. I can only hope the steel doors will fit the same. They did bring a fiberglass windshield along at my request to look at. They explained that if you run with a soft top or no top that they have a tendency to flex, but is alright with a hardtop. The quality again was first rate but with the chances of this hardtop coming off I passed in favor of a steel one. I just know it will rust, you just can't seal them totally. Maybe I'll just have to try a little harder to convince Jeffrey to leave the hardtop on. To transport the body I cut some 2 x 6's to fit across the bedliner and ran straps to the hold downs at the front and back near the floor, this way the box for the hood slipped right underneath and the fender boxes I put in the tub. Next post I'll have some installation tips.
ust thought I would show you the one man lifting device I made. I took a length of rectangular tubing and sliced it (channel would also work I just didn't have any) then welded on some slotted pieces to hook a length of chain into. A piece of 3/4" thick wood goes between the body and the tubing (now channel) to protect the body. A length of pipe longer than the body is wide was cut with a piece of metal with a hole in to fit my chain hoist was welded in the middle along with 2 bolts (heads down) to keep the length of chain from sliding on each end spaced just a little wider than the body. The center link of each chain was painted red for easy identification of the center link. Just hook the ends onto the bracket and run up over the pipe onto the bolts. The channels can be slid front or back to find the balance point of the body.
Lost no time in placing the body on the frame, (just had to see how it looked). Even the rollbar fits well. I had gotten an installation video from 4 wheel drive hardware http://www.catalogs.com/search_3.asp?id=959&depid=33 to get a little educated, and picked up a few things from it. The way they start out, they place four 2" spacers at the middle mounts and measure the remaining mounts, then mount the hood, then the fenders and grille and whatever length mount the grille takes that's what is is. My problem with this method is that it wont always cosmetically look ok. I wound up with way too much of a gap at the rear crossmember and next to none at the grille. Trying to correct this we kept adjusting the mount lengths in the middle which kept rocking the gaps back and forth. I finally got tired of doing this so instead I started with the rear crossmember, Got a nice 1/2" gap then put two 1" mounts up front as a starting point. I checked for clearance in the middle which was ok. Then the hood was mounted, the fenders and the grille. The grille mount was adjusted until it was cosmetically correct by lifting the front of the tub which in turn allowed the front body mounts to fall into place. Now that the front and back where correct we made sure everything cleared in the middle, measured the rest of the body mounts and cut them. Now keep in mind we put no body lift on this, if you do, it can still be done using this method with a lot less hassle. Reinforcing strips are used at the mounting points of the body and fenders. This made for a very ridgid setup, you could actually lift at the grille and lift the front of the body if needed. I can remember going to shows and seeing Jeeps with no body lift with a very unsightly gap at the rear crossmember or at the grille. If you start in the back this can be elliminated. Again I can't say enough about this Shell Valley body. Give them a call or check them out on the web. http://www.shellvalley.com/
In this view you can see the difference that the shackle reversal made in moving the front axle ahead, centers the wheel a little better in the opening. Can't wait to get those 31's mounted on those factory chrome wagon wheels. Had to cut out for the taller wide track shock mounts, a saber saw made quick work of this. Start out by cutting only a little at a time. It's easier to remove than to add. We will probably add a rubber shield to cover the outside of the shock and mount to help cut down dirt from entering into the engine bay.
August 2006
Jeffrey wanted some kind of hood scoop for the CJ and we had looked at some "Bulge Hoods" which all had a raised center section but it just took away from the classic design that he wanted to retain. So the search was on. We needed something that would be close to the shape of the center raised section of a stock hood and the 401 emblems had to fit on the sides (that was a must) . These emblems were puchased off Ebay from member "berg102" http://feedback.ebay.com/ws/eBayISA...items=25&page=1&frompage=-1&iid=-1&de=off. These are really top quality metal (not plastic) hand painted U.S. made. The hood scoop came from CJ Pony out of Harrisburg, Pa. http://www.cjponyparts.com/. This is strickly a Ford Mustang store so we felt a little out of place, but the people could not have been nicer. They even went out to the dumpster for a piece of cardboard so we could scribe a footprint of the scoop so we could see before we bought it, if it would fit the hood. The hood scoop had to clear the Laredo stripes we planned for the Jeep. If we would use it with the opening towards the front it would interfear with the stripes. So Jeffrey decides "how about cowl induction"? So we turned it around with the opening in the back and everything should clear. We might order a stripe kit first to make sure. As you can see this thing comes with studs glassed in so installation should be a snap. Stay tuned for the installation.
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Custom CJ tailgate with YJ top
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Topic today? Another variation of a CJ tailgate with a YJ hard top. A recent trip to the Spring Carlisle auto flee market netted a latch from a vendor that we figured might work for the CJ tailgate that we planned on using with the YJ hard top. There have been several right ups on this conversion, all pretty ingenious in their own way, but for our street only version of this build, they just didn't meet our needs. Those being, lockable, open from the outside without it looking like a utility box and without opening the lift gate, water tight (as much as a stock CJ could be) no protruding latches and be able to sit on it. The fact that a CJ gate opens from the inside versus a YJ from the outside was the problem. A YJ lift gate opens only after the bottom gate is opened, so if you can't get to the inside to open the bottom gate, well I'm sure you get the picture. This is a problem we knew we would face, but was put on the back burner until hopefully a solution fell in our laps. So $5.00 for the latch, we took a chance. I spent more for a Big Smokey sausage sandwich an hour earlier. Once home we analyzed the latch, Jeffrey commented that it looked familiar. Turns out it is the same latch that Poison Spyder http://shop.poisonspyder.com/Poison-Spyder-TrailGate-trade-TJ-LJ-p/14-66-010.htm uses on their tailgates. The latch is made by Southco http://www.southco.com/en-us/62/62-42-351-3 and if you can't find what you need from this company you better give up. The latch we used for mock up is not lockable, but a lockable version will be purchased from Southco. Poison Spyder makes a nice quality gate, but we didn't like the exposed latches on the inside. We like a tailgate to sit on, and we were thinking more along the line of hidden, as in two rods hidden inside the gate exiting out both sides into the body.
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Did some preliminary measuring and found the latch was thicker than the gate was thick. So a decorative aluminum housing was milled to rectify this. This put the latch out further, and by cutting off some of the extra long shaft it would clear. Started by downloading specs from Southco and cut a hole in the face of a trashed tailgate we kept just for this purpose. Then an access hole was cut on the inside to facilitate hooking up the rods. Later a sheet metal cover will be fabricated to cover the inside hole and will eventually be covered by carpet. An actuating bar was made with a double D hole to slide over the latch shaft and bent to clear the clamp screw that holds the latch in place. Two holes are drilled and tapped 6-32 to fasten the rods. Two bushings were cut from 3/16 brake line tubing for the 6-32 screws to pass through and tighten down without pinching and binding the flattened ends of the rods. The rods are 5/16 diameter with one end flattened and drilled 3/16 for the bushings. Holes were then drilled at each end of the gate for the rods to pass through. A slight curve was bent on the flattened end of the each rod to produce a longer movement for body engagement. This also limits the rods from dropping out the inside of the holes. After the gate is mounted to the body for it's final alignment, a dab of grease will be applied to each rod end, then actuated out against the body for accurate hole alignment to be drilled. Factory weatherstripping can be utilized for a rattle free tight seal. So there you have it, another version of a CJ gate on a YJ and you can sit on it and crack open your favorite brew.
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Topic today? Another variation of a CJ tailgate with a YJ hard top. A recent trip to the Spring Carlisle auto flee market netted a latch from a vendor that we figured might work for the CJ tailgate that we planned on using with the YJ hard top. There have been several right ups on this conversion, all pretty ingenious in their own way, but for our street only version of this build, they just didn't meet our needs. Those being, lockable, open from the outside without it looking like a utility box and without opening the lift gate, water tight (as much as a stock CJ could be) no protruding latches and be able to sit on it. The fact that a CJ gate opens from the inside versus a YJ from the outside was the problem. A YJ lift gate opens only after the bottom gate is opened, so if you can't get to the inside to open the bottom gate, well I'm sure you get the picture. This is a problem we knew we would face, but was put on the back burner until hopefully a solution fell in our laps. So $5.00 for the latch, we took a chance. I spent more for a Big Smokey sausage sandwich an hour earlier. Once home we analyzed the latch, Jeffrey commented that it looked familiar. Turns out it is the same latch that Poison Spyder http://shop.poisonspyder.com/Poison-Spyder-TrailGate-trade-TJ-LJ-p/14-66-010.htm uses on their tailgates. The latch is made by Southco http://www.southco.com/en-us/62/62-42-351-3 and if you can't find what you need from this company you better give up. The latch we used for mock up is not lockable, but a lockable version will be purchased from Southco. Poison Spyder makes a nice quality gate, but we didn't like the exposed latches on the inside. We like a tailgate to sit on, and we were thinking more along the line of hidden, as in two rods hidden inside the gate exiting out both sides into the body.
Did some preliminary measuring and found the latch was thicker than the gate was thick. So a decorative aluminum housing was milled to rectify this. This put the latch out further, and by cutting off some of the extra long shaft it would clear. Started by downloading specs from Southco and cut a hole in the face of a trashed tailgate we kept just for this purpose. Then an access hole was cut on the inside to facilitate hooking up the rods. Later a sheet metal cover will be fabricated to cover the inside hole and will eventually be covered by carpet. An actuating bar was made with a double D hole to slide over the latch shaft and bent to clear the clamp screw that holds the latch in place. Two holes are drilled and tapped 6-32 to fasten the rods. Two bushings were cut from 3/16 brake line tubing for the 6-32 screws to pass through and tighten down without pinching and binding the flattened ends of the rods. The rods are 5/16 diameter with one end flattened and drilled 3/16 for the bushings. Holes were then drilled at each end of the gate for the rods to pass through. A slight curve was bent on the flattened end of the each rod to produce a longer movement for body engagement. This also limits the rods from dropping out the inside of the holes. After the gate is mounted to the body for it's final alignment, a dab of grease will be applied to each rod end, then actuated out against the body for accurate hole alignment to be drilled. Factory weatherstripping can be utilized for a rattle free tight seal. So there you have it, another version of a CJ gate on a YJ and you can sit on it and crack open your favorite brew.
2
Been quite a few updates since I last posted to this thread. So here goes.
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We decided a shakedown run was in the cards for a couple of reasons. 1 To make sure all the engineering we have done so far worked and was safe. 2 Jeffrey was heading towards a date of July 4th. weekend because that was the weekend that we bought it in 2004. Brakes were bled using silicone fluid, found a couple of leaks and fixed them. Coolant was added, a temporary gas line was routed into the front passenger compartment to a gas can, (didn't want to put gas in the tank and turn stale) and a simplified wiring harness was fabbed up. All suspension hardware was checked and made sure the e-brake worked. Dump tubes were welded up and bolted to the open headers. Oh and a fire extinguisher in the console. Hey, you never know. Fired right up since we didn't touch any of the settings from the previous dyno session. Topped off the tranny and power steering pump and it began to move, which was a good sign since the tranny was sitting for a few years. (We had it assembled wet for that reason) It was discovered that the alternator was not charging the battery and that was finally diagnosed by Jeffreys' grandfather to a bad connection to the indicator light. (He is 85 but still has it) Now that the battery was being charged we went for a few runs on the road and also one donut exercise in the grass, you know, to make sure the quadra trac was working. So far the ride is comfortable, steering is a dream with one finger, braking? well it stops but wont do any panic stops like dragging the tires, so some adjustments will be needed there, and after it sits, the aluminum tranny pan leaks. Oh I forgot to mention, it hauls ***.
Cant figure out why they wont embed in the post but here are some videos
Read more: http://www.jeep-cj.com/forums/f98/a...ups-lots-pics-21041/index4.html#ixzz3SDltRuq1
We decided a shakedown run was in the cards for a couple of reasons. 1 To make sure all the engineering we have done so far worked and was safe. 2 Jeffrey was heading towards a date of July 4th. weekend because that was the weekend that we bought it in 2004. Brakes were bled using silicone fluid, found a couple of leaks and fixed them. Coolant was added, a temporary gas line was routed into the front passenger compartment to a gas can, (didn't want to put gas in the tank and turn stale) and a simplified wiring harness was fabbed up. All suspension hardware was checked and made sure the e-brake worked. Dump tubes were welded up and bolted to the open headers. Oh and a fire extinguisher in the console. Hey, you never know. Fired right up since we didn't touch any of the settings from the previous dyno session. Topped off the tranny and power steering pump and it began to move, which was a good sign since the tranny was sitting for a few years. (We had it assembled wet for that reason) It was discovered that the alternator was not charging the battery and that was finally diagnosed by Jeffreys' grandfather to a bad connection to the indicator light. (He is 85 but still has it) Now that the battery was being charged we went for a few runs on the road and also one donut exercise in the grass, you know, to make sure the quadra trac was working. So far the ride is comfortable, steering is a dream with one finger, braking? well it stops but wont do any panic stops like dragging the tires, so some adjustments will be needed there, and after it sits, the aluminum tranny pan leaks. Oh I forgot to mention, it hauls ***.
Cant figure out why they wont embed in the post but here are some videos
Read more: http://www.jeep-cj.com/forums/f98/a...ups-lots-pics-21041/index4.html#ixzz3SDltRuq1
7
Started to do some interior and dash work.
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Got to work on the console gauges before the holidays. We originally had anticipated one row of three gauges across the top, but since we wanted to angle them towards the driver and flush mount them, there just wasn't enough width with the sides of the console to accomplish that. So we had to triangulate the arrangement, with one at the top and two in a row below the top one. An angle of 26 degrees from the center of the console to the drivers eyes was deemed necessary for comfortable reading, that was done
simply by taking a string from the drivers eyes down to the center of the console where the gauges would be mounted, then reading a protractor off the face. Since the console was already angled up we only had one angle to deal with. For the speedo and tac which will be mounted to the vertical dash, two angles will have to be dealt with. Ironically the vertical angle is the same at 26 degrees as the horizontal angle is. 2 5/8" o.d. exhaust tubing was needed to clear the gauge bezels, but since that size is not available we went with 2 1/2" o.d. We then went to a local shop https://plus.google.com/102152294201...ut?gl=us&hl=en (Manbeck Alignment) that bends exhaust and had them run their expander through the ends of the tubing making the inside 2 1/2" thus making the outside the 2 5/8" that was needed. I clamped the tubing to a long v block and using the radial arm saw with a metal cutting blade set on 26 degrees, was able to get the job done. One end cut straight the other on 26 degrees. A washer was cut from sheet metal using two different sizes of hole saws, one for the o.d. the other for the i.d. so the gauge could slide into. Then Jeffrey tack welded the washer to the straight end and the angled end to the console face plate with a mig welder borrowed from a co-worker. Hey, what are friends for? We then filled the voids with J.B.Weld front and back then body worked the front with primer and body filler. We still continue to do some shake down runs for "educational purposes" You know to see if anything is malfunctioning. A transmission cooler line leak was discovered, so that will have to be addressed. Better now than when its finished
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And we started working on the custom dash this past weekend. We plan to use the YJ defroster setup with a custom defroster duct behind the dash so we dont rust out the new windshield
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Got to work on the console gauges before the holidays. We originally had anticipated one row of three gauges across the top, but since we wanted to angle them towards the driver and flush mount them, there just wasn't enough width with the sides of the console to accomplish that. So we had to triangulate the arrangement, with one at the top and two in a row below the top one. An angle of 26 degrees from the center of the console to the drivers eyes was deemed necessary for comfortable reading, that was done
simply by taking a string from the drivers eyes down to the center of the console where the gauges would be mounted, then reading a protractor off the face. Since the console was already angled up we only had one angle to deal with. For the speedo and tac which will be mounted to the vertical dash, two angles will have to be dealt with. Ironically the vertical angle is the same at 26 degrees as the horizontal angle is. 2 5/8" o.d. exhaust tubing was needed to clear the gauge bezels, but since that size is not available we went with 2 1/2" o.d. We then went to a local shop https://plus.google.com/102152294201...ut?gl=us&hl=en (Manbeck Alignment) that bends exhaust and had them run their expander through the ends of the tubing making the inside 2 1/2" thus making the outside the 2 5/8" that was needed. I clamped the tubing to a long v block and using the radial arm saw with a metal cutting blade set on 26 degrees, was able to get the job done. One end cut straight the other on 26 degrees. A washer was cut from sheet metal using two different sizes of hole saws, one for the o.d. the other for the i.d. so the gauge could slide into. Then Jeffrey tack welded the washer to the straight end and the angled end to the console face plate with a mig welder borrowed from a co-worker. Hey, what are friends for? We then filled the voids with J.B.Weld front and back then body worked the front with primer and body filler. We still continue to do some shake down runs for "educational purposes" You know to see if anything is malfunctioning. A transmission cooler line leak was discovered, so that will have to be addressed. Better now than when its finished
And we started working on the custom dash this past weekend. We plan to use the YJ defroster setup with a custom defroster duct behind the dash so we dont rust out the new windshield
2
Have not Updated this in a long time, but alot of work is getting done!
Moving on to the larger instrumentation such as the tach and speedo these were also Auto Meter units. The tach being model 4898 and the speedo yet to be purchased. (have to save up some scratch for that) The trim ring on these 5" units measure 4 15/16" so to inset them like we did for the smaller gauges required a 5 1/2" o.d. exhaust pipe. Now not everybody handles that big so we called on The Custom Exhaust Shop in Myerstown, Pa. http://www.customexhaustshop.com/ They also cater to the diesel crowd so that size was not a problem for them. We had them cut a 1 foot section in half on 26 deg. to cut down our time and at least we knew that would get us close to what we needed. We would fine tune the exact angle during mock up. Speaking of mock up, the firewall section that we saved came in handy again. We sat in the Jeep and recorded our eye height and distance from the dash and duplicated that in the warm shop with the firewall section sitting on the floor, an old 14" high pretzel can as a seat was the perfect height. The angle was confirmed then ground on the pipe, then using that end flat on some cardboard the elliptical shape was traced, then that was transferred to the dash. An old dash was used to mark the locations of the heater cables since they had to be relatively close to stock for the cables to function properly, but had interference with the identification lights for the cables to the right. Shouldn't be a problem they can be mounted underneath each cable. The elliptical holes were cut with a jig saw. The straight end of the pipe was cut with an air cut off wheel after length was determined. A 5 1/2" o.d. disc was then cut with a 4 1/2" i.d. hole using a hole saw then opened up to the required 4 5/8" to mount the gauges. That was then tack welded to the straight end of the pipe. The angled end was a bit trickier to align. Jeffrey sitting on the pretzel can in a cool "I'm the man" position of driving dictated how the pipe was aligned for clear viewing of the gauge. Tack welding the pipe then commenced to the dash. Recessing and angling takes up alot more real estate behind the dash so alterations will have to be made for a defroster duct over stock. (What else is new) Since we are using a YJ defroster with a CJ dash pad helps because there would not be enough room for a stock CJ defroster duct and now with the gauges there isn't any room for a YJ duct either. But by using a piece of square vinyl tubing mounted up high in the cowl with flexible hoses off each end will get the job done. The fabrication of that will be another post. As for now some final welding and body work like the console mounted gauges is next.
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Moving on to the larger instrumentation such as the tach and speedo these were also Auto Meter units. The tach being model 4898 and the speedo yet to be purchased. (have to save up some scratch for that) The trim ring on these 5" units measure 4 15/16" so to inset them like we did for the smaller gauges required a 5 1/2" o.d. exhaust pipe. Now not everybody handles that big so we called on The Custom Exhaust Shop in Myerstown, Pa. http://www.customexhaustshop.com/ They also cater to the diesel crowd so that size was not a problem for them. We had them cut a 1 foot section in half on 26 deg. to cut down our time and at least we knew that would get us close to what we needed. We would fine tune the exact angle during mock up. Speaking of mock up, the firewall section that we saved came in handy again. We sat in the Jeep and recorded our eye height and distance from the dash and duplicated that in the warm shop with the firewall section sitting on the floor, an old 14" high pretzel can as a seat was the perfect height. The angle was confirmed then ground on the pipe, then using that end flat on some cardboard the elliptical shape was traced, then that was transferred to the dash. An old dash was used to mark the locations of the heater cables since they had to be relatively close to stock for the cables to function properly, but had interference with the identification lights for the cables to the right. Shouldn't be a problem they can be mounted underneath each cable. The elliptical holes were cut with a jig saw. The straight end of the pipe was cut with an air cut off wheel after length was determined. A 5 1/2" o.d. disc was then cut with a 4 1/2" i.d. hole using a hole saw then opened up to the required 4 5/8" to mount the gauges. That was then tack welded to the straight end of the pipe. The angled end was a bit trickier to align. Jeffrey sitting on the pretzel can in a cool "I'm the man" position of driving dictated how the pipe was aligned for clear viewing of the gauge. Tack welding the pipe then commenced to the dash. Recessing and angling takes up alot more real estate behind the dash so alterations will have to be made for a defroster duct over stock. (What else is new) Since we are using a YJ defroster with a CJ dash pad helps because there would not be enough room for a stock CJ defroster duct and now with the gauges there isn't any room for a YJ duct either. But by using a piece of square vinyl tubing mounted up high in the cowl with flexible hoses off each end will get the job done. The fabrication of that will be another post. As for now some final welding and body work like the console mounted gauges is next.
3
We had set the hard top on the body to make sure the windshield angle was correct and door opening and found that every thing was out of alignment. Passenger side top of door opening was 3/4" more than the driver side and the top of the windshield was not parallel with the top. Needless to say depression set in. Sat back and analyzed the situation and came to the conclusion that we might be able to adjust it all with the body mounts. Long story short we spent a better part of the day shimming and then cutting new mounts and got everything within 1/8". Top now fits perfect, windshield aligned and the door openings were good. Now that we had overcome that problem, we now had to mount the top to the fiberglass body with some sense of security. Shell Valley didn't offer too much of a solution, at least not to what we expected. There is nothing much other than some glue/sealer under the top of the tub. We couldn't see driving some sheet metal screws into it and hoped the top would stay on. Threaded inserts were thought of, but they could still pull out. So here is what we came up with. Top was set in place, fastened only to the windshield and the mounting holes were marked on the top tub edge. Removed the top then slots were cut into the inner sides of the tub at the top just under the top lip where the holes were marked, then a 1/2" x 3/4" x 1 1/2" steel piece was inserted. Using an "F" drill which is the tap drill size for a 5/16 x 18 thread we drilled through the fiberglass, into the steel insert. The steel insert was removed and tapped. A clearance hole of 11/32" was then drilled through the fiberglass. Reinserted the steel insert, ran a bolt down through to hold in place and to keep straight then glassed in the steel insert. The inner surface will then be ground flush.
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4
Both of us were going back and forth with tail light choices, but two things we did agree on was to stay with the classic shape and L.E.D. I for one did not like the stuck on look of the original, after all it was nothing more than a utility trailer light. Flush mounted or even recessed was my preference. Initially a cheaper pair of originals were ordered in L.E.D. but you get what you pay for, and besides they stuck out. Ok scrap that idea. Then Jeffrey found Savvy Off Roads http://www.savvyoffroad.com/tech/TailLights/SavvyTailLightsInstructions.pdf offering He took the plunge and ordered them in black anodized finish. When they arrived I was impressed. Being a machinist myself I could appreciate the time and quality that went into making these. Mounting is straight forward if they are mounted with the back up light on top as the originals are. But I could never understand why they were mounted on top until I realized that the tail light bulb was also the license light and needed to be on the bottom. Any other vehicle back up lights are on the bottom for obvious reasons, you want to light up the ground so you can see where you are going. Heck even the JK's made the switch and put it on the bottom with a separate license light. That alone must tell you something. So before you tell me they are mounted upside down, that's the way they should be and also they don't come with a license light. (Much to my delight). The only thing I did do was to run a tap in the threads to clean out the anodizing since the screws went in tight. Either way they are a work of art and the fact that they do come with side marker lights will help clean up the body.
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Jeffrey was kicking around ideas for a windshield washer jar for a while, and at one of our trips to Carlisle swap meet, he picked up an aluminum overflow tank measuring 3" dia. by 10" long. Then armed with a washer pump from a Subaru he drilled a hole in the bottom the size to accept the grommet that came with the pump, milled up some angle brackets then mounted it to the firewall on the drivers side. Since the American Autowire wiring harness will not be exiting where the original once was there was plenty of room. This set up coincides in looks with the radiator overflow tank.
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Jeffrey was kicking around ideas for a windshield washer jar for a while, and at one of our trips to Carlisle swap meet, he picked up an aluminum overflow tank measuring 3" dia. by 10" long. Then armed with a washer pump from a Subaru he drilled a hole in the bottom the size to accept the grommet that came with the pump, milled up some angle brackets then mounted it to the firewall on the drivers side. Since the American Autowire wiring harness will not be exiting where the original once was there was plenty of room. This set up coincides in looks with the radiator overflow tank.
4
Picked up a pair of half doors locally from a dismantler, Jeffrey had decided against the full doors for a couple of reasons. One not having the open air aspect and also the drivers door appeared to have been repaired sometime in it's life and was out of shape. We had picked these up at the u-pull. Repairs would have been too costly and finding another set would be scarce and new ones too costly. Now that we had the body dimensions squared away from the top install, door alignment was pretty straight forward. We used a method found on the internet of using a threaded rod thru the windshield hinge to align the lower hinge. Shell Valley glassed in a steel plate in that location, so all that was needed was to drill and tap to thread in the bolts. Holes were marked first before drilling then removed the threaded rod and held the half doors in place to verify alignment. Accuracy is vital here because the steel plate can't move for minor adjustment like on a steel body, where the plate is not fixed and can move around. Only then were the holes drilled and tapped. Now with the doors hinged, attention was moved to the latches. There are several manufactures that make latches for fiberglass bodied Jeeps. Some looked pretty nice. But for as cheap as we are, we decided that we could make the originals work. These came from a YJ and were modified to mount to a flat surface. I figured since a steel plate was installed for the hinges that one might have been put in for the latches. A magnet was used and one was found. The magnet was moved around to find the outer edges and marked. With the latch rough cut, it was determined that the leading edge of fiberglass would have to be removed to locate the latch pin to mate with the door. This was done with a series of drills, multi tool and chisels. Wood reinforcement was found around the door edge. Now to make a perfect fit, I can only say 6 different small pieces of sheet metal were fabricated from cardboard patterns and tack welded in place, checked for fit then final welded. Using a combination of stick and mig was that accomplished. Very tedious work done by Jeffrey then grinding and filling with JB Weld (done by me, he is not a fan of body work) a few thin layers of body filler then primed produced a presentable latch. After it was aligned holes were drilled into the glassed in steel plate and tapped. The rear hole will have to be done upon removal of the roll bar during tear down. The pin is still fully adjustable as stock. The rubber weatherstripping was removed from the doors for this procedure to make it easier to do all the alignment. We have more time in these latches than we care to admit, but resulted in a very solid latch. Not only are they fastened to the steel plate but, they wrap around the door edge and are secured with sheet metal trim screws into the wood. The rear top edge of the door does make contact with the body which will have to be addressed. Don't know at this point if the YJ doors differ or is it an issue with the fiberglass body.
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5
Next on the major to do list involved body working the dash. To do that a fixture was fabricated from some pvc boards I had laying around to duplicate the cowl where the dash would be mounted. Flanged nuts were fastened to the backside using JB Weld, then threaded rod through some aluminum cross pieces with wing nuts held the whole thing flat. 2 of the nuts were actually welded in place which will be used as future ground attaching points for the wiring harness. Started out by sanding the entire surface with a disc grinder using 80 grit. Took a straight edge to find hi and low spots. The lowest area came in at about 1/16" around the gauge pods due to the welding which was expected. Began filling the low areas with short strand fiberglass filler, sanding, then switched to plastic bondo. More sanding. We were told not to use self etching primer over the filler because it might react with it. Dupli Color filler primer http://duplicolor.com/product/filler-primer was layed down first. This stuff is nice to work with for filling scratches, but found it does not stick too well to bare metal even after preping with Dupont Surface Klean http://products.axaltacs.com/dcat/us/en/dr/product/A-3970S.html It did stick to the filler but I could take my fingernail and scratch it off the bare metal. Not good. It was all removed, again by sanding, cleaned and a test area over filler was sprayed with self etching primer http://www.semproducts.com/refinish-primers/self-etching-primer It had negative reaction with the filler so the entire dash was sprayed. This stuff really sticks. The Dupli Color filler primer was then sprayed over the etching primer giving excellent results. Sanding continued with finer paper along with numerous resprays. A final coat of black filler primer was used to more or less give the affect of the black semi gloss that will be used to finally finish the dash and console. Previously a length of 1 1/2" x 1 1/2" x 1/8" angle was secured behind the dash where the grab bar would be mounted using flat head screws under the bar mounting surfaces, then holes were drilled through the angle and threaded for the bar eliminating the need for nuts. This angle serves a dual purpose, one to
strengthen the area for the grab bar and two to give a ledge to fasten the wiring harness. Gauges were mounted just as a final check for ease of reading, not that anything could be done about it now, but had to see how the final job would look. Location of the tac and speedo might be reversed depending on what is priority and also what steering wheel is used. Fastening the dash was eased by previously threading the mounting holes into the square tubing that was used to reinforce the cowl and used for the defroster duct. The two bottom bolts are threaded into glassed in steel inserts the same as what was used for the top mounting. The only two bolts that require nuts are the center two side location which can easily be reached by hand. In retrospect the whole dash project was alot of work with totally re-engineering the defroster ducting so that the gauges would fit, but it all turned out workable and unique in appearance.
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strengthen the area for the grab bar and two to give a ledge to fasten the wiring harness. Gauges were mounted just as a final check for ease of reading, not that anything could be done about it now, but had to see how the final job would look. Location of the tac and speedo might be reversed depending on what is priority and also what steering wheel is used. Fastening the dash was eased by previously threading the mounting holes into the square tubing that was used to reinforce the cowl and used for the defroster duct. The two bottom bolts are threaded into glassed in steel inserts the same as what was used for the top mounting. The only two bolts that require nuts are the center two side location which can easily be reached by hand. In retrospect the whole dash project was alot of work with totally re-engineering the defroster ducting so that the gauges would fit, but it all turned out workable and unique in appearance.
5
We had always planned on frenching in the headlights because even though we liked the classic CJ look, the lights stuck out too far giving it a bug eyed look. Ever since we saw an M38A1 grille with the sunken lights we figured on trying to expand on it. We knew we would need some form of trim ring especially since we were going with the Laredo chrome grille overlay. I was trailing my wife through a kitchen supply store one day and came across these stainless steel 9" cake pans. Just so happens a stock CJ trim ring fits perfectly inside the cake pan. The clearance from the back of the grille to the
front of the radiator was the deciding factor on how deep we could go. Started by duplicating and cutting the shape in the bottom of the pan. The mounting flange in the grille was then cut out along with the flange in the chrome overlay. The overlay flange was then welded into an M38A1 bucket that was sectioned down to 1" depth. This bucket was then welded to the back of the grille in place of where the flange was removed. This has to be indexed perfectly so that the bulb is in a vertical position. The chrome overlay is put in place followed by the cake pan trim ring then finally the the
bucket assembly that holds the bulb then screwed through into the welded shortened M38A1 flange. Only then can the stock trim ring be fastened. This gives us enough clearance attaching the plug to the back of the halogen lights. These light by the way are Rampage #5089925 using H4 bulbs. http://www.rampageproducts.com/Catalog/Page33.html
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front of the radiator was the deciding factor on how deep we could go. Started by duplicating and cutting the shape in the bottom of the pan. The mounting flange in the grille was then cut out along with the flange in the chrome overlay. The overlay flange was then welded into an M38A1 bucket that was sectioned down to 1" depth. This bucket was then welded to the back of the grille in place of where the flange was removed. This has to be indexed perfectly so that the bulb is in a vertical position. The chrome overlay is put in place followed by the cake pan trim ring then finally the the
bucket assembly that holds the bulb then screwed through into the welded shortened M38A1 flange. Only then can the stock trim ring be fastened. This gives us enough clearance attaching the plug to the back of the halogen lights. These light by the way are Rampage #5089925 using H4 bulbs. http://www.rampageproducts.com/Catalog/Page33.html
5
Ok,so here is how we frenched the turn signals. The clearance from the back of the grille to the front of the radiator again was the deciding factor on how deep we could go. We ended up buying clear JK turn signals and along with a 5" dia. x 1 1/4" deep pie pan from the local Kitchen Supply store used as a combination trim ring and mounting pod, the bottom of the pan was cut out with a 3 1/8" hole saw in a drill press. Then 3 slots were cut in using a cut off wheel to coincide with the 3 molded in ribs on the JK housing. The 2 plastic mounting tabs were cut off the back of the JK housing and 2 holes drilled for #8 screws that
were installed from inside the housing by removing the bulb socket and secured with nuts on the outside. On the grille the original holes were cut open with a 4" hole saw by attaching a steel plate from the backside and a 1/4" center hole to guide the hole saw pilot drill. A bracket was bent up to attach the whole assembly, the same as what is commonly used for mounting many instrument gauges. But these brackets were welded to the back of the grille. The assembly can be slid through from the front with the #8 screws through the bracket and fastened with 2 nuts. So far I have not been able to find stainless steel 5" pie pans, if I don't then these will have to be chrome plated. I can only say my wife keeps wondering my interest in kitchen supply stores. Good to keep them guessing.
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were installed from inside the housing by removing the bulb socket and secured with nuts on the outside. On the grille the original holes were cut open with a 4" hole saw by attaching a steel plate from the backside and a 1/4" center hole to guide the hole saw pilot drill. A bracket was bent up to attach the whole assembly, the same as what is commonly used for mounting many instrument gauges. But these brackets were welded to the back of the grille. The assembly can be slid through from the front with the #8 screws through the bracket and fastened with 2 nuts. So far I have not been able to find stainless steel 5" pie pans, if I don't then these will have to be chrome plated. I can only say my wife keeps wondering my interest in kitchen supply stores. Good to keep them guessing.
6
Seat belts? The law and also common sense. They also keep you and your passengers from falling out during those hard cornering maneuvers. A set was ordered from Morris 4 x 4 in black for the front seats. http://www.morris4x4center.com/fron...-point-retractable-belts-red-beltyj3-red.html These are quality 3 point retractable belts made by Seatbelt Solutions http://www.seatbeltsolutions.com/ Mounting the retractor on the drivers side was critical due to the way we mounted the e-brake for which clearance was needed for proper operation. So we started on that side first then duplicated the passenger side to match. We started with a length of 2" x 2" x 1/4" angle with a circular cut out for the roll bar, then welded a 1/4" thick plate to mount the other end of the belt. Two holes were drilled to accommodate 1/2" x 20 grade 8 bolts that were welded in place.Then the whole assembly was tack welded in place. The roll bar was then removed for a more thorough welding. After reinstalling the roll bar, a location for the 3rd. mounting point was established by sitting in the seat and finding a comfortable shoulder position height on the roll bar. Since this position is non adjustable as on newer cars, it was a once and done deal. Nothing more aggravating than having a shoulder belt cutting into your neck. We looked around for weld in seat belt bungs for roll bars, but came up empty handed. The bar we are using came from a later CJ7 with no shoulder belt accommodations or windshield bar mounts. This bar measures 2 1/4" diameter. The longest bungs found only work with a maximum of 2" diameter roll bar. So we had to come up with our own solution. Ironically even if we would have found longer bungs, they could not have been inserted from the back of the bar because the angled down tube was in the way. We got some 3/4" round stock and cross drilled and tapped for 7/16 x 20 thread, then an additional piece of the same stock was drilled with a 29/64" thru hole. The end of that piece was milled with a 3/4" dia. end mill to mate to the first piece in a T configuration. A 3/4" hole saw was used to cross drill a hole and another from the front to intersect it. The cross threaded piece was inserted from the side and the thru hole piece inserted from the front till it contacted the cross piece. Lengths were marked leaving 1/4" protruding from the roll bar for welding. Cut to length, everything was reinstalled and a 7/16 x 20 grade 8 bolt was put thru the belt flange, a bushing, the thru hole piece and then threaded into the cross piece. It is only mocked up right now but will be put back together later without the belt and welded. This should easily be as strong as the bung method. The center belt pieces are yet to be installed till we get buckle sleeves that keep the buckle end rigid and upright.
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3
The low range lever for the Quadra-Trac was next on the list of fabrication duties. The original mounting plate was totally rusted away, but leaving the lever and split nylon bushing in good shape. Made some calls and internet searches for a useable mounting plate replacement with no results. Using the old one as a pattern and taking into consideration the thicker fiberglass floor, an upper and lower plate were milled from aluminum. A hole was drilled then reamed for a snug fit for the bushing, then four holes drilled and tapped 1/4 - 20 compared the the original two for a more solid assembly. Using the original linkage rod and photos from a shop manual, a location on the floor was determined by positioning the lever in a 1 o'clock orientation then marking a spot on the underside of the floor at the pivot point. Now the levers for the CJ's are different than on a full size Jeep and actually operate opposite. Pushing forward or counterclockwise on a CJ lever engages the low range and upward or clockwise on a full size engages the low range. A 1 1/8" hole was drilled thru the floor and then positioning the upper plate centered on that hole the four threaded holes were marked then drilled. Feeding the lever thru the bottom plate, then inserting the split bushing, then thru the floor from the underside, then the upper plate and finally threading the whole assembly together resulted
in a very solid mount. We were originally going to use swivel heim joints and our own rod, but the original was in great shape and works very well. Not seen in the photos are the washers and cotter pins, but since installing them, the low range can literally be engaged and disengaged with one finger and the position of the lever is dead on with the shop manual. The plastic handle has some wear and has lost its press fit so we will most likely make a replacement also from aluminum.
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in a very solid mount. We were originally going to use swivel heim joints and our own rod, but the original was in great shape and works very well. Not seen in the photos are the washers and cotter pins, but since installing them, the low range can literally be engaged and disengaged with one finger and the position of the lever is dead on with the shop manual. The plastic handle has some wear and has lost its press fit so we will most likely make a replacement also from aluminum.
2
We figured while we were working on the windshield frame, it would be a good time to fab in the defroster vents since it was a Wrangler (YJ) frame. Previously I had attempted to use the YJ defroster vent setup by making a wire frame that mimicked the CJ dash pad, which would have been labor intensive, then discovering that the YJ duct work would not clear the gauges that were sunk into the dash panel. Needless to say the whole defroster ducting had to be re-engineered which was covered in a previous post. Any how vents were sourced from Omix-Ada http://www.omix-ada.com/plastic-defroster-ducts-78-86-jeep-cj-models.html part number 17907.04 or 5750340k. These are listed for a
1978 to 1986 CJ at a cost of $24.99. Nice quality. Slots were marked and cut using a cut off wheel in a die grinder then finished off with a carbide burr, also in a die grinder. Screwed into place using #8 x 1/2" truss phillips self drilling screws.
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1978 to 1986 CJ at a cost of $24.99. Nice quality. Slots were marked and cut using a cut off wheel in a die grinder then finished off with a carbide burr, also in a die grinder. Screwed into place using #8 x 1/2" truss phillips self drilling screws.
5
effrey had previously ordered a CJ dash pad from Omix-Ada part number DMC-5760458 in black. http://www.omix-ada.com/oem-dashpad-with-embossed-jeep-amc-logo-76-86-jeep-cj-models.html Real nice quality for offshore. It would have no problem replacing an original using factory hole locations. We didn't have to worry about that with this being a new construction. We started with marking centerlines on the cowl and pad to get good location. I should also mention at this time that the centerlines were also used to cut the defroster holes in the bottom of the YJ windshield frame, along with then mounting the cowl to windshield rubber seal. Since we had to lay the frame down
to install the pad we took care of two things. The bent top edge of the dash panel where it wraps up over the cowl had to be addressed by using a plate that doubled as a washer for the screw that fastens the square tubing defroster duct and as a spacer underneath the dash pad tab. It worked out nice that the 1/8" wall square tubing could be threaded for the dash mounting tabs versus trying to hold a nut from underneath. These plates are the same thickness as the lip on the dash panel. Washers were also cut with a flat to butt up against the same panel. Dash pad mounting was pretty well straight forward using 10-32 socket button head screws for the upper tabs and upholstery sheet metal screws for the bottom.
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to install the pad we took care of two things. The bent top edge of the dash panel where it wraps up over the cowl had to be addressed by using a plate that doubled as a washer for the screw that fastens the square tubing defroster duct and as a spacer underneath the dash pad tab. It worked out nice that the 1/8" wall square tubing could be threaded for the dash mounting tabs versus trying to hold a nut from underneath. These plates are the same thickness as the lip on the dash panel. Washers were also cut with a flat to butt up against the same panel. Dash pad mounting was pretty well straight forward using 10-32 socket button head screws for the upper tabs and upholstery sheet metal screws for the bottom.
3
Been a while but we are still here. With a wedding and job priorities in N.J. slowing construction down it's good that we are not on a time deadline. Rather rushing, paying a 3rd. party to finish it or just bailing out of the project like happens much too often, we are determine to see this through to the end by doing quality work ourselves. So on to the next phase, wiring. An American Autowire kit was purchased from a vendor at Carlisle. http://www.americanautowire.com/shop/highway-15-wiring-kit This is part 500703 Highway 15 series. Advertised as completely made in the USA, the quality is second to none. Very straight forward and easy to follow instructions. We started by mounting the panel to the driverside firewall on an aluminum plate. The plate being fastened to the firewall permanently and drilled and tapped to mount the panel. This way the panel can easily be removed for service if needed. All wires are labeled as to where they feed, so it's virtually impossible to make a mistake. The rear light wires were tackled first, as they will be routed inside the body through the console then exciting the body at the back of the console where the floor kicks up. Just outside the body we will be using a weather pack connector. This way body removal can easily be done in preparation for paint. Speaking of weather pack connectors, these were originally developed by Delphi for GM vehicles and variations are now common on all makes. Buying the connectors is rather expensive, so as frugal as we are, (or is it cheap?) we found an alternative. A trip to the local u-pull netted around 60 connectors, including a bulkhead connector for $10.50. The bulkhead connector alone runs around $28.00. Most of these were gotten off semi tractor cabs. Now if you leave a length of wire on they can be spliced into your harness, but that would be defeating the purpose for a weather proof connector. The terminals and
removal tool and crimpers can be bought online by various suppliers, again with a wide range of cost. A company in California was located by online searching that has very reasonable prices. Custom Connector Kits http://www.customconnectorkits.com/ These guys have everything you need to do
the job correctly and are very friendly and customer conscious. In fact I had placed an order online that came up to $11.00 short of $75.00 with $14.00 shipping and received a call from them the next morning informing me that if I spent over $75.00 that they offered free shipping. Now not too many companies would do that. All outside connectors will be weather pack. Posts for this phase will be split up into separate sections to show different methods of assembly so stay tuned.
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removal tool and crimpers can be bought online by various suppliers, again with a wide range of cost. A company in California was located by online searching that has very reasonable prices. Custom Connector Kits http://www.customconnectorkits.com/ These guys have everything you need to do
the job correctly and are very friendly and customer conscious. In fact I had placed an order online that came up to $11.00 short of $75.00 with $14.00 shipping and received a call from them the next morning informing me that if I spent over $75.00 that they offered free shipping. Now not too many companies would do that. All outside connectors will be weather pack. Posts for this phase will be split up into separate sections to show different methods of assembly so stay tuned.
7
ulkheads, pass throughs or whatever you want to call them, eventually those wires are going to have to pass through the firewall. A few criterias were in order. Weather proof, hidden and quick disconnect. The battery was kept 1 1/2" away from the fire wall to allow the wires to exit the firewall directly behind it, that takes care of the hidden part. The weather proof part wasn't really a problem, but with only having 1 1/2" to play with was. A very nice weather pack bulkhead is available utilizing 22 circuits, but is pretty bulky and comes straight out from the firewall. We needed one that turned down 90 degrees. and had a disconnect plug. An internet search turned up some nice billet ones but not with a disconnect. It never seems to fail we often come to a situation in this build that either parts are not available or we want to do it a different way. So off to the drawing board. Using a 6 conductor weather pack connector as our starting point a holder was made from some aluminum stock laying around the shop. An extruded angle and some 1/2" square aluminum was used. A 3/16" radius was milled into the 1/2" pieces to match the radius on the connector with a 1/8" hole drilled into the radius to utilize the existing pins already on the connector to hold in place. The connector was sandwiched in between the 2 pieces and attached to the angle with 8-32 stainless socket head cap screws. The assembly
was milled square for future polishing. The wires will exit the top of the connector, turn 90 degrees, go through the firewall into another aluminum piece with 6 hole drilled through in the exact spacing as the weather pack connector. This piece will be mounted on the inside of the firewall and use the weather pack o-rings. 2 8-32 screws will pass through the outside piece into the inside piece sandwiching the firewall in between making for a good seal. 3 of these assemblies will be used to give us a total of 18 circuits and mounted just enough above the battery to be visible. No sense in making them totally hidden since they will be polished. Any unused ports will be filled with the weather pack rubber plugs. The wiring can now be run behind the battery to underneath it where the starter solenoid, relays, mega fuse and terminal strips are mounted.
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inished up the tail light wiring by wiring up the new LED units, only to find out they were not working properly. I had originally grounded them to the frame. Jeffrey suggested running a ground test lead right from the battery and sure enough that fixed it. With our temporary wiring we had run the ground cable directly to the engine block but not to the frame. So it was trying to ground through the engine mounts. A braided ground strap from the engine to the frame cured it. Ironically the American Wire kit did not have provisions for a reverse light circuit. A feed was run to the shifter switch then to the rear. That would mean 4 wires would be passing through the body for lighting (tail, r. turn, l. turn
and rev.) along with fuel gauge for a total of 5. A 5 conductor weather pack connector was sourced for Custom Connector Kits and using their terminal crimpers, a plug was assembled where the floor kicks up for the rear floor behind the console. Continuing on to the lights a 3 conductor plug was added to each light along with an additional 4 conductor plug feeding them which in the event that a trailer harness is installed can be pulled apart and a T connector plugged in to go to the trailer plug. This way the body can be lifted off just by pulling these plugs apart. The T connector is a Hopkins #41125 for a 1988 to 1998 full size Chevy truck that can be purchased through Advance Auto or Amazon. These weather pack connectors are great and crimping on the terminals and seals is pleasurable with the correct tools. Next we'll show you how the wiring will be hidden behind and under the battery box and the bulkhead connectors that were fabricated to come through the firewall.
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was milled square for future polishing. The wires will exit the top of the connector, turn 90 degrees, go through the firewall into another aluminum piece with 6 hole drilled through in the exact spacing as the weather pack connector. This piece will be mounted on the inside of the firewall and use the weather pack o-rings. 2 8-32 screws will pass through the outside piece into the inside piece sandwiching the firewall in between making for a good seal. 3 of these assemblies will be used to give us a total of 18 circuits and mounted just enough above the battery to be visible. No sense in making them totally hidden since they will be polished. Any unused ports will be filled with the weather pack rubber plugs. The wiring can now be run behind the battery to underneath it where the starter solenoid, relays, mega fuse and terminal strips are mounted.
inished up the tail light wiring by wiring up the new LED units, only to find out they were not working properly. I had originally grounded them to the frame. Jeffrey suggested running a ground test lead right from the battery and sure enough that fixed it. With our temporary wiring we had run the ground cable directly to the engine block but not to the frame. So it was trying to ground through the engine mounts. A braided ground strap from the engine to the frame cured it. Ironically the American Wire kit did not have provisions for a reverse light circuit. A feed was run to the shifter switch then to the rear. That would mean 4 wires would be passing through the body for lighting (tail, r. turn, l. turn
and rev.) along with fuel gauge for a total of 5. A 5 conductor weather pack connector was sourced for Custom Connector Kits and using their terminal crimpers, a plug was assembled where the floor kicks up for the rear floor behind the console. Continuing on to the lights a 3 conductor plug was added to each light along with an additional 4 conductor plug feeding them which in the event that a trailer harness is installed can be pulled apart and a T connector plugged in to go to the trailer plug. This way the body can be lifted off just by pulling these plugs apart. The T connector is a Hopkins #41125 for a 1988 to 1998 full size Chevy truck that can be purchased through Advance Auto or Amazon. These weather pack connectors are great and crimping on the terminals and seals is pleasurable with the correct tools. Next we'll show you how the wiring will be hidden behind and under the battery box and the bulkhead connectors that were fabricated to come through the firewall.
6
Got all the wiring done, at least everything that was absolutely needed, I'm sure there will be some additional accessories added like heated seats, dome lights and a usb port and charger in the console, but there definitely wont be any stereo system or speakers to deal with. The only two malfunctions we had with the wiring were with the wiper motor and heater blower motor. Wiper didn't work at all and was due to the fact we forgot to ground the metal windshield frame mounted to the fiberglass body, and two of the blower motor speeds were reversed. Just a matter of swapping two wires at the resistor plug. So two easy fixes and nothing burned up. So now when we go for a drive around the neighborhood the turn signals can be used. Still have to get an exhaust system on this thing. Nobody has complained yet but it's only a matter of time. Next up was a steering wheel. The one that was being used was an Oldsmobile sport wheel on loan from dear old dad. I finally bought myself a 1967 Olds 442 and put the wheel on that so a Nardi 14" Classic polished black leather was chosen. Purchased thru Ebay from Crowders Customizing. The hub adapter was also an Ebay purchase from Big Dog Interior Parts. We also had to get a horn cancel cam from Steering Column Services.
This had the required bayonet socket for the horn wire assembly. Ours did not have this. Everything went together fairly well until it came time to install the horn ring. The wheel is fastened to the hub with six 5mm. hex head bolts. The horn assembly is placed in the center of the wheel and is supposed to be held in place by the aluminum horn ring which has six spot faces on the backside two of which receive two rubber inserts that then get pressed onto the heads of two of the hex head bolts. The only problem with that is that the horn assembly pushes on the ring and eventually works it loose. That ring is expected to stay on with just those two rubber inserts gripping the bolt heads. One would think for the quality and craftsmanship that has gone into the Nardi wheel a better way of holding the horn assembly in place would be in order. Different things were tried using washers under three of the bolts to hold the horn assembly but failed. The solution was to drill and counter bore six holes in the ring matching the pattern of the wheel and use stainless 5mm socket head cap screws.
You give up the clean look originally designed into the ring for something that at least isn't going to fall off in your lap. We are going to play around with button heads for possibly a cleaner look. A steering hub puller was fabricated using three 1/4 - 28 screws and a 1/2 - 13 nut welded into a ring that was laying around the shop for future removal of the aluminum adapter hub. All in all nice quality parts that have a nice comfortable feel when driving.
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This had the required bayonet socket for the horn wire assembly. Ours did not have this. Everything went together fairly well until it came time to install the horn ring. The wheel is fastened to the hub with six 5mm. hex head bolts. The horn assembly is placed in the center of the wheel and is supposed to be held in place by the aluminum horn ring which has six spot faces on the backside two of which receive two rubber inserts that then get pressed onto the heads of two of the hex head bolts. The only problem with that is that the horn assembly pushes on the ring and eventually works it loose. That ring is expected to stay on with just those two rubber inserts gripping the bolt heads. One would think for the quality and craftsmanship that has gone into the Nardi wheel a better way of holding the horn assembly in place would be in order. Different things were tried using washers under three of the bolts to hold the horn assembly but failed. The solution was to drill and counter bore six holes in the ring matching the pattern of the wheel and use stainless 5mm socket head cap screws.
You give up the clean look originally designed into the ring for something that at least isn't going to fall off in your lap. We are going to play around with button heads for possibly a cleaner look. A steering hub puller was fabricated using three 1/4 - 28 screws and a 1/2 - 13 nut welded into a ring that was laying around the shop for future removal of the aluminum adapter hub. All in all nice quality parts that have a nice comfortable feel when driving.
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