Drahcir495

I hit my parents’ property to test out the truck. They have probably one of the most unique properties in Florida. It has large oaks, rolling hills, spring fed ponds, and giant Limestone rocks. I decided to head out on Wednesday to give my Dad a hand repairing some fence and other maintenance repairs. I had a great time and the truck did well, but was never really tested in any way – yet! Here are a few shots from the day. Found a new tenant in one of the ponds -> One of my favorite pictures -> The biggest surprise was the Camel. The neighbors have some unique pets. Sorry, it was too dark by the time I got back with the camera. I will have to snap a picture of that next time I am out there. 3/09 got it -> Big arse tree ->

I don't think I am ready to try it on my own :( . We are getting a new shop and building a paint booth for it - soon :dunno: ? I am going to paint my CJ7 and see how that works out. I really don't have the tools or time to paint the truck now, so I will leave it to a professional :popcorn: .

Thanks hornbrod. The rails were right around 6', maybe a tad over. Of course yours will be chrome :clapping: . You know what - I visit his site at least once a month, but I have never seen that :hmm: . That is pretty sweet. Thanks for the heads up :thumbsup: . :cheers: I will post up final dimensions and design after I complete it. It still in in "developement" :yes: . I found mine through the classifieds here :bowdown: . Hang in there, one will come up .

Wow, I went a whole day without visiting the site. It was not on purpose, I was doing some very light wheeling up at the parent’s estate -> Found a new tenant in one of the ponds -> The biggest surprise was the Camel. The neighbors have some unique pets. Sorry, it was too dark by the time I got back with the camera. I will have to snap a picture of that next time I am out there. Big arse tree -> I put a few more shots on my Build-up page as well.

Heck Yeah! When you roll with it, you own it. For instance, when I was in college I had a reputation with our fraternity’s sister sorority; the Delta Delta Delta's. I became know as Big "Richard" - I rolled with it. When I was training for my first MMA fight under the supervision of Royce Gracie -> http://www.gracieacademy.com/gracieinsi ... uppage.htm, a friend stopped by one of my living room training sessions and pinned the moniker of "Richard Damage" on me - I rolled with it. Even Father Mulholland had a brand for his favorite alter boys before his hasty reassignment – that may not be a good example. But do you see what I mean? I just rolled with it because it is all true.

:agree: I didn't even remember it!

I appreciate that :thumbsup: I don't know why I am putting it off? Well, that's not entirely true. Getting burned and having to pay double the price is part of it. I had to limp the Ford home - again - last night. I would love to blow it up, or sell it. Then I could get my paint job ;) .

I love the new quote :thumbsup: and that you are able to roll with it! Your OK in my book - great quote :yes:

Thanks hornbrod. I will look into the Hellas :popcorn:

You may have found your calling :clapping:

I pretty certain I am going with the Autopal H4 E-code headlamps. What I need help on is deciding if I should get the WHITE 100/55W (Add $4.00), or the WHITE 100/90W (Add $6.00) bulbs. I have already upgraded the wiring harness to the headlights with 10 AWG wire. I am leaning towards the 100/90 because they should have a decent cut off. Anyone here using them and what wattage did you choose. Thanks, Rich

:jump: Great read - Brady Bunch :yes:

The cup holder looks like brand new, looks great :cheers: .

That soft topper is Sa-weet! I really like the look :thumbsup:

Cabz was kind enough to post a tread in the classified section about a LB Comanche in a salvage yard in Ocala :cheers:. Among other things, it had the elusive Comanche long bed topper on it. This is something that I have been looking to upgrade my MJ with for some time now. After procrastinating for a few week and several confirmations on the style of the topper, I borrowed bwatsoncj’s trailer and headed down to Gavin’s auto to pick up the topper. The MJ was a rusted out 1992, but the topper was in great shape! It had about everything I was looking for; two rear locking handles, fiberglass construction, long side windows that opened up so my pups could get air, available locally, of course a long bed topper, and no funky 80’s side windows – it does have the extra side windows but they are not that bad. This thing is awesome and the price was unbeatable - $42!!!! It also had factory tinted windows, so my Dogs are really happy about that. The down sides were; it was in red {now I’ll get all painted at the same time}, it was missing the key for the lock, and the gasket that fits the breezeway was MIA. I was able to picked up a set of keys from the manufacturer and the breezeway gasket from a local topper store-> The only picture I have of the topper on the original truck ~ crappy cell phone picture -> Here she is on the MJ for the first time -> It even had the lock cover attached – back view -> It is a good start. I wanted to customize the look with maybe some lighting, or a roof rack. I started milling through my garage and found some PVC pipe and connectors that I could use to mock up a roof rack before I invested the materials. I also found some old XJ factory roof rack rails in the corner – hmm these may work. Then I just sat staring at the topper and brain stormed about what I was going for. I knew I wanted the rails to follow the lines of the topper. The rails look like they were designed for the topper, but they were too long -> They needed to be cut down and at an angle to match the step in the rear of the topper. I made them long enough to match the lifted center section of the topper. First piece cut -> Two finished pieces -> Close enough to the shape of the step that I should be able to fill it in with some black RTV -> I had to make a trip to the pick-n-pull to grab the parts I did not have – cross supports and rail clamps. While I was at the salvage yard, I took some time and measured the distance the rails were set apart on some of the factory roof racks and the distance from the outer edges. With that measurement I was able to get a starting point for lining them up on the topper. Got the rails centered under the location of the mock rack, which worked out a bit smaller than the original spacing on the XJ’s. I double checked the spacing of the two rails front and back, and then marked the holes. I will be using ¼ 20 SS hardware, so I drilled out the marks using the ¼ inch hole and added lock nuts and washers -> And the rails were in -> I am looking into bending some aluminum pipe inside for support, but that is still down the road. I needed to cut down the cross bar so it would fit into the much narrower track width -> I marked the cross bar where I had taken the measurement with the tape and cut it -> Oops :ack:! I did not factor in the slight curve in the material and it ended up being a little too short : headpop: . I still managed to get it to work out better than expected. The new end assembled -> Drilled out two small holes about 1.5 inches from the ends for the light studs and secured them to the bar. Two lights on bar and the mock-up topper rack -> Same set up from the side -> I thought that it needed two more lights to complete the look, so drilled out two more holes and added the lights. I cut up the gap strip and place it between each light to give it a finished look -> I also kicked the outer most lights out a bit to widen the reach of the light-> Head-on shot of the painted mocked-up roof rack & lights -> Another angle -> Played with the picture to try and eliminate the red to get an idea of the final look -> The roof rack will be next. I still need to get the Aluminum pipe and some time to do it right. TBC

:agree: Very nice - welcome to the club :cheers: - Rich

Looks Good :clapping: . That is something they never mention - the PS wiper arm interference :fs1: . I have had my hood on for almost two years and now just put the wipers on. Freaked me out the first time it hit the wiper arm. Love the front bumper - keep up the progress!

Just curious - why did you wire it to the alternator and not the battery?

Thanx Brah :oops: . I think it would end up being a weak plagiarized version of FitchVa's and Go-Jeeps efforts. They did all the work; I just added a bit of information that I would like to have seen in the write-up.

Thanks . Keep me posted :cheers:

The one I built also has a relay for each head lamp. It just may look like one relay, but there is two there :cheers:

Can some of the Sothern Brothers attend?

As much it pains me to say this - sell it. You're in S'cool to get a degree and make something of yourself. Focus on that and in 3 or 4 years you will have the financial freedom to get what you want (unless it’s a Liberal Arts degree, then you will be taking every third quarter from the toll patrons like me). I don't know your situation, i.e. parents paying for S'crewl or if you earned a scholarship, but you need to prioritize. But if your folks are paying for your education - it's a golden egg - give the man what he wants. Now I am going to hide from the hand tool being thrown my way :yes:

Str8, I just built a wiring harness for my MJ. I have included all the links for the write-ups and to a few aftermarket options on page 12 of my Build-up viewtopic.php?f=7&t=8051&start=165 Here is the link I worked off of -> http://fitchva.com/jeep/?p=57. Mine was closer to $80 to make, but you could do it cheaper with using single colored wire and shopping around. I went over board :brows: