johnnyc

Will do, Don. I'm still trying to talk him out of his brand new Atlas II. :D

I also got one of his peripherals - his Hesco water pump. He said that I might as well take it since my old 96 XJ was the first Jeep that the pump was ever installed on. He had loaned it to me when I blew my Flowkooler on the way to the Rubicon. Negative on the buggy project. Still sitting in pieces in his garage. He recently had a second kid, so the project got put further into limbo.

And Danny is my housemate, so I have to listen to that motor every day and be jealous. I helped Danny's wife buy the stroker from Kyung as a surprise birthday present.

Well said, Jim. :cheers: I love my MJ and would never get rid of it. I live in Orange County, one of the most snobbish, materialistic areas in the country, where if you don't drive a Benz or a BMW, you are looked down upon. Up until last year, I was a off-lease vehicle inspector for banks and finance companies. I would go to customers' homes to make sure their lease vehicles were in good condition before they turned them in. I would show up in my primer gray MJ and people would say, "THAT'S what you drive?" :yes: I really don't care what people think about me or my truck. Surprisingly though, I do receive a lot of positive comments. And if something breaks on it, I usually blame myself. I never get mad at the truck.

Early S-10.

Haven't driven the MJ in a week, which is a first. Been driving my sis' Civic since she's not using it. I've saved money on gas, but I do feel like less of a man.

On that same run, my buddy in his longbed MJ also failed to make Widow Maker. I thought he would make it for sure with his 119" wheelbase. That day, Pete from JP was riding with me shooting pictures. If I would've cleaned WM, I could've had my XJ in the magazine instead of another XJ. :D I really like your quarter guards and taillights. :thumbsup:

I've always understood that ARB bumpers are not designed to be strong. They're supposed to crumple to absorb a front impact, saving the frame or unibody from further damage.

Good job on Widow Maker. I tried it in my XJ and failed.

Depends on what kind of mood Pete's in. :D He did say that he would fix the AC in my truck. I just have to get to his house in BFE.

Crap, sorry to hear about the camera. I'll put the word out in case someone found it. Thanks for coming out. It was nice to meet you and Jake. We had 7 MJs and 13 people in attendance, which is a pretty good showing. Oh, the Long Distance Award goes to MJ Remi, who came up from San Diego.

That's cool Pete, I like that. But I also like having the tailgate. It's the only thing that identifies my truck as being a Jeep. :) 88 AMComanche - what's your location? I also have a spare tailgate, but prefer not to ship.

Shortbed or longbed? There's a driveshaft chart floating around somewhere. -edit- Here it is viewtopic.php?f=9&t=20131

Sorry to hear that, guys. If we have a good turnout, I'll plan another get-together next year.

Thanks for the bump. I was just about to do that myself. :cheers: It is only 5 days away. Judging by the replies that I've received, we should have a pretty good turnout. From Nor Cal to San Diego. And from as far away as Colorado (if Jim is really coming) and New York . Although the New Yorker will be out this way anyway and will be Jeep-less, he may borrow an MJ from one of the local guys who has two MJs. See you all there/

Are you serious about coming out Jim? Of course, we'd love to have you. But that's an awful long way to come for a little 3-hour meet and greet. You'd be a shoe-in for the Long Distance award. I'll even buy you lunch and a couple of beers. :cheers:

Years ago, I found a set of Trailmaster drop brackets in the junkyard for $20. I first put them on my 96 XJ, along with a set of RE braces. Then the same drop brackets went onto my 98 XJ, and are now on my 92 MJ, without the braces, of course. I've run these drop brackets in Moab four times and on the Rubicon Trail four times, with no issues or regrets. I've never gotten hung up on the brackets because if you pay attention to front tire placement and put your tires on TOP of the rocks, you won't get hung up. Sure, the brackets are pretty scaped up after 6-7 years of use, but they're still good.

And bring any MJ-specific parts you want to sell. We can have a little swap meet in the parking lot. :D

Sunday, August 28, 2011 11:00 am. Clearman's Galley 7215 N. Rosemead Blvd. San Gabriel, CA http://www.clearmansgalley.com Go to the website. Seems there may still be some construction on Rosemead. There are some directions on how best to enter the parking lot. This place has some really good food and is centrally located in the LA area. Apologies to those coming from San Diego. I may have to set up some kind of Long Distance award as an incentive. :)

Okay...six months later!! The date is Sunday, August 28. Less than three weeks away. So I hope that everyone's truck is roadworthy. Still have not nailed down a location, but it will be someplace that has good food. This event will be family-friendly and is open to ALL MJs. I'll post more info in the coming week.

I drove two hours out to Barstow to look at a used SnugTop camper shell off a 91 Chevy S-10. I was all excited because it was in really good condition and I had read where the early S-10 shells were a good fit for our MJs. The guy wanted $150, but when I talked to him, he said $100. The shell was exactly as advertised, but the fit left a lot to be desired. The length and width were just about perfect. The height and the fit to the back of the cab were way off. Sure, it would've worked just fine, but it would've driven me crazy looking at it every day. So the search continues for a clean, cheap shell. Now I read where the early Rangers are a good fit. Oh, on the way back home, I stopped off at a junkyard and there was an 88 Comanche. The only thing I grabbed off of it was the tailgate latch, because I know people are looking for these sometimes. There was not much else worth pulling. I was looking for a right taillight because I just noticed this week that mine is cracked. But alas, the one in the junkyard was also cracked.

Did you see Gordon getting DQd at the Baja 500 last month for reckless driving at the finish line?

Wow, I think I was there that night. I know I did go to a Mickey Thompson race at the Rose Bowl and 1989 would be right before I left to work overseas. I definitely remember the Comanches. They were my favorite, and that was before I got into Jeeps. I see that Robby Gordon hasn't changed over the years.

Don't use the XJ angle. A foot difference in wheelbase will result in a different pinion angle. If you weld the perches on beforehand without measuring, I can almost guarantee that you'll have to do it over again, unless you get super lucky. When I did the SOA on my MJ, we took the original SUA MJ D44 out and put in the built D44 from my old XJ. We tried to set the perches up so that they were identical to the MJ D44 perches. Sure enough, the pinion angle was wrong and we had to do it all over again the proper way.

I would be super jealous...if it were the passenger side one. :D But fantastic find nonetheless.