JimBorecky

Not sure where this would go, so we are going to just dump it right here, until I'm told to move it. https://www.oraclelights.com/blogs/news/mj?fbclid=IwAR25m3QP-B5t6AAfaKkmB_fZEA9g2c0HH3iCF9l6R6jM6OYEggI0qGXqu_g

Productive day today. The Comanche's door was separating from the frame after 30+ years. Had to pull the door and fender to straighten out and weld the hinge with reinforcement of course. It's been 20 years since I picked up a welder and it shows. Plus I never used a flux core before. Not pretty but it should stick.

Oh I have a better one for you guys. Yesterday I went to a tow company and picked up a nearly mint tailgate(except it was spray painted) for $250. I asked about where it came from. The young man told me it came from a truck they had towed in. They sent the rest to the salvage yard. I asked how bad was it? He said some kids stole it from an estate that was getting ready to be auctioned. They tore up the interior, cracked the steering column, and spray painted it, but other wise still ran. I asked if it was as rust free as the tailgate. and he said sure. I asked how much the salvage yard paid for it. He said $550. My jaw hit the floor. I have the salvage yard number. I plan on calling them today. I'll let you know how that goes.

Hey sir, This one looks in great shape from the pictures. Oh and it's your color! https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/5470222713107545/

I hesitated about posting this for that very reason. It's about a three hour drive for me one way. I'm thinking about taking a road trip this weekend.

88 Eliminator in Foss U-Pull-It. In La Grange, NC https://row52.com/Vehicle/Index/1JTMW6452JT118994

So the boot for the shifter is functional. But since I'm playing already, I thought what the heck. I'll post additional pictures and how too, when it's working in the truck. So I printed this with a thin layer so you don't see the indicator when the truck isn't running. Used temporary power to see how it looked.

I decided to make a spare and document how the LED replacement was made. First the design in FreeCAD Some simple circuits. Print it out. :) Now the assembly. Note two things here. I used two resistors in the black one cause I didn't have a 560 ohm. I have a electrical engineering degree, so matching what I needed was child's play for me. :) I also created a second one with a lower resistance(grey) for brighter LED, but it will most likely burn out quickly. Insert the assembly and fill with hot glue. Install into the console. STL files for those with 3D printers. 4x4 shiftPanel LED holder-Body.stl 4x4 shiftPanel LED holder-M12-Nut.stl

Ok so I've been having way too much fun with this 3D printer, and have gotten MUCH better at using FreeCAD. Decided to go crazy with the Designing parts. First goal fix broken Console. Printed a tab and then friction weld it in place. Of course I needed a light holder for the newly installed 4X4 indicator plate. I was thinking it would be easier and faster to design my own which I'll put in a separate post.

The adventure continues. I was told that if I ordered a 91/92 fuel assembly it would interface with my gauges and be the correct length. However they stopped making them years ago. I found a place that claimed it was for a 91 MJ. When it arrived it was for a XJ. SIGH. Instead of sending it back I decided to try and make it work, since it did make my gauge work in the correct direction. You can see how much longer the old assembly is in this photo, and of course everything is backwards. I figured I could use the old pump assembly and modify it. However I needed this bracket. I told my wife I've been watching too many Fab Rats videos. Cause out of frustration out came the cutting wheel. I figured with my luck, welding would blow a hole into the already hard to find fuel assembly. So I wasn't going to risk it. Time for good old fashion hose clamp method. LOL I was shocked how tight it all became. A little soldering of the new to the old. Bingo finished product. Some notes here. The old float was on the opposite side of the rheostat, compared to the new one. I tried to bend the old one up(As seen in the photo) hoping that would fly. It did not. I went back with the float the came with the new assembly. Which works better, but because it's not as long, takes longer to come off of full and shows empty long before it really is. I was in a hurry, and this was good enough for now. I'm going to try and heat/bend the old float so that it will work at a later date. Thanks for following this very SLOW build. :)

You should be able to see the other ones now. Thanks!

How about now?

So took the Comanche to it's first Car Show/Cruise In. I was shocked at the number of people wanting to talk about the truck.

3D printed a new transfer case shift indicator. File can be found here: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:5378972

Going to be my shift indicator.

Thought I'd add a couple of additional pics. Engine bay is getting a little crowded.

Can you please tell me where you got these?

Got it aligned and they adjusted the stops. I'm good now. 👍

For those following. Swapping the 2 inch for one inch spacers helped a great deal. It stopped rubbing on the fender. but now rubs on the lower control arms, but you have to be turning hard.

Thought I'd add a little bit of the assembly here. Yes I put a little foam in between the hub pieces. The black tape is to hold the hub in place while I wrestled getting them mounted.

So the journey continues. I ended up buying a 3D printer since I noticed that most of the vendors are selling 3D printed parts. Plus I wanted to be a little creative with this truck. I created a new hub with the jeep logo to fit inside the wheels. ( I hit them with a filling black primer to get rid of the lines and take the shine away. Then bought spacers that had larger centers here. https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B01MRVH2NR?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2_dt_b_product_details Designed and printed a cavity to go inside and hold the outside piece in place. The end result should be something like this. Here is the whole shooting match on the truck. 32x11.5R15's on a 4.5" lift. <- Rubs a little when turning VERY sharp. may invest in 1" spacers up front or adjust the stops. FYI - For those with 3D printers I used PLA and not ABS plastic so not sure how long they are going to last, but I can always reprint them. I included the STL files in this post in case someone wants to play. BTW I'm not a draftsman so you'll have to fix the model normals in the STL file. :) HubSpacer.stl JeepHub3.stl

Hint: If I were to do it over, I'd done a little more prep on them. Although they sand blasted them, it didn't take out any of the curb rash, and the coating isn't thick enough to cover it all. Some of it I feel I could have smoothed out a little better. Overall I'm very pleased. Hopefully the tire place won't mess them up. LOL. I chose a flat black. The coater said it should be pretty durable.

So got the rims back from the powder coaters this week. I'm very happy..

Worked on a new air box that fits a evaporator a few months ago. Forgot to post. I took lots of pictures of it coming apart, but forgot to take photos of putting it back together. Used foam from a upholstery supply store.

Engine bay starting to become crowded.