derf

Now that's an idea. Farm implement paint is designed for exactly what I'm trying to do. Cheap and durable... Although, looking a bit more into it, I like the idea of Allis Chalmers orange. My grandfather was an Allis Chalmers dealer for decades.

One thing I'm looking at is picking a very common initial paint color that matches a factory color you can get in a touch up paint can at the parts store. Sure, they won't be a perfect match but they'll be pretty close. And close is good enough.

I'm going to be building a new bed. And I want to start with all the panels the same color, which they aren't right now. So I want to do an initial re-paint. Then I'll just do maintenance with a rattle can. Besides, given that I have access to many of the tools the supply costs for the initial paint will probably be lower than buying a couple cases of rattle cans.

Update. This one has been traded to a friend for parts I will be using in the build of my other MJ. He's working ideas on turning it into a trail rig. Not sure if he'll join up and post or not.

Looking for some advice from the paint gurus. I'm thinking about paint for my dedicated trail rig. I've got a mismatch of colors on the panels I'd like to make one consistent color. I'm also going to be building some new stuff that will need paint. I have the ability to use an HVLP setup in a makeshift paint booth so I'm planning on blasting the existing paint and doing the initial paint job that way. So the question goes to what kind/brand of paint should I start with. I know that there are different kinds of paint and different techniques for applying them. But I don't know much detail about what makes one better than the other for my particular intent. This truck will get scratched and probably see some rock rash. I want to be able to use rattle cans to cover up the exposed metal in a way that looks "decent" without all of the work of really blending the finish to look "perfect". That suggests to me that I'm looking for a simple paint that doesn't require clear coat so I can just sand the perimeter around the scratch and lay down a couple of quick coats from a parts store rattle can and I'm done. But I'm open to suggestions from people who actually know paint well. What advice can the experts give a paint noob?

Yeah, any time someone says Jeep and leak together in the same sentence, my brain immediately goes to oil leaks.

It's a Jeep. If there ain't no oil under em, there ain't no oil in em.

Meh. That's just details.

I glossed over that. There will be "some disassembly required" on any of the Ford donors if you use the truss kits. Some more than others. The cast in brackets on the 78-79 F150 are the most you'll have to cut off. Anyone seriously considering the Ford axle swap will probably continue to google after finding this thread. There's a lot of detail when it comes to how exactly you'll deal with everything. Steering, driveshafts, bump stops, etc.

Old thread, I know. But I wanted to put some information here in case someone finds this thread and is looking for swap info. Basically expanding on the axle donor choices for upgrades. The mid to late 1970's (76 to 79) Ford pickups are a good option for a donor. The front in the F150 and F250 is a driver side high pinion Dana 44. The F150 is a "standard" housing with a 5 on 5.5" bolt pattern. It has a 65.5" WMS (Wheel Mounting Surface) width, which makes it "a little bit wider" than a standard XJ/MJ front axle. It has 30 spline inner shafts and the 270x u-joints that the later XJ front axles upgraded to. It's stronger all the way around than a front Dana 30. So it will handle 35" or even 37" tires with no problem. The matching Ford 9" axle is a 31 spline unit that is about 65" WMS. It can accept 35 spline shafts easily and, with maybe a truss, is also good for 37's. The F250 uses a heavy duty version of the Dana 44. It has thicker wall tubes (same outside diameter) and the 8 on 6.5" hubs make the whole axle 2-3" wider than the 1/2 ton. Same guts (ring and pinion, differential, 30 spline axle shafts) as the F150 version. With some chromoly shafts and good joints, you can probably get away with 40's if you don't beat on it with a lot of power. The matching rear Dana 60 is a 30 spline full float version. I don't know the exact width but it's close to the front. The housing won't accept 35 spline shafts without modification. But the full float housing is good and strong and 30 spline shafts will hold up until you get above 40's or you put in big power. The F150 had radius arm suspension in the front and the brackets varied from year to year. The axle side brackets will need to be removed (possibly cut off). The F250 had leaf springs with the pad cast into the housing on the driver side. Rear axles were leaf spring pads and shock mounts. Right now, there are a couple of companies making truss kits that will work with one or both of the versions of the front axle. The trusses come with control arm and track bar mounts in the right location for MJ/XJ/TJ front suspension. So if you're looking for "a little wider" with "a little stronger", the Ford axles are the way to go. It's best to go with a matched set so that you get the same bolt pattern front and rear. Neither axle set will match the stock MJ bolt pattern.

No problems with pictures here.

You mention that you want an AX-15 and that you may possibly take out the Peugeot after it's in once you find one. You just can't find one for sale at a reasonable price right now, correct? The direction I would go would be to wait and do the swap later. Keep saving up cash, a little at a time, until you have the budget to buy the AX15 you want and do it right. In the mean time, put the Peugeot up for sale and get as much as you can for it to fund the AX15 budget. That requires some patience but in the end it'll be worth it. I've done more than one "hey this is a cheaper route but not really what I want" swaps in various projects. It never ended up being what I wanted and I ended up throwing a bunch of money away trying to make it right or scrapping it entirely and starting over. Or both. The Peugeot would work and scratch the itch for now. But you'll keep itching to do the AX15 swap. And it'll bug you until you get it done. If it was just a "I want a manual, don't care which" itch, the Peugeot would be fine for a stock or near stock build for driving around and not abusing. But since you say you want the AX15 long term, that's what I'd hold out for.

Just got word that my parent's power was just restored this afternoon. My sister sent a video she uploaded doing a walk-around of her house shortly after the storm. They had a good dozen big trees down to one extent or another. Most of them fell harmlessly to the ground. A few of them were very close to the house but missed. One missed the AC unit by like 2 feet. But one of the trees came down on their detached garage. The damage didn't look like it was extensive but it wasn't unscathed. Probably an easy fix if they can find a contractor to do the work. I suspect builders and contractors are going to have their hands full for the rest of the year into next year. If you're looking for work in the building trades, the upper Midwest would be a good place to set up shop for a while.

That would pay for my entire LS swap on tons and 40s. Including buying the Jeep in the first place. Still, it is cool in its own way. That would be a "lottery money" purchase I could see myself making.

I think the Liberty got the 42RE. The 42RLE is a different transmission that started life as a FWD transmission and was modified. It's in the same class as the Dana 35 and Peugeot BA10/5. It can live in a stock vehicle that is maintained and not abused. But it's only just strong enough for that. It doesn't survive hard use for very long. There are a few upgrades for the 42RLE. But there's only so much room inside the case and the small parts have limited strength.

That does look handy. Another good way to get reference voltage is to look at power supplies you can find in ham radio catalogs. I've been eyeing one so I can run one of my extra car radios in the house. They let you adjust the voltage so you can run the 13.8V or whatever you'd get while the vehicle is running.

I have a channel with a couple of videos. I'll be documenting my MJ build once it gets rolling. https://youtube.com/channel/UCRlFNFE4b0-xdmPaABnQIiQ

It's becoming far less common for people to buy a completely stripped model any more. Thing is, manufacturing something with variances costs more money. That's why you see so many options grouped into packages these days. If they can keep cranking out a vehicle with fewer differences, they can do it faster and cheaper. And now that so many things are functions of the vehicle computer, it's just a matter of a software change to add/remove many features. Manufacturers are "encouraging" consumers to take the "standard package" so they can cut their manufacturing costs. That's the big driver behind why work trucks have so many upgrades these days. They're actually saving money by upping the standard equipment and reducing their overhead. I've been looking at buying a new truck to be my daily driver/tow pig for my MJ project once it's done. I have to say that the base model Ford XL/Chevy WT/Ram Tradesman models are getting to the point where I would consider one for a daily driver since I don't need the luxury stuff.

1. Yes. People ditch fuel injection for carburetors. It ends up not saving them any money and it doesn't make the vehicle any more reliable than a properly maintained fuel injection system. You end up losing horsepower and fuel mileage. And then you get all of the "fun" of cold starts and trying to get it to behave until it warms up. In many people's opinion, carburetors are a huge step down in all respects. 2. Yes. People TIG weld intakes. It's not terribly common but it does happen. If you can TIG aluminum, you can basically do anything you want in that arena. Aftermarket intakes and/or adapters, if they are available for your engine, are a good option as well. 3. If you keep fuel injection, you can't delete sensors or the CPU. Fuel injection needs those to run. If you go with a carburetor, you'll probably want to delete most of the sensors and the CPU. 4. If you start with a compatible donor that has the manual transmission you want, the swap is pretty straightforward. It's usually easier and more cost effective just to sell the automatic equipped vehicle and buy a manual transmission vehicle to replace it though. But if you can't find a manual equipped MJ, you can probably find a manual equipped XJ donor. From there it's not hard to swap the drivetrain over. It starts getting really expensive if you want to install something that wouldn't have come from the factory. (i.e. Chevy transmission in Jeep, Ford transmission in Chevy, etc.) But an XJ to MJ swap is pretty much a bolt in operation.

Random update but I got to toying around with the measuring tape under the bed this last weekend. The X brace on the frame doesn't leave much distance between it and the end of the frame, at least on a short bed. Maybe 12" or so from the frame end of the X to the back of the frame. If you're willing to let the tank hang down under the X brace you do have quite a bit of room. Enough to fit a TJ tank easily (hanging pretty low though), with room to spare on the sides and front to back. If you bias it towards the rear bumper, you have plenty of room for a wheelbase stretch and/or upgrading to one ton axles. I'm probably just going to pull the bed off and do some custom welding on the rear frame. I'm going to a triangulated 4 link with coil overs in the rear and I'll probably end up cutting out and replacing the X brace to make room for things while still having some structure to replace it. I like the idea of the TJ tank as long as I can tuck it up close to the bed floor so that's the route I'm leaning towards right now.

Sounds like trees down and some damage to my parent's house from one of them but no tree trunk in the living room or anything that bad. My other sister has trees down but no word on damage. Sounds like it's light damage at most. Looks like they will come through fine.

Family is OK. No word on damage. Power is out. The neighbor's detached garage didn't survive.

So my sister posted up some damage pictures from her neighborhood. Looks like what you'd get from a low grade tornado. No pictures of her house, just what she can see out the windows. One garage collapsed from what it looks like, another roof with half the shingles missing. A little bit of debris in the yards. Neighbor's deck railing off and a few feet away in the yard. My other sister and my parents are in more heavily wooded areas. I hope no tree came down on a house or anything like that.

I have family in Cedar Rapids, IA. I'll have to check up on them...