derf

The test is pretty easy. They publish the questions. You can do online study guides and memorize the answers. Local ham clubs will host the test either for free or for a very small fee. The basic license (technician) is a really easy test. Basic middle school electronics and some questions about regulations. Best part is that they dropped the requirement for Morse code a while back. It gets a little harder as you go for more license but as you go up you are able to access more frequencies and use more power to broadcast. I'm happy as a tech. I use the two most commonly used bands for short distance comms, 2m and 70cm. Lots of radios to choose from in this range and it does what I need to do. I am legal to transmit up to 1,500W but my radios only go up to 50W. CBs transmit at 4W. I rarely find myself in a situation where I go over 5-8W and the radio carries a lot further than CB.

Like everything else, you can spend as much money as you want to in this hobby. Honestly the cheapo Baofeng UV5R with a decent antenna and a bigger battery pack won't set you back too much. The battery seems to last forever and you get good quality audio even out of the cheap Chinese junk. After that, you can look at putting a base station in your Jeep. And again, you can spend as much as you want there too. Though a good radio and, more importantly, a good antenna will set you back maybe $2-300 if you want something respectable. I went bigger with mine. Both are dual channel radios. The 710GA has built in APRS, which is a GPS based position reporting system that links up with digipeters (digital repeaters hooked up to the internet) so you can go to a website and track me when I have my radio on.

I saw a thread or two that are maybe 10 years old. Figured I'd start a new one. Who else out there runs ham radio? W0JPR here. I mostly got it so I can punch through to a repeater if I'm stranded or need help out in the mountains in Colorado. Some people in my group are also hams and we will chat on the trail. The clarity is so much better than CB. I still run CB because I want to be able to talk with the 90% of people with radios in their Jeeps. I'm running a Kenwood TM-D710GA in my XJ right now. I may move it over to the MJ when it's ready. I do have a Kenwood TM-V71 as well. Good 50W radios, the 710 has built in APRS which is nice. And, of course, the "disposable" Baofeng HT is always along. Who else is a ham and what are you running?

I dunno. I suspect the "least worst" of the replacement rockers are a good bet. They just take a lot of work to get lined up right and in properly. But I suspect they're easier than fabricating something entirely by hand. Unless you just want to.

That reminds me of the Bacon Explosion. http://www.bbqaddicts.com/recipes/pork/bacon-explosion/

Samuel M-Fin Jackson. Obviously, NSFW.

Mom taught me the basics on how to fend for myself and I have experimented with a bunch of things over the years. I'm a fair cook. Not a chef by any stretch of the imagination but I don't burn Kool-Aid most of the time. A lot of the experiments I went with over the years were lessons on how not to do it. But that's just as valuable as the successes.

If you're concerned about moisture content, you can pre-cook the bacon and drain it. The crispy bits will soften up a little while they cook more inside the loaf. Works either way. For the peppers and mushrooms, you could always cut back on the milk a little to compensate for the moisture.

Add one ingredient. 6 strips bacon (4 if thick cut bacon), cut into 1/8" to1/4" strips (i.e. uncooked bacon bits). You'll thank me.

Living alone and working full time, I don't like to spend a lot of time cooking (and especially cleaning afterwords). I tend to look for simple things to prepare without a lot of effort and fewer dishes to clean. My typical evening meal is some kind of meat on the foreman grill with some warmed up veggies and maybe a biscuit in the toaster oven. Pillsbury Grands come in a bag in the freezer section so I can pop in one or two at a time. Once you get the timing for the foreman grill figured out, it's easy to cook chicken breast or thighs, pork chops, and steak the way you like. Add the seasoning or sauce of your choosing. Marinating the meat ahead of time is always an option. I like chicken breast marinated in Italian Dressing. Dry rub on pork chops is pretty good too. For lunch at work I like to try and stay healthy. So I'll do a bagged salad, split into separate Gladware containers. I'll cook up some cubed chicken and maybe add some diced ham. I also throw in some other things I like on a salad. But if you're looking for somewhat healthy lunches without a lot of prep, that's one way to go. Ingredients are basically whatever kind of salad and add-ons you like. Everyone is different there. Another simple lunch I like to do is my low carb chicken "stir fry". It's another quick and easy dish to prepare and makes enough to have for lunch at work for a week or so. * 3 good size chicken breasts, cubed or cut into strips. Pork chops (1.5-2 pounds) work as well. I haven't done beef or shrimp with this but it would probably work. * One bag frozen vegetables. I like peas and carrots mix, but you could use broccoli, peas (without carrots), or whatever suits you. Fresh vegetables would work too. Pea pods are good if you want to do fresh. * 1 cup peanuts. I use dry roasted, salted. Low salt and unsalted would work as well. * 1/2 cup soy sauce (more or less, I don't actually measure) Optional ingredients: * Bean sprouts - 1 can (or equivalent fresh) * Water chestnuts - 1 can (or equivalent fresh) * Bamboo shoots - 1 can (or equivalent fresh) Pre-heat some sesame oil in a pan on medium-high heat. Add meat to the pan. Stir frequently until fully seared. Remove meat from the pan and drain. Add frozen veggies and peanuts. Stir frequently for 1-2 minutes. Return meat to the pan. Reduce heat to medium low. Pour on soy sauce and add optional ingredients. Simmer for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat as needed. Unlike traditional stir fry, there is no thickening agent (i.e. starch in water). Keeps the carb count lower but there's no "sauce" to hold things together. You could serve this over rice but that would kill the low carb nature of this dish. I end up splitting this into even portions in Gladware containers. After it cools down a bit I toss the containers in the fridge and just grab one in the morning on my way to work. Toss it in the microwave in the break room for a minute and a half and I have lunch that's better than junk food by far.

Oh, and please take pictures and post details as the swap progresses. I'm still tossing around lots of ideas for my own engine swap. I'd like to do something more in the unique side myself and have been looking at several options. If this goes well, I may put the LT1 back on my list. :)

It's a decent engine, and will work well in a Comanche. It's just not used often and lacks aftermarket support. Since you have a specialist that knows these engines and has experience swapping them, a lot of the potential problems will be mitigated and make this an easier swap that trying to tackle it yourself. Exhaust manifolds should be block huggers. I'd recommend starting here for basic information: http://www.novak-adapt.com/knowledge/engines/swap-guides/chevy-buick-gm/xj-swap/ That's a good starting point for general swap information and advice for a GM engine into an XJ/MJ.

If I could...

I'm an introvert by nature. I hate being around people. Living alone, I spend most of my time by myself anyway so this isn't a huge change for me. I usually go into work but sit at my cube with my headphones on and I don't interact with people much because I don't have to. I could get used to this whole working from home full time gig if I had to. I usually spend time on the weekends helping friends wrench on their Jeeps. Instead of that, I've been finding time to do things around the house I put off. I've been able to organize a lot of stuff. I've even done a couple of things to my own Jeep. Little things but useful things. I do get to do my laundry while I'm working so I don't have to dedicate off time for that, which is nice. My plan for this weekend is the spring garage cleaning, which I wouldn't have time to do if things were "normal" because I'd be elsewhere doing other things. So mostly for me, it's the ability to get things done that I usually don't have time to do.

The tall intake issue is with the LS truck blocks 1999 and newer. The 4.8, 5.3, and 6.0 from the early 2000's at least have a very tall intake that hits the hood. The LS1/LS6 intake manifold from the cars is quite a bit shorter and bolts right up. And it fits better under the hood of an XJ. The LT1 has a slightly taller intake manifold and may suffer the same problems as the truck style LS intakes. But I can't say for sure. The only way to use an LT1 is to get a full running/driving donor with an intact wiring harness and computer. Take absolutely everything for it at once. Don't cut a thing. You won't be able to find many replacements for things like that. And there isn't much aftermarket that supplies alternatives. Like I say, the LT1(and LT4) are the red-headed step children. They were only produced for 6 years and they are full of unique parts. The block, the heads, the OptiSpark distributor in front of the engine, all of it. It's weird. It's unique. And not many people like it. It works fine if you're set on using one. Just know the aftermarket is worse for these engines than it is for the MJ. But a unique, limited run engine in a unique, limited run truck would be appropriate. Look at Novak for the conversion kit for the 4L60 so you can run a transfer case. It will put a speed sensor on the transmission tail shaft so that the computer can shift things correctly no matter if you're in high range or low range. In fact, you don't connect any transfer case wires to the donor computer. You can keep the speedo cable in your transfer case to run your dash. For dash gauges, you're better off adding factory sending units for oil pressure and water temp somewhere you can find room. Some conversion radiators (hoses switch sides so you need a new radiator) have a port for a temp sender. You can put a "T" fitting on the oil pressure tap in the block and run 2 senders. Keep the one that goes with the engine for its computer and take the one out of your Renix engine and connect it to your factory wiring harness. Other than that, it should be pretty straightfoward. As unique as the LT1 is, it's still just a modified first gen small block chevy. Once you get outside the block and heads, it looks like many other small block chevy engines.

I've been there a couple of times myself. Sucks no matter how you try to spin it. You'll get through this.

I knew a guy who's father was in charge of procurement of fasteners for AMC. He explained it to me. When the engineers turned in a spec for a bolt, it usually has a range, or at least a minimum. So he'd go out and find fasteners they could buy in bulk for manufacturing. Given the penny pinching going on in AMC at the time, they would buy the cheapest fastener that met spec. Sometimes that was metric, sometimes that was standard. Even if they only saved $10 on 10,000 fasteners, they'd choose the cheaper one. That's why you have a mix of standard and metric bolts on vehicles of that era. As far as torx, there's something about it that makes it better for manufacturing in the assembly plant so they use it a lot. But I forget the exact reason why.

My 2019 Subaru reads empty when it still has a few gallons left in the tank. I think a lot of manufacturers do that on purpose so that you don't run the car out of gas. They pop up all kinds of warnings on the screen about low fuel to scare you into filling up. Which, given that the fuel in the tank keeps the pump cool, it's not a bad idea to follow that advice. But I don't know how linear the gauge reading is. i.e. is going from 3/4 tank to 1/2 tank the same as going from 1/2 to 1/4 tank?

The LT1 has a lot of unique things associated with it and it's kind of the redheaded step-child of the Chevy small blocks. Few people want to bother with them. I seriously doubt there are any writeups anywhere, unfortunately. The only advice I can offer is to keep absolutely everything from the donor that you can and install it all together. The LT1 block is a slightly tweaked Gen 1 350. Most of the changes are on the front and with the intake. The mounts should be standard SBC so the Novak kit would put the block in the right place. The transmission will be standard 4L60 so the trans mount will be like everyone else. Engine accessory locations may be an issue. And finding relocation brackets, if needed, may be "challenging". Running the dash may require some creative engineering or just punting and wiring up extra sensors, leaving the ones for the computer alone. Best of luck to you.

My bet is on linkage adjustment.

Yeah, 2wd low (either FWD or RWD) is useful when rock crawling. An Atlas or other twin sticked transfer case makes that so much nicer.

Fill it with ATF until it starts coming out of the fill hole.