ghinmi

Thank you!

I did get the truck rolled outside the other day to see it in natural light and snap some shots for photoshopping potential graphics. Very happy with it.

Amazing what a little paint did for the looks of this valve cover. I used the VHT wrinkle black and wiped off the numbers/letters before it fully cured.

I forgot to take many photos since it was a messy job but I got the old PCV opening tapped for the new fitting and the intake all cleaned up. Was able to get the tins reattached by laying down dabs of aluminum weld through the holes where they were attached originally. Paint should be here Thursday and then it'll be done.

I forcefully removed the inner covers off of the valve cover to investigate how it was engineered and also to clean all the crap out. Turns out the breather is in the completely wrong spot for a rear wheel drive application. Under hard acceleration when it's trying to relieve crankcase pressure it would be picking up straight oil. No good. I can't just move it to the front because the PCV is there and it would reduce the effectiveness of that. So I'm essentially swapping the vent and pcv locations. I will be running an inline PCV. All those little details that I run into with this thing.

Grommets are designed and printed. Also played with the fuzzy skin feature and got a surface finish I like. And then made mounting bosses and welded them on.

Acquired some Honda K series coils. The factory Dodge 2.4 coil is a big brick with two dumb coils running waste spark which I'm not too fond of. The Honda units are smart coils which means I can run them with the Holley without having to buy expensive coil drivers. Plus then it'll be coil on plug with no spark plug wires and also have a much hotter spark. Looks like all I'll need to do is weld on some bosses and they'll bolt right up. And also print some grommets to seal them to the valve cover. Finally got the cowl cover finished and installed along with the new cowl seal. Lots of work to get it to that point. Snapchat-911387010.mp4 And also tried out the wide tires with the fender flares on. It looks way more tame with them covered up.

I too really liked the chrome trim. It just wasn't the right look for this truck. It's going to become a wall decoration on a spare header panel because it just doesn't seem right to box it up and hide it away.

Yep, hard to argue with the extra space you get in an already cramped engine bay! Finally got the fender flares installed! They really change the look of the truck.

To free up some space I went with the 1997+ washer tank. I hate cutting into nice painted surfaces but it came out nicely. I also got the front upper support pieces cleaned up, painted, and installed. And the painted front end pieces are installed. Hopefully tonight I'm able to get the fender flares on and it'll look a lot more complete. But as it sits, I love the look.

Every single stud broke off of the fender flares brackets on all 3 trucks I stripped. So I mixed and matched the nicest set, ground the heads off of the old studs, and welded new ones in. As soon as the epoxy primer is dry they'll be good to install. With antiseize on the threads this time.

Another project that's taking entirely too long but will be worth it in the end. Not being content with any of the factory coolant tank configurations, I built one to go inside the passenger fender. It's a recovery style with baffles and a rubber 3d printed vent cap. Since it's completely hidden, I've put a section of clear push connect tubing in the engine bay to be able to check the coolant level. I will 3d print a bezel to make it look more factory correct and then it'll be done. With the coolant tank (finally) mounted, I was able to get the fender back on. The driver fender still needs to come off for the late model washer tank retrofit but I couldn't resist partially mocking up the color matched front end. I also did the Jeep letters in blue but outlined them in black to break it up. I think they came out nice.

I'm just a home hobbiest. Anyone can do presentable work if they take their time and use quality materials. The pros do nicer work than me in a small fraction of the time. They're so impressive to me.

Window trim finally refinished and installed. The cowl cover is set on for now, it still needs the windshield washer nozzles installed before I screw it down. And got the helmets reassembled.

Backtracking a bit here. I wasn't happy with the paint on the fender flares so I re-prepped them as well as a grille and other various pieces. Rather than turn the barn into a paint shop again I sent them to a really talented local painter. Then ended up turning the barn into a paint shop anyway. But I don't regret it, he did an outstanding job. Snapchat-1795412987.mp4

This is one of those "one step forward, 38 steps back" posts. There were a couple spots on the hood and the passenger side cowl that I was unhappy with so I decided to repaint them. Unfortunately I did something really dumb. Grabbed the wrong mixing cup and accidentally mixed the first batch of clear 2:1 instead of 1:1. Which resulted in trapped solvent and a layer of jelly between the base coat and final layer of clear. You can see the terribleness happening already in this picture. It only got worse overnight. The next day I had to strip it down with a razor. Which of course ruins the nice flat surface underneath so tons more sanding. And primer. And sanding. Finally went to spray a final layer of epoxy and that also was a monumental failure. Had to sand it all back off again. But it's all finally painted now, a week later than planned. Snapchat-515976768.mp4 Also did both of our helmets blue since there was some extra time yesterday before paint.

Finally got the mirrors knocked out. What a task for such a simple part. I didn't take many photos but the cable mechanisms are all redone. Housings stripped, smoothed, and repainted. New 3d printed clips. New mirror glass. Etc. Worth it compared to the plastic offshore reproductions or the 1997+ mirrors which are too rounded and don't look good. I was playing around with the wide tires just to see how ridiculous they're going to look.

You missed a clue in the post with the Corvette parts...

I don't really have a thread I keep updated on that truck but I do have a facebook and instagram page for it. Search turbocherokee on instagram or the facebook link is https://www.facebook.com/turbocherokee Side note, I need to get a hold of you soon for a door sticker with the new info.

Picked up some used tires this weekend. 315/30r18 BFG Rivals. We'll see if they fit as well as the cad data says they should. I need to get the fender flares painted and put back on so that I can re-scan the Jeep. Then I'll be able to finalize some designs and start fabricating. These tires will go on the new wheels I bought last year. They should be able to fit the other Jeep as well.

Thanks! The craziness is just getting started. I'll leave a hint of things I picked up today.

I rattle bombed a spare grille and photoshopped the other parts to see what it'll look like in blue. As good as the chrome looks, I think the blue is the way to go. There's no chrome on the rest of the truck so it's a little out of place. I'm going to paint up a front end set and bolt it on to see how it looks. Front end pieces and fender flares are fully prepped for paint. I wasn't happy with how the clear laid out on the flares when I painted them last year so they're getting redone.

Intercooler came in yesterday. Fits like a glove, will just need to make brackets. It definitely will not fit with the 4.0 style radiator and condenser as they don't leave any room with the way they are pushed so far forward. But luckily I have lots of room to the front of the engine and can use the 2.5 placement. It's a Treadstone TR11 intercooler, claims it's good to 560 HP which should be enough. After significant modification to the bumper brackets and end cap mounts to get everything to fit the way I want, I started playing with grille options. As a joke I put a chrome one on there and surprisingly it's not bad. May stay that way. Will see if it continues to grow on me. VID_20230210_213403477.mp4

I bought a small stack of old truck magazines at a swap meet this weekend and found some cool Comanche stuff. First is a Trailmaster ad for lowering kits. Never knew they made something like that. Also an Archer Racing ad. And finally, a test drive of one of the Archer race trucks. Really cool stuff.