adam518

:banana: :cheers: :banana: ...sorry...had to start this post with cold beer flaked by a couple of dancing bananas. It ssemed appropriate considering my mood! Was hoping to have truck back by end of week, but that just wasn't in the cards. My body shop does good work, but they seem to work at my pace...every promise of one hour wrenching to the wife seems to take three. So be it. I stopped by tonight to see the progress. They finished buffing the paint on the cab today. It wasn't the best spot for a photo shoot, but you get the idea. The pics don't really do justice to the quality of their work. Here she is at the moment: They still have to attach the bed (obviously) and respray bedliner on top of the bed rails. They have a bit of overspray to correct and clean it all up. The owner seemed to think I could get it Tuesday...I'm hoping for next Friday.

What??? You probably have one of the most drooled over trucks here. Actually...there's a lot of really nice trucks on this forum. I've borrowed tons of ideas from all of the different builds here.

It does look close. Mine is 2002-2003 Corvette Electron Blue. It too is a pearl and has tons of metallic. My front bumper also looks a lot like yours. It's a JCR that is almost exactly the same except it has driving lights made into the bumper just inboard of the shackles. Your truck looks great. It gives me additional motivation to get mine back on the road!

Thanks guys. I'm getting pretty excited. It has been almost a year since I bought the truck. It's funny, but at that time my intention was to rattle can the whole thing. I was having a hard time deciding between OD green and flat gray. Along the way it took on a whole new life of its own. The cost to paint the truck has been reasonable, but it's definitely not cheap either. I have grown so attached to the dang thing that I wanted something really nice. Even with flat black paint and a full length key mark down the side, people would stop me at the gas station and grocery, compliment the truck and say how you just don't see them on the road much anymore. My buddies are all giving me a hard time saying that there is no way I'll wheel it. The painter said not to worry about tree limb scratches and such. He said they applied three heavy coats of clear and that if I mark it all up, just to bring it in and they would cut it again and it should be good as new. Rock damage...well that's another story all together.

If you go Hack N Tap you don't necessarily have to worry about a level... I cut the shaft with a cut offf wheel. To guarantee a straight cut, I shifted into 2wd and low gear (drive shaft removed of course) and let it idle while I cut. The shaft spinning kept if from getting off and created a swirl pattern that helped me locate center prefectly. Letting the shaft spin after you cut it will help you create a concave on the end of the shaft as well. It is better for the shaft to concave in rather than out. When I drilled, I also let the shaft spin (if I remember correctly, it make have beeen in reverse, but I could be wrong about that). The spinning shaft will not allow the drill bit go into the shaft off-center. It was no big deal. Just go slow,lube your bit and give it time to cool. Take your time when tapping and you are good to go. As stated earlier, it took much less time than dropping the unit, splitting the case, yadda yadda yadda. For 33's or even 35's, I would not hesitate to go the Hack N Tap route.

I went to see how my truck was progressing this morning. Bed is painted and very BLUE. I was pretty impressed with the finish, but the body guy said he's not even started cutting it yet. They were sanding the primer on the rest of the truck this morning. The body is straighter than when it left Toledo. With any luck, I will be able to pick it up by the end of the week. I was trying to see if the camera would pick up the amount of metallic in the paint. Pictures just don't do it justice. If it had any more metallic, it would start looking like a bass boat!

yep...only option is the Hack N Tap for the 242. You'll read that a sye with complete shaft is stronger than a Hack N Tap, but I wouldn't worry about it, especially with moderate size tires. I have used both a Hack N Tap and a complete sye with shaft replacement and both have worked fine. For what it's worth, I find it easier to do the Hack N Tap. It took less than a hour in my driveway.

Thanks. I plan to go check it out in person on Monday. Hopefully I will get some better pics.

Looking good! I think it's funny you had an issue with the length of Rock Krawler trac bar. I did too, but it was in the opposite direction. I ordered a bar for 4"-6" of lift. In the end I am sitting right at 5.5" of lift. That 5.5" is compared to original ride heigh, not 20 year old worn out coil ride height. Anyway, to center my axle, I had to run the bar to its absolute shortest length. It was ok b/c at that setting it is perfect, but if I only had the 4" minimum that the bar was supposed to fit, it would not have even been close. It seems reasonable to think that their measurements are off a tad in one direction, but my bar being too long and yours being too short seems a bit odd. On top of that, there is a ton of adjustment on the bar, so if they aimed in the middle, it should easily cover an inch or more in either direction. :dunno:

That looks pretty sharp. I looked for nice original wheels for a while and eventually gave up. I am out of town b/c of work, but I got a text message from the body shop today with a pic attached: I know the pic quality isn't the best, but it gives you an idea of the color. He said they shot the jambs today and that they will paint the body first of next week.

I have always felt that Jeep designed some of the best looking stock rims. The wheels that were on my MJ when I bought it were Canyons. The Canyons were made in both 7" wide (Grand Cherokee) and 8" wide (Wrangler) versions. Mine were the 7" wheels or I probably would have kept them. This is where I bought my wheels: http://www.oewheelsllc.com/Wheels_3/Wheels-for-Jeep I went on Friday to check the progress of my truck. Earlier in the week they though that the whole truck would be in primer by Friday. When I went, they had it in primer forward of the doors, but the cab was not. The bed was primed and blocked. It's looking good, but I was just hoping it would be a little further along. It's ok though, the Honcho still has plenty needing to be done and that is keeping me busy.

They are Ravines. Stock size, 15x8's. The backspacing is 5.5". I have 1.25" spacers in the front and 1.5" in the rear. The finish on mine is called hyper black. They are powder coated black and then painted with a translucent silver on top of the black. It gives them a pewter/charcoal appearance depending on the light.

I haven't put any pressure on the shop to get my truck done, but I am getting a bit anxious. They have to make insurance jobs a priority and a few Honcho related projects have kept me occupied anyway. As luck would have it, the body shop actually got hot and heavy on my truck late last week. The body shop owner called me today and said that the bed is off and all necessary body work is complete. They are working on the cab now. It will be in primer and ready to block on Friday. I am going to go check it out on Friday to see how it looks...will post pics!

I took the MJ to the paint & body shop yesterday. Hopefully, they will be able to jump right on it, but they appeared to be pretty backed up. I'd be surprised if I get it back anytime in the next 3-4 weeks. The JCR Crusader front bumper should arrive today. I ordered it with built in driving lights, but without the optional built in receiver. They called Friday and said that they made a mistake and installed the receiver, so, I could either accept the upgrade at no additional charge or wait a little longer for a new bumper to be made. Anyway, I went ahead and decided to take the one they made with the receiver.

Thanks guys. Not bad for $1500, huh? I actually paid less for the Honcho than I did for my MJ. At the moment, I am not sure what I will do with it. I'll probably drive it & wheel it as it is for a bit while I decide what to do. It's been a farm truck the last 8 years and is definitely rougher than the pics indicate. It really isn't the best candidate for a full restoration and it would take a lot of $$ to make it a real looker. The truck has the 1339 transfer case. It does not have a 2wd option. Basically, it runs in full-time 4wd and has a vacuum switch to lock the transfer case in part-time 4wd. When I bought it and for the 1st couple of days, I assumed it did not have a low range option. Many came that way and had the 1305 transfer case. Anyway, I cleaned the interior yesterday and found the low range lever protruding from under the bench seat next to the seat adjuster. So, it does have a low range and it is 2.57:1. You can shift it into low range in either full-time 4wd or part-time 4wd. I tested it in all modes of operation and it seems to work well. Part of me want to leave it looking as it is and pick up either a 5.3 or 6.0 LS motor to swap into it. I have a freshly built GM Turbo 400 collecting dust. I could keep the 1339 or maybe swap in a Spicer 18. Both my axles are D44's offset to the passenger's side, so unless I completely change out the axles, that has to be taken into consideration. I think the front is fine and I could probably keep the rear alive seeing that it's an automatic and I'm relatively easy on my hardware. But then again, a 6-lug 14-bolt would be sweet. The interior is in really decent shape. The denim seat looks almost new. When I bought it, the driver's side window wouldn't roll up and the driver's side door wouldn't open. I fixed them both yesterday. The carpet was filthy, but I cleaned it up and it's ok. I think I may just rip it out and bedline the floor. The gauges all work except for the fuel gauge. The clock on the dash even works...part of the time. Sterring is sloppy as heck. With your hand on top of the wheel, you can move it from a 11 o'clock to a 1 o'clock position without having any effect on the steering. Power steering works and the brakes are really decent. The radiator leaks out the top and that will have to be addressed right off. Also, it needs mufflers. The driver's side muffler has a hole in it big enough to stick a football in.

Off MJ build topic, but I know you guys dig Jeep trucks. Check out what I bought yesterday. 1979 J10 Honcho 360 cid V8, 3 speed auto, 4" lift w/ 35x12.50's Factory power steering, power brakes, air (doesn't work) Interior is in really good shape. Driver's door glass won't roll up and the door won't open with either handle.

Over the course of the last couple of weeks, I've changed my mind regarding exactly how I wanted the exterior to look. To this point, I wanted to do a '97 front end swap, but now I've gotten to where the old style squareness is looking pretty good to me. My front header fit for crap, but I never really cared because it was going to be replaced with a '97 anyway. After deciding to stay with the old front end style and looking to see why it didn't fit properly, it turns out that someone has replaced the original header with a cheapo plastic one that is at least a quarter inch too short on both sides. I went to the pull-a-part and scored a perfect front header with complete harness off of a '96. Today, I ordered all new weatherstrip, door glass seals, solid black front grill & headlight surrounds as well as a few other odds & ends that I will need when I get it back from the paint shop.

I used ZJ rear discs on my 8.25". All you have to do is open up the center hole in the caliper bracket because the axle tube on the 8.25 is larger than the tube on the ZJ...they all had D35's. It is simple to do.

Initially I wanted to paint it a metallic gray, but I already have a Steel Cities Grey '71 Vette & the wife has a metallic gray BMW. I've also have owned several gray other cars in the past. It always seems when I see a color I like, it is gray, which is fine, but I wanted to do something a little different with the Comanche. ...so, here's what I came up with 2002-2003 Corvette Electron Blue Flares, trim, mirrors, windshield molding, etc will be black and I have an idea for a subtle stripe that will hopefully turn out nice...more on that later. Also, I am undecided about the hood. A couple years ago, the paint on my XJ all looked good except the hood. The clear coat had worn through. Because I was afraid it would be tough to match the green perfectly, the hood was painted semi-flat black. I really like the way it looks and am unsure whether to do the same thing with the MJ or paint it blue to match the truck.

Scheduled the Comanche for the paint shop. I'm taking on the 18th of this month. I plan to remove all of the trim, handles, moldings, weatherstrip, bed, etc myself to save a bit of $$. Hopefully it won't take long for him to get it back to me. I'm getting excited about putting it all back together and actually have an interior again.

Have fun telling them they made your bracket wrong. You'll have the only one in history that their part didn't fit...

Here ya go. The wife rolled her eyes when I said I was going outside to snap a few pics of the underside of my transmission tunnel to post on a forum. The braided line you see is the hydraulic line for my clutch slave cylinder.

Hey...I had one of the two problems you are experiencing. The bracket that attaches to the transfer case studs would not fit without removing a bit of material. Of course, I thought I may be doing something wrong, so after an hour or so of trying to make it fit just about everything under my truck, I called Novak. The guy I talked to was just shy of being outright rude...definitely arrogant. It wasn't like I called him before trying to figure it out on my own and I was definitely open to the idea that I was doing something wrong on my end. Eventually, he was convinced that I was installing the bracket correctly, did in fact have an AX15 & had their proper kit in hand. At that point, his response was that they sell a gogillion of these and I have the only tranny that wouldn't fit his bracket. I find it hard to believe, but whatever, I gave him the benefit of the doubt. In the end, it was really no big deal to make it fit and I just used a bench grinder to remove the necessary material. The other bracket you are referring to fit my transmission tunnel as it should. Let me know if you are still having trouble. I'd be happy to snap a few pics to help you get the orientation just right. After installed, I have to say I like the way it shifts. It is smoother than the factory linkage on my '97 XJ. I used it this past weekend offroad for the first time and it performed perfectly.

You'll dig the ACOS...I love them on my XJ. Aside from fine tuning the front to rear rake, they are also great for getting it perfectly level from side to side, too. You'll also have the flexibility to tweak the height later on if you change front bumpers, add a winch, etc

I showed the truck to my wife when I got home last night and she wanted to know why I have some guys name written on my tires... :doh: ...ugh