Biotex

My best friend here has two Samurais. He is in the process of that very swap for his offroad one.

Owner states he was getting 31mpg, then he switched to a new station that just opened up, and it has no ethanol in the fuel, and his mileage jumped up to 34 or 35 ish. You know how those claims go when someone is trying to sell their vehicle... I've been after him for two years to sell it to me, and finally got the call.

No plans yet. I know nothing about Samurai's at this point. I see they are highly customizable, but I got it because it is 200 mile round trip for me to play golf where I am a member. 35 mpg and 4wd. Doesn't get much better than that. Has A/C, but needs a charge. Driver seat is not too hot. The rest is pretty nice. It shows 103k on the odo. PO said 50 k was towed behind his motorhome. He's giving me the tow bar also. Little bit of oil leaking from the passenger side closed knuckle. Could just be the wrong grease in there, since he had the leak fixed six months ago, and it started again. Needs new tires and a battery, but I stole it really.

Just picked this Samurai up

Started in on the 8.8 axle swap.

Looks awesome! Nice job on the bodywork and paint. I know first hand just how difficult it is. Now the fun part begins!

The E-brake cables that came already installed on the new 8.8 actually will bolt right up in place of the MJ ones. The only problem I see is the short side (driver side) will have to be swapped out for another longer one like the passenger side. DORMAN C660004 is the part number for the right rear cable. Length is around 78". A little longer than is needed, but certainly enough to cover any size lift. They are under $15, and an easy swap. Pictures to come.

It only has a 318 2bbl/A904 inside. Lots of rust too. The interior has no dash. It is inside the trunk though. They are "supposed" to call me after a year and give it to me.

They paid to have a set of brand new Firestones installed on new rims. We filled the tires with foam so they won't go flat over time. I'm told the car is up, and the "art" exhibit is finished. I'll have to take a drive and check it out soon. The coolest thing was the check they sent had a bunny ears logo on it. I would have preferred a centerfold, but that didn't happen...

I have them here: http://www.alpinefurniturestore.com/JeepDocumentation/jeeps.html Will be happy to add to the collection. If I ever discontinue the hosting, I will give notice and pass the torch to someone else.

When I pulled the 8.8 axle, I got the complete brake lines to go with it. The female fitting on the end of the rubber hose is the same size as the Comanche male brake line fitting, so just screw them together no problems. If you have some lift, you will want a longer hose, or do like I did and let it all be loose. I will come back and secure things later if needed. More on that later.

I'm still looking to purchase a roll bar. Anyone?

Isn't there a rubber boot that covers that up? Just like ball joints have?

Getting ready to spray some bed liner down. Also received my emblems. Stand by....

SUA, because I have some lift already built into the military wrapped springs. I'd be at or around 9" lift if I went SOA.

If his don't work out, I have a set also. I'm in West Texas

I'm going to be doing a write up very soon on a step by step to install a set of used gears in a D30. Honestly, it is easier to just change out the whole axle IMO, but i'm very remote where I live, and no parts available. At least I have all the tools needed.

A very popular magazine commisioned me recently to purchase, pickup paint, and then deliver a Dodge Charger for an art display. I wasn't allowed to talk about it until now that it is public. This AM, I delivered the Charger. Here it is still on my trailer: Here is where I dumped it: And it will be lifted up on the top of the concrete pedestal: The plan is to weld the axle to the four metal plates you can see on top of the concrete. Pretty cool project. There is supposedly a matching Charger in N.Y. for a photo shoot. Look for it in a future issue...

PM sent.

Please see above where I added some more to the document. This is very much a learn as I go project, so I don't necessarily have all the details worked out yet. There are a lot of different ways of doing things, so I tend to tackle them one at a time as they arise, but I have a decent idea in a broad sense of what is involved. Shock mounting is going to be different for everyone, since it depends on how much travel they need. In my case, I have about 3" of extra lift in the rear over stock. I already installed longer shocks, so moving the lower mounting point up on to the axle will compress the shock a couple of inches compared with the oem mounting spot on the lower spring plate. Once the axle is in place, I can figure out the best compromise between clearance and travel. I will add these details to the write up at a later date when I can get more specific with measurements and such. I'll also take photos of course... Thanks for asking.

Anywhere there is pitting or rust showing through the primer, you need to sand it down to bare metal with something like 80 grit. This will dig into the bare metal just enough so the new primer, or bondo will have a good mechanical bond. The rest of the primer just needs scuffed up with a 3M scotch-brite pad. If the primer was applied correctly, it won't come off. If it does, then you should think about sanding down the whole car and doing it right. If you properly scuff or sand the primer, then the new coat of primer/sealer you lay down just before the first coat of paint will also have a good mechanical bond. You see, there are two types of bonding. Mechanical and chemical. The chemical bond is what is known as the recoat window. Your primer/sealer will have it listed something like 12 hour recoat at 72°F. This means you need to plan on applying the first coat of paint within this time frame to get a good chemical bond. The primer already on your truck is obviously long past the chemical bond stage, so you are after a good mechanical bond. This is where the scuffing comes into play. The primer has been on long enough, that it is bonded both chemically and mechanically to the metal at this point, so no real reason to remove it all. Just in the spots that you mention were the rust is coming through. With that said, I'm assuming you are talking about a quality automotive primer, and not some rattle can lacquer based primer. If that is what is on, then I would consider using a stripper in the hard to reach areas, and a DA on the flat surfaces. Hope this helped.

Tip! After you get the bulk of the inside of the tank clean with purple power, do a final rinse with acetone. Acetone dissolves varnish like nothing else. Also, it is more compatible with gasoline in case you have any residue left over from the purple stuff.

Wrist pins are how the piston is attached to the connecting rod. A bad wrist pin more than likely means a complete rebuild. Could also be bad enough that the block is toast. Only way to know is to pull the head or pan. You might get lucky, but it could go either way, so be prepared. If you want, you could pull the pan, and perhaps remove the bad piston/rod from the bottom without removing the head. I have done it that way before as a temporary fix, but again, when an engine gets in that condition, it is best to bite the bullet and rebuild or replace. Long blocks are not that expensive. It's the labor that gets you if you don't DIY. Edit: Best case scenario: You can drop the pan, and remove the bad parts. You will need a new or used piston, wrist pin, connecting rod. Then you have the rings and bearings... You "could" get by with reusing the old ones if you can get the off without damage. Not the ideal way to do this, but like I said, it is doable if you just want to get the truck running. IMO if you are going to go that far, you are better off just finding a different engine, or pulling the head and doing a re-ring and bearing job.

When a gauge such as the temp gauge and/or fuel gauge reads maxed out, isn't that an indication of a short to ground? Try unplugging the temp sender wire at the sending unit. See if the needle moves down. If not, then i'd suspect an issue with the cluster connection. True enough that a faulty ground wire can cause strange things, so as mentioned above, might refresh the instrument grounds, and clean connections.