neohic

I’m headed for Easter Jeep!… probably. There is a slight chance I’d be able to piggyback on a trailer with another rig, but I’m also planning for the worst. Besides, what CJ owner wouldn’t benefit from a tow bar at some point? Obviously I’m still in the mocking up phase but the tow bar is nearly done. I think I know the right answer, but I’m not sure my truck is enough truck to go 800 miles. The truck handles awesome with the front and rear sway bars. On paper the CJ weights around 3000#. If I were to do it, I’d leave the top at home, put the windshield down, and air up the CJ’s tires to 35#. Talk me out of it?… please?

It’s been gone over, but you know you did good when you keep turning around when you park your truck.

Somewhere Don is smiling.

Looking great!

Heck yeah! Anything special in those axles as far as gears or lockers?

Out and about today.

Thanks, guys!

Final fit up on the front valance, scrubbing, and paint today. It’s strange to me how long I’ve had these parts and finally trimming and cutting and drilling holes in this thing. The valance is admittedly a little rough. Keep in mind that these were not sacred. These were made by the Archers as a throw away piece after getting beat up and bump-drafted on. The fiberglass used is fairly thin and the gel coat had a number of runs. I cleaned up most of the ugly but I didn’t want to really body work it. As for the bumper… … I’m glad I went back to silver. If I didn’t have the bumperettes I think it’d be too much, but between them and the license plate it breaks it up. The end caps bolt on with a couple of stainless cap screws. I don’t mind the exposed hardware. Kinda hints at the quick change to go to the full valance. As for that quick change… … it takes minutes to pull the end caps and go to this. I added a sacrificial wear strip to the valance since it’s still made of unobtainium. It’s not going to stop a big impact but I’m more so concerned with the low hanging fruit. The semi gloss black needs to calm down some. Years ago I used semi gloss on the bumpers and fender flares… obviously they’ve faded some. It does look different between outside and in the shop though. I’m sure after a few washes it’ll be fine. It’s still just paint that rattles and it photographs well. Poor thing definitely needs a good once over on the paint. There’s a small punch list I need to go through. Otherwise, I am very happy with it!

Beautiful! Such a rad little XJ!

That’s a great looking truck!

Your truck was one that got me leaning back to silver. When I first got my truck it had a silver bumper. Kind of leaning towards a silver bumper and maybe a graphite gray on the valance? I’m concerned that having it black might make it disappear.

You know we need more information.

I drove the truck some today. It’s awesome! Can’t believe the difference in suspension feel. I’d say that it’s stiff, but it’s not jarring. The steering wheel can get sawed around and the hood line stays completely flat. I still have a to-do list but I couldn’t resist mocking another part on it. I’m leaning towards painting the valance black and the bumper silver. Open to opinions though.

They definitely aren’t for everyone!

This. I usually go whatever slightly higher than middle of the road is for quality. I also like specifying when ordering that I’d like new construction style instead of remodel. It means taking off whatever trim is around the window but I much prefer how they instal.

My vote would be for 4.10s if you had an automatic. 4.0s don’t mind reving a little more but I agree that 3.55s and a stick feels about right on 31s.

Big day in the shop! The old axles made their way outside. Jury is still out on what to do with those. Everything got reassembled and gone through again. Then the exhaust got tuned up. We’ll put this one on the “I’ll return to this in the future” list. For the past week I’ve been so sick of my dirty shop but the truck needed to get out before I could take a clean up cut. First time on the ground! With giving the shop a quick sweep, the truck also got a quick trip to the car wash… and of course it started to snow! There was another guy there that had a super nice fox body Mustang. We were looking at each other and shaking our heads like, “why bother!” Unfortunately, but not very surprising, I’ve got some issues to sort out. First off is the front driveshaft and exhaust header trying to share the same space. Turns out I didn’t have enough clearance. Can’t say I’m super happy with that, but I’ll also put that on the “I’ll return to this in the future” list. A quick heat and beat made for what I think is enough space. I need to droop the front axle out to get in and do a nicer job. In the meantime it’ll stay as-is until I know that it’s for sure fine. Otherwise… … I dig it! Question for everyone: what are your thoughts on a silver front bumper?

I’ve had two issues with connection. Both times were fairly early on after the install. Each time I just reset and reconnected. Hasn’t happened in a number of months.

I really like mine and it’s been in there for a little more than a year. No complaints!

Lots of painting little parts today. I pulled the axle to make up the brake lines but moved it back one hole in the spring perches before completely removing it. It’s maybe a shade too far towards the rear of the truck, but I’m going to run it. Unfortunately, the sway bar wants to now live in a shared space as the spare tire. Really, I should replace it with an appropriate sized tire instead of the very old 30” that’s been living there since 2005… and it was an old, used tire then. Otherwise I’m happy with the brake line routing although I should’ve gotten an 18” instead of a 20” for the left side. I added a small woopdie-doo around the u bolts to make up for the added length. Maybe assembling tomorrow?

A little while back there was a Hemi swapped MJ build on NAXJA that the builder used a Vintage Air unit. Obviously there’s tons of fab, but the air unit seems pretty straight forward, but tedious. https://naxja.org/threads/rock-solid-fab-5-7-hemi-comanche.1148528/

Looks like controls for a Vintage Air unit.

I dig that interior!