neohic

Can't be said enough how amazing this truck looks. Any plans for that bent up rock slider?... kinda disrupts the flow... :oops:

Totally diggin' the wheels!!!

I picked up these seats without a real plan as to what to put them in. They are out of a four door XJ and were in great shape but, with any seats with age, have some tears in the vinyl and generally dirty. Never really done anything like this so I wanted to try see what some off the shelf vinyl repair kits can do. Started with two seats: dirty, soiled, and torn. I started with a small tear. This kit is good for small tears, but if you have bigger holes, it can also be used for blending in patches. The kit: I was really impressed with the instructions. The kit includes small backing cloth for “flap” like tears, adhesive for attaching said backing cloth, and plenty of colors to mix and fine tune your specific match. It also has plastic sheets with different inverted vinyl patterns… more on these later. One more fancy tool in the kit is a small iron for finishing the repair. Start with your color, in this case black… or so it looks! Keep in mind that black may not just be black as years sitting in the sun may discolor the seats. I ended up using a milk jug cap for mixing as I didn’t need a lot my mixture. My mix started with black, and had a small amount of white and blue added in. Note: plan ahead! If you have several small cracks or tears, mix up enough of your mixture to cover them all so you don’t have to try and match what you have already done. Another note: keep in mind where your cracks are! If you have a tear that is near a window, you may be dealing with a slightly faded color from what would be closer to the floor. My suggestion is to assess the seat and start at the bottom. As you move toward an area that is more faded, add small amounts of white to dilute your original color. Once you’re happy with your color, drop a small dab of adhesive behind the tear and let it sit for a moment to set up. After that, spread a small amount of your color mixture onto the tear. Choose one of the plastic sheets with the inverted vinyl pattern that closely matches the grain of the seat. Lastly, put the selected pattern sheet over the area and use the supplied iron to heat the repair. Let it cool for a second and peel the pattern sheet off to show the repair. Granted, it’s not a perfect solution, but I definitely think that it’s miles better than just spreading glue over it and calling it good! While we’re at it, grab a clean bucket and fill it with some laundry detergent and warm water. I just scrubbed the upholstery with a soft hand brush until the stains started to lift. Between scrubbing, I used a shop-vac to remove the soiled water. Repeat as necessary. By now, the seats were looking pretty sharp but now it came down to small details. For example, the seat belt retaining strap: I went simple here and used some black dye and a small brush to work it into the strap. Overall, I’m very happy with how these two seats came out! The discoloring shown in the pictures are wet spots that later disappeared. Now, I just need to find a home for them as they’re good to go for another round of service!

^ Agreed! :thumbsup:

I could have, but already have four stuck on my toolbox in my shop.

1989, MJ, Eliminator 4.0L / 5 speed / D35 / SWB Build date: Illegible Current Location: Central MN Status: Very much picked over Notes: Would've been a nice truck in its day. Not much left of it now, though. Been sitting there for 280 days and they crush after a year. :( Current owner: French Lake Auto Parts in Annandale, MN

No new truck.

Yeah... I know... with me moving this summer and a huge waste of my time over another MJ, this poor thing got pushed to the back burner... then off of the stove completely and back into the freezer! I pick at it from time to time, but for now it's just going to have to wait. The way it sits now is mobile and for the most part assembled enough so I don't loose anything when we move. Sitting right next to it right now is my Beetle waiting to get its carb rebuilt. Darn thing dried up on me over this last winter. Always something with these VWs...

Thanks for posting everythng you have on this build. The detail shown is amazing! We deserved and I can't wait to see this thing finished.

Having a custom sized channel formed rather than going with tubing can be a huge cost effective way to go as well. Any good fab shop with a big enough press and shear can make whatever size you want keeping you from being limited to nominal sizes of tubing. Also, going that route, you can mix and match your material thicknesses and save on weight. Say you don't necessarily need to go 1/4" for everything... maybe just in the middle for a winch mount. Yet another benefit to the cost is that a lot of shops have smaller pieces of material kicking around that they love to get rid of so it doesn't clog up their racks... smaller pieces will save you big time from having to buy an entire sheet of steel when you don’t need it. Here's mine: For both the front and rear, they cost me $40 in material (granted, I worked at a fab shop at the time). The front weights in at around 120 with the winch (Warn 8024s are stupid heavy) and the rear weights about 75 without the tire on it. As far as time is concerned, I really didn't pay much attention as I just worked on it when I had time over my lunch breaks.

http://stcloud.craigslist.org/cto/2330462217.html

http://stcloud.craigslist.org/cto/2336396307.html

http://rmn.craigslist.org/cto/2345566150.html

Nice find!... again.

Either way they look great, but it's those silly little things that bug me about my projects. I'd take it back and get it done in flat.

... am tired of that Gimp getting away... slipper little guy!

Really, dude... you've got a real sharp truck. Is the tailgate still red?

:clapping:

Maroon. i just heard it was black. maybe they are talking about 2 diferent MJs... The guy told me it has a maroon interior... climbed up the car lift and everything when I was on the phone with him. :dunno:

Maroon.

^ I asked him about that too. My problem is that the truck is 150 miles away from me. If it were up the road, I'd push more for pulling parts. He's okay with parting it out, but the miles oesn't quite make it right with me.

Bad news bears... he called me back and said that the frame is so far gone that he can't open the doors when it's on a car lift. The rear axle is a 35 and it's *ahem* crunchy. I wasn't the first to call on it either. Four others apparently are interested in this thing so I told him that if he can get his full $400 out of it then great!... otherwise give me a call back and we'll see what happens.

Called the guy... left a message. He's got one of the coolest voice mail messages ever: "Sorry I didn't answer the phone... it's probably because I'm elbow deep in your car. Leave your name and number and I'll call you back when I find my way out." :rotf:

I'm on it!!