neohic

More trim today and a surprise “can you raise my desk?” project. Years ago when my wife started working from home I turned the storage loft into an office. Originally, I made a low desk to give her more room. Now she wanted a standard height desk for a standard height chair. You know… while I’m there. Thats pretty much the look the rest of the ceiling will have… eventually. Same as I did the kitchen with the dark trim running around the perimeter against the light ceiling, the trim for the wall cap had been finished for years and I just needed to install it.

YES!! Sure does! Proper winch for a CJ.

Do you think it’ll be ready for a shakedown run next Saturday? A small group of CJs are headed for China Wall in Florissant for the day.

I sure do love an ‘86 with an oddball drivetrain!

Probably enough trim for the next few years. This used to be a porch but I turned it into the kitchen during the remodel (rebuild?). The long wall has been a problem ever since I was hanging drywall knowing that it was going to be an issue with how the top plate was framed. It was the same problem but backwards when I was working on the siding that at one end of the wall the top plate stuck out a 1/2” at one end and was flush at the other. I had to get creative with the trim on trim, but otherwise the rest of the walls only needed the darker upper trim where it meets the ceiling. Odd to say, but my kitchen is currently finished!… for now. Finishing trim in a house has been the kiss of death for me in the past for when the ‘for sale’ sign goes back in the yard. Granted, I’ve got zero interest in leaving anytime soon, but theres maybe 40% of the trim to finish yet.

Flat tow the truck with the Subaru?

Decently priced too. https://www.craigslist.org/view/d/coeur-alene-1986-jeep-comanche-turbo/44XwCqozheVDC6wsfzfiMf

I made a weird toolbox because I need a mobile toolbox but I didn’t want to go buy a toolbox. It looks busy but I kinda dig it. Everything was on hand in my shop so sometimes it was very much designed based on which direction I looked first. Packs up tight for how much stuff there is in there! IMG_9569.mov

Geez! Did someone just keep a humidifier running 24/7 in that truck?

There was a DIY post on this a while back. Otherwise, TJ and JK flares have been talked about too. @1999MJ did it best with sanding his rear flares. Bunch of the pictures are dead but towards the end of the thread is where sanding the flares comes up.

Thanks, gang! CJs are awesome when they’re already a bit rough that nothing is sacred. I’ve got a completely different mentality when it comes to modifying this and my Eliminator, and it makes for a fun outlet! The only thing I wanted to keep with a spring swap was the charm of the Jeep and I think anything but leaf springs would’ve changed that. Coils would’ve performed better, but theres just something about those big ol’ rock fangs sticking out front.

We have liftoff! On this ramp, the measurements from the bottom to the hub have been 25”, 44”, and now 49” with the front tire being a vertical 30” from the ground. The little CJ kept traction the whole way up before I noticed that it had the left rear off the ground! Very pleased.

Glad everyone is okay.

Right?! “Oops!… I fell on it.”

Thanks, bros! Today started with some other shop stuff and then it dawned on me that I had a set of axles sitting under my carport that one had a 27 spline locker in it. The axles I’ve got are from the Jim Oshel Edition ‘86. Prior to that, these axles were in my old XJ. PRIOR prior to that, they were from another wheeler XJ in Minnesota. Lots of miles on these things and it’s crazy that I ended up with them again. As for the locker itself, I would’ve put that in the axle when it was under my Cherokee WAY back (11? 12 years ago?) when it was 1000 miles away in another state. These axles are really like the car part equivalent to getting anti seize on your forearm… just keeps coming back around. As for moving that little Aussie locker to the CJ, I found a bunch of junk along the way. Sure… it had fluid in it… but anytime I’ve ever thought about the front axle it was typically right before heading off somewhere and it was very much, “Yup! Theres fluid on it!” and that was that. I found a near milkshake of very watery fluid and some wasted u-joints. Not completely horrible?… not awesome though. It all came apart easy and right back together with new joints. It even got a fancy 3/8” cover thats been kicking around in my parts pile for years. Had to flip around the steering stabilizer to make everything fit happily. What I need to do yet is add a way longer vent line. So, anyway… I wasn’t planning on putting a locker in the CJ today… but… here we are.

Quite the before and after! It is SO satisfying when a project gets wrapped up and everything just works! I could’ve gotten higher on the ramp but I ran out of traction. Next on the list should really be a front locker to go along with the rear limited slip. The rear shocks are sized perfectly but the front are long enough that they definitely leave some travel on the table. That’s okay though! Without inverting the leafs, thats about as you can push a set of YJ springs. Road manners will take some getting used to that it’ll lean over much more than it did if you really push it around a corner. Otherwise, the ride quality is great for what it is! We’ll see how these cheap springs will last but I think the Bilstein shocks were the right call. I really need to get this on a trail.

Thanks, Carter!

Hell yeah! Let the mods begin!!

One week YJ swap is done! Heavy tacks went over everything so I could put the CJ on its own weight. Lower shock mounts were wrapped up too. Currently, ride height is slightly lower but pretty much the same. With the wheel spacers on, the rear hub to hub width is now 54.5” and the front is 56.25”. Wheelbase is a WHOPPING 84.5”!! The last parts that needed to get made were the inner frame plating for above the spring mounts, and then a bunch of welding. Nice to get things wrapped up with paint and assembly! Next step is to get it back on the flex ramp to see where we landed!

I took the weekend off from CJ things. Back on to the rear today though. All of the brackets came off just as easy as the fronts, however I will forever be (rightfully) skittish using a torch around a fuel tank. For the rear shackles, I reused the old ones but cut out the center stiffener and drilled them out for 9/16” hardware. Bump stop measurements went the same as the fronts too. The axle got jacked up until the majority of the spring was flat and everything else was set from there. I did notice that the rear has some flex steer that pushes the axle towards the rear. The body/inner fender got trimmed for a little more clearance. We’ll call it rust removal. There’s plenty of room for shocks in the rear compared to the front, but I didn’t like how the factory upper mount would’ve made the shock hang down if I had kept it like originally planned. The pocket the upper mount lives in between the frame and the body leaves enough room to push it up some. The pinch seam got a little notch in it similar to how early Broncos do to get the shocks higher. Otherwise, the lower mount is just a stud welded to the spring plate. Moving right along. Maybe done tomorrow?

That Viper is actually pretty cool! He drives the thing everywhere and it has 214k on it.

I did the same cars and coffee event this morning and it was a way better turn out! Had to style out the truck a bit too.

I’m calling this one exotic based on the weird and rareness of it. 1986 Mustang SVO with a turbo 2.3. I love it!