neohic

I washed my wife’s car today which got me thinking about the Comet wash from last year. How’s it holding up? August, 2019: Today: Meh... not terrible?... but not red either. It doesn’t have that chalky feel to it before the Comet but it obviously hasn’t kept the color. Whatever. Maybe I’ll hit it with another bottle of NuFinish... maybe.

Hell yeah!!

Bump for an update? Nick hasn’t been around here for a couple years but it’d still be nice to see what happened next.

Okay... NOW my roof is totally done. That is, until I figure gutters, anyhow. Tough to see but I trimmed out where my exterior lights are going to go also. Then I got rained out for what looks like the rest of the day... as per usual for trying to work on a weekend.

The retaining wall and garage floor were poured at the same time. Carport, apron, and walkway between the retaining wall and the garage floor were poured the following day.

Interesting. Didn’t know the TJ mini console was a thing. Neat!

I don’t necessarily have a year to complete, but I did have to ask for a six month extension due to me not having any inspections of activity that the county knew about over the entire winter. The structure is really all they care about until I have my “final”. I have until October before I’ll need to pay for an extension... hopefully I’ll have my permit satisfied by then. Really I just need to have an inspector out to have a look at things. Good catch with the tree too, Brent! It was my intent to see growth with taking my pictures in the same spot every time.

Plans for the doors?

You're right! Done and done.

Damn shame. He was a wealth of knowledge and a real gentleman from the times I've passed messages with him. You will be missed.

Any idea the story behind this carcass? Truck looks familiar.

Another day of sneaking in time between needing to get other stuff done and dodging the weather. Three sides are totally done minus slinging some silicone around the window frames. Almost forgot about the snow bars still needing to get on the roof... I found those tucked in a corner. Still a long road ahead.

Perhaps. Not quite on my radar just yet. I need to get the other structure up and basic wiring done so I can get my building permit over with.

Main color of the siding started today. Got three sides wrapped up very quickly as the majority of the trim was already done. Kind of plain color choices in hindsight but it’s not like I’m going to change it. Not much for color opportunities when ordering pole barn siding. Had there been something between the gray roof and black as the next option?... would’ve done that. Something between red and tan for the walls?... yup. The neighbor’s house on either side is a lighter brown so I guess it’ll just blend in. Hopefully more to come tomorrow. I need to finish the gable on the back wall, finish around the windows, and obviously the front of the shed. Then on to the carport. Landscaping, some bushes, and trees should jazz it up a little more too. Maybe next year.

Very sharp.

Seems like every weekend lately has me working on something I wasn’t planning on or helping someone else for a day. Then the next day is spent on the shed, fighting the wind, and just generally not feeling like I got much done. This was another one of those weekends. Last weekend was another yet. Managed to get some paint on the the trim on the front of the shed a week ago. Trimmed out and almost finished the wainscoting today. Feels like eating a whale. I matched the brown from the windows. Didn’t want to bring in another color to the mix. Still need to decide what to do for finishing the big doors but it’ll probably include cutting some panels and painting them white to match the walk door.

As do I. The T5 was an option in the CJ7s and it’s the same dimensions of the T4. Part of me is hoping to just stumble across someone doing a full drivetrain swap and is looking to get rid of their 258/T5/Dana 300 combo. That’d be almost a bolt in deal. Guy us can wish anyhow.

Very true.

Now there’s an interesting thought. To me this feels a bit like going backwards minus the 420 though. 1972 was the first year of AMC really taking the reins and added the inline six. At times I really wish my CJ was just a few years older that I’d show zero remorse about dropping in any GM V6. Replacing an AMC 258 with a Buick 225 just feels... wrong. Any opinions on the T5 transmission? I know they aren’t the most desirable but the majority of the driving this Jeep sees is pavement. I’d like to see this turn into a vehicle I can pick a direction and just go. If mild wheeling is in my way of the perfect campsite then so be it.

The little CJ got another band aid today to push off serious thought into a drivetrain swap. Right now I’m leaning towards a 4.0 swap as I was way back when this thread started. My goal is still to turn my little CJ into a real driver... overdrive is a part of this equation. I still don’t have the wheelbase for an AX15 and still have a decent amount of room for a rear driveshaft. So much of the time I get into a dire situation and a good solution just presents itself. Fingers crossed that’s the case when the engine decides that enough is enough. Keep juggling changing everything when the time comes or just leaving well enough alone that got it here from 45 years ago. Anyhow... I digress. Pics for clicks.

Had to go back and revisit the “way back” machine. Years ago, two addresses ago, and a few states away from where it was put together... twins! I’ve got more pictures from when it was thrown together should you want them. What are your plans for its next step?

... for now.

I feel as though this little Jeep got yet another extension on its borrowed time with this drivetrain. Lately I’ve been dreading the feel of the clutch and the effort and timing it takes to shift from gear to gear. Assuming that the clutch was on its way out and that was that I’ve just been sour about the CJ. On a whim I crawled under it this morning and had a look at the pushrod adjustment. “Surely it can’t have much left to give!” ... but it had enough. The clutch feels great again! I took about a half inch of slop out of the linkage. Then I rolled over to find a big drip of brake fluid rolling down the front left tire. See, back when I put disk brakes on the front it was just a kit we had on the shelf at the four wheel shop I was working at. Who knows what the brake hoses were for?! I took one off and brought I over to my buddy at the local Napa. We looked up different applications, looked through catalogues, started opening boxes, and we finally found a couple perfect hoses that were about an inch shorter than I had. Low and behold, they turned out being for a late ‘70s CJ5/7/8... go figure. In any case, the brakes feel great and my clutch is functional again. Still waiting for the other shoe to drop for the engine to yard sale on me.

That was a super fun day with Rob. At the time I had a couple long bed trucks around the yard so I pulled measurements from those based on where his frame was already cut. He showed up early and we cranked it out like it was a precision military exercise. Disregard the “extra” leaf spring perches.

I had a great time building that trailer with Rob years back. Glad it went to a good home.