neohic

Thats what I started with for the original cover. It was a Rain Gear brand but it was for a YJ. The for was never great around the windshield, but it was good material to work with when I trimmed it down to fit. They make a great product!… but they don’t make one for an early CJ.

Please do!

With springtime trying really hard to come around, I wanted to address the old rain cover. About this time last year we got some gnarly hail and it trashed the old cover. It was kept around because it was better than nothing. The new top is made of a thinner material, but it is waterproof. I made it inside out so the seams would be easier to work with. Reinforcement patches where the straps would go were added along with some marine vinyl where there could be a wear spot. After final sewing it fit great! In the future, I’ll try and keep an eye on any heavier weather and park it under my carport if need be. We’ll see how it lasts. Hopefully the thinner material holds up.

I welcome it!

Funny enough, a bunch of parts in that truck came out of my old XJ that also got around from owner to owner!

I lost track of how many times the truck changed hands between you and me. Maybe three? Four? Interesting way of “extending” that input shaft though.

Heck yeah!! More CJ content on CC!!

Dang, dude! Can’t believe how clean this truck is.

Fridge hauler 5000 today.

Dang, dude. Looking great! That is a ton of work you’re getting done.

After getting back from Moab I noticed a puddle of brake fluid under the left rear wheel. I swapped out both of the wheel cylinders today along with finally compounded and quick waxed the truck for the first time in a very long while. Mmm… always worth that extra look back.

Welcome back! Yours has been an awesome build from the start and I’m glad that you’ve still got it. Thanks for checking in! Looking forward to more updates.

Option 2… should be able to rotate it away from the started. Be sure to inspect the o rings in there when you have it apart too.

I see what you did there.

Interesting. I wonder if the Jeep rep was referring to the production process? I suppose I can see a 3D printed part being used as a carbon fiber mold. They definitely were very rigid.

Dang!

Partial clean up day. I brought it to the car wash, took a cleanup cut and respooled the winch cable, put the rear driveshaft back in, and I fixed the bikini top. A couple of the hook and loop straps pulled through the canvas from hanging in there from highway speeds. It was only the middle two but I reinforced all four rear straps with marine vinyl. I need to make a plan for making a new rain cover soon.

Heck yeah!

Had an awesome trip! I’d describe it as the most terrible yet greatest road-trip in the CJ. White Comanche is xjrev10. Austin hasn’t been on here in a while. He even asked me, “Is Comanche Club even a thing anymore?”

All of the concept Jeeps are very much functioning show cars. Very cool to see them!… but I’d say that the bodywork hides a lot of things. These things photograph well, however as they age they start to show cracks in body filler. Also, the rigs that are all out custom compared to something like this XJ seem to get more attention during the build as far as quality. It definitely is functional, but I wouldn’t call it an all-out build what with the off the shelf suspension and wheels along with the choice to keep the Dana 30 and 35. The coolest part of the Cherokee is easily the fender flares, but they’re also held on with sheet metal screws over a pop riveted quarter panel. They look like they’re 3D printed and they’re very solid! I think the rocker protection looked pretty slick but I’m not sure I would land them on a rock. No idea what the deal is with the Bluetooth rear driveshaft. It was very cool that the Jeep rep I spoke with at the booth brought me around in the back after I told her that I was little bummed that it wasn’t on display. After talking with her for a bit, we got into the SCCA trucks and she knew the Archer Brothers through their Eagle Talon days! Neat to have that common ground. She was also apologetic over the upside down grill.

After the long… VERY… long day getting there, Monday started with tracking down a couple turkey pans. Originally I had the idea to take two and clamshell around the muffler to contain more heat. The biggest pans they had were big enough so only one was used to shield the fuel pump. The temperature sensor for the gauge got resealed as well. It did pretty good but the CJ burbled a couple times throughout the day. After running trails all day I added a fresh air in and outlet. That might be the ticket. I had zero running issues on the trail Tuesday and this poor little CJ definitely got a workout. More on that in a bit. While roaming around town Monday morning, I had the absolute pleasure of meeting a for-real personal hero by chance. This is Tim. Tim was 19 when he volunteered to sign up for the Expedción de las Américas in 1978 with Mark Smith. If you’re not familiar, this is an easy topic to rabbit hole down, but the gist is a group of dudes ran their Jeeps from the southern most point of South America all the way up through Alaska. Watch here: Meeting Tim was awesome and really took the edge off Monday morning after a sketchy drive the day before. He’s an amazing guy filled with stories and he’s not afraid to jump in his CJ7 and just pick a direction and go. Tim easily made this trip worth it and made me proud that I decided to drive it all the way. Let’s talk about EJS. I was fully expecting the whole town and trails to be a zoo, but it really wasn’t! This is an event that you make as busy as you want it to be. Planned trail rides can be scheduled ahead of time but we just ventured around on our own barely seeing anyone else on the trails. Knowing where the scheduled trail days is important if you want to have a quiet day on the trail. As for being in the downtown area, this seems to be consistently busy. Not overly crowded but busy. I would recommend spending at least one day in town during the week to roam around to sit and just watch the constant show of custom and recognizable rigs going up and down the main drag. Tip of the cap to the local PD for keeping a cap on anyone being an idiot on the road. DO NOT SPEED!… they have zero tolerance for the anything and it makes total sense for the amount of people in the area. If you have any interest in going to EJS, do not be discouraged by anyone who says that it’s too busy or that every trail is overcrowded. Go! Be prepared for a somewhat pricey hotel if you choose to go that route, but definitely go. Monday: Onion Creek and Kokopelli Loop. We did great! I met up with an old friend from Minnesota and we ventured out. Beautiful day. Onion Creek is a scenic trail that is very easy. We didn’t get to the trailhead until late morning due to running around town. The trail winds around the creek and there’s constant crossings. You’re at a daily low elevation for the area but Kokopelli winds up and up and up into the snow. Eventually you make your way back to pavement and back to town. Tuesday: Kane Creek and Fins N Things. This turned into a hard day at times. Kane Creek is another fairly easy and beautiful trail and also winds around the bottom of a valley with lots of water crossings. Things were moving a lot more than Onion Creek and the water was over a foot deep in spots. Made it fun to go splashing through! Prior to heading towards Moab, I was talking with the rest of the group and the term “CJ friendly” was brought up multiple times. If you know Kane Creek, then you know about Hamburger Hill. I’d call this CJ friendly but only if you’re confident in your rig, it’s got at least 33s (although I’d recommend at least 35s), and at least one locker. Mine?… I’ve got barely the minimum of the list with my 33s and limited slip rear axle. There was a group of Suzukis in front of us that let me know that I was in trouble. I was obviously the little guy amongst 35-40” tires and much longer wheelbases. There’s no shame in using your winch either! What’s the use in dragging it around if it doesn’t get used from time to time?! I spent Hamburger Hill on the hook and I’m extremely grateful for my larger trail mates acting as anchor points. The second half of the trail went back to being easy as the remainder of the obstacles were tight for the bigger rigs but easy for my short wheelbase. Fins N Things was just as expected as it always is. I like this trail at the end of the day because the obstacles are as challenging as you want them to be due to the bypasses and there’s multiple exit points if you want to duck out early. We showed up just after the Jeep concept vehicle presentation was getting done so we saw them all leaving the entrance as we went in. Very cool! By Wednesday my clutch knee was just about shot. It was a drizzly day off and on so I took the opportunity to just wander around town. In the morning, it just about felt like I had the whole town to myself! The afternoon was spent doing some parking lot things getting the CJ in trailer mode. Yup… I chickened out on the return leg back home. This allowed me to go back through Vail pass to the twisty mountain roads and enjoy the scenery without having my foot to the floor the entire time. The drive home felt like it was done in record time compared to getting there! After dropping off the U-Haul I took a quick damage report. I honestly don’t remember banging around on the transmission crossmember enough to twist it around as much as I did, but I recall exactly when I could’ve sworn I took out my rear driveshaft. Close call there! There’s a few good scratches on the rock sliders and I couldn’t seen to keep the rear leaf spring shackles off the rocks. I’ve got a list of things needing attention. Overall, what an amazing solo trip. I’m glad I experienced Easter Jeep but I’m not sure if I need to go in the future. My buddy kept pointing out YouTubers to me that I kept shrugging my shoulder at, but it was cool seeing the internet known vehicles all the same. Again, if you’ve got interest in this event then you should experience it at least once! It turned into a long four days and I’m glad to be home. Good job, little buddy.

Absolutely. Coming from the east, 70 going through Denver and then climbing up and over Vail can be a bit rough. I just did it yesterday headed home. It’s a very scenic drive!… but maybe avoid the mountains if you’re concerned.

No idea what my plan is yet if this happens. Everybody keeps telling me how near perfect my truck would’ve been for Moab four months ago.