neohic

In the build thread the guy said that he got it with an extra engine. :dunno:

THIS TRUCK

Here we go again! Got a day trip planned for the 12th down to Appleton. :banana:

Real nice, Bo. :thumbsup:

No... they only get people in trouble. :shake:

Eek... facebook strikes again in the form of dead picture links. :fs2: I'm still picking at this thing from time to time. Got the bug to do something with it this weekend in the form of a front bumper.

Made a few more helping hands this weekend while working on my dune buggy. The tube bender wasn't cooperating... mostly a gravity issue. The fix... And then this little guy came in hand when copying angles...

Poor thing. :(

You know you're the first one I'm calling when I'm in the neighborhood. . :MJ 1: .

:yes:

That's funny... I need a good wheeling trip again too. :D

Ah... but Chipotle originated in Denver. Pretty sure a good burrito trumps a taco any day. :thumbsup:

Sure hope you have a genuine CO Comanche available for purchase when I get out there, Jim!... crooked fog lights or not... I'm not too picky on that. :D Getting back to the idea of finding a fun job out there, I came to the conclusion that it might be fun join a local 4x4 forum. Sure hope it doesn't interfere with spending a proper amount to time here. :shake:

Funny thing is that this is one of the biggest problems I have with where we are now is actually a lack of people... well, people in my age demographic. :idea: I'm in a retirement community. Some (Rob) might argue that this is the perfect place for me what with my lack of interest in most modern things. It was just a couple weeks ago that I finally gave in and got myself a smart phone! :eek: Don't get me wrong, I like hangin' with the older crowd... for the most part. But when it comes to really spending time with others and trying to make friends, this place has sure been lonely. Out in CO? Sure... I know that there is probably an older crowd as well. Tell you one thing though, I can think of at least one stand-up type of elderly gentleman that I'd like to make myself closer friends with! :D

Getting back to thinking about things. Wifey has nine months of school left and then... :dunno:

Fixed again. Ready for more.

Few more pictures... ... ugh... text over pictures. :shake:

I hear big tires are good for that! :laughin:

Off topic but... holy crap! Been a while since we've seen you around, MrSimon! :waving:

Looks awfully comfy. :drool: Another nice one, Jay! Way to go!

Absolutely! The group I was with is planning on Dresser in early October. Maybe looking into another event around Backus in late September? I might even be going down to Appleton this coming weekend. Just can't get enough lately, I guess. :D

:bowdown:

What a marathon this weekend turned into. :shake: Spending time with friends... working on the Jeep... road trip... By definition, this all works out to the perfect weekend. However, here's what actually happened... We left Friday morning just about on time to meet up with another guy for the first leg of the drive. The plan was to drive up to Gilbert a bit of an indirect way but with the possibility of meeting up with another Jeep along the way. Well, we made it to our first stop off the interstate along with a giant white cloud. My first thought after seeing a dump truck along the side of the road was, "Hu! I bet that guy has some real issues!" Very soon after, I realized that the giant white cloud of smoke was actually coming from the underside of my Jeep. Bummer... fortunately, we were planning on stopping at my parent's place which was conveniently just over a mile away. I crawl under it... not good. Everything is drippy and burning on the exhaust! Goofy thing about it was that we couldn't tell what it was right away! Oil? Maybe... it's kind of brownish. Tranny fluid? Maybe... it doesn't smell like oil. There wasn't any loss of power from the engine or slipping from the transmission, but a decision needed to be made regardless. Diagnose, fix, and continue on or throw in the towel and call the weekend a fail? Everything cooled for a bit and was kinda-sorta wiped clean to address the situation. Transmission... and it's bad. Fluid wasn't even on the stick as it was hemorrhaging from inside the bellhousing. Not good... very not good. Time for an impromptu transmission swap. :fs2: My dad was finishing some interior doors at the time and he just hung about a garage stall's worth. Perfect timing, I guess. Pulled the trans... found a trans... got fluid and a filter... installed the trans... tested the trans (briefly)... cannonball it north about 200 miles. Sounds fun, right? Again... that whole "by definition" thing. This put us six hours late getting to camp. We rolled into camp around 10:00 at night then had a real fun time setting up tents. All this came down to the fact that this weekend was supposed to be all about wheeling and that's exactly what we planned to do. Finally had the chance to go out on the trails with Austin. We've only been taking about it for a few years now. :yes: Couldn't help but feel left out following two MJs on the trail. Really felt like I wasn't one of the cool kids for a while there. Not even a couple hours into the day, we ran into more trouble. The guy in the Jurassic Park XJ got high centered real bad. I made a couple of attempts at the same ledge but the difference between myself and him was that he trailers his Jeep everywhere. His dad came up from behind to try and give him a gentle tug off the rocks... ... and then some more unfortunate events occurred. One custom crossmember, coming up! He ended up being able to limp it back to camp but that was the end of his weekend as a driver. That meant that my family truckster of a station wagon was fully loaded for the remainder of the day. That's not to say that the rest of the day was without issues. They were minor, but issues none the less. Note to self... get leaf spring clamps to keep them from twisting around and hitting the inside of the tires. :doh: I'm sure there will be more pictures soon. Again, "by definition" it was a good weekend... and it mostly was. I'll take a bad weekend of wheeling over a week of work any time! We were happy enough, the Jeep was still running and able to get us home, and we're already planning for the next round. ... seems happy enough to be back home with his buddy the shed, anyhow. :laughin:

:thumbsup:

I don't think I ever properly looked over the body on this thing before. BONDO?! What kind of jalopy did you trade me, Austin?! :fs2: :rotf: Anyhow, ready for another round of rocks. Gilbert bound Friday morning. The old sliders up on the roof are being gifted to a fellow XJ Jeeper. They're still very usable, but it'll take some work with a grinder to make them nice again. Otherwise, the mounts are nice yet and the rest of them can just be used as a template. Regardless, very happy to have them gone and proper tube rockers in place. Oh... note to self, with the newly added height in the rear, always put the high lift on the roof AFTER it's out of the garage. :doh: Tools are loaded, gear is yet to be packed, yet I'm already mentally more than ready to go. :banana: