Shane Posted October 10, 2010 Share Posted October 10, 2010 :cheers: That is alot of progress in less than a year. No matter how nice it looks, there will always be something simple that you will want to change. Atleast that is the way I am. Hey man, I am right up the road from you (in Rockwell). Take it easy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rymanrph Posted October 10, 2010 Author Share Posted October 10, 2010 :cheers: That is alot of progress in less than a year. No matter how nice it looks, there will always be something simple that you will want to change. Atleast that is the way I am. Hey man, I am right up the road from you (in Rockwell). Take it easy What does your Comanche look like? I've probably seen you around before. I usually spot other Comanches when I'm driving my Wrangler. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rymanrph Posted October 14, 2010 Author Share Posted October 14, 2010 I got my first firewall patch done. This is what the hole looked like after i cut it out: And here it is with the patch in place: I may add a couple more rivets, but I'm going to seam seal the edges on both sides when I'm done. I think what I'll do for the steering column hole is this: Cut the general area out of the MJ, cut a large patch from the XJ. Then I'll slide the patch onto the steering column and bolt it up. Then I can mark exactly where it needs to go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rymanrph Posted October 20, 2010 Author Share Posted October 20, 2010 Work continues on the firewall patches. Hopefully I'll have some progress to report on this week. In the mean time, here is some eye candy: (Dexter couldn't help but put his nose on it) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sinkrun Posted October 21, 2010 Share Posted October 21, 2010 :drool: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryno56 Posted October 21, 2010 Share Posted October 21, 2010 awesome progress so far, I have some of the same elaborate plans for mine. i know you haven't gotten there yet but what are your plans for the doors? I have donor doors from a '98 xj and can't decide how to mount the strikers in order to make them adjustable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rymanrph Posted October 23, 2010 Author Share Posted October 23, 2010 I'm swapping the doors too from the XJ. There are a couple people on here that have and there are a couple write-ups as well. It will be one of the later things I do cause the XJ is still out in the driveway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rymanrph Posted November 23, 2010 Author Share Posted November 23, 2010 Well, its been a while, but I've made some progress. here is a shot of all the driver side patches on the firewall: I got the motor pulled and here is a shot of the empty engine bay with the seam sealer on the patches: And a shot of the fresh paint: Tomorrow I'll start labeling the engine bay harness in the cherokee before I pull it. Once I get the harness in place, thing should start to go pretty quickly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rymanrph Posted December 2, 2010 Author Share Posted December 2, 2010 After much work and hours, the dashboard is finally done. Everything is connected; I swapped the VINs from the old dash, all the heater controls and the wiring harness plugs are connected. I will probably end up taking pieces off here and there to clean or re-dye. The passenger airbag cover looks like crap. The guy who I bought the XJ from bought the replacement airbag, but never installed it. So it just tumbled around the back getting all scratched up. I'm not even sure the driver airbag is for an XJ, it just doesn't fit well at all. The only other thing I'm not very happy with is the gap on the sides. The A-pillar pieces will fill some of that, but that's a close as I could get it to fit. Sorry for this one turning out so blurry. I haven't decided if I'm going to keep working on the interior or move back to the engine bay next. Its slowly coming together. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
btm24 Posted December 2, 2010 Share Posted December 2, 2010 WOW looks great! I still can't believe that ya'll do this much fab work to make somthing happen. looks great! keep it up Brandon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rymanrph Posted December 17, 2010 Author Share Posted December 17, 2010 Our power went out at work yesterday, so I had some time to get things moved over from the XJ. On the interior I've got the e-brake and air bag controller swapped over. I've also moved over the interior wiring harness and I'm sorting through it. Here's a shot of what I've been able to accomplish in the engine bay: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knever3 Posted December 18, 2010 Share Posted December 18, 2010 Good work, it's a long road but it's worth the effort in the end!! As for me I like the old style dash, I had two XJ's and I liked the new style too, just in an XJ. I have seen a few of these done and the only thing I would change is the steering column surround plastic. It's wayyyy to large and doesn't seem to fit the interior. I never took mine apart but come on, does it really have to be that big? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
87Warrior Posted January 2, 2011 Share Posted January 2, 2011 Good work. I have secretly been watching your build for a long time, but never posted. You are moving a long quite nicely! Question: What are you using for windshield wipers/linkage? I know adapting the XJ plug to the MJ motor would be simple, but what about using the new style linkage/motor? A page or two back you mentioned something about utilizing the XJ's sheet metal around the fuse panel. Is there any reason you are choosing not to simply drill and install the 2 (or 3) bolts/studs on the passenger side A-pillar/kick panel? Or where you referring to the patch panel over the old MJ fusebox location? When thinning down the XJ interior harness, make sure to not cut the cross over harness (runs near the back seat) for the doors. Keep up the good work. You are nearing the stage of the build I am looking most forward to: Electrical :yes: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rymanrph Posted January 2, 2011 Author Share Posted January 2, 2011 Good work. I have secretly been watching your build for a long time, but never posted. You are moving a long quite nicely! Question: What are you using for windshield wipers/linkage? I know adapting the XJ plug to the MJ motor would be simple, but what about using the new style linkage/motor? A page or two back you mentioned something about utilizing the XJ's sheet metal around the fuse panel. Is there any reason you are choosing not to simply drill and install the 2 (or 3) bolts/studs on the passenger side A-pillar/kick panel? Or where you referring to the patch panel over the old MJ fusebox location? When thinning down the XJ interior harness, make sure to not cut the cross over harness (runs near the back seat) for the doors. Keep up the good work. You are nearing the stage of the build I am looking most forward to: Electrical :yes: I'm going to use all of the XJ wiper stuff. My comanche wipers had so much slop in them, its just going to be easier to move every thing over. For the Fuse panel, I did a combination of things. I patched the hole where the antennae for the radio came through and then I use bolts and nuts on the top and a large thread bolt on the bottom. Where the bolt goes through is a pocket, so instead of drilling a hole through one piece of metal, spanning the gap and drilling through another, I just used a bolt that would thread in the sheet metal. I was going to cut the whole panel out of the XJ, but that seemed like too much work. I just put the kick panel on the fuse panel and marked where it needed to be then drilled my holes. The wiring is what has really slowed my progress, but hopefully I will have that sorted out soon. Yesterday I got the engine pretty much ready to pull from the XJ, but it was raining and started to get dark, so I couldn't finish. I pretty sure I'm going to do the new gas tank without the slosh pan and the Copperhead Fab adapter ring, so I need to go ahead and order those. At some point, I need to order my new 4wd AW4 and transfer case from the JY. I'm possibly considering a 242 so that I can use 4wd in heavy rains and the occasional snow, but I don't have any of the linkage for it, so I might just stick with the 231. We'll see. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rymanrph Posted January 5, 2011 Author Share Posted January 5, 2011 Good news: I got the motor in the truck (pictures tonight). I also ordered my 4wd AW4 and NP242 and I'll pick that up on Saturday. Tonight I will probably go ahead and order my slosh tray-less gas tank and adapter ring and maybe my headlight upgrade stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rymanrph Posted January 6, 2011 Author Share Posted January 6, 2011 So... got the engine out: on its way to its new home: and here it is in the MJ (and yes, that's the starter in the battery tray): Its sitting a little high in the front cause I don't have a transmission connected to it (so no trans mount). I've got most things connected. I still have to run the fuel lines, fab new lines from the brake master to the proportioning valve and several other small things. The only casualty of moving was the dipstick. The pull handle broke off, how I don't know. I got the gas tank out of the Comanche. My transmission and transfer case should be in tomorrow, but I won't be able to pick them up until Saturday. Progress continues. It won't be too much longer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
87Warrior Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 :banana: yeee-haaaw Did your chain locations do any damage to the oil pan? I like being able to pull with all accessories still mounted to the front. I could not figure out how to do that when pulling the MJ's 4.0. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rymanrph Posted January 6, 2011 Author Share Posted January 6, 2011 :banana: yeee-haaaw Did your chain locations do any damage to the oil pan? I like being able to pull with all accessories still mounted to the front. I could not figure out how to do that when pulling the MJ's 4.0. Not that I can tell. Course, its pretty dark in my garage, so I'll have to check again. It seemed to work really well for me. And like you said, its nice to be able to move the whole engine with all the accessories. That definitely saved me a lot of time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rymanrph Posted January 11, 2011 Author Share Posted January 11, 2011 I made a trip down to the junk yard on Saturday and picked up the following items: '97 4wd AW4 '97 NP 242 They also had a u-pull it section of the yard and scored the shifter and linkage for the 242, a passenger airbag cover to replace my scratched up one (yay!) and new battery tray since mine is cracked, a transfer case skid plate (I'd never seen one before), a vacuum canister and lines and part of the interior wiring harness to light up the 4wd bezel all for $35. I started working on the new transmission last night. They cut all the cables and wires off of it, so I'm having to swap everything over from my 2wd unit (I hope everything works the same...). My new gas tank was supposed to come yesterday, but the snow and ice kept UPS away. This cold weather is making me impatient. I'm ready to get this project done! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
87Warrior Posted January 11, 2011 Share Posted January 11, 2011 good score on the parts! I am really looking forward to hearing your impression of the fuel tank, then ring set up; as I will follow suite. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rymanrph Posted January 11, 2011 Author Share Posted January 11, 2011 :rock on: good score on the parts! I am really looking forward to hearing your impression of the fuel tank, then ring set up; as I will follow suite. I've borrowed plenty advise from others, so I'm hoping my experience can help some others who might think about doing this swap. I have no doubt that this will work, I'm just a little curious to see how it affects the accuracy of the gauge. I spoke to Copperhead Fab and my ring should have shipped yesterday, so I figure I may have it before the end of the week, but most likely it will be the first of next week (its going coast to coast). The parts I'm still looking out for are: Electric Fan (one of the mounting tabs is gone and one of the three support "stalks" is broken) Airbag Clockspring (I have a bag, but no clockspring. Most people won't sell them separately, so I might have to buy both) Cruise Control Switch - left side (I think the bag blowing broke the mounting tab on it. I still have it and it probably works, just flops around) Fan Shroud? (I have the one for the MJ; is it the same for the newer XJs?) 2dr window and door switches Luckily none of those will keep me from being able to finish most everything and get it running. I've been following your progress to see if you'll beat me to the finish haha. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
87Warrior Posted January 11, 2011 Share Posted January 11, 2011 I've been following your progress to see if you'll beat me to the finish haha. :rotfl2: I get to take everything apart again to get it blasted/painted... which will take about 6 months (my body shop guy is slower than a snail, but does phenomenal work). I'll wager that you will be driving your truck as I am setting the drivetrain in place :rotf: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rymanrph Posted January 11, 2011 Author Share Posted January 11, 2011 That's one thing I'm dreading. I know I want mine painted, but the last time I had a car painted it took 16 weeks. I've only put about 2k miles on this truck since I bought it over a year ago, so I think I'm going to want some seat time in it for a while before I take it out of commission again to get painted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rymanrph Posted January 13, 2011 Author Share Posted January 13, 2011 Today I made some progress. I swapped all the wiring and cables over from the 2wd '97 AW4 to the 4wd '97 AW4. I'm still trying to figure out if my harness has a plug for the 4wd indicator. So far, I haven't found one. I put in a new filter as well; tomorrow I will put the pan back on and work on the input and output seals. Also, my new gas tank came in today. Still waiting on the copperhead fab adapter ring. Any body have any ideas on how to seal off the old hole for the pump/sender assembly? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ohiostate454 Posted January 27, 2011 Share Posted January 27, 2011 I just read your whole post and by far one of my favorite MJs I have seen so far on here. :yes: :popcorn: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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