87Warrior Posted January 16, 2012 Author Share Posted January 16, 2012 Yella, thank you for the tip. I have done a lot of reading about the weld in rockers and hadn't come across the angled recommendation. This truck is not and will not be a trail rig. That's what my TJ is for. The reason I am doing the weld in rockers is because it should be easier, cheaper and faster than trying to weld in a new inner rocker and outer rocker skin. I will certainly take pictures of the process I use :cheers: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thunderbear Posted January 18, 2012 Share Posted January 18, 2012 Got any pictures/more info on the 86 header/fender issues? I'll be running into that.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
87Warrior Posted January 18, 2012 Author Share Posted January 18, 2012 Got any pictures/more info on the 86 header/fender issues? I'll be running into that.. No pictures, only busted knuckles :ack: The driver fender took me 2 hours to remove. Passenger side was less than 20 minutes, most of which time was spent pulling apart the corroded antenna. It is also important to note that I left the flares and plastic inner fender liner attached. To detach the fender from the header panel you must remove two forward facing nuts from two studs that are attached to the header. These studs go through the front of the fender and are only accessible between the inner fender well and inner fender liner. Naturally, the studs twisted out of the header instead of the nuts coming off. You will also need to remove the plastic and metallic bezel around the turn signal indicator. Unbolt the fender bracket from the from the frame. Then remove the torx bolts along the length of the fender under the hood, two near the door hinges and then two more at the bottom of the fender at the rocker (just plan on cutting/grinding these out). There will be three more torx behind the header that need removed which attach the front of the fender to the inner fender well. To do this I removed 4 nuts along the top of the header panel and shoved a small 1/4" ratchet with torx bit behind the headlight buckets that are part of the header panel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zenobian_84 Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 Impressive truck, if you look past the rust that is. ;) Really diggin on your plans for it and that cool winch. Most importantly, i'm insanely jealous of the tilt steering. :fs1: :brows: Gonna keep an eye on your build.. :wrench: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
87Warrior Posted January 22, 2012 Author Share Posted January 22, 2012 Red Rocker79 said: Impressive truck, if you look past the rust that is. ;) Really diggin on your plans for it and that cool winch. Most importantly, i'm insanely jealous of the tilt steering. :fs1: :brows: Gonna keep an eye on your build.. :wrench: Thanks! Want to swap steering columns? I really like the factory 'fixed' position and that is where this tilt column will ride. If somebody else could benefit from the tilt, I would be more than happy to help an MJ brother out :brows: Today I started cutting out the driver side rocker. This went way to fast as the metal is VERY thin on this side. I think we will need to reinforce the mounting/weld locations with some flat stock. You can see the crud which fell out of the rocker (most of it used to be the inner rocker). I stopped at the pinch seam since that is where the thickest metal on the bottom side of the rocker is located. My buddy notified me of some possible scrap material I could use for rockers from an old cultivator in a pasture. 2x4, 1/4" box steel. Perfect! After torching it out and putting out the grass fire which was inevitable, a section was cut down to size for the truck. I cut around the back of the cab corner to the pinch seam at the back of the cab. The inner rocker also had to be cut out (what wasn't rusted out). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zenobian_84 Posted January 22, 2012 Share Posted January 22, 2012 Thanks! Want to swap steering columns? I really like the factory 'fixed' position and that is where this tilt column will ride. If somebody else could benefit from the tilt, I would be more than happy to help an MJ brother out :brows: Unfortunately, I have too many projects going on with my MJ at the moment to warrant dropping the column and swapping to tilt steering. :( One day though.... :fs1: :cheers: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
87Warrior Posted January 25, 2012 Author Share Posted January 25, 2012 My buddy needed shop space back to diagnose an airbag air leak on his Dodge, so out comes the MJ: He had to test out the hitch he built for his new 90 Toyota. Battle of the Mini-trucks! :popcorn: When welding the floor patches in we discovered another very weak spot around the 4wd linkage bracket that attaches to the tunnel. Pulled the bracket and 2 of the mounting holes crumbled to nothing. I guess the bracket was holding it all together. :fs2: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
87Warrior Posted January 31, 2012 Author Share Posted January 31, 2012 Made a little progress on the rocker replacement: You will notice I opted to maintain a portion of the stock rocker up front hidden behind the front fender). I did this because the truck isn't a hardcore wheeler and it will provide strength to keep the 2x4 box from twisting should it come in contact with something. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
86customanche Posted January 31, 2012 Share Posted January 31, 2012 Made a little progress on the rocker replacement: You will notice I opted to maintain a portion of the stock rocker up front hidden behind the front fender). I did this because the truck isn't a hardcore wheeler and it will provide strength to keep the 2x4 box from twisting should it come in contact with something. Did that make it a little easier than cutting out all of the original rocker? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
87Warrior Posted January 31, 2012 Author Share Posted January 31, 2012 Did that make it a little easier than cutting out all of the original rocker? Not at all. 5 more minutes with your preferred metal cutting tool and the front chunk would be gone. All of the XJ guys I have seen do this have taken the box to the wheel well for complete coverage, which makes sense if you are going to be playing in the rocks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
86customanche Posted January 31, 2012 Share Posted January 31, 2012 Did that make it a little easier than cutting out all of the original rocker? Not at all. 5 more minutes with your preferred metal cutting tool and the front chunk would be gone. All of the XJ guys I have seen do this have taken the box to the wheel well for complete coverage, which makes sense if you are going to be playing in the rocks. Thanks for the info. Not too many rocks to play on where I wheel. Guess we'll see what happens once I start cutting. I saw you used 2x4 tube. I've seen some people use a 2x6 tube. Money influenced choice? or just what you thought was best for your truck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
87Warrior Posted January 31, 2012 Author Share Posted January 31, 2012 The 2x4 was free, scrap metal from an old International Harvester cultivator. YellaHeep's experience and recommendation with ice/snow accumulation on the 2x6 also guided my choice. Now that I have seen the 2x4 in place, I am glad I did not go with 2x6 since the 2x4 is more inconspicuous tucked near the body. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeepman Posted January 31, 2012 Share Posted January 31, 2012 And proof that I do care about you guys: Nice I have always been interested in the factory hidden winch mount but never knew that Warn made a version... Looking forward to the CAD file and the instruction sheet... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
87Warrior Posted February 12, 2012 Author Share Posted February 12, 2012 Truck was dropped off today with the floor and rockers installed. The patch work of repair. I had initially only cut a few pieces out of the donor. Since nothing is ever easy, there was very little solid floor to weld to. I had him leave a small opening into the frame rail so I can treat it with POR15. I am also picking up two 97+ doors this week for the truck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
87Warrior Posted February 19, 2012 Author Share Posted February 19, 2012 Had another snap of warm winter weather so I primed the new floor and sprayed with under coating: I also mounted the Fey bumper I had bought for the '92 a few years back. Sprayed the rockers as well: I will be installing the buckets and center console from my donor. The stock bench this truck came with is just too worn out, plus it has no head rests :shake: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
87Warrior Posted March 1, 2012 Author Share Posted March 1, 2012 At one point I had deemed the seats out of my 99 donor garbage. They were dirty, grimy and were filled with a stagnant cigarette stench. I couldn't even get any local folks who were looking for bucket seats to take them! I brought them home from the farm to try and clean them up. First I hosed the seats with a garden hose. Then I mixed a bucket of HOT dish soap and water then scrubbed the seats with the soapy water mix with a small nylon brush. Rinsed with the garden hose and vacuumed. Repeated the process 2-3 times then let them air dry for a week. These seats are better looking that what is in my Rubi and only smell like fabric. Installed in the truck: Now I need to build the center console mount, spray dye the blue plastic with agate spray, install the carpet and then start wrenching under the hood. :wrench: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
87Warrior Posted March 3, 2012 Author Share Posted March 3, 2012 Finished my center console mount today and got it installed. Yay! Cup holders! This truck is going to have a real comfy interior with a sub-par body :ack: I have positioned the seats as far back as possible. I have much more leg room with the seat all the way back than I ever did with the bench seat. Being 6'3" the bench in the MJ always made me feel cramped. It was nice test fitting these buckets and being able to straighten my legs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zenobian_84 Posted March 5, 2012 Share Posted March 5, 2012 Finished my center console mount today and got it installed. Yay! Cup holders! This truck is going to have a real comfy interior with a sub-par body :ack: I have positioned the seats as far back as possible. I have much more leg room with the seat all the way back than I ever did with the bench seat. Being 6'3" the bench in the MJ always made me feel cramped. It was nice test fitting these buckets and being able to straighten my legs. Really liking that center console :brows: Keep up the good work man, there's always time to fix the outside. :popcorn: :thumbsup: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
87Warrior Posted March 6, 2012 Author Share Posted March 6, 2012 Thanks Rocker! I spent the afternoon drilling out the crossmember mount in the frame and on the braces. Unlike my 92, the extra crossmember braces on the 86 are actually welded to the frame. And wouldn't you know it, all of the bolts were snapped. My tools of choice Drill bits -15/64 -9/32 -11/32 A 10-1.50 plug tap (this is the same tap you need for the rear frame bumper brackets) And of course, oil Since the bolts were all snapped, I had to pick up some replacements. I also dropped the rusty fuel tank. The fuel pump was manufactured in March of 85. I think I will go ahead and get a replacement on the way. I am also going to use the tank from my 92 since it is rust free. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
87Warrior Posted March 8, 2012 Author Share Posted March 8, 2012 I decided to forgo mounting the 97+ doors on this truck. I did not feel like trying to remove the door hinge bolts and fight with the inevitable rusted bolts.... ....so, I notched the fenders for the rockers, mounted the fenders and installed the 97+ mirrors on the 86 doors I can't wait to pull the cap!!!! Never been a fan of caps. Don't fear I will put it in storage, not scrap it. I could see the cap being very useful someday. While its an oxymoron, I had to touch up my cut marks, would hate for the fenders to rust....... :hmm: The goal for this truck is to make a comfortable, safe, daily driver out of a truck that should have been scrapped while doing the minimum. I will not skimp on safety, but I will let the bed continue to rot. You get the picture :thumbsup: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
87Warrior Posted March 26, 2012 Author Share Posted March 26, 2012 I just couldn't stand the faded 'Medium Blue', as AMC called it, interior. What could I do to change it? I scoured CL and various forums to try and get gray interior for dirt cheap, but anything good was too far away and too much $$$$. Plus, who would want to give away rare MJ interior pieces? So I improvised for less than $20 and decided to try the Duplicolor vinyl and fabric dye. I still have a few small pieces to finish up as well as the dash. I also degreased the transmission and transfercase in preparation for installation. Need to order some motor mounts and a transmission mount. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
87Warrior Posted June 4, 2012 Author Share Posted June 4, 2012 Not much has happened to this poor truck since the last update. This is primarily due to the fact that my wife and I bought a house and I started a new job. ....but alas, I am back at it with a goal of one month to get it driving. Yep, that is right. This will be a push through June. Now that she sits in a garage, attached to the house, I think it may happen. My first order of business was to get the fuel system squared away. So I dropped the tank, replaced the pump and strainer then tested the sender. I also replaced the fuel filter and all rubber hose and bought new fuel tank straps. At this moment I am saving the stock fuel tank. It was rusty, but I did not find any holes. It is 1/2 finished. Since the truck was somebody else's project (or problem) I keep finding out I obviously did not get all of the nuts and bolts that were removed. It was missing the starter bolts and bell housing bolts. Finding the bolt sizes for these are just about impossible. Here is a reference list of the bolts I purchased. Starter - (2) 3/8-16x4" Bell housing to block - (2) M12x1.75x45 - (2) M12x1.75x50 - (2) M12x1.75x90 - (2) M 8 (unknown) I ordered, received and installed a starter from Advance Auto with a lifetime warranty. I also checked and.changed the oil and installed new Champion spark plus. I inspected the piston tops and cylinder walls to the best of my ability. It was then time to address the battery hold down on this truck (and the worn out battery from 2004). A rubber bungee cord is the only thing keeping the lead brick in place. I obtained a good used battery from my father who needlessly replaced the battery in his Silverado. Used a generic battery hold down I found at the local farm supply store. I think it will work just perfect. Now with a good battery I could, for the first time, test some of the trucks electronic systems: Door buzzer - Good and annoying Radio - Good Horn - Good Blinkers - Good Headlights - Good Tail lights - Fair, blinker bulb lights up on passenger side when tails are on. Probable ground issue Gauge Fuel pump - Good Sending unit - Good gauge responded to float movement Then curiosity got the best of me. Even though the fuel system is not finished, I wanted to hear the 2.5 turn over. lQ4ZRsDPZMg It's a small achievement. I hope to hear it run this week. Once I hear it run this week, I will pull the clutch and flywheel to replace the rear main and oil pan gaskets. Then in goes the new clutch, the transmission/tcase and new motor mounts. :banana: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zenobian_84 Posted June 4, 2012 Share Posted June 4, 2012 Sounds like it has a pretty strong turn-over. Been waiting to see this thing get running for a while now. :clapping: Hopefully everything goes well! Also, not to :hijack: but how much did that battery brace run you? I've been trying to find one in the JY in good shape, but I should have been hanging around my local Tractor Supply more often it would seem.... :doh: Also, do the long bolts come with it, or do you have to buy 'em seperate? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
87Warrior Posted June 4, 2012 Author Share Posted June 4, 2012 The battery hold down was $6. http://www.orschelnfarmhome.com/rubber- ... 40399/cl1/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zenobian_84 Posted June 4, 2012 Share Posted June 4, 2012 The battery hold down was $6. http://www.orschelnfarmhome.com/rubber- ... 40399/cl1/ Oh, I see. Thanks! :cheers: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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