The Building Of Bucky

[buffalob]

Not since the last photos I posted sadly.

I have been wrenching on two out of three of the kids' jeeps this week keeping me busy enough to leave the painter alone.

But the kids jeep chores being done for the moment my attention to bucky is now redirected.

Stay tuned........

[TheDirtyJeep401]

Gosh dang it, this long pause is killing me............... I really want to see Bucky all back together . 

[buffalob]

Really appreciate the support. I have had a meeting with the painter and truly believe that we will wrap up within this week.

really looking forward to the process of bolting her all back together. I have done plenty of wrenching on the family jeeps just not on mine.... within the past couple of weeks I have had to replace the transfer case in my sons wrangler (or rather show him how). Any one ever wonder what happens to an NP231 following a catastrophic rear driveshaft rear u joint failure at 70 MPH on the highway? well... when he finally got the skid plate/cross member off, (three of the nutserts in the frame had broken welds on them ...possible previous owners use of an impact wrench?) the transfer case fell out of the jeep in multiple pieces. I can't thank Troy Yellaheep enough for the screaming deal on a low mileage replacement. Boring the remains of the old nutserts out and welding in modified flange nuts gave me an opportunity to give him a welding lesson too. Teaching your kids how to work on their jeeps....priceless.  The following weekend found me up in Greely (northeast of Denver out on the plains) where our daughter is going to school, replacing the fuel pump in her Cherokee in the parking lot of the dorms in the rain. pretty straight forward under the circumstances, the b*tch being the weather and the fact that the factory tow hitch and skid plate had never been removed, minimal tools with me and no help. I stupidly thought I would luck out and find a simpler problem to resolve. Yeah I know, I know, be prepared....... I was a scout leader too when the boys were younger. But we got the job done and her back on the road again. I was very glad it got done that Sunday afternoon, as the following (last) Saturday that same neighborhood got hammered with golf ball sized hail I was told, and thankfully as her XJ was back up, she was in Denver at the time.

 

I have been promised DAILY progress reports though-out this week on the progress on Bucky's paint, and will gladly keep the "family" posted.

[buffalob]

sorry guys not much of an update. We had our grand daughter over for the day and last night, so all the piles of Bucky parts had to vacate the family room. While they were out sunning themselves I shot a couple of pics. This really shows how ready and anxious I am to bolt her all back together. I went round and round on how I wanted the grill assembly to go together. I looked at mesh inserts and chrome strips on the bars, as a thought to set it apart. Obviously I stayed with the old design header grill etc assembly. Here are some shots of the grill insert with basecoat and clear (but not wet sanded or polished) and the same grill after detail painting wet sanding and polish. This was a royal pain to mask and paint this way....Did not want after the deliberation to accent the interior "bars" of the grill with the gunmetal color and make it busier. so all the interior was over-sprayed with a semi-gloss black. I like the contrast and simplicity.

[buffalob]

Here are the Cherokee country door panels recently acquired from e-bay. I have not yet cleaned prepped or dyed these with the SEM agate color.

Next to them on the bench are the new window weather stripping and outside window trim recently grabbed from a very low mileage 96" Cherokee at the local P&P.

That same Cherokee also gave up door sill plates a pair of almost perfect interior lighted visors (to send to Steve) and a perfect pair of fixed wing windows. complete with all weather stripping etc.

[buffalob]

Here are all the other interior panels. As was said earlier some of these were damaged from improper storage and will need wet sanding in spots prior to re-dying. I do not anticipate this causing any significant problem other than additional time and swearing.

You can see the scuffing problem on the B pillar panel on the right side of the photo ( would be the driver side rear panel). I have this issue on several pieces of the interior.

Will let you know how the fix and re-spray works out.

[buffalob]

And the other pile that was stashed in the family room. In no particular order contained in this pile is:

AFE cold air intake, Hesco waterpump, Hesco throttle body,new alternator, new power steering pump, three row aluminum radiator with triple electric fan setup, new headlights, new clear lens corner markers and turn signals. New mirrors , new windshield wiper arms, new door weather stripping.

That is just the stuff I remember putting in the bins last year, or have added since.

[buffalob]

I am meeting with the painter....hopefully for the last time...this afternoon.

With any luck I hope to have a better update this evening.

[HOrnbrod]

She will be truly marvelous when you get everything bolted back onto the newly painted body. I did my grille similarly to yours, except kept the chrome.  :yes:  As you said, it was a PITA to mask.  

 

[danbyrambler]

Here are all the other interior panels. As was said earlier some of these were damaged from improper storage and will need wet sanding in spots prior to re-dying. I do not anticipate this causing any significant problem other than additional time and swearing.

 

WOW - Almost there! Excellent work on the interior stuff - Console - Kicks - All of it, although that is the most uncomfortable looking bench seat I've ever seen for an MJ swap - - Oh well, whatever flips your bippy - It's all good!

:thumbsup:

[buffalob]

 

Here are all the other interior panels. As was said earlier some of these were damaged from improper storage and will need wet sanding in spots prior to re-dying. I do not anticipate this causing any significant problem other than additional time and swearing.

 

WOW - Almost there! Excellent work on the interior stuff - Console - Kicks - All of it, although that is the most uncomfortable looking bench seat I've ever seen for an MJ swap - - Oh well, whatever flips your bippy - It's all good!

:thumbsup:

Especially for my boney butt.

[Wrz]

Let me know what you come up with for the scuffing issue, I dyed all my panels black with sem and am having the same issue. They scuff really easy especially the lower panel where your foot hits going in and out, and I'm not even daily driving it yet just working on it lol

[earl*t]

:popcorn:

[buffalob]

Small update ...got over to the painters place yesterday and was surprised (shocked) to see some bona fide progress. the entire cab doors and hood are all buffed out and looking good. I spent a few hours putting the grill together, putting the hood latches back on and topped it off by re-attaching the front bumper. Sorry for the bad pics she is still pinned in the garage by a disemboweled 68 caddy.

[buffalob]

Having a bit of an issue in getting all the grill assembly to fit up correctly ( the header panel is an aftermarket unit). It seems as if the overall width of the panel is not wide enough which makes the side pieces (headlight doors) etc fit badly. I will wait till I get her home to start trimming stuff to fit...But I think I am going to be glad I saved the original header panel despite the amount of work it will take to get it to the point the rest of the front pieces are in.

[yellaheep]

Yup, those aftermarket header panels are about 3/8th to 1/2" too narrow.  My '91 had one on it when I got it.  Parted out another black rig with what I thought would be an OEM one, polished up the paint, bolted it on and.......... dammit, same issue, a 1/4" of fender sticking out past the edge of the header panel....... two aftermarket units. 

 

Oh well, the truck is getting the '98 facelift anyway.

 

 

Bucky's looking good Bob....... get the girl HOME!  Are you gonna remember what it's like to drive an MJ at this rate???  LOL!

[buffalob]

yeah Jackie asked me the other day if I would remember how to drive a stick when I get the truck back on the road.. Your comment is equally helpful. Thanks for the compliment though.

Had to re-shoot the paint on the bedside on the passenger side due to a rub through the base coat in the wet sanding process. this has been the hold up for the past couple of weeks.

The clearcoat in that area should be ready to buff out again in the next couple of days. Still need to finish up the tailgate too, but it will not keep me from getting her home by the weekend.

I hope to be over there this afternoon re mounting the rollbar, bed rail caps and rear bumper. then scuffing the lower body in preparation to spray the bed liner.

All the turn signals lights and taillights are in...this means she is drivable and street legal (who needs mirrors right?)

[buffalob]

Last night mounted the rollbar, the side bars, and rear bumper. The touchup work on a couple of additional paint issues Clear coat on the tailgate and buffing the clear on the re-shoot on the bed sides is all that remains to be done. We are almost home!!! I also started prepping the original header panel once I got home last night. The more I look at the grill and headlight trim pieces the more I realize I am just not going to be ok with it as it is. New photos will have to wait till I am back over there tomorrow the light was just to lousy to even try any last night.

[RynoMJ]

Coming along good can't wait to see it done!

[92tanMJ]

Looks great man!

[H3RESQ]

^{Updates.......including pictures}

[Darren]

Love the truck and the build, but are you really going to run that front bumper? Just from that picture, it looks too wide and not up to the same quality as the rest of the truck. I'm not trying to be rude or insulting, especially if you built it. Maybe welding the front bend fully and grinding it smooth would give it more of a professional look.

 

I'm eager to see the interior completed.

[yellaheep]

Ouch Darren............

 

For what Bob is going to use the truck for, that bumper is plenty stout.  I've see this one and others that Fessybilt put together and while I agree that the bend perforations would look cleaner welded up and smoothed out, I don't see any real concerns about the bumper's overall strength.  More than adequate for moderate and light trails. 

 

Would I use one for hardcore 'wheeling?  Nope.  But for the build Bob has going, I think it's spot on.  And the width thing is a bit of a camera angle issue.  It's not that wide. 

 

This photo puts a bit better perspective on the bumper's size and proportion:

 

[buffalob]

....Yeah what Troy said! Darren that last photo of the truck in the garage in the dark does not do the truck or bumper any favors both in lighting and in camera angle. I assure you that it is far heavier than it looks. I do agree with Troy in that if it was a hardcore trail rig only. I would have gone a different route (winch mount, more body armor, spring over axle, long arms, cage, exo, not to mention a paint job at maaco and done. One thing about all the trucks I have seen on this site is that their design, build and result are as varied as the builders. (and it should be said...rarely "finished" most continue to evolve. I expect that bucky will be no different.) As far as variety (and opinions) they are the spice of life I suppose. The reason I frequent this site is for the camaraderie, the support and help, and yes the opinions. If all I was after was validation and ego milking, I would limit my online time to facebook and be done with it. Bumper? had it made for the truck...I like it. nuff said. no offence taken.

Ouch Darren............

For what Bob is going to use the truck for, that bumper is plenty stout.  I've see this one and others that Fessybilt put together and while I agree that the bend perforations would look cleaner welded up and smoothed out, I don't see any real concerns about the bumper's overall strength.  More than adequate for moderate and light trails. 

 

Would I use one for hardcore 'wheeling?  Nope.  But for the build Bob has going, I think it's spot on.  And the width thing is a bit of a camera angle issue.  It's not that wide. 

 

This photo puts a bit better perspective on the bumper's size and proportion:

 

[H3RESQ]

Crap, I need to spend more time on facebook, and less on here? :doh: