Jeep Driver Posted July 8, 2018 Author Share Posted July 8, 2018 I've got one more gauge coming. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeep Driver Posted July 8, 2018 Author Share Posted July 8, 2018 It's a long story, I'll save you the details. I stumbled into a world class machine shop, a referral from another machine shop that I'm working with on another project. I've been here more than 10 years and I had no idea they existed, it almost seems they operate by invitation only, IOWs, if you don't know who they are, you don't need to know. They agreed to help me with the gauge mount. They advised me to measure and sketch to save money, and I see why now, what a tedious job. They have a water jet and a CNC brake. I've seen their work, mind blowing. We'll see how this turns out. I'm dropping it off Monday. The clock is going in the panel that contains the cig lighter, I'll cut that hole myself and it's remaining plastic. I also ordered two panel mount USB ports, one to the head unit and one will go to a fast charger. These two will be cut into the panel to the right of the cluster and blow the AF gauge. https://www.ebay.com/itm/Cerrxian-USB-3-0-Flush-Mount-Cable-1m-USB-Type-A-3-0-Male-to-Female-Flush-Da/323236973647?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeep Driver Posted July 9, 2018 Author Share Posted July 9, 2018 All my interior pieces are now painted, bagged, waiting. I'm very pleased at how well these turned out. Couple of other goodies came in this week. Passenger A pillar was broke, I patched it with JB plastic epoxy and glass strands, very strong repair. A couple of screw tabs has also broken and I repaired those the same way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeep Driver Posted July 10, 2018 Author Share Posted July 10, 2018 I dropped off my sketch/measurements and cluster/bezel with the fabricator today. The quote was astronomical, I won't state what I'm paying for this. This is the reason this has never been done before. Now I have to make money and wait. Gauges won't be here for another 2 weeks anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Me&my86MJ Posted July 15, 2018 Share Posted July 15, 2018 I want more engine bay pictures! Looks really good! I just picked up the aluminum valve to replace crappy plastic one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeep Driver Posted July 15, 2018 Author Share Posted July 15, 2018 11 hours ago, Me&my86MJ said: I want more engine bay pictures! Looks really good! I just picked up the aluminum valve to replace crappy plastic one. I haven't really shown this here because this engine is coming back out. Runs great, just looking for power now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kansashogan Posted July 15, 2018 Share Posted July 15, 2018 Man, that is a pretty engine. That looks like a Powermaster alternator. Do you happen to remember the part#? Are you going to go ahead and put in a SBC? I'm putting in my Holley Dual Sync distributor today but I have to run and get some parts and while I'm at it I'm going to clean up the wires and hoses from the fuel injection install. I've been working so much overtime I haven't had time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Me&my86MJ Posted July 15, 2018 Share Posted July 15, 2018 Oh I can totally understand the want for more power. Still can't take anything away from how nice you got it. Like a gold standard to how a rebuild/build resto should be. What are your plans for what you plan to put into it since the 2.5l came out? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeep Driver Posted July 16, 2018 Author Share Posted July 16, 2018 1 hour ago, Me&my86MJ said: Oh I can totally understand the want for more power. Still can't take anything away from how nice you got it. Like a gold standard to how a rebuild/build resto should be. What are your plans for what you plan to put into it since the 2.5l came out? The 2.5 is still in the truck until I can afford this ↓↓↓↓↓ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeep Driver Posted July 16, 2018 Author Share Posted July 16, 2018 ☻ 7 hours ago, kansashogan said: Man, that is a pretty engine. That looks like a Powermaster alternator. Do you happen to remember the part#? Are you going to go ahead and put in a SBC? I'm putting in my Holley Dual Sync distributor today but I have to run and get some parts and while I'm at it I'm going to clean up the wires and hoses from the fuel injection install. I've been working so much overtime I haven't had time. Yeah, it's a Powermaster. Could you imagine going back to a 4.0 now that you have repowered? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Me&my86MJ Posted July 16, 2018 Share Posted July 16, 2018 Oh nice, the motor will fit like 60lbs of $#!& in a 10lbs bag. A very nice shinny powerful 60lbs of $#!& for sure(no offense at all either, bit envious). At that point I bet you plan to be switching complete drivetrain too. How much time did it take you to get comanche to where it is now? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Me&my86MJ Posted July 22, 2018 Share Posted July 22, 2018 When you upgraded to aluminum valve cover did you get bolts from donor vehicle or did you buy new ones? It looks like I need to get some that are 1/4 longer, does that sound correct? Also I see filter in ccv hose location in valve cover, did you use a ccv gromet there and just use a filter that would fit or is that a diffrent gromet all together? Thank you for the pictures and any and all help! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeep Driver Posted July 24, 2018 Author Share Posted July 24, 2018 On 7/22/2018 at 2:10 PM, Me&my86MJ said: When you upgraded to aluminum valve cover did you get bolts from donor vehicle or did you buy new ones? It looks like I need to get some that are 1/4 longer, does that sound correct? Also I see filter in ccv hose location in valve cover, did you use a ccv gromet there and just use a filter that would fit or is that a diffrent gromet all together? Thank you for the pictures and any and all help! The bolts are just 1/4-20 that can be bought anywhere. I found a generic grommet that fit the breather and then ground out the VC to fit, if I remember correctly. If you don't want it to leak, grind down the lugs and use Felpro blue rubber gasket. You'll see lugs ground down in the pic below. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeep Driver Posted July 24, 2018 Author Share Posted July 24, 2018 On 7/16/2018 at 2:28 PM, Me&my86MJ said: Oh nice, the motor will fit like 60lbs of $#!& in a 10lbs bag. A very nice shinny powerful 60lbs of $#!& for sure(no offense at all either, bit envious). At that point I bet you plan to be switching complete drivetrain too. How much time did it take you to get comanche to where it is now? It's been a progression over a long period of time. I drove the truck as a DD/work truck for 5 years, worked on it constantly. It has not been driven in almost two years now. I started the bodywork last year........just can't bring myself to continue, maybe in the fall. Doing other project that interest me at the moment. I'll get around to paint soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Me&my86MJ Posted July 24, 2018 Share Posted July 24, 2018 Oh the nubs really need to be ground off to keep it from leaking? I just picked up that very same gasket from fel-pro too. I have my old bolts and got new ones also with that thread pitch and size but slightly longer, I more wanted to know how much longer they needed to be, as alimunem cover is a bit thicker and new fel-pro gasket appers to be slightly thicker as well. Looking at your valve cover there....it appears I got a bit more cleaning to do too. Are you planning to paint match body to engine? I totally understand it getting sidelined too, I just had a little one and honestly I rather spend my time with him. Thank you again too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeep Driver Posted July 27, 2018 Author Share Posted July 27, 2018 Arrived. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeep Driver Posted August 5, 2018 Author Share Posted August 5, 2018 I've been rather unmotivated lately, waiting on my cluster tray. In the mean time, I did cut out the B-pillars for the 6x9s. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeep Driver Posted August 30, 2018 Author Share Posted August 30, 2018 This isn't what I wanted but it's a place to start, I guess. At least I have something to work with now. I think I'm going to try making a vid on this, we'll see how that goes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeep Driver Posted August 31, 2018 Author Share Posted August 31, 2018 English wheel arrived today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PCO6 Posted August 31, 2018 Share Posted August 31, 2018 What you'll find with an English wheel is that you can make one of anything with it. Making a second one to match is the hard part! lol. Panel Beater humour I learned from a pro many years ago. I had the same one but recently sold it because I wasn't using it as much as I used to and it was taking up much needed space in my garage. Those are good basic units and there's lots of info on line on how to improve and fine tune them. I learned the basics from a panel beater back in the early '80's. The main thing he taught me was how to do proper hammer welding. Basically O/A fusion welding without using filler rod. If you plan to shape panels, weld them together and then run them through the anvils it's imperative that there be no filler rod. Filler rod welds will nick the anvils and destroy them pretty quickly. Have fun with it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeep Driver Posted September 1, 2018 Author Share Posted September 1, 2018 On 8/31/2018 at 7:07 AM, PCO6 said: What you'll find with an English wheel is that you can make one of anything with it. Making a second one to match is the hard part! lol. Panel Beater humour I learned from a pro many years ago. I had the same one but recently sold it because I wasn't using it as much as I used to and it was taking up much needed space in my garage. Those are good basic units and there's lots of info on line on how to improve and fine tune them. I learned the basics from a panel beater back in the early '80's. The main thing he taught me was how to do proper hammer welding. Basically O/A fusion welding without using filler rod. If you plan to shape panels, weld them together and then run them through the anvils it's imperative that there be no filler rod. Filler rod welds will nick the anvils and destroy them pretty quickly. Have fun with it! Thanks for the heads-up, I've been watching many of Ron Covell's vids and I'm aware of the welding tip. Wish I knew how to tig, all I have is a mig. What I want to accomplish with the wheel is to make left and right filler panels for the tail lights, so far I've not seen anyone attempt to produce a panel with the correct compound radius, the panel will be welded in, if I can get it 95% correct I can make up the 5% with Bondo. I have new tail lights that will be frenched in. Most of my work is custom, I'm pretty good at doing something once and never having a desire to do it again. If I am successful with the tail lights I might give a shot at a hood scoop, we see. Otherwise the wheel will be sold off after this, yeah, it's a cheap one but it just needs to get me through the light panels. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PCO6 Posted September 1, 2018 Share Posted September 1, 2018 2 hours ago, Jeep Driver said: Thanks for the heads-up, I've been watching many of Ron Covell's vids and I'm aware of the welding tip. Wish I knew how to tig, all I have is a mig. What I want to accomplish with the wheel is to make left and right filler panels for the tail lights, so far I've not seen anyone attempt to produce a panel with the correct compound radius, the panel will be welded in, if I can get it 95% correct I can make up the 5% with Bondo. I have new tail lights that will be frenched in. Most of my work is custom, I'm pretty good at doing something once and never having a desire to do it again. If I am successful with the tail lights I might give a shot at a hood scoop, we see. Otherwise the wheel will be sold off after this, yeah, it's a cheap one but it just needs to get me through the light panels. Ron Covell's work is great! I have a few of his books that go back to the pre-internet days. It's much better to see his videos now though. That's the right approach. I think I started out at 80/20% and eventually worked my way up. lol. I like to think I made a few "perfect" panels ... but I'm not so sure. I've met 4 or 5 panel beaters over the years and got to go through their shops. They all had pretty good equipment but they all had a LOT of home made ones too. A lot of their work was done by hand. I never pass up a good "chunk of metal" that I can bang something out on. You do nice work btw. I'm enjoying this thread! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeep Driver Posted September 1, 2018 Author Share Posted September 1, 2018 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeep Driver Posted September 1, 2018 Author Share Posted September 1, 2018 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kansashogan Posted September 4, 2018 Share Posted September 4, 2018 Looks like pretty much what I did with the instrument panel. It turns into a lot of time and work to do it right. Leave yourself plenty of wire to make it easier to put in and take out. The English wheel is a bold move! I hope you are successful with the panels. I can't wait to see the finished product. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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