Project Scuzzy

[jeff351]

 Those of you who are familiar with XJs know already but the rear wiring harness is divided from the fuse box, one side goes along the passengers door sill to the passengers tail light and the other along the drivers side doorsill to the drivers taillight. I was concerned about exhaust heat cooking the passengers side wiring, so I removed a knockout plug on the floor behind the drivers seat and ran both sides together through that hole following the stock MJ wiring route.

Looking at the MJ taillight wiring, I was torn what to do as wiring is one of those OCD things that takes me FOREVER to do. Instead of messing with mating the XJ wiring to the MJ wiring, I instead modified the MJ taillight housing to accept the XJ sockets. The sockets are physically different sizes and don't fit. The only wiring mod needed now is just extend the straight section from the fuse box back to the tail light connectors. Other than that, its a direct plug in now. 

 

Tools used: hot knife tool (soldering iron with a tip ground to an edge), Dremel tool, sander, sand paper, JB Weld.  

 

Comparing the 2 housings side by side, the socket difference is clear. At this point, take a sharpie marker and make a mark at the 12:00 position so you get them installed in the right direction at the end. 

 

 

I have a soldering iron with a sharp edge attachment, and just cut out the socket bezel from the XJ housing.

 

Quick hit on the belt sander to clean up the edges. 

 

MJ housing. Dremel away the sockets. Scuff up the area with 60 grit sandpaper.

 

JB Weld the rings on. Ensure they are oriented in the right clock direction and you don't have the reverse light in the wrong place.  

Let it cure overnight. Next day, put it together and install. Done!

[jeff351]

Happy New Year! 

Rang in the new year hanging out with the shop cat while working on Scuzzy. installed a new AC accumulator and a little bracket to mount the amp fuse holder.. Pretty basic stuff....

 

[jeff351]

Late Christmas present arrived today. New pair from Keyparts! Nice improvement comparing new vs old

[majastee508]

On 1/3/2023 at 6:10 PM, jeff351 said:

Late Christmas present arrived today. New pair from Keyparts! Nice improvement comparing new vs old

those are a thing of beauty

[Pete M]

you definitely need to do an official wrietup on the tail housing mods!

[jeff351]

22 hours ago, Pete M said:

you definitely need to do an official wrietup on the tail housing mods!

Do I just post that part separately in the DIY section?

[Pete M]

yup.  start a new thread and then copy/paste   

[jeff351]

The JBL tweeters came with several various types of mounting options. I chose the pod, sliced it at an angle on the bandsaw, sanded the back edge flat, and glued it on the regular XJ door corner piece (whatever that part is called.)

 Once the superglue dried, I then reinforced the inside area with JB Weld. Painted up with SEM gray, and done. Simple little project.

 

 

[jeff351]

Since I had the fully functional overhead console out of the XJ donor and all the wiring moved over, I figure I might as well incorporate it into Scuzzy. After cutting it down a couple feet and doing a little body work it came out pretty good.  The compass/thermometer display still work as original and the 4 courtesy lights should be sufficient at night. Covered the outer portion in the same material as the headliner. Painted the black portion with texture paint first, and then a couple coats of SEM satin black.

[Salvagedcircuit]

2 hours ago, jeff351 said:

Since I had the fully functional overhead console out of the XJ donor and all the wiring moved over, I figure I might as well incorporate it into Scuzzy. After cutting it down a couple feet and doing a little body work it came out pretty good.  The compass/thermometer display still work as original and the 4 courtesy lights should be sufficient at night. Covered the outer portion in the same material as the headliner. Painted the black portion with texture paint first, and then a couple coats of SEM satin black.

That right there, that takes the cake. Nice job. I should make me one of those in the 80s reinx style.

[jeff351]

23 hours ago, commissioneranthony said:

That right there, that takes the cake. Nice job. I should make me one of those in the 80s reinx style.

Thanks! 

[jeff351]

Wiring complete! Nothing sexy about wiring but it can be a PITA.  I installed a pair of basic LED "offroad" lights in the rear bumper and wired them using the Jeep XJ rear wiper harness via a "reverse lights" switch in the factory rear wiper switch location. No more squinting to see whats behind me when backing up in dark places. Next to that I also installed a switch for the front bumper lights which runs to a couple of relays for some brand new Vision X halogens I've had on the shelf for years. 

[jeff351]

Time to sort out the gas tank plan

 

I've read various posts about using Jeep/Dodge/aftermarket gas tanks for various reasons. My preference is to keep things relatively OEM so if I need a new fuel pump I don't have to look back at what I cobbled together to buy the parts I need. 

Looking at the 98 XJ donor jeep, I figured if I can use the factory tank it would make things easier in the long run.

So first up, I pulled the XJ tank and got some measurements. Then made some measurements on the MJ frame and got to work. 

In this picture looking up from the underneath, I laid out a rough idea of what needed to be removed. 

 

[jeff351]

Next was to raise the bed so I could work underneath, and lower it to check clearance from time to time. I made a bracket from steel pipe that just bolts in place. Tested and its pretty sturdy.  

 

[jeff351]

Before I made any cuts, I welded in a piece of 2" angle iron between the rear frame rails. This will be what the fuel tank straps get welded to.

Next up is making final measurements. I used a laser level to get a straight line, then cut in using cutoff wheels and a sawzall. 

[jeff351]

First mock install to get an idea of making the 'frame' that holds the gas tank in place.

 

 

Lots of measuring, cutting, and welding gives me this result. Pretty much all of it is 3/16" stock. The hole in what used to be the X frame is to route the wiring/fuel line/vent line through. 

 

Made new fuel tank straps; same width as the factory 98 XJ ones, but thicker material. The front edge "pins" mount in some steel tubing welded to the frame so these just swing down to lower the gas tank.

 

Final result came out pretty good. I painted it with  odd-color hammertone paint I had kicking around which doesn't look the best, but once its all together you'll never see this area. 

 

 

 

With the bed back in place, the tank doesnt hang below the shackles and will be pretty much flush with the rear bumper. 

 

 

This is how the fuel filler hose is routed on the XJ - through the frame and to the filler door. I'll be doing something similar 

[Pete M]

suuuuuper nice    how close will it be to the diff?

[jeff351]

5 hours ago, Pete M said:

suuuuuper nice    how close will it be to the diff?

Clearance should be fine. Where I cut is also where the front of the spare tire was. 

[jeff351]

So if you reference the photo above, you'll notice how the fuel filler/vent hose route through the frame from the gas cap to the tank. Notice my fuel tank filler nozzle lines up perfectly with the center of the frame...intentional? 

 

The XJ oval is just some sheet metal; to one-up that, I had some spare 1/8" wall DOM 2.5" tube that I cut in half and tacked in a section of 1/8" steel to make an oval. Then I got to use my nifty low profile TIG welder for the inside seam. Slam'd LowRiderCup™ Super Low Gas Lens Kit: 9, 20 & 2 Series LowRider Slammed Gas Lens Kit 9 20 & 2 Series | Arc-Zone.com [A-LRS-2] - $150.00 : Arc-Zone.com, Welding Accessories Store

Then cut the matching hole in the frame and welded it in. Concerned that the leaf spring shackle was directly behind it and I might run into some structural rigidity issues, I took a piece of 3/16" wall 1.5x3 rectangular stock and welded it on the bottom edge with extra bracing on the sides and tied it all into the shackle tabs. Plenty of clearance for the shackle and I don't see this being a weak link whatsoever. 

Primed and hit it with some undercoating and the frame stuff is complete!

 

Next..finishing up the new location of the fuel door. What should I do with the factory fuel door. Leave it? 

[jeff351]

[jeff351]

Progress report 2.0

Between work, family and life I haven't had a lot of time this summer. 

BUT...this part is almost done.  Cut the filler door out of the XJ, cleaned up the edges to make a rectangle shape, and cut a matching hole in Scuzzy to line it up with the filler neck and tack welded it all the way around. At least, until my 30 yr old Northern Tool MIG welder died, so another delay until I picked up a nice Lincoln 180i MP Weld Pak unit. THEN I was able to finish the welding. Ug. Body work is so tedious. Tack weld, let it cool. Tack, let it cool. Took me a couple days to get the entire perimeter of this welded in to avoid warpage. Patience pays off as the more time you spend measuring and lining things up here, the easier it is to blend it all together. 

I had to shorten the filler nozzle exactly 1" and after that the hose lines up and doesn't require any cutting. 

Also figured now is a great time to replace the fuel pump, so I did that. Running PTFE braided line from the tank to some hard line I bent up. I also made a new rear brake line from cunifer which is so easy to work with. 

I mounted the XJ charcoal canister in the factory location by making a bracket that bolts to the frame in the same area as the XJ, so I was able to use the original XJ vapor lines without modding them. I also ordered a slightly longer rear frame-to-axle brake hose but the ends are different, so I had to modify the MJ bracket to use the XJ hose tab.

 

I wonder how long before someone wonders why this MJ has 2 gas filler doors? 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[jeff351]

Last, to make room where the filler neck enters the rear quarter and leads down to the gas tank, I had to clearance the inside lip of the bed about 2".

I notched the bottom edge for the filler and then welded in a cover made of 10g sheet metal. The hole is where this part plug weld to the back-side of the filler door recess. That way its more secure than just relying on the quarter panel sheet metal to hold the thing together. 

[jpnjake]

1 hour ago, jeff351 said:

Last, to make room where the filler neck enters the rear quarter and leads down to the gas tank, I had to clearance the inside lip of the bed about 2".

I notched the bottom edge for the filler and then welded in a cover made of 10g sheet metal. The hole is where this part plug weld to the back-side of the filler door recess. That way its more secure than just relying on the quarter panel sheet metal to hold the thing together. 

This is super cool, I’ve always wondered if anyone had done this before, Very nice job on Fabbing up the mounts, and the fuel neck pass through on the frame.

Do you plan on running a spare tire? If so where?

 

I’m sure at the end of this you could convince someone this was a factory option

Looks great so far  

[jeff351]

19 hours ago, jpnjake said:

This is super cool, I’ve always wondered if anyone had done this before, Very nice job on Fabbing up the mounts, and the fuel neck pass through on the frame.

Do you plan on running a spare tire? If so where?

 

I’m sure at the end of this you could convince someone this was a factory option

Looks great so far  

 

[jeff351]

Thanks! 

Yeah my spare tire location options are narrowed down now:

1. In the bed

2. On the roof

3. a business card in the glovebox to a local towing company.