Project “Tomahawk”

[ghetdjc320]

Dynamat and 1/2” dynaliner finished on firewall. Will also be doing dynamat and liner on the trans tunel. The horizontal floor surfaces will get no dynamat but will get dynapad below the carpet. I don’t want anything that can ever trap water under it. Not that this Jeep will list ever leak in the next few decades but it’s peace of mind. Last time I dynamatted the floor it was a disaster to clean up. Hvac box is also back in place. It has zero air leaks now and should be ice cold and plenty hot on demand. I will be using a nos heater valve as the stock hvac box design does not provide a barrier between the heater core and the evaporator core when the blend door is open to just cool. Obviously, no air gets blown through the heater core when the blend door is open on the ac side but since there isn’t really any barrier, radiant heat will warm your ac system a bit. The heater valve is a bit problematic but it does the trick. 
 

As a side not if anyone is following parts: the four seasons blower is a very nice unit and has an updated fan design with more blades. It also has the opening for the fan to blow into the motor to keep it cool during extended use. The evaporator core is also a four seasons unit for a 90 Comanche. It is an updated plate and fin design but is not a drop in fit. See previous pictures to note the extensive foam work required to seal the evaporator and get the air forced through it. As for the heater core, the stock unit is copper. If you can save it it’s probably better than most repop units out there. I did and acid flush through mine and flushed it with clean water several time along with compressed air. Zero leaks and a perfect oem fit.

[Smokeyyank]

Sexy

[ghetdjc320]

16 hours ago, Smokeyyank said:

Sexy

[ghetdjc320]

12:1 Redhead steering gear. Love the little note of assurance lol

 

[EUREKA]

Looks fantastic so far!

[ghetdjc320]

Steering column and shaft restored

 

 

[ghetdjc320]

[saveevryjp1998]

48 minutes ago, ghetdjc320 said:

Is this an Ironman setup or a similar dyi type thing? Regardless I'm a big fan and love these type of setups. Any mj or xj can benefit from these even if they never leave the pavement.

[ghetdjc320]

1 hour ago, saveevryjp1998 said:

Is this an Ironman setup or a similar dyi type thing? Regardless I'm a big fan and love these type of setups. Any mj or xj can benefit from these even if they never leave the pavement.

This is actually part of the boostwerks hidden winch setup. That is one amazingly well build piece of kit. I wish he was still making them. I had the Ironman kit on the last MJ. If everything else has no play, it feels like a good rack and pinion system. That’s why I’ve been spending so much time restoring and designing the steering and brakes. Trying to have the best road handling possible with very respectable off-road performance as well. 

[ghetdjc320]

Been cleaning up the ax15. I’ve been contemplating sending it in to MarlinCrawler for a rebuild with the chromo thrust washer and full contact billet shift forks. After doing considerable research on these granny’s over a few years, it does not appear there is any difference in the gearset itself over the years. Even new models seem to use the same gear composition. It’s also worth noting that torque handling figures are with a gvw of 7200. This MJ should be about half that or or less. The oil was clean with zero metal flake or particles. Main bearings under the retainer also look great. I think I’m going to clean it all up, replace the seals flush out the inside and run it with some redline mt90. I have a sneaking suspicion that it may have been rebuilt as it just looks too clean inside. It shifts very smooth with clear positive engagement. If it fails, I’ll send it off to Marlin but it just seems like a waste at this point. Plus only 90k original miles and the suspension, gearing and tires were all stock. 
 

Plan on polishing up the case and clear coating it. Same goes for the np242

[saveevryjp1998]

8 hours ago, ghetdjc320 said:

This is actually part of the boostwerks hidden winch setup. That is one amazingly well build piece of kit. I wish he was still making them. I had the Ironman kit on the last MJ. If everything else has no play, it feels like a good rack and pinion system. That’s why I’ve been spending so much time restoring and designing the steering and brakes. Trying to have the best road handling possible with very respectable off-road performance as well. 

Your front geometry and brake setup I'm guessing will be as close to my ideal dream mj as I've seen on a build here yet. It's nice to see it happening even if it's not my own. I've had a Dana 30 sitting here 3/4 of the way done for 6 or 7 years now for a wj setup. The biggest hurdle I faced back then was finding low profile grease zerks for the lower wj ball joint that didn't interfere with axle shafts. I think I ended up sourcing them from Summit. I went to install it probably 5 or 6 years back but the mj had serious frame rot so it was parted it. It was my first mj so a small piece of me died that day.

[ghetdjc320]

1 hour ago, saveevryjp1998 said:

Your front geometry and brake setup I'm guessing will be as close to my ideal dream mj as I've seen on a build here yet. It's nice to see it happening even if it's not my own. I've had a Dana 30 sitting here 3/4 of the way done for 6 or 7 years now for a wj setup. The biggest hurdle I faced back then was finding low profile grease zerks for the lower wj ball joint that didn't interfere with axle shafts. I think I ended up sourcing them from Summit. I went to install it probably 5 or 6 years back but the mj had serious frame rot so it was parted it. It was my first mj so a small piece of me died that day.

That’s rough! It’s a sad day indeed when a project can’t be finished. 

[ghetdjc320]

Transmission polished and clear coated. 

[ghetdjc320]

Tranny prep finished and engine prep begun. This engine is very clean inside. 60k original miles and it shows. Crosshatching is still clearly visible in all cylinders. It’s really nice to work on an all aluminum engine. Much easier to maneuver and zero rust to deal with. 

[ghetdjc320]

New pan, dipstick and headers installed. Flywheel and clutch are from a 6.0 based gmc truck. Using the quick draw bellhousing which uses the 94+ Jeep external slave, fork and throw out bearing. Slave has been adapted to -3 an fitting as has the clutch master. This is a Luk rep-set clutch. The whole assembly is now ready to be installed in the engine bay. Just need to prep the cross member and the brackets I restored previously. On another not, I confirmed that this is a rebuilt tranny. Every single synchro, bearing, gear and seal I could inspect are pristine. 
 

New belts, tensioners, idlers, plugs and plug wires will be in shortly. My winch didn’t fit so I have to go with a slightly smaller unit. Settled in the Superwinch TS9500SR. They are witching about 1/4” of an M8000 but have a gear box brake vs having it in the drum. I’ve had great success with them in the past. I may hold on to this Talon 9.5SR for future use. It’s a beast of a winch. 
 

On the engine: I replaced the rear main and rear access plat gaskets just to have that covered. Even though this is a very low mile engine and was super clean inside, the rear main seal was updated and is better than the one it came with now. Also going to upgrade the dampener.

 

[Pete M]

[ghetdjc320]

Haven’t gotten around to much since but rebuilt the shifter with nice kit from Allstate gear. Changed plugs and wires also. I had a Superwinch Talon 9.5sr I had planned on installing but it would not fit (dumb mistake ). After measuring thoroughly, went with a Superwinch TS9.5SR. I’ve run this winch in the past in it’s a beast. Build quality Is very high, brake is in the gear box and it uses a series wound motor. Compared it thoroughly to an M8000 (which is backorded until October). They are very comparable but the Superwinch saves a bit of space on the clutch side of the housing. Probond dampener, new belt drive with pulley and tensioners and a few odds and ends will be in tomorrow. Hope to intall the engine tomorrow. 

[ghetdjc320]

Engine is in along with Superwinch TS9500SR. Perfect fit with the winch. Took a lot of maneuvering on the engine especially with the quick draw bellhousing. Had to use the center hole in the Novak engine mounts. It’s lined up perfectly now though. I could not get the stock corvette ac compressor to fit with the mounts. Going to tag @Limeyjeeper & @75sv1 to provide any insight as to how to get the ac to fit down in that area. Perhaps a smaller compressor? Pictures attached

[Limeyjeeper]

I used the dirty dingo DD-SD7810-F lower ac mount kit with a Sanden 7176C SD 7810 compressor

[Limeyjeeper]

You will also need the Corvette dual belt crank pulley as the AC runs on its own belt.

[75sv1]

Sorry, no help here. Limey's Jeep was the one in Carlisle. I think he won the Class. Thanks for the info. Also, I think Limey used Optima batteries, two 6 volts.  My head is still spinning on what I'll need for the LS swap. One of the other LS swaps left out the A/C and used a full battery. 

[ghetdjc320]

10 hours ago, Limeyjeeper said:

You will also need the Corvette dual belt crank pulley as the AC runs on its own belt.

That’s the dampener I have on it right now. I think perhaps the stock corvette compressor is too large. Going to checkout those part number and see what the dimensions are on the compressor and bracket. Thanks! 

[ghetdjc320]

3 hours ago, 75sv1 said:

Sorry, no help here. Limey's Jeep was the one in Carlisle. I think he won the Class. Thanks for the info. Also, I think Limey used Optima batteries, two 6 volts.  My head is still spinning on what I'll need for the LS swap. One of the other LS swaps left out the A/C and used a full battery. 

Sounds good, thanks

[75sv1]

    On your D30, I did the K-Suspension Dirty Thirty 'upgrade'. It fills in the upper control arm bracket like you did. Then there is the mini brace. Also, the C reinforcement plates. I also added the Stinky Fab spring bracket reinforcement plates.  I do have an extra mini-brace. If you want it, and I can find it, PM me your address.

     Also, I was trying to add in a thicker fan on my XJ 4.0L. It would fit in areas, but then I'd only have two fans. I did install the 3 SPAL fans with the aluminum fans shroud from Dirt Bound. I'll be using K-Suspension temp sensor setup and thermostat control. I do have Nick-n-Times. My CRS radiator dose not have a bung for his temp sensor. The NiT has much more control though. Hopefully, you'll show the NOVAK fans installed. 

     Any info on camshafts? Stock or using an aftermarket? I'm looking at some aftermarkets. Most start at 1500 or 2000 rpm range. I do see a few at 800 to 5800. 

[ghetdjc320]

7 hours ago, 75sv1 said:

Sorry, no help here. Limey's Jeep was the one in Carlisle. I think he won the Class. Thanks for the info. Also, I think Limey used Optima batteries, two 6 volts.  My head is still spinning on what I'll need for the LS swap. One of the other LS swaps left out the A/C and used a full battery. 

Apologies, I meant to tag  @70barracuda

Thank you for your input though. The cam is a stock LS1 cam. The AX15 could probably take 400lbft max torque from the engine and I’m already pretty close. At some point in the future If there is another good tranny option I may go that route but I’m sticking with the Ax15 for now. I presume it’s already going to be a handful with this setup. Steering and brakes have been the priority along with keeping the lift mild to get good geometry from short arms.