Project “Tomahawk”

[ghetdjc320]

Finished up one side today. The caliper and bracket do both require some flap disk work. You’ll need to take off about 1/8” of material off of the caliper and bracket. I’m using the late 99+ style unit bearings and only needed 1 washer on each caliper bracket to center them up. The washers were .10” on the dot. Test fit the turbines. I need some NOS center caps for these wheels. They are just too nice to clap on some old center caps. 
 

Also finished restoration on a rear prop valve. It’s going into a parts collection of top shelf parts for something in the future I suppose

 

 

 

 

[Pete M]

break out that checkbook...

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/204019317948

[ghetdjc320]

7 hours ago, Pete M said:

break out that checkbook...

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/204019317948

$200 drop from last time! 
 

i can make the 5 caps I have look better than that for that price. Saw a set for $299. That was a tempting price but $799 is way too overpriced 

[ghetdjc320]

Front axle is finished. Body work to begin next. After a few hours of cleanup 

 

13” rotors, massive dual piston calipers. It all fits a turbine wheel so long as you use a 1.25” spacer and are willing to grind down the bracket and caliper some. A 1.5” spacer will probably let you just slightly grind the bracket down. The calipers do look much better with the casting marks removed though. Calipers have been clear coated as well. I will say, it’s quite a bit of brake when you look through the turbine spokes 

 

This is about as “ultimate” HP30 as I’d built for this particular MJ. There is a bit of weakness at the inner C’s that was addressed with the gusseting. Lower control arm brackets are now greatly reinforced with skid protection. Passenger side upper control arm is significantly stronger due to the gusseting. Track bar mount has been replaced with a nice 3/16” bracket welded in place. The 3.55 gearing is as deep a gearing as one can go while still keeping the large pinion. For 31’s and the LS1 this will be a great combo. 

 

 

 

[ghetdjc320]

The front end of the Jeep is now being body worked. Also disassembled the hvac unit to do a full restoration. 
 

 

[ghetdjc320]

[ghetdjc320]

Interesting

 

 

[ghetdjc320]

Here are some problem spots I recommend addressing for water intrusion. Just below the hvac blower, below the bulkhead connector, and into each rocker panel opening from the wheel well. 
 

Wheel wells and the underside or the front frame rails are now coated with raptor liner.

 

 

[ghetdjc320]

[watchamakalit]

10 hours ago, ghetdjc320 said:

I'm seeing a trend with your paint choice.....lol

[ghetdjc320]

2 hours ago, watchamakalit said:

I'm seeing a trend with your paint choice.....lol

 

I’ll see what the next build holds for colors. 

[EUREKA]

I'm curious to see the various foams you selects for the HVAC rebuild,a d any other details of the HVAC rebuild.

[ghetdjc320]

45 minutes ago, EUREKA said:

I'm curious to see the various foams you selects for the HVAC rebuild,a d any other details of the HVAC rebuild.

I’ll gather the part numbers for that. The thick gaskets are 1” minicell 2lb foam. Inside the box the lining is mostly open cell foam 1/8” thick. I assume that may be more of a sound baffle than anything as it offers little insulation. There are a few other seals such as those around the heater core and ac evaporator. I have ordered the replacement thick foam already. The gasket that goes around the ac evaporator lines is specially molded. Fortunately mine was in excellent shape. The open cell foam lining inside the box was also in very good shape and will be thoroughly cleaned with a mixture of simple green and the water. 

[knever3]

I wish I could find someone with the talent and dedication you have in my area.  My truck needs some attention and body work/metal work is not anything I want to attempt.  You do house calls?  I'll fly you over, lol!

 

Great work!

[ghetdjc320]

6 hours ago, knever3 said:

I wish I could find someone with the talent and dedication you have in my area.  My truck needs some attention and body work/metal work is not anything I want to attempt.  You do house calls?  I'll fly you over, lol!

 

Great work!

Much appreciated. I’m considering doing custom MJ builds in the future actually. 

[ghetdjc320]

 

 

On a side note, picked up a vibration tumbler setup with abrasive media to clean up hardware. Grabbed it at harbor freight. Works exceedingly well and lets me reuse a lot of oem hardware which, in many instances, is better quality and fit than what one finds on the shelf. 

[JMO413]

Beautiful work!!

[ghetdjc320]

Motor mounts and track bar mount are in. The frame rail at the track bar mounting point has been heavily reinforced as I’ve noticed it to be a weak point. 
Dynamatting the interior and rebuilding the hvac box. Also mounting the hidden winch and steering brace setup. I’ll be running a RedHead 12:1 steering gear with a 35lb valve. The goal is to have rack and pinion level steering precision. 
 

 

 

[ghetdjc320]

On 7/18/2022 at 5:37 PM, JMO413 said:

Beautiful work!!

Much appreciated!

[ghetdjc320]

BWE hidden winch/steering brace, motor mounts, control arms and front axle are now all in. Plenty of adjustments to make but nice to have it be a roller again.

[MiNi Beast]

Very nice. Coming together 

[ghetdjc320]

Hvac box restoration in progress. I add a lot of extra sealing around these plate and fin evaporators. There is no room for the blower to throw air around the evaporator now. All the seams have been sealed up. Made replacement gaskets for the air intake and the firewall seal. Also added a 1/8” minicel gasket to the blend door on each side. The hvac should function better than factory when I’m finished.

 

 

[ghetdjc320]

There are a few strategic places to add a 5/8” number 10 sheet metal screw to hold the heater core to the ac housing better. Firewall is coming along.

[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