Project: Slippery Slope – a ’91 MJ runner

[Gjeep]

Used a portion of a scraped MJ room to check fitment (mainly interior clearance) for the 3^rd brake/ cargo light combo… and it works. Ford Ranger sockets were the go-to because they are rubber (quiet) and the right size. Now to trim the real roof.

 

 

 

[Gjeep]

Got to cuttin’ – always a bit stressful to put areas that are somewhat visible under the knife. Measure, measure, measure, cut. Great fit and looks right. Had been searching for just the right era appropriate look for years. Drilling mounting holes next…

 

 

 

 

 

[watchamakalit]

Looks good!  I have a feeling this idea may make it's way to my truck.....

[Gjeep]

Long live Tomken Machine. Not sure if they’re still in business, but they were the go-to for my lifted XJ/ MJ’s sway bar end needs. Beefy and same design as stock but fatter bushings. I decided to go with the factory heavy duty XJ 28mm factory front sway bar with Energy greasable bar bushings.

 

 

And with temperature up in Oregon, on went the matte black ‘Jeep’ tailgate letterset.

 

[fiatslug87]

Can’t wait to see this on the road.

[Gjeep]

Carpet in place and ready to be trimmed first thing in the morning. Those who have installed carpets know the insane amount of extra material that surrounds the core. It’s nut. I’ll call this ‘in place’ but it still needs to move a good 4” forward once cut down. Tomorrow…

 

[NRT_Chris]

23 minutes ago, Gjeep said:

Carpet in place and ready to be trimmed first thing in the morning. Those who have installed carpets know the insane amount of extra material that surrounds the core. It’s nut. I’ll call this ‘in place’ but it still needs to move a good 4” forward once cut down. Tomorrow…

 

I just did this. I used my old carpet as a template. 

There are more pics on my thread "one owner 92"

[Gjeep]

Thanks NRT_Chris for the tip. 

 

ACC did a good job this carpet stamp – the usual front of footwell issues weren’t present. Two thumbs up. The driver side rocker stamp is never proper and takes a heat gun to shape around that side reinforcement plate; And the rear cab wall is spot on passenger side but then goes wonky off by 2” driver side. Again, heat gun to the rescue. Finally, matting will be stuffed in the trans tunnel areas so when the center console is installed it will fit without gaps. But for now, the carpet is coming out as next up is the windshield replacement with the newer style gasket surround.

 

 

 

 

The black Mesa fabric bucket seat bottom upholstery is headed in for repair. I’ve already removed the piece that wraps over and around the frame that the upper seat latch clips into. The little piece of vinyl takes a beating and typically looks like hell even when the rest of the seat looks brand new. It’s the bolt covered rubber ‘bumpers’ Jeep installed to adjust/ prevent seat back wobble. The rubber tip of the bumper breaks off and then exposed bolt tears into the vinyl. Holes in the replacement panel will be cut AFTER the seat is together and flap clipped into place, so no misses on the cut location.

 

[NRT_Chris]

Carpet looks great 👍 

[Salvagedcircuit]

Always a pleasure checking in

[Gjeep]

Fine tooth combing the little things to move forward on assembly… Put together the shoulder belt assembly, attaching it to the modified MJ bracket with grade 8 hardware and sleeved the bottom attaching point (at rocker) to keep it looking factory. Also sleeved the buckle for form and function – the C4 Corvette has an identical length seat belt buckle setup, and what I like about it is it keeps the center console from getting damaged/ carved into as so many of them (especially AMC era) get. It angles the buckle inward and away from the console plastic. Took some time to find just the right set up for this. Lots more details to accomplish for this build before I start getting the interior back together. Next up is the overhead console.

 

 

Also, been on an insane journey that I now give up on... I wanted to simply replace the Dana 35 hard brake lines. Ordered from Inline Tube just that – first time I got I don’t know what; second time I was hopeful as the line at least has the shape of a pumpkin but turned out to be near 8” too long with incorrect bends. I lost a good month and a half trying to get something that seemed like it would be a simple buy delivered. I give up and will bend my own lines like I did last MJ build.

 

[Gjeep]

Got it done – Rear axle brake lines bent, flared and in place. Off the list.

 

 

And cut the overhead console for the hands-free mic. Time to clean up and refinish.

 

[Gjeep]

I’m a huge fan of test fitting before final assembly. Nothing worse than having things looking good and last minute find out modifications need to be made. The overhead console install is one of those projects where it’s essential. This console I made taller than in my other MJ, so the XJ modified (front) mounting bracket needed to be bent a little differently and the rear mount platform needed to be taller.

 

 

Good contour fit of the reshaped shell and the headliner insert cuts were spot-on.

 

 

 

My highly technical tool, the Q-Tip, served to mark the location of the rear most screw (found inside the sunglass bin) with a dab of black paint; and it also confirmed the height the bracket needed to be at to seat the console properly keeping it flush to the headliner. All good there.