Gjeep Posted May 9 Author Share Posted May 9 MJ was wrapped like a burrito before I matte black sprayed the rocker areas cab and bed sides. And… done. Will see if I can get to laying the graphics on Sunday. Should be an adventure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abeb123 Posted May 15 Share Posted May 15 Your attention to detail is amazing and i loved reading this thread from beggining to current state. Cheers and can't wait to see more! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gjeep Posted October 8 Author Share Posted October 8 Taking a break clearing the property of dead trees and clutter (it’s endless). I'm going to let fall and winter do its thing. Going to get back to inside the housework painting walls and finishing at least one MJ before Spring. That’s the goal. Step 1 is getting this MJ’s interior tested and back together, which includes audio/ BT installation, charging the AC, and then reinstalling the dashboard, etc. Some early morning progress attaching the overhead console rear-most mounting bracket to the MJ’s roof, and test fitting with the headliner board in place. Success. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gjeep Posted October 10 Author Share Posted October 10 Details… I replaced the old felt surrounding the rectangular HVAC vents dashboard side with adhesive-backed Velcro 1/4” strips. Also replaced the small bit of felt bottom side of those rectangular HVAC grille/vent inserts, and top and bottom on the passenger side square grille/vent just below the glove box. Last important detail for the “new” dashboard is the old ’91 VIN plate. Can’t exist without that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gjeep Posted October 10 Author Share Posted October 10 As with my other MJ, I’m using a factory NOS ’87 AM/FM radio with add-on BlueTooth. The BT vendor I went with prior (Redi-Rad) that tailored his business to classic car owners has since retired, so using a new solution – iSimple. It has phone capability included if the head unit had an aux port but mine does not, so I removed the extra wires. Now it’s just antenna coaxial connections, power, and ground. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gjeep Posted October 13 Author Share Posted October 13 Got the vents cleaned up and clipped into place. Also, dug into the NOS AW4 steering column to swap out the ignition cylinder (for single key setup) and add cruise control stalk. I’ve taken many XJ/MJ columns apart and this was the first to have a slotted ignition cylinder retained by a torx bolt. Had me stumped for a bit, as was trying to figure out where the retaining clip went. Column had a manufacture date of 2/89. Found a NOS horn cam that is on its way, complete with the spring and horn plunger. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gjeep Posted October 16 Author Share Posted October 16 One thing that’s not fun moving to a new area is finding trusted specialty shops – for upholstery, powder coating, etc. Being only a year into our place, I set out a few weeks back to find a local upholstery shop. I talked to several large shops that didn’t quite feel right. Then I found a one-man 30 year shop that listened to what I was asking for and was clear on attention to detail. Perfect. My black Mesa seats were near flawless; except for the vinyl flap bottom side of the seat that takes a beating from the tumble latch, chrome trim bezel screws, and no longer existing seat ‘bumpers’ that are long worn off, leaving an exposed bolt head to tear things up. I’ve always liked the look and resilience of the MJ backwall carpet material. It’s perfect for this spot – provides cushion and does not tear. I'll cut the needed holes once the seat bottom is in-place on the seat frame so no mistakes. Just dropped off my headliner and overhead console today to get recovered in black by the same shop. I’ll handle the visors as I’m retrofitting black Ford vanity mirrors in as I did for my ‘Son of Stink’ MJ project. These were one year only visors used when Jeep reduced the size of the MJ/XJ sun visors in 1990. 1991+ saw another style vanity mirror. The 1990 year is the only year offered in black – by Ford, but on a 2003 full size Crown Vic, Mercury and Lincoln auto – and it’s identical to what Jeep had used in ’90. Crazy I know, got to have a molded black vanity mirror… Next up is finishing my steering column, as I just got the NOS horn cam I needed for the 3-spoke wheel complete with plunger. Then I’ll install the column and get to the AC and other interior project tuning prior to complete installation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salvagedcircuit Posted October 17 Share Posted October 17 3 hours ago, Gjeep said: These were one year only visors used when Jeep reduced the size of the MJ/XJ sun visors in 1990. 1991+ saw another style vanity mirror. The 1990 year is the only year offered in black – by Ford, but on a 2003 full size Crown Vic, Mercury and Lincoln auto – and it’s identical to what Jeep had used in ’90. Crazy I know, got to have a molded black vanity mirror… Only a true Jeeper would know this. Can't wait to see the result! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gjeep Posted October 17 Author Share Posted October 17 Wrapped in black. Will be trimming out the openings soon enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gjeep Posted October 21 Author Share Posted October 21 Got some little things done – The exterior B-pillar vents got new weatherstrip backside, my original single key glovebox lock is in place, and the ’86 dashboard headlight icon bezel has been replaced (fog light-like design) to the ’87-’96 style light icon. Headliner overhead console related cuts made, and test fit looks good. The cab carpet board was ready, so I cut a paper template off the original and transferred it over to the black roll and laid it out. This is a new board without holes as I’ve moved all spare jack-related equipment under the hood. DEI Spray Adhesive has become my go-to over 3M, as it doesn’t come out as ‘wet’. The board is currently drying, then I will wrap all material around as needed and call it done. Next up is re-installing the factory Mesa bucket seat upholstery… Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salvagedcircuit Posted October 21 Share Posted October 21 41 minutes ago, Gjeep said: The exterior B-pillar vents got new weatherstrip backside What weather stripping did you end up going with? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gjeep Posted October 21 Author Share Posted October 21 Passenger seat is 98% done – just need to install the tumble and recline trim. I’ll Zymol vinyl condition these as it will be a couple months before I’m ready to install them. I forgot how much fun this style seat is when it comes to installing upholstery. I used .7 ml plastic help with the slide, but it wasn’t much help. The bigger bolster Laredo/Limited seats are much easier to navigate the install. Got the seat bottom flap into place then cut so it is centered and neat. The only way to go. Driver seat is up next. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gjeep Posted October 22 Author Share Posted October 22 Amazing how much you can bleed from upholstery installation. The passenger seat is done… Final details to do was to add the soft side of sticky-back Velcro to line the inner portions of the tumble bezel. The Velcro hides the ugly yellow foam, vinyl threading, etc. Looks more finished. I need to pause a day on the driver side seat assembly as I forgot to re-affix the plastic clips that are glued from the factory to the foam inner backside wings. Glue takes 24hrs to dry. These clips attach the seatback foam to the seat frame on the lower backside. I’m sure with would be fine without but prefer to have it as the factory did. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red Mistress Posted October 22 Share Posted October 22 King of the details :) Soft Velcro is fantastic idea to finish, going to do to my Chief. Seats look better than new. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gjeep Posted October 22 Author Share Posted October 22 Polished the instrument cluster lens and painted the gauge cluster surround black. I’ve never been a fan of the charcoal, especially in a black interior. Cleaned and re-glued the light panel to the left as the double-sided tape was shot. The original owner had swapped out the instrument cluster for one with a full gauge (originally this was a column shift MJ) and selected a ’96 XJ donor as it has a ‘GEN’ light that no other first gen truck did. I tossed that overlay and put the true to the year OBD1 lens on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salvagedcircuit Posted October 22 Share Posted October 22 1 hour ago, Gjeep said: Polished the instrument cluster lens and painted the gauge cluster surround black. I’ve never been a fan of the charcoal, especially in a black interior. Cleaned and re-glued the light panel to the left as the double-sided tape was shot. The original owner had swapped out the instrument cluster for one with a full gauge (originally this was a column shift MJ) and selected a ’96 XJ donor as it has a ‘GEN’ light that no other first gen truck did. I tossed that overlay and put the true to the year OBD1 lens on. Excellent results. It reminds me to stop making excuses and polish mine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fiatslug87 Posted October 24 Share Posted October 24 Looks great! What did you use to polish the cluster lens? Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gjeep Posted October 24 Author Share Posted October 24 I used these to polish out the instrument cluster lens -- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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