Small update... Good and Bad News.

I've got a small update with some good and bad news. First the bad news. The kid that had the D300 that I wanted to buy didn't know what he really had. Please people, if you're selling something, know what you have and save every body involved time, money, and headaches. It took me 10 minutes to look up how to identify every t-case that ever came in a CJ as well as the history behind them. Its interesting stuff and stuff you should know if you plan on buying a D300, D20, or D18. The T-case was really a D18 and not a D300. Very easy to distinguish the two of them from one another. Right away I knew what it was and I was pretty disappointed. Back on the hunt for a D300 I guess.....

Now for the good news. My NP435 is on its way home. I found a guy on a local ish forum that makes the drive back and forth periodically. We met up and he was cool as hell. He went and picked the trans up for me and brought it back. Its not in my hands yet because of my schedule, but it will be by the end of this week. I definitely owe him some beer. I'm very excited about this transmission. Pictures will get posted soon.

More changes.

It appears that winter weather is upon us here, or its at least starting to get noticeably more cold. I've been thinking about what would make a good winter project. I realized that I already basically had one. My dad and I have been working on his shop. We're in the process of finishing up hanging the ceiling and insulating the walls. I managed to score my dad a 5 year old Lennox 80% gas furnace that we're going to use to keep the temperatures at least bearable. We just need it to keep it above freezing and keep the machinery at a reasonable operating temperature to help prevent things from rusting. I have no doubt that the furnace would keep the shop at a decent temperature though as its a big furnace. We still need to finish the insulation in the walls, put up OSB (not using sheet rock) on the walls, wrap up the ceiling, hang the furnace, reroute the gas piping, run the electrical for the furnace, convert the furnace to propane, hang the furnace, vent the furnace, take care of the duct work, blow insulation into the attic, and make a little shelving. It sounds like a ton of work and it really is, but it shouldn't take as long as it sounds.

That's one of my winter projects. Help my dad finish out his shop. It will be far too cold to do any major work on the Jeep very shortly. There's no room for my Jeep in the shop as my dad's 1955 T-bird is in the shop. Thus I must work on the majority of the Jeep stuff outside. I got to thinking about my recent decision to change up the drive train and a light bulb clicked on. I can make a little room to work on the drive train. I can rebuild my trans, t-cases, get all my adapters in order, rebuild my 5.9L, and try to get my drive train bolted together and in working shape. I could also work on the axles too if I can manage to get around to it and/or afford it. What does this leave me with? A running Jeep for the winter. That means with a bit of maintenance and a little extra work I can hit some snow this winter while I work on my drive train.

I still want to try to at least pick up a set of corner guards so that I can do the body work ASAP once it starts to warm up again or if conditions become favorable due to freak weather. If I can swing the fuel cell and what not as well, then that would be an added bonus, but from what I've read, the drive train will probably nickle and dime me to death for the winter any way. I've also got a go kart engine to rebuild, but I've already got all the stuff to do it. So if I hit a snag on the big stuff, then I may switch over to that to hold me over.

Any way, this is how I hope my winter goes. I really hope that its productive and I get in some really good snow wheeling this year.

I couldn't help myself.

A little update. I know I said I had a plan I was sticking to, but with much deliberation and some inspiration from GTXRacer, I've decided that the AX-15 might just be too much of a weak link with a 5.9L for me to keep around. I could probably sell the AX-15 and break even once its out of the Jeep, so its not much of a big deal to me. You might wonder what I plan swapping in the AX-15's place. Well, my plan is to drop in an NP435. It should laugh at what the 5.9L has to throw at it. That also means I can make a bit more power. I have a lead on a Dodge 435 for a good price and with any luck it will be mine soon

Now, I also have a lead on a D300 for cheap as well. The 300 is more up in the air. I need to go take a look at it and make sure there's nothing horribly wrong with it or that its not really a D20. I don't mind a case that needs a rebuild though. This all subtracts from my corner guard money, but who could turn all this down for $200 total? If this all works out for me, only one thing comes to mind.... WINNING!

More Parts.

Just a little update. More parts rolled in. I've now got my boat side rockers from Dave's Customs  Unlimited. While they aren't installed yet, I can say that Dave kept me up to date on my order and was great to deal with. The rockers were packaged well, too well in fact. I spent so much time unwrapping them that I hardly got to admire them. That's a good thing though. My over all first impression was that they are certainly quality pieces. They came with everything needed to install them and I cant wait to do just that, install them. A big thanks goes out to Dave.

These pics don't really do them justice. They are nice pieces for sure. Certainly stout, they weighed in at just under 60 lbs. I just want to give you an idea of what they look like and the amount of clearance gained from using them. One thing is for sure, lots of cutting is in my future.

Planning, Stages, and More Planning

After talking to a friend and much deliberation, I've decided restructure some of my planning. My friend gave me some good advice. Just get the Jeep up and running and then work on the nice things to have after the Jeep has a few runs on it. Its a bit more minimalistic to start and yes, I'll probably break stuff if I get crazy. Either way, doing things in such a manner should get the Jeep up and wheelable even if its not 100% the way I want it.

So I'll do it in stages like I planned, but it will be stages within phases. I haven't got all of the planning done. In fact, I have 3 full pages of planning and I'm only about half way there. At least half of it is on paper right now.

Phase one, get it going. Part one of this phase is getting the Jeep ready for suspension and axles. This means high line fenders, body armor, gas tank delete, fuel cell, ect. Part two is getting the suspension and axles under the Jeep. That's the big part. Part 3 is getting the axles ready. This will be gearing, lockers, brakes of the cutting variety, and some other minor things. Nothing crazy, no 4340 or 300M. Phase one will be all about cutting costs and getting it rolling so I can wheel it and see what bugs/demons will need to be worked out.

Phase two. This will be exercising those demons and working things in the direction of completion. Now, you may remember I have a 5.9L V8 and I neglected to mention that in stage one. I'm still using it, but imagine slapping that in the Jeep without adding the necessary parts to keep everything else from exploding. It would just open up a whole other can of worms at this point that I don't need. So this phase will be used to get things ready for the V8 and to polish other aspects of the vehicle that need polish.

Phase three will be the V8. Not in the way you think though. We're talking rebuilding it and making it make a little more power. Not much more, but just a little. We're talking easy power, not crazy expensive work or trying to squeeze out ever last horse power the engine has. I don't wheel on the east coast after all. I don't need 600 horse power and I don't want it. I'd have taken the build in a totally different direction if that were the case. So essentially this phase is a rebuild, minor power increase, and to finish up getting the stuff to drop it in. I still need a couple things like the wiring harness and radiator.

Phase four will be to install said V8 and finish anything else that's left over.

A lot more planning than just those phases has happened. I just don't have time to transfer pages of hand written gibberish to my blog right now. I have parts lists, a clear order of operations within those lists and phases, and much more. The hand written stuff is only half done. It is time consuming. In fact, it has consumed two full nights. Its should help me come up with a more followable plan and aid in completing this Jeep, so its well worth the time I've put into it.

On a side note. I've ordered boat side rockers. Unfortunately they're on back order, but they'll get here eventually. I'm not worried. I sold off some old computer parts and I'm also well on my way to a set of one off rear corner guards. The only two major parts left of phase one part one that I have yet to get are the corners and fuel cell. After those things roll in, then the fun really begins.

A little change in plans.

It happens. I'm changing up my plans a bit. I believe that the last time I posted I had mentioned that I had lost my job. Obviously this slows things down tremendously. I'm still working on getting things together though. It also calls for a change in plans. Mainly because I want to see some progress and have it look like I actually did something. I have many parts just sitting in a pile and most of them will continue to sit for a while longer. My changes are more in the order I'm planning to do things rather than using different parts or going another route with something.

Any way, I got to thinking. It would be nice to get my suspension and axles under my jeep asap and that was the plan. That is also probably the second most expensive part of this whole build. It dawned on me that something else needed to happen first. What is that you might as, but probably not. The high fenders, rear corners, and gas tank relocation. It is all needed to make room for the axles and suspension in the first place. So why not tackle the body armor first? With any luck I'll be ordering some boat side rockers next week. Yes, boat side rockers. As in I will physically remove my rockers with a sawzall. This leaves me with just corners guard to buy to finish up the body armor on the Jeep. That will probably come a couple weeks after the rockers if all goes well.

After that the next thing will be the gas tank or lack there of. I plan on doing a fuel cell. If my wife makes me keep the ability to have a bench seat in the back of the Jeep, then it will be an RCI 2161AD. I sourced it out and found an awesome price on one already. If I don't have to keep the seat I'll be getting an RCI fuel cell in a 19 gallon capacity and putting more centrally located. Either way, when I get to the cage, I'll be running a filler tube over to it desert racer style. I'd love to be able to modify a tonneau cover and run that to protect what ever is in the back of the Jeep eventually as well.

These mods will make room for bigger tires on significantly less lift. They will also allow me to stretch my suspension out enough to gain a respectable amount of wheel base without being too long for where I 4 wheel and while letting me keeping full corners. Hopefully it will take the edge off some of the more steep stuff. Its all going to happen slowly due to my employment situation. I still have to pay bills, keep a roof over my families heads, and put food on the table. It is going to get done though, so be patient and keep an eye out. Progress is coming....

A little set back.

I've had a bit of a set back as far as my build is concerned that has come in the form of losing my job. Its not the end of the world, but parts buying is on hold. I'm hoping to get a little work done still, but it will only be the stuff that I can finish. I'll still make a few sets of knuckle gussets if I can find a place to cut the gussets for a reasonable price. I haven't had any time to really start on the set for my axle yet any way. Cutting them should be easier as I now have access to a plasma cutter. Either way, I'll update the blog again once I start rolling on a few things.