Any Jeepers in here?

[lovemachine]

For someone who doesn't wheel enough to be sure if a locker is worthwhile, a tummy tuck seems like a lot of effort for relatively little gain. (Assuming that means some amount of clocking the t-case, doing something about the shifter,, fabbing or buying a flat belly skid plate, etc.)

My shifter is already taken care of. I installed the Novak.

Yea, I dunno. I'm just trying to plan things out, I just have too many wants...

 

[Jackson]

My shifter is already taken care of. I installed the Novak.

Yea, I dunno. I'm just trying to plan things out, I just have too many wants...

When you're off road, how often do you hang up on your skid plate? Is it a recurring issue you're trying to solve, or just something that sounds cool?

 

[lovemachine]

It's cool . And I like the look of a flat belly.

 

[Jackson]

I wish I had a flat belly. Not on my jeep, though. Mostly on my self.

 

[eldirector]

Random question:
Anyone want to go to Interlake on June 25th (a Thursday)?

I'm looking for volunteers to drive some folks around the property for a couple of hours in a "guided" (by yours truly) tour. Could use a couple more vehicles.

Here is the official request:

The Indiana Department of Natural Resources Trails Advisory Board (DNR TAB) will be meeting at Interlake SRA on Thursday, June 25th, 2015. The tentative schedule is:
Noon - 2:45 pm (eastern)- Tour of facilities, lunch (provided), and trail ride
3pm - 5pm -Interlake SRA presentation and TAB meeting

The Indiana Four Wheel Drive Association is sponsoring lunch and the trail ride. We are looking for volunteer vehicles and drivers for the tour and trail ride. We will have 20-25 passengers, so need 8-12 vehicles (to have enough open seats). Volunteers get lunch, can wheel the property all you want before/after, and are welcome to attend the TAB meeting. Volunteers will also receive a $25 gas card, courtesy of the Indiana 4WD Association.

If you need more information or would like to volunteer, email Ryan Sweany (rsweany@gmail.com) or PM me here. If you do FaceBook, I will be keeping this link up to date as well:
https://www.facebook.com/events/403480689836472/

Trails Advisory Board information at:
DNR: Indiana Trails Advisory Board

Interlake SRA Info:
DNR: Interlake State Recreation Area

 

[Jackson]

Random question:Anyone want to go to Interlake on June 25th (a Thursday)? I'm looking for volunteers to drive some folks around the property for a couple of hours in a "guided" (by yours truly) tour. Could use a couple more vehicles. Here is the official request:The Indiana Department of Natural Resources Trails Advisory Board (DNR TAB) will be meeting at Interlake SRA on Thursday, June 25th, 2015. The tentative schedule is:Noon - 2:45 pm (eastern)- Tour of facilities, lunch (provided), and trail ride3pm - 5pm -Interlake SRA presentation and TAB meetingThe Indiana Four Wheel Drive Association is sponsoring lunch and the trail ride. We are looking for volunteer vehicles and drivers for the tour and trail ride. We will have 20-25 passengers, so need 8-12 vehicles (to have enough open seats). Volunteers get lunch, can wheel the property all you want before/after, and are welcome to attend the TAB meeting. Volunteers will also receive a $25 gas card, courtesy of the Indiana 4WD Association.If you need more information or would like to volunteer, email Ryan Sweany (rsweany@gmail.com) or PM me here. If you do FaceBook, I will be keeping this link up to date as well:https://www.facebook.com/events/403480689836472/Trails Advisory Board information at:DNR: Indiana Trails Advisory BoardInterlake SRA Info:DNR: Interlake State Recreation Area

Do volunteers need to be able to carry more than one person? How difficult will the trails be?

 

[eldirector]

Do volunteers need to be able to carry more than one person? How difficult will the trails be?

More than the driver? Yes. Preferably a couple of folks.

Trails will be easy to very moderate during the tour. Afterwards, knock yourself out! I will have to stay for the meeting, but I am SURE everyone else will be hitting the trails. Several folks are from the area, and know Interlake well. There is anything from easy 2-tracks to nearly impossible.

I have a few spots still open. Trying to get 10-12 vehicles total, so we will have enough open seats.

 

[Jackson]

My Jeep

So I thought I'd post a few pictures of my jeep. It's an '84 CJ7. I've had it for oh.... 15 years. Unfortunately it has sat unmoved for most of the last 5 years. It has some body rust and paint issues. One of the brake lines is broken. These pictures were taken late last year when I decided to pull it out and resurrect it. A long commute and then a new job have slowed me down a fair bit. I'm just getting back in it now. I've got it in the garage now and I'm starting to fix various things. At one point it had 32's and was taken off road fairly regularly. That's left it with other problems.





The previous owner put this 304 V8 in it. I plan to get rid of those headers. They've been a pain in my ass since I've had it. They leak. They hang down below the frame rails. I once came down on a rock and smashed the header up in to the clutch fork and broke the bell housing.

 

[Jackson]

More than one in addition to the driver. As in, there are two front seats and no back seats.

 

[Jackson]

So, my plans to get this thing running include:

A complete exhaust system including manifolds to replace the headers.
Replacement of all the brake lines.
A new set of lift springs.
Rebuild and re-gear both axles to accommodate a set of Q78 tires.
Either a carburetor or a propane kit to replace the craptastic Holley Analog Pro-Jection that's on it.

At some point I'll need to do something about the body mounts.

Also, after sitting for as long as it has, it's got some pretty funky mold growing outside and in. I'll probably throw away anything inside that's cloth or carpet and the seats.

 

[Jackson]

Front Axle

This week I've pulled out the front axle. It's the stock Dana 30 with 3.31:1 gears. I plan to keep this axle and put 4.56:1 gears in it to match the Q78's. It already has an Aussie lunchbox locker which will go in a new carrier with the new gears. It's quite possible that I'll regret putting so much effort in to the D30 and wish I'd just found a D44 to swap. However, I don't have a welder and I don't want to mess with shortening and mixing and matching parts to get 5 on 5.5 wheels.

Before any work:

I stripped it down and pulled out my Harbor Freight sand blaster to clean up the housing for paint. I bought this sand blaster many years ago and I've used it twice. I barely have enough compressor to push it and I don't have a good way to keep the air dry. So it can be a real pain in the rear. Also, in the two times I've used it both of the valves which media goes through have completely worn out. If I didn't just really like putting my new paint over a white metal surface with a good anchor profile, I'd throw it out altogether.

I started off with a fine garnet abrasive. I really like garnet (especially when blasting the inside of a storage tank). But it's also expensive. So the second bag I bought was black aluminum oxide in a slightly more coarse grit. If I could find a more effective way to recycle it, I'd get more garnet.

Those ball joints were replaced shortly before I stopped driving the jeep. I'm hoping the boots are doing their job and the sand wont cause them issues. If it does, I guess I'll have to replace them.

A closer photo of how well it cleans:

And after the first coat of POR 15 which I applied last night:

 

[lovemachine]

So I thought I'd post a few pictures of my jeep. It's an '84 CJ7. I've had it for oh.... 15 years. Unfortunately it has sat unmoved for most of the last 5 years. It has some body rust and paint issues. One of the brake lines is broken. These pictures were taken late last year when I decided to pull it out and resurrect it. A long commute and then a new job have slowed me down a fair bit. I'm just getting back in it now. I've got it in the garage now and I'm starting to fix various things. At one point it had 32's and was taken off road fairly regularly. That's left it with other problems.

View attachment 38957

View attachment 38958

The previous owner put this 304 V8 in it. I plan to get rid of those headers. They've been a pain in my ass since I've had it. They leak. They hang down below the frame rails. I once came down on a rock and smashed the header up in to the clutch fork and broke the bell housing.

View attachment 38959

That's a nice looking CJ.

 

[lovemachine]

How about getting the inside Line-Xed?

So, my plans to get this thing running include:

A complete exhaust system including manifolds to replace the headers.
Replacement of all the brake lines.
A new set of lift springs.
Rebuild and re-gear both axles to accommodate a set of Q78 tires.
Either a carburetor or a propane kit to replace the craptastic Holley Analog Pro-Jection that's on it.

At some point I'll need to do something about the body mounts.

Also, after sitting for as long as it has, it's got some pretty funky mold growing outside and in. I'll probably throw away anything inside that's cloth or carpet and the seats.

 

[eldirector]

Nice! Want to come blast my front axle before I build it? I plan on just using the power washer, simple green, and a stiff wire brush. I LOATH my media blaster.

 

[lovemachine]

On my way home from work, I kept hearing squeak from under the jeep. I'm pretty sure it's one of the shock bolts or maybe a control arm bolt. I tightened everything up tonight except 2 of the rest lower arms. I'll go back over them tomorrow.

I hate noises.

 

[Jackson]

That's a nice looking CJ.

If you could see it close up you'd notice the yellow paint was applied poorly and too heavy. It's cracking and checking over most of the hood, fenders, and cowl area. The windshield frame and most of the body seams are rusting and paint is popping off. The paint looks really bad close up. The frame is fairly solid, though. So I'm happy about that. It has some rust spots, but nothing I think will threaten it's structural integrity (except the body mount tabs and the area around the front shock mounts).

I'm going to give it a thorough look over and wire brush the worst spots then apply the POR 15. I'd hit them with that little blaster but I don't want to turn it on in the garage.

This photo shows some of the paint issues. If you look closely at the windshield hinge and cowl area you can see the cracks and checks. Obviously there is some flaking off. This is typical of the paint job overall.

 

[Jackson]

Nice! Want to come blast my front axle before I build it? I plan on just using the power washer, simple green, and a stiff wire brush. I LOATH my media blaster.

If it sucks as bad as mine does, I understand why.

Sometimes I pretend to do industrial coating and tank lining inspections in my day job. NACE (the national association of corrosion engineers) will tell you that 80% of coating failures are due to inadequate surface prep. So a white metal blast appeals to me.

 

[Jackson]

On my way home from work, I kept hearing squeak from under the jeep. I'm pretty sure it's one of the shock bolts or maybe a control arm bolt. I tightened everything up tonight except 2 of the rest lower arms. I'll go back over them tomorrow.

I hate noises.

I still have those two boxes of ammo. I'll throw in some gently used Glock 19 magazine springs in addition to the $200 I offered before.

 

[Jackson]

How about getting the inside Line-Xed?

I don't know if I think the tub is worth the cost of a high-end Polyurea coating. Maybe if I could take the tub off and get rid of all that crappy yellow paint. Assuming the rust was manageable after that, I'd love to have Linex inside and out.

 

[lovemachine]

I still have those two boxes of ammo. I'll throw in some gently used Glock 19 magazine springs in addition to the $200 I offered before.

I think I'll pass