Funny.....I've never noticed any rocks at any of the mall parking lots up that way.....must have missed them

Rickster

sadly, most jeeps will see even that much action.

hows it comeing along now up dates

I'm mostly done with the construction of the center console. For weather protection, the particle board parts will be given two coats of marine grade clear polyurethane, scuff sanded, and finished with a dark gray Monstaliner, which will match the Monstaliner that will be used on the interior surfaces. The aluminum dash and console panels will be covered with 3M Di-Noc carbon fiber vinyl.
Due to the contours of the floor and the tight fit, I had to design the console into 2 separable pieces.
I threw away the stock, clunky piece of crap transfer case shifter, and picked up a TJ shifter. The problem was, the TJ sheetmetal shifter body was formed so that it fit the curvature of the trans tunnel. I had to do some creative metal work and welding in order to create a flat mounting surface, so that I could mount it under the aluminum panel. I also had to cut, lengthen, and basically re-contour the shifter stick. Both shifters will be operated with cables.




In an effort to give this Jeep YJ more of an identity crisis, I relocated the gas filler door from the rear to the side, which is the same spot as on the Jeep TJ, and added a door assembly. This wasn't done just for looks. It allows the hoses to be routed easier, and be a straighter shot into the fuel cell. In addition, I now have the room to put the reverse light below the stop/turn/tail light.

The big, beefy rebuilt 14 bolt is finally under the Jeep. For the time being, at least. I'll still need to roll it back out and weld the spring perches and the shock mounts, and paint the housing black. I'm going to wait on that stuff until I get the new rear driveshaft, so I can set up the pinion angle before burning in the perches.



14 bolt full float axles come with 8 lug patterns. Six lug conversion hubs allowed me to keep my new wheels.

Coming along nicely Dave.....console came out awesome

Word of caution on the carbon fiber vinyl....the application I did on my son's truck dash faded out really quick (was not pleased)

Rickster

Being Mr. Cheapo.....I doubt it was a 3M product....I looked up the #M 1080 Specs....it's an actual vehicle wrap so it will probably last a lot longer...????

I would do the paint though

Rickster

The chocolate Santa dropped off some goodies for the Jeep today.
Inexpensive Grant wheel, but I sprung for the Jeep horn button to make it a proper Jeep wheel. I will need to do something about that chrome, though.


New steering column with tilt from Summit racing.


New speedo and tach. Because of the hall effect sensor on the SS SYE, I had to buy the programmable speedo.

The existing steering column mounting bracket wasn't going to work with the new column, so I made a simple clamp bracket using a clamp I already had and a piece of 1/4" steel flat stock. Probably overkill, but I might weld some small gussets on both sides of the clamp half. Or, if I don't like where it locates the column (too low), I may throw it away and start over.

The construction of the center console is almost done. Painting the aluminum panels is next. I'd also like to make or get a cushion made for the top of the lid.

New steering wheel and Summit column are installed. I'll have to make a filler panel to cover up that huge hole where the column goes through.
I scanned the tach and speedo, printed them out, and stuck them on the dash, to see if I could read them satisfactorily through the steering wheel. I can, so that's where they're going.

Dave that is "SICK" What color are the door panels...???? Looks like a Grey...?????

Man if the body, dash, inserts and roll bars were painted to match with the some seat color graphics on the body....i'm thinking win win....????

Just thinking out loud

Rickster

Thanks, Rick! The only graphics I have in mind on the exterior will be the name of the Jeep (got a bunch rolling around in my head), and that's going to be black, for contrast. I want it to have the appearance of it being some sort of a special, limited edition factory model name.

As far as body color, the color that is my choice (as of right now) is a bright red. I've been all over the rainbow as far as paint color, and I keep going back to red. In my mind, red is the classic Jeep color, and although there are many red Jeeps running around, I think mine will stand apart from the other red Jeeps.
Van Halen is one of my all-time favorite rock bands, and since the Jeep will be red, I was actually contemplating painting the center console and dash panels to mimic the random stripe design of Eddie Van Halen's "Frankenstein" guitar. If I did that, I would emblazon the Jeep's name "ERUPTION" along the sides of the hood. I can't decide if its a bad idea, or a totally bad-azz idea. What do you think?

MAN Dave.. I just looked at the last 3 pages of your build. I recall when you 1st started it. I haven't looked at any other pages YET..What I'd like to say 1st is, your attention to detail is like no other. You go well beyond what others do..2nd, you built the Duster, I built the Cuda at the same time.. You are now building this Jeep and I am doing similar things with/to my wifes '66 Scout..Its crazy to me how we are so far apart but are soo alike in our build "concepts".. .. Keep up the GREAT work. I promise to go back and catch up on all of it..