'Da Chief . . . So it Begins again

[devildog80]

Good plan, and so much easier.

Coming along

[cu4whln]

In Today's News . . .

Today I found the insert strips from the rear windows.
They have hung in the garage and were all warped.

So, I laid them out in the 97 F sun today, and they were easy to get back into the correct shape. I am now storing them on the floor under my parking spot for the Jeep.

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My buddy came over today and lent me this...

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Why?

So I can clean up my stainless trim before reinstalling it.

A bit of time and elbow grease, but have started the polishing task at hand.

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And this is why I am taking the time to do this.
Stainless trim, not matter how dull, is pretty easy to clean up.

This is not a show car, but I want to do what I can to clean stuff up as I put her back together.

Can you see where I buffed it out?

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I did the rear tailgate trim and reinstalled it.
A few small imperfections, but that's OK !

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Pretty happy with the result.

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[rang-a-stang]

This thread is soooo fun to follow along! THANK YOU for all the pics and posts! that rear trim looks awesome!

[cu4whln]

This thread is soooo fun to follow along! THANK YOU for all the pics and posts! that rear trim looks awesome!

Hi Mark!

Have you moved yet?

Having FSJ withdrawals yet?

Get your J4000 ??

[Saltyfeather]

Pics

Would anyone have any idea why I can no longer open the pics on any of the posts?

I did not have an issue for the first dozen pages, but after that I see zippo !

[devildog80]

Make sure you did not get bumped out of your log-in.

Happens to me sometimes.

[cu4whln]

More Details . . .

Todays items..

More stainless polishing.

This pic is a Two-fer"

Got the A pillar polished for both sides, so installed them.
Also, look at the door.. door trim stainless also polished... BUT - I did 6 of those. That will be a later post.\

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[cu4whln]

Got some Kil-Mat for the roof and other areas that could use a bit more.

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This stuff is a LOT cheaper than the Hushmat I used elsewhere.
Now, that said, I don't feel it is as good, but I wanted to add some mass to the roof. At $65 vs $175, it is good enough for secondary treatment.

If you've not put this stuff on before, you have to roll it down well to ensure it adheres well. Don't want it coming down later!

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There was already some kind of stuff on the roof, but I need to kill the boom up there. Kilmat installed...
Note my repaired and cleaned up dome light!

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NEXT UP ...

I had some NVH foam from a previous project. I decided to add that for more sound and heat protection.
Maybe overkill? But why not . . .

It has a sticky side. Was worried as it is old, but seems to stick, so on it goes. I am actually thinking this will help the heat as it is foam.

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Peel and stick in process.. right over the Kilmat

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Roof treatment complete!

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Last item today, spent some time messing with a mockup for my subwoofer.
I plan to build a box that fits in the rear pass quarter.
This way, it takes up minimal space.
Not done, just brainstorming ideas...

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[rang-a-stang]

...
Have you moved yet?

Having FSJ withdrawals yet?

Get your J4000 ??

nope

yep

nope

[cu4whln]

In Today's News . . .

Today, I started to get serious about adapting the truck seats to the Jeep.


First, I got the stock seat down and bolted it in.

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Then I marked the full fore/aft track movement.
Then marked the mid track position and "H" point ( ie where the occupant's hip joint is)

After that, I measured how high the front and rear of the seat cushion are.
All this is in preparation of getting the new seat located in a good position.

I had already removed the truck mounting brackets on the pass side as that will be the most challenging due the Q-trac hump.

It turned out, a 2x4 was about the right height to space the front of the seat track up.

Had to pound the floor a "bit" more so the track would lay right on the pass inboard side. Hmmm . . .

Set the seat at full forward and marked where the tracks will be.
Marked the floor. Now have to design a bracket and how to mount it to the floor.

The question is - Do I try and use some of the existing mounting holes, or make new ones ? Time will tell.

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As these seats are wider than stock, it was a bit of a struggle to get the seat inboard enough to clear the seat movement and recline function.

It ended up here - It clears the side of the Jeep when the seat moves rearward and reclining the seat.

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Then I looked at the seat belt situation.

As these could cause an issue with the seat moving as well.
I found that I could remove the modern inboard buckle assembly, and bolt on the old one so it matched the belts.

Note - Its about the same length.. well - CLOSE ENOUGH!

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Buckle mounted to the seat. Cool.

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Then I gathered up my hoard of rear carpet stainless pieces to pick the best ones to polish.
Funny, I do not have the 2 short ones one the outer edge of the cargo area.

My have overachieved gathering extra parts, huh ??

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[chubbinius]

Extra parts are always a benefit. Never know when you or a buddy may need one, plus means you have some on hand for the next project...or two...or three!

[cu4whln]

In Today's News . . .

Today was subwoofer enclosure day.

So, have been roughing in some plans to make a custom fit enclosure to get the sub off the floor. (It previously just sat behind the rear seat.)

It is a self powered 12" sub. I pulled the amp and speaker to install them in a sub box I am making. I had some good 3/4" plywood, so used that to build the box.

First, I attached the mounting base... i.e. - wood glued down with Goop and a couple of screws. Note, it captures the body flange. This made for a flat surface I can attach the sub box to.

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Made some cardboard templets, and made the ply base first.

Followed by more templets to get the angle of the front/ rear walls.
Make the front and rear wall, and the front speaker face. pita cutting at that angle. I do not have a table saw, had to free hand it.

More test fitting and tweaking. Note it goes into the unused space in the rear quarter. Screw parts together as I go.
I calculated the volume to be very close to the original box.

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Pulled the sub and amp, cut holes in the new box . . .

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Sub mounted:

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After making it, unscrew it all, and add glue to make it solid.
Turns out, putting it all back together was a bit of a cluster.
Glue and stripped screws. Dang.

All together again - and glue now drying.

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The final product, need to do the mounting, but enough for today.

This took ALL DAY. I didn't think it would be hard, but I was wrong.

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[cu4whln]

In Today's News . . .

The last few days have been nothing exciting... Planning and ordering parts required to finish details off.

As I have been focused on my project, it occurred to me that this is a unique hobby.
Why? Nobody will know all the little details it takes to complete a project like this.
For every task I post - There are probably 5 that I don't waste your time with. Sometimes I feel silly for posting so much detail.

So much time and effort on all the details...
Falling asleep thinking about how to address some issue I am running into to.
I am probably OCD in some respects... My Jeep does not have to be perfect, but I want it done correctly and well if at all possible with my skillset.

Good thing I enjoy this - I can see how many bail out on old car projects.
My wife thinks I am crazy right now...

Anyway...

Still polishing away.. One of the harder items was the LONG drip rail.
Was very worried it would grab and get damaged. I was very careful.. and now they are polished and installed. Safer to "store" them ON the Jeep, eh?

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I have reviewed and planned out my wiring attack. It's happening !

Part of this was revamping the stereo a bit. Ran the sub power cables and speaker wires, labeling each as it goes to the dash.
Speaking of details, I am planning to mount the amp in the dash behind the grab bar area.
One of the challenges will be how to service [remove] it in case something goes wrong. Also need access to tune and set the amp up.
Any ideas on a quick mount that I can actually remove?

GAUGES:

Today I started to wire up the cluster.
All other electrical is fixed, checked, and in working condition.

Get the equipment ready... Note the factory wiring and cluster directions !

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Cut, chop, solder, tape, heat wrap . . the aftermath...

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Propped the cluster up temporarily for function testing. It has 3 plugs, so eay to remove.

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Functioning ! All seems to work.
Have to calibrate fuel and oil yet, but it's alive !
Will have to figure out my speed signal, but that will come with time.

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Again, trying to validate all works before installing the dash... so much easier to comprehend all as all wires are visible.

[bkilby]

Nice work Jim. I ended up buying a weather pack kit to make my own connections. Makes thing easier.


If you put that amp behind the dash, you sure you're going to be able to access it? I ended up putting mine on the kick panels.

[devildog80]

Or amp under the seat?

Gets better air flow to keep it cooler.