Gone Postal : Mail Jeep Build

[95yjjeep]

More garage time yesterday. I went to the auto fair Saturday with my dad and picked up some more random parts. I got a 2nd set of those little front LED turn signals since the ones I got from Genright were a single bulb and wouldn't run the park and turn lights for the safety inspection i plan to pass.

Now both lights run the park lights and the upper light will also blink for the turn signal.

I also picked up a Lokar LS1 throttle cable. Couple shots of it installed.

At the firewall. I actually had to alter the original gas pedal and weld a tab off the back to work with the LS1 style throttle cable. I think this should work well.

I also picked up this bling ass chrome electric fan. I wanted black but this one was a closeout for $39 so I figured what the hell. Don't laugh because it's chrome.

 

[95yjjeep]

My buddy joe gave the chrome fan the sign of approval. It was cheap so don't laugh that it's chrome. The fan is wired through the computer so it cuts on and off based on the computer. Must less to think about this way especially if the misses is driving. My buddy Michael was the brains behind all of the wiring, especially the PCM work.


I got the slave cylinder mount fab'd and welded in. It's 1/4" plate and welded along the frame since there wasn't any room on the engine. Also, it's bent at an angle on the bottom side so there is plenty of driveshaft room.


Another shot.


My buddy Mike (wiring genius) put his stamp on the jeep.


I also took a few updated shots of the jeep. I've been wanting to get it out of the garage so I can see how it all looks.






New rear departure angle. Should be pretty good for leafs.


The front looks like it could be lowered but I'm not willing to change the springs to SUA and I'm already running flat YJ springs SOA up front so I could not change to any flatter springs. This will have to do.

 

[02dmax]

So awesome! Love this build!

 

[95yjjeep]

So awesome! Love this build!

Thanks man! Gotta rob a bank so I can finish this thing. I want to wheel it by the fall uwharrie jamboree. Hopefully I can get it ready by then.

 

[95yjjeep]

Update:
I don't have anything that is picture worthy BUT I did order my entire exhaust system this morning from Summit Racing. I got the summit brand block hugger headers (cheaper to buy them than make them), flanges, cherry bomb universal 2.5" exhaust tube bend kit for the DIYer, (2) glass pack mufflers and flex pipes so the exhaust system has some flex without fatiguing the joints or tube. It's going to sound obnoxious probably with the glasspacks but those fit my wallet better so I'll give them a try and re-evaluate later on once it's on the road/trail. I'm going to build the exhaust for true dual exhaust with a h-pipe style equalizer. Hopefully it'll work out okay. I'm just worried about exhaust heat.

 

[95yjjeep]

Back in the garage yesterday and today. I bought some cheapie Summit Racing shorty block hugger LS1 headers. WELL....they didn't fit so I had to cut them all up and weld them back together.

Before...no workie!

You think they'll still take them back now?!

Then this happened.

Voila!

Side #2 done, painted with some heat paint and ready for the rest of the exhaust to be fitted and fab'd.

 

[02dmax]

Nice work man.

 

[UncleWillie]

Wanna make me some long tubes for the BlueOx?

 

[bigblueyj]

And yet again I am very impressed. Love the work man. I can't say that enough. This has got to be one of my all time favorite builds. Simply awesome.

 

[95yjjeep]

Nice work man.

Thanks Man!

Wanna make me some long tubes for the BlueOx?

Hah! This thing wasn't too bad with open fenders but a full size truck with inner fenders would be a job!

And yet again I am very impressed. Love the work man. I can't say that enough. This has got to be one of my all time favorite builds. Simply awesome.

Thanks Man! I really really appreciate it.

 

[95yjjeep]

Finished the 2nd header today. I more thing to mark off of my to-do list.

Got some more parts. Some assembly may be required!!

With new parts come new stickers. Another sticker made the beer fridge.

 

[95yjjeep]

Another productive day in the garage. I finally got some free time to get some more work done and it was great to get the exhaust all buttoned up. What a job! I got a Cherrybomb DIY exhaust bend kit with tubing, flex pipe and hangers. I also got the shortest glasspacks I think they make. The only word that comes to mind when I rev up the engine with these mufflers is...Redneck! It's not such a bad thing though. It does some pretty cool and it only spits back if you're using snappy throttle.

Okay onto some pics.
Down pipe & flex pipe going into place on the driver side.

Passenger side complete. It is a super short system and a really tight squeeze to get the pipes up high enough so they won't get mangled on the trail and up high enough that the driveshaft won't interfere either. I know what you're thinking...Is that muffler that small. Well, the answer is yes. I had to get a really short set of mufflers to get them to fit in between the skid, jeep floor and between the rear crossmember that holds the t-case in place.

Shot from the front axle rearward. You can see where the pipe runs in front of the oil pan.

Another of the complete setup. The only thing I haven't done is weld on the rear exhaust hangers. The kit supplied hangers but I'm not really loving them so I'm trying to figure out a more unique way of mounting the exhaust.

Staggered dump down pipes. They are out of the way of the driveshaft AND I wanted them to dump down before the rear fuel pump and stuff like that. I am just paranoid about exhaust and gasoline.

Shot from the side.

Now lets see if these new videos will work. The first one is idle and medium throttle. The 2nd is heavy throttle and some unexpected flames coming out of the pipes. haha! I love it!
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/8_INYyWR_hY" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

My neighbors must love me. Cherrybomb's saying "disturbing the peace" is so fitting.
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/J7dIcz_yDyM" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[95yjjeep]

Shit. does anyone know how to embed videos in the post?

 

[95yjjeep]

Ooh. And the smoke in the video is the heat paint drying.

 

[49erRider]

Nice, I was wondering abou this one, since I wasn't seeing too many updates.

 

[95yjjeep]

Nice, I was wondering abou this one, since I wasn't seeing too many updates.

Haha! Yeah it's been a busy few months. The only things preventing a test drive are...

Install AA SYE kit I ordered on Friday (MarsFab told me this is a must over the hack n tap deal that was in the t-case I had bought)
Measure and get rear driveshaft cut down
Measure pinion angle and weld rear perches and shock tabs
Re-gear 9" rear axle
Run brake lines for whole vehicle
Front axle brake job
Finish fabricating the steering shaft
Hydraulic hoses for steering box
Bleed all systems (clutch, brakes, power steering)
Nut and bolt everything
Re-gear front axle AFTER the test drive. I don't care if its a glorified 2wd on the test drive. It's been a long wait to drive this turd.

Much shorter list than it started with. Anybody wanna get their hands dirty and finish this pile for me?!

 

[95yjjeep]

Did the Advance Adapters SYE kit this morning. It was super easy! The t-case I bought had the hack-n-tap SYE kit so I replaced it with the upgraded full SYE so the output shaft is the larger diameter. I've heard that it wouldn't hold up to v8 power like it was so hopefully this bandaid will last a while.

Before.

During.

Another. You can see how the factory style output shaft necks WAY down so it's pretty small.

All done and back in place. Time to mow the grass and drink a few beers.

Going to pick up an old cherokee front driveshaft tomorrow so I can get it cut down this week so I can get the pinion angle set and rear spring perches welded into place next weekend. The to-do list before the first test drive is shrinking!!!

 

[95yjjeep]

Back at it for a July 4th fab session. I picked up a pullapart XJ driveshaft this week and had a local driveline shop cut it down to the length I needed. So I threw the shaft in and set the rear pinion angle, welded the perches on and then fab'd up some shock mounts. Pictures to follow.

Done!

Really simple rear shock mounts. I mounted them as far out as possible so the rear is stable since the rear springs are pretty far inward.

One more thing to check off of my list.

I'm going to wire in the VSS adapter from Dakota Digital this week using the old style mechanical speedo gear I picked up from the junkyard the other day. Hopefully more progress will be coming soon.

 

[95yjjeep]

Got some more work done today. I fabricated the transfer case shifter and the turn signal switch bracket.

Early shot of the t-case shifter. I just made a bracket to mimic the factory shifter bracket and sandwiched it on each side of the original bracket. Then cut a piece of 3.4" tube and welded it on.

You can see the factory bracket sandwiched in my new one.

Then I had to make a 90* angled piece so it didn't hit the transmission when in 4wd.

Bolted into place. I welded on a bolt so I could use a beer tap handle that my dad gave it. It's old school and I thought it was the perfect thing for my shift knob.This is where the shifter is in 4wd low.

Upclose showing how it all fit together on the side of the NP231 case in case anyone wanted to see how it worked.

This is the position of 2wd high.

Another.

Turn signal switch in place.

 

[BRUISER]

Dont forget that case has 2 low also

 

[95yjjeep]

Dont forget that case has 2 low also

I know! That's the best part about that case!

 

[95yjjeep]

Whew! Busy busy weekend. Some of the closest friends came over and helped out too. Without them I wouldn't have been able to....DRIVE THIS BITCH AROUND! Wow that has been a long time coming. I'll start with the progress that we got done this weekend.

First...Got some power steering lines made last week.

Steering Shaft Mount Made to keep the shaft from moving around.

Brake tabs welded on the frame with the stainless lines hooked up. The hard lines are regular old auto part store specials.

Other brake stuff.

I had to cut out part of the shock tower tube. I partially welded in a filler plate. I'll finish that and grind it smooth whenever I do the paint work later on.

You can see where I basically welded two steering u-joints together, then welded the shaft to it. I did this because they didn't make the double high angle joints in the box spline count I needed.

Then onto some pics from the first test drive. Other than having a leaky power steering hose, no brakes and the engine running rich, it was great!

Backing back down the driveway.

 

[95yjjeep]

Youtube video of the first test drive. Enjoy! I sure know I did.

 

[95yjjeep]

Another video. You can't hear the jeep too much since my buddy is riding next to me on my 4wheeler.

 

[ReedyMsc08]

Sorry for the crappy camera work but super stoked for you man!! Congrats, I knew that was a huge step for you!