Lets Go Racing! Daily Driver/ Ultra4 TJ

[Mojones915]

Got a new trans crossmember made so I can drop the skid plate separate from the trans. It had previously mounted directly to the belly skid. Then pulled Atlas and trans to send it out for a re-build

 

[Mojones915]

Also got a new YouTube up this week

 

[BRUISER]

whos doing the rebuilds of atlas and tranny?

 

[Mojones915]

whos doing the rebuilds of atlas and tranny?

Atlas seems to be in great shape with no leaks so I'm going to leave it alone. Ended up going with monster transmission for a HD rebuild

 

[Mojones915]

More progress appears to mean less jeep. A couple of friends came over and helped knock out some big items on the list this weekend. New cross member is in that ties the cage to the frame rails. Rear structure is all complete and now I have cardboard templates made for the panels that will close it all in. Last night I finished welding out the back end and got the storage box mounted. Will be getting the spare tire figured out next and then it is on to the boatsides.

Should have cut this out sooner, made it way easier to get in there and work.

New crossmember in and welded to the cage

And storage for fluids, tools and spare parts. Just fits in there at full bump.

 

[Mojones915]

Got the rear panels and firewall all cut and fit, going to tab out the chassis tonight so it is ready for paint. Also got all of the boatside tubes cut and tacked in so the floor can get finished.

CT also called on Friday and my shocks will be ready to pick up this week so should be off the bumps soon. Still need the trans to get back.

Really picking up on the progress lately, only 45 days to go!

 

[Mojones915]

Just posted up a new video.

Got a good chunk of welding and panels finished up, and started sorting out the wiring.

Ran into the first big problem though, the 4l80 was re-built with a 4wd output instead of the longer 2wd that was in my core. Anyone local to Winston/ Greensboro that has a 2wd 4l80 output shaft?

 

[Mojones915]

Still making good progress, got the rear all finished up over the weekend - primed, painted and almost re-assembled. Number plates are made. Also got the fuel cell and toolbox in the rear and started cleaning up and routing the wiring. Front clip is also back on (hopefully for good).

Issue with the trans output is somewhat resolved, it is going back out this week to get swapped with a 1-2 week turnaround.

On a side note - I am definitely starting to stress way too much, and am getting way less sleep.

Light bar tabs

 

[Mojones915]

Sorry for the lack of updates on this. It has been a crazy push to get ready to head to KOH. As of today, the jeep has to be loaded and ready to go in the morning.

So since the last pictures a lot has happened.

Rigid Lights came on board as a sponsor so I got a 40 in bar (the 50 was on backorder) and 2 driving lights (will get amber covers)

 

[Mojones915]

@FSU Off-Road has made the trip up to help a few times and got the fuel cell and lines all squared away and even helped me by putting the car through tech last night (and fixing all my problems)

 

[Mojones915]

And as of last night, trans and tcase are in, all the wiring is in and working, engine cranks and trans goes through all gears, suspension is on, boatsides are skinned.

 

[Mojones915]

Left to do today/ tonight:

Clean up some wiring and grounds
Install line lock and bleed the brakes
Put the interior and belts back together
Fluid check
DRIVE!!!! (hopefully)

Then load the trailer, tools, camping gear and all the other stuff that I will most likely forget. Window nets will go in on the lakebed.

The list is still long and time is very short but we are going to make it!

Also for anyone that is coming out to KOH, I will be located inside Hammertown at 137 Recaro Road so stop by and say hi.

 

[FSU Off-Road]

Glad its coming together and in time! After you get it done, relax for a couple of days haha.

 

[Mojones915]

Cue sad music noises. Don't worry though, we are still going to make it to KOH to race.

The jeep was nothing but trouble yesterday and everything we worked on decided to fight back. I guess it has grown fond of its position on the jack stands in the shop.

So now we have a new plan - Take an extra week to sort out all these small last minute details, put some miles on the jeep here, and tow it out ourselves next week.

New YouTube is also up talking through some of this. Cant wait to reveal this thing all finished up in a day or two.

 

[Mojones915]

IT"S ALIVE!

YouTube of the first drive is up now

 

[Mojones915]

So last night we finally had everything go smooth. Got the jeep fired up and running on the jackstands and up to temp to check for leaks

After it cooled down and we crawled all over it making sure nothing was rubbing or interfering, we put on the wheels and tires and drove it out of the shop for the first time in like 4 months

 

[Mojones915]

So far the only leak we have appears to be coming from the steering box, so still need to look into that. Plan for this weekend is to finish up a few small things and really focus on the details. Plus a lot of organizing and packing because we leave Tuesday the 31st.

Also, really happy with how its looking, will get some pictures of it tomorrow all put together and in the light. Hoping to get some graphics on it this weekend too...

 

[Mojones915]

Jeep is all buttoned up and pretty much ready to go. Will be packing up everything tonight, and loading up and leaving tomorrow afternoon for KOH.

Also, this thing really rips now, check out the latest YouTube for a low range pull.

 

[mcconnell]

Congrats on getting it done.

 

[BRUISER]

I am sure Matt will do a full race recap.

I was able to be onsite again this year for the race and was happy to see Matt cross the start line.

 

[BRUISER]

start video

 

[Mojones915]

KOH Recap:

So it has been a crazy past 3 weeks for sure. The jeep missed its initial target to head out to KOH, so we had to adjust plans and drive it out ourselves. We took the extra week of time to try and focus on all the small things, as well as packing everything we thought we would need. We eventually hit the road about 8pm on Tuesday Jan 31st. The weather on 40 wasn't looking too good and Tennessee was getting hit hard with ice and snow, so we decided to take the southern route, cut down 85 to 20 and take it west.

All loaded up about to pull out of the driveway

First fuel stop

 

[Mojones915]

We made it all the way from NC to Dallas without any issues, and only stopping for fuel and driver swaps to take naps in the passenger seat.

Once we hit Dallas the weather finally caught up with us. Everything was covered in ice and after the trailer tried to pass us on the highway for a second time, we decided to stop for the night and get some decent rest and food that wasn't beef jerky

Jeep once we finally got off the road. The whole thing was covered in between 1/4 and 1/2 inch of ice. Seats were frozen solid and I was worried I would have a cold, wet seat to deal with once we made it to Johnson Valley. Luckily it all thawed out and dried coming across New Mexico and Arizona

We hit the road the next morning and within 15 minutes the roads were clear again. We bombed straight through again from Dallas to Boone Road

 

[Mojones915]

Eventually we landed on the lakebed about 4:30 in the morning on Friday February 3rd. It ended up being just over 40 hours of driving time, with no issues at all from the truck or trailer

Friday morning we unloaded everything in our spot in Hammertown, went to pick up the RV and groceries, and were back in the afternoon to start looking over the jeep ahead of our Saturday morning tech appointment

 

[Mojones915]

Overall tech went good. We had found a leaking fuel vent fitting right on the tank. With not being able to find a replacement on the lakebed we ended up grabbing a brass fitting from Ace hardware and putting a new end on the vent line to get it to stop leaking.

Once in tech, the car weighed in at 4537 with a full tank and no spares or tools on it. It had a pretty good front/ back and left/right balance

They made us change our chase bar wiring to be ignition instead of switch triggered, and zip tie the engine oil dipstick since it didn't lock. But we passed tech and got a new band on the car. We were through one more goal line for the race jeep and ready to start pre-running.