Project: Tow-Rat (Lil' Blue)

[6DoF]

you guys are brutal!

no excuses, only results ... dually noted

[Rickysnickers]

I'm just giving you a bad time. Both are good

[joedoh]

lets not gang up on him by remembering that a month ago he started getting ready for the "winter" by packing things up in his garage majal that frankly looks more comfortable to work in all winter than my four season garage™©® driveway, which frankly doesnt get cold enough to stop working in until after the first of the year , and just shifted gears to ANOTHER project that ALSO fits in his garage.

i like your jeep! mine has a weird rust spot on the lower body line of the passenger front door and i plan to do nothing about it. the underside looks brand spanking new though. gotta love NE rust.

[burnin oil]

On the XJ what brand injection pump are gonna run? I have seen alot of bad reviews on company's using Chinese heads. Seen some people say run a 3.9 cummins head with the VW delivery valves and others used a land rover pump and enlarged the mounting bolts from 8 to 10mm.

I have been toying with a 1.9 into a TJ swap and have two bad injection pumps. Both are good but bad timing collars and have not found replacement collars available. Seems like good conidates for this swap.

[6DoF]

build thread and more info here:
http://www.jeepin.com/forum/showthread.php?t=571

don't want to anger up the natives again discussing "intrusive" builds

[Rickysnickers]

Originally Posted by 6dof

build thread and more info here:
http://www.jeepin.com/forum/showthread.php?t=571

don't want to anger up the natives again discussing "intrusive" builds

lol!!!

[lower50's]

Just read your XJ TDI thread looking good. It will be a nice machine when you are done.

[6DoF]

Originally Posted by lower50's

Just read your XJ TDI thread looking good. It will be a nice machine when you are done.

thanks!

this project, like most, turned into a never ending game of justification ... front bumper was off for mods and mount work, but it's meh, and there's no rear hitch, so a pair of rock bumpers were ordered "while in there" ... now the oil pan is close to the axle with the front oil pump below the crank, so extended bump stops, so lift to regain up-travel, so new controls arms while i'm in there, but that makes the tires look stupid and small, and i don't like how 31s fit the stock wheels ...

[regan wilson]

Update?

[6DoF]

Originally Posted by regan wilson

Update?

lots! ... just not on the '55

TDI-XJ:
got that swap completed and started driving it, it's a solid little beater. currently only getting low 20s for mpg, so that sux though. the mechanical injection pump i got turned out to be from a scammer, and i lost a month converting back to the factory electronic pump. bunch of little things to make it an actually nice daily, but it's fine for now.

dodge W250:
i blew up the transmission in my truck AGAIN. 336,000 miles on the factory build, then BS. 3rd time out in 3000 miles, i wasn't putting that 5spd back. found and swapped in a 3rd gen NV5600 and it's AMAZING. like game-changer amazing. that truck has a dinosaur old school set of compound turbos that are super laggy, these tighter ratios actually keep it spooled! the install into the 1st gen truck wasn't exactly quick, but easy enough. i had to basically fiddle with everything around all of it. still need to get the floor all acid etched, chassis saver'd, and lizard skinned, after i finish making the seat mounts for the black leather Audi seats i found. i already at least got the new headliner in.

Airstream:
the dude finally healed from surgery and was able to wrap up the kitchen cabinet install. that lit a fire under the wife n i so we got the bed frame built and water tank mounted. i've also ordered all the rest of the plumbing needed to get the kitchen sink fully functional, along with the stove. super excited to maybe use it this year for the first time in a decade! also, i hate woodworking ...

holiday's, vacation's, other bad excuses ... i actually do not know when I'll get back to the 55. hopefully before too long.

[6DoF]

dropped to page-3 ... lets bring this junk back!

-6spd in the Ram is awesome, huuuuge upgrade. i'm excided for it in the 55 now.
-TDI-XJ i had to build new engine mounts for a 2nd time to soften things up and rebuild a new trans, but she's good to go. winter beater engage.
-airstream we got to a point we could use it this fall and had our maiden voyage. nothing like having fun to motivate new projects on something

the '55 is out and back to priority. i WILL be driving this in the spring.

just organizing the shop, pulling it back out, and cleaning was a bit. going thru parts to remember what i had vs what i needed, black friday sales are going to be expensive this year.

started working on the doors to get them squared away. seals on both, but need to drill holes for the clips in the new metal. drives i think is good, but the pass needs aligned better. started cleaning up all the factory latch bits i'll be using, and started painting the handles. ran em thru the sand blaster and a random orbital to smooth out the pitting first. trying to order new hardware to ditch the double-d bits, etc.

the big issue is getting the core support re-worked. everything fit with the factory balancer, but this larger fluidamper and the belt drive fuel pump stick out more. i'll actually be flipping the core support mounts up on top of the frame vs under, under was a stupid plan. it also gives me easy bumper mounting points too. then i just need to figure out how i want to rework the rad mounts to get it to lay flatter against the core support.







this will NOT be me!

[Jason 56]

Can’t wait to see it done. It’s looking killer!

[6DoF]

got my bolts in and ordered a TON of parts!

Turbo's: S362/65/.7 under an S475/96/1.32 ... plus some hot side pipe fab bits
Fueling: new injectors, new valve springs, new pump governor spring

door guts: vent window assemblies, glass, seals n slides

plus electric wiper motor

did a bit of work aligning the doors, and drivers door i'm super happy with. the passenger door doesn't seam like it's going to fit. anyone have any hits on if i need body mount adjustments? bending the door? etc? it's very tight against the cab, but adjusted out ... then on the front edge at the top it's almost against the A pillar, but the back has a lot of gap still ... but if i til the door back, the body lines end up way low. i have moved the door up some since the pictures, but didn't help much.

also, this is just satisfying

https://i.imgur.com/81GKwYc.mp4

[daveshilling]

Santa is coming to town for you!!

I had a door giving me issues, and before I did anything crazy, i just tried to get it aligned in the door hole with no hinges, just to see what the "best case scenario" would be gap-wise. it sorta gave me an idea of what to expect from the sheet metal alone, then when I started the stressful hinge aligning task I at least knew what I was dealing with.

[6DoF]

after looking at it more, i moved the top hinge back about 1/8" and the bottom back about 1/16". the gaps all look way better, and the body lines are what they are.

[6DoF]

shutting these doors is sooo satisfying. hopefully the vent windows aren't on backorder too long.

https://i.imgur.com/81GKwYc.mp4

[6DoF]

parts started coming in, first turbo is on site. credit card still trying to recover from Black Friday ... ugh

then it was on to re-doing the core support mounts and radiator mounts. wish i had done this from the start, but whatever it's there now. i even drilled and tapped the frame for am extra bolt in the face to help bumper mounts later, something about going into the new paint was panful the old body mount hole and the new face bolt should make the bumper mount easy enough.

after getting the new mount tacked in place while everything was held by the old mounts, was time to burn. when i cut the bottom off with the old mounts, i had to move the mounting for the cross bars and the lower tube up too. just cut and welded, doesn't look perfectly symmetrical but it aint going nowhere. had to bend the rad mounts quite a bit to get it to angle forward at the bottom vs straight up and down, now clears the fuel lift pump mini-belt just fine.

what it didn't clear however was the dang water neck getting past the belt tensioner right freakin into it! is an aftermarket belt routing kit already, so i just modified the brackets a bit and good to go. ordered what i hope to be all the parts for rad hoses, cross your fingers that should be doooone then.

something else i ordered was new valve springs to hand the higher R's and PSI, made sure the rear valve cover came off and it cleared by less than 1/2", all win with that!

[6DoF]

been bouncing around working on everything and anything to get myself a fat check mark on the list. as much as i hate christmas tree style clips, these zipties with one molded on are pretty solid. cut the tree n not reuse like a normal ziptie vs trying to save it.

working on black friday sale parts, i got the upgraded "60lb" valve springs all installed. #6 was a wanker to get to, but we got it! valves are lashed, but i feel like i want to re-check them after running it for a while. also got the 4k governor spring in the pump to let this thing eat.

i had forgotten to seam seal the new eyebrow plate i welded in before paint. not really a big deal and i'll leave it like it is, at least she's sealed now. actually did the whole tape both sides, smear it, and peal for nice lines. i'm pretty happy with it. this is not the same 3M Urethan i had used on the cab before, it's SIKA 221. seams like awesome stuff.

got the other turbo and started planning for how to cram it all in there. the normal flipped manifold was just all kinds of wrong. worst part was i only had 3" from the v-band on the back of the turbine to the firewall. then factory 2nd gen turbo location was basically in the middle of everything so i ended up making an angle adapter. normal manifold orientation, but will tuck the "small" turbo down under it closer to the engine. should have better room for piping, and more room for the atmospheric turbo. crossing my fingers the design was good, had send-cut-send laser cut all the parts and hopefully i see em soon.

the chineese short throw shifter i bought was hot garbage. didn't realize it until i bought a second one for my other truck. swapped that one out for a CORE shifter and loved it, so just swapped this one too. they are hands down the best shifter i have ever used. i even got one for the jeep i like em so much. just tight n right. the hurst style stick for the ram however didn't quite work in the 55 i'll have to cut n weld that later.

[6DoF]

Started getting things torn down and reassembled in the rear axle for new gears. going from the axles factory 4.10s to as high as i possibly can at 3.21. the Cummins loves load, and this way i'll be able to do highway speeds with the 30" tires

front shocks are on, and got the little bracket i made the other night on after the paint dried. something satisfying about a little stupid tab that the brake lines can ziptie too. just a nice KISS thing.

also cut down the shifter. makes ya cringe grinding into new chrome, but it's 1000x better. custom cut shifters that fall exatly where your hand is just makes the whole feel. and the fact it stood straight up is kinda cool.

[6DoF]

drivers side vent window showed up yesterday and i got to work SUPER excited to assemble a door. that didn't happen. part was my own learning of what's what, what goes where, and how it fits ... but in the end it just wasn't lining up. i even went to get the OG vent windows to compare. 3 of the 4 mounting tabs around the glass don't line up with the factory holes.

they aren't close enough to re-drill the tabs ... do i really just re-drill the door? not sure why i'm having issues with this option. thinking i should get the main glass in and rolled up before i re-drill anything.

why can't throwing money at a problem for bolt-in parts actually just be bolt-in ...

[dsraven]

I know, right? It seems the high quality parts just means they are close to the same shape so slightly easier than building something from scratch. Very frustrating. And it's not like you can say you get what you pay for, cuz parts ain't cheap either.
You'll figure it out like you always do, nice build so far. Not my personal style, but well planned and done. Keep posting up your progress.

[MrBeast]

Way cool build man, you have some solid fab skills.

Looking forward to seeing what you do with it.

[6DoF]

thanks!

got after the crazy door assembly again last night ... why were the stupid horizontal lower felts even more ridiculous to install than the vent window!?!?! 4 clips, just pop em in, the dude on the youtube said it was easy ... i blame the aftermarket for copying GM vs doing something better when GM made a crap design.

but it's together, it's functional and smooth, and i like it. though, i don't like how much paint i chipped. i'm not sure if it's my application, or the paint itself, but i'm getting flakes vs scratches in all 3 colors.

[57FleetsideC4]

Originally Posted by 6DoF

thanks!

got after the crazy door assembly again last night ... why were the stupid horizontal lower felts even more ridiculous to install than the vent window!?!?! 4 clips, just pop em in, the dude on the youtube said it was easy ... i blame the aftermarket for copying GM vs doing something better when GM made a crap design.

but it's together, it's functional and smooth, and i like it. though, i don't like how much paint i chipped. i'm not sure if it's my application, or the paint itself, but i'm getting flakes vs scratches in all 3 colors.

Looks Great. If you don't mind could you list order of assembly on the door window,vent and trim felts? Steve

[6DoF]

Originally Posted by 57FleetsideC4

Looks Great. If you don't mind could you list order of assembly on the door window,vent and trim felts? Steve

sure!

so i first went for doing the lower horizontal window felts last ... but found out they need messed with early.

my plan of action for the passenger door now having only assembled one ever ... i didn't even stay at a holiday inn express last night.

- install window crank mech
- hold the outer window channel and felt strips in place, trim felt/backing even with edge of the window channel so it's not behind/in it.
- install window felts, cuss as needed
- throw the main glass in the door, let it rest down inside the door out of the back channel and all way to the rear of the door.
- partially install the vent window. i missed needing to get the tab in the slot to start with, 3 of my holes didn't line up but easy enough to drill a new hole for a screws.
- form and fit the outer window channel to the door/vent frame, then leave the top hanging out of the door ... mine is tight but missing the lower clip that rusted off. i'll put a few RTV dots behind it if it starts to slip down with the window.
- unbolt the vent window and let it hang with the bottom of the track in the door pushed forward some.
- lift the glass up into the outer channel and the vent channel and bring it up thru the felts. fingernails only holding it on the trim worked to push it up for me, a ducttape handle might be safer. lots of space due to the window shape, but you can push the vent back into place as it comes up if you tipped it way in.
- slip lower window slider bracket thingy onto the crank mech (holes are more forward) set the glass on it and bolt to the glass
- bolt the vent assembly in place
- re-fit the outer channel rolling up the window to hold all that in place nice and final finagling
- fit window surround trim
- install latch bar/crank
- install door trim panel and crank handles

it's almost entirely 1/4-20 x 1/2" screws. i have little stainless button heads, and countersunk for the panel. i think it was #10x1/2" countersunk for the trim, much smaller for the 4 on the vent window.