Project: In over my head (again)

[jhartings]

Nice work brother!

[Old_Red_Jeep]

thanks all!

I was thinking more of a latch that is hidden under the hood. something like what a J10 would've used.

The first big accessory was added over the weekend! I finally got my tent installed after it has sat in the garage for a year! I spent most of Sunday fabricating my mount bars and they came out pretty ok!





The next part was the tricky bit. getting the tent onto the truck and where I wanted. It took John and I about 2 hours but that was mostly us trying to be very precise with our measurements since I was going to be drilling into the bed rails for the load bars. I think it turned out great! Just like I pictured it! It seems like its quality is solid and I honestly can't wait to go camping with it!

[Old_Red_Jeep]

Long time no update. I've been on the road for the past month and I'm finally home so I can start fiddling with the truck again. Unfortunately, due to everybody's favorite virus, Easter Jeep Safari has been cancelled. This is really disappointing and crushing. I've been working towards the goal of building my truck and driving it to EJS for 2 years now. We were really pushing hard here at the end but now the stress is off I guess.
The upside of no real deadline is a more lax work pace. So I'll focus on drivability, safety, sand usability. Here's my todo list at this moment:

1) Seats. need them
2) exterior lights to 12v
3) roll cage
4) hitch receiver
5) rock sliders
6) winch bumper

Granted this is all dependent on the strength of the economy after all this blows over. I'm due to get my seats back this weekend and I'm sourcing lights now. After that, I can coast if I need to.

Anyways, here are the fun pics! I got my new front turn signal housings installed. They don't match the patina but they have the added benefit of not being rusted together. I got the ones with the amber lenses since I figured people are usually looking for orange.


I also was able to clean up the interior a bit. I gave the dash and door tops the boiled linseed oil treatment. It came out really nice! Unfortunately, the white paint disappeared a bit but oh well. I can't believe how much nicer it looks! I don't think I'll do the rest of the truck though. I like the rough and weathered exterior with the nice interior contrast.

[brute4c]

Lovin the updates!

On the hood latch, the J10 style can be made to work BUT people often complain that the hook seems to be attracted to the skull of the person who looks under the hood...especially the dual hood latch hooks...they get ya every time one older member said...

[Old_Red_Jeep]

Lovin the updates!

On the hood latch, the J10 style can be made to work BUT people often complain that the hook seems to be attracted to the skull of the person who looks under the hood...especially the dual hood latch hooks...they get ya every time one older member said...

I could see that. I might use one from an XJ. but I was able to take the truck up to 60 and the hood wasn't flapping around so it might be ok.


Alright, so here is what I've been waiting for for about 3 months now, my seats! they have new foam on top and what is rapidly becoming my favorite leather! It's so soft and the color is perfect!







The fit is a little tight under the steering wheel but the foam should start to compress over time.

The truck works so well! The V10 is surprisingly tame but that's likely due to the gears. It's still mind blowing that it can start a 5th gear pull at 20mph! I was able to test it in highway conditions too! 60mph seems to be it's sweet spot. At 63mpg there is a wicked resonance that may be the heater box or something. but it sounds awful. And if you push up to 70mph, the engine doesn't mind but there's a lot of vibration and the truck feels a little uneasy there. So... 60mph it is! I think as long as I hang out in the right lane, people won't mind.

The bad news is that when I went to refill the gas tank, there was a wicked leak. As in, gallons of fuel on the road... I got home quickly then dove under the truck to see what was wrong. It turns out, the "fuel-resistant" rubber that I had used for a gasket, wasn't so fuel resistant. It weakened, expanded, then ultimately failed leaving a gaping hole between the module and the tank...



https://scontent-ort2-2.xx.fbcdn.net...70&oe=5E9D60C3

Unfortunately, this meant the tank had to come out. So I borrowed a bunch of gas cans, drained and dropped the fuel tank, and I reset the module neck. I cleaned all the surfaces, and scuffed up the metal of the tank and the plastic of the neck. I then used some cork gasket material this time and a liberal application of fuel resistant sealant. I'll be putting the tank back in this morning after letting the sealant cure overnight. Hopefully this does the trick.



To end the post on a good note, here are some pictures I took of the truck while it wasn't in the driveway!

[Old_Red_Jeep]

yesterday I was able to finish my fuel tank leak repair. It seems to be holding for now. hopefully it can hold up to the fumes and gas exposure this time.

To test my fix, I did what anyone would do and filled the truck back up and drove around. while I was out, I stopped and took a pic with a Huey!



While I was there, a gentleman approached me and started talking to me about the truck. He knew a lot about them and then he told me he had one in a nearby hangar. He wanted to show me it so I obliged and was greeted to a very clean forest service 715. Pretty cool stuff! My truck has been on the road two days and it's already making friends! haha

[Old_Red_Jeep]

Alright, it's been a minute since I've posted an update but I've got two things!

1) I welded on a hitch receiver to the rear crossmember so I can use a bike rack and tow my small boat!


2) John put together the video of us installing the tent! Give it a look if you're curious about what goes into installing one of these things.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=duw9wmq64FY

I probably won't make much progress for a while due to COVID and the automotive industry taking a nose dive... we'll see how this goes.