It’s been a while. It’s been a LONG while. Turns out having a kid not only takes a lot of the time I used to have, but also the money that would be necessary for me to continue working on Ike. That’s not to say it’s been without Jeep-related fun. In fact, today marked the start of a new Jeep project. No, it won’t take the place of Ike, but it will let me have a little Jeep fun while also passing the torch to Hayden. What could I possibly be going on and on about? Well, here’s the start of…
1 CommentCategory: Non-stock Modification
After another weekend of work, I’m getting fairly close to having a rolling chassis in my garage. This weekend was all about getting the pieces for my front axle prepped for paint and final assembly. This meant sandblasting, sandblasting, and more sandblasting. I got the rest of the brake parts blasted and ready (both backing plates, drums, and lower connecting plate), the hubs completed, and the differential cover blasted and cleaned. I’ll have to go back and get the spindles that I swapped out when I did the axle shaft removal from the parts Jeep though, since the correct bushing…
Comments closedIn what will surely be only the first major component that needs to be farmed out for work, I finally got the frame sandblasted. Performance Powder Coating in Apple Valley did a fantastic job, especially considering how long it would have taken me to do the same work. With the help of my buddy Joe, I got it picked up and we took it over to his dad’s place. After what seemed like just a short time, the old spring pivot joint was gone, and a new piece of metal was welded in. Above you can see the before with the…
Comments closedAfter spending the last few weeks hemming and hawing about the brakes, I had finally decided to just stick with the original style 9 inchers. All the reasons I had decided to stick with the original brakes are still there, but after the suggestion of a coworker, I decided to check the parts Jeep and see what it had on it. The previous owners of the parts Jeep had done various upgrades and changes to it for wheeling out in the desert. Everything from the engine, to the tires and wheels, to the locking hubs had been changed. Come to…
Comments closedThe rear axle is all but finished as far as painting goes. After putting the second coat on the differential cover, it’s just about time to button it all up. I’ll be putting in an order for a differential cover gasket, I’ve already purchased new fastening hardware, and the only thing I’ll need after that is some differential oil. While I’m happy to be nearing completion on the finishing of the axle, I’m slightly less happy with the way the semi-gloss POR15 dried. When I chose to purchase the semi-gloss over the gloss, I was hoping for a finish similar…
Comments closedSince I didn’t get my puller in time to pull the hubs this weekend, the Jeep work became more cleanup work than anything else. I finally cut off the rear tube that was maybe supposed to be a flag holder so that the frame would sit evenly while upside down on the stands. Since it was upside down, I pulled off the 4 axle bumpers from the frame. It’s an unfortunate reality that many vintage Jeep frames have extreme rust where the axle bumpers meet the frame. In what is sure to be one of the few times where I…
1 CommentToday I did something that I finally realized I needed to do: add a cup holder. Now I know what you might be thinking. A Jeep shouldn’t have a cup holder, it’s not the way Toledo intended it. Well, here is my defense. I like to drive Ike to and from work. Some mornings, I’ll stop at Starbucks and get a coffee before I go in. After spilling my coffee all over Ike, I decided something had to change. So, I did a search and found that someone at 1942MB had already figured out the least invasive and most usable…
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