Nashville TJ's Build - Continued

Well, the front of the grille looks pretty good - time to make the back look at least passible.

First up - mask off the front:

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Then I scuffed everything with a red scotch bright, wiped it all down, and hit the back with an etching primer - particularly the bare metal areas from the wire brushing I did earlier.

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The I hit it with this matching basecoat paint I got from Automotive TouchUp a few years ago. It matches very well.

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The outside sections of the grille can be seen through the inner fenders, so I hit those sections with semi-gloss black.

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And finally, I laid down a gloss clear coat over the entire back.

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Although I did this mainly to cover the bare metal sections and protect it going forward, and I wasn't terribly concerned about how it would look - it actually turned out pretty well. I'm really happy with the color match, and very comfortable that it will last - untill the next roll, anyway... :rolleyes:
 
Well, the front of the grille looks pretty good - time to make the back look at least passible.

First up - mask off the front:

View attachment 427361

Then I scuffed everything with a red scotch bright, wiped it all down, and hit the back with an etching primer - particularly the bear metal areas from the wire brushing I did earlier.

View attachment 427362

The I hit it with this matching basecoat paint I got from Automotive TouchUp a few years ago. It matches very well.

View attachment 427366

The outside sections of the grille can be seen thorough the inner fenders, so I hit those sections with semi-gloss black.

View attachment 427363

And finally, I laid down a gloss clear coat over the entire back.

View attachment 427364

Although I did this mainly to cover the bear metal sections and protect it going forward, and I wasn't terribly concerned about how it would look - it actually turned out pretty well. I'm really happy with the color match, and very comfortable that it will last - untill the next roll, anyway... :rolleyes:

Looks awesome... but then again what's new about that. I envy your patience and dedication to detail!!
 
Comfortable with the fit, and with all my extra holes taken care of, I turned my attention to the finish. It looks good in the pictures, but it's a little faded and rough in person. So I broke out the polisher and polishing compound and went to work. It shined up nicely and the color match is now much better. The more I work on this thing the happier I am.

View attachment 425934

You were fortunate to score a color matched grill. Nice find from @Alex01
 
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Started off this morning making the bracket for the Setrab tranny cooler. I considered using angle for the supports to provide for vertical stability, but thought that would needlessly block airflow. Instead, I used two 1.5" x 3/16 bar stock - I figured the 3/16" would provide enough rigidity, and not block much airflow.

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Always a good day when I get to hit the heavy-duty power tools.

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Here is how the cross bars attach using a couple of short M6 1.0 bolts.

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The tubing for the grille support is pretty thin, so to provide a little more meat to weld to I ground recesses into the bars to accept the bar. I purposely offset the bars to allow for this.

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And here it is dropped into place...

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...and test fitted for location. I do think the zip ties will be much easier than welding.

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Why Jeep didn't round over the ends on these things I never understood - so , that was the first thing I did.

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Then a little welding, a little grinding...

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...a little paint, assembly, and it's ready to go.

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Next up was to rework my cooling plumbing to accommodate the new coolers. Blaine's steering cooler kit uses -8 return lines throughout, whereas my old system used -6. So first I swapped the input adapter and connection fittings on the reservoir.

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Here is a comparison of the -6 adapter on the right, and the new -8 on the left. Quite a bit larger.

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I also swapped the return fitting on the steering gear with the fitting supplied by Blaine. My box is parallel to the frame, and to get the angle on the fitting to clear the frame I had to gently flatten the bend just a bit. I assume Blaine brazed and bent this fitting, and it was very nicely done - I felt a bit guilty having to modify it... :rolleyes: .

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The -8 line that came with Blaine's kit is crazy heavy duty and stiff, and is intended to be used with push to lock fittings - also supplied by Blaine. Well, there was no way in #$@^%& that I was going to be able to push in those fittings by hand, so I spent a little time and built this fitting press to work with my vice.

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Worked like a charm...

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Here is a shot of the color match between the rattle can touch up paint I used on the back of the grille, and the original Solar Yellow on the face. It's close enough, but just a bit off. I'm glad I did not try to do the entire face of the grille this way.

Jeep - Moab Repair 6 - 5-10-2023 (19).JPG
 
This afternoon I finished up a few odds and ends on the plumbing, reinstalled all the lighting, and refilled the fluids. Everything is back together at this point. I still need to add the pins for the hood pins.

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It looks really good in person. Tomorrow I'll bleed the steering and check for leaks.

Next up is building the new front lower control arms.
 
This afternoon I finished up a few odds and ends on the plumbing, reinstalled all the lighting, and refilled the fluids. Everything is back together at this point. I still need to add the pins for the hood pins.

View attachment 427795

View attachment 427796

It looks really good in person. Tomorrow I'll bleed the steering and check for leaks.

Next up is building the new front lower control arms.

That is PURE ART, plain and simple!!
 
Another recommendation Blaine made was to increase the orifice bore size on the low-pressure side of the hydroboost. In the pic it's the hose with the hose clamp.

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The stock fitting is on the left, and the new fitting Blaine sent to me is on the right. The orifice in each fitting is 7/64".

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Blaine said to drill out the orifice as large as possible without compromising the threads. To hold the fitting securely for drilling without damaging it I screwed on an old -6 fitting and dropped it in the vice. I then drilled it out a few times stepping up 1/64" at a time.

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I took it up to 3/16".

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Installed the new fitting...

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...and used a 90 -6 fitting to connect the hose. I also think it's a cleaner installation than the old straight fitting.

Jeep - Moab Repair 8 - 5-10-2023 (8).JPG
 
Another recommendation Blaine made was to increase the orifice bore size on the low-pressure side of the hydroboost. In the pic it's the hose with the hose clamp.

View attachment 427924

The stock fitting is on the left, and the new fitting Blaine sent to me is on the right. The orifice in each fitting is 7/64".

View attachment 427925

Blaine said to drill out the orifice as large as possible without compromising the threads. To hold the fitting securely for drilling without damaging it I screwed on an old -6 fitting and dropped it in the vice. I then drilled it out a few times stepping up 1/64" at a time.

View attachment 427926

I took it up to 3/16".

View attachment 427929

Installed the new fitting...

View attachment 427927

...and used a 90 -6 fitting to connect the hose. I also think it's a cleaner installation than the old straight fitting.

View attachment 427928

How does the larger orifice change the brake feel?