Recent content by carrotman

Been kind of a busy week but doesn't feel like I've gotten much done. Lots of running around, lots of sanding. To start, I wanted to fill in a couple holes I welded up with body filler. Should be no big deal, I've got the filler.. Squeezed the hardener to see if it was ok, top of the tube popped...

Got the grille welded back together and made the preliminary radiator mount Here is a shot of the body mount After cycling steering at full articulation, we've got clearance! I think the pitman arm might have ended up closer to the radiator, but it still clears too. Just need to finish...

Anyone know where to get replacement grille corner body mount bumper thingies? Having a hard time with google search results.

Nope, top is all still factory. I think since the condenser mounts on rubber grommets allowing some misalignment, it likely won't need any modification. I think to get the radiator in, I'm going to make my own side brackets to replace the ones that came with it, rather than modifying the...

Welded the shortened bottom bracket together. The burning body paint near the weld area smelled disgusting Got it clamped to the grille, tacked on the body mount bracket Drilled a new body mount hole in the frame support, cut off the excess bracket. I don't love how close the hole is to the...

Took apart the bottom structure of the grille by drilling out the spot welds. Trimmed that piece for clearance. Mind the mess... Trimmed the piece that I trimmed to remove 1.5" Condenser test fit Need to trim the bracket with the body mount next but calling it a day.

Moved the whole grille as far forward as I could to see where I'm at. Still interferes about 1" before full bump: The limit right now is the radiator bottom tank hitting the body mount bracket. After some brainstorming, I think I have an idea... :unsure:

Didn't like how mucky the bottom of the brake fluid reservoir looked, so I took it off and cleaned it out with brake cleaner. After about 1 can: Filled it up with fresh fluid and did a bleed. Found a few more leaky fittings after pumping the brakes with some real pressure, but I tightened...

Got the brakes cleaned, lubed, and fully installed today. For the brake line going to the master cylinder, I bent one of the brake clip fitting brackets at a 45° angle and installed a rivnut on the lip at the bottom of the firewall Then I got the line made. This one was pretty easy...

Got my longer wheel studs in to accommodate my 1/4" wheel spacers. Took a while to find the right part number, but these are Dorman 610-290 in case anyone is wondering. Remember, they are for JK unit bearings, don't know if the splined section is correct for a TJ hub. I think the 10 pack...

Amazon package came in. Got some new bump stop cups, old ones were pretty rough. The paint job is pretty poor but they'll work fine. Also got my 42mm socket for the pitman arm nut, and learned that I need to remove my track bar to get the socket on. Not a big deal but good to know. I might...

Busy day! First things first, I wanted to patch in that hole I created when I was trying to extract the broken bolt under the battery tray. Welded a flange nut to a 1" circle piece of steel made with a hole saw, then welded it in to the sheet metal. Not perfect but I don't care, it's covered up...

Got all the steering stuff installed, loctited, torqued, and marked. I used blue loctite everywhere, hopefully red isn't needed. Don't know if I'll need to take anything apart after a test drive or anything. Went ahead and put the shocks in and peeled the tape off too. Ran out and got some...

Smoooth blends!

Ok I figured it out. Started off trying to make the kind TMR/Ruffstuff sell, maybe what @Mike_H was talking about: Didn't turn out great, couldn't get the metal to curve where the legs are bent down and was just generally a pain in the butt. Next idea was similar to what I already did but a...