OP
Build, break, upgrade, repeat, fall down, get up, dust off, keep going, never quit, and never sell!
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05 Flame Red TJ Build
- Thread starter JMT
- Start date
Build, break, upgrade, repeat, fall down, get up, dust off, keep going, never quit, and never sell!
"His cajones are too big for his britches" lol
Likewise. Gotta have @Wildman to get off his lazy butt and finish the “face lift”.
Kidding of course, Rick, hope your shoulder is better.
I'm freaking OLD (turned 63 yesterday) so I don't heal as fast as I used to. Every time I start thinking my shoulder is getting better it starts to hurt again. Been trying to not have to go to physical therapy but I might just have to breakdown and go.
You can do 90% of the trails here in the PNW on 33" tires and 35" tires just make them a little easier. Of course if you add the length of a LJ to the mix you'll be making 3-5 point turns where with a TJ it's a 2 point turn.
OP
When I seriously contemplated an LJ one of the deciding factors in staying with the TJ was the length in the PNW. The other was the added stability I could get on a TJ (if needed) with the midarm.
OP
Happy birthday brother! I hope your shoulder heals. Be a shame if it constantly hurts.
OP
Back home last night so I finished up the Savvy Engine Skid this morning. The main thing is to position the skid where you cover the transmission pan entirely and yet leave enough clearance for the front driveshaft. You can bend the struts to get the front back positioning so you have enough overhang to attach to the TCase skid. Where it ends up is where it ends up relative to the oil drain plug.
The struts look better with the two angled portions inboard. I was able to use the lower front holes on the skid to position it as high as possible. I had no interference with the exhaust pipes as some have. Excepting fitment trials, leave all the bolts loose till you’re done and then tighten them all down. It makes things easier. I used a spot weld cutter for the 4 holes needed to mate the engine skid to the TCase skid. Savvy forgot to send those 4 bolts and nuts, so I temporarily am using some Allen head countersinks I had. I much prefer #4 Philips. It’s nice to finally have the transmission and oil pan protected.
Trying to get a decent pic of the front, but a little hard to do.
Driveshaft clearance is the same for the transmission pan as it is for the skid.
The exhaust side looks good too.
Drain plug easily visible and accessible. I’ll be getting a quick drain system.
The struts look better with the two angled portions inboard. I was able to use the lower front holes on the skid to position it as high as possible. I had no interference with the exhaust pipes as some have. Excepting fitment trials, leave all the bolts loose till you’re done and then tighten them all down. It makes things easier. I used a spot weld cutter for the 4 holes needed to mate the engine skid to the TCase skid. Savvy forgot to send those 4 bolts and nuts, so I temporarily am using some Allen head countersinks I had. I much prefer #4 Philips. It’s nice to finally have the transmission and oil pan protected.
Trying to get a decent pic of the front, but a little hard to do.
Driveshaft clearance is the same for the transmission pan as it is for the skid.
The exhaust side looks good too.
Drain plug easily visible and accessible. I’ll be getting a quick drain system.
OP
I’m planning to remove the rock sliders (again), cut the top of the backing plaste flat across the top, fill the JCR logo in with weld, and paint it aluminum color to tie in with the GR fenders. I think it will improve the look, but I’m open to opposition.
Sounds like a lot of work just to change the color of that part of the jeep that gets most of the abuse on the trail. Your bumpers are black, so it ties in to that part of the jeep just fine. If you paint them aluminum, it might be tougher to touch up than black.
OP
Just the backing plate. The slider itself will stay black. It is kinda a bunch of work for no functional advantage. Just aesthetics.
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If you need a project, you can surely find something more beneficial that all that.
I don’t see being able to really match the aluminum with paint. But I do wonder what it would look like with a red color matched backing plate
OP
I thought about color matched red too, and I thought, then I'd have to buy the paint and clear and go through all the paint gun stuff and cleanup. Arghhh.
I've got an aluminum color match paint, so I thought that would be easier. It may not look that great, but I've always been attracted to the red with silver accents rather than red with black.
Yeah, I agree. I'm still working on renovating our laundry room, and I'll post up that project when I finish. I'm in a lull right now on that one. I am dreading grouting the tile on the wall.
I always kinda liked this paint scheme on the GR YJ, but it is a little different with the color matched fenders/flares.
OP
I really need to be thinking about final build plans. If I want to do the Savvy Midarm then that's the next step. After that I can outboard and do the rear frame tuck last. Otherwise I can go ahead with the outboard. I don't really know what I want to do here, so I'll just run trails and see if the Jeep tells me it needs something.
