Alex01 Silver Sport Build Thread

[DuncLJ]

Fenders came in today!!! I got one side roughly set up- inner fender is not on right now.

If I didn't already buy all the paint I'd probably leave it aluminum because its not far off. At this point I'm thinking I'll paint the steel slider body color. The scratches will show less than black and I can easily touch them up with some body match spray paint.
Before:
View attachment 223714
After:
View attachment 223717

Those really look good! Probably a lot lighter too.
It really has me thinking about replacing my steel Poison Spyder fenders with aluminum Genrights.

 

[Alex01]

I didn't weigh the mc fenders but I'd guess they were around 30lbs without the flare. With the flare likely 40-45lbs per side. GR claims these are 9lbs and it feels like it.

 

[Midnight LJR]

Looks great!!!

 

[bobthetj03]

When will it all end? Lol!

 

[Alex01]

When will it all end? Lol!

I'm running out of big things. Hopefully a BCE in the future and adding a new rollbar, front half, like the poly one Blaine posted a while back, but past that I can't think of much I can do.

 

[DrDmoney]

When will it all end? Lol!

 

[Wildman]

Those look really good. Makes me wonder about my choice with going with the MC fenders and armor. But I needed the wider flares to cover my tires with.
I would paint them but that is me. While I like the look of the aluminum I'd be worried about the reflection of the sun in your face when you least need it.

 

[Alex01]

Those look really good. Makes me wonder about my choice with going with the MC fenders and armor. But I needed the wider flares to cover my tires with.
I would paint them but that is me. While I like the look of the aluminum I'd be worried about the reflection of the sun in your face when you least need it.

I'm still leaning towards paint but the aluminum is growing on me. I'll know more once I get it into the sun to wash off all the aluminum dust.


The inner look like a ton of fun. No reference points, just the basic shape. For all the shit MC gets their inner fenders were more thought out. I ran the stock air box (doubt it will fit now) and had holes for everything. You'd think since they are the standard not highline they'd be cut at least for the factory mounts. Oh well.

 

[Alex01]

I may have typed too soon. Maybe they slip behind. Which is odd since I've seen photos of them cut.

 

[mvigo]

looking good!

 

[Alex01]

I got the inner fenders cut, bedlined, and mocked up last night. I believe I'll be able to get the stock airbox to fit but I'm not looking forward to fitting the psc reservoir and smog equipment. I also need to find a smaller wiper fluid container since the stock one isn't going to work anymore.

 

[Midnight LJR]

Good work!

 

[Nickgsjeep]

Fenders came in today!!! I got one side roughly set up- inner fender is not on right now.

If I didn't already buy all the paint I'd probably leave it aluminum because its not far off. At this point I'm thinking I'll paint the steel slider body color. The scratches will show less than black and I can easily touch them up with some body match spray paint.
Before:
View attachment 223714
After:
View attachment 223717

Man Alex, that looks so good! Nice work

 

[Alex01]

I found that I couldn't mount the psc on the fender like many other have. My reservoir is 8.25" tall and psc stopped making the 7.25" version. I spent the night today making a custom mount that attaches to the inner fender so my hood could close. I guess if it fails in the future I'll take the advice Mike gave me and have the reservoir cut and rewelded shorter.

A visual story of the creation of the mount...

I just need to make a new feed line to finish it off. I don't have any more of the line so I'll need to order some.

 

[JMT]

past that I can't think of much I can do

Just give it time, you'll think of something...

Looking good so far, and I agree, paint them body match. The inners look great with the bedliner.

 

[Alex01]

Just give it time, you'll think of something...

Looking good so far, and I agree, paint them body match. The inners look great with the bedliner.

I have lots of thoughts but they all start with 10k+ in axles, involve a stretch, and are far more expensive than I can afford. Not to mention my skills still have a long way to go before the current platform is the issue. Who knows what the jeep will look like though by Moab 2023.

I agree with the paint. Hopefully, I can start on it not this coming weekend but the next. My goal is to have it back on the road by mid-March.

 

[JMT]

I have lots of thoughts but they all start with 10k+ in axles, involve a stretch, and are far more expensive than I can afford. Not to mention my skills still have a long way to go before the current platform is the issue. Who knows what the jeep will look like though by Moab 2023.

I agree with the paint. Hopefully, I can start on it not this coming weekend but the next. My goal is to have it back on the road by mid-March.

I've got some painting to do myself. The aluminum tailgate armor, as well as the inside of the tailgate and some of the floor in the rear of the tub right there at the tailgate. I guess most of it is prep, so I can get to that, but the temps here are going to drop this week to the teens, maybe lower, so I won't get any painting done.

 

[01TJ-Blues]

The sleeve for the tie rod flip finally came in today and I welded it in place. It was a fairly painless process. You drill the knuckle out with a 3/4" bit, weld the sleeve in, and grind the bottom flat. The flipped tie rod raised the TB about 1.5", previously would have been at 16" in the photo, the small change made a massive difference. Lastly, I adjusted the pinion down to 8.5° with the idea I'll lose the floaty feel. With any luck I'll stay vib free and not need a hub kit.



It feels good to have the jeep back on the ground. Now I just need to weld the bottom brackets for the AR in place, likely run new brake lines since I doubt the stock mounting location will work, and install the vacuum hose to replace the evap line once it arrives.

Where do you pick up one of those TR flip sleeves/bushings?

 

[01TJ-Blues]

I’m not entirely sure how blaine does his but he sent me a flip ready knuckle in exchange for my old knuckle and a small fe

And it isn't that I want or need your old knuckle. I just do the exchange so folks don't have to put the rig down waiting for me to get done and ship it back. This way, you can do the swap in a couple of hours.

But, if you don't send me your old knuckle, you're fucking the next guy and when I run out, I'll have to decide to charge a stupid high core charge or quit doing it. I'd almost rather quit than deal with the core charge.

I have literally charged someone a 200 dollar core charge because they seemed a bit flaky. 4 months later they wanted it back. I don't even know who you are after that length of time passes much less why I owe you 200 dollars.

I wish I'd have known (or paid closer attention) of this when I did my brakes two weeks ago. Could be a good upsell opportunity when selling some brakes. I also have the stock steering knuckles that you can have if you want them for cores for the next guys.

 

[01TJ-Blues]

I used the welder to build up material around the holes, quick taps on the trigger, then used the grinder to make them flush filling in pin holes if needed. The next step would have been sanding, bondo, paint, but I skipped the bondo since they will be hidden anyways and it was more of a thing to do.

Tech tip. If you have a chunk of aluminum you can hold it on the backside of the hole and weld wont stick to the aluminum but it will grab the edges of the hole and fill in quicker/easier. Makes cleanup on the backside easier too as the weld is almost flat already. Enjoying the read of your build...although its going to cost me more time and money.