Building an E-Ticket ride - 06 LJ

[E-Ticket]

Finally got some extra hands to help me get the painted cage back in. I can’t believe I was able to get all the bolts in, hallelujah!

Now I can move onto seats, dome lights, rear speakers.

 

[E-Ticket]

Busy weekend, got my rear speakers and front and mid dome lights in and wired.

Got my tailgate back on and wired for LED plate lights

After a ton of trial and error I finally landed on the right configuration of bolts, nuts, spacers and washers and metal trimming to get the PRP seats mounted and the harnesses and seat belts, all mounted to the aft seat mounting bolts. The crotch strap is anchored to the forward crossbar of the seat mount, so everything slides with the seat.

I added double thickness shrink sleeve to the seatbelt bracket to prevent it from digging into the harness strap.

I’ve got good clearance to the center console.

The money shot!

The harnesses are not final adjusted but rather mocked up for now.

I also have use of the factory seatbelts.

I’ve got to pull all of this out to install my BedTred kit but good to have it together. It is starting to look like a drivable rig despite so many loose ends I’ve got to tie off in the coming weeks.

 

[NashvilleTJ]

Hard to tell from the photos, but the harness bar looks a bit low. How far below your shoulders is the bar?

 

[E-Ticket]

Hard to tell from the photos, but the harness bar looks a bit low. How far below your shoulders is the bar?

I will need to get some help to measure tonight as that’s not something easily done by myself. I measured for the seat order and the driver seat is 2” taller than the passenger based on my and my wife’s torso dims. As for the harness bar, that’s fixed position from Genright and I have to admit I’ve assumed they have it in the correct position for the average height people. I am 5’11” and my wife is 5’9” tall.

If the bar is too low I can add a piece above it to change that angle. I will not be happy about it, but it has to be right of course.

I suppose seat risers would be another possibility but not sure I like being closer to the header bars.

 

[NashvilleTJ]

I will need to get some help to measure tonight as that’s not something easily done by myself. I measured for the seat order and the driver seat is 2” taller than the passenger based on my and my wife’s torso dims. As for the harness bar, that’s fixed position from Genright and I have to admit I’ve assumed they have it in the correct position for the average height people. I am 5’11” and my wife is 5’9” tall.

If the bar is too low I can add a piece above it to change that angle. I will not be happy about it, but it has to be right of course.

I suppose seat risers would be another possibility but not sure I like being closer to the header bars.

Not an expert by any means, but I do know that if the bar is too low it can cause spinal compression injuries in an impact. 1-2” below the shoulder is acceptable as I understand it. I’ve seen better diagrams, but can’t find any I’ve seen at the moment. I came across this one which should give you a good idea.

 

[E-Ticket]

Not an expert by any means, but I do know that if the bar is too low it can cause spinal compression injuries in an impact. 1-2” below the shoulder is acceptable as I understand it. I’ve seen better diagrams, but can’t find any I’ve seen at the moment. I came across this one which should give you a good idea.

View attachment 530459

Thanks @NashvilleTJ , I’ve seen this and am aware of the risk of injury due to incorrect shoulder strap angles. I am curious what impact the height of the seat pass through has on this. If the pass through is at the correct height, does that buy me any flexibility for the bar being lower? Unless the seat is crushed, the pass through is setting the height of the strap and thus the angle of the strap to the shoulder and preventing the downward force that is the danger.

Likely wishful thinking and I’ve got more work to do but I will measure to my shoulders and post up. I know the measurement from the top of the bar to the bottom of the pass through on the driver seat is 5” and that is far more than 5 degrees.

 

[E-Ticket]

There are some products in the market to address a mismatch of harness bar height to requirements, none of them look very appealing. Ideally I’d want something like a mini tube hoop but I’ve got no access to a tube bender.

 

[E-Ticket]

I did some measuring and made some calls. My shoulders are even with the bottom of the strap path through in the seat. Per PRP, the seat has a 1” bar at the bottom of the pass through as part of the seat frame. That bar will keep the belts in place vertically and sets the angle that the belts made with your shoulders, which is horizontal in my case. Based on my intended use and description of my installation I was told I am safe as is and don’t need to raise the connection to the harness bar.

I called Genright too and Keith had the same advice. I looked at all the builds on their website and every TJ/LJ is set up the same way as mine with respect to the harness bar and strap attachment. I believe even their Hammers raced Terramoto has the same geometry for the harness bar and attachment based on the pictures.

I am told the real danger with low shoulder strap mount points is with stock seats that done contain the position of the straps and thus your shoulders are the only thing holding them up in a crash.

Based on all of this I am going to leave it as it is, at least for now. If I get more information that tells me I am unsafe then I am going to have an open mind to throw some dollars at a bracket to raise the attach points.

Here are some pictures of my setup from behind just for clarity. Never mind the buckle is not yet tucked into the final configuration.

 

[NashvilleTJ]

I did some measuring and made some calls. My shoulders are even with the bottom of the strap path through in the seat. Per PRP, the seat has a 1” bar at the bottom of the pass through as part of the seat frame. That bar will keep the belts in place vertically and sets the angle that the belts made with your shoulders, which is horizontal in my case. Based on my intended use and description of my installation I was told I am safe as is and don’t need to raise the connection to the harness bar.

I called Genright too and Keith had the same advice. I looked at all the builds on their website and every TJ/LJ is set up the same way as mine with respect to the harness bar and strap attachment. I believe even their Hammers raced Terramoto has the same geometry for the harness bar and attachment based on the pictures.

I am told the real danger with low shoulder strap mount points is with stock seats that done contain the position of the straps and thus your shoulders are the only thing holding them up in a crash.

Based on all of this I am going to leave it as it is, at least for now. If I get more information that tells me I am unsafe then I am going to have an open mind to throw some dollars at a bracket to raise the attach points.

Here are some pictures of my setup from behind just for clarity. Never mind the buckle is not yet tucked into the final configuration.

View attachment 530536

View attachment 530537

Great information. Good to know about the reenforcement in those seats.

 

[E-Ticket]

I got the forward BedTred kit in and some floor mats, trimmed around the cage stanchions.

The aft BedTred kit is a real disappointment. The pieces attach with Velcro and the Velcro is sewn into the BedTred. The Velcro locations at not great. Some are right where there is a bunch of lumpy seam sealer from the factory and you can’t get anything to stick to it. The main attachment for the wheel well pieces is at the top of the tub, but I’ve got tub armor reinforcing L pieces there so nothing for the Velcro to lay flat on. If I was to leave those side pieces on they would be barely contacting anything unless maybe I sprayed contact cement all over them and the tub. That’s not something I want to do.

Also, the tailgate piece will cover the vents, so not great.

So for now I just installed the bed lower piece which fits fine and is held in place by my spare tire anchor and some ties downs, in addition to Velcro which seems sufficient for this piece.

I am likely to bed line the tub sometime and do away with the BedTread. Having paid for it and modified it, I will try this out for a bit.

 

[MountaineerTom]

I got the forward BedTred kit in and some floor mats, trimmed around the cage stanchions.

View attachment 531204

The aft BedTred kit is a real disappointment. The pieces attach with Velcro and the Velcro is sewn into the BedTred. The Velcro locations at not great. Some are right where there is a bunch of lumpy seam sealer from the factory and you can’t get anything to stick to it. The main attachment for the wheel well pieces is at the top of the tub, but I’ve got tub armor reinforcing L pieces there so nothing for the Velcro to lay flat on. If I was to leave those side pieces on they would be barely contacting anything unless maybe I sprayed contact cement all over them and the tub. That’s not something I want to do.

Also, the tailgate piece will cover the vents, so not great.

So for now I just installed the bed lower piece which fits fine and is held in place by my spare tire anchor and some ties downs, in addition to Velcro which seems sufficient for this piece.

View attachment 531205

I am likely to bed line the tub sometime and do away with the BedTread. Having paid for it and modified it, I will try this out for a bit.

I got some Velcro brand strips from Amazon in a couple different sizes for some various projects. It sticks really well and holds great. Maybe you can cut to fit where you need it.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0010HADEA?tag=wranglerorg-20

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00JJPQ272?tag=wranglerorg-20

 

[E-Ticket]

Thanks @MountaineerTom. I thought of adding Velcro but the backside of the BedTred is pretty slick. On your recommendation and the description on Amazon, will give the industrial strength strips a try.

 

[MountaineerTom]

Thanks @MountaineerTom. I thought of adding Velcro but the backside of the BedTred is pretty slick. On your recommendation and the description on Amazon, will give the industrial strength strips a try.

You could try knocking the shine off the Bed Tread area you want to stick it with sandpaper. Just enough to dull it down and give it something to bite onto.

Good luck.

 

[E-Ticket]

I spoke too soon about all the bolts fitting on the cage. The windshield attachments were off about a half a diameter. They are not adjustable in that direction.

Solution: cut, bend and weld them.

I put electrical power to her for the first time since I started this project.

I’ve got a couple of gremlins to sort.

Left rear marker light not working, all others do. Likely a blade connector is loose.

No power to my amp or AuxPanel. I’ve moved the switched trigger source around between a few different fuses and no joy. Likely I’ve got a bad splice in that feed wire.

After doing more research on exhaust I’ve ordered a Walker 21456 muffler and will install that myself.

That should just leave bleeding the brakes, fluid fill on the transmission and final adjustments in the pinion angles and I will be ready for the first trip around the block.

 

[E-Ticket]

Moving day in the shop, need the LJ back on the lift to finish up the list of open items. With the spare inside, cage and hard top on this is nearing trail weight less gas and gear. I still think she sits a bit high but let’s see if the springs settle in with some driving.

Happy to report all dash wiring is now in order so I could button that up.

Note to self for future amp installations, set the gain about mid way before you go chasing non issues with the sub due to the gain at lowest setting!

 

[AirborneTexasRanger]

What happened here?

 

[E-Ticket]

Ouch! That’s a fail. I can’t tell you what happened on the end of that weld but I bet you can given your expertise.

I suppose my eye focused on the lower section of that weld when I looked over my work. That top section is where there was no cut on the part, and I’ve put a bead down both sides of the part. I think there is very little force held by these brackets given the original design with a slot in the direction of the windscreen travel they are preventing. I don’t think there is any danger of the bracket failing but I certainly is cause for some embarrassment at my hack welds being exposed for all to see!

 

[AirborneTexasRanger]

Ouch! That’s a fail. I can’t tell you what happened on the end of that weld but I bet you can given your expertise.

I suppose my eye focused on the lower section of that weld when I looked over my work. That top section is where there was no cut on the part, and I’ve put a bead down both sides of the part. I think there is very little force held by these brackets given the original design with a slot in the direction of the windscreen travel they are preventing. I don’t think there is any danger of the bracket failing but I certainly is cause for some embarrassment at my hack welds being exposed for all to see!

It takes balls to post something on the Internet for everyone to dissect.

Most likely there was some paint a little to close to the weld & it messed with the shielding gas.

 

[E-Ticket]

@AirborneTexasRanger, don’t look too closely at my other welds . Some of them get a 10 foot picture instead!

In all seriousness, I do appreciate the great thread you have going on all things welding and other advice you dole out across this forum as it really helps a novice welder like me.

 

[AirborneTexasRanger]

@AirborneTexasRanger, don’t look too closely at my other welds . Some of them get a 10 foot picture instead!

In all seriousness, I do appreciate the great thread you have going on all things welding and other advice you dole out across this forum as it really helps a novice welder like me.

Thank you for the kind words. Sharing my welding knowledge is like a down payment on the extensive mechanic advise I hope to get out of this forum.