Daily Driver, Go Where I Want To Build

If and when you make the move to 35” tires (which I think is a goal on the long list on yours) have you considered Nitto Trail Grapplers? They are the only tire I could find that comes in 35x11.5R17 Load range C. Big difference when doing fitment on a 12.5 wide tire (personally experience) I think they have my vote on my next set of rubber as I can bring in the Machined JK moabs a little narrower.
 
If and when you make the move to 35” tires (which I think is a goal on the long list on yours) have you considered Nitto Trail Grapplers? They are the only tire I could find that comes in 35x11.5R17 Load range C. Big difference when doing fitment on a 12.5 wide tire (personally experience) I think they have my vote on my next set of rubber as I can bring in the Machined JK moabs a little narrower.

I'm leaning back towards 15" and might revisit the Mamba stripping again.
 
I’m actually shocked at how easy this stuff takes off powdercoat....shit you’ve got me overthinking lol

I will likely give Eastwood a try. One thing I notice on his valve cover vs the wheel I fought with is the lack of a filler coat on the valve cover. The PC came off fairly easily. But when wet with stripper the thick filler felt like soft Bondo that never cured properly.
 
I will likely give Eastwood a try. One thing I notice on his valve cover vs the wheel I fought with is the lack of a filler coat on the valve cover. The PC came off fairly easily. But when wet with stripper the thick filler felt like soft Bondo that never cured properly.
You're trying to remove the finish off a Mamba to give it a polished finish, correct? I think your best best is to mechanically strip the PC and filler. It will be dusty, but you're going to have to mechanically finish the wheel anyway to get the look your after (IIRC). A red Roloc wheel will remove that stuff pretty quick, without going too deep into the base aluminum.
 
Why not bead blast them? You can buy a Harbor Freight blasting setup around $100

My research into that didn't look promising. Everything I found on inexpensive media blasting setups removing PC weren't effective.
 
You're trying to remove the finish off a Mamba to give it a polished finish, correct? I think your best best is to mechanically strip the PC and filler. It will be dusty, but you're going to have to mechanically finish the wheel anyway to get the look your after (IIRC). A red Roloc wheel will remove that stuff pretty quick, without going too deep into the base aluminum.

Me making this as difficult for myself as possible, there are aspects of the machined and cast surfaces that I want to preserve in the final finish.

Then I will gouge them up in the rocks.
 
View attachment 33980


Since this is a daily driver, I also added a pair of USB charging ports.
Do you remember the link for those usb chargers? I want to do the same thing but cant find that one, also, later in your build you did the knucklehead ac bypass, how did you connect the switch to interupt the lime green wire?
 
Do you remember the link for those usb chargers? I want to do the same thing but cant find that one, also, later in your build you did the knucklehead ac bypass, how did you connect the switch to interupt the lime green wire?

Search Amazon or eBay for 12v USB outlets. Whatever I bought 7 years ago likely isn't something anyone can buy today.

For the AC switch, it's just a single pole on/off switch. Splice it into the lime green wire behind the vent selector knob and put it where you want it.
 
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If and when you make the move to 35” tires (which I think is a goal on the long list on yours) have you considered Nitto Trail Grapplers? They are the only tire I could find that comes in 35x11.5R17 Load range C. Big difference when doing fitment on a 12.5 wide tire (personally experience) I think they have my vote on my next set of rubber as I can bring in the Machined JK moabs a little narrower.

the MTR is a C in 35x12.5x17, very few C's in 17" they are made for heavy p/u's mostly. i know tworly has had few issues keepin his balanced.
 
Somewhere in these first three months, after already having been thoroughly convinced that K&N is garbage and that most CAIs don't pull in cold air, I put in a real cold air intake that uses a paper filter. I built myself a Windstar cowl intake. This lowers intake temps from a pretty constant 190*F to between 5-60* above ambient air temperature, depending on ground speed and wind direction.

View attachment 34108

The hole into the cowl.
View attachment 34109 View attachment 34111

The horn of the air box inside the cowl.
View attachment 34107

Later on I wrapped the canister and tube in header tape. This reduced intake temps by 5*F.
View attachment 34112

Three years later, I will confidently tell you that there are little to no performance gains here. I have seen intake temps as low as 0*F and I still can't make the long steep highway climb up to the Eisenhower Tunnels any faster than stock. Eventually, I will make good use out of the extra room that removing the factory air box provides.

While we are on the topic, I also put in Bosch 4 port injectors. The only change I noticed was the smoother idle that many others have reported. Mrblaine once suggested that the smoother idle is really the result of having replaced worn o-rings which fixed a vacuum leak on one or more cylinders.
any problems with smog? do you think I could pass in CA
 
i still think you could reclaim that front BL space and lay the gear flat.

picture that gear rotating on a single bolt. if you layed it flat, the pitman will move down and forward. you could then just raise it up some and be right back there. there might even be room to do this behind the frame end tube because the gear could possibly come back some then too, it's not really that deep under the tube, just the very end of it.

but i'd vote against a front stretch due to the coin you have in that suspension, unless your gonna start to rework that as well.

in the rear. i only have a 1" BL and can see a fat inch above the pump still, and you could squeeze the GTS higher when /if the rear end gets reworked.
i considered rebending the front side, vehicle mounts. and removing the whole back edge of the GTS and moving it down an inch.
 
the MTR is a C in 35x12.5x17, very few C's in 17" they are made for heavy p/u's mostly. i know tworly has had few issues keepin his balanced.
Yeah I’ve seen those. The point of that post was to highlight a skinner tire (for fitment and clearance on outboard) Nitto is the only one who makes a 35” less than 12.5 unless you got super swampers
 
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i still think you could reclaim that front BL space and lay the gear flat.

picture that gear rotating on a single bolt. if you layed it flat, the pitman will move down and forward. you could then just raise it up some and be right back there. there might even be room to do this behind the frame end tube because the gear could possibly come back some then too, it's not really that deep under the tube, just the very end of it.

but i'd vote against a front stretch due to the coin you have in that suspension, unless your gonna start to rework that as well.

in the rear. i only have a 1" BL and can see a fat inch above the pump still, and you could squeeze the GTS higher when /if the rear end gets reworked.
i considered rebending the front side, vehicle mounts. and removing the whole back edge of the GTS and moving it down an inch.

I'll need to find the time to sit and stare at the front end soon. What I do know is that the rear frame lift is going to get done long before I chop up the front. New tires will also happen before the front gets serious consideration.