IMO it comes down to how much you'd have to change to make it what you want. I considered buying someone else's project but decided that I'd likely end up changing a lot of it, would have been much cheaper than the route I chose though.
I've Never Figured Out When Enough Is Enough
- Thread starter EternalHobbyist
- Start date
IMO it comes down to how much you'd have to change to make it what you want. I considered buying someone else's project but decided that I'd likely end up changing a lot of it, would have been much cheaper than the route I chose though.
It's a good start for a build if you're going to replace everything but the tub.
Won't hurt to go look at it and see it it's workable for what you want.
Won't hurt to go look at it and see it it's workable for what you want.
OP
The problem I have, is that it is 8 hours away from me. I'm not going to make that drive unless I have my trailer and I plan to bring it back.
I might call the guy and pick his brain about the build and build history. There are a lot of things that I like about the build, and I think it is probably worth what he is asking. I'm certain there are some things that would have to change as well.
Not super excited that the boat side is already cut...
What don't you like about the boat side rockers? For a trail rig they're nice.
I kick myself for not doing them. And still might at some point.
OP
Somewhere, in the rediculous amount of reading that I've done planning out my future LJ build, I read that boat side rockers didn't bring a lot of value on the trail. I know that years ago, when I first started building my current jeep, I wanted to boat side it for sure. It just seemed like that became less common over the years.
I have such limited trail experience, that I don't know for myself first hand.
OP
I finally got around to (mostly) finishing my Windstar intake upgrade. This was a project that I really ended up enjoying, and I'm pretty thrilled with how it turned out.
I ended up cutting the hole a little bit lower than some of the other installs that I've seen online. I was hoping that I would be able to run the wiring harness above the intake rather than below this way. However, once I got it in there, it just didn't really work very well. I ended up deciding to run the harness underneath like most others have done. I don't love it, but it will work.
I also cut a 3 1/8" hole. I think others have been using a 3" hole, but after measuring it about 5 times to confirm, I felt pretty confident in my hole size. The rubber grommet ended up fitting in there very nicely. I did coat the exposed metal with POR15 to hopefully prevent future rust issues.
I also have a couple of extra wire harnesses running that include my power wire for the sound system, and the various accesory wires that you can see in the above picture are freshly wrapped.
Here it is coming into the cowl: (it is wet in there because I confirmed that my cowl drain is functioning before I decided to risk my engine sucking in a bunch of water)
During the build process, I niticed that there is an extra hole here that would need to be plugged to prevent air from being drawn in from the engine compartment. I don't have a photo of the solution, but I put a bolt in the hole and used RTV to seal it.
I ran into this other small issue when I was rerouting my intake. This welded on bracket was both now on the wrong side of the pipe, and it needed to be relocated as the way it was run was going to interfere with my elbow reducer.
I cut the bracket off, and got to work reshaping it to be welded back on in the correct location:
Here it is re-shaped:
Before I coul weld the bracket back on, I needed to mock up the old pipe and figure out how much would need to be cut off to allow for the final install. This also allowed me to mark where I would need to clean the metal to prepare for the bracket weld. Once I had the proper length, I went ahead and cut it.
I just couldn't bring myself to install the old pipe without a fresh coat of paint, so the next thing I did, is grind off all of the paint. With the paint removed, I mocked everything back up and welded on my bracket that I had prepped earlier. Then I hung it up for paint.
I used three coats of the POR15 Top Coat product in Chassis Black. This has just kind of become my go to paint as it sprays on without the need for a primer. I am a year into using the product, and so far I do not have any complaints. We shall see as time goes on whether I end up regretting it.
After paint, I just needed to get a new air filter and do final assembly! This was the fun part! I am waiting on my last hose clamp to come in the mail tomorrow, but then everything will be done. Enjoy the final result photos.
I'll go home after work and clean the wiring up and reinstall the cowl cover.
I ended up cutting the hole a little bit lower than some of the other installs that I've seen online. I was hoping that I would be able to run the wiring harness above the intake rather than below this way. However, once I got it in there, it just didn't really work very well. I ended up deciding to run the harness underneath like most others have done. I don't love it, but it will work.
I also cut a 3 1/8" hole. I think others have been using a 3" hole, but after measuring it about 5 times to confirm, I felt pretty confident in my hole size. The rubber grommet ended up fitting in there very nicely. I did coat the exposed metal with POR15 to hopefully prevent future rust issues.
I also have a couple of extra wire harnesses running that include my power wire for the sound system, and the various accesory wires that you can see in the above picture are freshly wrapped.
Here it is coming into the cowl: (it is wet in there because I confirmed that my cowl drain is functioning before I decided to risk my engine sucking in a bunch of water)
During the build process, I niticed that there is an extra hole here that would need to be plugged to prevent air from being drawn in from the engine compartment. I don't have a photo of the solution, but I put a bolt in the hole and used RTV to seal it.
I ran into this other small issue when I was rerouting my intake. This welded on bracket was both now on the wrong side of the pipe, and it needed to be relocated as the way it was run was going to interfere with my elbow reducer.
I cut the bracket off, and got to work reshaping it to be welded back on in the correct location:
Here it is re-shaped:
Before I coul weld the bracket back on, I needed to mock up the old pipe and figure out how much would need to be cut off to allow for the final install. This also allowed me to mark where I would need to clean the metal to prepare for the bracket weld. Once I had the proper length, I went ahead and cut it.
I just couldn't bring myself to install the old pipe without a fresh coat of paint, so the next thing I did, is grind off all of the paint. With the paint removed, I mocked everything back up and welded on my bracket that I had prepped earlier. Then I hung it up for paint.
I used three coats of the POR15 Top Coat product in Chassis Black. This has just kind of become my go to paint as it sprays on without the need for a primer. I am a year into using the product, and so far I do not have any complaints. We shall see as time goes on whether I end up regretting it.
After paint, I just needed to get a new air filter and do final assembly! This was the fun part! I am waiting on my last hose clamp to come in the mail tomorrow, but then everything will be done. Enjoy the final result photos.
I'll go home after work and clean the wiring up and reinstall the cowl cover.
They seem to becoming popular again. As to if they really add any true value off-road I can't say. I like the look but that's in the eye of the beholder.
Good job on the intake.
OP
Well right now, the seller hasn't responded to my frist PM. So it may all be a mute point.
OP
So I talked with the seller on that LJ, and basically found out it is a de-constructed trail rig. The previous owner had it completely build with an LS/1 tons/coilovers, and used it as a trail rig for 7-8k miles. I guess it got wrecked and got a salvage title at 55k miles. The dash has been removed entirely and it was run on a stand alone wiring harness. He said its wheel base is at around 109".
For me, this all adds up to not being a good fit for me.
I don't want to do this high end of a build on a salvage title, and I have no interest in having a rig that is trail only. While I could probably make it street legal, I can't fix the salvage title.
I do still think it is a pretty good value buy for the work that has been done and the parts that come on it.
I'll just keep looking for a bargain elsewhere.
For me, this all adds up to not being a good fit for me.
I don't want to do this high end of a build on a salvage title, and I have no interest in having a rig that is trail only. While I could probably make it street legal, I can't fix the salvage title.
I do still think it is a pretty good value buy for the work that has been done and the parts that come on it.
I'll just keep looking for a bargain elsewhere.
Bummer but yes I agree for the right person it's a good deal.
OP
After work today, I finally decided to tackle the short throw shifter install that came in late last week. I'll admit that I walked out there to do it this last weekend, looked at all the crap I was going to have to remove to make it happened, and walked away. lol But today I had the time and was looking forward to a little project.
I've wanted this shifter for a long time. Years. Sometimes when I shift too aggressively into first, I will bump the air compressor switch, and it drives me nuts every time. Plus, the super long throw on these Jeeps leaves a lot to be desired. Earlier this year when I went to make this purchase, I couldn't find the shifter for sale anywhere. I was pretty convinced that it must have been discontinued since my transmission is no longer being manufactured anymore (at least I don't think it is). So awhile ago I decided to resume my search. I found the shifter on the Holley website, but it was on back order. Because Holley is such a reputable company, I decided to gamble and place my order. Imagine my surprise when I got a notification that it had shipped! I refused to get excited until it showed up at my door.
So before I started the install, I decided to take some measurements and photos of the stock shifter. These two photos show my clearance that I started with:
I had about a half inch in first gear. Of course its going to bump that button occasionally.
Here is the measurement on the full throw of the factory shifter:
So factory throw is about 5 1/4" if you take of the 1/2" gap shown in first gear. That is the throw from first to second gear.
Next was the tear down and install. This consisted of removal and reinstall of the Atlas shifter knobs, the entire center consol, the hand throttle, the shifter boot, and the shifter access covers for the trans and Atlas. See the photos below:
I could have taken the opportunity to replace the inner shifter boot, but I decided not to worry about it for now.
This allowed very easy access to the factory shift tower, which I removed.
There was a plastic cup that needs to be transfered from the factory shifter to the new shifter, but I didn't think to take a photo of it. It is in the directions, and very obvious. So next, I proceeded with install of the new shifter. I put a bead of RTV on it and installed the new shift tower. I torqued the four bolts to 84 inch pounds per the specs that I could find online. Here are the reinstall photos:
When I went to install the transmission cover again, the new shift tower didn't allow it to fasten back down into the same holes. It was all held down with self tapping screws, and rather than modifying the cover, I just reinstalled it where it would fit. The only issue with this, is it doesn't allow you to replace the consol bolt next to the shift tower because it moves that bracket that it fastens to. I never had that bolt anyways, so this didn't matter to me. I fastened it down an moved on with my life.
Here is my final project. I'm not sure how long this project took, but it wasn't long. It was far more of a pain getting access than it was actually installing the shift tower. You may notice in the picture below that I added a litte metal bracket to hold my shift boot in place. This is because when I went to reinstall the shift boot, the plastic inner section that is suppose to snap into the consol broke at its thinnest point. The result was when I went to shift into first gear, the bottom of the boot came up. Because my consol has a ton of extra holes in it from previous modifications, it doesn't bother me to add a few more. I solve the problem by making that little bracket out of an old hose clamp I had laying around I'll show below how I fastened it.
OK, finally, here is the fun photos. The final measurements and results!
So, the final results were, I gained a 1/4" clearance away from the button. This surprised me. I thought it would be more.
AND I shortened the shift throw from first to second from 5 1/4" to 2 1/4". That shortened the factory throw by more than half! That is a huge improvement!! It feels almost like a little race car.
I've wanted this shifter for a long time. Years. Sometimes when I shift too aggressively into first, I will bump the air compressor switch, and it drives me nuts every time. Plus, the super long throw on these Jeeps leaves a lot to be desired. Earlier this year when I went to make this purchase, I couldn't find the shifter for sale anywhere. I was pretty convinced that it must have been discontinued since my transmission is no longer being manufactured anymore (at least I don't think it is). So awhile ago I decided to resume my search. I found the shifter on the Holley website, but it was on back order. Because Holley is such a reputable company, I decided to gamble and place my order. Imagine my surprise when I got a notification that it had shipped! I refused to get excited until it showed up at my door.
So before I started the install, I decided to take some measurements and photos of the stock shifter. These two photos show my clearance that I started with:
I had about a half inch in first gear. Of course its going to bump that button occasionally.
Here is the measurement on the full throw of the factory shifter:
So factory throw is about 5 1/4" if you take of the 1/2" gap shown in first gear. That is the throw from first to second gear.
Next was the tear down and install. This consisted of removal and reinstall of the Atlas shifter knobs, the entire center consol, the hand throttle, the shifter boot, and the shifter access covers for the trans and Atlas. See the photos below:
I could have taken the opportunity to replace the inner shifter boot, but I decided not to worry about it for now.
This allowed very easy access to the factory shift tower, which I removed.
There was a plastic cup that needs to be transfered from the factory shifter to the new shifter, but I didn't think to take a photo of it. It is in the directions, and very obvious. So next, I proceeded with install of the new shifter. I put a bead of RTV on it and installed the new shift tower. I torqued the four bolts to 84 inch pounds per the specs that I could find online. Here are the reinstall photos:
When I went to install the transmission cover again, the new shift tower didn't allow it to fasten back down into the same holes. It was all held down with self tapping screws, and rather than modifying the cover, I just reinstalled it where it would fit. The only issue with this, is it doesn't allow you to replace the consol bolt next to the shift tower because it moves that bracket that it fastens to. I never had that bolt anyways, so this didn't matter to me. I fastened it down an moved on with my life.
Here is my final project. I'm not sure how long this project took, but it wasn't long. It was far more of a pain getting access than it was actually installing the shift tower. You may notice in the picture below that I added a litte metal bracket to hold my shift boot in place. This is because when I went to reinstall the shift boot, the plastic inner section that is suppose to snap into the consol broke at its thinnest point. The result was when I went to shift into first gear, the bottom of the boot came up. Because my consol has a ton of extra holes in it from previous modifications, it doesn't bother me to add a few more. I solve the problem by making that little bracket out of an old hose clamp I had laying around I'll show below how I fastened it.
OK, finally, here is the fun photos. The final measurements and results!
So, the final results were, I gained a 1/4" clearance away from the button. This surprised me. I thought it would be more.
AND I shortened the shift throw from first to second from 5 1/4" to 2 1/4". That shortened the factory throw by more than half! That is a huge improvement!! It feels almost like a little race car.
Nice write up. Since your throw is now so short, you could put a little bend in the shifter to get clearance to the compressor button. My guess is the way it is now it is still going to hit occasionally.
I like your Windstar install. Makes me wished I went through with installing the one I bought instead of the Thor I ended up using instead. I just got lazy and thought the Thor would be easier. But I like that you can change the filter without removing the cowl. It also seems a bit cleaner on the cowl hole.
I am curious if you notice a lot more noise as I do with the cowl intake though. That was a bit annoying, but totally livable.
The B&M shifter is another mod I'd like to do. In fact, I had pulled the trigger but the shop contacted me saying I needed to talk to the manufacturer if I has installed a body lift (I have) as they didn't know whether it would still fit. Looking at your install it seems if the original shifter works, then there is no reason this one wouldn't as well.
I am curious if you notice a lot more noise as I do with the cowl intake though. That was a bit annoying, but totally livable.
The B&M shifter is another mod I'd like to do. In fact, I had pulled the trigger but the shop contacted me saying I needed to talk to the manufacturer if I has installed a body lift (I have) as they didn't know whether it would still fit. Looking at your install it seems if the original shifter works, then there is no reason this one wouldn't as well.
OP
I had the same thought during reassembly. I haven't had a chance to drive it yet as driveway is blocked off by roofers this week. I'll find out if it is needed soon enough.
I will say, this shifter doesn't have anywhere near as much play in it as the stock one did, so I might be OK.
OP
I still haven't had a chance to drive it since I completed the install. I think @tworley mentioned in his thread that he heard a 'woosh' sound from the intake. @jjvw also has one and could probably answer your question about noise. Otherwise I'll have it out for a test drive later this week.
I have a 1.25" body lift and a 1" motor mount lift, and it fit just fine. The only adjustment was the transmission tunnel cover didn't quite fit in the same mounting holes. I think it was maybe moved an inch toward the dash. This didn't bother me.
Theres a definite whoosh to my windstar intake. Though its not enough to bother me and honestly no body who has ever ridden as a passenger has commented on it.
I get that whoosh sound a lot as well. That was the added noise I mentioned
I definitely can't hear mine....