Project Jackass
- Thread starter Umbra
- Start date
You can do fun things with Canyons too when you get bored of them.
VirtualRussel
TJ Enthusiast
It was for my trailer build, but I could probably scrap something together. I keep meaning to start a build thread, but I can barely keep up with ya'lls threads.
We get into the shop this morning and just stared at Jackass for a few minutes. We were checking for signs of overt hostility and girding ourselves for another day of rust sprinkles and bloody hands.
When we left off last week, we had removed all of the rear end stuff. After 3 Saturdays in a row, we had only removed the rear upper and lower control arms, shocks, springs gas tank and skid plate. Jackass fought us so much we were making very little progress. We did manage to replace the springs and control arms. The shocks were a different matter. The outside bolt on both sides broke off.
After the staring contest, we decided the gloves were off. Today would involve a lot of fire and destruction
First we mounted the rear shocks. We both tried in vain to drill through the broken bolts. We broke 2 bits and decided that Jackass was not going to cooperate and it was time to just get nasty. I bolted in the inboard side of each shock and Lee welded the other. HA!
We then moved to the front, Lee got out the torch and cut the old shocks and springs off.
It was MUCH nicer getting all of that done in about an hour. From that point we were able to remove most of the rest of it without incident. Not a single rounded over nut, not one broken bolt. It seemed like Jackass got the message. the junk pile is growing.
Not a lot of pics today because we were making such good progress I didn't want to slow down and give that ***hole jeep time to recover and start fighting us again. He's in shock and must be unconscious.
I didn't want to resort to violence, but he forced our hands.
Jackass.
Next week is assembly. I have pitman arm, front shocks springs, u joints, upper-lower control arms, stabilizer and track bar etc yet to go. Maybe Jackass will rest up for the week and figure out that he feels better with all the rusty old stuff gone. Maybe not.
When we left off last week, we had removed all of the rear end stuff. After 3 Saturdays in a row, we had only removed the rear upper and lower control arms, shocks, springs gas tank and skid plate. Jackass fought us so much we were making very little progress. We did manage to replace the springs and control arms. The shocks were a different matter. The outside bolt on both sides broke off.
After the staring contest, we decided the gloves were off. Today would involve a lot of fire and destruction
First we mounted the rear shocks. We both tried in vain to drill through the broken bolts. We broke 2 bits and decided that Jackass was not going to cooperate and it was time to just get nasty. I bolted in the inboard side of each shock and Lee welded the other. HA!
We then moved to the front, Lee got out the torch and cut the old shocks and springs off.
It was MUCH nicer getting all of that done in about an hour. From that point we were able to remove most of the rest of it without incident. Not a single rounded over nut, not one broken bolt. It seemed like Jackass got the message. the junk pile is growing.
Not a lot of pics today because we were making such good progress I didn't want to slow down and give that ***hole jeep time to recover and start fighting us again. He's in shock and must be unconscious.
I didn't want to resort to violence, but he forced our hands.
Jackass.
Next week is assembly. I have pitman arm, front shocks springs, u joints, upper-lower control arms, stabilizer and track bar etc yet to go. Maybe Jackass will rest up for the week and figure out that he feels better with all the rusty old stuff gone. Maybe not.
Don't do a drop pitman arm! I'm sure you know that already though.
Cutting the shocks and springs off... Haha... I'll bet that makes the job that much easier!
Wish I could have done that when I did my lift.
Cutting the shocks and springs off... Haha... I'll bet that makes the job that much easier!
Wish I could have done that when I did my lift.
Stock pitman. It looks right, but won't know until we mount it. Fingers crossed. Lee lives out in the boonies and a 20 minute drive to the auto parts store to find out they don't have what you need is a tad frustrating. I try to have everything bought well ahead of time. He's gonna poke around the AC/heater tomorrow and let me know if I need fuse or relays before next week. Blower is out.
The upside of this is that we have worked together on a LOT of old cars. Around here, that often means 50-60 years of rust and "repairs" instead of just 18. We would have cut the crap out of it sooner, but another friend is working on a 73 or 74 Barracuda and had the torch. It wasn't available until today. It should speed things up quite a bit.
It was a little hard for me to decide to weld the shocks. With the older cars, we always try to do the "right" thing when putting them together. With Jackass, it's a little easier to use some redneck ingenuity to get it done. Jackass will be a work horse/fishing/hunting vehicle and winter beater, so if I ever decide to swap out the shocks I'll just cut 'em out again.
The upside of this is that we have worked together on a LOT of old cars. Around here, that often means 50-60 years of rust and "repairs" instead of just 18. We would have cut the crap out of it sooner, but another friend is working on a 73 or 74 Barracuda and had the torch. It wasn't available until today. It should speed things up quite a bit.
It was a little hard for me to decide to weld the shocks. With the older cars, we always try to do the "right" thing when putting them together. With Jackass, it's a little easier to use some redneck ingenuity to get it done. Jackass will be a work horse/fishing/hunting vehicle and winter beater, so if I ever decide to swap out the shocks I'll just cut 'em out again.
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Jackass is rolling again!
No fire, no violence, no misbehavior from Jackass.
Today we finished up the front shocks and springs, drilled out a broken screw and remounted the exhaust hanger, got the gas tank, new straps and new skid mounted, wheels back on and took it out for about a 6 mile test run up to 60-65 mph. Lots of bumps and curves.
NO WOBBLE!! YAY!.
Rear before/after. Spent some serious time cleaning up some of the rusty spots and hit them with some paint.
Stance, before/after.
Better. 18s look better at stock height as well. Still probably go back to the Canyons, BUT
Still have u-joints, O2 sensor and side steps to install. AC/heater blower, fog lights and a couple other electrical gremlins to chase down and fix, alignment. Plus a lot of little cosmetics ahead. Remove the chrome stuff, replacing some sheet metal on the fenders and rocker etc.
Happy to report we haven't found any rust through or scary spots. It appears that the worst rust is in the junk pile.
The test run was great. Steering is great, ride is great.
Jackass seems much happier. Neither of us was attacked today. No blood, no bruises. It was nice. If he keeps behaving himself, I may just call him Jack.
Nah. I like Jackass. Has a nice ring.
Probably one more Saturday on Jackass...then we either start on this,
1967 Chevelle Super Sport, 396 4 speed....
Or this...
73 Chevelle SS 350 auto.
I just hope we don't have to call either one of them ****head or **********.
No fire, no violence, no misbehavior from Jackass.
Today we finished up the front shocks and springs, drilled out a broken screw and remounted the exhaust hanger, got the gas tank, new straps and new skid mounted, wheels back on and took it out for about a 6 mile test run up to 60-65 mph. Lots of bumps and curves.
NO WOBBLE!! YAY!.
Rear before/after. Spent some serious time cleaning up some of the rusty spots and hit them with some paint.
Stance, before/after.
Better. 18s look better at stock height as well. Still probably go back to the Canyons, BUT
Still have u-joints, O2 sensor and side steps to install. AC/heater blower, fog lights and a couple other electrical gremlins to chase down and fix, alignment. Plus a lot of little cosmetics ahead. Remove the chrome stuff, replacing some sheet metal on the fenders and rocker etc.
Happy to report we haven't found any rust through or scary spots. It appears that the worst rust is in the junk pile.
The test run was great. Steering is great, ride is great.
Jackass seems much happier. Neither of us was attacked today. No blood, no bruises. It was nice. If he keeps behaving himself, I may just call him Jack.
Nah. I like Jackass. Has a nice ring.
Probably one more Saturday on Jackass...then we either start on this,
1967 Chevelle Super Sport, 396 4 speed....
Or this...
73 Chevelle SS 350 auto.
I just hope we don't have to call either one of them ****head or **********.
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So most of the rust is gone? That's good news!
Those tires look too small on those large rims though!
Those tires look too small on those large rims though!
The bad spots were in places that it looked like salt just sat in it. Little corners and spots where snow might stick or get hung in there, melt and leave the salt behind.
There's still some surface rust on the axles etc, but nothing major. We used grinders, wire brushes and all sorts of brutal tactics to get it off of the tub, floors etc. I'm gonna have to weld in some new metal on the drivers side rocker where that hole is. The drivers side fender has a pretty bad spot about half the size of a dollar bill. Same on the passenger side fender, but it's only rusted through about the size of a quarter.
Not sure what I'm gonna do there, maybe nothing or just take 'em off. Might just get new fenders all together.
The wheels/tires look better than I thought they would. I don't hate it. It resembles a little die cast Jeep I had once.
But, I've still got the other stuff to do and the budget is stretched since I just bought that 73 Chevelle.
No tires on the Canyons so you'll just have to learn to LOVE my wheels Chris.
I would highly recommend you change your tune. If Jackass hears your criticisms of his appearance, I can't be responsible for his actions.
Jackass has feelings.
You saw Christine, right?
Just sayin'.
He's still a Mean Jeep.
There's still some surface rust on the axles etc, but nothing major. We used grinders, wire brushes and all sorts of brutal tactics to get it off of the tub, floors etc. I'm gonna have to weld in some new metal on the drivers side rocker where that hole is. The drivers side fender has a pretty bad spot about half the size of a dollar bill. Same on the passenger side fender, but it's only rusted through about the size of a quarter.
Not sure what I'm gonna do there, maybe nothing or just take 'em off. Might just get new fenders all together.
The wheels/tires look better than I thought they would. I don't hate it. It resembles a little die cast Jeep I had once.
But, I've still got the other stuff to do and the budget is stretched since I just bought that 73 Chevelle.
No tires on the Canyons so you'll just have to learn to LOVE my wheels Chris.
I would highly recommend you change your tune. If Jackass hears your criticisms of his appearance, I can't be responsible for his actions.
Jackass has feelings.
You saw Christine, right?
Just sayin'.
He's still a Mean Jeep.
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I love a nice Chevelle! I always dream of a 1969 Chevelle SS!
You're a brave man to tackle all that rust. After my old 1969 Camaro I vowed that I'll never again deal with rust.
You're a brave man to tackle all that rust. After my old 1969 Camaro I vowed that I'll never again deal with rust.
I love it, twisted as that is.
But I love old cars, rust usually comes with the territory.
I love the rust, the polluted-non-catalytic-converter-exhaust, the rumble and scream of a well tuned American V-8, the smell of mold,mouse poop and car wax, the gleam of chrome off of a steel 200 lb bumper.
Awesome.
I really, really like the challenge of an automotive lost cause. Nothing like taking a **** pile and breathing life into it again.
Like this MEAN, EVIL Jeep.
But I love old cars, rust usually comes with the territory.
I love the rust, the polluted-non-catalytic-converter-exhaust, the rumble and scream of a well tuned American V-8, the smell of mold,mouse poop and car wax, the gleam of chrome off of a steel 200 lb bumper.
Awesome.
I really, really like the challenge of an automotive lost cause. Nothing like taking a **** pile and breathing life into it again.
Like this MEAN, EVIL Jeep.
I should also add that before this whole saga began, I took Jackass to 2 local mechanics.
I hadn't had to do that for years, but we were moving and my buddy was working a lot and on nights. I thought I'd just get some stuff done quickly.
I'd crawled around under it, drove it and checked it out pretty thoroughly. I knew it needed a lot of suspension work and I knew how much parts were gonna cost.
The first guy told me not to waste my time because repairs would cost more than Jackass was worth. Clearly, he doesn't understand "Car/Jeep" guys.
The second was a Wrangler specialty shop. It sat there for 2 weeks. "We'll get a look at it tomorrow". Finally called me back with a list of stuff he said needed fixing that I knew didn't. And a price tag that nearly made me fall down the steps.
So my buddy called about then and said he was moving back to day shift.
Thus, "Project Jackass".
I hadn't had to do that for years, but we were moving and my buddy was working a lot and on nights. I thought I'd just get some stuff done quickly.
I'd crawled around under it, drove it and checked it out pretty thoroughly. I knew it needed a lot of suspension work and I knew how much parts were gonna cost.
The first guy told me not to waste my time because repairs would cost more than Jackass was worth. Clearly, he doesn't understand "Car/Jeep" guys.
The second was a Wrangler specialty shop. It sat there for 2 weeks. "We'll get a look at it tomorrow". Finally called me back with a list of stuff he said needed fixing that I knew didn't. And a price tag that nearly made me fall down the steps.
So my buddy called about then and said he was moving back to day shift.
Thus, "Project Jackass".