| We have a number of smallish projects going on so here is a progress report on all of them |
| First up is the wheels, I have been trying to find a set of 8 inch wide original chrome wheels in good shape. I have not been able to do that so the decision has been made to make a modification to the aftermarket wheels I have to try and make them look a little more original. I want to take a set of original center caps and mount them in the aftermarket wheels I have. The problem is how to find and drill the holes that the screws for the center caps so that they are in the correct location. This is important so that the do not look like they are wobbling as you go down the highway. Jim has taken up the task of creating a jig so the holes will be drilled in the correct locations |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
The actual drilling and mounting should take place next weekend |
 |
 |
 |
|
| This Jeep will be used when we travel with the Motor Home as a vehicle to get around in once we reach our destination. It will be towed in a custom built trailer which has been ordered (yes I will now have three trailers).The problem with this is national parks have a limit on the vehicle size that can be put on a camp site. The Motor Home and trailer measure 72 feet in length. What they allow you to do however is to park the trailer and take the MH and your tow vehicle to the camp site and park the trailer in a parking lot. One method of handling this is to make the tow vehicle capable of moving the trailer around. To that end we are putting the hitch back on the Jeep, Bob and Lenny want to reinforce the mounting points of the the hitch. I want to do this in a way that does not modify the Jeep and it’s survivor status. The Jeep will not be used to tow the trailer down the road, just to move it and park it in a parking lot as it is a lot easier to maneuver that the MH. So this is what Lenny and Bob have come up with so far. The hitch itself will need to be modified also. |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
We will create a bracket similar to this on both sides of each frame rail. The holes in the frame exist so to put it back to original state all that has to be done is unbolt the brackets. The bumperts and hitch bolt though bolt through the frame and the brackets. |
| The gas gauge has not worked in the Jeep since I got it. As we had to pull the tank to do the above brackets, it was time to look into this problem. Tom took this task on. |
 |
 |
 |
 |
It was found that the problem was the float was full of gas and once emptied and moved through it’s range that the gauge worked. A new sending unit and a brass float will be put in. The tank is in poor shape so it will be replaced also |
 |
The tanks has been painted a color close to what a galvanized tank would look like and the skid plate and all the brackets have been powder coated. We should be close to putting it all back together next weekend. |
| The radio that came with the Jeep was an AN/FM radio. An original AM/FM/CB radio has been installed in it’s place. Bob has added a bracket to hold the jack for the mike for the CB. I need a picture of where the stock mike would have been mounted in a Jeep that came equiped with the AM/FM/CB radio |
 |
 |
| When the lift “kit” was put into the Jeep we extended the front flex hoses but never got around to the rear on. With the tank out now was the perfect time to finish this project off. Just as a note, a complete lift is more than putting different spring in. You need to take care of the caster change (wedges), length the flex lines front and rear, take care of the bump steer created because of the tie rod and drag link not being parallel any more (tie rod flip), Lengthen the sway bar links, check drive shaft angle, |
 |
 |
Part Two
|
 |
The Car Nuts re assembled this weekend as were the parts to be bolted on. The better half was there to issue the marching orders |
 |
 |
| The hitch was bolted up, although the brackets, bumperets, and hitch were all mocked up before they were powder coated it took a long time to get them bolted in place for the finial fitting, I have no reason why other than the project just fought us all the way. I think it turned out well though. There are three bolts holding the bracket to the frame and all three holes were already in the frame so no holes were drilled in the frame to add the brackets. I have been asked if the hitch is original equipment, I do not know, I did find the name Draw-Tight on the hitch. I also had to chop of the tongue on the hitch and weld it back on pointing in the opposite direction because the hitch hit the rear aftermarket spring brackets, by turning the hitch around it gave me enough clearance that no other modifications were needed. |
 |
 |
 |
I cannot get a good shot of the rear brake line that was installed. The original rubber line was too short with the lift that has been installed on the Jeep, but now there is plenty of slack in the line to allow articulation of the rear axle. |
 |
The tank went in with not to many problem. The decision was made not to replace any of the vent of fuel lines as they were all in good shape and we did not want to risk braking an plastic nibs off the rollover valve |
 |
The plastic float was replaced with a brass one. This unit may come back to hunt me because I pulled a real rooky mistake, read on to find out what that was. |
 |
Here we have the cleaned up skid plate, the tank painted to look like a galvanized original tank, the hitch, and the bumperets |
 |
This is the plastic template that was made up last week to locate the bolt holes needed for the caps. It is not clear, but it is made out of white plastic and is an 1/8 inch thick and worked perfectly. We slip in a couple of studs to locate the template and them center punched the bolt holes for the bolts to hold the cap on. |
 |
We also used the after market center cap to take an slop out of the studs holding the template in place. |
| I know it is a small change for all the work but I think it was worth it. I will continue to look for a GOOD set of original 8 inch wide chrome wheels. |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
| Ok, I know you are all waiting for the rooky mistake to be explained. I never checked to see if the new sending unit worked before installing it and the tank into the Jeep. I check the old one and it did work and played with the idea of putting it back in, but boxed it up and saved it. It’s a Crown part, why would I not check it before installing it. a really stupid mistake! |
 |
I only had four gallons of gas that I could put into the tank |
 |
This is how the gauge looked before I started |
 |
And this is how it looked with four gallons in the tank. It did move but I would have thought that it would have moved more with four gallons in a fourteen gallon tank. I’ll have to get some more gas tomorrow and see what happens. Just shows you what happens when you get in a hurry and don’t check everything as you go, I may end up pulling it all apart again and putting the original sender back in |
 |
Well I lucked out, I added another nine gallons and the gauge reads about what I would think it should. I now know that it will read empty awhile before it actually is. Tomorrow I will top the tank off and see it it reads full. Even if it does not I’m happy as I now have some indication on how much fuel is in the tank. |
