FJ4overland

[SuperBuickGuy]

Part of tonight was getting doors



worth $380? probably not, but I'm simply going to spray them - they're for winter use only and they really simply need to match... maybe next summer I'll give them a once over but more likely I won't

and I got the other skin welded up.

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

Today was kind of full between an auto parts swap, deck work, and inevitable honey-dos

But I got more done.
got the paint off the outside of the doors



rubber was removed


rusted bolts removed


also finished my jumper cable mods


accidently, while taking the rubber off with a wire-wheel, I found that it does an amazing job of removing Rustoleum


also did a bit of welding


My goal is finish all the doors this week then paint them and the roof frame this weekend. I was going to powder coat, but by the time I get the coating done I don't think I'll make my 'roof by the 29th' goal (and wheeling in the snow and mud without a roof is a great way to put hair on your chest.... I already have hair on my chest)

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

I hate bodywork.... alas, first an instructional on taking a window regulator out of a pre-77 FJ40


take 4 screws out of regulator, run window to bottom, rotate entire regulator assembly towards front of door, remove



weld up some holes


oh wait, bubba got to fitting the door


bubba was also a large boy and broke the door stop


while my name isn't MP&C, I can fix this

bend up a similar piece on the brake

and fit

then weld


hmmmm... my camera takes most of the pictures, apparently it was quitting time when I took the last one of it finished from the front... ah well, tomorrow night

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

so a bit of body work - I am not going overboard on this....


cover some seams



the rusted/broke bolt resisted my easy out, so we went with easy-hole-saw



and repaired.

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

More door work

it doesn't fit


even with adjusting


other door fits great


now driver's door fits good... just took a bit of bending


and since I was already bending... I put these doors together for the final time

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

not sure if the last month is ever going to come back, but carrying on

safe dog space is done




​

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

dog tested

shop more organized

a during picture, the after picture didn't work, apparently...

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

aforementioned picture of finished
​

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

It was a blast today
Other then continually having to unwedge Buick from my seat


pretty, it is


It worked pretty well, not ready to claim it's reliable


and got clearer as the day progressed


with a bit of time to play in the mud


​

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

so the list to fix is actually pretty benign and short.
1) remove the driver's side header and fix a leak
2) fix a couple wiring issues (one headlight and a marker aren't working all the time)
3) get the front stabilizer on and maybe lower the panhard bar mount
4) fix the linkage for rear 4 lo - I didn't have low today because it wouldn't come out of high... I'm thinking I simply need to give up on this mechanism and try a different one
5) put a doggie block to keep Buick in the back.... he was a pain today
6) I'm going to change the thermostat again.... today, it was either 220* or 180*.... to me that's a faulty thermostat or the computer is bouncing between it thinking it's cold and richening the mixture (which is either a sensor or a computer)... so I'll change one at a time but see if I can't solve that
7) I need to raise the back at least 1 1/2"

In other news, the power steering cooler worked great and solved the whining issue
the water pump pulley fixed the squeak
there was only the occasional leak around the edges - and it was raining pretty steadily.

and in random news. the truck, loaded weighs 5060

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

Interesting.... Four Wheel and Offroad "reader's rides bonanza" page 22 Feb 2017. I'm kind of surprised, given the hate I've given them about being Jeep only - of course, had I sent pictures of the Hummer; that would have guaranteed an ignore.

 

[glpd74]

Congrats


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[4speedfunk]

You might try a vacuum purge on the coolant system. Sudden wild fluctuations in coolant temp are probably air pockets flowing past the temp sensor. Have you noticed the cabin heat mysteriously coming and going?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

it's a valid thing to look at, but it doesn't bounce - it stays 180 then slowly climbs up to 220 then slowly comes down to 180 - sometimes at highway speeds, sometimes just because. Truly like the thermostat can't make up its mind - I wonder if they make male thermostats? It also runs different at 220 - which, to me at least, seems to confirm it's not just a gauge issue. I did make a mistake on plumbing it but even that mistake wouldn't cause the issue (it's got pressure to both sides of the core). On top of all of this, inlet temps stays steady at 159.

It needed camber set - so it's at a friend's shop, he also will look at the issue... another clue to all of this is this. When I reset the timing to 15* base timing (as opposed to the GM spec'd 0), that actually really helped the issue.... red herring? a clue? dunno...

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

not really a huge deal because all it took was submitting - granted I sent in awhile before, I find it interesting they used pretty much my entire writing without edit.

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

Headers, ugh!
I 'saved' myself time and effort by buying what I thought was 18 ga stainless headers. They might be stainless, but I'm thinking they're chinesium... before anyone gets on my case about these silicone welds, this is to simply to reduce leakage until I can build new ones.... but since there's a deck, a trailer, a RV trailer before I have that kind of time to invest...

I flattened these last time I did this


you can see where they're leaking - that rust color comes from the exhaust leak


I do like Percy's gaskets - these are reuseable... and reused




silicone weld time

blowing lots of holes because they're maybe 20 ga.

and more rust repair coming... but first

doors

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

a bit more work


knocked it down


premature primer, but for a reason .... it's getting too cold to work on these so it's time to prime them and stick them into the rafters then pull them down when Spring springs
​

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

so it's time to finish the roof install.... was waiting for instructions, but got tired of waiting - which means it could be wrong, but it's not.
screw in the twisties


then take a deep breath and cut a hole in your brand-new, $1,500 top


and put the ring on

that was the first one... next round went a bit easier
mark the heads

then trim a bunch and install


finally a better plan... mark the heads as above, then use the backing ring to mark how much material to cut out

like so

by now, cutting holes is easy

punch 4 holes for the tabs


and hammer over using a block of wood as a dolly behind the mount.... easy, no?

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

so more detail work, these are late 90s F350 van front springs - right diameter, increased wire size, and progressive...


fixing the land cruiser lean by unequal cuts to bring it down to the right length


I need to tune this a bit more... but it's close, very close

but then I got interrupted by my wife's Heep - she filled her inverter and a plug full of water... electric devices don't like water (who knew?)


but we're back
so I added a 2" spacer for a bit of insulation from noise and put it back together... now I have 5" travel (middle of the travel) for the rear and the rig is dead level front/back


for those counting, it was 24" with 31" tires to the bottom of the rocker panel. Now it's 28 with 38.5s and a whole bunch more travel. It's ready for 40s, my wallet isn't ready for them, but finally....

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

so back on the ground it had a land cruiser lean, but the other way... equalized the front coil overs, still no joy.... so time to make both rear springs level


as you can see by the picture, the first strap just could hold the axle twice so time to do something a bit more creative


and install the bump stop too

no more lean.

and it drives excellent. I still need to reset the castor (again) because along with an issue with the driveshaft angle, they changed the castor to the point where it's darty... no big deal, just a quick adjustment

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

So as you know, I went wheeling yesterday.... beside not taking enough air pressure out (18 vs. 8)... things went okay. Well, okay if you consider almost rolling it at 70 mph. Pulled off the freeway and the steering box was loose, again.... on top of this, I've been really needing to tie the frame rails together since all of the force is on one rail... so that was today's work

I suppose if I was doing a full hard-core vehicle, I'd just put a mid-plate in... but I like not rattling fillings out so the solution had to be a be less caveman


first I tied the motor mounts together - but that's pretty weak considering it's only bolted in


so I added a Y member


not a lot of clearance, but my solution (if it hits, and probably if it doesn't) will be move the track bar. It's short, it's on a high-arc and now I realize I can lengthen it and put it on less of an arc which should make 100 mph less scary


*for those without a sense of humor, 100 mph is a JOKE.....

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

got to checking clearances... looks fine




still not sure on stutter - oh well, I'll fix that too....

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

Not a lot has been happening - most of the major problems have been solved so I've been dealing with other, non-car stuff....

but first I complained about how I need to break down the sidewalls a bit... this is 3 psi


needed to add a light to the dash... which I did

and then while I was cleaning up a hole, tore the wire out of the light .... picture when I get its replacement

finally purchased a distributor wrench....


this is for my wife's jeep - which I would have worked on tonight had she not been out doing SAR stuff....


blanking Mr. gasket clamp.... chromed aluminum clamp - no wonder it wasn't holding. First it had too much material so it wouldn't clamp at all... then I ground it down and it wouldn't hold after a bit...


it is clamped now. I've solved my Staun problem (18 psi instead of 8 psi deflation) with the purchase of an ARB deflator (and I have spare needles) and I got a better hose for filling.... this weekend will be a good run

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

steering issue is fixed. drove it tonight at it works very well. the fix was bracing the box and the panhard bar. It still has some throttle-induced understeer but since the fix would be making the panhard parallel with the axle - and the down side of that is increased bump-steer; I'll take the lesser of two evils. Especially since the lesser only happens noticeably when accelerating from a stop sign while turning (and right is worse then left).... time to get onto the next project and work on beating this thing like it owes me money.

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

what a glorious day - got cut short because the alternator stopped working, but still.... it was a point and shoot day in the snow (meaning wherever I wanted to go.. no problem)


normally speaking, there's a frost line on the hills - not this time, so there wasn't the slog through the cascade cement...






got a little snow up its nose


then air up


then breakfast at the cafe - an all-you-can-eat.... I like all you can eat