defibvt wrote:Very nice Alan. Need some whole saws. I have a couple and a jig saw if you need it.

If Geoff can't hit it with the plasma cutter I may hit you up. My hole saws are D.E.A.D dead! LOL

Thanks Scott!!!

No problem

We got a lot accomplished this weekend. Special thanks to Mike (Skatchkins) for his help on Saturday morning with the wiring.

We knocked out the in cab wiring (pulled everything un-necessary and cleaned up everything that was), pulled all the A/C components out of the rig, seated tires, painted parts of the cage that needed it, hooked up the 12 Volt Guy panel, made a suck down winch panel, re-wired the cooling fan to the 12V Guy panel, re-ran the headlights and rock lights, replaced the radiator, and installed the locker switches and center console.


Here is a "just for Bob" shot of a 37x17 radial on the rig...




For comparison purposes, here is a 37x12.5x17 Rocker Radial on the read and a 37x13.5x15 Rocker Bias on the front.





Here is the passenger rear with the 37x12.5x17 Radial and the driver rear with the 37x13.5x15 bias on. The back spacing on the rims are a little different as well, but you can clearly the see the height, width, and sidewall difference between the two. Both are at 15 PSI. Both are "37's" but rims, back spacing, 1" of width, and the difference between radial and bias make for a very different experience.





Again, special thanks to Skatchkins for his help with the electrical. He spent several hours Saturday morning helping me clean up that mess (and by helping me, I mean I brought him cool drinks and worked on other stuff and stayed out of his way... occasionally holding a flashlight as needed...)




The old radiator was pretty plugged up and had developed a small leak. I'll fix the leak and keep it as an emergency back up in the chase truck / pits. The rest of the stuff is the condenser, compressor, and A/C parts. Below is the new radiator in all it's shiny aluminum glory.






Funny story. I had a "back up belt" I always kept with the rig in case I lost a belt while racing. It was the belt for a 97 TJ with A/C. When I went to buy a belt for a 97 TJ without A/C, I discovered neither belt was correct. Due to the aftermarket PSC pump and pulley setup, I needed a specific length belt that didn't match either stock TJ length. This whole time my "back up belt" was worthless. Lesson learned...




ARB locker switches and the Parker Pumper switch was relocated to the center console between the cutting brakes. Easy access for driver and co-driver.







I can't say enough about the 12 Volt Guy products. Super clean and super easy. We are now wired and all the cables are managed into a quick, easy and clean configuration. I still need to switch over the ignition to the panel, then it's ready to go.




On the agenda for this week is to finish the aftermarket gauges install and wrap up the dash, then on to other safety projects like the care gussets and fuel cell baffling. So far on track for pre-running over New Years with Andrew out at JV.

and here is an update from earlier in the week I had put on Pirate but forgot to post here:

I have a love/hate relationship with beadlocks...




I only have love for my new gauges however!




mmmm pretty.




On the rim without air 36.5"




Seated on the rim at 15 PSI 37"

Very nice Alan.

On to the next phases!

As indicated, I had to modify the design to allow it to be "shorter". Basically, I moved the 12 Volt Guy panel to the left and created a "communications" panel to the right that will house the radio, intercom, 12V power supply, and CB connection. I will also have my suck down winch controls left of the steering wheel and I created a "fuse panel" access on the lower right to access the handful of fuses not going through the switch panel.










I am carrying the red of the buggy into the cab, but I also have the black stripe that I wanted to carry through as well, so I painted the dash so that the black stripe on the hood lines up and flows into the dash/cab.
















When mounted, it will be flush with the bar across the dash. Next steps are welding on the mounting tabs and creating the bezel in front of the bar that covers the gap between the hood and the cage. There are a couple of other odds and ends to wrap up then the dash will be complete.

Also, in the weight reduction effort, I am redoing tool storage and extraneous articles that I would take for recreational wheeling and really assessing if it's necessary for racing. To quote my Sensei "Lighter is faster". To that end I pulled the heavy metal tool boxes, 20# Co2 tank, spare tire, hi-lift, and bottle jack out of the rear. Another 200+ lbs right there. We'll assess and determine what to run at KOH, but now we're starting with a clean slate again.




Completing the tire theme / discussion. Here is the 37x12.5x17 on the rim at 20 PSI next to the 37x13.5x15 bias on the rim at 20 PSI.




And all four tires mounted and on the rig. Light and fast!

the dash is looking really good Alan. 8)

Looking really good Alan.

Sick Jeep Alan, love it.

Good work!!!

Ok.

Dash - done. Everything is hooked up and works great. Slight modification from the original plan to make it fit within 10" instead of the original 12 to allow more leg room. I moved the 12 Volt Guy panel to the left and the opening is for the communications panel that will house the race radio, intercom, and 12 V power supply. Little switch to the left of the steering wheel is the suck down winch controller. Additional fuse panel access is the removable panel you see to the right of the grab bar. I did a couple of shake down runs and everything is nice and tight with no rattles. We'll see about after the Hammers, but so far so good!










I covered the top of the dash with a piece of aluminum (seamed and sealed) to protect it but to also allow easy access behind the panel if I need it.




I also pulled my old tool boxes, created some new, lighter weight storage solutions, and enclosed the rear with a sheet of aluminum. Rear (newly required race rules compliant) bumper is in progress.




So... 31 days until we leave for the lakebed. Still the tons of little things to do (plus the new gussets for the cage) but who's ready to race!

Looks GREAT! So excited for a week on the lakebed, I can't wait. We still have a ton of stuff to finish on the trailer, but we'll be ready!

If you need a hand with anything let me know.
Still not too sure on the sleeping arrangement, but looking forward to this trip!

Did you sell your pop up?

alanzona wrote:Did you sell your pop up?

Yeah long story short... lost my fight against my HOA & sold it to pay off the crooks :/

All your progress and paintwork looks so great Alan.

Thanks Mike. I appreciate it buddy.

Looking great Alan. What's the plan for this weekend? I may be able to come help for a bit.

Clean up and check things. I drove it "race hard" yesterday out at FJ and just need to go over it. No actual schedule and no major plans.