JeepZombie
02-02-2014, 08:35 AM
So, I've been quiet for awhile and I figured if I didn't say something I'd explode. :D
I've been doing a few things with the jeep, in the past month or two I've managed to replace the hatchback struts with new ones I picked up cheap from a European vendor on Amazon.com - They fit perfectly and are a bit stronger than stock. I can pop the lock and pull the hatch out about an inch and then just step away - these bad boys do the rest, nice and smooth.
Of course, I had a dum-me moment when I was putting them on - they're not like the stock ones in the sense that they do not go on the same way and one end is larger than the other...now, an intelligent being would go, "Well, put the bigger end on the hatch since it's got tons of space..."
Yeah, you guessed it...I was fighting with the thing for 10 minutes trying to get it to go on THE SAME WAY THE ORIGINALS WERE ON. Eventually though, I got it. After I smacked myself in the forehead, I flipped them around and they installed in about 2 minutes. Ah well, live and learn.
http://www.xjtalk.com/picture.php?albumid=547&pictureid=3832
I also got to the junkyard up around my girlfriend's area and found a later model seat to replace my horribly broken driver's seat. I didn't realize how bad the old one was until after I had pulled it - there was basically one weld holding the seat to the frame still and the frame itself had broken in 3 places.
Now, the new seat was a mess, but it only cost $30. It wasn't ripped or anything, it was mechanically sound - it was also U G L Y. Brown stains pretty much covered it, as well as a little mildew. No worries though (and this is a tip for any of you out there having to deal with the same thing) I took it over to a guy I know who does auto detailing for a living. He had me drop the seat off with him and in a couple of hours, I came back to a like new seat!
http://www.xjtalk.com/picture.php?albumid=547&pictureid=3831
Apparently, this is pretty common in the used car business (great car but someone spilled stuff on the seating, etc) and auto detail shops will give you a decent rate for just cleaning a seat or two. In this case, $15 got it cleaned up. Well, $20 with the tip, but after the job he did, it was well worth it! Lesson learned - if you need it to look like new but can't afford $300+ for a new seat, the junkyard and a good detail shop are your best friends.
After that, I got a bug up my crawl about adding a little color to the interior - lighting that is. I love blue lighting, I'm an addict, I admit it. So, I found another Amazon.com company that was selling "Interior Dome Lights - LED, Blue" and figured that was perfect!
The cost was only about $8 with shipping and I realized when they arrived, that was for FOUR OF THEM!!! NICE!!!
However, a few issues - one, they didn't mate with my dome light. They wouldn't even go out on a date with it! So, I knew I was going to have to make some modifications...after testing it out to see the output, I realized that although they were as bright as the original dome light, I wanted MORE LIGHT!!!
So, I started a little electronic project to rig up two of them in parallel and figure out a way to mount them to my existing dome light (Because the idea of tearing apart the header to get to one dome light assembly gave me nightmares).
http://www.xjtalk.com/picture.php?albumid=547&pictureid=3816
The idea came to me pretty quick as just a temporary way to test them in parallel - a pair of paperclips. But during testing I thought to myself, "Why can't I just bend these into shape and use them as the new mounting piece?" The answer was, "Well, you *can*!"
So I did.
http://www.xjtalk.com/picture.php?albumid=547&pictureid=3817
With a little bending, adjusting for fit and some solid soldering, I now had a twin LED dome light assembly for my new bulb! Go me!
http://www.xjtalk.com/picture.php?albumid=547&pictureid=3830
Of course, the other thing I've been doing for the past couple of months is trying to work my brain around the idea I have for this jeep. I now have a project (or should that be Project?). This jeep will have a purpose in life beyond that of being an awesome jeep.
It is to become...
A SNOW BEAST!
That's right, I want this jeep to be a cold weather environment vehicle. Not a rock crawler, not a mudder...snow.
Of course, this is where you all come in - I'd love some ideas of things you all think would help with this transformation. Big or small, it doesn't matter - all ideas will be considered (although I might laugh at some of them, just sayin'). I'm not going to be able to get this project done right away, it'll probably take a few years even, considering I have no spare cash at the moment.
But that's my goal for this bad boy. Comments, suggestions, ideas and criticisms are welcome.
http://www.xjtalk.com/picture.php?albumid=547&pictureid=3818
Cheers,
I've been doing a few things with the jeep, in the past month or two I've managed to replace the hatchback struts with new ones I picked up cheap from a European vendor on Amazon.com - They fit perfectly and are a bit stronger than stock. I can pop the lock and pull the hatch out about an inch and then just step away - these bad boys do the rest, nice and smooth.
Of course, I had a dum-me moment when I was putting them on - they're not like the stock ones in the sense that they do not go on the same way and one end is larger than the other...now, an intelligent being would go, "Well, put the bigger end on the hatch since it's got tons of space..."
Yeah, you guessed it...I was fighting with the thing for 10 minutes trying to get it to go on THE SAME WAY THE ORIGINALS WERE ON. Eventually though, I got it. After I smacked myself in the forehead, I flipped them around and they installed in about 2 minutes. Ah well, live and learn.
http://www.xjtalk.com/picture.php?albumid=547&pictureid=3832
I also got to the junkyard up around my girlfriend's area and found a later model seat to replace my horribly broken driver's seat. I didn't realize how bad the old one was until after I had pulled it - there was basically one weld holding the seat to the frame still and the frame itself had broken in 3 places.
Now, the new seat was a mess, but it only cost $30. It wasn't ripped or anything, it was mechanically sound - it was also U G L Y. Brown stains pretty much covered it, as well as a little mildew. No worries though (and this is a tip for any of you out there having to deal with the same thing) I took it over to a guy I know who does auto detailing for a living. He had me drop the seat off with him and in a couple of hours, I came back to a like new seat!
http://www.xjtalk.com/picture.php?albumid=547&pictureid=3831
Apparently, this is pretty common in the used car business (great car but someone spilled stuff on the seating, etc) and auto detail shops will give you a decent rate for just cleaning a seat or two. In this case, $15 got it cleaned up. Well, $20 with the tip, but after the job he did, it was well worth it! Lesson learned - if you need it to look like new but can't afford $300+ for a new seat, the junkyard and a good detail shop are your best friends.
After that, I got a bug up my crawl about adding a little color to the interior - lighting that is. I love blue lighting, I'm an addict, I admit it. So, I found another Amazon.com company that was selling "Interior Dome Lights - LED, Blue" and figured that was perfect!
The cost was only about $8 with shipping and I realized when they arrived, that was for FOUR OF THEM!!! NICE!!!
However, a few issues - one, they didn't mate with my dome light. They wouldn't even go out on a date with it! So, I knew I was going to have to make some modifications...after testing it out to see the output, I realized that although they were as bright as the original dome light, I wanted MORE LIGHT!!!
So, I started a little electronic project to rig up two of them in parallel and figure out a way to mount them to my existing dome light (Because the idea of tearing apart the header to get to one dome light assembly gave me nightmares).
http://www.xjtalk.com/picture.php?albumid=547&pictureid=3816
The idea came to me pretty quick as just a temporary way to test them in parallel - a pair of paperclips. But during testing I thought to myself, "Why can't I just bend these into shape and use them as the new mounting piece?" The answer was, "Well, you *can*!"
So I did.
http://www.xjtalk.com/picture.php?albumid=547&pictureid=3817
With a little bending, adjusting for fit and some solid soldering, I now had a twin LED dome light assembly for my new bulb! Go me!
http://www.xjtalk.com/picture.php?albumid=547&pictureid=3830
Of course, the other thing I've been doing for the past couple of months is trying to work my brain around the idea I have for this jeep. I now have a project (or should that be Project?). This jeep will have a purpose in life beyond that of being an awesome jeep.
It is to become...
A SNOW BEAST!
That's right, I want this jeep to be a cold weather environment vehicle. Not a rock crawler, not a mudder...snow.
Of course, this is where you all come in - I'd love some ideas of things you all think would help with this transformation. Big or small, it doesn't matter - all ideas will be considered (although I might laugh at some of them, just sayin'). I'm not going to be able to get this project done right away, it'll probably take a few years even, considering I have no spare cash at the moment.
But that's my goal for this bad boy. Comments, suggestions, ideas and criticisms are welcome.
http://www.xjtalk.com/picture.php?albumid=547&pictureid=3818
Cheers,