66 CJ5 Rebuild

Where did you get the firewall grommet? I looked kind of half heartedly for one, then reused the old one. But it's not so nice.

 

Got it from Summit Racing, part #SIT-SGS3-5-100. Expensive little bugger, but it works well. I like that it's two pieces.

 

Custom dash installed and I love it
Very nice work done by Dan Dillner at www.doubledfab.com. All four corners bent like original with very clean lines. He can cut any shape hole, which make its really nice for items that have "flat" spots to keep them from rotating such as the ignition, lights, choke, and wiper switch.
I elected to keep the dash clean with a minimal amount of gauges, switches and knobs.
The gauges are from Speedhut and are made in Utah and they probably deserve their own thread. The Speedo is powered by a GPS and is coupled with a tach. The "Quad" gauge has all the essentials and can be programmed by the user for custom settings. Very nice gauges that have well built plugs and sensors for a very easy connection.

















Also fixed up some tail gate chains. Found some durable nylon for the covers and then I dipped the ends in Plasti-dip for a sratch resisant finish.





Rebuilt the Sparton turn signal.

 

Love those gauges! They did a great job on the dash. Did you mark all the locations for the switches or did they build from drawings?

 

Dan built it from my drawings. The common stuff like the glove box and mounting holes were already established from his drawings. He was really fast about making changes and sending me drawings as we figured out what I wanted. Highly recommend his dash for anyone considering one.

 

Wow! Great build! You've done a really awesome job with this one. Keep up the good work.

 

PieLut,
I have seen DD's work before and it is first class , when I'm ready mine is going his way.

Nice job on your build........I see you used the Tig alot and I do also...........just don't like to have to keep that metal sparkly clean all the time in order to weld on it. Don't get me wrong not a problem on the right project. Frames, rust, dirt PITA. Are you using 100% Argon or a CO2 mix? Went over to the dark side last year and bought a Miller 211 Mig ............kinda like it.

Keep up the good work.

 

Thanks for the kind words...As far as the welding gas is concerned I use 100% Argon for the TIG. I also have a Lincoln 215 MIG and that one gets a 75/25 mix.

 

Radiator is finally mounted. I spent way too much time trying to figure out a clean way to mount the aluminum radiator but now it's done.
It's a sandwich design in which the hoop is removable via two bolts. The radiator is very rigid with this design, it doesn't move a bit.
This is the Speedway universal Chevy style 22" radiator.

Lower mount welded to frame


From below


Upper mount took way more time to fabricate. First step was to make the mount detachable so I could still get the grill out.






Upper attachment before the cover plate was installed.


All welded up and painted. I used thin rubber between the radiator and steel mounts to keep the chafing to a minimum.

I will make a shroud for it eventually.

 

Very nice. Smart thinking putting cardboard over the radiator fins

 

How long did you make your rear bumper?

 

Just measured it...54 1/2"

 

Any reason you did not attache the radiator to the original grill?............Or just the lack of brackets on the Aluminum radiator? .....................Lookin Good!

 

No brackets on the aluminum radiator. This is probably the biggest downside to this radiator. You could weld some brackets to the sides, but I decided against that.

 

I see you did a nice job. I mounted my radiator the same way, except I used 2x2 angle iron. Mine is based on how GM mounts their radiators using four rubber mount that hold the tanks. My fan shroud is 18 gauge steel and the two fans are screws to it. My radiator is 26" wide (Not as tall as yours) and I welded my frame work to the shock towers.

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So happy right now I had a few days off and got the old girl running!!
Over 2 1/2 years since I started this mess and now I'm finally driving her.

A couple pics to show before the video of her running.

New BesTop rear seat. Really nice seat that folds and tumbles. Easy to mount and looks like it was made well.


Also added a new BesTop bikini top for now.


Surprise Straps, neat hand grips made here in Surprise Arizona (far West Phoenix). You can take the handle apart and have useable paracord in a pinch.


Made a custom battery mount. 3/8" solid rod, 90 degree bend at bottom to fit original mounting location and threads made at top to secure in place. Holes are to keep the battery vented.


I used an unusual trick to make sure all the important bits were lubed prior to the first start. I used some motor oil and a bug sprayer hooked up to the oil pressure port.
Then I used an oil priming tool along with a mechanical oil pressure gauge to ensure the system was primed. Worked great!



All in all, everything went very well. I forgot to plug the small port on top of the water pump. The masking tape held up surprisingly well before it gave and hot fluid sprayed everywhere.
Breaking in the new Comp Cam was nerve-racking. 2,500 RPM for 30 minutes But on a freezing Phoenix morning, the temps stayed low. The brakes where not right on the first few drives. I figured out that the bolt that secures the pedal shaft was too long and when I hit the brakes the bolt hit the engine block. Cut bolt...problem fixed. Brakes work awesome. The only thing left is to reduce the engine oil pressure. I have a high pressure oil kit and I need to turn it down via the adjustable pressure regulator. Feels great to drive her around again, check out the awesome video my fiance made
[video=youtube;nxKUmkiSJoI][/video]

 

Congrats on the re-birth

 

Congratulations! It's great to be back in the saddle again, isn't it?

 

How do you like the setup with the V6 and T-18, what gear ratio do you have in the axles? I'm thinking of setting mine up with 3.73 gears to get a little more top end speed out of the drivetrain wjhile still keeping a better than stock crawl ratio.

 

Looks Great! Your smile on the video shows it all! Congrats. I love that rear seat. Gonna need to add that to my finish list. The weather down there looks like you can get away with the CJ. We're still waiting for above freezing out here in Western CO! You getting that T-18 into reverse looks just like mine. You can feel how beefy it is (compared to the standard three speeds), right up to the shift knob Great job man!