Builds 1988 BJ74 “Number 1”

[FJBen]

How so? Personally, I don’t do things twice.

I do things like shocks a few times because there are lots of options and points of view and yada yada.

But engine s*** should be one and done, in my book.

Good luck man.

Fair enough, had the gasket held up, all is good. the engine is the last thing I would do twice as well as evidence by the full rebuild and machine work, and IP turbo etc, the gasket I’ll take the blame on that. I wasn’t impressed with it, should have went OEM...I used the kit and it bit me in the ass.

 

[OGBeno]

And my post wasn’t one of my usual criticisms; I was just being honest about how I approach these things now.... 15+ years in.

I’m getting back surgery this Friday and I am done wasting my time after that. I have suffered fools and the “community.”

Done with that stuff now. I want my s*** to work and I want it to work every time I turn the key.

Anything otherwise is a waste of my time and, to a degree, valuable life I have left in this world.

 

[FJBen]

And my post wasn’t one of my usual criticisms; I was just being honest about how I approach these things now.... 15+ years in.

I’m getting back surgery this Friday and I am done wasting my time after that. I have suffered fools and the “community.”

Done with that stuff now. I want my s*** to work and I want it to work every time I turn the key.

Anything otherwise is a waste of my time and, to a degree, valuable life I have left in this world.

Good luck on the back surgery, I’ve known 3 people had it and their lives improved immensely after.

I get what you are saying. I want things to work every time and especially an engine I dumped a lot of time and money into. But once, cry once.

 

[FJBen]

got a little time with the cruiser today.

First was to fix the HVAC controls. Basically only the selector worked, no recirc and no heat control.
Brittle plastic, not fun.

Replaced that, quite a pain. The problem is on the temp selector there are 2 cables. 1 goes to the heat control valve under hood, the other to a damper. It needs a new cable as the attachment is different and the way to hold the cable in place is different. I chose to leave it off for the winter. I assuming it’s more for A/C, but I could be wrong. Nice to have it working now.
The dimmer switch is in an awful place there and hard to get in from behind.

Old piece on top, no idea what the numbers are for.

 

[FJBen]

Next up was legroom. I’m 6’5” so the seats really don’t go back far enough, which is true on a lot of vehicles, but particularly bad on the 70 series.
I decided to extend them to see how much it helps. Well, it helps a ton. This was a rough test, so it’s not very pretty.
I used 1” box tubing from Ace hardware. It was $12, Probabaly can get it cheaper at a metal place or scraps. $2 in bolts.
I cut the box tubing to 17” long.
The center to center on the seat bolt holes is 13”.
I made another set of holes 2” back and put a larger hole on the bottom so that a socket would fit to tighten to the seat. Also you need a cutout for seat adjuster, again it looks terrible but works on The prototype.

All holes lined up the first time. Make sure to give some wiggle room on the holes, even the factory has some room for error.


My ARB compressor is mounted under the seat. It’s pretty quiet compared to some of the other ARBs I’ve had.

Ideally I would like the have the back of the seat lower, but it’s pretty comfy as is.

1” higher and 2” back makes a pretty nice setup. You can see the comparison to the passenger seat.

Yes those are my extra Jetta floor mats. It’s a TDI so it’s ok.

So for less than $20 and about an hour of work, highly recommend and well worth it for us taller folks.

 

[FJBen]

More little projects done


I put the rear mudflaps back on for the winter. They aren’t OEM, but should do a good job keep mud, slush, snow off the back end and piling up in the bumper.

The new legroom is awesome for driving. Much more comfortable. Wolfhound approved.

 

[Gun Runner 5]

@Onur ....... "I’m getting back surgery this Friday and I am done wasting my time after that. I have suffered fools and the “community.”
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

So does that mean you're turning in your "moderator" credentials?

 

[OGBeno]

@Onur ....... "I’m getting back surgery this Friday and I am done wasting my time after that. I have suffered fools and the “community.”
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

So does that mean you're turning in your "moderator" credentials?

huh? No.

 

[FJBen]

11 degree F (-11.6C) start this morning. I was thinking of glowing again but decided to just start on one glow for the sake of the video.
I may switch to synthetic oil for the winter...undecided yet.




A little snow drive in to work for good measure. This is the dirt road portion. I could easily break free the Yokohama's on the slick highway in 2WD. 4wd no issues at all, braking and driving was good, no sliding around.

 

[FJBen]

Just a neat spot I found

Enjoying driving it to work everyday. I will probably get a block/radiator hose heater to make it easier on the engine. It starts within 1-3 seconds at near zero temps, but would be easier on the engine.

 

[PabloCruise]

Just a neat spot I found




View attachment 2161510

View attachment 2161509

Enjoying driving it to work everyday. I will probably get a block/radiator hose heater to make it easier on the engine. It starts within 1-3 seconds at near zero temps, but would be easier on the engine.

Great pictures! I forgot to keep up with your thread...

 

[FJBen]

Drive to work today, foggy ice and snow. Blizzard is coming 8-14” supposedly.

Farm posing last night at home.

Seems I have an HVAC or cold air leak on the passenger side. I’m never on that side so I don’t feel it but it’s it’s really noticeable when selector is at Re-circ. It’s basically coming out of the dash speaker hole, no speakers in mine. Fresh air, no air comes out of the speaker home so I need to dig around and see what’s causing that at highway speeds.

 

[PabloCruise]

You guys are supposed to get 8”?
We are supposed to get snow overnight, but I have not heard estimates of accumulation...

 

[FJBen]

Still just happily driving. Have a spa day lined up in a few weeks.
oil, grease, inside clean, filters, air cleaner....

Trying to cypher through synthetic oil usage in these older diesels, and when after a rebuild is a good time to switch...lots of opinions

 

[PabloCruise]

That 2nd picture is great!

 

[fireball]

Nice photos! Where do you live??

 

[FJBen]

Nice photos! Where do you live??

Thanks! Far Western Nebraska For the past 2 years but Colorado the 40 before that...that makes me feel old and miss Colorado a ton!
We’ll be back to Colorado soon, maybe not the front range though.

I tried a black and white photo, not sure which one I like better.

 

[saltycoconuts]

Thanks! Far Western Nebraska For the past 2 years but Colorado the 40 before that...that makes me feel old and miss Colorado a ton!
We’ll be back to Colorado soon, maybe not the front range though.

I tried a black and white photo, not sure which one I like better.



View attachment 2191823

Try straightening the horizon. The whites look a little blown out but still nice none the less.

 

[Gun Runner 5]

Post #413 is what's often referred to as the "money shot".
...... Beautiful ......

 

[PabloCruise]

Thanks! Far Western Nebraska For the past 2 years but Colorado the 40 before that...that makes me feel old and miss Colorado a ton!
We’ll be back to Colorado soon, maybe not the front range though.

I tried a black and white photo, not sure which one I like better.



View attachment 2191823

So much color in the sunset, I have to vote for color!