Builds Gerry's Build thread: "If it happens again I'm buying an Abrams" (7 Viewers)

[LJE]

You da man! @LJE 's sanity is safe too!

Not so sure about my sanity, hahahahahah.

The speedo correction box removal was one of the (many) poo-at-the-wall flinging ideas I had while @MongooseGA was troubleshooting the truck. It seemed like it would be weird to have an issue with the box that only caused the truck to lose 5th gear with no other symptoms, but I was trying to think of what in the world might be different about Gerry that was causing this issue to appear for what seems like the first documented time.

 

[MongooseGA]

Not so sure about my sanity, hahahahahah.

The speedo correction box removal was one of the (many) poo-at-the-wall flinging ideas I had while @MongooseGA was troubleshooting the truck. It seemed like it would be weird to have an issue with the box that only caused the truck to lose 5th gear with no other symptoms, but I was trying to think of what in the world might be different about Gerry that was causing this issue to appear for what seems like the first documented time.

She dances to the beat of her own drum.

 

[MongooseGA]

A few weeks in to the 'fix' on the transmission and I'm finding myself less and less aware of concern while driving her. We did a road trip to Knoxville week before last and the truck was great. I'm feeling pretty confident that we're in good shape. Added bonus, the truck actually feels peppier off the line than it did with the original transmission in it.

Another tailgate going out today.

Working on having a shopify store running this week.

 

[salsaredpearl]

Would love to purchase one of these tailgate kits! They look awesome. Nice work. I will keep an eye out for the finished shopify store, or if there is an easier way to purchase directly also down for that.

I have a 2006 TLC. Wondering about the double latch situation, is it much more hassle to open the covers with the double latch? i.e. take two hands etc. I wonder if there is a solution where it retains the single latch but is not centered on the panel. idk, just a thought.

Did you keep your tailgate lift assist spings/rods/torsion bar in place? Did you keep the center support in place? Would love to see a pic of the inside with the flaps opened

thanks,
pat

 

[MongooseGA]

Would love to purchase one of these tailgate kits! They look awesome. Nice work. I will keep an eye out for the finished shopify store, or if there is an easier way to purchase directly also down for that.

I have a 2006 TLC. Wondering about the double latch situation, is it much more hassle to open the covers with the double latch? i.e. take two hands etc. I wonder if there is a solution where it retains the single latch but is not centered on the panel. idk, just a thought.

Did you keep your tailgate lift assist spings/rods/torsion bar in place? Did you keep the center support in place? Would love to see a pic of the inside with the flaps opened

thanks,
pat

The latches are easily opened one handed. You don't need to hold one while you open the other or anything.

The only way to avoid the issue with the double latches would be to offset the latch from the center of the door, and for strength purposes they really should be centered/ even.

No progress on the lift assist unfortunately. Something I need to get back on. I have 2 of the lighter 14ga kits cut and ready to go but they're both the single latch design, which won't jive with your LC well. (If any LX owner wants them, I'd do a deal vs the original price to get them out of my garage as they're not the identical product I'm moving forward with.)

This is what I have for pictures of the interior. I can take some more from different angles if you'd like. The 2 latch design going forward is identical to the single latch, just with two per door instead.

 

[salsaredpearl]

Looks awesome, thanks for posting those photos. Definitely interested in purchasing when you have units that will work for a land cruiser. Is there a way to look inside my tailgate and determine if my lock barrel is the type that interferes with the single latch version? I seem to recall reading on a different huracan thread that depending on which lock barrel you have it may or may not be an issue. If the answer is that it's a LC vs LX thing I also will accept that, just wondering if it has to do with the production year etc.

One additional question - do you know if the two-latch design will interfere with the location of the OEM assist bar? I was hoping to leave mine in place and similar to this post here in order to keep things light, I don't think I'll mind loading items around it but we'll see how it goes.

thanks for all your hard work on these, I'm stoked to get one installed.

@ShenValley100LC I installed mine last night and have the same issue .The furniture sliders they include are borderline comical. I'll think about what I can install under the flapper that is more of a permanent solution to gain clearance for the locks.

Other than that, I really like the kit. Shipped really fast from Texas and all the holes lined up perfectly.

As you can see in the 2nd photo. i kept those spring bars or whatever. Wondering if this helps with raising and lowering it? I have all my recovery gear in there and doesnt seem to be heavy at all.

I'm also planning on extending the tail light harness so I can run them up and out of the way completely. right now i dont have enough line to do that so they are still kind of in the way.

View attachment 2639054View attachment 2639055

 

[MongooseGA]

Looks awesome, thanks for posting those photos. Definitely interested in purchasing when you have units that will work for a land cruiser. Is there a way to look inside my tailgate and determine if my lock barrel is the type that interferes with the single latch version? I seem to recall reading on a different huracan thread that depending on which lock barrel you have it may or may not be an issue. If the answer is that it's a LC vs LX thing I also will accept that, just wondering if it has to do with the production year etc.

One additional question - do you know if the two-latch design will interfere with the location of the OEM assist bar? I was hoping to leave mine in place and similar to this post here in order to keep things light, I don't think I'll mind loading items around it but we'll see how it goes.

thanks for all your hard work on these, I'm stoked to get one installed.

To the best of my knowledge, it's an LX vs LC thing. On my LX that these were designed on, the lock cylinder is on the driver's side. On the LC that @cbbr installed it on, it was on the passenger's side and located exactly where the original single centered latch would land. Big thanks to cbbr for pointing this out to me. Ultimately, I feel the double latch design is more secure, holding the door more snuggly across the whole length than just the one.

Currently I don't have any new inventory, but I'll update here with news. I'm not blasting much info about it outside of this thread as I'm not a supporting vendor of the site yet, but I'm sure I will be.

 

[MongooseGA]

Gerry rolled the big Three-Five-Oh on the 1st. It was only 100k miles ago that she was towing @sammybones dead Cruiser off the side of a mountain!

(Love you buddy)

Last week I did an oil change, greased the drive shafts, had a 5-tire rotation done, and gave her a much needed bath. I also cleaned up her guts for the first time in longer than I'd care to admit.


The website for the tailgate kits and some other cool items is just about complete. I'm waiting on some final pictures of a few items before I publish it live. Look for the cool red 'Supporting Vendor' badge under my name any day now.

 

[Trapper50cal]

So...tranny...still good? No jinxes.

 

[MongooseGA]

So...tranny...still good? No jinxes.

To avoid jinxes, I'll say this:

We rolled 350k last week!!

 

[LJE]

So...tranny...still good? No jinxes.

*cartoonish car exploding sounds in the background*

*gear rolls by*

 

[Trapper50cal]

*cartoonish car exploding sounds in the background*

*gear rolls by*

No, no, no none of that....

 

[MongooseGA]

And the website is live! To the best of my knowledge everything is running smooth but please bare with me if there are some hiccups to iron out. For anyone who's asked me about the tailgate kits, you'll find them under 'parts' on the site. Feel free to ask me any questions here or reach out to me at GA@theartisangaragage.com !

www.TheArtisanGarage.com

 

[LJE]

"Ships to you in mill scale finish to prevent corrosion and allows you to put your creative flair on it. Paint? Sure. Powdercoat? Why not? Bed liner? Now we're talking. Or, I guess you could carpet it. "

I feel called out...
(going to be designing my cup holder insert tonight to print!)

 

[MongooseGA]

I feel called out...
(going to be designing my cup holder insert tonight to print!)


View attachment 3839344

Actually I think this is much cooler than just putting some marine grade carpeting on it. I think I may do the same on mine if it ever gets a production version of the kit installed. I'm still rocking the first viable prototype from like 6 months ago.

 

[MongooseGA]

So Alex @LJE designed some really cool projector caps after he did a D2S retrofit. I'm currently selling them over at The Artisan Garage. I finally got some free time between other projects today to install them on my own truck.

While at it, I was kind of shamed for just letting my ballasts flop around the engine bay, loose like sleeve of wizard. So I whipped up a little bracket that bolt to the radiator support and use factory threaded holes and bolts to install. DS installs under the forward end of the battery tie down, and I don't know what was originally mounted to the passenger side. I had nothing there, but I did have the OEM bolt sitting on a mag tray in the garage.

The bracket will come cut to allow users to mount their ballasts either vertically or horizontally. Currently just sized for Morimoto ballasts, but if there's another someone would like compatibility with, just let me know. Would be easy to make it happen. This will arrive on the website within a week or so. Cut from 14ga steel and bent to let the ballast sit comfortably beneath the top edge of the rad support. Sturdy and clean.

Since the driver's side ballast wiring was a little short, I added about 8" to it. First time I've successfully given 8" to anything. Job isn't done until you know it'll work, so here's the proof:

Those 3D printed caps are on the site now and made to be compatible with the rubber grommet that comes on your Morimoto igniters. I'd cut mine off previously, but was pleasantly surprised to find 2 new igniters with seals in my parts cabinet. Win!

 

[YezusLX]

8" of freedom looks good on you! That is a brilliantly simple design idea. I like it.

 

[MongooseGA]

Just documentation. Gerry rolled 355k last weekend on the way to Lynchburg VA for an annual camping trip. Did a 5 tire rotation on Tuesday, oil change yesterday, and I'll get the underside lube done when the weather clears up.

Current mileage is 356k.

I've been chasing this cyclical vibration that feels like it's under my feet. I've gone through more u joints than I should be, so it's time to find what the actual root issue is. I have a suspicion that some of the bearings in the front diff may be cooked. Nothing noticeable up to about 55-60MPH, then pretty noticeable up to 82 where I set cruise control. I'll probably start pulling front parts until I isolate. I also need to pull the rear diff out to repair the locker wiring. Add it all to the list.

 

[MongooseGA]

So the other day I pulled the front drive shaft. The roughness I've been feeling is largely gone, but not entirely. It does feel very much like it's in the front end, so this makes me think something like a diff bearing is going bad. Axles are OEM and relatively new. Wheel bearings as well. Anyway, I'm leaving it in RWD for an upcoming road trip because the vibration will make me cranky. Also popped in a new engine air filter. And greased the rear shaft and trailing arms.


Did a coolant exchange today. Not because I was getting signs of anything, but it's about 2 years old, we're about to drive to a swampy hell hole (Galveston) and I didn't want to take any chances.

I had initially intended to use Zerex red for Asian vehicles, as I like their stuff. Red coolant in a red jug for my Lexus, blue coolant in a silver and blue jug for my BMW, and yellow coolant in a yellow jug for my old Mercedeses. I bought a few red jugs premixed and after about the first cup I noticed that it was yellow. So, heads up to any Zerex users, if the jug doesn't say "Asian" in big letters on it, it's not Asian red. So I drained it right out and grabbed 2 gallons of Toyota red concentrate from my local Mr T.

Put the skid back on, gave her a bath and cleaned up the interior. Ready for a road trip.

It rained an hour after the bath. Because of course.

Mileage is 356k and some change.

 

[benznotmercedes]

Read through this entire thread over the last few days, great inspiration for the LX I picked up recently (only a few thousand miles more than yours, lol). Also good to see someone local - you're in Woodstock too? Would like to pick up one of your rear hatch storage systems after I knock out a couple more items on the to-do list.