'Nother rainy weekend up here in God's Country. But a Westerner will never bitch 'bout the rain ... just ask the folks in California.
And a rainy day is still good for runnin' errands. Huge 4wd shop downtown turned out to be a big muffler shop that'll bolt on shiny thangs for ya ... worthless for me.
But found a reference to a shop called TNT Customs on an old thread on a jeep forum and decided to check them out. What a great shop specializin' in hardcore jeeps and right here in Cheyenne. Reckon just a matter of time 'fore he gets my money.
One of my goals for the day was to try to get the tires balanced to see if that would fix the vibration on the highway. Followed one lead after another in search of a shop that could balance the 37's. 'Bout the 5th shop proved to be the ticket. They gotta machine that can balance huge tires.
Check out the screen sayin' it needs 20 oz!
Had to use stick-on weights but was able to get all 4 balanced.
Sunday mornin' brought the only sunshine of the weekend and I took full advantage of it to do some destructive wrenchin'.
Interior sports some super comfortable Corbeau seats.
Ain't real fond of the black and white tho ... but the previous owner sure was. He ordered the material from Corbeau so he could cover ev'rythang else to match. Back seat looks like a damned dairy cow to me.
... and it won't never be back in the jeep again.
'Tween the front seats is a REALLY nice center console by Max-Bilt.
Previous owner couldn't come up with a key tho to lock it. So I sent an email to the company and they sent me a new lock cylinder and key for free. And I think that's pretty cool. Made quick work of swappin' it out and now gonna have some safe storage for runnin' topless.
First off is the doors. Just unplug the electrical wire and lift 'em off. Surprisingly heavy.
Front panels on the top come off real quick with the flip of a latch and twist of some levers. Pretty cool design.
4 bolts down each side of the back and it's ready to come off as well. Bit heavy and bulky so got the neighbor to help lift it off and set it aside.
Thangs are shapin' up now.
Rollbar's covered with paddin' and the material from Corbeau. I suppose it mite of looked OK at some point in time ... but that time has passed. Black has faded to a puke green.
Front of the tub has been rhino-lined and a quick peek under the carpet in the rear shows that the entire tub has been sprayed. And even the roll cage.
And plastic pieces ev'rywhere. Jeep likes plastic ... I don't.
So I commenced to yankin' crap out and chunkin' it in a pile. Carpet, seat belts, roll bar paddin' ... and ev'ry piece of plastic I could get my hands on.
Made a right nice pile.
Sure looks better now.
"Cage" is an abortion. Combination of the stock rear hoop with some additional bars welded to it and a bolt-in kit for the front. Ain't bad lookin' at all ... but sure wouldn't wanna be upside down in this pig. Reckon a new cage that's up to my standards will be the first money I give to TNT Customs.
All this work took me right into the early afternoon and then the rains came so I scooted 'er into the garage.
Purchase of the jeep included a set of pimpin' tube doors that are painted to match and sportin' a set of fac'try mirrors to keep Johnny Law off my case. I like 'em. I like 'em a lot.
Purchase also included a bikini top that I installed. Also got a deck cover and windjammer for the back and a full soft top. These items I'm gonna sell ... along with the hardtop.
Rig came with some real nice full harness seat belts which I got installed and adjusted.
Also took the time to rip out the worthless, high-dollar rear view camera monitor and install a nice OEM replacement mirror I had ordered for 25 bucks.
So reckon she's now ready to tote my bike up to the mountains next time I get home. Sun should be shinin' by then.
Forgot to mention ... the 6-speed transmission ain't the one that goes in a jeep. It's one that goes in a Dodge truck. But it didn't come outta no truck from Dodge ... it came out of a crate from Dodge.
Just like the hemi did.
When it came outta that crate it was 5.7 liters. Then it went to a hemi speed shop and was punched out ... so when it went into the jeep it was a 6.7 liter.
Thang's gotta rock-solid drivetrain exactly like I would build ... if'n I was to build it.
Not quite all rosy tho ...
Few minor thangs like cracked windshield and headlights that ain't gonna be much of a problem to resolve.
But 3 major thangs I hope to address this winter or maybe early spring ...
1. Needs the aforementioned full cage that goes to the frame in 6 spots.
2. Needs new gears. Gentleman who had 'er built had 5.38's installed. Why the hell he did that is well beyond me. With a 4-speed Atlas and a whole messa power to boot, it just don't make sense. Ain't gonna win no drag races in this thang cuz it revs up so fast a fella's gotta shift real quick to keep from blowin' a piston thru the custom hood. The ProRock axles have the same carrier break as a normal Dana 60 at 4.56. So I'm gonna go up to them so I can keep the ARB's. Should make it a helluva lot more fun on the street and won't hurt the off-road manners a lick.
3. It's an electrical mess. Slam the skinny pedal to the floor and the dash lights up like a Christmas tree as she throws codes. Multiple switches here and there that do nothin' and wires that travel 'round and go nowhere. Thinkin' 'bout guttin' the whole mess and puttin' a Painless Wirin' kit in 'er like I did the Cruiiser. Stand-alone computer for the engine like a street rod. Pull the entire crappy, plastic dash out and put a flat aluminum dash with AutoMeter gauges like the Cruiser too. Might be pretty cool.
Found some old threads on jeep forums that have 'er in it. Seems to have been built in 2011. Burnsville Off Road done the engine/transmission. Not real clear tho if'n that was before or after Dan sold out and moved to Rapid City under the name of Dakota Customs. The rig was definitely trucked to Rapid City at least once and received some additional engine tunin' and a paint job. Previous owner bought it brand new in 2008 and I've found pics of it when it was a fact'ry black Rubicon model. The remainin' work seems to have been done by Nemesis Industries in Colorado. There seems to be ... or have been ... some connection between Burnsville and Nemesis at least at some point. That's about all I know and all I care to I reckon. One source I believe to be reliable has told me there was $120k in receipts for the build.
My research also has found that the electrical issues seem to be real common in the early JK's and are made worse by the hemi install. Some folks that are fortunate enuf to live in vehicle-friendly states are just guttin' 'em like I mentioned. Wyomin' is a VERY vehicle-friendly state.
And lookin' ahead ... appears that I'm quite lucky to have TNT Customs right in my home town. They have a most excellent reputation in the hard-core, custom jeeper world and manufacture a line of parts as well as perform work in the shop. Sure nice folks ... I can tell you that much.
Finally caught a break in the rainy weather this past weekend and got to go play some.
And yes ... as a matter of fact ... the lil' jeeper is in fact a grocery getter.
Also worked out great for a trip to Lowe's to haul the new lawnmower and weedeater so I could make the place look like somebody lives there. And that's how I spent my Friday ... good exercise and the yard turned out great.
Rest of my weekend was all about me and the jeeper tho.
Prob'ly the coolest thang 'bout ownin' a jeep is all the cool thangs a fella can buy for a jeep.
And I think one of the best is the new Trektop Pro Hybrid Soft Top by our friends at Bestop. I discovered this by accident on the world-wide-web and ordered it soon as I seen it. Just been waitin' for a good day for the install ... and Saturday was ideal.
One of the many thangs I don't like 'bout the JK is the squared off hard top. And the soft top ain't much better. The Trektop has a nice rake to it in the rear that's much better lookin' in my opinion. But that rake caused me a problem right from the get-go. The gay-ass bars welded in the back of the fac'try cage were situated so that they'd clear the heads of passengers sittin' in the rear dairy cow seat. (Despite the fact that the bar welded behind the seats for the shoulder straps of the seat belt harnesses prevented anybody from actually gettin' into that rear dairy cow seat.) And them bars stood between me and installin' my sexy top. So I bought me a saws-all.
It was most gratifyin' to take a saws-all to a rig again. Also most disappointin' that the action photo didn't turn out. But at least gotta pic of the bars tossed aside.
Then spent the next 3 or 4 hours very carefully followin' the instructions and gettin' the top on and adjusted. The gist of it is that it's a soft top with glass windows on the sides and a glass hatch on the rear. The side windows even open up and have screens on 'em. And the sexy rake at the rear.
The rear glass hatch comes with a defroster and has an optional wiper unit as well if'n ya want it that all plugs into the fac'try wires. I didn't go that route but I still really like havin' the glass hatch. The ol' roll up rear panel with the friggin' zippers are miserable.
This pic's a lil' goofy since I didn't bother to tuck in the rear of the side panels into the grooves where they belong since I knew I'd be takin' 'em right back off.
But all work and no play ain't good for a fella's soul. So Sunday's sunshine brought me up into the Medicine Bow National Forest again for some explorin' on some new roads. Love havin' this in my backyard ...
Was able to get my front end over this one but couldn't pull the rear up ...
Seriously tho, never threw a lever or flipped a switch. But a beautiful, sunny day spent cruisin' thru this kinda scenery even in one-wheel drive is a day well spent.
... When I walked outta Cabela's with my longer unit, I done spied me a potential solution to another dilemma I been facin' ... how to tote my bad-ass, fat-tire bike up to the trails in the mountains ...
Curt Gowdy State Park is a Mecca for mountain bike folks. They come from states away to ride the incredible maze of trails through the trees and rocks and around the lakes. From beginner to crazy ... they got it all. When I ran outta breath, I stopped. When I couldn't handle the terrain, I walked my bike through it. But overall I done pretty good. And the single-track trails are incredible. Very well maintained and no trash anywhere.
