We have a fun customer build project in the shop& will update photos as it comes along. This will probably be the last CJ we build in the old shop and it will also be a memorable one.

This is a Rudy's rot free CJ from the desert with tired (but honest (no hidden body work, rust, dents etc)) original paint that was purchased via photos by a gentleman in Connecticut that wants it to look great but also to do work hard offroad as Jeeps (especially) CJs were intended.

He is an avid offroad enthusiast and wants a CJ built for wheeling which is something different for the shop as most of our Jeeps end up at shows or fair weather drivers.

Just because it's not the norm for the shop doesn't mean it isn't our thing. The below is Rudy's own offroad rig which works hard in the narrow trails of the foothills of Appalacia.

Offroading in a CJ is a great experience and it's easy to forget how capable they are.

Tom (new owner of the to be built blue CJ7) has given us considerable creative freedom to build the Jeep as it needs done to work hard offroad, look good and to fix what needs fixed while not doing a full restoration.

One key in this build is a color change which is considerably harder to do (right) on a CJ than it is on most any other vehicle.

Changing the color on a CJ requires that you paint the floor (at least the inside), the firewall, inner fenderwells (inside and outside), dash, roll bar and inside of the windshiled frame. It can even mean painting certain fasteners while not painting others.

If you want to change the color on most vehicles, it doesn't require: floor paint, dash paint, inside windshield paint, inner fenderwell paint, roll bar paint and engine compartment paint!

Most older cars have black engine compartments, black inner fenderwells and carpet on the floors.

Most newer cars are fully trimmed in dyed plastic.

Painting a CJ also requires the removal of some fasteners and the painting of others. For instance, it is always a tell tale of how much attention is paid to detail when you don't see silver on the bolt heads of the dash on a CJ or when you lift the hood and it is a different color on the underside or firewall than the outside.

Tom has requested a late model yellow Jeep color which is going to look outstanding on this original classic.

The Jeep already has a great foundation with the best available Mopar Port Fuel injection kit already installed on the 258 engine and a well done new 4" military wrap lift kit with greasable bolts and sway bar disconnects.

In the coming weeks we will be adding:

1) A full compliment of off road bumpers and armor,

2) A winch for self (or friend) recovery

3) Larger 33" offroad tires and complimentary wheels for ground clearance without beig so big that the lower center of gravity is lost.

4) A gear change (to 4.10 from 3.31) in both differentials to keep the engine in its power band due to the bigger tires

5) A Detroit Locker in the rear for constant and predictable traction

6) USA made one piece rear axles to take care of the failure prone 2 piece factory unit

7) An ARB selectable front locker which maximizes fun offroad but also allows for flip of a switch maneuverabiility when not needed

8) A best of the best T18a transmission swap to replace the light duty T5 transmission. The T18a is the toughest transmission ever installed in a factory Jeep of any year.

9) Dana 300 adapater for the T18 which allows use of the best transfer case ever installed in any Jeep

10) Offroad lights

11) New seats, seat belts, console

12) Upgraded electricals with a high output alternator and Optima Battery

13) Extra wide offroad fender flares to diminish mud splatter and add to the rugged look.

Needless to say, this is going to be a great looking AND performing CJ for onroad and offroad when completed.

Please follow along and enjoy the progress!

1/6/12

Tear down begins!

Interior, dash, wiring, heater controls, all completely removed.

We're not quite done as the roll bar MUST come out as Jeep never painted under the roll bars when they built these at the factory.

Do note the can of PB Blaster penetrating oil on the left side. It is a product that works.

Also, I've been working on clean CJs for a long time now but everytime I think back to how hard I have to work to part down a rusty CJ compared to one of my clean ones or when I used to work on rusty junk when I was younger.

I took this Jeep apart by myself in about 8 hours and not one bolt broke, required heat or needed drilled out. Many of the nutted bolts didn't even need a wrench on the backside as I could hold it with my fingers.

If you really wonder if a rot free Jeep is worth the extra money, you'll appreciate it more every time you work on it

Parts ready for paint (above)....

1/10/12

Separation of body and frame (below)...

After degreasing to prepare for paint. The black you see is the factory primer. I'd encourage anyone who is considering spending $3500 for a new flawed foreign replacement steel tub to reconsider. I've seen those tubs in person and know they aren't as good as an original. They don't have many of the nuts welded on, the metal feels flimsier, and they are missing some of the bracing. The frame on a Jeep that needs a tub will also be compromised. Brake lines, fuel lines, etc, etc.

In the upcoming year with the opening of the new shop I hope to have rot free parts Jeeps available including tubs and frames for the do-it-yourselfers. Please don't expect a rot free tub for $500 but do expect us to have parts worthy of building $20k CJs on and better that the new replacement tubs.

We are replacing the good street duty T5 transmission with the off road duty best transmission ever put in a CJ from the factory. It is a T18a with the 6.32:1 first gear. It weighs anbout twice as much as the T5. The one we are putting in also has a $500 Dana 300 adapter on it so we can get the better low range gearing over the Dana 20 transfer case the T18a was intended to use.

The "A" following the T18 has to do with the short input shaft only used in the CJ. There are many T18s but only the 77 78 and 79 CJs used the short input shaft to accomodate the short wheelbase of the CJ. I would speculate that only 1 of 10 CJs produced from 77 to 79 had this big transmission so they are surely hard to find.

There are nice write-ups about Jeep transmissions (and more)here. This site has proven a valuable resource for me over the years so credit where credit is due...

http://www.jeeptech.com/TransGeneral.html

1/17/11

We'll be working on subassemblies like the steering column, cleaning the wiring harness and the heater box. We will also prepare the engine and driveleine while the body is being painted...

1-23

The chassis just got the lockers installed in the differentials. We opted for an ARB selectable air locker for the front. When you are offroading, it is nice to be able to lock the front end and force both wheels to turn no matter what for big climbs or the most challenging obstacles. It is ALSO nice to be able to unlock at the push of a button to get all of your maneuverabilty back as having both front wheels locked provides considerable 'push' when you turn. We selected an ARB because they are a tried and true product and having on board air is really nice for airing up or down tires in remote locations.

SUPER CLEAN MODEL 20 REAR DIFFERENTIAL ABOVE

ARB SELECTABLE AIR LOCKER INSTALLED BELOW

We put a Detroit Locker in the back as it is simple and battle tested. The newer Detroit isn't as noisy as the early versions and I find the action of it being predictable and tough as nails.

You'll notice the gear marking paint and pattern for the new gears. We went with a 4.10 ratio to match the 33" tires. It is very common for people to install a lift and bigger tires on a CJ (or any 4x4) because it is a manageable project for a hobby mechanic to do and it isn't that expensive. The problem is that it takes the engine out of its power band if you don't change the gears. The Jeep becomes sluggish to take off and often can't handle 4th or 5th gear on the highway in wind or hills.

Here is a pretty nice gear calculator with exceptional detail.

http://www.grimmjeeper.com/gears.html

Our Jeep in discussion originaly used a T5 transmission, 29" tires and a Dana 300 transfer case. We went to a T18a, 33" tires and the same Dana 300 transfer case.

1-24

We started working on the chassis today. This Jeep had a good suspension start but a few things weren't done ideally as this next picture shows. It has really nice spring hangers that are intended to allow rocks to slide on BUT the previous installer didn't take the time to cut the u-bolts off....

Next, I had also noticed the stock spring hangers had been worked hard. From the factory, they only have a rolled eye to hold the shackle and ultimately spring and they tend to open up. Many people will weld the eye close but I think that goofs up the tempering as the next photo shows. They are cracked. Next to the yellow stock one are the new ones (or speceifically, the ones I'd hoped to install but a retailer shipped me the incorrect ones so we're waiting for a bit). The aftermarket ones have gussets and are usually machined pieces like the factory should have done it.

A picture of the u-bolts cut. You can see how rocks will slide under these now...

1-25

The brakes on this Jeep were all in good shape excepting the rear wheel cylinders with a little seepage so we got new ones.

Note the new Superior one piece axles. Superior may be the only HD axle replacement company still making parts in the USA.

This said, they do have a knock off line of foreign shafts for less money. I encourage you to ask them for the good stuff and pay a little extra for better craftsmanship and steel made in this country.

The job you save may be your own!

1-26

Chassis painted along with most bolt on parts that are being reused. We sandblasted as needed for finish type parts like shifter handles, and seat brackets.

Note this is not a 'new build' for show or parade use and therefore the level of detail is not at our highest for cost and common sense reasons. This Jeep is being built to use on and off-road. I mention this as we re-used the nearly new Rubicon Express lift kit, YJ shackle conversion and any other parts found to be in good order.

This means the chassis did not get full dissasembly and therefore the paint detail while thourough is not to our most labor intensive level. This saves money for the customer without a compromise to longevity.

Asside from being at a car show, there is no downside to this kind of topcoating. It makes touch up much easier after years of use and it actually coats bolts, fluid carrying lines and other poorly plated parts with a high quality enamel.

1/30/12

A little detail as I like the look of special Stainless Steel serated Hex Head Flange Cap screws on both the differentials. Sometimes it's the little things...

This Jeep had the larger and desireable 20 gallon optional fuel tank and the sheet metal shroud was in very good condition. These are always rusted in Jeeps not from the desert and often dented because they sit lower. We removed this one and will give the customer credit for it. In place of it we added this Kilby unit made with 3/16" steel. You can literally jack the Jeep up by the fuel tank skid plate now!

Yeah, it's heavy enough we used the shop fork lift to put it in place!

1/31

The engine is back from the machine shop. It is complete with new valves and springs in the head. New camshaft, lifters, .030" oversized pistons, resized connecting rods and turned crankshaft.

Crate motor or local rebuild? It's a toss up. Crate motors come with national warranties which takes the burden off the installer. Local rebuilds if done by an average engine builder will almost always be of better quality (in my opinion) than any crate motor.

Crate motors are built from some random core by cheap labor to make the most cost competitive engine they can to outlast their warranty. I've seen some very sketchy practices in a crate engine even in the best known name brands.

Local rebuilds can still have issues of faulty parts or lets face it, people make mistakes.

Conclusion? I don't have an answer at this time so it is something we need to discuss with each customer as the time comes as to what is expected. Candidly, it costs a lot to locally build an engine to better tolerances with higher parts costs and more expensive labor. In business sense, there isn't enough margin to put a big Rudy warranty in a local built engine unless we factor in an insurance charge to the cost (and we don't) but it will be a better engine.

What if a timing chain breaks after 2000 miles? The fault or cause of the part failure cannot be reasonably detirmined short of a full CSI investigation. Did we forget to tighten a bolt or did your son do a 3000 rpm clutch drop the time before you drove it or did the chain manufacturer get faulty steel?

The part costs $50 but the labor and damage could be catastrophic. I may have made $200 on the $1700 rebuild to feed the Hippy and keep the lights on so I clearly didn't charge you enough to eat all the labor and parts to fix it for free. If we had used the crate motor, the cost would be covered after much hoop jumping to be sure. You can see the quandry to decide for yourself when the time comes.

Phswew! FYI, this has never happened to us (exactly) but it does happen everyday somewhere and if you do enough, it is just a matter of time before it does. Each situation is different. The point of all of this is to minimize surpises and be up front about what can happen and how to make decisions about parts costs, choices and labor. It is my attempt to educate my customers so they can make the best decisions they can and weigh their options.

Back to the Jeep...

We will use anti-sieze in many places where bolts are subject to rusting such as the spring hangers. This is a good practice for all Jeeps but especially those that are going to be used in rougher weather.

Chassis and rebuilt transmission waiting on an engine...

2/1 Check out the size of that those gears!

2/2

Engine placed!

I had promised a picture of the part failure that led to needing the engine rebuild but the pistons went to the machine shop before I could get a photo. Look closely and the cracked skirts on these pistons. It is the jagged line you see on all 3 of them and it caused a subtle rattle while it was running. Upon tear down, it was apparent that it had made score marks in the bore necesitating the bore and rebuild which is kind of a good thing for such a complete build of a vehicle.

The body is taking shape! Underside painted and curing...

The inside of the Jeep will be getting color matched Rhino lining but we of course want the firewall done now...

2/2 This is more work (time) than it looks like... A pile of degreased, sandblasted and painted brackets for the engine.

2/7

New POLY motor mounts installed. This had new(er) rubber mounts but experience shows me they just don't hold up. I have tried to show the cracks already presentin the rubber compared to the solid design of the poly ones..

New 140 Amp alternator (requested by customer as stock is somewhere between 40 something and 63). We will be running an air compressor, auxillary lighting and a winch. It's a simple one wire hook up and while the chrome is sharp it was less expensive than other units.

Also, a new high performance, high torque, long lasting Centerforce clutch and throwout bearing as this Jeep will spend lots of time taking off on hills

T18a Installed. It took a bit of fabricating to make the transmission work with the late model skid plate and make it look like it belongs there. Many times when this transmission is put in people cut the crossmember and let the trans sit low.

New Champion Platinum plugs, Lifetime wires, cap and rotor. We use Champions as itis usually best to go back with the manufacturers OEM plug. We wouldn't usually use platinum except this engine is port fuel injected and will be cleaner burning than a carbed engine and therefore the plugs less prone to fouling.

Engine is looking good...

2/8

The fan clutch on this Jeep was leaking so we replaced it with a Made in Usa replacement unit.

Finally have all the components in place to slip the new serpentine belt on (after we set the new molded heater hoses in place). Of course the new engine got a new water pump and thermostat. FYI, we used a hotter thermostat to match the EFI once again. It also gets you a little better heat inside.