Jimbos YJ/CJ build

[Jimbos76cj]

Ive decided to ditch my CJ6 project mud truck and concentrate on my YJ build. Heres a little back story on this thing.

PO rolled in at a high rate of speed and suffered severe spinal trauma. ended up listing it as having a newly rebuilt motor, ax-15, 231 with SYE and TW CV shaft. Me and him messaged back and forth about it for a few weeks but I couldnt come up with the $600 he wanted for it. I mention the jeep to a buddy who was looking for a ax15 and he decided to buy it and let me have every thing except the trans and T/C which at the time didnt seem to be to bad of a deal. Got her home and she looked like this



Pulled the drive train, swapped the trans and TC into my buddies jeep and it ended up being a nightmare.. not the swap but the trans was shot and the 231 quickly pooped the bed after installed. but thats a whole other story.

So when I got looking at the pile of left over good parts I found out that the lift springs were bent, rear axle shaped like a U and the frame was bent. So I ended up with a good grill, steering column, motor (after seeing the condition of the "new trans" I doubted the motor) and radiator.

A quick look on the intraweb scored me a solid frame and a tub with a family style roll bar.



A buddy donated front and rear seat, and 2.5" lift springs. The PO of the wrecked jeep gave me a NIB set of 1" body mounts.

I nabbed a set of 4:10 geared axles and If I remember correctly the front in the high pinion 30

I decided to try out the duplicolor paint system they sell and to stick with the red thats on the new tub since the inside is already rhino lined with red rhino liner. Heres the dash and grill





The system work pretty well.. I like the results. So I hit CL looking for a trans and come up with a external ax-15 that according to the PO is shot. Grinds most gears and wont stay in some. I pick it up for $150 which seems lit a great deal. I drop it off to my neighbor for a rebuild and when he gets into it he finds that it needs synchros, and 2 bearings.. the gears all looked in great shape and the popping out of gear was due to a recent rebuild the PO did and never tightened the detent screws. so for less then $400 I got a great shape ax-15

Then came time to look into the motor.. after seeing what a POS the trans and T-case were I figured the motor was poop also. I was wrong!!



Not a bit of sludge.. every thing looks brand new!

 

[Jimbos76cj]

I picked up a YJ windsheild frame and and tail gate. get em all primed up



All my new brake parts came in, I got new motor mounts, every thing was going groovy then I decided to sell off the CJ. A guy came by to purchase the tires when he saw my fantasticly new painted grill. Unfortunately I had $$ dancing through my mind and he made me an offer i couldnt refuse on it so it went. Then i was stuck kicking myself in the *** because now I have no grill. I went delivered a bunch of jeep parts and met a nice guy who traded me this solid piece



So now Im going to run a CJ front clip. My YJ dash was destroyed in the wreck so Ive decided not to sell my blank CJ dash and to make a custom dash for the YJ. Im picking up my sunpro 5" speedo, water temp, oil pressure and volt meter this week and keeping my eye open for a 5" tach, gas gauge and clock.

A buddy set me up with a dirt cheap set of 33x12.5 BFG mud terrains



today Im going to order the adapter to put the 2100 on the 258 intake, and hopefully get some shop cleaning done if the rain lets up.

Besides putting some sanding, prepping and painting time in I think I have almost every thing I need to get her on the road. Im hoping to have her ready to enjoy the fantastic fl summer.

 

[Petescj]

Ok its not a Cj , but I can still like it right? I was going to do the same thing with a Rolled Yj I came across. Once I found out all the possible problems I could have dealing with the reconstructed title I backed out. I dont know how you feel about the YJ tailgate but Id swap that out too. Tailgates should fold down not swing out.

Good luck and I'll atleast be watching. I didnt see anything on the rear axle so I assume its the dana 35? Ugg. Vacuum disconnect Dana 30? Ugg. The Dana 30 is a pretty easy fix. The dana 35 , not so much.

 

[Jimbos76cj]

Wow.. forgot i submitted this here.

Got some new gauges for the New dash.

 

[Jimbos76cj]

Today is like mini Christmas. Got my fuel sending unit and adapter plate for the 2100. If any one has done the swap already and used the mr.gasket adapter next time you rebuild the carb throw out the mr gasket and order one of these.

$45.00 shipped it came with the bolts, bottom gasket and gasket for the 2100 that seals off all the open holes on the bottom. This thing is solid and fits like a glove.


Here's what the mr.gasket 1937 looks like. See how it's not square in the back? That causes all kinds of hell with leaks.

His email is michael.ehrmann@hotmail.com you can email him directly or go through his eBay store. I don't have his contact info but if I find it again ill post it

 

[Jimbos76cj]

I added some circles to the blank dash today and laid out some ideas.. After looking at the cost of cutting holes, buying the saws and pinkieing with trying to get em right I sent a email to double D fab. To my surprise I got a phone call back from Dan tonite and when I got home had a "design" as long as the price it not to horrific I may be in. Hopefully it will be less the. $250 shipped.. That would make me warm and fuzzy on the inside and save me a ton of time and anger cutting my own plus all the gauges will be angled so it will look great.


How's that look?

It should be here in around 3 weeks. Dan says hell send pics as it moves along and Ill post up what ever I get. So far great guy to work with.

Today Im going to hoefully get the shop clean and ready for the next 6 weeks of work to get done. Im trying to finish this up by June 1st and have been able to schedule 16 days over the next 3 weeks.. I know it doesnt seem like a long time but with all the parts here it should go rather quick. I gave my self a lot of time to do each little subsection and looks like i have plenty of days. I dont think it will take a full 8 hr day to cut off the front track bar mount, paint and install new calipers and rotor on the front. Man Im excited.

 

[Petescj]

I like the way the gauges are angled toward the driver. Even the ones in front are angled a bit upward, yes? Id like to see that sucker with the gauges filled in and mounted. :drool:

 

[Jimbos76cj]

That's the main reason for going with him.. I have a blank dash that I could have cut holes into but they would have been flat and hard to see. He is supposed to send pics as he goes. Ill post em up as I get them.

 

[Jimbos76cj]

Got some time the other day and cleaned/organized the shop in preperation for the wrench fest starting next week. I tried to mate my 231 to my ax-a5 and it wont go on al lthe way. .apparently I picked up the wrong one.. it has the required 23 splines but the output from the trans is to long so the case wont bolt all the way up. Picking up another next week. all my gauges are almost here. Im gonna buy new rotors on tuesday and get the front axle cleaned, painted, sealed and new brakes.

 

[Jimbos76cj]

All my gauges are in, dash should be complete soon. I picked up another 231 that fits perfect. I tried t oget it all together to install but the pilot bearing was stuck and gave me a pretty hard time. Friday I helped a buddy remove his tub. I ended up having to weld bolts to every roll bar bolt to get em out. They all came out easy after that. I picked up a CJ frame and another YJ tub to use on the CJ frame so I will be using the CJ front clip on the CJ and the New YJ clip on the YJ. Im hoping to get the drive train back in this week.

I was rebuilding the Dana 30 last week and found the driver side had a large amount of rust in it. all the hard ware was rotted away and fell apart when I tried removing it. Luckily the Jeep gods were smiling and a buddy called to see if I was interested in a Ford 8.8 with 31 spline axles, posi lock, 3;73 gears and disc brakes. Hell yeah I do!! so the dana 35 got kicked off the jack stands and I picked up the 8.8. When I got it home I figured I would have to cut off the spring mounts and relocated them. After measuring them out and double checkng the frame width they both came out to be 40.5" It bolted right in. Score

 

[Petescj]

All my gauges are in, dash should be complete soon.

Hell yeah I do!! so the dana 35 got kicked off the jack stands and I picked up the 8.8. When I got it home I figured I would have to cut off the spring mounts and relocated them. After measuring them out and double checkng the frame width they both came out to be 40.5" It bolted right in. Score

Nice score on the 8.8. You just need to start taking pics.

 

[mtnwhlr]

Nice score on the 8.8. You just need to start taking pics.

without pics it didn't happen

 

[Jimbos76cj]

Fine.. Heres a few pics of the rear axles.. If it seems out of time its copied from antoher sire where i had it posted..

I dug into the rear axle today.. Rusty and dusty. Got the right side all cleaned up painted and went to install my new shoes when I found out I have the 2" version not the 2.5" version so my new hardware kit and shoes won't fit.. For the first time ever the guy at advance was able to find me pads even though they had none in stock.. He work some magic on the computer and sure enough produced a pair of pads.. So I get home, get them installed and every thing looks great






Then I got distracted by a squirrel and picked up a 3:73 geared, explorer 8.8 with disc brakes and Limited slip. I don't want to say how much it was but it made me smile.. A lot! As I was leaving he handed me the u bolts, spring plates, flange and e-brake cables. big smile!! So I get it home and measure the spring pAds on my yj.. 40.5ish on center. I unloaded that heavy sob by my self and threw the tape on it.. 40.5!! Really, just bolt it in! Sweet.



Here it is under the YJ
All I have invested in this is the 4 new ubolts I bought. The calipers, rotors and parking brake parts were all recently replaced. HE also threw in the stock parking brake cables.. If I cant get them to work Ill follow a few right ups on how to use YJ cables.

 

[Petescj]

Those tires are gonna be sweet Offroad. :laugh: Just being a...

 

[Jimbos76cj]

That's what every one says. It looks a lot better with my 33"

 

[BrockGrimes]

I've never seen an 8.8 just bolt in. What year explorer did it come from?
They've always been off set to one side. Throw up some part#'s off that rear I'd be interested as I might be picking up a YJ myself.

Oh if your lazy and want round:
Kentrol Grill With Round Headlights (Uses TJ Headlights & Buckets) 30646

To help with your Dash:
http://www.off-road.com/jeep/feature/swapping-a-cj-dashboard-into-a-yj-9865.html

 

[Jimbos76cj]

I've never seen an 8.8 just bolt in. What year explorer did it come from?
They've always been off set to one side. Throw up some part#'s off that rear I'd be interested as I might be picking up a YJ myself.

Oh if your lazy and want round:
Kentrol Grill With Round Headlights (Uses TJ Headlights & Buckets) 30646

To help with your Dash:
Swapping a CJ Dashboard Into a YJ: Off-Road.com

I dont remeber what year it came out of. I asked and know its the better of the rears. 33 spline axles, posi and 3:73. The po had originally adjusted the perch location to fit under his old school f-150. Thats why it all bolted right up. it actually fit together better then the dana 35 did back there.

I was excited about the link to the grill untill I saw the price.. then I threw up a little bit on my shirt. way to much money. Im pretty sure i could cut the bezels out of a TJ and weld them into the YJ grill... that may be a project for another day!

as for the grill.. Mine is on its way. Its a custom Double D fab unit



Once its here Ill need to drill some holes for indicator lights and a few switches then Ill send it out for powder coating. The dash is going to be the most expensive piece in this jeep.

 

[Jimbos76cj]

Yesterday I got the motor and trans installed. It went very smooth. I went to grab the trans mount bracket for my AX-15 and cant find it. Awhile back I gave a buddy a "spare" Luckily he went a different route with his trans mount and he still had the one I gave him. Once I get it back Ill get the 231 installed.

I also dropped off my valve cover and header to a local guy for media blasting and powder coating (just the valve cover) Got it done for a really good price and very good quality work. Best of all he has a same day turn around. He has a 42' oven that runs all day so its not a problem to drop off a part and have him knock it out really quick. Im gonna get a price from him for the dash when it comes in.

Heres some pics

Valve cover

Header.. had about 1/4" of rust and mud packed on the whole thing. I was actually scared that when they blasted it that I would find holes.


I gave the motor a quick coat of gloss black



I took all the sensors and hoses off the intake.Im thinking about having it blasted also.. its really dirty. Sorry forgot to take pics of it. Of course now Im trying to get the altenator back on and cant remember how it goes together. I thought I took a few pics prior to removing it but I cant find em.. any body got some laying around?

* *

 

[mtnwhlr]

See if this helps

 

[Jimbos76cj]

Since i havent added one in a while heres my over due update.

I figured out I was trying to mount the alternator to the power steering pump brace. So thats all worked out.

Got all my switches and indicators in along with my oil pressure gauge. Heres how the dash is looking now


Pretty sure I have figured out how to run the heater from the toggle and use 3 pull leavers to change the heater settings.


I picked up a 21 circuit EZ wire harness for a decent price and got it installed today. Wow.. what a learning experience. The kit is great, came marked every 5 inches so it was easy to route but the way it was laid out from the company made it really hard to get it into place and flat onto the fire wall. I then had the great idea to cut all the wire tires and see if i can get it set up better that way.. holy monkey!! it was worse then unraveling a tape measure. I had a small melt down, gently removed the harness from the jeep and brought it into the house. After turning the AC down to 65, grabbing a 6 pack from the fridge I laid it out on the living room floor and took any wire that was not attached to the fuse block out of the group of wires. once it was thinned down I was able to separate the wires into steering column, dash, engine bay, and rear. With it thinned downed I was able to easily place it onto the firewall and run the rest of the wires into the jeep seperately.. took me a solid 30 minutes to separate the harness and another 30 minutes to get it back into the jeep and the separate wire in. Next one I do will go down like this also.

The fuse block bolts right into the stock holes


Head lights, high beams, signals and parking lights.



All the power, ingintion, tach, Coil, Fan etc..



Im hoping Friday I can get the dash to work and get all the gauges, indicators, switches and lights wired up. It should all be able to be set into 3 6 plug weather pack connectors so if I need to pull the dash it will easily unplug with out disconnecting 6 million wires.