Build Thread Rough but Ready Renegade

[BC CJ]

A few days ago I took the CJ out for a long day of backroads wandering. It passed a big test by cruising around for about 8 hours strait; up steep hills, bouncing around on washboard, and flexing through drainage ditches. It ran flawlessly all day and never heated up at all. I was quite happy. Esspecially considering a few days before that it wouldn't start . Turns out the NEW ignition module was to blame. Kinda wierd as it worked for a month or so then crapped out. With the old one back in everything was normal. So that's being swapped on warrenty so I'll have a spare again. OK, I took some pictures

Lots of lakes to stop in at.




And we stoped for a swim in the Kettle River. A quick swim; it was very cold!


More pics by the river.




And almost back to town there is a nice view spot.


As mentioned, A big test passed and my spare parts list is almost complete. But I need to get some oil leaks fixed, the clutch adjusted or maybe replaced, and eventually more steering work (probably steering box). That stuff and I'm trying to decide what to do about range with the fuel tank. Right now I am carrying extra propane tanks and a cheater hose which works but is a bit inconvenient... but a large tank in the back would leave no space for the back seat... what to do Well, since I have no jeep-money right now at least I'll have time to think about it Patience will be my biggest challenge - it's not going to turn into my dream traveling CJ overnight.

 

[gliryan]

Love the scenery! Still very jealous down here. If I can get my jeep back together I'm going to run around some back road in northern MN before snow hits.

 

[BC CJ]

It's been a couple months since I posted anything here... been a couple months since I did anything with the Jeep The home reno is done now and my evil-jeep mind is already working on the next step, but I'll post about that when I get there. For now I have a couple pics from a recent day out 4wheeling.

Beautiful fall colors!


Pretty gnarly creek crossing.




The Jeep did well but I'd sure like to get some lower gearing! I think a T-18 swap is comming in the next couple years

 

[mtnwhlr]

Good to see you out having fun with your Jeep, nice pics thanks for sharing.

 

[JAG811]

Looks great and looks like a lot of fun !!

 

[BC CJ]

Project update: I'm slowly getting back to work on the Jeep. I'm learning to weld which is exciting! It's opening up a whole new world of Jeep-project ideas. So far, a tow frame. Now I can be flat towed home by anyone passing by with a 2" ball (or 2" reciever once I get a hitch/ball to store in the Jeep). I can take it off easilly enough but I dont mind the look... it goes with my old school theme.

Weld looks pretty good I think. We have a kick-butt welder at work; this coupled with clean metal and it was actually pretty easy.


Done!

 

[BC CJ]

Well, one more week and the Jeep is off the road for the winter . The work will continue but there wont be anymore off-road trips until next year. So today I took her out for one last drive! I bundled my son (and myself) up since there is no heater and I often need the window down to avoid fogging up the windshield and went to check out a couple view points I havn't been to in a while.

The day started very overcast and rainy in the valley but up in the hills it was snowing.


The first view point in the Baldy Ranges was blocked by a fence and new enviro-regulations... but the trail up provided some nice views anyhow.


Weather starting to break as we finish this trail.


I had an issue with the Jeep here; I couldn't get out of 4x4 low I figured the gears were just wound up so I tried putting it in reverse and dropping the clutch a bit to loosen things up... it worked! Shifted fine after that.

Next we climbed up Blue Grouse Mountain for a view of the city. You can see Okanagan Lake and the bridge to the city Kelowna in the background.


Oops, a poser picture... now how did that get in there? This is at the top by some Transmission towers.


And the view of the lake, city and bridge. It was very beautiful (but cold!) with the clouds blowing around in the valley and the sun peaking through.


And the view off the otherside into the Okanagan Highlands.

What a great day out! I'm going to miss driving the ol' girl all winter.... bleh, winter.

 

[mtnwhlr]

great pics looks like a lot of fun thanks for sharing

 

[thiswontbetooexpensive]

Great pictures. Glad you were able to enjoy another day of driving the Rough but Ready Renegade with your son before the bitter cold sets in for yall up there!

 

[BC CJ]

I've seen slugs move faster than my build... but I've managed to get a little more done.

First off; I couldn't stand covering the firewall in mud every time out so I started looking for a way to make some mud gaurds. The result, while nothing fancy, should do the trick. Some old floor mats trimmed a bit and held on with rivets and small carrige bolts.


And the dual battery tray I've been working on is finally done; Another learning to weld project.




I hooked the battery back up and fired the ol' Jeep up for the first time in 2 weeks. Started and ran great!

Next time I'll do the driver side mud gaurd and start cutting up wires now that the battery is on the same side as the starter/alternator.

 

[BC CJ]

I was sick all christmas break and missed out on Jeep work but, I got off work early today and got down to business preping for the second propane tank. It's a bit of a rig-a-ma-roll to set up but it will be nice to have a LOT more capacity. My current tank holds 48L of propane and the second one will hold 80L!

The double-tank fits perfectly between the wheel wells! Two existing holes line up already so I just have to drill 2 more (mounting tabs at ends of tank, hidden from view in pic). That couldn't have been easier!


Running the lines in a safe way is tricky but I've pretty much got it organized now. Here is the new filler valve; nice clean fit

 

[BC CJ]

I'm bringing my thread back from the dead! In a less detailed, shorter format. I'm on too many forums these days and while I check them all regularly I'm not taking much time to post anymore. I've got two young kids, I dont want to miss them growing up (It's happening too fast already!)

Also, I've become more active with the local 4wd association and met lots of great people. Some very knowledgeable so I've been going to them with questions rather than the forums. I would recommend everyone gets out and meets the local 4wd associations and clubs - it usually leads to good things!

Well that was boring wasn't it? Off my soap box and on with the Jeep stuff!

The main projects last winter was the second propane tank and a second battery... and a second roll bar! pics:



There are 2 connecting bars in the middle. My seats sit too high to have bars at the outside. This was an in progress pic.


I also rigged up a hand throttle which helps for starting on hills and warming the Jeep up.

 

[BC CJ]

Then, as planned, I spent the summer using the Jeep. We did three long distance, multi day trips to some great remote areas, found old mines, drove abandoned rail beds, camped, and did some 4 wheeling too. Here are some of my favorite pics:

 

[BC CJ]

On the last of those trips I blew a wheel bearing. DOH! I drove 25km doing about 25 km/h to get to cell service and called friends until I'd arranged a ride home with the Jeep on a trailer. I'm glad to have great friends!

The wheel bearings have been fixed (properly greased and sealed this time) but I took the Jeep off the road early this year anyways. The clutch is dodgy, I'm tired of the poor crawl speed of the 3 speed, electrical glitches everywhere, E-brake still stinks, and it's just generally too rickety. So this years' winter work is going to be a lot more extensive but the plan is to be ready for next spring.

In the works:
-NP435 Dana 300 combo
-Re-wire with painless kit
-removing the lower propane tank for more clearance
-new exhaust inside the frame rails
-body work, new body mounts, and more tremclad

-I also picked up a couple more axles to bench build and swap in later. Not sure if I'll get that far this year or what all will go into them but they are another pair or intermediate axles. 44 rear, 30 front. Narrow track.

And thats pretty much up to date now.

 

[Mills]

Just read your entire thread. You've done a great job. Thanks for inspiring me. Where are you located in BC? I have a lot of family spread throughout up there in places including Chilliwack, Vancouver, Nanaimo, and Victoria.

 

[BC CJ]

I'm in Kelowna, in the Okanagan. Lived in Victoria while in university - it's a great town.

Thanks for the compliments! I've learned a ton, still learning a lot as I go. I'm going to know this jeep inside-out by the time I'm done. Which will be great for future maintenance and breakdown; I'll have the right tools and knowledge for the job. It's no work of art like some of the builds on here but it should be a solid, functional Jeep next year.

 

[Peanut Butter]

Just picked up on this thread. First off nice job! Now just my funny 2 cents worth...every see a propane tank explode? Now I can't say that I've ever heard of one in a vehicle do that, but when I was young (70's) we had a railroad car full of propane explode about 4 am. Blew the front door of our house open and we were 3 miles away. Leveled a high school gym. Killed 8 people. I spent 10 years in the fire service and went through special traning for propane tanks. Here a just a few things to keep in mind if ever... When a propane tank leaks the liquid propane turns to a gas very rapidly. This will cause extream cold. So never fill or handle anything leaking propane without proper gloves. If a tank leaks or gets to hot that it vents ( yours should have a pop off valve on it), if fire is envolved, get back and do not try to put the fire out. There is a very precise way to handle this and most of the time with smaller tanks, fire fighters just let them burn out. Just some advice from past experience that nobody else may have said. Good luck and have fun with your Jeep and cudooos to your use of an alternate energy form. Rod

 

[Petescj]

How about some details on the roll bar mounted tent.

 

[BC CJ]

Peanut Butter. Thanks for the input. I have some training with propane cylinders from work and yes, I believe in gas form it takes up 274 times more space than in liquid form... very quick expansion can cause major damage. These auto-grade tanks are crazy strong though, the biggest risk is a line cut which causes a slower, more controlled release but I'll get far away if that happens! But even that isn't too likely; the only legal lines are steel braided with neopreme on the inside and rubber around the outside. They are really tough. Set up right I think it is safer than gasoline.

Other GREAT things about propane: I went from valley bottom under 2000 foot elevation strait up and over a 7000 foot mountain pass with NO change in performance. I've stopped on steep slopes for long times and never heard the engine miss a beat. And, its darn near half the cost of gas right now! I love it!

Pete, that is a basic "roof top tent" (google will show you all about it if you havent seen them) the only trick was using exhaust pipe clamps to attch it to the roll bar better than the flat bar it came with.

 

[gaspipe]

I'm bringing my thread back from the dead!

Thanks for doing that....it's been a great read!