Project Nomad: Jeep 97 TJ

[Jeepthreat]

yes, i have 3.07. I havent been able to find any undamaged 3.73! I also can't find 32 BFG AT's and my trip window is soon so it looks like I'll have to get 31's no matter what. BFG says no AT 32's until next year. Darn.

Maybe once I hit the highway to the west coast some 3.73 might pop up at a junk yard and I can regear on the way? Might have to bring a sledge hammer now too.!

About to go hardcore on work on it this weekend. Window to leave is still the 30th to October 6th. (some how I think Ill be leaving on the 7th! - still have to wait on the order of some parts as well as I ordered a G2 android phone - that I probably should configure before I hit the road)

I've had this jeep as a beater, but I bought it a while ago. Here in New York you can pick up a beater TJ for a song, like 500$ to 2k. Jeeps aren't like highly prized in the city as such.

 

[Jeepthreat]

Seating:

I've gone the way of the mighty Twisted Stitch. My Vortex XL seats came - i got them in basic black. These are the most comfortable seats I've ever sat in. I have a couple of notes, and of course I borked the install, but these seats are amazing! Full marks - the reviews don't do the exerpeince of these seats justice. I got them with lumbar support and a heating element and reclining. I like to recline and look up at the stars!

They came in a box - and they were not that heavy and packed beautifully!

Unpacked - heating wiring, box for stock seat adapter brackets and two beautiful seats

Compared with my old seat - the driver side was disgusting - I probably have to admit i wiped snot on them a couple of times and it rusted so bad it torn right out off the brackets

Mounted adapter to stock seat mount - they only go on one way - so you can't really bork that

First one in! I spent hours trying to find Grade 8 3/8 Bolts to attach seat to adapter - guess what - They were in the box with the brackets! Twisted Stitch rocks! I'm dumb - lost $10 in gas and bolts there!

Sometimes its the little things - look at the detail - its all comfort - all my back pain is gone - feels like im sitting in a massage chair - for real

Alright! Both in! Took it for a ride - all night long - couldnt stop! chair is better than my herman miller aeron at work. I am going to pull them back out to spray down the mounts with anti-rust primer.

From the back. Looking good!

In short - twisted stitch rocks. You can get the seats any color you want - I'm 6'3" and it fits plus i am roughly 240#'s at the moment. If you can try it out because maybe I should have gotten it a we bit taller, but it feels good and I can lay my head where it counts in the seat. You may also want to get it wider if you are large - they are narrowish, but a good snug. Best seat on your back - and if you have back pain before - you know you gotta grab this seat. even felt good on speed bump jumps! Not good - amazing!

other thoughts: the ledge on the side of the seat make jumping out of the jeep a bit awkward - you'll either brake this ledge off after time or learn to jump over it or just get out really slow and uncool. I've figured out how to get over it cool again. A girlfriend of mine complained a bit about the ledge, but loved the comfort. I don't know if I will hook up the heater element before the trip. I haven't really planned that out yet, especially two sets of wires coming from the seats, and I have to put them on a relay and a switch. I tend to get caught in the rain a lot with the top off, so I am not sure i want to be electrocuted from down that way. ouch.

other thoughts still: so my shifter is broken - and I had to fix it offroad and it placed my shifter father right than normal. It knocks right into the seat so currently I can't go in reverse - ever try to parallel park when you have to get out and push it in reverse? Oh well - that's what I will be doing for the next couple of days till i the new shifter assembly comes from ebay. that's not on twisted stitch - that's on me being dumb. Twisted Stitch makes the best seats in the business right now hands down.

Okay - i am beat - time to go out and test the seats more by driving to dinner and jumping over street dividers!

 

[Mr. D]

thanks for the updates you are dedicated to work in the street
The seats look awesome good detail.
The liner job looks nice as well.

enjoying this build nice narrative and pics...

laters Kelly aka Mr. D

 

[Jeepthreat]

1500 watt inverter install

Okay, so I deseperately wanted a inverter in the jeep full time with regular AC plugs and a USB port to charge things for a while now and I finally got the first half of it done today.

I wanted it under the dash because its cooler there than in the engine compartment, and its nearly-waterproof under the dash when you get rained on or splashed from below. I know everyone is like you are dumb for getting wet all the time, is there anyone else out there who doesnt mind getting rained on in the jeep here and there?

I also could use it for work - lights and chargers, and USB for the phones, and let's face it, overland expedition? AC all the wall. Who has time to find a DC plug for this that and the other thing. I grabbed a blade fuse, fuse block, and 12 feet of 4 gauge wire and some zip ties, to make it all neat for phase 1

Here is the 1500 watt continuous inverter. it has 3 plugs on it's face and a usb port. The thought is to wire the switch to cut it on to the dash and two plugs and the usb to the dash and the third one to under the hood somewhere in beyond the firewall or to the rear. It also has a LCD readout to let you know how you doing with your voltages and stuff.

Next up to start is the blade fuse, I grabbed a 100 amp one, so that it can blow quickly if something goes wrong - i might move up to 150 or 200, but ill run the numbers again and see how well the amp performance in real life scenarios, better safe than sorry because Pain Hertz.

Next up was the 4 gauge wire, that should contain the current. I got a red and black one at about 6 feet each. I ran the red/positive into the fuse block and out the other side.

Next i opened the top to make it easier to rewire the power switch at a later date. I didn't get to do this tonight. Hopefully tomorrow.

Next I pulled out the dash yet again. I pulled the fuses for the air bags. shucks i have to go put them back in!

Okay, shoved it behind the dash, doesn't quite fit. I am choosing to remove the vent extension to the passenger side heating duct. the part that connects to the central duct, i tamped it down and screwed into the frame to make it flat for now. Where is that hot air going to go!

Okay, cut a whole in the rubber grommit in the firewall and threaded it with both 4 gauge wires, bought it inside and wired up the inverter. I
disconnected the battery again at this point, for saftey.

I used 3m doublesided tape , after cleaning the firewall to stick the fuse box to the firewall and then zip tied a lot of these crazy additional wires. There is another fuse block for the amp - im rather partial to loud music.

Next up I closed the dash. It fits! My passenger might not have the best heat anymore, I never use the AC - but now I have power! I have heated seats, so I guess that makes up for it. Looks like a good fit! Who knows what I broke doing this. any guesses?

you can see the numbers running thru the vent. when closed up for now. would be nice to move the lcd panel somewhere onto the dash or maybe in the vent, if I can make it look stock.

Lets try it! Yup! Powers up a fluorescent AC work light perfectly without breaking a sweat. This is gonna be great for camping, overland adventures and working on the job. No more dual chargers scenarios.

Oh yeah! Usb port works good too, cell phone is charging! Better I tested with this than the g2 android I am switching too, and this will work for the Ipad that I planning to use for the overland expedition. Okay! I didn't burn things down. I guess part one was a success! Tomorrow I'll burn another day at this, and blow of a date with a sexy girl.

So tomorrow I will try to tackle cutting the dash and putting in a USB slot and 2 AC outlet slots and tie the power to the switch. I dont know what the downside yet of modifying the right side air duct is yet. Anyone care to venture a guess?

 

[bftank]

good info on the seats, your build honesty is hilarious keep it up.

 

[BobA]

Would it be more accessible if you mounted the inverter in the glovebox area or in a center console between the seats? Might be no need to mess with the vent system then. the new seats make a huge diffence.Looks like everything is coming along nicely.

 

[Jeepthreat]

okay! i leave today! this isn't the final jeep but i took these before the final work. Ill post the steps in between soon either on the road or when I get back!

Enter Nomad:

Im off to the west coast. i will fix the driveshaft, radiator and belt on the way. Next stop delaware!

 

[Canadian Moose]

Looks great! Keep it up!

 

[Jeepthreat]

Thanks!

Just completed the dash on the road. I put led lights behind thr dash and boy did they make a difference. I had to finish it in atlanta because i had to race the weather down the coast. Leds also wont cut on if you have them in , they dont do well with reverse polarity current. The dash also popped out on. Bumpw bcause i didnt have the retainer on, but now i do!

 

[BobA]

Lookin good. Have a good trip.

 

[Jeepthreat]

radiator install

i am in progress on a trip but i carried my champion 3 row aluminum radiator with me down the cost to Georgia, where I put it in. It took about 1 hour, but not without classic mistakes. my rig had been leaking fluid up and down the east coast, and i apologize for that. i wanted to clean that up before I went off road where animals could wind up ingesting it.

She sure is pretty - I also got a new overflow tank that is stainless steel.

First I drained it. Do it on a level surface - I did not - and of course it came shooting out backwards. I caught it in the bucket fast, but i got some on my hand so of course i shortened my life even more.

Next i removed to hoses. careful - more is going to pour out! mine hoses are in good condition on the rubber, but are ringed with gunk. I am still racing the weather, so I went without changing hoses, and this is bad. I hope to snare some hoses during one of my stops and reflush.

Then i wrenched it out - my 97 had 3 bolts holding the fan shroud and the radiator. One was metric the rest were the king's foot size. The old one fell apart - no wonder it was leaking - there isn't anything left of the thing.

I took the opportunity to primer the fan with high head black primer, which i've done the whole jeep with. now it looks better and not so rusty

okay time to wrench it back in. Here is the final install.

I added new clamps and I ziplined the overflow to bar that is over the engine compartment. I don't know what effect this will have, but I didn't have a place to mount it yet to the side where the stock one goes. It swings, but it doesn't hit anything. Of course i drove off and overheated immediately! I pulled over looking at the redline like wow - what did I do wrong?

Duh - I only put in 1 gallon of 50/50 antifreeze! I cooled off, and limped into autozone and bought another bottle and poured it in. boom! Hit the highway for Alabama from Georgia - and it was cooler than stock! Stock it hovered - even when broken at about a click or two above 210 - now its 3 clicks below 210 always and even cooler at idle.

Nice! Cept I don't know what that overflow is gonna do hanging like that. Any guess how that's gonna mess me up? I better grab a pdf on fluid dynamics and try to figure it out.

 

[Mr. D]

Looking forward to seeing the radiator pics when it is installed. The antifreeze looks clean enough to almost reuse.

 

[Jeepthreat]

raingler nets and rear carry plate!

I did this mod before I left, but I'm taking a break in the big easy before I push into the southwest, so to complete documenting it all:

So I got a set of raingler nets and grab handles from raingler and a rear carry plate from smittybilt. The raingler nets encompass the back and let me carry big things that make it impossible for it to fall out and they are strogn enough to hold a grown man as a hammock - as the website says - and yes they dont make noise on the highway. I installed them quick and easy and they look good and they don't obstruct the rear view which was my greatest fear. it's a little weird at night, but you get used to it. the rear carry plate on the other hand - has issues that I need to solve and quick before the desert!!!

here it is unboxed - it is heavy as all get out and i got it for 75$ including shipping from amazon.com! most places have it listed for $150. comes with the holding clamps for a gas can and a hi-lift jack.

I commandeered the corner spot and laid out my tools and began my street jeep tech work with a thumbs up from my local police force.n I threw on the nets and instantly my jeep looked cool. Everyone loved it - i knew it would look good, but would they work when it came down to the wire?

Now to the smittybilt plate. To mount it is easy - the base plate mounts to the bolts behind your wheel - so I took off the rear wheel:

I also snarfed two nato cans - 20L for the trip and a metal spout - works great - but I don't like the color and I have seen enough camoflauge and olive drab for the rest of my life. I prepped to paint them black like the jeep!

here is the base plate mounted - I took the time to tighten and fix my lose tail rear light:

Painted up! looking good

After a beer or two later I remembered to take photos! Cans are now black and the plate is fully mounted now. it's held in place by two giant wing-nut type screws. I need to actually give these a mega turn tight - on my ride to the southwest they keep coming lose after hitting big bumps. i'm concerned. If it falls off on the highway - someone could really get hurt. Im gonna ultra twist it with a bar today - but if it comes lose again - this thing shouldnt be used for the highway:

here is the gas can mounted! one problem that they - as far as I can tell - neglect to mention in most literature online about the product - it only works with leaky blitz cans!

Oh nuts - so now I have to along the way - make sure this thing doesnt fall off - doesn't tear my back door off from it's heavy weight and hitting bumps at 70/80mph (on the highway) and I have to figure out to find a shop that will fabricate some mounts for me as I don;t have an on board welder nor do I know how to use one really - although I have melted a few metal things using my jumper cables in a pinch. I hope someone can recommend a shop between Texas, new mexico and arizona that could help me in this regard. I mounted - as I will show in another post the hi lift jack elsewhere. For now the cans are laying empty and flat in the flatbed - at least the raingler nets and handles worked right out the box! Hurray! go Raingler.

 

[Jeepthreat]

underbody lights: these are a set of Tantrum lights from vision-x: 8 LED nearly waterproof pods (oh dips forgot to silicone them!) So i can fix things from underneath if something goes wrong in the dark - and if I have vehicle power!)

I have to throw up the pics from the ipad I think, but here are what the underbody lights look like for desert running, and city show off (single guy looking for a wife! - or running away from possible wife - depends on how you look at it!)

Also, underbody, frame, axle, muffler, control arms - all spray painted with high heat black primer and a touch - and I mean just a touch - of silver spray paint - just enough to give it a little something special if the light hits it just right.

I have some pictures of the install, let's see if I can find them while i am stationary.