After 15 years of design and fabrication, time to downsize

[jscherb]

Back from my Colorado expedition (I'll post about that later today), time to continue downsizing. Downsizing is more important now because just as I was leaving on the trip we made an offer on a new home several states away from where we live now; the offer was accepted so downsizing now has a real purpose - getting rid of things we don't want to move .

I've decided to offer the military replica trailer for sale. I will sell it with three toppers - the hinged hard lid and the covered wagon top plus a soft tonneau cover. I also have rounded M100-style wide fenders I would offer for an additional price.

Optional M100-style wide round fenders:

This trailer was the prototype for the Dinoot M-Series, after I built it Compact Camping licensed the design and has marketed the kit ever since: https://compactcampingstore.com/products/dinoot-m-series-tub-kits.

You can tow this away for $2500.


Also I plan to get rid of the mold for the hard lid. More lids can be made in this mold and lids for M416/M100/M101 military trailers could also be made in it.

 

[jscherb]

The trailer has been sold.

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This pair of JK Freedom panels was the prototype for a pop-up skylight product that I was working on before the pandemic. The project got to the prototype phase and an RV glass company was involved and made the tempered glass skylights for it. The project went dormant when the pandemic hit and never restarted when it ended and these prototypes have been sitting in my workshop since then.

The inside view. One of them has a white cotton canvas sunblock for times when you don't want the sun in; it was sewn from canvas picked up at Joann Fabrics so if you wanted to sew one for the other side you could use this one as a pattern.

A few photos during testing in the Florida sun (that's not me in the photos):

These are fully functional prototypes; a few of the hardware bits aren't what would have been used in production but they work very well. The skylight weatherstrip should be installed with sealant; it wasn't because these were prototypes and various types of weatherstrip were being installed and tested.

Since my JKU has a custom hardtop that doesn't take Freedom panels, I have no need for them and there's no point in keeping them any longer.

 

[jscherb]

The skylight Freedom panels have been sold.
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Continuing my downsizing... I don't need the mold masters for the JK/JKU barn door or the JL-Style Grille for the JK/JKU any more so these are available. The mold masters are the custom parts I made my molds from and can be used to make additional molds. For now I'm going to keep my molds but if anyone is interested in making either barn doors or JL-Style grilles, these masters would be your first step.

The barn door is compatible with the factory hardtop.

The actual mold for the JL-style grille is also in the photo, I may be willing to part with that if the price if right. Also on the ground in the photo are various size mold inserts to mold recesses for different size turn signals into the grille.

Anyone who picks up these masters would have the right to make parts for sale based on them, so if you wanted to start a business you could do that.

I think everyone knows what the finished grilles and barn doors look like but I can post photos if anyone needs their memory refreshed.

Contact me if interested.

 

[jscherb]

I'm also getting rid of these molds - these three molds make hard shells for factory JK half door uppers.



The shells made in these molds replace the fabric skins of the factory half door uppers and accept Retrofit Offroad half door slider windows (https://www.retrofitoffroad.com/product-category/jeep-wrangler-jk-half-door-glass-sliders/) to make hard upper half doors with glass slider windows.

These photos show a completed set.

These are the actual molds and they're about as simple to mold as can be - almost flat parts (slightly curved to match the curve of the factory uppers) with a flat area in the center to accept the slider windows.

Contact me if interested.

 

[jscherb]

Also getting rid of the mold masters for the 4-door set of MB-style flat fenders for the JKU.

Contact me if interested.

 

[jscherb]

Something else I don't want to move to the new state - these are the mold masters for the CJ Grille Kit for the TJ/LJ. I'm keeping the molds in case I ever need to make a replacement part for my LJ, but these masters can be used to make new molds and new kits can be made from those molds.

This is 100% bolt-on kit, no modifications are required to the TJ and the kit can be unbolted and the original sheet metal reinstalled of desired. All engine compartment components bolt into their factory locations.

Masters include the hood, cowl panel and inner and outer fenders. The top edge of the inner fender masters are extended so the inners could be used as part of a highline kit. An aftermarket fiberglass CJ grille is shown in the photos, this kit can use that or a factory CJ grille. I used a factory CJ grille on my LJ when I installed the kit.

I will include engineering drawings for the few brackets needed to install the kit, such as brackets to mount the TJ radiator/AC condenser to the factory CJ grille. Rights to make kits for sale are included with the sale so if someone wanted to sell kits, they could.







Photos of the kit parts made in molds from these masters, the grille in the photo is a factory part and the stainless overlay is aftermarket but all the other parts are homemade based on these masters.

Contact me if interested.

Also in the photos of the masters is the Safari Half Cab hardtop which I offered earlier in this thread; that'll be cut up and trashed soon since nobody seems to want it.

 

[ZONE ZERO]

The skylight Freedom panels have been sold.
------------------

Continuing my downsizing... I don't need the mold masters for the JK/JKU barn door or the JL-Style Grille for the JK/JKU any more so these are available. The mold masters are the custom parts I made my molds from and can be used to make additional molds. For now I'm going to keep my molds but if anyone is interested in making either barn doors or JL-Style grilles, these masters would be your first step.

The barn door is compatible with the factory hardtop.

The actual mold for the JL-style grille is also in the photo, I may be willing to part with that if the price if right. Also on the ground in the photo are various size mold inserts to mold recesses for different size turn signals into the grille.

Anyone who picks up these masters would have the right to make parts for sale based on them, so if you wanted to start a business you could do that.

I think everyone knows what the finished grilles and barn doors look like but I can post photos if anyone needs their memory refreshed.

Contact me if interested.


View attachment 798245

View attachment 798246

Message in bound I’ll take them

 

[jscherb]

Message in bound I’ll take them

Since there's been no interest in any of the mold masters and I need to move on, most of the masters have been trashed. The masters for the TrailTop trailer topper parts, the JK barn door, the JL-style Grille for the JK, the flat fenders for the JK and a few TJ masters are gone. (I have kept the molds for the Jeep parts in case I ever need to make a replacement part for one of my Jeeps). The molds and masters for the hard upper shells for JK half doors and the TrailTop parts are also gone. The masters for the CJ Grille Kit for the TJ will go later this week.

I still have the mold for the JL-style grille for the JK and will consider offers for that.

 

[ZONE ZERO]

Since there's been no interest in any of the mold masters and I need to move on, most of the masters have been trashed. The masters for the TrailTop trailer topper parts, the JK barn door, the JL-style Grille for the JK, the flat fenders for the JK and a few TJ masters are gone. (I have kept the molds for the Jeep parts in case I ever need to make a replacement part for one of my Jeeps). The molds and masters for the hard upper shells for JK half doors and the TrailTop parts are also gone. The masters for the CJ Grille Kit for the TJ will go later this week.

I still have the mold for the JL-style grille for the JK and will consider offers for that.

Bummer I don’t know how I missed your updat on this thread. I’m still plugging away on the 3 designs I have for the barn doors .

I’m having the grill you sent me painted this week I hope to get it on the Jeep this month. The damn ARB bumper will have to come off it will be a project for sure.

 

[jscherb]

I've got a fiberglass replica Hurst Commando hood scoop I don't need. The gauge panel is uncut, so you could install two standard 2 1/6" gauges in it (tachs are available in that size), one of the photos shows a mockup with two printout of gauges. Unlike the factory scoop, this one is reinforced across the front so it won't sag like so many of the factory ones do. Will also include on Hurst emblem, sorry I only have one but they are available lots of places. Asking $200.

 

[jscherb]

Continuing to downsize, this is tomorrow's trip to the landfill.. the JKU Safari Cab molds for the side panels and a few test shot side panels, rear panel mold and upper door surround molds. I'm keeping the molds for the barn door (which works with the factory hardtop), but I'll also be scrapping the roof mold soon. Also in this pile, the mold master for the Hurst Commando hood scoop (the finished scoop from my last post has been sold), a mold for a factory TJ cowl panel and factory TJ inner fenders.



I will be scrapping the mold for the JK/JKU JL-Style Grille soon, that's the orange one in the photo below so if anyone wants it they should contact me soon. The gray part is the mold master, that's already been scrapped.

 

[jscherb]

The mold for the JL-Style Grille for the JK and the mold masters for the CJ Grille Kit for the TJ/LJ are going to the landfill tomorrow. Last call.

 

[jscherb]

The mold for the JL-Style Grille for the JK and the mold masters for the CJ Grille Kit for the TJ/LJ are going to the landfill tomorrow. Last call.

All gone now.

The only molds I haven't decided what to do with are the molds for the trailers - the Jeep-tub trailer molds, the military M416 replica trailer molds, and the lid mold for the military trailer. Haven't decided if I'll ever want to mold another trailer or lid or if I should dispose of those molds too.

 

[jgaz]

Will it be hard to give up the shop you currently have?

I always thought your set up was about perfect for a colder climate shop.
This opinion comes from experience with four different Michigan shops and garages.

 

[jscherb]

Will it be hard to give up the shop you currently have?

I always thought your set up was about perfect for a colder climate shop.
This opinion comes from experience with four different Michigan shops and garages.

It is perfect and it will be hard to give up. My shop is in a basement under the 3- car garage, so it's the same size as the garage and has no posts or beams in the way. It's part of the house HVAC system so the climate is always good. The garage above is always a bit warmer in the winter than a garage on a concrete slab on the ground would be and I've got natural gas piped in and a heater that can heat the garage up to painting or fiberglass temperature in less than 2 hours when it's 0 degrees outside. The workshop has an air line plumbed in from the compressor in the garage above so I can use air tools without the noise of the compressor in the house. Both the garage and the workshop have utility sinks with running water. I could go on but I would just get depressed .

My shop space in the new house will be in what's the current 2-car garage underneath the back of the house. I will be downsizing a bit, but a 2-car garage size workshop is still big enough. I need to add 100amp service to the garage and a few other things but it will be ok. To use that space for the shop means I have to build a new garage for the Jeeps so right now I'm working with an architect on that. I did a preliminary design for the garage and turned it over to the architect and they're in the process of refining my concept right now.