Overland XJ Build. Not my first Rodeo.....(video included)

[Overland History]

Made a bit of progress this week, and this coming week will see some more before a 3 day camping trip this weekend!!


As I mentioned before, my shift and 4wd bezels were leaking hot air into the cabin with my windows down due to the high/low pressure difference, so it was time to reseal them!





Removed.....













I had to use a high speed wire wheel and brake cleaner to remove the factory God-knows-what. It seemed to be a combination of glue, RTV and foam. Regardless, it was evil and took some effort to remove, but the surfaces came clean....

 

[jswift716]

Oh man I just hit the jack pot. I've been following your build for my own expo xj and have been searching everywhere for somthing about a foot ebrake for my build. I haven't been on expo in a month or two and I'm going through catching up and BAM Here you are talking about an mj foot brake in an xj. You sir are the man!

Sent from my SM-G900T using Tapatalk

 

[Overland History]

Needless to say, I resealed the hell out of both the shift and 4wd bezels with RTV. I can't tell you how miserable it is in words to have no carpet, hot air blowing on your right leg and possibly smelling burning flesh just to go camping last weekend. I used at least 1.5 tubes of RTV to make sure it's sealed!





Next up was to remove the E-brake assembly to be able the fit the console freezer.




I removed both seats and pulled it out. I had to drop the rear driveshaft to get enough torque on the I-bolt that tensions the rear outer E-brake cables. After some PB Blaster, it finally loosened up after likely 22yrs of being stationery. Out came the handle.....







Now that I had all of the old hardware out of the way, I could finally get the Dometic CDF-11 console freezer that I've been seemingly hoarding for months.

It can be found here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B005...F8&qid=1466996124&sr=1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65


Anyways, fitting it went great!! I made sure my 5 speed handle would clear it by at least 3-4in....




I also test installed my 10gallon Expedition Ready floorboard water tank to make sure it would clear it at the back...





From the side, the Console clears the seats just enough, so I'm super happy about that!!

The vents that you see from the side are for air intake to cool the compressor system, so you don't have to worry about hot air blowing on you constantly while seated in the cabin.

 

[Overland History]

The seats cover maybe 1/3 of the intake vents for the compressor. I plugged it into the stock 12V plug in the dash and allowed it to run enough to get freezing. It went from 80* ambient temp to 30* in about 35mins and it's literally whisper quiet!!




It's got a nice little light to illuminate the cooler when you open it....






Also, it clears the stock seat belts great!





Anyways, on to mounting the console properly.

I ground down some 1/8 steel plate for the hole left by the original XJ e-brake....







While doing that, I realized that the console needs to be strapped down somehow, so I measured front and rear. The clearance between the shifter up front and the 10gallon water tank was of huge concern.

Luckily I had enough clearance to fabricate brackets to strap down the console and clear the water tank and shifter!

This is the front strap down point for the console....




And this is the rear strap down point...(you can see the 10gal water tank right behind it and how little clearance I'm dealing with...)

 

[Overland History]

Anyways, I'm beat, more updates tomorrow!!

 

[thethePete]

Looks great! Is that going to be the only fridge/freezer in the set-up? If so, any concerns about the inconvenience of getting food out of it while camping outweighing the convenience of having it there for snacks and drinks while on the move?

 

[Whaler]

Love your thread. I have a red '97 four door and I'm watching closely as your project develops. I'm very interested to see the e-brake relocation. Keep up the good work!

 

[Whaler]

Also, did I miss the hot water system build or is that pending install of parts?

 

[Overland History]

Moving right along, as I mentioned before, the Console Freezer needs strap down points.

I reused one of the mounting brackets from the original console...




I cut it down a little bit and figured out where to mount it...

The line that I'm pointing to is where the front of the freezer console begins....




I also left room for the plug, which goes into the front of the Freezer Console just below the exhaust fan. The arrow indicates that it points to the forward end of the jeep....




I also fabricated a rear Console bracket out of 1/8in steel plate, and bent it to contour to the curvature of the Trans tunnel....





The lines toward the top of the pic represent where the back of the Freezer Console ends. The lines towards the bottom of the pic represent where the 10gallon water tank begins. The squares are where the rear tie down bracket mounts...




Mock up....





Then came the time to weld them all into place. No turning back now!

My buddy Paul welded them in for me....

 

[Overland History]

That's all of the updating I've got for now.

I'm starting on the Comanche E-Brake conversion tomorrow, so I'll be sure to take a ton of pics and measurements for all of you that are interested.

I'm almost positive that the plan that I've got in my head for it will work!

 

[Overland History]

Oh man I just hit the jack pot. I've been following your build for my own expo xj and have been searching everywhere for somthing about a foot ebrake for my build. I haven't been on expo in a month or two and I'm going through catching up and BAM Here you are talking about an mj foot brake in an xj. You sir are the man!

Sent from my SM-G900T using Tapatalk

Well, I'm happy to be your Guinea pig for your build!

If you have any questions, feel free to fire away!

 

[Overland History]

Looks great! Is that going to be the only fridge/freezer in the set-up? If so, any concerns about the inconvenience of getting food out of it while camping outweighing the convenience of having it there for snacks and drinks while on the move?

The Console is a dedicated Freezer for the build. It's the only place that I could think to put one that made sense ergonomically.

I've got a Dometic CD-030 Drawer Refrigerator that is going to be mounted at the tailgate, underneath of my sleep platform.

If you check out Page 18 of this thread, you'll see some better pics of the Refrigerator.

It can be found here, however apparently it's no longer available on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00P81J8EA/ref=yo_ii_img?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[Overland History]

Also, did I miss the hot water system build or is that pending install of parts?

You haven't missed anything. The Comanche E-Brake conversion needs to be done before I can plumb all of the water tank and pump/shower water lines, but it's next on the list!

 

[VanIsle_Greg]

Looking good. Love the POR15, it is pretty amazing stuff. Does not stand up to UV, but under carpet that is not really an issue. heh Love the fridge idea.

 

[Kevin108]

Something to consider: with the tent opening on the passenger side, when it is deployed and the back hatch is open, you'll have to walk around your swing-out tire carrier to access the rear. Might matter to you, might not.