Plumber builds Jeep (crickets)

Sweat equity.

After letting the first coat settle for a couple days it was time for coat #2. I could see I was better off discarding a spray can and starting with a fresh one at about 3/4 empty because the spray pattern got too narrow. Could start seeing lines in the finish. There were also a couple of areas on the cowl and tops of fenders that looked a bit rough. This paint can be sprayed in any direction and I likely kept the can upright, so I could correct for that. Lessons learned for coat 2. So off I went Well it looked dynamite. Except for two spots, one on each side, and I could tell I musta vegged our and held the can too far away cause again it looked rough-ish. Tried throwing a little extra paint on top and made it look worse. I’m checking it out this morning but the answer might be to mask off both sides. From fender line to back corner, light wet sand and careful repaint. More paint ordered for Friday.

But fenders, tail, grill, cowl look dynamite! Got a mint dash pad, repainted it to match the new seats and it looks dynamite. The plastic piece that sits on the frame in front between the grill and bumper, got a mint one of them, free, painted it olive drab and it look dynamite!

So while I wait on my green paint today I’ll see about what trouble I can get myself into with the roll bars.....

B7D9463E-6573-47D0-BA19-7AD32A4229E4.jpeg
 
  • Like
Reactions: Squatch and Chris
I painted them a couple of years ago, they kinda matched one of the pinstripes. And also I’m a plumber so there’s that. Once I pull the wheels for the suspension stuff they’re going black.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Chris
ShawnM said:
I painted them a couple of years ago, they kinda matched one of the pinstripes. And also I’m a plumber so there’s that. Once I pull the wheels for the suspension stuff they’re going black.
Click to expand...
And speaking of suspension stuff thanks to some solid advice from a fellow member of this great Club (?) it’s bye-bye add a spring and hello actual new leaf springs. Thanks @Fouledplugs
 
  • Like
Reactions: Squatch
Yeah the new leafs add 1 1/2”, Rubicon Express only ordered 2 so far. But seeing how I’m so sacked it’s gonna feel like 4”! Finally found some at a decent price, hopefully not waiting too long for another pair. Apparently I cleaned western Canada out of spray bomb Krylon now I gotta wait at least another week for more paint. Just add that to the list of other parts I’m waiting for I guess. Gives me a chance to spend some quality time with a wire brush and wheel+drill and clean up the underside for a few days. Roll bars look sexy as heck
 
  • Like
Reactions: Squatch and Chris
After doing the roll bars with Krylon “Hammered-Look” black, and thinking it sorta matches the tube bumpers I’m waiting for and that I was already gonna paint those godawful copper coloured stock rims with it anyway, I decided to go all in and paint all the soft top rails and windshield wipers too so I guess I got a theme going now. My carpet set that travelled all over North America is now only one province away, and my package of signal lights and rubber stuff left Toronto today. So if I ever get more green paint my windshield frame gets a new gasket. Starting to feel like progress. Now just gotta find a couple more leaf springs on sale. Oh and don’t waste a bunch of time trying to dye old Jeep carpet. I pissed around for a couple of hours with my old green side wall carpeting trying to make it black and nope. Guess my answer for everything is paint
 
Got a couple hours to kill this morning sitting round the house. The time I wasted last night on that stupid carped experiment I was REALLY gonna spend on the soundbar. I’ve chopped pretty neat bigger holes for the 6 3/4” Fosgates (no blood for a change, plumbers with tin snips...) and made little 1” thick donut spacers out of a kids semi-tough foam kneeboard from the Dollar Store. I planned it all in my head and it’s gonna work out perfect. Should all scrunch down enough the zipper won’t explode and the magnet won’t bottom out on the back of the soundbar and it will look stock as hell. Yeah right
 
  • Haha
Reactions: Squatch
And for today’s dose of humility I’m reading the instructions for my 1 1/4” body lift that will be delivered Tuesday and it mentions replacing the stock body bushings if they are cracked or deteriorated. (I may have mentioned I have no idea what I’m doing)
I’d noticed the condition of the body bushings. I thought that’s what I WAS replacing. I thought these lift pucks replaced these deteriorated rubber things, not that they were added to them. So guess I’m ordering bushings now, and yet another hard lesson learned.
 
ShawnM said:
And for today’s dose of humility I’m reading the instructions for my 1 1/4” body lift that will be delivered Tuesday and it mentions replacing the stock body bushings if they are cracked or deteriorated. (I may have mentioned I have no idea what I’m doing)
I’d noticed the condition of the body bushings. I thought that’s what I WAS replacing. I thought these lift pucks replaced these deteriorated rubber things, not that they were added to them. So guess I’m ordering bushings now, and yet another hard lesson learned.
Click to expand...
After closer inspection, the one under the grill looks like spaghetti and the others aren’t too bad, couple little cracks here and there. I’m a plumber, I know how to make gaskets. I’ll make one body bushing
 
  • Like
Reactions: Squatch
So close on the paint, gotta touch up my touch ups on the sides. Was a little light on the paint in a couple spots and hit em again with my last can that was almost empty. But the dregs weren’t a flat finish anymore so one more coat on the sides of I ever get more paint. What I should have got last Friday looks like I ain’t getting this Friday either. Got a great pile of my interior stuff high on a shelf, all the faded green stuff looking fresh and grey dying to get installed but not til the exteriors finished. But I like the look off the ass end of ‘er. Touch up the gas tank skid plate and bit behind the new bumper when I paint the rest of the frame and stuff. Maybe one day my new springs will show up and I can lose the low rider look

A38149C3-3795-4615-B67B-724DA08F819B.jpeg
 
  • Like
Reactions: Chris
ShawnM said:
So close on the paint, gotta touch up my touch ups on the sides. Was a little light on the paint in a couple spots and hit em again with my last can that was almost empty. But the dregs weren’t a flat finish anymore so one more coat on the sides of I ever get more paint. What I should have got last Friday looks like I ain’t getting this Friday either. Got a great pile of my interior stuff high on a shelf, all the faded green stuff looking fresh and grey dying to get installed but not til the exteriors finished. But I like the look off the ass end of ‘er. Touch up the gas tank skid plate and bit behind the new bumper when I paint the rest of the frame and stuff. Maybe one day my new springs will show up and I can lose the low rider lookView attachment 115941
Click to expand...
That roll bar seems to be doing a great job! ;)

Hope you get your paint, soon. Been looking forward to hearing more about your project, and getting a look at the completed paint job.
 
Put my paint order in a month ago and got stiffed again today. My ex lives in Edmonton, 800ish miles away and I’m getting her to look for me. Chances are in a city of 1.5 million people she might have better luck than me in this sleepy little blink-and-ya-miss-it dump of 4,000 I live in. So, we’ll see.

But Jeez, what’s 100% on me is my lack of vision and planning on this project. I’m normally really big on that stuff, normally I’d have a complete mental picture of what I’m doing but not really on this one. Prime example: My carpet kit. Laid out the back wheel well and rear area pieces, wasn’t thrilled but whatever, let’s keep going. Seat frames are out, laid down the bit that goes under the seats and up to the shifter boot. Messed endlessly with the front section, shifter boot off, carefully carefully nipped out two holes for the shifters and got it down perfect. Except it’s not perfect, looks like crap and I realize what the hell was I thinking with this carpet? It’s the last thing I want on my floor. Yes it’s my daily driver but it’s also my work truck and weekend warrior vehicle. From April to October there’s no real roof on it, just the bikini top or nothing. It looks terrible and totally not practical either. Doesn’t match anything else I’ve got going on. So it’s going back in the box and I’ll try to flog it off later. Cheap.

And the springs I’d ordered from Amazon I ended up cancelling cause the vendor didn’t actually have them. Took a while to get a refund, and cost me some time but as I looked elsewhere I found a guy nearby with stock height springs (minor boomerang shackle lift) for sale. And that kinda got me thinking stuff I should have been thinking about before I even got started. What do I really want out of this thing? I want it to look good and drive good. I don’t want a hot rod. I don’t plan on it being a weekend only rock crawler. I kinda want it to be “practical”, even though we all know these things aren’t exactly the most practical vehicles ever made. I want some style and something original. So black cheap carpet ain’t it. 1 1/2 suspension lift ain’t it, kinda glad that never worked out. Not even so sure on the body lift anymore. Don’t think cutting the shit out of my floor for 1 1/4” is worth it. Like the kid that came here looking for advice about what should he do to make his YJ look cool and everybody chimed in “get a 2 1/2” suspension lift and 1 1/2” body lift”. That’s what I see every day on the road, you guys too I guess. It’s gonna be dark in about 1/2 an hour I’m going for a paddle board
 
  • Like
Reactions: Squatch and Chris
That was a nice rip on the board, been too long. I did buy that stock rear spring kit, got one spring down to the main eye bolt today and that sucker is SEIZED! The bolt and bushing sleeve have become one. Got the nut off and that’s it. Couldn’t move it an iota with a 3 lb hammer. Couldn’t budge it with an air impact or a 2’ buster bar. I’m seeing zip cuts and sawzalling in my future on that, PB Blaster might have improved the smell but didn’t help that bolt much. Got a minor flashback to Grade 10 science when I learned about kinetic energy and that kinda hurt.

1EFC8C7B-2868-46DA-A51E-8BA8826BEC71.jpeg

Oh well, tomorrow’s another day
 
ShawnM said:
That was a nice rip on the board, been too long. I did buy that stock rear spring kit, got one spring down to the main eye bolt today and that sucker is SEIZED! The bolt and bushing sleeve have become one. Got the nut off and that’s it. Couldn’t move it an iota with a 3 lb hammer. Couldn’t budge it with an air impact or a 2’ buster bar. I’m seeing zip cuts and sawzalling in my future on that, PB Blaster might have improved the smell but didn’t help that bolt much. Got a minor flashback to Grade 10 science when I learned about kinetic energy and that kinda hurt.

View attachment 115981

Oh well, tomorrow’s another day
Click to expand...
Ouch! That made me arse pucker! 🥴
 
Tomorrow I find out if I’m ever getting my paint . If not I’m looking for another supplier or going two tone or three tone heavy sigh
 
  • Like
Reactions: Chris
Top Bottom