Eric's Postal Build Thread (was: Postal rebuild thread)
- Thread starter bigwalton
- Start date
- City
- Dexter
- State
- MI
canzo said:
Actually not all that much, I sold off things as I was going through the process. I guess I have a stock rear d-shaft that won't do me any good anymore. I'll probably never use my normal bikini top ever again either.
I'd have spare parts (U-joints, seals, bearings, etc.) for 30/20 axles. Oh, I have a 33" spare on a stock CJ steelie rim that's solid with about 50% tread too.
I'll bring whatever I have to Oak Ridge, we're doing the swap/sale thing there again this year I assume...
- City
- Dexter
- State
- MI
John N said:
Pretty good????
Looks damn great IMHO!Well, I have a ton of throw going left and not much going right, so I'm not quite sure. I need to lengthen the drag link to get it straightened out. I think that it is going to work out nice.
I used the stock pitman with the custom Big Daddy DL and the stock Waggy TR (with a flip bushing in the TR to get the DL to mate up right). It's seriously beefy the way it ended up and since the TR is on top of the knuckles in the Waggy, it's all nice and high, out of the way
- City
- Dexter
- State
- MI
John N said:
WOW! I spent some time this afternoon to get the steering all set up properly. Had to get longer steering stop bolts to keep the rear of the tires off the springs at full lock, but I have plenty of throw to hit the stops before the box bottoms out and I think it turns tighter than it did with the old setup!
I was floored doing low-speed donuts in the cul-de-sacs in my neighborhood on the test drive, it's AWESOME. Keeping the stock pitman worked out great with the Waggy knuckles. That was about the last big thing hanging out from this build. Took care of the speedo gear today and just need to run axle vent lines and get my CB installed before Oak Ridge!
- City
- Dexter
- State
- MI
postal's new look
Making this the place for all future build stuff.
7/1/08 Update: Anyway, I finally got around to putting the soft top I got off of Eric Kohl on my ride. I'm driving it more and I wanted something to shade the entire interior and help cut down the wind on LJ in the back seat. I also highly doubt that I'll ever put the world cab back on because I'm parking this during the winter up here except in an emergency and the soft top can suffice in that case.
Photos to come
Making this the place for all future build stuff.
7/1/08 Update: Anyway, I finally got around to putting the soft top I got off of Eric Kohl on my ride. I'm driving it more and I wanted something to shade the entire interior and help cut down the wind on LJ in the back seat. I also highly doubt that I'll ever put the world cab back on because I'm parking this during the winter up here except in an emergency and the soft top can suffice in that case.
Photos to come
- City
- Dexter
- State
- MI
One million dollars (US dollars, cash up front) and it's yours. It will live quite comfortably in the shop/basement until needed again sometime.
Buy me a brand new zip-out-window soft top and matching doors (in black) and I'll let it go for only $500,000.
Now on to more important matters.... pics.
The instructions I found had no relation to the actual top I had, so I just clamped things in place and fiddled with them until I had an arrangement I liked enough to drill holes. I managed to get the soft doors (not in pics) to seal up quite well actually, just the slightest opening along the windshield frame, but otherwise nice and tight with no flapping.
I had to rehabilitate what WAS the driver's door handle. These handles have a molded nub that sits in a curved slot in the doorframe that makes it so it can only turn through 90° instead of spinning all around, which would make it hard to find the "closed" position.
The left hand door had that nub worn completely off (crap design IMHO), so I drilled a hole in what was left of the nub and screwed in a screw to replace it. Ended up having to take off the head of the screw to keep it from binding, but it limits the travel like it's supposed to with only slightly more slop than the other side now.
I didn't put the side snaps in the tub other than the one for the little bit near the doorframe, so it has yet to be "sealed up", but I really wanted it for the rolled up window use anyway. Only issues (as you'd expect with a used top) are that the zipper for the left hand rollup window busted after I freed it, so I can't truly seal it now anyway.
I bought some nylon strap and fittings to use to hold the front and middle bows in place, right now it's all bungee cords. I couldn't find just ONE freaking footman loop to put in the top center of the windshield frame to use for the front strap... posted in Want Ads, if you got one you could spare, I'd appreciate it. Paying shipping/handling on one just seems silly.
I'm really impressed with how little the top flaps at speed. Had it up to 55-60 today at lunch. Works great!
Various angles.
Buy me a brand new zip-out-window soft top and matching doors (in black) and I'll let it go for only $500,000.
Now on to more important matters.... pics.
The instructions I found had no relation to the actual top I had, so I just clamped things in place and fiddled with them until I had an arrangement I liked enough to drill holes. I managed to get the soft doors (not in pics) to seal up quite well actually, just the slightest opening along the windshield frame, but otherwise nice and tight with no flapping.
I had to rehabilitate what WAS the driver's door handle. These handles have a molded nub that sits in a curved slot in the doorframe that makes it so it can only turn through 90° instead of spinning all around, which would make it hard to find the "closed" position.
The left hand door had that nub worn completely off (crap design IMHO), so I drilled a hole in what was left of the nub and screwed in a screw to replace it. Ended up having to take off the head of the screw to keep it from binding, but it limits the travel like it's supposed to with only slightly more slop than the other side now.
I didn't put the side snaps in the tub other than the one for the little bit near the doorframe, so it has yet to be "sealed up", but I really wanted it for the rolled up window use anyway. Only issues (as you'd expect with a used top) are that the zipper for the left hand rollup window busted after I freed it, so I can't truly seal it now anyway.
I bought some nylon strap and fittings to use to hold the front and middle bows in place, right now it's all bungee cords. I couldn't find just ONE freaking footman loop to put in the top center of the windshield frame to use for the front strap... posted in Want Ads, if you got one you could spare, I'd appreciate it. Paying shipping/handling on one just seems silly.
I'm really impressed with how little the top flaps at speed. Had it up to 55-60 today at lunch. Works great!
Various angles.
SCWorm
hillbilly born-n-bred
- City
- Fort Mill
- State
- sc
Eric -
Love the look with the soft top rolled up like that. That's pretty much how I run my white one all the time now. You're right, surprisingly it doesn't flap all that much, and isn't noisy at all. Be sure to unroll and let air out any time it rains. The rolls will catch rain and puddle inside.
And you're right again, the door handles and the way the door frame seats in the bracket at rear of the door leave a lot of design to be desired.
Jeep looks great!
Love the look with the soft top rolled up like that. That's pretty much how I run my white one all the time now. You're right, surprisingly it doesn't flap all that much, and isn't noisy at all. Be sure to unroll and let air out any time it rains. The rolls will catch rain and puddle inside.
And you're right again, the door handles and the way the door frame seats in the bracket at rear of the door leave a lot of design to be desired.
Jeep looks great!
jscherb
CJ-8 Member
- City
- Elmira
- State
- NY
bigwalton said:
Eric,
The postal is really looking awesome - congrats on a great job.
Jeez, I offered to sell my CJ-7 World Cab top to someone for $1000 complete (including doors, headliners, etc.) as long as they found me a replacement top panel for the Retro Wrangler project... your prices make mine look like a steal
Jeff
- City
- Dexter
- State
- MI
Thanks guys, I have some seam repair to do. Need to find a heavy needle and suitable thread. A couple small patches are needed here and there, but I'll probably just go with electrical tape for now.
One question, there looks to be a pocket in the top, above the doors, where a rod could have been inserted. It has the flap that velcros around the door frame and that's what I used... what's the other pocket for? It's not velcroed, just a sewn-in long pocket and it hangs down below where the doorframe velcro pocket is. It kinda helps seal along the top of the door.
I had intended to hit a carwash today at lunch, but I stopped at the hardware store to find odds and ends to finish the install and ended up being there a while... seems to happen to me in hardware stores a lot.
BTW, I found that the little brackets on the windshield frame that hold the top doorframe bar fit a 5/8 OD-3/8 ID rubber grommet perfectly and that really tightens up that connection nice and snug. I was bothered by how butch it looked just to have the bar sitting in that giant hole. Maybe that's how it was always meant to be?
One question, there looks to be a pocket in the top, above the doors, where a rod could have been inserted. It has the flap that velcros around the door frame and that's what I used... what's the other pocket for? It's not velcroed, just a sewn-in long pocket and it hangs down below where the doorframe velcro pocket is. It kinda helps seal along the top of the door.
I had intended to hit a carwash today at lunch, but I stopped at the hardware store to find odds and ends to finish the install and ended up being there a while... seems to happen to me in hardware stores a lot.
BTW, I found that the little brackets on the windshield frame that hold the top doorframe bar fit a 5/8 OD-3/8 ID rubber grommet perfectly and that really tightens up that connection nice and snug. I was bothered by how butch it looked just to have the bar sitting in that giant hole. Maybe that's how it was always meant to be?
- City
- Dexter
- State
- MI
jscherb said:Jeez, I offered to sell my CJ-7 World Cab top to someone for $1000 complete (including doors, headliners, etc.) as long as they found me a replacement top panel for the Retro Wrangler project... your prices make mine look like a steal
Simple supply and demand, I have supply and it will take a boatload of demand for me to part with it
jeepdad
I Need 1 More Jeep
- City
- Kingsport
- State
- TN
doslocos said:
I have, My father inlaw has a z3 and the back window was getting some wear. So the dealership gave him some stuff actually 2 bottles. I think one was for removing scratches the other polishing.
I tried it on my jeep windows but mine were too badly scratched, "road rash" (back window blew out going down the road)
