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Gary's '81 Scrambler

All of mine were very close to being straight and level (factory 83 frame). If they were off any, it wasnt enough to be visibly noticeable:shrug: Only problem with my body mount out riggers had to do with the body mount round holes being rusted out of round on a couple of them:crazy:

Best pic i have, sorry it isnt any clearer

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That pic is fine!

It shows me that yes, my front body mount IS higher on one side...I can't notice any difference in the angle of yours, whereas mine is very obvious.

And I can see that your e-brake bracket is kinda pointing updwards like mine is.

The pic showed me exactly what I needed to know. Thanks.
 
Its hard to tell from the photos. Mount the body (mock it up); like a final assembly, and see if it really tilts to one side. I'm no expert, but I can imagine they really weren't too careful when welding the frames, (I have welding marks all down the side of the frame where they dragged the welding tip to the next spot), or something else could be off like a shackle (twist form a snatch). Again, no expert, but mock it up. Can it be adjusted with a thicker mount on the driver's side/thinner on the pass side? Looks good and have fun!

I PM'd response to Line-X ques.
 
Welds

It looks like the guy (or gal) that welded my frame did one of two things...they either did it right before their lunch break, or finished it 30-seconds before their shift was over.

I've never seen so much slag in my life, and like you mentioned, they virtually dragged the tip from joint to joint. :eek:
 
Quick ping to follow along. (I plan on having my frame entirely re-welded too, it's a mess).

KC
 
Blasting!!

Folks, I had a buddy of mine come over yesterday to blast all my parts. His $32,000 soda blasting rig is simply amazing! Just to think that baking soda can do such a wonderful job, and NOT harm the original metal....amazing! I watched the entire process (6-hours) and there was not one single spot of Bondo on my tub, no dents, and zero signs of any accidents....Greatness!

blasta.jpg



Here's how the tub tub turned out. It is beautiful. I had the exterior soda blasted to the factory metal, and I had him sand blast the interior (which etched it nicely) since Line-X will be going in here. The Line-X guys need to cut me a deal, since this sand blast of the interior will save them hours of prep work:

tub.jpg


And here's how the frame turned out....it too looks factory new, just like it showed up at Jeep before being painted:

frameclean.jpg


I also had 'new' front and rear wide trac's blasted. They too look awesome, but I forgot to take a pic of them.

I am now getting ready to start on a custom extension which will allow the installation of amps, and a few 12" sub woofers. This will basically extend out the bulkhead, sort of like a bubble sticking out the back. Maybe a 5" depth. After this is done, seam seal will be applied to everything on the interior, and after paint, the interior will be shot with Line-X.
 
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Soda blasted tub/frame look good:cheers: I was going to soda blast mine but the painter didnt want me to, so they blasted it with some other kinda media. He said he had heard of some paint adhesion problems after soda blasting, BUT then he said that probably had to do with lack of the proper prep work after blasting:crazy: Did you get any recomendations on what to neutralize the metal with after soda blasting? Just curious:thumbsup:
 
Wow, always so jealous when I see them taken down to the frame so everything can be fixed/done right. :bow:

Very very nice! :thumbsup:
 
spankrjs said:
Did you get any recomendations on what to neutralize the metal with after soda blasting? Just curious:thumbsup:
Click to expand...

Yep, this is something he told me about....PPG makes a solution called "Afterblast", but he also told me that a 50/50 solution of vinegar and water is the same thing. I'll go the vinegar and water route :)

Thanks for the compliments, everyone. This is going to be a fun project, although being a perfectionist, it's likely to get expensive.....
 
Wait til its Line-X'ed! Work looks fantastic so far. Keep it up. What's the final choice for body color-- I may have missed it.
 
I think it will be a fire engine red, with black accents (hinges, etc).

But then I keep flip-flopping thinking I may go white.....but I already painted my darn motor red?!
 
Just picked up my stuff from the gear and axle shop. They went completely through my axles (everything that needed help was changed to new), new gears (4:27 in both), Detroit lockers, rebuilt the T-176, and rebuilt the D-300 transfer case.

Exciting stuff!

axles.jpg
 
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This is a great thread to watch! There have been a few....the guy in Norway did some cool stuff, but he does not post nearly as regularly. I miss Texas....
Thanks for all the photos. My 2 cents..(since that's what it is)..is back to White. Opening a white hood with a white engine bay to a red Chev-8 will make it stand out very well.
Q: Why a carb and not fuel injection?
All the best!!
Todd
 
Progress

Todd,
I just wanted to stay a little 'old school' and not have to jack with wiring up a computer and so forth, for the fuel injection. I was going to stuff a 671 blower on the top, but it is simply too much money just to hear the 'whine' of a blower....although it would be the only blown Scrambler that I've ever seen..:D

I've been buried at my company lately, which is a really great thing I suppose. However, I have about 5-boxes of new parts that I just received from Quadratec, I've been able to get a little progress made. I've got the frame entirely blasted and painted, and put the RE lift on. I am also now rolling on the rear axle, and the front one is about ready to roll into place. I replaced my NT axles with wide tracs. My -8 was an '81 and thus it had the narrow tracs from the factory. I would have had the front axle already in place, but on the D-30 WT I bought and rebuilt, I just noticed it has shock mounts welded to the darn axle- right in the spot where my RE u-bolts need to be. So I need to cut those off with the plasma torch, then proceed to installing the front axle. At that point I'll be rolling on the new BFG 35's :D

There's a huge swap meet in Fort Worth this weekend, and I am going out there for a few parts. There's a guy that sells brand-new radiators with electric fans already in place, so I am going out there to buy one of those. I need a MUCH larger radiator for the V-8, versus the small factory radiator for the original 4-banger.

Once I'm rolling, I plan to temporarily install the radiator/grill, and then the tub. This will help me determine where I need to install the new V-8 motor mounts. Then all that stuff comes back off and I'll go to installing the driveline, fuel and brake lines, etc.

I'll post up some pics once I am in full roller status :thumbsup:
 
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New Plates

Although I am a long way from actually driving, I went ahead and purchased our cool new, custom, Texas plates. It's expensive to get these specialty plates, but pretty cool. Here's a pic of my plates:

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Motor...

About done, short of pulleys and the alternator!

Gonna try to swing it into the frame this weekend, and try to get the Novak motor mounts lined up correctly :cheers:

motorfr.jpg
 
Rolling, rolling, rolling.....

We have a roller! Finally! After a broken hand (my dumba$$ mistake while installing the RE lift), and many hours of sandblasting/repainting old original parts.

This weekend it's time to swing the tub into place, mock mount the radiator/electric fan (to check clearances) and then custom fit/weld the Novak V-8 motor mounts. It's getting exciting!

rollerl.jpg
 
A little progress....

Last night, as I was watching my Texas Rangers win a huge game, I swung the tub onto the lifted frame for a test fit. Wow, this RE lift and 35" tires is awesome!

Note the beer can on the floor, for a size reference :drool:


tub1.jpg
 
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