RockTractor
Basic User
- City
- Albuquerque
- State
- NM
Looks brand new - Nice work!
Meet Red, my 81 Restomod Build
- Thread starter Randyzzz
- Start date
- City
- Redmond
- State
- OR
It probably will. I doubt I’ll go mudding with my windows down…or go mudding period!
- City
- Redmond
- State
- OR
Todays final result. 9.9 out of 10. With the texture knocked down a bit with a scotch-brite pad, and then several coats of bumper paint, it looks really good. Yes, a rougher more textured surface than original, but it looks nice. The best way I can describe it is like those black soaker hoses. The bumper pint added a little shine to it. Now I have to take the masking tape off the lettering and touch it up. 
- City
- Allen Park
- State
- MI
Cool, maybe painting the screw heads black too might look good.
- City
- Redmond
- State
- OR
Thinking about that. I’m building another list of stuff to Cerakote, so if that happens they’ll be in there.
I also got the fender lamp harnesses ready. Think I’m going to wire up the grille next.
RockTractor
Basic User
- City
- Albuquerque
- State
- NM
Looks great. Are you planning to black out your headlight trim as well?
- City
- Redmond
- State
- OR
Yes, I am. Probably buy the Kentrol black stainless
- City
- Allen Park
- State
- MI
That whole i/p really looks great 
- City
- Redmond
- State
- OR
T
I was working on the radiator hoses today. Yeah, I skip around. I was waiting for some paint on the headlamp buckets to dry.
Upper hoses are pretty straightforward. Two 90 degree elbows with a 6” coupler (on order). The bottom hose is a pain- turns out the t-stat is the integrated style on this pump, so a swivel neck is a bit difficult. But I was able to hack up some old hoses and came up with two 45 degree elbows and a coupler. So I ordered silicone hoses to match the top.
I guess the rubber ones would work, but my OCD requires matching the top…
Thank you! I like the non-glare effect too.That whole i/p really looks great
I was working on the radiator hoses today. Yeah, I skip around. I was waiting for some paint on the headlamp buckets to dry.
Upper hoses are pretty straightforward. Two 90 degree elbows with a 6” coupler (on order). The bottom hose is a pain- turns out the t-stat is the integrated style on this pump, so a swivel neck is a bit difficult. But I was able to hack up some old hoses and came up with two 45 degree elbows and a coupler. So I ordered silicone hoses to match the top.
I guess the rubber ones would work, but my OCD requires matching the top…
- City
- Redmond
- State
- OR
Well, sometimes you have to bite the bullet. Neither the 45 or 90 degree hoses in any combination would work cleanly. The mock-up hoses were “close” to 45 degrees, but the angles were off far enough to make the silicone hoses start to kink. The LS2 water pump I’m using was built with the old style thermostat- 76mm bolt centers, integrated housing. No readily available swivel housings work. So I ordered a new water pump that uses the new 78mm bolt center housing with a separate thermostat. That way I can get a common swivel housing. I’ll have the housing tig welded into a single piece once I get the angles right. ( the housing pieces, not weld the housing to the pump) And I can use a single 45 degree silicone hose. Nothing like a couple hundred dollar solution to a $20 problem.
- City
- Redding
- State
- Ca
I know that struggle! On my 350 TBI, I changed over to an Advanced Adapters aluminum radiator (a thing of beauty) and it had a larger lower inlet that the radiator I had. I could not find a pre-bent hose that would work. I was going to cut and couple two other hoses but ultimately found these Gates flexible hoses. They had one that I needed with 1.75" ends on both sides. Worked great and seems very tough and O'Reily's stocks them for easy future replacement. BTW, mine does not have the huge green stripe it is just black.
Green Stripe™ Vulco-Flex™ Radiator Hose | Gates Corporation
Your vehicle relies on the performance of your engine. Your engine relies on the performance of your coolant hose. When you need to replace or configure critical pieces of your complex machinery, trust Gates to deliver high capacity, high performance solutions with our customized coolant hoses...
www.gates.com
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- City
- W-S
- State
- NC
C’mon you know it’s going to Moab on its way to NC!
Looking good Big R
Belizeit
CJ-8 Member
- City
- River Ridge
- State
- La
I’m thinking of visiting my brother near where Randy lives. I guess I could offer to drive it east for him via Moab and Colorado.
- City
- Redmond
- State
- OR
I’ve used those hoses before, and while they serve a purpose, I have never liked how much tension they put on the radiator outlet when they are flexed.I know that struggle! On my 350 TBI, I changed over to an Advanced Adapters aluminum radiator (a thing of beauty) and it had a larger lower inlet that the radiator I had. I could not find a pre-bent hose that would work. I was going to cut and couple two other hoses but ultimately found these Gates flexible hoses. They had one that I needed with 1.75" ends on both sides. Worked great and seems very tough and O'Reily's stocks them for easy future replacement. BTW, mine does not have the huge green stripe it is just black.
Green Stripe™ Vulco-Flex™ Radiator Hose | Gates Corporation
Your vehicle relies on the performance of your engine. Your engine relies on the performance of your coolant hose. When you need to replace or configure critical pieces of your complex machinery, trust Gates to deliver high capacity, high performance solutions with our customized coolant hoses...
The hardest part of the whole deal is that I used a Corvette LS2 water pump- it’s sort of an animal all it’s own. No local parts house stocks them, and the Gates pump I got in today was a piece of crap- very uncharacteristic of Gates parts. Bent gaskets, casting dings on sealing surfaces, dented heater hoses, and the worst- More looseness in the impeller bearing than I’m happy with. So back it goes. Being a Vette part, there’s a $50-100 premium for…well, I don’t know what. I’m going to try a Melling pump and if that doesn’t work, I’ll go with OEM.
The biggest bummer is the original pump I got is a LS2 Vette pump, but it uses the old style LS1 integrated thermostat housing. GM stopped using that in 2005 and I have no idea why the manufacturer decided to build theirs that way. And I can’t return it, no box and I already trimmed the upper outlet. Expensive paper weight.
tom keyes
1981 CJ-8
- City
- Louisville
- State
- co
"I want a Scrambler that respects the classic look, has the modern conveniences, and wields more than enough power. And hopefully gets good fuel economy. Going to be really attentive to the appearance in fit and finish. I realize that this is not everyone's cup of tea, but the build thread will hopefully be interesting. I've learned a lot in the years since I built Copper, and I think this one will hit my nail on the head. I also think there might be a market for this type of build in the Mecum/Barret Jackson circles, which would be amazing for my business. Think an "Icon" type vehicle. Or, think of Stump Jumper! No, that doesn't mean I am building it to sell, but as a rolling business card."
My 81' has a few extras and rides like a tank? Yours is looks good though.
My 81' has a few extras and rides like a tank? Yours is looks good though.