Great build! You've built something that will last you for along time and looks terrific.
Well done!
The fact that you went with the 401 shows you have good taste! There is no reason why they can't be made to run right and stay together. If all else fails use stock parts. It will still have more HP than you can ever use.
I also wanted to compliment on the choice of color which looks great with the polished Aluminum. One of the best looking ones I have seen
Thanks! I wasn't sure if I wanted to do black, which would match (sorta) my '85 7, or stick with orange, since that's what my donor color was. I think it turned out well.
I tried to get an Aqualu/JP Offroad body for mine but it was right at the time when Dave Knight was losing control of the American part of the operation, so there were no deals to be had. I have helped installed about 4 of them on various crawlers and 2 Scramblers, and one was a Bobber. It was the Red one with 40" MTR's that went on the Ultimate Adventure in about 02 or 3. One thing about these bodies, they can take a helluva beating, and it will never rust .
I ordered the tub and sheetmetal all through TDK when I got the frame. I called Aqualu when preparing to make the order, and figured I'd just go through them, but they said it would be much easier to use a U.S. distributor for import purposes, and informed me that Jeremy (owner of TDK) was a distributor! They still drop-shipped and it came straight up the Al-Can from B.C.
If you have seen my thread (DeScrambler Project) you'll see I went Fiberglass instead. Better than trying to find a decent steel body or buying a new one and trying to build from scratch with that. Way too many parts to find.
I'll look through your thread; it's been a couple months since I've paid much attention to the board. I actually didn't have any problems locating the 8-specific parts, since there are only a few. Having a 7 that was "turning" into the 8 made it easy for most of the little parts. The only Scrambler specific parts are:
Roll-bar: sourced locally from Craigslist for $50
inner roll-bar bracket: sourced locally through the AK 4x4 network for free
lower/outer roll-bar bracket: fabbed up for beer by a friend
tailgate bracket: sourced from eBay for...$50? I bought those fairly early in the build.
plastic left-side fender wiring cover: had a friend weld together two pieces of aluminum angle to make my own
fuel lines: ran custom braided-stainless for the EFI anyway
brake hard-lines: Classic Tube
rear driveshaft: with the SOA, I needed custom shafts anyway, so I had a local drivetrain place make them
Obviously my tops are not factory, but I'm still not sure if I really want a factory hard half-cab, nor do I want a factory full soft-top. What I DO want is a custom soft half-cab that will fit over the front cage.
Mine will never rust either, and I was able to get everything but the grill in FG.
I figure you built this thing to be a long term project, and possibly a daily driver type vehicle that your wife could drive if she needed to.
I started it in 2007, and first drove it in 2011. As with any Jeep, I still have things to do! It's just a matter of time and money.
It's only an occasional nice-day daily-driver; perhaps throughout the summer. It's also a back-up as necessary. I don't expect my wife to drive it unless it's an absolute emergency, or we're wheeling. She's driven it a couple times, but until I get the EFI dialed in, I'm nervous about her putting in too much timing via the throttle and not noticing the pinging. I've had to learn a feathering technique with the throttle. I'm seriously considering going back to a conventional 4-pin HEI with vacuum advance.
I have some suggestions;
Do a shackle reversal on the front, which will help the vehicle go down the road strait. Long shackles on the front of a Jeep tend to flex around too much and make driving the thing a constant chore. MORE Offroad sells a bolt on reversal kit so you wouldn't have to weld on your Galvied frame. Night and day difference in the way it will drive.
Nope. Considered and rejected that a long time ago. I could have ordered the frame with shackle-reversal for a minimal extra charge. There are two-schools of thought, and I am in the other camp. I like that when the spring compresses, the tire is forced forward, into the obstacle. Granted, that did cause a bent spring, but my custom shackles should prevent that from happening again. I've also seen shackle reversals have driveshaft problems due to the need for a long-slip shaft. I didn't want to mess with it. Right now, it rides nicer than a ZJ, and goes perfectly straight down the road. I'm a happy man. If I want to stiffen-up the front end for street driving (which I don't, at least for now), then I'll put on a sway-bar.
Put some 37's on it for the summer and put studs in the 35's so you can drive it in the winter. I know most guys run studs in the winter up there anyway, so you need two sets of tires.
I'm actually thinking 38"s or 40"s, if they'll clear. I need to borrow a set from somebody in my club for a weekend and see how they fit.
I don't plan on driving it much in the winter, and I doubt my 35"s have enough tread left to get studs. All mud tires make crappy winter tires; that's just a fact of life. I ran 33" BFGs when I was in school and living on the east coast, as well as these 35"s, when it was a daily-driver, including after I moved back home. I know they suck, which is why I didn't really drive it at all last winter: I didn't want to be learning about my new suspension and wheelbase in the winter with sucky tires.
Growing up and driving my '85 7, I actually had a traction-permit (for being a poor high school kid), and ran studs year round. I picked up a set of studs for that 7 when I had to press it back into daily-driver service a couple years ago, but then decided to retrieve my mom's Subaru as gas prices spiked. We were always a family that believed in studs, and I still do. My Subaru has two sets of rims/tires, and so does my wife's ZJ.
For the Scrambler, I'm not going to do any winter daily-driving, so I'm not worried about it. When it comes out, it'll be on a nice low-traffic day, or for a winter wheelin' trip.
Also if you eventually install some kind of selectable lockers in it, it won't be squirrelly in slippery or offcamber road conditions. When drivng with the diffs open the unpowered wheel tends to hold the vehicle from sliding sideways, and you still have the option of locking one or both when you need it which is really only about .5% of the time anyway.
Detroit locked diffs are just plain scary to drive in the soup and are downright dangerous when it is icy.
I learned how to drive when I was 12 in my '85 CJ-7, that my dad bought new and put a Detroit Locker in it at 10,000 miles. That became my Jeep when I turned 16, and given that I still have it, it occasionally is pressed back into daily-driver service (such as this last month while my Suby is down getting a different engine). Yes, I was a dumb 16-year old high school kid in Alaska commuting 10 miles each way to high school in a CJ-7 with a Detroit. When I got the '84 during college (which turned into my 8), I immediately got an '86 Dana 44 and ordered up a Detroit. I know how they handle and am completely comfortable with them, even in icy-winter conditions, and even with the front axle engaged. If/when the front axle gives up, I'll either rebuild it with a selectable or replace it with a Dana 60 and a selectable, but that may not happen for 10 years or more. It's not a priority. I like the dependability of the Detroit.
My wife, however, does not like the Detroit, but it isn't her Jeep. For her ZJ, she wants selectable lockers. I don't feel like spending the money on a 30/35 for ARBs. If/when the 35 dies, and if I've got the money, we may look into a Pro-Rock with a selectable. In the meantime, her ZJ has an XD9000i.
Finally,,, Jerry is a pretty good guy to deal with on the hardtops, and since he is the only outfit producing Scrambler hardtops, that is a good thing. He could just as easily hold the line, and charge whatever he wanted. He wouldn't sell as many but I think his helpful attitude speaks volumns about his business. Great guy to deal with and anyone looking for a hardtop would be well advised to talk to him.
He was great to work with! But he doesn't actually build them. He's just the west-coast distributor. The manufacturer is actually Xtreme Tops:
http://www.xtremetops.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=21
My top was drop-shipped from their facility. I'd still be happy to order through Jerry.
I was lucky in that he is located about 120 miles from my house so I took my tub there on my trailer and they kind of mounted it for the drive home. I will redo the mounting when I install mine which is still a ways off. It is currently hanging from the roof of my Garage.
In closing I gotta tell you,,,
"You done good!" 
Randy
Thanks!
Scrambler in existence 
that needs a ton of work that we get to watch and someone else on here may possibly get to own someday and that you can now better document through your awesome new phone!*whew*
(I really want a bacon headbang icon for times like this....)
