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The "It came home in buckets" build - a frame-off on an '81

Finally! My engine guy is done with the exhaust and fine tuning the engine. Been awhile since I dropped it off but he had a death in his family, got sick, Thanksgiving holiday, etc..... Anyway, this is the 3rd engine he's done for me and I wouldn't have it any other way.

I head up (about a 1.5 hour drive north of here) to pick it up Saturday morning. Pics to come of the exhaust and will try to do a sound clip.

Now I will focus on the small things like the fog lights, 8274 restore, get it re-geared, etc...
 
not much done due to the Holiday and a 7 week old but did get to work on the front end some. Plans this week are to finish up the Warn 8274 re-fresh and get it mounted.

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Got the winch installed with the NICE new sticker from Joe West. All works well. drained and re-filled the oil and gave it a good cleaning. I contemplated painting it but I like the worn look. I can always go back and paint later if I want. I do need to replace the top main cables due to the insulation being old and cracked.

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Looks great! I did the same to my winch, cleaned it up and put one of Joe's new Jeep SE stickers on it but did not make it look new. I like the "used" look.
 
Things have been slow lately on the 8. Between a sick baby, selling my LJ, starting the build on my JKUR, some work on the Vette - the 8 has been on the side.

I have the floor shifter installed and started taking it around the neighborhood for shake-down runs. All of the sudden my transmission is making a weird noise. Going to pull the inspection plate hopefully this weekend to see if a bolt backed out and is scraping it. I also have a noise from the driver's rear that I cannot duplicate on jack stands. Hoping it's just a brake adjustment that needs to be made. After that I hope to get it inspected (last year it will need it here in NC) and get a tag for it. Then it is on to the little things such as the wood side rails, getting the bed cover installed, etc...
 
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Still no progress on the transmission due to work, baby, weather, etc... but I was able to back it out and give it a good wash to get all the dust off it last weekend.

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Thanks! What I am so happy with is that it is all original metal. The only rust was two fist-sized holes under Jeep on each side. The '76 CJ7 I did prior to this ended up with more new than old.
 
one small update - ordered a full set of '81 graphics from Phoenix. I debated on just doing the Scrambler on the hood but decided to pay homage to the '81 Hockey stick look. I absolutely suck at putting decals on anything so I may reach out to my painter and have him do it. I mean, he does it everyday with his main job (Nascar paint and body guy) so if anyone can do it right it is him.

Just need to ensure I get the right specs for install.
 
Very nice, and I agree on letting the pro install them. It's something that's only going to happen once so relegate yourself to helper status and enjoy.
 
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Scrambler looks great - anxious to see the 'after' pics with the graphics!

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Graphics are in! Still may be a few weeks before I get them on - still messing with a pesky 727 transmission

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Where can I find measurements for these for install?
 
Got a few hours in on the Scrambler yesterday.

The auto tranny cooling lines were hitting my exhaust and were interfering with my floor mounted shifter. Got those re-routed but still need to fill the trans back up (also installed a new pan). My daughter wasn't feeling that great this weekend but did smile when she helped me on the trans. ;)

Mounted the original side boards. They are not in great shape at all but I sanded them down and stained them. Not sure if I will keep them on but at least they are there. I could have built new ones but even with the damage to them I liked the worn look.

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