The building of the Chief thread

[Arizonaxj]

Well,
As I said earlier, I was going to try to start documenting and passing along things that I learn as I do this build and share it with you folks.
With that being said; here are few pics of what we got completed this weekend.
Basically we:
Finally got the gauge cluster wired up and installed and working properly.
Slapped on some 38s for mocking things up.
Removed the front fenders in preparation for the pending cage work.
Installed the front 2 seats on OEM brackets. These will be remounted to the cage when done.

There are a few other things that I have taken care of but didn't bother to document them digitally.
Those would be:
Replaced old deteriorating fuel line.
Replaced engine oil dipstick and tube (if you need one of these, I now know TWO places that have them).
Eliminated about 75 feet of un-needed wiring.
Traced out the wiring for tail lights.
Cleaned up the wiring under the hood.
R&R the diaphragm

Well, don't be bashful, tell me what you think. Open to any and all suggestions.

Jim

[misfittom138]

Good start! :thumbsup: I will be following this build.

[jaber]

As will I. I cant wait to see what you do on the cage....

Nice work so far.

[scannman70]

As soon as I saw the top cut off I figured Arizona.. Very nice so far, how did you reinforce the sides after removing the top?:thumbsup:

[Arizonaxj]

Well, I haven't made a whole lot of progress lately. I have removed a lot of "junk" wiring and stuff.
The other day it decided to 1/2 way start and "kicked" back 1/2 way though a compression stroke as I left off of the key....bent TWO push rods...1 on number 7 and 1 on number 8...good times! Funny thing is that they're bent so closely a like that I couldn't do it by hand if I had to!

We did get a chance to take it out the other day for a "feeler" run. Didn't do any seriousl stuff. Just played in some soft dirt washes and notches.
I was suprised that the QT and stock alxle gears did as well as they did.
I have been concerned about the gearing since i want to run 36"-40" tires....I'm thinking perhaps a Dana 20 or 300 Transfer case swap....then that would leave me with having to get an adapter to go between either of them and the current Turbo 400 tranny. A t-case swap I think would be best since axle gears alone would really effect my ability to drive it on the road any (not that this is going to be a daily driver). With that idea being tossed out there, anyone got any adapters and or Dana 20 / 300 transfer case for sale???

I'll be TDY 1/2 way around the world for the next couple of weeks or so...that will obviously slow things down a lot. When I return, I want to knock out the cage work.....hopefully my new set of bender dies will be in by then. I was hoping that the UPS guy would show up Thursday or Friday this week but, he didn't.

If any of you have any ideas, throw them out here.....I have not fully locked onto any one specific idea. Everything is fluid at this time.

I'll be checking and post when I get back from accross the big pond.

Jim

[Arizonaxj]

It's a PITB to post pictures to so many websites soooo, follow the link below to see what I have been up to. Yes, you'll need to go through the whole thread to see all the pictures.


Far from done but gaining ground daily...........almost!




http://www.virtualjeepclub.com/showthread.php?t=36848