'Da Chief : 5.3 Gen V / 6L80 Swap

[rang-a-stang]

Note the peeling paint. Is this normal? It's all surface rust.. and the paint is just flacking off. Literally bare metal underneath. The powerwasher will likely take the loose paint off. I plan to clean the firewall and POR the rust spots.

Mine was similar. Here is what I logged about my firewall.

Firewall:
...I am not sure what the dude was doing at the factory painting on the passenger side but the paint was put down frothy. it came off super easy. I also noticed there was no primer on the firewall, but there was primer on the side of the cab but no paint. Not sure what AMC was doing when they painted this rig...and applied rust nuetralizer to the areas that had some rust (sides, and behind the heater box/fan)...

[cu4whln]

In Today's News . . .

Well, the BEST part of a 40 year old vehicle that leaks fluids everywhere? Cleaning it !! SAID NO MAN EVER !

And here we go . . . Started in the garage a couple of days ago. Note, I put down thick paper to catch all the crap coming off the various areas...

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2 cans of foaming Gunk engine degreaser, and a TON of elbow grease.... Along with 2 rolls of shop towels later.. The initial de-gunking is started.

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Next up - today, pushed the Jeep to edge of the garage.. and used ZEP degreaser from Lowes.. Wow ! This stuff really works. I used a wash cloth and soaked everything down, then went back and washed each area. Worked pretty darn well. The trans crossmember? The worst part I have EVER cleaned. So much gunk stuck to it. Cleaned it so well, I got down to the red primer!

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Washed everything.. let each area soak.. and kept at it. My hands hurt!

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Post cleaning and rinsing off.. Repeat and do it again. Grease be gone @

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Well, have a couple of hours of daylight, so might as well start the POR prep process.
Many folks skip the Metal Prep process, and then complain the POR doesn't last. Do not skip this step!
You have to wet down the rusty areas for 15 to 30 minutes. Got to keep it wet with a spray bottle the whole time. Keep in mind, this stuff BURNS. Don't ask how I know.... wear gloves.

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This is the prep eating away and neutralizing the rust.. THEN the POR can be put on. And yes, you actually WANT it rusty.. the POR sticks better over rust.
After the 30 minutes, you rinse everything thoroughly with water.

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Pushed the Jeep back into the garage.. no brakes, no e-Brake, no steering.. What could possibly go wrong?? At least there's no hill on my drive. Oops, yes there is...[Hmm, don't ask ]
Anyway, Letting it dry overnight, then the POR can be painted on. Note the white chalky appearance of the rust areas.. that's what it should look like after the metal prep. Looking forward to that mess. Top coat after that with some chassis black.

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Actually learned something about the Jeep today - The cleaning exposed the lift kit mfg .. BJs Off Road.

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[cu4whln]

The Thread Has Been Pulled . . .

I was just going to concentrate on the engine swap, but you know how THAT goes!

Decided to tear down the front and take it to get blasted and powder coated. Of course, getting the rubber attached with stapels off was a LOT of fun.. and then there was the weld nut that let loose.
It is a bit more money right now for blast/coating, but figure it's apart, lets do this.

Also the heater core was finished and picked up today. The radiator shop guy asked, What did this come out of? Don't see many full brass cores these days.

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Loaded up fender inners and GOR for transport tomorrow... breaking the "Lock Down" rules here in Michigan !

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[cu4whln]

POR Day ...

And then I figured, some time left today, I have all the paint drop paper taped down.. Let's do POR ! Woot ! [ Sarcasm intended ]

POR is messy stuff.. it seems to get everywhere. Not real clear in the pic, but I put down paper to catch the drips...Tried to stay clean.. sort of, not really.

I only applied it where there was rust showing. plan to paint the whole underhood a satin black as this comes together. Also did the bottom of the floorpans as they have some surface rust. Figured I was already in this deep, Why not?

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Ultimately, all this clean up will let the REAL fun begin.
Working on installing the engine and getting to all the details of the adaptation.
AND - I wont be a grease monkey every time I touch something.

[cu4whln]

Next Steo . . .

So POR dried overnight. After another "Groundhog Day" of working from home... It's Jeep time!

Today, I scuffed up the POR with some elbow grease and 150 sandpaper in order to lay on some high tech top coat.
That's right folks.. spray cans! Semi Gloss is pretty good for the frame, so I decided to do the complete underhood in black.

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. . . And here we go.

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Done. Now to let it dry and pull tape/masking off. All this to slow any surface rust down until some paint work in the future.
POR/topcoated the bottom of the front floorpans as well.

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Pushed it back into the garage. FINALLY ready to start the engine install / mock up. No more greasy mess.

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[bigwalton]

Oh yeah!!!

[bkilby]

Looking good James. It's nice to have a clean slate to work with. Is that engine going to be sitting between the rails by this weekend?

[J76137]

Dude! That looks good!

[cu4whln]

Looking good James. It's nice to have a clean slate to work with. Is that engine going to be sitting between the rails by this weekend?

James? Who is this James you speak of? Well BRADLEY ?

[cu4whln]

Dude! That looks good!

Thank you !

It's been a very messy trip to get to this point.

[bkilby]

James? Who is this James you speak of? Well BRADLEY ?

Fine! Nice work Jimmy!

[GWNashville]

da Chief

It's really looking good. I have all the painting stuff I need but I still use cans on firewall. Hold your head up high.

[cu4whln]

It's really looking good. I have all the painting stuff I need but I still use cans on firewall. Hold your head up high.

Thanks !

Starting to get things BACK together.. reinstalling wiring grommets, reassemble the heater box, touch up the paint... Little stuff that needs prep before test fitting the engine.

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Today the PWM fan arrived. It's a 2017 Camaro unit. It will be controlled by the engine controller based on cooling needs. So it's a infinitely variable speed fan.

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I Lined it up with the new radiator.. and started to modify it to fit. The wife walked by and said.. " Didn't you just get that a half hour ago? And you're cutting it up already? "

Anyway, I cut the tabs that stuck out to the side as a start.. then laid it on the rad. It fits very well! It actually sits in the opening with the small lip.
I am very happy, this was a "guess" and this was not a cheap fan.

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The rad and fan cost over $900. Expensive experiment if it wouldn't work. Whew! Thankfully, it's going to work out.
I am going to have to make some mounting provisions, but have those planned out in my head...
Those should be straight forward. Minor tweaking needed by the 2 outlets.

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Question.. I would like to put a thin foam between the fan and the radiator for isolation / protection. What kind of foam can take that kind of heat from a radiator?
Thoughts?

[bkilby]

Question.. I would like to put a thin foam between the fan and the radiator for isolation / protection. What kind of foam can take that kind of heat from a radiator? Thoughts?

Some quick reading on a Corvette forum, they recommended this guy. Maybe worth a call? http://www.docrebuild.com/dr-r-web/RAD-SEAL.HTML

[cu4whln]

Some quick reading on a Corvette forum, they recommended this guy. Maybe worth a call? http://www.docrebuild.com/dr-r-web/RAD-SEAL.HTML

Thanks Brad - I checked that out.. looks like the stuff could work. Will call him next week.

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Round Two today:

Testing the Bolt On "LS" Novak mounts for my "LT" Gen 5 engine. Remember, I bought some adaptor plates are supposed to locate a Gen 5 engine in the LS location. We'll see !
Remember this from before -

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Got the engine mounts attached to the frame. I've put a few pics together for ref for those who wonder about the details...
First up.. the mounting holes in the frame.
Novak provides new bolts/hardware. These are all existing holes btw.

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Where the holes are in ref to the shock mount.. pass side.

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The pass side mount bolted up and in place ...

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Details on the underside of the mount...

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Driver and pass mounts installed.... Note, I only painted the back of the mounts for now...

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Picked up the engine hoist... test trial of engine install in the next week I suspect.