I apologize for not keeping you updated, but I have not been spending much time posting things on the computer lately-not just on forums but not on Facebook or anything. Busy with the family, house projects, and, of course, my Jeep (and I would much rather spend time working on it, driving it, bringing it to shows, and racing it then writing about it). But a lot has been going on since I last posted.
Over the summer, I won a bunch of trophies at local car shows, and have done several appearance changes. Then, at the end of August, I took the car to my friends shop to install an Edelbrock Top End kit (Vortec aluminum heads, Air Gap intake manifold, Performer RPM roller cam with retrofit kit, double timing chain, new Melling oil pump, deep sump Moroso oil pan, an Edelbrock aluminum water pump, and a complete MSD ignition set up, with a new distributor and a 6ALN box. I also had to replace the 3/8 braided fuel line because it breaks down with the additives in modern pump gas, so we installed 1/2 inch stainless steel fuel line. When we removed the fenders to make access easier, I wanted to repair rust on the inside of the fender but was advised it would be less expensive to just get new fenders. When we removed the heater hoses, we discovered that the heater core was rusty so we pulled the dash apart to install a new Vintage air compact heater. When my Bobby, owner of the shop Gardner Specialty Auto, saw the tangled mess of wires I had under the dash, he was not pleased. If you recall, I wired the entire Jeep when I built it. And while I was proud that everything worked, and all of the visible wires were fairly neat, I did get a bit sloppy where the wires were hidden. It always bothered me, but I was too lazy to redo it all. But now, Bobby told me that 'there is no way your Jeep is leaving my shop like that. One of us is going to fix it, so take your choice'. So under his close supervision, I began the painstaking task of redoing it all. And he taught me the right way to do it! I was able to save over 10 pounds by cutting down wires, eliminating wires I did not need, and making my grounds shorter. Then I rewired the entire rear section, while Bobby rewired my engine compartment.
The paint is another story. He does not like getting involved painting cars, since it is very time consuming and not profitable. But he agreed to paint my fenders and redo the hood, which was now white with a black scoop. The paint was yellowing, and as to my original rat-rod motif, I was not very careful when I masked. Overspray was abundant. As a goof, I had put a bunch of stickers on the sides, for that race car look, and he teased me about it. SO, I pulled them off, and the paint came off with them. So, he kind of got sucked into painting the whole car. But he got me back, making me do all of the tedious sanding and prep. (He even made me repaint the frame.) The blue paint was left over from his race car (Bobby does stock car racing in Riverhead, Long Island)
Meanwhile, when we were working on the engine, we discovered that the motor was not what I thought it was. No 4 bolt mains, no 030 over Manly pistons, no polished connecting rods, no steel crank no Crower cam, just a stock bottom end with a big no-name cam that sounded great. Now, I will have to do the bottom end this spring.
Performance wise, I checked 0 - 60 times with a G-Tech timer. Before the rebuild, it did it in 4.5 seconds. After, times were down to 3.8 seconds. It weighed 2908 before, and should be under 2800 pounds now (will check when he gets his scale back). But based on this, I should be in the mid 11's in the quater mile.
And last, but not least, Bobby built a new exhaust system. He used all stainless steel 2 1/2 inch tubing, along with electric cut-outs. Lots and lots of fun.
The way it was
The way it is now
MVI_7152openthenclosedexhaust.mp4 video by Lee3333 - Photobucket
This starts out with open exhaust, then I close it near the end. Windows were closed and the top was up, so you don't get the full sound impact. But when the top is down, there is a lot of wind noise.
Walkaround video by Lee3333 - Photobucket
