MWMahoneyJr

Job Update: I snagged a freelance Camera Operator position with a local video production company. It's just a couple gigs a month right now, so I also drive Uber Eats and receive Unemployment compensation from Ohio.

Personal Update: I have enrolled full-time at Cleveland State University's new Film School. Classes start in August. I'm going in this afternoon to take my English placement test.

I have always felt "held back" professionally by my lack of a degree. With luck and networking I keep snagging a professional-level Marketing or Writing job for some automotive-related company. But I can't get anyone to take me seriously in any other industry. I can't even apply for most Writer or Editor jobs without a "degree in a related field."

Well, now I'm going after the degree in a related field; Filmmaking.

JEEP UPDATE: Fixed fuel filler neck. Installed passenger side axle shaft, knuckle, hub, brakes, shock. Bought cotter pins at the local autoparts store.

Need to: install driver side brakes, install the cotter pins I bought, bolt on the front wheels. Then use my Aveo to jump start this ***** and cruise!
(Side note: I replaced the drum brake shoes on the back of my Aveo yesterday. I was leaving to go to the store and I heard this horrible CLUNK! from the passenger rear wheel when backing out of my driveway. I put it back in Drive to pull back in the driveway and the wheel locked up. I gave it more gas and managed to pull back into the driveway, the right rear tire dragging and squeeling the whole way. Anyways, I pulled the drum, and the brake shoes fell apart. The braking surface had come apart from the rest of the brake shoe. Like, the adhesive had worn out.

Whatever. My daughter and I took a bike ride to the autoparts store and bought new brake shoes. Then I watched some Youtube videos about drum brakes and replaced the shoes. No problem. I'll do the driver side this weekend. Maybe make a how-to video.

Then: oil change. Flush/fill coolant. New used front tires from one of the local places (4 TIRES INSTALLED $125!!!) Yes, they'll be **** used tires, but they won't be dry rotted and cracked like the ones on there now. And I cannot afford anything else. I probably should buy diapers instead of tires...we have diapers, but you get my point. This Jeep is supposed to be a fun project/hobby for me (and it is) but I have very limited finances and the Jeep is very low on the priorities list.

So, things are moving forward, just much more frugally now. And more slowly.

Talk to y'all soon.

4BangerDanger

Good luck with your degree. I have a B.A. in Film myself, but unfortunately I am not working in my field due to lack of video jobs in my area. I don't imagine that will be a problem around Cleveland however.

Following this build has been an inspiration for me. I just picked up a '90 XJ for $300 in similar shape like what you started with. Your build gives me hope that I can bring it back from the dead!

MWMahoneyJr

4BangerDanger

Thanks! The 4 banger has been a great Jeep for me to learn on and get my feet wet. Yessir, the new rig is a '90 4.0/AW4. There will be a build thread on it after I finish up a few other projects first.

MWMahoneyJr

[left]I just caught up on your build thread, and I see that you’ve shown us the new rig. Thanks. Well, we got a photo of it. Maybe give us a tour? Show us the rust spots?
(Good idea. I’m going to give us a tour of my XJ in its current state.)

MWMahoneyJr

I got the front seats outta this S.O.B. today. For the driver seat I had to cut both the bolts on the left side. For the passenger side I had to cut the right rear bolt.



Here's as much carpet I could pull w/o pulling the seats.


This front left bolt is threaded into a nut in this crossmember. I don't have access to the backside to cut the nut. So I'll have to cut off the top of the bolt and deal with the rest of the stud and nut later.



Here I've started cutting through this sucker. I end up cutting some more, then I put a chisel on it and give it a whack w/ my BFH. The whole crossmember crunches and rains rust down upon the floor. Hmm. So I yank up on the seat to see if I can just rip the bolt through the floor, Hulk style. No dice. The floor seems to lift up with the seat.


Yikes! I seem to have ripped the crossmember open. I now have access to the backside of this bolt. I'm already cutting the front of the bolt off. Back to it...


Finish cutting that sucker flush.


Another solid whack to break the union.



Done.

MWMahoneyJr

So I made a patch for my rusty, holey gas door.

I hate it. I pictured it looking cool, like a real gas door made out of a license plate. It looks like I screwed a license plate to the gas door (which is exactly what I did.)

Basslicks

lol... some mods you win, some you lose, man.

MWMahoneyJr

MWMahoneyJr

So back in September 2017 I was just getting into seeing what's what on this rig as far as rust goes.

I'm back in the hatch, wire brushing rust by hand (because I'm scared of sparks back there with this whole exposed gas tank thing. But the whole underside of the tank is exposed to all the elements all the time, so maybe I'm being overly cautious.) and the smaller tube just snaps right off.





So I remove the rusty bastard and see about ordering a new one. The hose clamps weren't working with me, so I just cut the fuel tube.

ME FROM SIX MONTHS AGO: "I'll just replace the tube AND the fuel filler hoses, because I'm made of money. Right? I have a full time job, right?"
(This was before I called my boss out for being a crude, unprofessional bully. He smashes things when angry, and called me *** and twinkletoes. I called a meeting with H.R. to discuss the situation, and suddenly I'm disrespecting his authority, and I'm let go.")


So I look for a new gas fill tube online, I see it is available. But, DAMN, I cut the rubber fuel line so now it wouldn't even be long enough to reach the fuel fill neck. So now I have to buy a fill neck AND the fuel lines. Go to hell. I'm unemployed, so I'm reusing all this crap.



Random piece of steel pipe laying around. Fence post?



Yes, we're looking at $10 in hose clamps for this repair. I used a piece of random pipe I found in the garage, plus a li'l piece of 1/2" copper for the small tube.
​​​​​

MWMahoneyJr

Ruined Brake Shoes. Whatever the hell they use as adhesive wore out, allowing the brake shoes (pictured here, inside the drum) to come apart from their mount and get jammed inside the drum, locking my rear tire.



Reference photo, pre-disassembled 2015 Chevy Aveo Rear Passenger Brake System. <br/>(photo courtesy: Me, because I took it)

MWMahoneyJr

Carpet gone!



Driver side. Basically from the crossmember forward is ruined. Also rusted halfway up the inner door jamb edge. Passenger side is the same.

MWMahoneyJr

Damn jerk XJ. I pulled the lower door trim off and there is rust going halfway up the lower door jamb. Of course I need to cut it out, but that feels like “structure.”



Driver Side: floor board is missing and rust goes halfway up the door jamb.



Passenger Side: Rust goes halfway up the door jamb.



Passenger Side: There’s rust all along the bottom edge of the body , where it meets up with the floor pan. The two panels seem to be separated the whole way down.

MWMahoneyJr

So I had been using a pair of vice-grips to help hold up the rear hatch.
Now the stud snapped and the hatch came crashing down. Yikes!



Broken hatch lift strut mounting stud.

MWMahoneyJr

Floors cut, driver side. Lots of cleanup to do.