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OK, Frank 2 is coming along nicely. Still got some more to-do's on the list: another 1" rear lift, put the interior back together, wire up the lights, and a few other odds & ends. But here she is so far:
Moto, interior is still gutted, but it will come together soon. I'll click some pics of the camping box/cabinet thing, it came out pretty slick, and has served my kidlette well through many road trips in Frank 1.
I just did the heavy mechanical stuff, my daughter did all the artistry. She's become quite good at cleaning, sanding, masking and painting. I don't have the patience for that fine detail, luckily she does and it shows in the gnarliness of her latest ride!
Moto, interior is still gutted, but it will come together soon. I'll click some pics of the camping box/cabinet thing, it came out pretty slick, and has served my kidlette well through many road trips in Frank 1.
So Frank II is about done, just a bit more interior work to do. The kid and I took it on a road trip up to the cabin this weekend. On the way up we stopped by Reiter Pit to stretch it's legs on some rough stuff (not too rough, don't want to break it yet!). Did great. Then we woke up to snow at the cabin, so we got to try it out on some slick snowy roads, great again.
Then we had another fun little test on the way home. Near the summit we decided to try to explore a side road. Part way into it we came across a family in a minivan hopelessly stuck in a snow drift. There was a Honda Pilot roped onto the front of the minivan, slipping and sliding around trying to pull it out. No dice, the minivan wasn't budging. So ... of course we offered to give it a go, strapped on, and easily plucked the minivan out of the drift and drug it through the snow to the end of the road. Right now my daughter's feeling pretty good about all the effort and money she's put into this beast!
Looks amazing and I heard about the snow not far from home plus my wife told me it snowed near home today! I know it did not stick but kids were happy to see the white stuff. Looks like you guys had a great time.
Yeah, that's been the greatest thing about this project, time spent in the shop wrenching with my kid helping her build her dream car. She's so cute, every time she parks it somewhere and walks away she just can't help but glance back at it a couple times. She's had several compliments on it so far, and she just lights up knowing she didn't just write a check, she BUILT it exactly how she wanted it. I know from my Mustang restoration days that that gratification won't go away as long as she owns this Jeep (which she says will be forever).
I also know there's a whole list of further upgrades and custom touches we could do to this beast if we had more time. I look forward to her future visits home for some more wrenching time in the shop with her as we continue to improve Frank II.
OK, she's DONE! At least until my daughter's next visit home when we do more upgrades. We finished up the interior, including new headliner, stereo, lights, bed & cabinet etc. Soon she'll be taking Frank II on a road trip south for another winter as a ski bum. I'll miss working with her on this beast ... but now I'm searching for an XJ to build for myself!
10-26-2017, 12:13 PM
