GOLIATH-XJ

so, not much progress today, as I had to leave the shop early today.
I just disconnected the transmission from the engine, and transfer case from the transmission. Also stripped the engine from all the components like an alternator, intake, all the brackets, etc. I will need all that for the new engine, I'm picking up Monday from Titan Engines in Ocala, FL.
I also need to take out the whole drivetrain from the red donor jeep that I have. Oh how I hate doing this... lol

I'm getting ready to start prepping the jeep for paint as well. Since apparently there isn't any place near me where I could rent the spray booth, I will have to improvise and do it in the shop. I'm just hoping that my homemade spray booth is going to be good enough.
I will also need to figure something out about the heat. It's kind of cold outside and in the shop, and that's not good for painting the car...

GOLIATH-XJ

Sorry for the big pictures...
Today was a productive day! Weekends are for project cars haha
I decided that I am going to do all the cutting that needs to be done, before the new paint.
I would not like to cut on my new paint job.
My plan was to do the hood vents, front fenders, rear cut and fold and both holes in the floor. Of course, I only got the hood, front fenders and one rust hole done... I'm going to do the rest tomorrow

So first, I started with my hood vents. I decided that I don't want any eBay metal hood louvers, or anything of that sort. I knew that I had some ZJ 5.9 hood vents somewhere from my previous Jeep ZJ build. So, I found them and did some measurements.






When I got everything situated, I started drilling the holes. I got them pretty straight somehow lol
Then I cut the openings for the air, so the vents will be actually functional.







I tried the vents, and they fit perfect. Nice and snug.
I must say, they will look mean with the jeep all assembled

GOLIATH-XJ

As I mentioned above, I also cut the front fenders today.
I had to cut them, to fit a high clearance bumper, that will go on the jeep, once it's done.
I don't like to just simply cut the straight line and leave it like that.
Instead, I did some more cutting and I folded the rest of the fender, so it created nice, crisp edge, instead of the sharp end.
I didn't finish it yet, just because the fender is kind of flexy right now. I will tack weld the "ears" to the fender when I get the fender flares installed. I don't want to have the gap between the flare and fender, because I welded the ears too early.

GOLIATH-XJ

Now to the rusty hole...
So as you probably already know, I had two rusty holes in my floor.
I only had time to do one of them today.
First I cut everything, with rust, away with the grinder, then traced it to the big sheet of metal that I got when I purchased the red donor jeep. The previous owner bought it to fix the floors and never used it, so he gave it to me. Score lol
* Knife to show the size of the hole.










Since the floor in this place is a little bit angled up, I had to match the shape of the patch to the shape of the floor. That wasn't too bad. Then I started welding. It actually went pretty good. Welds are not pretty on the thin sheet metal though...
After the welds cooled down, I seam sealed the heck out of it, and now should be good haha.
I will seam seal the bottom part of the patch as well, but first I want to weld the frame stiffeners.

Finished patch:

Ralph77

This was probably one of my favorite things done to my '00. I stole the idea from somebody else that did it to their Jeep. I was not having any heat soak issues but just liked the look so much I had to do it. My '00 had surface rust issues on the hood and roof. Had my body guy take care of it and seemed that if it were going to happen then this would be the time to do it.

GOLIATH-XJ

Yeah, I think that looks pretty good too.
Not a fan of fabricated hood louvers.

GOLIATH-XJ

I haven't posted in a few days... We have quite a busy time at the shop right now.
At least, I got something done during this time.

So the Jeep is pretty much stripped, and ready to start the prep work for the paint. I actually found the guy who worked at the hot rod shop as a professional painter, and he will paint the jeep for me. One thing less to do for me. Just have to tow the jeep two hours one way.







I also have a little bit of small work to do, before the paint job, such as cutting the fender for my new Napier fender flares, and cut and fold on the rear quarter panel. Already started on the cut and fold, but talked today with my buddy who did this a long time ago, and I'm actually going to cut all the metal that was supposed to be "folded" away and just weld new sheet metal to the bottom. It looks way cleaner and smoother than regular cut and fold.






Picked up the new heart for the TANK yesterday from Titan Engines in Ocala, FL. Now I have completely rebuild engine with the warranty. Pretty stoked about that. Also, it already came painted, so I will just throw the accessories and put it back in.

GOLIATH-XJ

I haven't been posting here for a long time... I was busy with school and all that. I did some stuff to the TANK but not much.

I finished the rear "cut and fold", which was more like "cut everything away and replace it with the new sheet metal". It came out really clean. Much cleaner than normal cut and fold.
The passenger side was very easy. Just cut everything away and replaced it with the rectangular shaped patch. I welded it from the outside and some on the inside as well.
The driver side, however, was a pain in a butt...
There is a filler neck cover that is on the way and sticks out lower than everything else...
I had to grind it flush with the rest of the stuff. Then I made a very big patch, which took me a one whole day to make it perfect. I got it and it fits snug in there. Welded everything from the outside and inside.
After everything cooled down I hit both patches with a brush on seam sealer, to prevent any rust or leaks. It looks good. I'm happy with the result.

GOLIATH-XJ

I also hammered the front pinch seam. I'm trying to make as much room, for them big tires, as possible without cutting the jeep in half lol
Well... there is nothing really to explain here. Just cut, hammer down and seam sealer on top, to keep it nice. Did both sides the same way.
in the front fender wells, there is a part that sticks out a lot. It's the place where the factory air box was placed. I cut the triangle in it and replaced it with the sheet metal. I don't expect the tire to go higher than that, so no need to cut anything more than that. Welded everything nicely and seam sealed. It should do the trick.

GOLIATH-XJ

My Napier V2 pocket fender flares came in.
I had to do all the cutting and welding on the body before the new paint, so I jumped on it and installed all four. Well, just cut the fenders and drilled the holes lol
I think they will look sick when the jeep is done and assembled.
Also, the quality of these flares is awesome. Super stout and strong. Very happy with the purchase. And the shipping was very fast too.

* This kit is made to fit "only" 97 and up models. For some reason, Napier has the cut and fold version only for 97+ Cherokees. Well, I made them fit and they look good, so...

GOLIATH-XJ

I went a picked up a Jeep Dana 300 transfer case for the TANK. I figured it would be a better option than np231 when running big tires.
I'm going to put a twin stick on it, and possibly 4:1 gears.







The Dana 300 came with brand new in box twin stick shifter, all new hardware, gaskets and brand new flip ring for AW4, so I can adapt it to my jeep. The price was right because I paid basically the price of the transfer case and the rest was free. Couldn't resist...







My new tires came in as well. I ordered the 12.5" wide, they sent 13.5" wide. I guess I can live with it lol
They are pretty big. They seem bigger than my previous 37"nittos.
The price was right this time as well. I paid $260 each tire, so $1040 for a set of 37". Not bad.







Also, a kit from Lugnut 4x4 to convert my rear dana 60 to disc brakes. Them drums are huge and heavy.
I was actually surprised by the quality of this kit. Everything is nice, the calipers are even zink coated, so I don't have to paint them.
Everything is nice and beefy.

unidentifiedbomb

Awesome! Looking forward to the next couple updates. I also am planning on cutting the front hump out of the wheel well under the air box/battery.

Scott91370

I wish the PO of my jeep would have taken a little more time when trimming the fenders. They're rough to say the least!

RockinRonnie

Wow getting all excited and not even my jeep!

GOLIATH-XJ

Do it. It's a pretty easy mod. I just cut away the hump and traced the outside shape to the new sheet metal. Cut it out and it fits perfectly.
The passenger side I started cutting at 6:30 pm and had it all welded in place by 6:50 pm. Took me 20 minutes lol
I don't know if you stock battery plate will fit with that though...
Also, when you so it, try to measure, that you don't cut too much on the driver side. If you cut too much your computer won't bolt back in.