It's all looking clean and nice.
Tailgate, latches and cables looks great.
Tailgate, latches and cables looks great.
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Update
It’s been a while since our last post, but we've been making small improvements here and there.
The old girl still wasn't running great so I dropped her off at Auto Care USA at Fry Rd and Westheimer Pkwy. Perry and his team have one of best auto shops in West Houston. It’s hard to find an honest mechanic and these guys are good.
Auto Care USA rejetted the back barrels on the Holley carb and then adjusted the timing. Since Perry’s team had performed the initial work on the CJ7, he didn’t want to charge me anything. After a brief debate, we agreed on $30.
Since the last post, we've installed some aftermarket goodies. She was missing a glove box and that's been remedied. I had to remove the earth-quake handle on the passenger side to install the glove box. While we had the passenger handle removed, it was sanded and repainted.
The old girl was also missing a rearview mirror so that's been fixed.
Even though we just installed new Bestop seats, I saw a pair of Jeep seat covers at O'Reilly’s and I couldn’t help myself. The covers will protect the new seats and the material makes the seats cooler on your back side.
One of my favorite add-on’s is a set of shifter knobs I found on Amazon made by Sickspeed. The knobs feel like an 8-ball from a pool table and are engraved with the correct shift patterns.
When we acquired the Jeep it came with a center console and large rear storage box made by Tuffy Security Products, which are lockable. Both boxes were removed, sanded, and painted, and have now been reinstalled.
The center console has a single DIN slot for a stereo receiver that can be locked to discourage theft. I found a reasonably priced JVC receiver with Bluetooth at Best Buy, which we installed in the center console. There’s no CD player, but all of our kids have their music on their phones so this should work well.
While I was at Best Buy, I asked the lead car audio installer about speakers. He recommended several options, but all of the speakers were designed for flush mounting and would require the purchase of some type of box. I asked about the indoor/outdoor patio speakers they have available. The Best Buy rep admittedly told me that patio speakers would not work, but he couldn’t tell me why. I pressed the issue and never received a reasonable response.
So I ignored his advice and picked up a set of Yamaha indoor/outdoor speakers in black. I’m happy report that they sound great. The speakers came with mounting brackets and bolts topped with plastic wing-nuts.
To make the speakers a little harder to steal, I swapped the wing-nuts bolts for some stainless hex bolts from Home Depot. We installed the speaker brackets to the Tuffy storage box with more stainless hardware...bolts, washers, and lock-nuts.
The speakers sit at a 45 degree angle resting on the floor and against the Tuffy storage box…they’re rock solid. All of the wiring has been enclosed with plastic conduit and it looks fairly clean.
We also installed a universal car antenna. Its flexible and should be good when we're driving through brush.
We drove the old girl a lot this weekend. I’m surprised how quickly my 15 year old son has learned to drive a manual. Strangely enough, I believe the manual transmission forces him to be more cognizant of his driving. It seems he is more focused and aware of his surroundings…which ain’t a bad thing.Attached FilesComment
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To kinda answer your question about the speakers, to the best of my knowledge, is that it comes down to the ohms. Most home speakers are 8 ohm and car stereos are designed best for under 4 ohms. The home speakers should work, but your system may run hotter and not have quite the sound clarity. If you think it sounds ok, I'd go with it.
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I have a 79 CJ7 as well that I did Raptor lining on myself. I got the tinted variety and am glad I did as the black absorbs too much heat. I also went with water proof boat speakers as it tends to rain every time you take the top off.
Nice project.Comment
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Sorry I missed so much! Have fond memories of my old '79 CJ7Comment
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It’s been a while since our last update, but we've been steadily making progress with the old CJ7. Over the long weekend we replaced the old fender flares that were sun bleached and cracked. While I had the old flares removed, I also painted the frame and inner wheel wells with Rustoleum Rust Reformer.
On a side note, I've been very happy with the Rustoleum Rust Reformer. It lays down nicely and I like the flat black. My only complaint is that a single spray can doesn't last long enough.
In addition, we purchased a Hi-Lift jack and the Daystar isolator to keep the handle in place when the jack is mounted. The CJ7 came with a set of Hi-Lift mounts that received a healthy dose of Rust Reformer and they turned out great.
The Jeep also came with a large Tuffy security box in the rear. In a previous post, we had removed, sanded, and painted the Tuffy box. We also replaced the gas shocks for the lid of the Tuffy box and new shocks had far too much lifting power.
We balanced this new lifting power by mounting the Hi-Lift jack on top of the Tuffy box. We used stainless hardware, plus rubber washers between the jack mounts and the lid of the Tuffy box. Now the shocks are lifting an appropriate amount of weight.
The BFG Mud Terrains that came on the old girl were pretty good condition…except for the spare. The spare was sun baked and dry rotted, which is a shame since it had never been used. Discount Tire matched the best price I could find online for 33-inch BFG Mud Terrains and now we have a new spare.
The final improvement has been the subject of an ongoing debate with my youngest son, who could potentially be the primary driver of the CJ7. Like most 15 year old boys, he pretty much knows everything and insisted that a bikini top would be fine for all conditions. He did not agree with Dad's opinion that a full top with the side and rear windows removed (Safari style) would be much more practical and look equally cool. But he who pays the bill has the final decision.
So we installed a Bestop Supertop in Black Denim that came with a new frame and rail system. The directions could have been better, but the quality of the product is very good. Not shown in the photos are the tinted (yes…tinted) side and rear windows. My son and I are both very happy with the look.
Please hold the jokes about the used car lot in front of our house. I’m sure my neighbors love having a white-collar redneck on their street.
Now we have to decide on paint, which is the other ongoing debate in our house and for some reason involves the entire family. What color should it be? Should we use traditional automotive paint or maybe bedliner? I’m kind of leaning towards Eastwood’s Elasti-Wrap…and painting it myself in our garage. My wife loves this idea…NOT!Attached FilesComment
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Just followed your entire thread, had no idea you had done this much to it after seeing it today! Wow, like I mentioned what a fun hobby and the history of the CJ being your buddies makes it that much sweeter! Swing by with her sometime your out on a neighborhood spin.
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Looking great!Comment
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great looking jeep, sirComment
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This weekend we added some Smittybilt rock sliders with side steps. The sliders came coated with bedliner and match the inner tub nicely.
The step bit I purchased at the start of this CJ refresh has seen a lot of use and has held up well.
We've had good luck with Smittybilt products and these were no exception. The rock sliders were not too expensive and I was surprised by the heavy steel construction. Even the stainless hardware seems to be good quality.Attached FilesComment
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looking good
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Funny story...DBLHKUP stopped by this weekend during the rock slider installation. Our daughters are best friends.
With a little help from the dads and brother, the girls set up a double-wide slip-n-slide in the front yard and cover it with dish soap.
DBLHKUP and I oversaw this activity from lawn chairs in the garage with the shop fan on high. This obviously required a couple of frosty adult beverages.
Just about the time the slip-in-side was in full gear, a realtor pulled up at the house next door, which is for sale. She and her team were equipped with several "Open House" signs.
Nothing kills the curb appeal of a house that's for sale like a couple of rednecks drinking beer while their kids play on a slip-n-slide in the front yard!Comment
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LOL perfect timing!!
Great thread, Jeep is looking awesome.Comment
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Honker...LOL, you nailed it!! Great times Saturday, enjoyed the visit, watching our girls "engineer those tarps and finally slip-n-slide" brought back many memories, good stuff! Man, you've done amazing things with your CJ, fun project, she sounds good too!!Originally posted by Honker View PostComment
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Originally posted by Honker View Post
Did the instructions have you run a bead of silicone between the rock sliders and the tub?
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