Rear shock mounts on the xj are friggin terrible, as you can see they hang down quite a bit- snagalicious. So got some new mounts and changed it up.
The old:
The new:
After selling off parts from Blackie to fund parts for the new rig funds have run very dry, so instead of buying real sway bar disconnects I opted for the custom TSC models. Two farm pins with an assortment washers and garden hose washers to keep things not only tight, but quiet as well. Very nice:
Got the cb and antenna mounted. I'm really happy with the antenna location and fit:
Decided to paint the Bushwackers body colour...well close to body colour. Went with some plastic primer. Got some spray bombs mixed up using the paint code....turned out lime green? Ended up taking a chip from my flaky hood and matching some Duplicolour truck & suv paint from Canadian Tire....cheaper than the autoparts mix and a way better match- we'll just say it looks better at night or covered in mud... I hate mud. Shot some clear on there too. Turned out not bad, although there's some runs and a bit of solvent popping.
Went ahead with trimming the fenders before mounting the flares. Front end went really well. We used a skill saw and an angle grinder. Sealed up the edges with seam sealer. The back end is a whole different story. Bushwackers instructs you to cut the qtr's past the pinch welds.... I'm no rocker surgeon, but that would cause the inner and outer sheet metal to separate.... me no likey. Instead we cut slots every 4-6" and hammered the steel up into the wheel well. It took some creative trimming, but everything fits well enough and I didn't have to break out the spray foam! Pretty happy with the results.
The rock rails I took off Blackie were powder coated.... don't get me wrong I'm sure on certain applications the stuff is great, but for anything that is going to get scratched or hit it's complete garbage. The stuff flakes off, rusts and can't be touched up easily. So I had opted to have the bars sand blasted and epoxy primed- this is an area where I opted to spend some money- not bad over all. I took lots of it off with chemical stripper, which sucked. The rest they blasted and primed for $100- really great job. Blast All in Almonte. For the next step I went all out and broke the bank with a couple cans of tremclad. Next time I mark up the bars it's just a quick wash, rattle and spray- beauty.
I think that's the end of my long winded tale for now. Here's a pic of the truck as of today, still never been flexxxed, but with any luck very soon:
..... good write up tho, except that you must have run with much wiener kids that i in school....cause none of us ever peed ourselves. :flipoff:
