Family Jeepster Build

What about a gm column? I know that's popular in the cruiser world
That is what I am currently looking into. Well a GM aftermarket tilt column. They can be had for about $180 without the ignition on there. The problem comes with the wheel. Aftermarket wheels are mostly chrome, same with the columns. I just want something basic that looks like it should be in a 1969 Jeepster.

I did pick up my tires today. Super pumped to have 5 35x12.50 KM2s sitting in my garage. I still need to find one wheel so that all 5 will match. Then I can mount them up and put them on the rig.

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LBarr2002

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Could you use a column out of an older XJ or something like that? Pre air bag the look would be close to what you're after.

What wheels are you going to use?
 
I am actually looking at one out of a Yj and a TJ, but they have so much plastic crap that the hot rod style GM columns appeal to me. The other problem is that anything I find would have to be rebuilt and by the time I do that I might as well buy aftermarket. I am sick of doing builds with junkyard parts just to end up spending more money refreshing or replacing the part down the road.
 
A column fell into my lap yesterday that may work. Unfortunately I am heading out of town today and will be gone for a week so I can't even check it for fit. I will be spending all of next week in a cold chamber at -40°C! Needless to say I am not looking forward to it since I live in the south and my idea of a heavy coat is a wind breaker. Hopefully this testing goes well so my work life can get back to normal.
 
Well after a cold week in a chamber doing vehicle testing I was able to fly back and get some hours in this weekend.

I had to make some more dash modifications to fit my new steering column. I was originally going to use a GM hot rod column, but stumbled across an incredible deal on an older jeep cherokee tilt column. This column gives me the buttons for the horn, turn signals, wipers, wiper pump, high beams, hazards, and it also gives me the option of cruise control. Hopefully I can get the other parts for cruise control. It would be a nice feature.

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Of course it will need to be freshened up and I am going to remove the key switch. I don't know why but I want a dash switch.

I think it fits well with the instrument cluster, and will look great once the wheel is wrapped in fresh leather.

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I had to enlarge the notch for the column but I managed to work it out and keep an 1/8" gap all around. It will be filled with some foam tape to prevent crap from getting in between and keep it from rattling.

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This allowed me to prototype the steering shaft. I now need to find one long enough. I had to stretch this one 12" to get it to fit, but it clears the motor mount by 1/2" so I am happy.

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I also had to move the "foot" of the column, but my picture is really fuzzy. I had to move it up the column approximately 4 inches and change the angle to match the firewall. I extended the stock steering column mount down to mount to this column. After fitting it all in, I wish I would have raised the column another half inch in the dash. It doesn't sound like much, but it would have made my life a little easier as I enter and exit the vehicle. Of course it takes a lot of fabrication to get to where you can test it and at that point I decided to just keep going with where it was.

Also if anyone has a line on any of the 14 spoke grand wagoneer wheels I am hunting 2 but would by all 4. Someone decided that they wanted one of mine for scrap metal so I am down to three.
 
Got the fuel tank mounted. Slide a 1990 tank in with the factory YJ skid. I will also use the factory YJ in tank fuel pump and sending unit. This should simplify things and keep me from burning through so many external pumps. Now I am hunting a radiator because the one I bought is not going to work. I need 22-24" across, 18-19" tall, passenger inlet driver outlet and I have no desire to use an aluminum aftermarket unit unless I am backed against a wall. I don't like the mounting of the aluminum radiators or hooking fans to them.
 
Pretty good night tonight. I got my high lift mounts installed. The location is a little weird, but my other options were on the tire carrier and on the hood. Both of which i am not a fan of due to it being in the weather. It is now mounted on the back of my cage and should fit inside the top.

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Too mount it i machined two mounts that fit into the holes on the lift. They are flat spotted to match and sit just below the surface so i clamp the Jack tight.


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These are tapped to use a bike seat post quick release to hold the Jack in place.

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No. You wouldn't think it but a factory TJ radiator is pretty big. I don't have the height to fit one. I am limited on height by my steering box. This keeps me at about 19" for max height.
 
Dean pulled on out for me and went an wrangled me 3 more rims from a junkyard. That leaves me with enough for my tires and a spare rim for when I smack a rock to hard and crack something.

The to do list for this weekend is long, but I am really ready to get started. I can see the light at the end of my fabrication tunnel. The rust repairs are almost complete. I just don't update that much here because it looks like rust in one picture and new metal in the next. I tried to hit the junkyard at lunch today to grab another round of parts to refurbish, but they crushed all the wranglers. I guess I will have to keep my eyes open.
 
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All the seats are fully mounted. Driver and passenger have seat belts. Shifter and parking brake are in. Other than that today was spent welding and grinding. Rust repair sucks. I have a lot of stuff tacked in that is getting welded up.



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Thanks, I haven't stalled out. I have actually been over at the shop a lot lately. My wife has been very supportive and is getting me as much time in the shop as she can. I go home and play with the kids, help with dinner, and then after they head to bed I head to the shop. This makes for late nights, but I want to be ready for paint and powder coating. UPS and FedEx have been visiting a lot lately with small parts. I have been trying to work my way around the body checking off items on my list. The driver's side tub is wrapped up except for riveting on the rear fenders and the rivets will be here tomorrow. The rear axle is 90%. I am waiting on the axle side shock mounts to come in so I can weld it up and get started on brake lines. The parking brake is in. I want shorter cables, but I haven't found the right length yet. The cage is almost finished. I just need to add the rear seat belt mounts, two body braces, and the map lights. The hood is wrapped up and ready to strip and paint. There isn't a lot of pictures. I could flood this with pictures, but seriously it is all very tedious and not really picture worthy.

Coming soon:
Get the passenger side of the tub to the same state as the drivers
Coilovers
Radiator
Steering
Drive shafts
weld and grind, weld and grind, weld and grind. So many seams to weld.
Rivets. lots of Rivets. It should be interesting since I have never successfully installed a solid rivet and I now need to do approximately 200 with no failures.
 
Looking good, rivets are not so bad. Did plenty in airframe school. Helps to have a helper.
From what I see they aren't bad. I bought the install tools to use in my air gun. I just hope I can turn it down enough. I will do a few test pieces before I start the real install. Both rear fenders are ready to be riveted to the body. Rivets come in today. I can't even explain how great it feels to be ready to permanently install these fenders. How tight do I need to have the panels before tightening the rivet? Is tighter better?

Last night I was able to get the passenger side caught back up with the drivers side. Lots of little work left to do from a fabrication standpoint, but I can see the light at the end of the fabrication tunnel. Then comes the rest of the work.
 
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