Jeeponardo DaVinci

So I bought the gator liner and all the necessary painting supplies.

The paint shop that I bought the paint from is a heavy-duty industrial supplier. I got the DuPont Centari single stage acrylic enamel. It is an old school paint. I got it as a solid color, a bright olive color. I did not get a metal flake due to the problems with working with single stage paints with metal flakes. Any who, I also got the gator guard spray-on bed liner which I will use to do the inside of the tub.

While they were mixing my paint, a teenage boy and girl came in to buy paint for a scratch that occurred on a car. They had the color "silvery-blue." The girl said how much for a little can of paint and showed how large the can that she had in mind was with her hands. The paint lady then went on to explain how you have to mask off the other panels, scuff up that surrounding paint, fix the scratch with body filler, primer the area, then blend in the base coat, spray with clear coat, and then finally cut then buff. After the long speech from the paint lady the guy said "We will just take the can of paint." The girl asked if they had like a spray paint or something. The guy said he was just going to brush it in the scratch and doesn't need "all that other stuff." So no reducer, no hardener, no primer, clear, blahblahblah. Anyways the lady sold them the can and went and mixed the paint. They did complain that the quart of paint cost $68 and he asked if they had anything cheaper. Fortunately, my paint was done mixing and I was able to get out of there.

Did you ever read Goofus and Gallant in highlights magazine?

Well here is the picture of Gallant's paint spread:


Goofus is off in an alley huffing on his can of acrylic enamel since he only used a little to brush into a scratch.

Oh check this dude out:
How to paint your car yourself!

Fasten yer seatbelts!

So I was perusing the internet looking for seats and seat belts and I came upon this seller on ebay: www.carparts.com

The seats they were selling were so cheap it seemed like a scam! They were half price of the identical seats found at JC Whitney that I posted about earlier. I also found the same brand of seat belts there at a discounted price also.

Look at what I am talking about:
JC Whitney Seats
CarParts.com Seats

So I took a gamble. For all I know they were miniature display only seats. Anyways the CarParts.com seats came in a box marked "JCW" and had the same "Garage Pro" branding marks on it. Plus I found a free shipping coupon and paid no shipping. I basically got the seats "buy 1 get 1 free."

The seat belts I got are cool, they are non-retractable 3pt airplane-like, chrome buckles.

Note my grip on that hurst T-handle...I am probably shifting from first to 2nd gear.

Status

Alright, I have been busy with my job. I have not been too busy to actually work on the jeep, just to busy to let you know about what I have accomplished.

These are the tubing caps to give the nerf bars a "professional" appearance.

Here is a sem-completed nerf-bar.

Here is the paint gun i got for my birthday. I'm sure we'll hear more on this later.

New fender flares:

Gasket for the transmission shift housing.

The passenger side nerf bar.

Birthday

For my birthday I got tools! Apparently people want this thing done!

I got a tool for blogging, see the model below wearing the jeep blog apparel.

I got some totally intense drill bits. It was like 100$ for 29 of them. Let's just say they make it seem like I am machining a block of butter.

This will be used when I am working on the dash.

This will be used to polish the clear coat.

Nerf Bars

I am building some heavy-duty nerf bars for the Jeep. Currently the only thing between a nasty roll or T-bone (not the kind from a highway diner) is a thin sheet of fiberglass. So I am building some supports out of 2" sq 1/4" wall tubing and 3" sq 3/16" wall tubing. I am going to gator coat the outside of the 3" sq tubing, put endcaps on it, and then rivet some diamond plate onto it. Each will be attached to the jeep with 8 3/8” grade 8 bolts.

Fitting Stage.

Members to frame tied in.

Drilling out main bar.

The bit is just there for classic looks, the laser actually cuts the hole

Mounted

Mounted and torqued

Grade 8 bolts

The Chinese's Plan to Take over America

I have finally uncovered a conspiracy.

So the enemy has made their way and established a military encampment in Nogales. We keep pouring troops to the line in Green Valley having the I-19 freeway as our only source of transit to the front line.

I work in the chop shop, a welding shop for the local military holding down this battle. Most of the military-issued vehicles have already been lost so it is my job to re-enforce civilian vehicles to brave the battle. So in my shop I have this 1978 Jeep CJ 5 that I am adding some nerf bars to for strength, impact protection, and to mount rockets on. Anyways, I was cutting some 1/4" plate to make some tie-in points to the frame.

Here is the pile of steel that I started with:

Well here is a start for the rocket mount.

See?

In the middle of my fabrication, my cut-off saw shut down. I toggled the switch on and off several times. I plugged in a grinder to see if the saw had blown the relay. The Makita 4.5" grinder functioned perfectly. I then smelled the saw and it smelled like burnt plastic. I then went and got a beer and started pulling apart the handle. I found this inside:

The chop saw manufactured by Harbor Freight had a 15A switch in it! This saw definitely pulls more than 15A of current, since it used to blow my 15A circuit breaker before I put in the 20A breaker. Anyways the Harbor Freight 14" cut-off saw that I bought for $59.99 is practically an act of war on America. First of all, we give our money to the Harbor freight tool store. Their store drastically undercuts every American brand practically twisting your arm to buy their products. So the American buys the Harbor Fright tool over the American tool. Enemy 1, America 0. Now the American man fights his harbor freight tools not paying attention to the global issues or invading enemies. Enemy 2 America 0. Now finally when they invade we try to tool up the American man, but he only has harbor freight tools and cannot even build a gun mount for a jeep. Enemy 3 America 0. The enemy always wants our steel. You think they use harbor freight tools to build hotels in Hong Kong? No Way. I had a 4.5" harbor freight angle grinder catch fire in my hands. I left the smoldering grinder in my driveway and drove to home depot and bought a decent angle grinder. Makita, I think it is Japanese?

So here is the stopped saw:

My fix to this, no switch use the power strip as a switch.

WTF? 15A!

Put the switch in the trash.

The fix.

Taped the handle to prevent foreign objects entering the housing.

The nerf bars.

Me driving on my birthday.

AMC 304 V8 With Two Egg Intake

So I was in the area of my dad's ranch and was checking on the extra engine. See my Free04 V8 post.

Anyways a morning dove build a nest on the engine already. See the pictures below.

I now know this:

Environmentalists cannot move this engine since it in now a habitat for the bird and its two young.

The engine must have some kind of spirit or energy in it that the bird was attracted to as a place to raise its young.

One day this engine will be the source of many happy wheelies. If steel could tell stories...

Here is the nest.

Budget

	Initital Estimation	Mechanical	700.00
		Paint	300.00
		Tooling	500.00
		Total	1500.00
Parts:	1=need to add tax						tax:
	1.00	79.99	Battery				6.48
	1.00	6.99	air filter				0.57
	1.00	4.19	oil filter				0.34
	1.00	13.92	spark plugs				1.13
	1.00	55.11	electric fuel pump				4.46
	1.00	3.27	mechanical fuel pump plate				0.26
	1.00	9.99	clear fuel filter				0.81
	1.00	4.49	pre carb fuel filter with return line				0.36
	1.00	34.86	brass expansion plug kit				2.82
	1.00	14.99	fuel pressure guage				1.21
	1.00	24.99	fuel regulator				2.02
	1.00	35.99	water pump				2.92
	1.00	23.28	distributor cap				1.89
	1.00	10.92	rotor				0.88
	1.00	5.99	RTV blue				0.49
	1.00	8.99	water outlet				0.73
	1.00	13.99	valve cover gaskets				1.13
	0.00	42.11	spark plug wires				0.00
	1.00	7.74	3/8" fuel hose 6'				0.63
	1.00	4.99	thermostat				0.40
	1.00	1.49	water outlet gasket				0.12
	0.00	68.97	flex fan and spacer and shipping				0.00
	1.00	14.99	oil pan gasket				1.21
	1.00	7.74	7/32" vacuum hose 6ft				0.63
	1.00	6.49	ultra black RTV				0.53
	0.00	5.26	silicone hose 3/4"x1ft				0.00
	0.00	5.26	silicone hose 3/4"x1ft				0.00
	0.00	25.04	silicone hose 5/8"x5ft				0.00
	0.00	41.62	chrome valve covers				0.00
	0.00	25.90	oil dipstick				0.00
	0.00	139.98	flowmasters				0.00
	0.00	19.99	3" header collectors				0.00
	0.00	11.99	shipping for collectors and mufflers				0.00
	0.00	-5.40	battery core charge				0.00
	1.00	21.60	motor mounts				1.75
	1.00	2.49	hose clamps				0.20
	1.00	19.14	exhaut clamps				1.55
	1.00	2.99	copper washers for oil plug				0.24
	1.00	8.29	copper tubing for oil pressure gauge				0.67
	1.00	8.99	wire loom 3/4" x 10'				0.73
	1.00	4.99	wire loom 3/8" x 10'				0.40
	1.00	8.37	3/8" power steering return line x 3'				0.68
	1.00	8.99	water pump relief hose				0.73
	1.00	14.99	upper radiator hose				1.21
	1.00	5.99	power steering belt				0.49
	1.00	6.99	fan and alternator belt				0.57
	1.00	7.99	permatex anti-sieze				0.65
	1.00	4.19	oil filter				0.34
	1.00	29.99	coil				2.43
	0.00	17.29	oil pump kit				0.00
	0.00	2.15	oil pressure line compression sleeves				0.00
	1.00	1.44	washers to space fan and lock washers				0.12
	0.00	-85.00	sold seats and center console				0.00
	0.00	35.00	seat riser brackets				0.00
	0.00	0.00	304 v8 engine				0.00
	1.00	14.99	locking fuel cap				1.21
	1.00	8.99	viton o-ring kit				0.73
	1.00	2.87	petroleum jelly				0.23
	1.00	11.99	shift shaft seal				0.97
	1.00	2.99	hose clamp				0.24
	1.00	7.99	oil cap				0.65
	1.00	2.49	carburetor gasket				0.20
	1.00	18.99	accelerator cable				1.54
	0.00	-185.00	sold soft top and doors				0.00
	Total	789.28	Remaining	-89.28			50.55	WITH TAX=	839.83
Tools, cleaners and, safety gear:
	1.00	3.49	nitrile gloves				0.28
	1.00	6.99	tubing cutter				0.57
	1.00	12.99	tubing bender				1.05
	1.00	7.99	siphon				0.65
	1.00	298.88	air compressor				24.21
	1.00	1.99	welding extension chord supplies				0.16
	1.00	14.77	welding extension chord supplies				1.20
	1.00	8.99	welding extension chord supplies				0.73
	1.00	20.68	welding extension chord supplies				1.68
	1.00	0.94	welding extension chord supplies				0.08
	1.00	4.99	engine cleaner				0.40
	1.00	3.67	gloves				0.30
	1.00	2.98	rags				0.24
	1.00	26.80	dropcloth				2.17
	1.00	25.44	1 gallon MEK				2.06
	1.00	-50.00	sold old air compressor				-4.05
	1.00	17.62	respirator				1.43
	1.00	11.99	chemical gloves				0.97
	1.00	2.00	wire brushes				0.16
	1.00	2.79	paint brush				0.23
	1.00	4.79	chemical goggles				0.39
	1.00	3.49	nitrile gloves				0.28
	1.00	524.00	lincoln 140 HD mig welder				42.44
	1.00	1.34	screen				0.11
	1.00	3.96	dawn				0.32
	1.00	25.84	pump				2.09
	0.00	23.90	exhaust pipe expander				0.00
	1.00	9.99	100 nitrile gloves				0.81
	1.00	25.00	coveralls				2.03
	1.00	2.99	hand cleaner				0.24
	Total	1051.29	Remaining	-551.29			83.22	WITH TAX=	1134.51
Paint:
	1.00	12.08	engine enamel blue				0.98
	1.00	8.01	header paint flat black				0.65
	0.00	19.44	orange header paint				0.00
	1.00	5.49	scuff pad 400grit				0.44
	0.00	9.72	orange header paint				0.00
	0.00	6.53	gm blue engine paint				0.00
	1.00	3.77	1 can gloss black spray paint				0.31
	1.00	15.08	4 cans flat black spray paint				1.22
	0.00	9.43	Red rosin paper				0.00
							0.00
	Total	89.55	Remaining:	210.45			3.60	WITH TAX=	93.15
Total:
	Total to date:	1930.12	Remaining	-430.12			137.37	WITH TAX=	2067.49	without tools:	932.98
										jeep cost	1200.00
										TOTAL:	2132.98