Grant Performance GT Steering Wheel

In preparation of my interior cage and custom dash, I recently purchased this steering wheel from Grant. I took a while to pick one out. I wanted a "D" style wheel with a top marker to know where the wheels are. I also wanted it removable because soon with the installation of the interior cage it will be difficult getting in and out. So this is what I bought.


Grant's Performance GT 13.75" Wheel.


Removable hub. Ready to be welded on to new steering shaft.


Top marker stitched in faux leather.


"This Top Marker D-Shaped wheel features our combination of Diamond Vinyl/Smooth Vinyl Grip for a "Sure Grip"" feel." [from their website]

Jeepers and Creepers Throttle Body- Follow Up

Well after a considerable down time with my Cherokee, I've completed all that I needed to and the beast runs again. I have so many new/repaired items I need to pay attention to, one of which is the Jeepers and Creepers 62mm Throttle Body. I installed this quite a while ago but have yet to have good results with it. Mainly due to poor sensors and other electrical demons.(MSD 6al BOX) Both of which confused the hell out of me. None-the-less everything is working fine now. The TB is producing good results. The throttle has become ever increasingly sensitive. There is a whistle of sorts, but only at a certain point. It's not bad. It's hard for me to pinpoint specific improvements because I have recently installed the Mustang 19lb. injectors as well. I would expect some of the "spunky-ness" came from those.

Pros:
-Looks good. Great finish and machining.
-Slightly improves throttle response.
-People that care about their product answer the phone.

Cons:
-I guess the only con would be expecting "rumored" HP gains from this product. I didn't so I wasn't let down.

All said, I believe this product is a great addition to my setup. I appreciate good craftsmanship and performance. As a result I will continue to run this throttle body.

Corbeau Seat-Final Repair

I finished repairing my driver's seat. After fixing the bent frame and installing the new side bolster, I needed to close everything up and re-install it.

Instead of using the original style clips, I opted for cable ties. I think they'll hold.



Broken.

Repaired. You can really see the difference side by side.

Traction Bar-New Heim Joints

I decided to install chromoly heims on my traction bar. There's enough stress on this to begin with so I decided to beef it up. So off to Gardendale Performance I went and $90 later I had three 3/4" heims.

Sticker Pack #1

I'm beginning to install some stickers on the rig. Not the cheesy kind you get with your lift kit. Custom designs printed on vinyl. I still have another set I want to design to fill in the gaps.

Corbeau Seat-Replacement Foam Side Bolster

This piece came in on Friday. It's slotted down the middle so it just slides over the metal frame. I took the seat frame to ORC and had it repaired. So now it's off to Eastern Glass and Trim, where I had the vinyl windows done. They're going to clip everything together (that I unclipped) because I don't have the time or patience for that.

Driveshaft U-joint-Repair

In my quest to get my Cherokee running within the next two weeks, I ran across this little beauty that needs changed out. I used my spare, so I guess it's time to get another.



The needle bearings were spilling out of one cap and the other was dry as a bone. In addition both trunnions were damaged.

The replacement Spicer 5-785x or forged 1310 series joint.

Fuel Line, Filter, and Fittings

Because I took the intake out in cleaned it up I decided not to use the factory fuel line and fittings. It just didn't look right. Actually I didn't even consider it. So I ordered some annodized fittings and stainless fuel line. I also picked up a matching filter that will sit on the inside of the frame rail. Eventually I will remove the submerged pump and relocate it on the frame rail as well.

Stock EFI fitting going to the fuel pump. I'm going to have a good time getting this one off.

Once I get that one off I'll replace it with one like this from Russell. This picture is of the fuel rail. So from end to end including the fuel filter, I'll need 4 hose ends and 2 push on EFI fittings.



The filer from Edelbrock. Looks good. It's about 5" long. It will fit well on the inside of the frame rail.



The intake has been installed as well as the fuel rail and new 19lb. injectors. I ran 3/8" stainless braided line to the rail.

Master Disconnect-Final Wiring Install

I finished the wiring on the master dc. The batteries are now grounded through the master switch. It won't shut down the motor while it's running, there's too many other grounds in the wiring harness that satisfy the connection. But it will help when the Jeep sits a while and I can turn it off. I can't claim it as a theft deterrent as it sits in the open.

Spooling out the 1/0ga. I needed about 8ft.

Nifty little crimper I picked up at the local welding shop. You smack the top with a sledge.

This is what happens.

I picked up some 24 carat gold plated terminals. Mainly because they have posts on them. It makes it easier to connect things like master disconnect grounds to them.

Corbeau Seat-Repair

Recently I've noticed my driver's seat has been reclined too far. Except that it won't let me bring it forward anymore. So I came to the conclusion that the seat needed to be removed and inspected.

The lower yellow line is where the inside tubing should be. The upper line shows how bent the tubing is.

Take the seat out and apart. It's too hard to manage the whole seat on the work bench.

The green squares are the clips that need to be removed. The purple arrow shows the bent frame.

Cut the upholstery clips.

Side bolster is shredded. Which was to be expected. So I ordered a new one from Corbeau.

Damaged tubing. I will have to straighten this out and reinforce it.


The foan bolster arrives late this week. I will install and post up with pictures.

Gibson Headers-VHT Clear Coat

I couldn't leave the headers raw. The minute anything (including your fingerprints)touches it, it leaves a stain. So the solution seemed obvious. Go to my local auto parts store and purchase some VHT Clear Coat. This paint claims to withstand temperatures up to 2000 degrees.



The instructions were detailed and lengthy. It involved baking it for the following times:
250 degrees/30 min.
Cool/30 min.
400 degrees/30 min.
Cool/30 min.
600 degrees/30 min.
Cool/30 min.



1st coat light
Wait 10 min.
2nd coat light
Wait 10 min.
3rd coat medium wet coat









I guess the true test will be after a run it for a while, bring it back, spray it off, and if it shines or not. I'm curious of the durability of the clear coat as well. Will it chip, crack or spot? Only time will tell. One thing for sure it looks better than it did.

Gibson Headers-Sandblasted

I ran these through the blaster at ORC today. Another step to further inspect the welds before I re-install it. Everything looks good. They're stainless steel but do not have a ceramic coating or nickle plating so it's safe to sandblast. I don't think clear coat would hold up to the temperature so it's safe to say they won't stay clean long. None the less they're clean, repaired and ready to install.

Intake-Sandblasting & Modification

After a quarter-million miles it was time to remove the intake and clean it up. I wanted to sandblast the outside and remove the carbon and fuel deposits from the inside. So off it came.


Fuel deposits in one of the runners.

Freshly sandblasted. Now I wanted to remove the hose attachments that I wasn't using. Basically all of them that you see. I'm only using the threaded bung on the left. I thought I would just fill them with JB Weld but that didn't work. So I decided to drop it off at Pinson Truck and have Blake drill out the metal inserts and weld the holes shut. Keep in mind this is cast aluminum.

The end of the runner where the fuel is injected was pretty dirty. Not anymore.

Welded up nicely. Hard to tell they were there. I sprayed the entire intake with clear coat.

Where the top two inserts were.

Clean hardware. Original washers, new bolts.

Fuel rail blasted and painted.

Fuel rail hardware. Too clean!








I'm pretty happy with the look of this. I'm sure the results will be noticeable. One thing to remember is 19lb. injectors will be installed. Thank God for sandblasters.