El Presidente

Thanks! Yeah, that must have been me, apperantly I live right down the road from you. How are ya neighbor? Josh

Wait...Your trying to call a broken part, a re-engineered part. The physics of running a stripped drum on a stub shaft(and considering ok) doesn't lead to anything reliable or safe and is treading deep into the realm of stupidity. If your calling this done, buy some really good insurance and please don't mention the USMB when you take out a family from your wheel falling off. Seriously, what your doing is not a good idea. Josh

I appreciate your concerns and I hear where you coming from. I'm gonna do what I'm gonna do and if I have any problems I'll certainly post a story. Consider me a guinea pig:D Josh

Thanks! Yeah, in a roll over that hoop alone would do a whole lot for me up front. Its getting a full exo, with rock sliders and tube fenders, but I'm using grade b pipe instead of DOM. I'm familiar with DOM and its just not necessary for what I'm doing considering difference in strength and cost. Josh

Huh. I used to run doorless in my Jeep Cherokee(which is a unibody) and never had any problems and I beat the crap out of it. When I thought about going doorless I searched around on the forum and read about several people not having problems too. Its my understanding that the doors aren't part of the unibody structure just like most unibodys, but in terms of crash testing they are part of the structure. Basicly it willn't hurt anything...the unibody will flex around like it always does and it will flex back to where is (just like a framed rig), but in a crash I'd be in trouble. I already drove my rig for a few days around town with no doors and the doors reinstalled fine. As long as your not an idiot and you have a seatbelt on, going doorless in a unibody is fine, I've done it for years. Cops are more concerned with seatbelts, mudflaps, and fender flares. What area your in can make a huge difference though. Josh

Welcome to the USMB! Do you have any build threads of your cars?

Your rig is awesome:headbang: Good work!

So far so good. Theres been some heavy rains around here the last couple weeks and other than a couple expected leaks, it all stays dry, even without a gasket for the plexi. I've got some final welds on the roof and c pillar to finish up, then the entire exterior will get covered in bedliner to seal up the fresh metal. Now that the rear is almost done I'm getting a better idea what the rear seats and center console will be like. I'm also giving some thought to cutting about 12"(from the front of the front bumper) off the front of the car. The radiator will go in the hood and vent straight up, so I can put whatever grill/panel I want an inch or two away from the belt cover as long as it is removable for service and engine removal. I've already talked with a radiator shop for a customized radiator and got headlight buckets and turn signals planned out. Thinking of going with 7" sealed beams...I might convert them to halogens later, but the sealed beam design is familiar, simple and easy to work with. Josh

Got a flange welded in the opening and a piece of plexi cut to get it all sealed in. Started finishing up missing welds like on the rear quarter panels. I had to bird turd some beads up to fill some bad fitting work, but it is a wheeler, it is getting covered in bed liner, and it is strong. What the interior looks like right now

Been a while since I updated, but I've still been welding away. Got the bed boxed in Added a little support using some grade B sch.80 1 1/2" pipe

I had a very similiar experience recently and it turned out to be a bad inner cv joint(DOJ, near the tranny). When it would start shaking(only on the freeway) it felt like the wheel/tire was trying to do whatever it could to not be on the car anymore..it got my attention, especially when its a 30" mud terrain on a heavy steel toyota wheel. I'd check those inner joints Josh

Thanks again for the advice. My '93 EJ uses an OBD1 ECU, so scan tools are hard if not impossible to find and I haven't adapted the SSM port to connect to my PC yet. The reading in ohms, at normal operating temperture, at the sensor should be around 200-500 ohms right? Josh

Thanks for the info guys! Sounds like I need an OEM t-stat! I'm getting my readings from the stock ea82 cluster gauge without a resistor spliced in, so normal for me is at about 1/8" above the last cold line. It seems to work fine, starts at cold in the morning and moves up to it usual spot when going down the road. It doesn't seem like its overheating, but the needle is moving enough off its normal spot to let me know somethings going on and makes me feel uneasy using the heat. Josh

Swapped a 93' EJ22 into my 87 GL wagon last Feb., but ever since this last august its been getting on the warm side in +85* weather. Before august, I didn't have any issues. When I have turned the heat on to boost the cooling system, it gets warmer instead(the motor). The air coming out is still nice and toasty, same as always, but recently I've noticed it gets warmer in cooler weather too when the heat is on. Any Ideas? I've never encountered this.. Josh

Belt tension should be adjusted at the alternator. Once the belt is off all the pulleys, you should be able to work it past the fan, one blade at a time. It'll make sense when you get some light on it. Josh

I thought you were lifting an ea82 wagon, so disregard just about everything I said:-p. Looks awesome!!

Anybody got pics of this trip? Josh

yeah, shift linkage will work if you drop the bracket, but extending the linkage is a cleaner look. Mine is dropped 3" The brakelines I have I had made custom. Any hydraulics/industrial supply place should be able to do it. If they ask what its going on, tell them its a offroad only car. Legally they probably can't sell you the stainless braided stuff, because most isn't DOT approved, but its so much better than the DOT approved stuff and just as safe. Its just missing a stamp of approval and a price hike. You may not have enough slack by just cutting the bhrakeline holder. I know it works for 4" lifts, but when I lifted mine 6", it was too tight to work. I think the steering coupler will need about 4 1/2" extention. I used 3/4" sch.40 pipe. Your fan isn't going to work anymore too, so your gonna want to figure a plan for that. I used an 12" hayden pusher fan and control unit from orielly's for $100. A couple grounds will need to be extended too. Josh

I used my stock hoses. Its been a while, but I think the top one just gets rotated and the bottom on get hacked down to a little 90* bend. If you can afford it, now would be a good time to get some new extended brakelines. I went with stainless braided and it REALLY helps braking ability and makes running 30's a lot easier, they cost me $140. Do you have everything else figured out like a steering shaft extension, shift linkage and the extended pitch rod? For the ebrake, it might help to undo all the clips and loosen the clamps on the control arms, your gonna stretch'em on a 6' lift. Josh

I thought 1987 had the highest sales for the GL wagon line, thats why you see a lot on craigslist... To answer the OP Question, I'd take an 87-89 GL over a Loyale, mainly the 88-89 range. From what I've read the 87' GL's got stock engine and interior upgrades that were more refined in the 88-89's, but dropped on the Loyales. Josh

Make sure the washer is on correctly too, as i recall, the cupped side should go towards the cone washer, if its on backwards, the spindle nut will shear the cotter pin and back off. Josh

Thanks! The inside quarter panels are getting removable panels so I can access wiring. Thats what I'm doing next with the material I have. When the bed is done, it will look like a normal truck bed, just a lot smaller. With the new tailgate, it almost sits level, which means I'm still lighter than before the bobb. Next pay check I'm getting a piece of plexi! Josh

My rig is out:( I'm back to the old excuse "my wheeler is my daily driver right now". Gotta stop welding steel to my rig and get my car going soon..

Got some more done: The tailgate pins are welded to the tailgate, so if I pull the tailgate, the pins stay with it The start of my divider, this is the removable section: Gonna fill in the sides soon, weld on some mounting tabs, and get the top sealed up with a piece of plexi. Theres also a rain channel at the bottom of the divider to keep water out. It drains just in front of the gas tank.

Thanks! I pulled the carpet and all the interior plastic while I'm doing all my cutting/welding. When I'm done, the interior is going to be coated with bedliner top to bottom, complete with removable floor drains so I can hose out the floor after wheeling. Josh