Project Cheap Crawler

[Kittrell]

But the real questions are. Will it be yelllow, and it this officially "Heep III"?

 

[YELLAHEEP]

Well, 12 hours of scraping, vacuuming, sanding and painting, and 8 rattle cans later........... the cage and floor look a whole lot better dontcha think?

Total project cost to date: $70

 

[jrsxj98]

But the real questions are. Will it be yelllow, and it this officially "Heep III"?

Yes do tell....since you so good and that cage scraping and painting I will bring mine over next week....

 

[dfreeman616]

if you're just going to chop those doors, and know someone who is going from colorado to michigan and back (or the opposite) soon, i'll trade you my somewhat beat up doors

 

[YELLAHEEP]

But the real questions are. Will it be yelllow, and it this officially "Heep III"?

Not anytime soon anyway. My intention isn't to replace Heep II, but to build this one a bit and see where it goes from there - kind of a personal challenge to see how far I can get it built for as little money as possible. My target is $2500 to $3000...... realistic? We'll see. If I like the way it comes together, then yeah, maybe I might replace the other one. Problem is, this one will be a metal shell inside, no dash, HVAC, carpet, etc so it'll be noisy, cold for Moab mornings..... may not get the wife to "appreciate" it if ya dig what I'm sayin' and she enjoys 'wheeling. She's gotta be happy with the rig too, or I don't get to spend the $$$ ya know?

Any of you ever read those articles in the mags about cheap projects? There's been several "Project Cheap Jeep" articles done. Remember Hot Rod Magazine's "Caddy Hack"? That was hilarious! Since this jeep was bought cheap, I just thought I'd keep with the theme.

IF I ever paint it, I have something much different than yellow in mind for it...... Plus, I'd have to swap in a 5 speed 'cuz autos suck.



Think I could get TNT Bob to "sponsor" me and hook me up with a lift and bumper set? I'm sure he's just dyin' to give his stuff away.....

 

[Jump This]

Ya know you don't get more than one week between updates......don't you?
Soooooo....

 

[YELLAHEEP]

Not much to update - it's sitting in a lot under a tarp

I'm going to look at a '94 S-10 Blazer later this week as a drivetrain donor. Guy only wants $250 for it, so it doesn't seem (at this point) that I could go wrong there.

 

[Jump This]

A '94 S-10 with a five speed??

 

[YELLAHEEP]

A '94 S-10 with a five speed??

I wish..... I loved that setup in my previous '84. Nope, this one appears to have the L460E - and it slips. May look into the non-computer controlled 700R4 as a replacement - if it's compatible. Haven't gotten to the research involving the electrics. Dunno if the main PCM needs the trans PCM or if it'll operate independantly. Just picked it up last night..... pics to follow.

 

[YELLAHEEP]

Here it is, the drivetrain donor. Turned out to be a '92, but still has the multi-port Vortec. Runs fantastic, trans slips a little. Has the HD t-case. Even has a cold air intake kit.

Project cost to date = $320

Anyone know someone that needs S-10 parts?

 

[xj-grin]

LOL. I just saw you have the carcass for sale on Craigslist....

Is that the one off Colorado4x4? Looks sweet.

 

[YELLAHEEP]

LOL. I just saw you have the carcass for sale on Craigslist....

Is that the one off Colorado4x4? Looks sweet.

Yup, same one. Figured I'd try to re-coup some expense by sellin' off some parts before it's scrapped.

 

[planefixer]

IF I ever paint it, I have something much different than yellow in mind for it

Want me to camo it for you??

 

[YELLAHEEP]

Want me to camo it for you??

The S-10? Sure! Come awn out this weekend!

 

[YELLAHEEP]

Last weekend, I finished parting out the S-10 donor for the project. Big thanks to DJ for 2 afternoons worth of help! :thumbup: Pulling the drivetrain was a much bigger PITA than I figured it'd be.

Here's the powerplant:

I kept the wiring harness, computer, radiator... pretty much everything that connected to the engine and trans. Pulled the trans pan and there's no doubt the clutches are toast, but no metal shavings or brass so it should be a good candidate for a rebuild - IF I don't end up going with a 700R4. The T-case isn't the HD version like I'd expected, but I found one a while back so I'll use that one.

I forgot to take a pic of the carcass, but I was able to sell $75 worth of parts off of it. I also kept a few other parts to sell on E-bay. Surprisingly, I got $100 for it for scrap at the crusher! So, my $250 purchase has only cost me $75 for all the drivetrain items.

After dropping off the carcass, I decided to wander the yard and found another surprise.....

Seats for the project! They're out of a '00 - ish Subaru Impreza RS and in great shape. Seemed like I was meant to find 'em because they were already unbolted and just loose in the car. They have an SRS Airbag logo on the shoulders so I'm assuming that means "Side Restraint System"? Maybe I'm going to have to strip the covers off and remove the 'bags - just to be on the safe side. Cost = $53

I'm hoping to drag the project home this week and get the drivetrain mounts fabbed up and get it sitting in the XJ so I don't have to keep tripping over it on the trailer. Same with the seats.

Project cost to date = $205

 

[Kittrell]

I'd sell the tranny for parts, you should be able to find a good working 700R4 easily enough. I think there are two more vortec setups on the local board right now.

 

[YELLAHEEP]

Hauled it home this week to get the drivetrain installed and the seats.

So..... exactly how does one get an XJ into the garage up the long steep driveway when it doesn't run and no one around to help push?

You borrow a friend's multi-mount winch, a marine battery - Thanks Terry! - and chain it to a 4x6 across the back door of the garage! (Nope, no buck teeth, no mullet.... last I looked anyway...)

I failed miserably at fabbing my own engine mounts. That was a huge waste of a day so I'll be saving up for some of Advance Adapter's nifty ones. They get $175 for them, and new motor mounts will cost another $25..... Dayum, that's nearly what I've got into this rig! . I have the engine hanging by chain from the shock posts..... :shocked: but at least it's under the hood and not on my trailer. Yeah, that's a spray paint cap plugging the throttle body - perfect fit to keep the crap outta the engine.

Then it was on to the seats. It was going to be interesting enough having to fab up mounts with the cage tubing all along the floor and that cross piece over the tunnel, but I soon realized that the seat tracks were WAY wide to fit on the driver's side because of the trans / t-case tunnel. I thought about getting some XJ seat brackets and trying to mount the seats to those, but XJ seat brackets and tracks aren't known for being sturdy or holding up well. In order to get the driver's seat to fit, I had to remove the cross piece of tube and notch the trans hump. Yeah, I can hear so many of you gasping about the clearance issue this creates for the T-case, but believe it or not, with the S-10 drivetrain, the T-case is just out of the way - the AA engine mount brackets will move the drivetrain forward just enough to clear.

Here's the notch filler I made.

Here's the seat bracketry all fabbed up and welded in and the notch finished.

And here's the seats installed.

Once I can get the engine brackets for it, I'll modify the factory trans crossmember to hold that end in place...... and then I imagine it'll sit for a long while.... I still need to fix my other rig! :doh:

 

[creeperjeep]

those seats rawk, nice winching setup :thumbsup:

 

[A Satria]

those seats rawk, nice winching setup :thumbsup:

A very nice built-up.
I really like the engine.... (plus it's a VORTEC)
What is the HP and torque on the engine...

more picture/s please....

 

[YELLAHEEP]

A very nice built-up.
I really like the engine.... (plus it's a VORTEC)
What is the HP and torque on the engine...

more picture/s please....

HP = 195
TQ = 260

I'll post more pics when I get the engine mount brackets.