Operation "Mulligan" (pic heavy)

[Frank]

Orange primer ? Never seen it. Gonna Bee awesome John FjR68

[Grey Warden]

Newb alert.....

I just wanted to raise my voice and tip my hat to you, sir. Mightily impressed!

[johnsxj]

Been plugging away at the Heep here and there at night (and sometimes between customers at the store )

Got the doors all mounted on their hinges then had the joy of swapping all the striker pins. No more belt loop killers for me the '97 up XJ's use the same striker as the TJ's.

Having the parts wagon on hand still, I was able to do some more cutting so that I could steal the mounting brackets for a factoryish job. The rears strikers were easy enough with my gutted interior to get the adjustable brackets in place and burnt on, the fronts on the other hand needed a different approach......



Three cuts with the cutting disc on each side makes for a handy access port and yes I welded them back up after I was done!

With the doors in place and actually adjusted to SEAL and have decent shut lines it was on to some fender work....



Managed to bang out both fenders to "good enough" spec which saved me from having to cut up a perfectly good brand new fender that came with the parts wagon. Using my squished fender as a guide because flat is easier to work with than curved I inverted it on one fender to scribe the lines where I had to cut. Then used the newly cut fender to mark the next fender for cutting and the pic above is the result.

Last night I made a quick dash to The Promised Land (Harbor Freight Tools) with coupin's in hand to snag a new big tarp and a few other things with the plan of being able to paint today on a rare day off. Sadly a few last minute, "won't take long to bang out" (yeah right that's what we always tell ourselves) conspired with some breezy weather (making me chase the "big top" a few too many times) to only get me to the point of having everything pretty much masked off before the sun set. Seeing as I don't feel like sanding insects out of the paint, I figured I'd call it a 11+ hour day and paint in the morning.

Here's how it was left an hour or so before I called it for the day...


And a pic of "John's Big Top One Ring Circus and Side Show"

[Frank]

That gentleman looks real happy. So are there any leaks to the rumors of the chosen color ????? Helava rebuild John . FjR68

[johnsxj]

It's going in "orange primer" Frank

This morning I finished masking, put up the siding tarps and plastic to cut the breeze down, blew the dust off and wiped it down with deglosser/wax+grease remover.

Within an hour or so I should FINALLY be laying down some color! Oil based enamels may take forever to dry but at least they're not as picky about hotter temps and higher humidity.

[Grey Warden]

I have a practical (and probably silly) question: if you rebuild a Jeep, or any car for that matter, how is the registration in terms of color, year and model affected? Say for example, if you have white doors on a previously red car, is it still red or is it red/white? Does the registry offer a spectrum of colors or just fits cars into basic categories?

[johnsxj]

I have a practical (and probably silly) question: if you rebuild a Jeep, or any car for that matter, how is the registration in terms of color, year and model affected? Say for example, if you have white doors on a previously red car, is it still red or is it red/white? Does the registry offer a spectrum of colors or just fits cars into basic categories?

Kind of basic categories. A color change (or swapping newer/older body panels) doesn't affect year/model. My Jeep is an '88 but it's at the point where it's easier to count what's left from the factory than been changed On paint for two tone cars it's listed off the primary color (or if you stuck some different color doors on but the body stays the same color).

In my case the Heep started off red from the factory. Back in '06 or '07 I did a rattle can paint job on it that was a different shade of red but still red. This time around I'm going to have to go to the RMV sometime in the near future to update the registration because of a complete color change (one of those things that can't be done online )

[Carl McFly]

One bad-azz build you got there John

[del_TJ]

Is the sunroof going to make a return?

[johnsxj]

Is the sunroof going to make a return?

Not sure if the emergency escape hatch is going back on or not.
With the '97 up doors I now have larger front window (with power) that I can climb out of when needed

[johnsxj]

O.K. It's been a busy week or so!

Here's where I ended up after literally sweating off 2.4 lbs the Tuesday after Labor day......







With all the playing with paint I was shocked to find only this much got on me!


It's a good 30-40 foot paint job. A windy day early this week gave me a good chance to take an update shot with the quarter armor back on.


My new face lift! No more harsh lines and angles, it's all smooooothhhhheeee curves. (If you look close at the doors, you can see the painted diamond plate back in place)


It only took AMC/Jeep 12 years to put a decent center console into the XJ's, ironically it took me just as many years to put the better console in The Heep! (HUGE THANK YOU to Mike White for hooking me up with the rare '97-up standard shift boot bezel!)


You know the project is getting near the end when one of these goes back on!


And that pretty much gets us up to date. The Heep is back together in time for the GAJR! I would've liked to have cleaned up the front bumper and winch but time just ran out on me (wandered back in tonight at 11:15). It was too dark for final pics by the time I was done but I'm sure I'll take some at the rally!

[Kurt]

Can't wait to checkout the old girls amazing makeover at the Rally!

[johnsxj]

Realized I hadn't posted up any completed pics!

Just a refresher.... what it looked like after the flop.


And 3.5ish months later....





Other than a few little things (UCA joint rebuilds, leaky air line) "Operation Mulligan" is DONE!!!!!

Now to continue the quest to locate a Jeep for my daughter which will surely end up being another thread when I find something!

[schwalby]

I like the color.

[Kurt]

Wow.... what a transformation!