~ The Barnacle ~ [CJ-7]

[Guest]

Thanks again for the help Peter! Cj7 is 93.5

[Jeep-Power]

The hi-steer arms came in few weeks ago--

I have the front diff setup, with the ARB.

I am currently fabbing up a rear weld-on truss. It will be helpful for the ladder bar mount.

I found out the front carrier is gray iron, the rear is nodular iron... :-k

Saving $$ for rear axle shafts, a custom ling-inner front shaft, and front Chevy hubs/rotors--

[Jeep-Power]

Rear truss- tacked in... The truss is 0.120 (or whatever the exact number is) wall DOM.



I wanted to add some mechanical holding power (still not 100% on welding to the 'nodular' iron housing). So two 1/2" bolts were tapped into the housing. After welding, thread sealant was applied and the bolt heads were tacked into place, to keep them from loosening.





all welded and installing the gears/ARB


Nice penetration on that weld-- the iron is at least 1/4" thick there. I guess the pre-heat helped with that... 8-[



More news-- the drivers side carrier bearing had spun quite a bit on this axle-- the bearing cup ate into the thrust surface in the housing about 0.020 #-o . My plan is to JB weld to fill the wear and stack a 0.030 ARB shim on top of it, to provide a hard surface. Pics to come! :D

[Jeep-Power]

I was having a hard time getting a consistent settings of the shims....

upon closer inspection I found the previous bearing cup had spun quite a bit and wore a 0.020 groove in the bearing end land. Fortunately it did not wear into the side land. [-o<





See that little step-- the worn area is to the left of the dark line



I did some research on Pirate-- turns out Loc-tite makes stuff for just such the occasion. The stuff I needed reminded me of something that is close to all our hearts.


I then figured it will be nice to have some steel between the JB weld and the bearing. A spare 0.030 D60 ARB shim fit the bill! The idea here is the shim will support the bearing and the JB weld will keep it from being pressed into the groove by the bearing cup.







I then held it all securely together to cure with this cool "Big Jack" I found years ago. I never thought I'd use it. Very handy today! :D

[Guest]

That "big jack" is kinda cool. I hope your solution works out.

[Jeep-Power]

Thanks Bill-
Yeah, it worked great-- that JB weld is some stuff. The gap is filled and I'm in the process of setting the pinion.

I'm planning on having the gears all set by Monday.

[Jeep-Power]

you asked for them--

I had had it a few days when my buddies mom insisted on taking some shots of it. It was August, 1989. The yet-to-be-named Barnacle had 34,000 on the ticker.





It had the rare maroon color top/interior. The dash pad is all that remains...


I soon bought a hardtop for it-- this is an Acme aftermarket hardtop. Seen here wheelin' the powerlines in Warwick, RI. The ones that run past the highschool.


A sign of the times-- lights and a 'bugshield'.


See, I've wheeled mud-- the day after a night at "Dead River"


Some more vintage Rhode Island shots (I went to tech college there). Wheelin the Cardi Sandpits. This place was amazing.



Early 90's on LBI




Outside my apartment in Collinsville, Conneticut-- I must have just gotten back from wheelin' with Easter 4 Wheelers-- as the 32" Swampers are still on. Notice it's starting to get a little rusty.



The first round of bodywork, in the backyard of my apartment in Newburyport, Mass.


Done-- with a new top! Some nice house on the North Shore of Mass.


Main street, Somerville, NJ-- about '99


After a trip to Paragon... about 2001

[2000XJ]

Those were really cool Peter, I love seeing the evolution of a Jeep!

[rozzo842]

Nice pics Pete
Is that you rockin' the rasta beanie in the 2nd pic? Too funny :lol:

[Guest]

i like the white wagon wheels 8-[

[Guest]

That is great pete thank's for sharing. Dead river Havn't been there in decades :D

[2001TJ]

Is that you rockin' the rasta beanie in the 2nd pic? Too funny

I thought I'd found Waldo!

Excellent, Peter! Reminds me a lot of my own Jeep. Clean and shiny and new until it was exposed to the train wreck that is me and my off road driving "style."

[Guest]

I did not believe it.

=D>

Nice progression pics! I hope to have the same type for the XJ, however now as many step in between. Stock to Longarm FTW.

[Pasquale]

Nice pics... thanks for sharing.

Is that a red "rejected" inspection sticker I see in the first pic? Do you remember why it failed???

[warthog_cj7]

HaHa the Young Peter!
Always kewl to see a progression.
Thanks for the chuckles and simular memories.