Novak Conversions Jeep Wrangler TJ engine mounts

What other projects are you working on?

I started to tear down the bicycle that my oldest grandson used to stop his runaway ATV last spring.
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Man, it was bent worse than I thought. It took a hammer and a pry bar to remove the rear wheel.
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This is the new-ish (1980s) frame that's getting the salvageable parts.
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This is where I'm stopping on it until after the holidays...
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...unless Mr.Beam and Mr.Daniels leave early and I need refuge from the whole Fam Damily. Wheel building can be relaxing and there is a stash of single malts and blends in the garage.
 
My son does drainage work and he’s nice enough to let the old man play. We’ve been waiting for another contractor to install a 12” main for us.
This pic is the the over dig thru the gravel road so the machine can get to grade, 8.5’ depth. The trencher is chasing me.

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Instead of working on my build yesterday, I rebuilt the approaches to the big doors in the shop. First, I dropped a bucket of pea gravel and tamped it in by hand on the side of the building with the elevation closest to grade:
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I wish I had a skid steer for the other side, as the building is built on about a 5% grade. My front loader and box blade on the tractor aren't good for fine grading, so I roughed it out with the tractor and hand-raked it with an aluminum landscape rake. My bad shoulders are killing me this morning! Here it is:
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These were done years ago when the shop was built, but I didn't have gutters on until about a month ago. The turd-floater rains we have here destroyed the approaches from the roof runoff. Now that I have gutters, these shouldn't erode away like last time.
 
I was sitting in a chair fishing this morning as workers worked on repairing some damage incurred from the hurricanes.
 
Bought a 4 seat KRX 1000 this summer for around the house. We live out in the country so we can back road and woods ride whenever and the lake is 1/2 mile or so down the lane. Took it trail riding a couple times and fell into the rabbit hole.

Has 300 miles since new:

Added:

Hardwired dome lights with dash switch
Midland hard mounted GMRS radio with custom made overhead mount
Kawasaki OEM bumpers, sliders, tow points, and retractable front harnesses.
Synthetic winch cable (factory warn was steel)
Milwaukee pack out rack and boxes / coolers
Led lighting
Bullite beadlock wheels
35” tires
Bandit suspension, full spring kit
Shock Therapy pick back nitro valve kit
Full UHMW skid plate
Cornell Clutch full modded clutch
Trail trash bag
Lots of recovery gear and tools.

It’s not a stretched LJ on 43’s but it’s a lot of fun.

Just got the clutch back today and took it for a rip. 18” belly on 35” tires with a 126” wheel base is a lot of fun.

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Promised the misses a while ago I'd install a fireplace in the basement. Since any Jeep work is on pause, I tackled it over the holidays. Framed it up, installed the fireplace, completed the drywall, added accent lighting, then finished it up with some left over tile from when I did the flooring. All that's left is a final coat of paint for the incorporated recessed part and complete the baseboard trim work.

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Promised the misses a while ago I'd install a fireplace in the basement. Since any Jeep work is on pause, I tackled it over the holidays. Framed it up, installed the fireplace, completed the drywall, added accent lighting, then finished it up with some left over tile from when I did the flooring. All that's left is a final coat of paint for the incorporated recessed part and complete the baseboard trim work.

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Nice job!
 
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As the bicycle rebuild project is on hold until next month, I am in the process of mounting a winch on my 28 year old ATV. I found a Superwinch on FB Marketplace less than 2 miles from Chez Fromage for twenty five bucks.
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I made a template for the supports from cardboard and laid those out on a piece o' steel that followed me home when the facility I worked at shut down.(Still a bad taste in my mouth)
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I'll whack those out later today with a plasma cutter and weld those to the plate that came on the winch. There is still some rework left to do to the Fairlead. The previous, previous owner must have been a welder at the place my former employer contracted out to in South Carolina. They sucked.
 
I got the brackets cut out this afternoon.
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I haven't used my plasma cutter in years. And it shows. I'm one of those poor saps that can have a guide on either side of a circular saw and still make a crooked cut. I just accept it and plow on ahead. Hopefully wrap it up tomorrow.

Just to give an idea on how cold it's been here.
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Ice shanties on my fishing hole.
 
Back on my kids truck today. 8 hours in the garage.

New rear pads and rotors
New upper control arms / ball joints
New hub units
New valve cover gaskets
Both belts and all tensioners / idlers
New gas cap
New washer fluid pump (giant PITA)
New front brake soft lines
Flushed brake fluid

Tomorrow u joints, rear trans seal, trans mount and more brake bleeding.

Gonna go rip the SxS in the snow some too.
 
I finished up the welding on the winch mount today.
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I guess I have no room to bitch at other peoples' welds, cuz my initial welds were UGLY until I got the new to me Clarke 130EN welder dialed. It's enough different from my antique Lincoln 100 to have a learning curve. Kind of like hopping off my sidecar rig onto my Honda. If I don't remember to put my left foot down at a stop, it WILL be embarrassing.
I'll get it painted and wired next week.
 
Also on the promised wife list are some book and display shelving. These were brought back to life with new shelving, backing, hardware, along with the addition of glass doors and lighting. Still on the list to complete is a small bookshelf.

FWIW, the typewriter in the top picture is mine from college. The paper on it is one I wrote in 1979. The topic was Quasars. 😀

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Also on the promised wife list are some book and display shelving. These were brought back to life with new shelving, backing, hardware, along with the addition of glass doors and lighting. Still on the list to complete is a small bookshelf.

FWIW, the typewriter in the top picture is mine from college. The paper on it is one I wrote in 1979. The topic was Quasars. 😀

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You just need to finish painting it. ;) :D

Cool typewriter. Our 30 something next door neighbor had never seen one, and was amaze when we showed him ours. Paper on Quasars? The TV set? "Quasar, by Motorola..." ;)
 
You just need to finish painting it. ;) :D

Cool typewriter. Our 30 something next door neighbor had never seen one, and was amaze when we showed him ours. Paper on Quasars? The TV set? "Quasar, by Motorola..." ;)

Damn what the hell. I'm 30 and I've used one before. Not like, seriously, but I have used one.
 
Ah, but was it full manual or an electric? :D

I don't think it was plugged in, for some reason there was one in my High School photography class we were allowed to use. I have no idea why it was in that room. And it was a film and dark-room photography class before you ask ;)
 
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You just need to finish painting it. ;) :D

Cool typewriter. Our 30 something next door neighbor had never seen one, and was amaze when we showed him ours. Paper on Quasars? The TV set? "Quasar, by Motorola..." ;)

The subject of Zenith was already taken.:)
 
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When I was in HS I was offered a typing class. I said no when will I ever use one of those, they’re for secretaries. Little did I know.
I did take a computer class senior year. My program ran on a punched roll of paper strip. Big step up from those bulky punch cards. I had to push hard on the keys as it was basically a teletype machine connected to a room sized computer at the district office.
Yes I’m Old. I also remember 5.25 floppy disks.
 
Novak Conversions Jeep Wrangler TJ engine mounts