Novak Conversions Jeep Wrangler TJ radiator

The Silver Fox LJ Build

When are you gunna wanna take it out for another trail run? Gunna need to get mine out again here soon too.

I’m going to Douglas Creek and the dunes in Moses Lake Friday and come back Saturday. Trip with my boys and a couple of his friends. More of a ā€œcampingā€ trip I think, but we’ll run the dunes and a few obstacles I’ve heard about near Douglas Creek.

I want to go whenever I can get away. Will have to be after the weekend of September 6. I can do some Thursday’s - Saturday’s. As usual during semesters I’m teaching Sunday’s through Wednesday’s.
 
I’m going to Douglas Creek and the dunes in Moses Lake Friday and come back Saturday. Trip with my boys and a couple of his friends. More of a ā€œcampingā€ trip I think, but we’ll run the dunes and a few obstacles I’ve heard about near Douglas Creek.

I want to go whenever I can get away. Will have to be after the weekend of September 6. I can do some Thursday’s - Saturday’s. As usual during semesters I’m teaching Sunday’s through Wednesday’s.

Well go back over to the WA page and throw some dates out.... We can meet up there in Naches area again and if everyone else can only show up for the weekend you & I can run some trails on Thursday & Friday...
 
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Got the new license plate in.
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After the trip to Douglas Creek the Savvy MUA skid plate driver back corner had come loose. The nutsert was stripped. Cut it off and installed a new one. Should be good to go following @mrblaine method and his nutserts.

Found another source of vibration because the muffler was touching the savvy mua crossmember. Clearanced that.

Decided to paint the rear stiffener because it looked terrible. After I painted, I decided to put shark hide on everything because too often the paint just sticks to the other paint or to the aluminum skid, and then it just rips off, and it becomes rusty.
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Got the new license plate in.
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After the trip to Douglas Creek the Savvy MUA skid plate driver back corner had come loose. The nutsert was stripped. Cut it off and installed a new one. Should be good to go following @mrblaine method and his nutserts.

Found another source of vibration because the muffler was touching the savvy mua crossmember. Clearanced that.

Decided to paint the rear stiffener because it looked terrible. After I painted, I decided to put shark hide on everything because too often the paint just sticks to the other paint or to the aluminum skid, and then it just rips off, and it becomes rusty.
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Silvee is an appropriate name for a silver fox.
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Last weekend for painting, so I got everything primed for color match top coat and clear. I really don’t like painting. Argh…

The cowl had a bad area on each side, A-Pillar armor, and half doors for the red Jeep.

Spraymax 2k rapid filler primer. Tomorrow top coat and clear if I can get to it. Really need to due to weather change coming.

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What I’ve mostly been working on when I can carve out some time are the Genright Mini Boatside rock sliders. Cut the step off, ground everything down, used the surface conditioning tool to get it all cleaned up and start from scratch.

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Bought a square tube to split in half to make a rail for each Genright Mini Boatside following something like @mrblaine designed and with some helpful pics from @jjvw. I think @hosejockey61 has a video, but I haven’t watched that one. I’ll have to install the new front fenders before I can finish these up. For now they are weld thru primed on those areas and self etching primed everywhere else.

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Bought a square tube to split in half to make a rail for each Genright Mini Boatside following something like @mrblaine desifm and with some helpful pics from @jjvw. I think @hosejockey61 has a video, but I haven’t watched that one. I’ll have to install the new front fenders before I can finish these up. For now they are weld thru primed on those areas and self etching primed everywhere else.

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Is that your big band saw? Looking good as always. You do a lot of painting for someone who hates painting šŸ˜‰
 
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Is that your big band saw? Looking good as always. You do a lot of painting for someone who hates painting šŸ˜‰

It’s my buddy at Valley Ford Metalcrafter’s. He’s got a couple of warehouse’s worth of machines for fabbing stuff up. He’s pretty busy though. Gotta get the bare spots painted for sure. Might as well use the whole can. I’ve been putting it off but I can’t anymore. I can do other projects in the cooler weather!
 
I’m so glad I got through paint day. I really dread it, but the HVLP gun was set up really good and so it was not that big a deal to spray. And rather than breaking the gun down and cleaning in between topcoat and clear, I just ran some lacquer thinner through it and went for the clear. Then rather than clean it, I just ran more lacquer thinner through it. I’m sure over time the gun will gum up, but it’s such a pain to break down and try to reset everything. I wasn’t planning to paint the grill, but it was flowing so nice, that I just decided I would just wipe it down with a little bit of alcohol and topcoat right over the clearcoat. I really wasn’t worried about it because it looked so terrible. Then I cleared it too and I’m happy with what it looks like. Maybe won’t last, but really it’s way better than it was.

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I’m so glad I got through paint day. I really dread it, but the HVLP gun was set up really good and so it was not that big a deal to spray. And rather than breaking the gun down and cleaning in between topcoat and clear, I just ran some lacquer thinner through it and went for the clear. Then rather than clean it, I just ran more lacquer thinner through it. I’m sure over time the gun will gum up, but it’s such a pain to break down and try to reset everything. I wasn’t planning to paint the grill, but it was flowing so nice, that I just decided I would just wipe it down with a little bit of alcohol and topcoat right over the clearcoat. I really wasn’t worried about it because it looked so terrible. Then I cleared it too and I’m happy with what it looks like. Maybe won’t last, but really it’s way better than it was.

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If anything it's worth taking the nozzle and needle out for a quick clean.
 
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Started the HiLine project. It’s so much more work than I imagined. It’s one project with lots of smaller projects that accumulate. Each one requires problem solving and parts acquisition. I’ve got 5 or 6 days of work into the passenger side and I’m still not done. Hopefully this weekend.

I went with the GR 0* Boulders with inners and the battery tray. I wish I’d gone with Savvy or Crawltek, but the fitment is good. I just don’t care much for the aesthetic. Functionally I get 3ā€up and 2.25ā€ back.

The battery tray is just ok. It needs some work. The battery won’t slide in because the battery GR suggests has fins that get in the way. Trim those off and it still won’t fit. The extra front terminals hit the tray so you have to trim it. The upper protruded portion of the battery hits too, so you just have to trim all over. The front terminals are useless because there is hardly any space between the battery and the inner fender. Other than that it works.

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The GR mini boat sides are part of the HiLine project because of the extra 2.25ā€ back. Once I got the HiLine where I wanted it I started working in them again. If you recall I already cut the steps off and planned to add a C-Channel rail on the upper part of the slider. This was a lot more work than I thought it would be. @hosejockey61 has a good video on BFH Garage and if you watch you’ll get an idea how much work it is. Very fulfilling though. I love doing this. The passenger side will go on this weekend.

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Started the HiLine project. It’s so much more work than I imagined. It’s one project with lots of smaller projects that accumulate. Each one requires problem solving and parts acquisition. I’ve got 5 or 6 days of work into the passenger side and I’m still not done. Hopefully this weekend.

I went with the GR 0* Boulders with inners and the battery tray. I wish I’d gone with Savvy or Crawltek, but the fitment is good. I just don’t care much for the aesthetic. Functionally I get 3ā€up and 2.25ā€ back.

The battery tray is just ok. It needs some work. The battery won’t slide in because the battery GR suggests has fins that get in the way. Trim those off and it still won’t fit. The extra front terminals hit the tray so you have to trim it. The upper protruded portion of the battery hits too, so you just have to trim all over. The front terminals are useless because there is hardly any space between the battery and the inner fender. Other than that it works.

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Raise the PCM as high up as it will go on the firewall. šŸ˜‰
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Novak Conversions Jeep Wrangler TJ radiator