Enthusiast III
Alright it's time for a build thread for the little Jimmy. I'm calling this thing the Jimmy "AT4" after the off road package on the newer GMCs although this one is probably more capable... Come join me for the ride with this less than common rig as I outfit it to explore the deserts of Arizona with my family!
How it sits today:
First, a little background. I've had this thing for about 8 years now, purchased after the engine in my Taurus SHO became oiling challenged. After years as a reliable daily driver and with winter coming, I needed to get rid of my dry rotted tires that were getting scary in the Nebraska ice and snow. After finding a 2" body lift on Craiglist ($50 new in box!) I knew it was time to step up in tire size.
Before pic:
Decided on 31x10.50r15 Goodyear Wrangler Authorities (they're like budget Duratracs!). 31s are the factory tire size on the ZR2 off road package which means no excessive stress on the drivetrain; reliability is the goal on both a daily/overland rig.
Installing the Performance Accessories body lift was pretty straightforward, didn't need to extend the fuel filter neck or mess with the steering shaft. I did run into one speedbump as my factory bumper brackets were integrated to the factory trailer hitch. Angle grinder took care of the factory tabs, and the lift brackets bolted on top of what was left. Bumper also got a nice treatment with the angle grinder to eliminate interference with the frame, and the lift was complete!
Buttoning up on the lift with middle helper:
Bumper bracket details:
Bumper trim:
And finished! Oldest helper says "these tires are huge!":
In June I lost my job with the railroad due to COVID-19 related slowdowns, so we packed up from Nebraska and moved back to our hometown of Fountain Hills Arizona. The Arizona heat did a number on our older vehicles including the Jimmy, and I gathered parts for an electric fan swap. I found a very clean Chrysler Concord in the junkyard with a dual speed, dual fan setup ripe for the picking. This fan is interesting as it has built in relays to control high and low speed operation. When either positive lead is given 12v, both fans turn on low. If both leads have power, both fans run on high. So far under normal driving the fans are typically keeping the truck at 200 degrees on low speed only controlled from a temperature switch. High speed will be wired up in the future as the truck does get warmer on long climbs in the mountains on 95+ degree days.
My highly technical wiring diagram:
Finished harness:
Harness installed in the engine bay. I removed the windshield washer tank to fit my relay/fuse setup as my lines have long ago disintegrated and were worthless. Most of the wiring is hidden under the airbox which is removed in this picture:
Oldest helper grounding the wire to test fan operation:
Fan with aluminum bracketry:
Electric fans installed!:
Next step for me was comms. I've had a Cobra 19 CB radio circa 1989 in and out of the Jimmy since I bought it, and a buddy had a 4' Firestick laying around so with that we had a plan. Custom bracket was cut from 1/8" steel plate and bolted above the tail light. 18" coax ran through a grommet behind the tail light and into the cabin. Tested SWR at 2.2 at channel 1, 1.4 at channel 19, and 1.2 at channel 40 which I figured was good enough out of the box.
Coax routing:
And we have comms!:
At this point @bawesomfels asks me if I want to hit up Broken Arrow trail in Sedona AZ in a couple of days for a shakedown (more like torture test) of my rig. I had a few things to take care of prior to hitting the trail. I knew the front plastic bumper cover was going to be an issue, so I swapped my nice bumper out with an older steel inner bumper I had laying around. Unfortunately My 31s had also been rubbing on the front fenders if the suspension traveled up while the wheels were turned. Equal parts angle grinder and BFH took care of that problem ( these less than perfect edges will be covered up by plastic cladding, but I don't think the cuts look too bad for using an angle grinder...) It was about then I realized that due to the body lift, my remote oil filter was now glaringly exposed between the bumper and front skid plate. A solution was found that is definitely "function over form".
Radius drawn out in Sharpie:
This is by far the most redneck picture of the thread so far:
And the final product!:
Wife and I ended up hitting the trail without the kiddos this time. It was her bday weekend, so we spent the day in Sedona AZ and drove to Jerome AZ to spend the night in the haunted Jerome Grand Hotel. The Jimmy did excellent on the trail, stayed 200 degrees the whole time and for the most part kept up with Ben's Frontier. Smacked the frame pretty good a couple of times and dragged the trailer hitch a bit. I'm glad we didn't bring the kids as the trail was a long rough ride that would have likely gotten old for them after 15 minutes... Going to start them off a little more mellow than that.
And now you're all caught up!
Big and middle helpers are ready to explore! (littlest helper isn't in many pics as she just turned one and is more of a watcher than a helper for now):
Future:
I have been collecting a ton of parts for this thing so I will be tinkering with it as time allows. Next mods include:
-Skid plates: The front skid on the truck is part of a set of four Kevlar composite plates. Definitely going to want the other three installed prior to another trail like Broken Arrow.
-Front bumper: I have an old winch plate sitting around that I will likely be fabbing up for a front bumper for the truck. I am currently teaching myself to weld so fun projects are always in the works.
-Lights: I picked up a box of assorted 6" halogen lights on Craigslist and ordered a pair of H11 led bulbs to toy around with. Thinking A pillar lights.... I also have the factory HID headlights that are in my "before" pic that need new bulbs and the lenses refinished, they will eventually be swapped back on.
-Envoy center console and spoiler: My brother picked me up a Jimmy Envoy center console which has a cd changer built in. My radio is going to be relocated to this center console which will leave my factory radio slot available for auxiliary switches and a phone mount. I also have an Envoy spoiler which just looks plain cool!
-Sliders: Another fab project I'd like to take on.
Thank you for reading, happy explorations everyone!
How it sits today:
First, a little background. I've had this thing for about 8 years now, purchased after the engine in my Taurus SHO became oiling challenged. After years as a reliable daily driver and with winter coming, I needed to get rid of my dry rotted tires that were getting scary in the Nebraska ice and snow. After finding a 2" body lift on Craiglist ($50 new in box!) I knew it was time to step up in tire size.
Before pic:
Decided on 31x10.50r15 Goodyear Wrangler Authorities (they're like budget Duratracs!). 31s are the factory tire size on the ZR2 off road package which means no excessive stress on the drivetrain; reliability is the goal on both a daily/overland rig.
Installing the Performance Accessories body lift was pretty straightforward, didn't need to extend the fuel filter neck or mess with the steering shaft. I did run into one speedbump as my factory bumper brackets were integrated to the factory trailer hitch. Angle grinder took care of the factory tabs, and the lift brackets bolted on top of what was left. Bumper also got a nice treatment with the angle grinder to eliminate interference with the frame, and the lift was complete!
Buttoning up on the lift with middle helper:
Bumper bracket details:
Bumper trim:
And finished! Oldest helper says "these tires are huge!":
In June I lost my job with the railroad due to COVID-19 related slowdowns, so we packed up from Nebraska and moved back to our hometown of Fountain Hills Arizona. The Arizona heat did a number on our older vehicles including the Jimmy, and I gathered parts for an electric fan swap. I found a very clean Chrysler Concord in the junkyard with a dual speed, dual fan setup ripe for the picking. This fan is interesting as it has built in relays to control high and low speed operation. When either positive lead is given 12v, both fans turn on low. If both leads have power, both fans run on high. So far under normal driving the fans are typically keeping the truck at 200 degrees on low speed only controlled from a temperature switch. High speed will be wired up in the future as the truck does get warmer on long climbs in the mountains on 95+ degree days.
My highly technical wiring diagram:
Finished harness:
Harness installed in the engine bay. I removed the windshield washer tank to fit my relay/fuse setup as my lines have long ago disintegrated and were worthless. Most of the wiring is hidden under the airbox which is removed in this picture:
Oldest helper grounding the wire to test fan operation:
Fan with aluminum bracketry:
Electric fans installed!:
Next step for me was comms. I've had a Cobra 19 CB radio circa 1989 in and out of the Jimmy since I bought it, and a buddy had a 4' Firestick laying around so with that we had a plan. Custom bracket was cut from 1/8" steel plate and bolted above the tail light. 18" coax ran through a grommet behind the tail light and into the cabin. Tested SWR at 2.2 at channel 1, 1.4 at channel 19, and 1.2 at channel 40 which I figured was good enough out of the box.
Coax routing:
And we have comms!:
At this point @bawesomfels asks me if I want to hit up Broken Arrow trail in Sedona AZ in a couple of days for a shakedown (more like torture test) of my rig. I had a few things to take care of prior to hitting the trail. I knew the front plastic bumper cover was going to be an issue, so I swapped my nice bumper out with an older steel inner bumper I had laying around. Unfortunately My 31s had also been rubbing on the front fenders if the suspension traveled up while the wheels were turned. Equal parts angle grinder and BFH took care of that problem ( these less than perfect edges will be covered up by plastic cladding, but I don't think the cuts look too bad for using an angle grinder...) It was about then I realized that due to the body lift, my remote oil filter was now glaringly exposed between the bumper and front skid plate. A solution was found that is definitely "function over form".
Radius drawn out in Sharpie:
This is by far the most redneck picture of the thread so far:
And the final product!:
Wife and I ended up hitting the trail without the kiddos this time. It was her bday weekend, so we spent the day in Sedona AZ and drove to Jerome AZ to spend the night in the haunted Jerome Grand Hotel. The Jimmy did excellent on the trail, stayed 200 degrees the whole time and for the most part kept up with Ben's Frontier. Smacked the frame pretty good a couple of times and dragged the trailer hitch a bit. I'm glad we didn't bring the kids as the trail was a long rough ride that would have likely gotten old for them after 15 minutes... Going to start them off a little more mellow than that.
And now you're all caught up!
Big and middle helpers are ready to explore! (littlest helper isn't in many pics as she just turned one and is more of a watcher than a helper for now):
Future:
I have been collecting a ton of parts for this thing so I will be tinkering with it as time allows. Next mods include:
-Skid plates: The front skid on the truck is part of a set of four Kevlar composite plates. Definitely going to want the other three installed prior to another trail like Broken Arrow.
-Front bumper: I have an old winch plate sitting around that I will likely be fabbing up for a front bumper for the truck. I am currently teaching myself to weld so fun projects are always in the works.
-Lights: I picked up a box of assorted 6" halogen lights on Craigslist and ordered a pair of H11 led bulbs to toy around with. Thinking A pillar lights.... I also have the factory HID headlights that are in my "before" pic that need new bulbs and the lenses refinished, they will eventually be swapped back on.
-Envoy center console and spoiler: My brother picked me up a Jimmy Envoy center console which has a cd changer built in. My radio is going to be relocated to this center console which will leave my factory radio slot available for auxiliary switches and a phone mount. I also have an Envoy spoiler which just looks plain cool!
-Sliders: Another fab project I'd like to take on.
Thank you for reading, happy explorations everyone!
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