FrankenJeep or "My Last Ever (Maybe) Truck?"

[Ta2Doc]

WAIT!! What's this... ANOTHER frame? Well... sort of.. and before it was painted.




But what IS this obviously well-considered piece of art? WEll, you saw it earlier in the thread, but not in all its "sharp dressed" glory.

 

[Ta2Doc]

Ahhh... much better. Feeling better about this old girl again. Oil burner back in place in front of slushbox and transfer case.



And remember that oxidized bit of art just above?... its now mounted in its proper place between the rocks and the "soft" bits of the driveline. You can juuuust make out a couple of the snazzy aluminum access panels being bolted in place below.

 

[Ta2Doc]

... another view of the noisy parts up front (and I do mean noisy... older technology Cummins' IS sonic art). BTW, the primary to perimeter frame tie is NOT as long as it appears in this shot due to wide angle distortion)



Curb side view of the noise maker. Somehow in all the moves, the oil filter got "clearanced" just a bit.

 

[Ta2Doc]

Now that is almost too beautiful to be a bash plate... almost. Definitely needs some gouges and cuts on it...



Did I mention that originally oxidized bit of steel art from up further in the thread was beautiful? Marinate on this! And there's almost enough clearance to shove the mop bucket from east to west under the old red headed girl!

 

[Ta2Doc]

ahhh.... the bed back where it belongs... Standard OTR big-truck tail lights, available from any truck stop. That's one of the design principles of this build--custom built, yeah, but with a LOT of off the shelf parts and accessibility to work from the top, bottom and sides.

 

[Ta2Doc]

... a view from the just in front of the bed, looking rearward at a feature most will never see... angled battery mount for 4x Optimas that sit nice and high. Yep, they'll sit with their bottom front edge just about even with the TOP of the frame rail. And the engineered-in bonus is I can sit under the rig to access them. Chubby guyz need to think about these things ahead of time. This is one of the simplest features on the rig, but one of my favorites.



And the Overland Bound version of this red head's awkward angle selfie, so popular on the social media sites these days...

 

[Ta2Doc]

Front bumper. Another deceptively "simple" feature that went through several design iterations... currently sitting (anxiously) on the shelf, awaiting her bretheren and sisteren that have to go before her (please don't ask me how I know it's female).

 

[Ta2Doc]

Ok... fingers tired... that brings the thread up to date as of 10/8. This old girl's facelift--make that..." butt lift, chin lift, tummy tuck, liposuction, boob augmentation, thigh lift, body contouring, Buccal enhancement (that's how I know the bumper/grill guard is female)--is nearing completion. And she's not going to be some Overland Bound version of the Human Barbie... This girl is more like Bride of Frankenstein.
Stay tuned for more EEEvilll, pinky-and-the-brain style, FrankenJeep TJ-8 updates.

~Doc out...

 

[Scro]

Ok... fingers tired... that brings the thread up to date as of 10/8. This old girl's facelift--make that..." butt lift, chin lift, tummy tuck, liposuction, boob augmentation, thigh lift, body contouring, Buccal enhancement (that's how I know the bumper/grill guard is female)--is nearing completion. And she's not going to be some Overland Bound version of the Human Barbie... This girl is more like Bride of Frankenstein.
Stay tuned for more EEEvilll, pinky-and-the-brain style, FrankenJeep TJ-8 updates.

~Doc out...

Any updates?

 

[Ta2Doc]

yeah, she's sloooooowly going back together for the last time now. We created some interesting challenges with water and intercooler piping in the front, so were waiting on some fittings. Dash layout is done (in cardboard) and the dash and steering column are ready to go in, then the wiring starts. Still need a hydraulic reservoir for the steering. I did find out that we'll need to come up with something funky and creative for flat-tow-ability. The atlas model that I have doesn't like flat towing, so we're looking at options for disconnecting the driveshaft from punkin and having an inbuilt hanger (a.la. PTO shaft hook on a farm implement, but rather more heavily and sturdily constructed). Got some pics today and I'll try to upload this evening if the dumb-phone cooperates.
~doc

 

[Ta2Doc]

Dash mockup... think I'd rather have the EGT gauges nearest column with speedo/tach centered... what do you all think?

 

[Ta2Doc]

Mo-closer look for those of us with old peepers. SpeedHut custom... I've heard positives and negatives... we'll see how they do and if they suck, I'll let the OB community know!

 

[Ta2Doc]

Looks a bit like a Super Cub with tundra tires in this pic. That's due to the wide angle shot... those are normal 35-12.5s. Been waiting for brake lines, various diesel plumbing parts. Most of that nit-noid stuff is in now. Hopefully the next time you see a full body shot, she'll have her clothes back on!
View attachment 144446

 

[Ta2Doc]

Hmmm... says I've achieved Road Ranger 1... well, that's a 47RH (hydraulic) and an ATLAS IV baby! Though, I admit... a Road Ranger in a 1 Ton FrankenJeep would be a task worthy of an award!

 

[Ta2Doc]

I think this is the 5th or 6th iteration of radiator and intercooler configuration. The CAC is up front where it "belongs", even though the turbo and coolant inlets are gonna look like a bowl of spaghetti dumped on a toddler's head.

 

[Ta2Doc]

Aaannnddd, a nice view of the cooler clearance and modular mounting for the cooler assemblies. Like everything else on the FrankenJeep TJ8, everything is being put together with an eye toward modularity and maintenance/replacement.

 

[Ta2Doc]

And, to preserve it for posterity, here's a look at the engine mount angle. Haven't measured it in its final testing place, but its within Cummins spec. The angle and the "depth" its mounted down between the frame rails helped to keep the top deck out of the hood sheet metal, as well as helping minimize driveline angles all the way back to the big 'ol 14 bolt punkin. Straight-ish driveline are happier driveline, especially at high torque values.

 

[Ta2Doc]

Well, to tell you all something that you all already know... 2020 sucked. 2021 was a little better. Now here we are mid-way through 2022 and we're mostly embedded in our new "normal". I hope all of you who were/are following this build thread are safe and healthy.

As you might imagine, the build took a hiatus in the interest of keeping everyone as safe and virus-free as possible. The folks in the shop (shameless plug here for Performance Offroad in Alexandria, KY) were all affected in one way or another by Covid--either contacting it personally or having family / loved ones affected. Most of you likely lived this same reality. This resulted in a lot of stutters and restarts due to quarantine requirements. The shop owner and co-"mad-creator" for this project gave us all a big scare involving a close connection with a ventilator that lasted longer than some of my past relationships. Thankfully, he's now recovered and is back in fine-fettle.

So, where does FrankenJeep stand?
As of late July 2022, all the hard parts are figured out and it's mostly a matter of sticking it all back together (this time with wiring and plumbing). Sussing out the interior was/is--as my departed pop would have said-- "sporting". Jeeps, in general, aren't known for being particularly spacious (though that new $90k Grand Wagoneer BETTER have sleeping accommodations for 4 and a full galley!). Space constraints are exacerbated by the fact that FrankenJeep is a "single cab" on a custom aluminum tub, so all cab-piercing accoutrements had to be engineered, re-engineered and (occasionally) re-re-engineered.

I hope to get some pics this week to update this thread visually. It's pretty much down to plumbing, wiring and final assembly... and there ain't many wires on this beast. In fact, I'd say the electrical system is about as simple as it gets. Think "1950s farm tractor" with a few extra wires for tail lights.

Stay Safe, Ya'll...
~doc

 

[MazeVX]

Crazy build!
Enjoying stuff like that knowing that it's so impossible over here that it's more likely to make a trip on Mars then getting it legalized.
Lots of thought and engineering went into this and even though it's not what I would do but I really like it!

 

[Ta2Doc]

Okayyyy... so it's been more than a couple of minutes since I updated ya'll on the status. Lots of reasons but no good excuses... Just life! That, plus there wasn't a whole lot of progress to report for a while. The crew at my preferred shop (that's Performance Offroad in Alexandria, Ky) have had their hands full with post-covid work and occasional outbreaks in the shop. It really brings the whole operation to a standstill, but they're doing the right thing by limiting their team's exposure. Anyway... I got a non-descript text message a few months ago that was sweet racket to my ears. The first start of the 4BT. Not long after, got the report that they were out on short text runs, dialing everything in.
All reports say that she runs smooth on the road, with an inordinate amount of GO, even with the single turbo. The engine build was what the builder called a mid-range performance build... lots of torque and low end. Sounds like she almost wants to crab sideways sitting in the parking lot in park. They don't call the 4BT "the Paint Shaker" for nothing!

Next up, getting gauges set in the flat al-yew-min-eyum panel, nailing down the seat mount geometry and some shake down runs. I'll drop some additional pics in when I receive them.

~doc out!