Archive for the ‘1986 Grand Wagoneer’ Category

I’m pretty sure I could describe the weekend in all kinds of fluffy words and elaborate on how wicked Dave’s Wag performed but I’ll opt for posting a video so you can hear, see and feel!!!

(If your observant enough to notice the spillage that the Wag left behind after a climb, we had a fuel tank vent give it up that morning upon fill up, so Dave lost diesel at upward angles! Easy fix, we’ll be addressing it this week!)

Check back soon, we’re still digging through footage from initial crank up on this beast. Not to mention a weekend full of wheelin’!!!
Maaaaan, take me back to the trails!!! We had a blast.

-Emily

As I write this blog entry Dave’s Wagoneer is back in her very own driveway and 100% complete. With the craziness of trying to finish the project my blog has lagged behind, like a turbo 3 times bigger than needed. Over the next couple days I will adding videos and pictures that will make you drool on your keyboard.

We drove the Waggy out to Bridgeport Off Road Park this weekend for an intense rocky shakedown run. She performed beautifully. There have been 2 opportunities develop over the past couple of days, the first being a leaky fuel tank vent tube that apparently worked it’s way back out
(old rubber I’m guessing). The second is a bum starter. I will be traveling into Denton tomorrow to fix her up! I am excited to get the opportunity to visit with Dave and wrench on his beloved Waggy.

Good day to you! Glad you’re checking back, It’s Emily again out in the shop with Aaron and Dave’s Wag! It’s coming together and accumulating random awesomeness as the final week in the shop progresses! Ready for the report?!
Saturday was SUCH an awesome day: Dave and his two terrific boys, Hudson and Parker arrived for a camp-over-play-in-the-shop-weekend!



The boys got to do some rad mini Jeeping on our mini Moab in front of the shop!






Dave got to meet Matt and watch him work some magic… meanwhile Dave himself was scheming some magic for the weekend! He had BIG plans for a certain box of canvas and framing that he had shipped to our shop a couple weeks ago! He knew everyone would tell him he was crazy (which isn’t entirely off base!) so he waited to unveil the super sweet sliding rooftop until it was installed! Check out a few photos!

As you can see the weekend was a blast! Not pictured: Hefty campfire, hot dogs and tasty campfire treats including WAY too many s’mores, prefect camping weather and most importantly the building of great friendships!

So the Shuck boys hit the pavement in the CJ5 until next time!

Today has been packed with the installation of the fancy schmancy intercooler and all the piping:





Fabricating Radiator brackets:

Custom subframe built by Matt for Dave’s tow hooks:

Sometimes Aaron get a wild cosmetic hair… needs a small non mechanical project to coast through! So he painted and installed the rack back on the roof of the Jeep to keep it clean and functional!

He enjoyed that so much he decided to clean up, paint and wet sand the Waggys worn out looking headlight bezels!
Before:



After: (Note how sweet the tow hooks look in the bumper!)

As I type Aaron is wrenching underneath the Wag installing coolant hoses… he’ll tackle a few more tasks tonight (or is it morning?!) tomorrow has heavy lifting to “hold”… The transfer case and drivelines will be tucked up underneath her! Along with the maiden voyage to the muffler shop to have a custom exhaust system built!

Check back SOON for the posting of the first crank up video! Dave was here so we’re doing lots of censoring… We’ll post it soon!!!

Always a pleasure!

-Emily

Greetings Diesel heads! Emily checking in! Aaron has been quite swamped out in the shop so I’m assisting him with the highly important aspect of any killer diesel swap: BLOGGING! Being the wife of Aaron has many exciting features including once a week hitting the shop like a cleaning tornado! I find it to be great exercise slingin’ around starters, turbos, clutches, transfer cases…yeah, I’m awesome like that. I find it to be quite gratifying and he really appreciates a clean workspace.

Current update:

Our master fabricator and long time friend Matt fabbed us up an excellent bracket for Dave’s AC compressor.



Matt with his creation-

Here at Aaron Reeves Garage we like to send our custom rides on their way with a lil’ bling! We polished up Dave’s valve covers and turbo so he can hit the trails in style. Here’s a couple if shots!

Due to the obvious need to relocate the monster battery we decided to incorporate a nifty feature Dave had on his wish list!
Along came a wicked awesome flush mount storage box for the rear of his beloved Wag! The battery will sit mounted on the front of the box underneath the beast. Take a look!

Next, Aaron modified the Cummins intake system for the intercooler!

When I finish this entry, I shall promptly head inside and brew some Cummins coffee (super stout!) as the job nears completion the nights get later! Welcome to date night at Aaron Reeves Garage! (I’ve already mentioned how cool I am, right?!)
Since you’ve made it this far, thanks for reading!

-Emily

We finally received those illusive rod and main bearings. Today is the day to get the engine built.

I am going to bolt the engine transmission and transfer case together on the floor so I can see clearly how well it all mates together!

With my new shift in posting via my iPhone be sure to check back a couple times a day as I will be posting instant play by play updates!

We have parts!!!

The Dodge adapter and new rear crank seal are installed!

Dave scored this really sweet Pyrometer on eBay, I chose to mount it were the factory clock was. It looks pretty awesome! And yes I cracked his plexy glass. If anyone knows were I can get a new one let me know.

The transmission bolted right up as expected.

As you can see I have the head back on and torqued. I also replaced all the bearings.

Now it’s time to get this thing stuffed in the truck to make some motor mounts!

The engine is in place and the transmission is bolted to the factory crossmember. All angles are set and the 4BT is centered!












It’s time to fab up some ARG motor mounts!









I always mock the mounts up with a thinner gauge steel first, it’s easier to shape, cheaper and more abundant. I just tack it then I can pull it out. With it on the table were I can see it, I know exactly how to make the beefier 1/4″ mounts. Plus, I have the mock up set on the shelf for the next swap!

The engine mounts are complete!!! They are super strong and ready for some awesome off roading.

I pulled the engine back out to complete all welds. I am now removing the transmission and installing the flex plate, torque converter etc..

We hope to see smoke in a couple days!

The local carwash bailed us out again! I took the crossmember, transfer case and drive shafts and cleaned them thoroughly. Then I sprayed a few coats of paint on them!

Even though we will never see these mounts once the engine and front clip are installed, I have decided to pretty them up a bit. They were left very rough around the edges because my grinder quit mid project, now I have a shiny new Dewalt! Time to throw some sparks!
I will be posting pictures soon.

I am always excited to hear suggestions, please email me with critiques, Aaron@aaronreevesgarage.com

100% complete engine mounts!

We had an unfortunate set back this week. After getting the engine installed the transfer case was making contact with the floorboard. I quickly realized that I had built my motor mounts with the later model adapter plate installed on the engine. This threw the entire drive train forward more than a inch.

I could have suggested a body lift and or drop the cross member a bit. I decided it would be best to rebuild the mounts entirely. I called my fabricator (Matt) and asked him to come take a look. After 3 hours of handing him tools and holding the tape measure, the 4BT sat straight ad an arrow between the frames of Dave’s Waggy.

Letting Matt do the welding was so nice I called back the next day to build an a/c bracket. He will be here today to finish up a hole in the trans tunnel to clear the exhaust.

Upon removing the exhaust manifold, I discovered a moist cylinder, probably diesel from an over fueling injector.

Just to be sure, I pulled the head and # 4 piston. Everything looked great as I expected. Now it is time to put in a new set of bearings and new gaskets.

I picked the transmission up today and everything looks great!

After a computer crash I am now back to posting updates. Thanks to Steve Jobs and Apple for creating my beloved iPhone you will be enjoying quicker, updates via my Word Press app.

I sanded and wire brushed the frame rails before spraying 4 coats of EX-O Rust gloss black on Dave’s beautifully rust free frame rails. This truck is so flipping solid!

Ugly Betty killed my 2 ton engine hoist, I had it on the right setting and everything, it just could not keep up. Waiting for the snow to clear and the new beefed up engine hoist ram, has left this blog with a ghost town feel, I am sorry for that.

The engine came out today (crowd cheers in a cheesy sitcom kinda way), I am jumping for joy. I made sure to leave anything that was attached to the engine, transmission and transfer case on those components as a road map of sorts. Enjoy the pictures and there is a video coming soon.

This truck is in great shape.

Needs one more trip to the car wash.

For sell

That's right, pull it out in one big chunk so you can see what you are working on!