GunMetalGrey

Turns out this speed was super accurate. 
45mph she really came alive, this wasn't too surprising as I have determined most ball joints are bad in the current axles. New axles seem to have better ball joints so that should help.

Did my first off-road adventure with it and holy crap driving manual in demanding off-road terrain is a wild time. I should be good at dancing after this!
Slipped a front wheel into a pond, whoops.





 

I an amusing turn of events where the mill I was going to had an issue and delayed their outage by one day I was able to go snag a Chrysler 8.25 and Dana 30 with 4.10's in them for $400. 
The stock 3.07's with 33's is a brutal combo, so this will be a welcome change! This is the exact same set of axles in my Jeep currently which is amusing, but this is just like swapping a diff in an E30! with more weight and parts...


 

I just started a flickr account like 2 days ago because I'm bored and I figured everyone here is probably sick of me going on and on about cameras. The internet led me to believe there was some kind of community there, but I haven't found it yet. I'm too cool for the gram or fb; not sure what else to do with this stuff...
 

I feel this. Literally nothing going on right now. I'm out there taking pictures of shrubs and trees and shit.

I can't speak for anyone else, but I've enjoyed seeing your camera and photography related posts, and I'm learning a little even so I'd say carry on. The shots lately have been awesome too.

Ben PLS Kuhstum

Detroit auto locker in the rear and electric locker in the front. 
I anticipate running Lokka lunchboxes front and rear in mine once I settle on a pair of axles. 

Sadly my shocks didn't show up in time for a shakedown run on a friends property, but we took the roommates jeep on its first voyage with locking diffs. 
These videos well showcase why I got rid of the diesel in lieu of something that can actually go off-road.... or at least that's my excuse!
35" tires a stock intake
https://youtu.be/F4F4OYodLrM
https://youtu.be/byCik8Uzmug
 

The classic "this is what lights at night look without my glasses" shot. Always found it amusing showing these to people and explaining that.

Photo's are coming along nicely! The one of the E30 does have a nice vintage flair to it!

It was certainly a learning experience! 
I may play with an M21 in the future, but I will be able to do it so much better with all that is known! Also, it will not be in a lifted car lol.

Well it's the end of this story.
A guy messaged me a few times on facebook, said when he would be there, 3 russian dudes rolled up (none of them were the guy I was talking to) and the guys looked it over, chatted with the other guy on the phone (in South Carolina at the time) and got my agreed upon price and they left. 
From what I gather a couple of the guys recently started up a diesel BMW shop about 2 hours south of me, so this was an interesting car for them. 

It was amusing when I started it up because they all grabbed their phones and started chuckling and taking videos, and thoroughly enjoyed the drive we went on. 

I was slightly sad to see it go, but it really has been a pain lately and wasn't seeing the use it deserved, so it's better it went elsewhere. 
Onward!

^speaking of which!


Now that it drives it was time to turn to other things.
The front had almost 6.5" of lift due to the 4.5" lift spring and a 2" rubber spacer. It looked stupid, especially on 33's with fenders that are trimmed up. 
Took the front axle almost all the way out in order to remove the rubber spacer on top of the spring. Realized the axle had been sitting about 2" toward the driver side because whomever put the spring spacers in never adjusted the trac bar. This style suspension is so much different than anything I've worked on, and luckily my roommate has been playing with jeeps for quite some time (his jeep in the back) so he can lend a hand when I get confused!

Also realized it has very f*ing beefy steering, and is a good system that allows you to adjust ride height and such without needing to adjust toe again. Stock steering has the drag link and tie rod end going as one part. 
Now to clean up the rear shock mtg points and get some shocks back there!
 

New headlight trim painted and installed. No more washer nozzle holes.

That was much earlier than the Jeep!

This was a deserved jab after my previous one. 

I'm glad to see the  boat anchor is still going strong in this group!

I think doing any engine swap on this car is dumb.
It is a low mileage, low owner vehicle. While I do believe you should enjoy the vehicles you buy, I think if you wanted to build something swapped I would sell this one and build it off the profits. 

Hi lol, 

Well she's no daily driver, but I still wanted to document this for later! My roommate has been building an XJ for a bit, and we've been meeting people that have land and off road trails on them, not to mention the places 30 min from the house that are stellar for wheeling. I quickly learned the truck doesn't fit on jeep trails, so there was only one solution!
The $300 93ish XJ
I don't ever name vehicles, but for some reason Ruby sticks with me, as this will be the red(headed) stepchild that always gets beat.


It spent the last year of its life sitting in a barn at a friends house under the presumption of a bad clutch, and he had no desire to work on it (got it in a trade) 
He was looking to clear out space so it went real cheap. 
When I showed up there was a search for keys, and the conclusion that he didn't know where they ended up. I have never drilled a lock cylinder so I wasn't going to do that, but you can get a cylinder and key for the xj for $20 bucks which made it tempting. Mobile locksmith wanted $140 for 2 keys, but then stopped responding to me. Ended up bringing the keys to my roommates XJ and lo and behold the key for his door locks worked in my ignition perfectly. Convenient.
This will be the third vehicle I have purchased knowing mice lived in it, and it makes me question myself sometimes. Oh well. 

Got it on the trailer using the hill to roll it as there was no battery. 


Got it trailered home (obligatory on trailer pic)
The next day I got to cleaning it up a bit. The roof was amusing to clean with the pressure washer, as it had many much algae on it. 



Got the mouse nest out of the glove box, pulled the airbox apart and found a nice possum nest with a dead possum in it so got that out of there. Put a battery in it and it fired up without much drama. Didn't want to idle at first without throttle, but that eventually cleared up, probably needs the ICV cleaned. 
The clutch does function, but seems to sort of "bleed by" slowly. If you are in gear with no brakes applied and have the clutch pedal pressed it will slowly lose hydraulic pressure and engage the clutch.

After cleaning it in the little hidey hole I have it (I alone have 3 cars and a truck at a house that is setup for 4 cars, much less my roommates 2 cars lol) it looked alright, especially considering what it'll be used for.



Turns out to have a handful of aftermarket parts in it, the front steering components have all been replaced with stronger pieces, the rear lift was done properly, slip yoke eliminator in the rear, adjustable upper control arms in the front, good tires, factory skid plates that are actually staggeringly thick, and a few other odds and ends. 
It should prove to be quite fun! 
 
 
 

^speaking of which!


Now that it drives it was time to turn to other things.
The front had almost 6.5" of lift due to the 4.5" lift spring and a 2" rubber spacer. It looked stupid, especially on 33's with fenders that are trimmed up. 
Took the front axle almost all the way out in order to remove the rubber spacer on top of the spring. Realized the axle had been sitting about 2" toward the driver side because whomever put the spring spacers in never adjusted the trac bar. This style suspension is so much different than anything I've worked on, and luckily my roommate has been playing with jeeps for quite some time (his jeep in the back) so he can lend a hand when I get confused!

Also realized it has very f*ing beefy steering, and is a good system that allows you to adjust ride height and such without needing to adjust toe again. Stock steering has the drag link and tie rod end going as one part. 
Now to clean up the rear shock mtg points and get some shocks back there!
 

Feel free to keep an eye out for vehicles that you want in WA, I purchased a vehicle in WI and would be willing to do some low cost shipping of a vehicle from WA to WI.
Gas is cheap, work is in short supply, perfect time to drag a trailer around for a few days! 

I'm sad to see this go! I enjoyed the recent progress! Though now I see that "recent" is a bit... loose. 

Onto bigger and better things I hope!

What kind of bass boat order did you place? 

I had to go grocery shopping tonight and made a mandatory stop in an empty parking lot at Generac to take a picture.  I love this car.

Much stoke
Got the new clutch master cylinder in in about 30 min and didn't even need to bleed it. 
Clutch is fully functional now. $30 fix for the win. 

Kind of makes sense that it was worn out. The cluster (speedo doesn't work) shows about 284k miles, so the clutch has been done once or twice and you replace the hydraulic throw-out bearing when you do the clutch. The master was likely original and that's many times of pressing the clutch! 

Now to drive it and find what else is broken / needing repair!

Much stoke
Got the new clutch master cylinder in in about 30 min and didn't even need to bleed it. 
Clutch is fully functional now. $30 fix for the win. 

Kind of makes sense that it was worn out. The cluster (speedo doesn't work) shows about 284k miles, so the clutch has been done once or twice and you replace the hydraulic throw-out bearing when you do the clutch. The master was likely original and that's many times of pressing the clutch! 

Now to drive it and find what else is broken / needing repair!

I fired up my engine vape to see if there were any opportunities for improvement. The silicone coupling on the new intake was leaking. Silicone couplers always seem to “settle” after engine movement and heat, and require re-adjustment. All good now! No other leaks detected.
Aaand some smoke rings

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