While I was sitting there yesterday brooding and being pissed about the bent rods, Dave actually got the 258 exhaust and T-176/D300/skid plate from Dookie ready for install into Klooge. This morning we popped it all in.

After that was all done, we still had lots of daylight so decided to stab the engine. It went in super easy – easiest I’ve ever done, actually. Got it all bolted down and then it was getting dark.

Buttoned up for the night.

So Tuesday Jan 19th was cold & rainy, and so was Wednesday the 20th. We did manage to get some nit noid stuff done. Dave finished up putting in the new fuel tank and finally got the locking cap off, and I decided to pop the valve cover and change the valve seals. Unfortunately though, I discovered two push rod ends staring at me once I got the valve cover off. Hopefully, they’re just collapsed lifters, because one of the rods (#4 intake) was actually bent, whereas #5 intake was still straight as an arrow… which explains why it still runs… like crap, but still runs. Hopefully, we got lucky and he can fix this without a complete rebuild.

Wait – what are those shiny things?

Aww – crap.

Uh-oh

Thursday night I got a call from the hospital to come see my Mom. About 5 hours later she passed – peacefully – but at least we were there with her. Totally out of nowhere, ‘something’ got out of control and her body just couldn’t take anymore of all the things she had going on. A few weeks ago while I was watching her struggle just to take a nap, I said a prayer and asked for her to go peacefully sooner than later so she wouldn’t have to suffer a hard ending… and I feel like I might’ve just gotten an answer. I’m more relieved than upset or devastated, as most people would think I would be after losing Mom.

A big help through all of this has been the arrival of my BFF Dave. We’ve been working hard on getting the drivetrain swaps for the Jeeps sorted out, and having Dave here to work with side-by-side and just enjoy ourselves being together has been incredibly helpful not only for the project, but also because there’s just nothing that can replace the time you get to spend with the most important people in your life. Mom is gone, but she would want us to be together right now.

This past Saturday, the day after Dave drove from Phoenix to San Angelo, we finished pulling out the TF-999/D300, driveshafts, motor mounts, and exhaust system from Klooge. Sorry I got a little behind on my ‘blogging… then again, I’m actually catching this up on 10 Feb, while back-dating to 19 Jan. Behold the power of owning your own blog.

The TF-999 decided to spill its guts when I started working on the cooling lines – they pretty much disintegrated, so I guess I’ll need some new ones when this all goes into my Jeep.

Sunday, after some re-organization and clean-up, while Dave was working on dropping the fuel tank (he bought a new one), I worked on getting the 258 unbuttoned and ready to come out.

It’s times like this I’m reminded that the clamshell mod (as Dave calls it) was the best $8 I ever spent on my Jeep. Under the grille bolts and both fenders swing out of the way.

Also had a chance to put the first piece from the transplant into Klooge – the radiator.

Monday was about getting the engine & transmission/T-case out of my Jeep.

A happy Dave, now that we got the engine pulled out of Dookie.

Today was cold and trying to rain all day, so Dave worked on getting the rest of the fuel tank stuff taken care of, while I pulled the steering column and brake/clutch pedal assembly from my Jeep. I don’t think we got any pics of that.

Hopefully, it won’t rain tomorrow so we can get more done, otherwise it’ll be a marathon to squeeze everything else we have to do before he has to leave this coming weekend.

OK – that 304 is OUTTA THERE! Cold freaken day, but my buddy Harry came over and we got it out. I’d piddled with getting the last bits disconnected last weekend and all we had was a ground strap (that came off with the driver side engine mount) and the kick down brackets for the TF-999.

Discovered last weekend that the previous owners had gone with dual exhaust, meaning they’d Redneck Engineered a second pipe and Cherry Bomb for the passenger side. Apparently, they cut the Y-pipe extension to the passenger side, smushed it flat and welded it closed. Hey – whatever works, I guess! I’ll bet this Laredo was a pretty cool and fun toy for them while they had it.

I decided to just bite the bullet and leave the transfer cases with their respective transmissions to save time during the transfer of my Jeep’s drivetrain into the Laredo for Dave to take home with him, and spare the driveway a couple of new puddles of 90-weight in the process. So basically, Dave gets a turn-key running Jeep, and I have my work ahead of me to get mine running again – but this time, for the last time.

I also struck a deal with Harry to take my 33×15.50 TSX Swampers and 15×10 steelies, along with my old hard top and doors for $500. Since Dave scored me a pristine set of full ‘paddle handle’ doors, we’ll swap that YJ hard top onto Dookie before Dave takes off with Klooge after next week (he already picked up a Rampage black denim YJ soft top, which should work nicely with those half doors… when I met him, he had a ’92 Wrangler Islander, and had always preferred the factory top against the Bestop units). Once everything’s back in order, drive train-wise in my Jeep, I’ll be upgrading to some 35×12.50 Swamper SSRs and a set of Mickey Thompson Classic IIIs (for weight savings and one more cosmetic point for this ‘Jeep 3.0’ project of mine).

Now, I just gotta pull the engine mounts, exhaust, transmission, T-case, and drive shafts, then we’ll be ready to bring the 258/T-176/D300, driveshafts, clutch linkage, brake pedal, and steering column over from my Jeep into the Laredo. After getting everything wired up and replace the valve seals, it should be running… then we work on the little nit-noid things before he heads home.

OK – so between work, finishing up cleaning out my Mom’s apartment, my New Years’ Eve B-Day (and subsequent hangover), and a couple days of bad weather, I’m ready to pull the engine tomorrow morning. A bit behind schedule, as the first day Dave gets here we’ll be pulling the 258 & T-176 from my Jeep to reinstall into this one (that’ll be easier, since mine is substantially cleaner, easier to get to, and significantly less ‘Redneck Engineered’ (I have some pics to share of the clipped, smushed, and welded Y-pipe on the factory exhaust system later – this guy had dual Cherry Bombs, after all).

Ah! Good info to have! Thanks, John!

Got a little more done today. Everything’s disconnected on the engine, removed the radiator, and got the brake pedal out. It actually just came loose from the 4 bolts on the firewall, and that was that. The steering column mount ties it into the bracket to the top of the cowl – once I’d pulled the column mount, the brake pedal was already loose – BONUS!

Also confirmed that the engine is already loaded up with an Edelbrock Performer intake – SCORE! Now, I have a tough decision to make (get an Edelbrock Pro Flo EFI system and remove this intake, or get an E-Street EFI system like on my Mach 1 – good problem to have, I think).

Everything’s disconnected on the engine, except the motor mounts, bell housing bolts, and exhaust manifold junctions to the pipes. This sucker’s almost ready to come out! Looks like it came from the factory as a beige Jeep. I guess the PO never pulled the brake system. The pedal also easily went to the floor with no air movement noises coming from the booster – got a new kit coming to replace it all… can’t have Dave leaving here with no brakes, after all.

No pedal, no steering column… looks like this Jeep’s not going anywhere any time soon. LOL!

Got the steering column out today – whata PITA. One of the welded nuts on the the interior shroud broke loose, and wouldn’t let the column come out. After I managed to get the automatic harness unplugged and the brace unbolted, I was able to wiggle it out after prying the 2-piece interior shroud apart enough for the end to slip thru.

This column is toast. It was raining ball bearings once I up-ended the column. Looks like a call to JEGS will be in order soon.

While the radiator was draining, I removed the stainless grille insert, since Dave doesn’t want all the bling. I guess I’ll hang it on the wall in the garage and keep it as a spare if mine ever gets damaged.

After chasing down a couple of tools, some replacement bolts, and whatnot, I got busy on getting the fenders pulled. My new air ratchet earned its keep today, that’s for sure. Lost of nastiness in there – Dave’s got his work cut out for him on this one.

Started getting dark as I got the passenger side off, so I packed it in for the night. With any luck, I’ll have the engine on a stand soon.

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Got a few things done today. I lined up the half doors with some pin-style strikers: Black Mountain units from Collins Bros Jeep, so they at least close now. Also buzzed off the front (fender) pieces of the diamond-plate rocker pieces – I have some repop fenders to replace these nasty old things, and I’ll be doing the ‘clamshell’ treatment I did on Dookie about 15 years ago with the new fenders. Also surveyed the engine compartment and sprayed down some PB Blaster to get ready for Saturday’s fun.

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Looks like a big rusty mess, but my ’71 Mach 1’s engine was worse, and seized as well. This one at least turns. I’m hoping the brake booster is still good.

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After some major cleaning of the garage, picking up some big tools (26-gallon air compressor, low-profile transmission jack, full set of wheel skates, and a tow bar), I’m finally ready to bring Dave’s Jeep home from Harry’s back yard.

My wife decided we needed to rename the Jeeps, since Dave’s Jeep is being pieced together from others, it’s now “Klooge.”  “Klooge” was a name Dave used to use for his toon when we played Unreal Tournament so many years ago, so I asked my wife if I needed to rename mine to “Dookie” (my toon’s name), and just like that… “Dookie” it is.  My wife likes to name our vehicles, and she’s pretty much a genius about it, as well… so, it’s all good.

Here we are in front of Harry’s house with Klooge hooked up to Clifford (The Big Red Dodge – wife’s fault again, LOL).  It towed like a dream… probably would’ve been even better with the right amount of air in the tires.  LOL!

Tow bar from Tractor Supply for only $150.  Not a bad deal.  Did just fine.

Finally found a use for the bumperettes, since there’s so much bondo on the side panel, and since the diamond plate’s non-ferrous…

And here we are in the driveway.  Klooge and Dookie, brothers reunited, and will be donors for a major heart transplant between the two.  

Tomorrow, I start in on getting Klooge ready to pull the 304 & TF-999.

Don’t worry, the Mach 1 is safety tucked away in the garage, and I have some motivation for a quick turn on this project, since Klooge is blocking it in – ain’t goin’ nowhere until I get this Jeep out of the way.  Not to mention, the wife’s not all that impressed by having her car hanging halfway out from under the carport… even MORE motivation to get these engines swapped in the next few days.