And now for something a little different...Jeep FC170 "Patina Rod" (FC/F350/Cummins)

Good Work done Craig. Keep it coming. Pivnic

Big thanks to my friend Kyle Jfor letting me swing by yesterday morning and sandblast my engine crossmember. While I'm modifying this thing to fit mid-frame, it'll be much easier to deal with clean vs. rusty & greasy.

I also received my Destroked Cummins engine mounts yesterday...impressive-looking stuff.





I also picked up my arm rest brackets after being sandblasted & powdercoated. They looked nice, but the gray we picked (from an online color sample) was way too blue, and didn't match the gray accent pieces on the Commander seats. I'm way too picky to leave the mismatched color, so I scuffed them, and sprayed them with some Rustoleum Hammered charcoal gray, which looks great next to the seats.

In other not-so-exciting news, I also loaded up a trailer full of scrap steel (groveling the whole time because of the ridiculously-low scrap prices), and the place looks a little less rednecky now. It feels good to have things a little more organized around here.

Arrived this week...


1) Timken axle seals for the back of the knuckles (behind the unit bearings), and also where the shafts enter the axle tubes on the housing.

2) Shiny nuts. These M12 grade-10, zinc-coated flange nuts are for the coil spring seats. I didn't like the nylock ones I bought before, and will replace them with these.

I got the custom Saddle Brown leather arm rest covers installed. It took about 30-45 minutes each...well worth the effort! I'm really pleased with how they turned out.

Next up...custom sun visor covers in the same-color leather.

Looks great Craig. Nice work.

Did you stitch them yourself? They came up well.

Gojeep said:

Did you stitch them yourself? They came up well.

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Thanks, Marcus. No, a co-worker who does leather work stitched them for me. I gave him the "donor leather" (from the '06 Jeep Commander), new rubber from Walck's, and a couple old arm rests to use as patterns. Because he didn't do the final assembly, he only charged me a very reasonable $20 U.S. To sew them up.

It took me 30-45 minutes each to assemble. I'm very pleased with the outcome.

He suggested a "Jeep" cutout inlaid in the visors. I like the idea.

Craig, you and your coworker do nice work. The visor idea sounds good as well.

splinterguy said:

Craig, you and your coworker do nice work. The visor idea sounds good as well.

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Thanks!

I got the wiring harness removed (and labeled), along with the heater lines. The Cummins engine is looking leaner & meaner.

Warn also sent me this "I'm sorry our packaging on your last order sucked" package (Winch Accessory Kit, P/N 88900), which I received today. I'm thoroughly impressed! It's a $175 value. Did I mention I'm impressed? It'll be great for the "expedition" theme of the FC.

Hi Craig. That's very Cool of Warn! Great business practice to keep their customers happy, especially if they mis-fired. Kudos to Warn! Pivnic

Pivnic said:

Hi Craig. That's very Cool of Warn! Great business practice to keep their customers happy, especially if they mis-fired. Kudos to Warn! Pivnic

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Agreed!


Does Buffalo Bill ("Silence of the Lambs") come to mind? The 3rd-row Jeep Commander seats have been de-skinned for donor leather that'll be used for other FC cab accents (sun visors, grab bar wrap, etc.). For the $65 I paid for this set of seats, there is lots of nice leather there.


The 3rd-row Jeep Commander seats also have these slick, spring-loaded, cable-actuated headrest brackets (used to automatically fold the headrest forward/down when the seats fold). In the spirit of rat rod ingenuity, I think I'll reuse these for some quick-access in-floor storage compartments.


Here are my naked FC170 sun visors. I used some 2-part epoxy to make them a little more rigid where the fiber board meets the metal hanger. I'll repaint the mounts with charcoal gray, and have my co-worker make leather covers for the visors.


Thoughts about using the "JEEP" font on the grill stamping as a cutout in my leather sun visors? The leather color would be Saddle Brown (matching seats/arm rests) with a charcoal gray leather "JEEP" cutout/insert. I like the idea.


Another 47RH 4WD transmission just happened to be available very close to Bell's Brewing, where we were heading yesterday anyway to meet some good friends for lunch & beverages. Why *wouldn't* I haul it home with me?!? It only has 145K miles, but does need a rebuild (clutches)...it was very affordable, though.


Twinsies.

I would go with the same font for the Jeep in the sunvisors for sure.

Gojeep said:

I would go with the same font for the Jeep in the sunvisors for sure.

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The remnants of my (rough) former "Dan's Snowplowing" FC170 are almost gone, but the parts shall live on. I got both cab corners cut off tonight, and shelved for future patch panels for my lowers, shall I choose to replace them (I probably will). I don't need *nearly* this much sheet metal, but saved plenty just in case.


WARNING: Graphic images. My 2008 Super Duty frame is now NAKED...devoid of all superfluous body mount brackets. Yes, I've been productive this morning. I primered all these spots after taking the pics, BTW.
#nakedframe #thegrinderismybitch

I haven't made much progress this week, as I've been having too much fun being on vacation with my oldest daughter, Mira (almost 15 yrs. old). Mountain biking, gun range, animal park, etc. We've had a great time together.


(Single-speeding my Surly fat bike.)



(Mira's results firing a 9mm Glock 43 for the first time. The kid is a darned fine shot!)







I do have a couple small updates. This electronic Service Manual (found free on one of the Cummins forums) will come in incredibly handy while rebuilding the '95 Cummins/47RH-powered truck. Service procedures, torque specs, troubleshooting, blah, blah, blah.


I also picked up a few new small parts from the dealer (I LOVE my significant dealer discount, even though parts are still spendy)...

1. New torque converter bolts
2. Engine oil dipstick; original one is cracked at the "T-handle".
3. Electric 4WD indicator switch (P/N 0513 4375 AA, right) for the '01 NP241 DHD transfer case, which replaces the original vacuum switch.

Family time is important too.

Gojeep said:

Family time is important too.

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Absolutely!


We moved the cab up to the front garage earlier this week in preparation for the cab install on the Super Duty frame.


The FC cab is now leveled on the dolly fore & aft. I started taking several reference measurements on the FC cab and '08 Super Duty frame so I can start mocking up a temporary front crossmember.

As of earlier today, all glass is removed, original fender flares are removed, and the cab is now level on the casters/dolly.

Rotors are now blasted & painted with caliper paint (they'll be turned at some point before final install). I also bought Grade-8 bolts, and (loosely) mounted the Warn hidden winch brackets.

The front dually adapters are now blasted & powdercoated satin black...pretty!

Hi Craig. It's good seeing progress being made on your project! The Dual Adapters look really good! Pivnic

cool project build Craig, looking forward to seeing more posts on your progress. (p.s how do you guys get your wives to help, need guidance on that )

Your JK is one of the colours I have looked at to paint my pickup.

Wow Craig, very nice build---this is my first time checking out your build, I need to pay attention to you FC guys better! Sweet!