It has begun...

[WrenchMonkey]

Teaser:

http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb201/rmhull/Black01.jpg

Robert

[WrenchMonkey]

Okay, the first coat is on! :D

http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb201/rmhull/Black/Black02.jpg
http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb201/rmhull/Black/Black03.jpg
http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb201/rmhull/Black/Black04.jpg
http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb201/rmhull/Black/Black05.jpg
http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb201/rmhull/Black/Black06.jpg
http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb201/rmhull/Black/Black07.jpg
http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb201/rmhull/Black/Black08.jpg
http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb201/rmhull/Black/Black09.jpg

The hood was still half wet when I took the pics, it's not really that blotchy.
Okay, not quite... :D

It took one can of Rustoleum Professional to put three coats on the hatch last month, a second can to do the four fenders, flares, doorjambs, and around the windows, and a third can to do the hood and a bunch of touchups/goofing around.

(The white hatch took two coats to cover, and a third, light coat to even it out.)

Haven't decided about the wheels yet. I thought the white would look better than it does.

Prep work was, shall we say... minimal.

I scrubbed the 491 mud off it with a scrubbrush. Didn't even use soap. I'll probably have to redo the hood, and sand off the peeling clearcoat.

We'll see. I've embraced the ugly, and it has set me free!

Robert

[Coppertop]

I like....

Maybe some red racing stripes.:D

Nick

[WrenchMonkey]

I like....

Maybe some red racing stripes.:D

Nick

Over on TORC we're trying on all different colors of wheel for a little contrast.

As for actual stripes, this may end up on the roof:

http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb201/rmhull/Black/flag.jpg

Three reasons:
(1) I think it looks pretty cool, sort of a Dukes of Hazzard tribute, and it'll really only show when I'm wheeling: climbing/descending/offcamber...
(2) The white stripes should reflect some sun, and not bake me like the flat black would...
But mostly,
(3) I really, really don't want to rattle-can that whole roof. The hood was bad enough!

Robert

[jfiscus]

you went with flat? Seems liek mud would be so much harder to get out, especially haspin mud.
I used Krylon Fusion Black, stuck right to everthing after a simpel wash & still looked new a year later.
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c72/jfiscus/89%20Jeep%20Cherokee/newblackpaint.jpg
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c72/jfiscus/89%20Jeep%20Cherokee/DSC06413.jpg

For my wife's Jeep we used rustoleum & the paint doesn't look as good about 6 months later now.
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c72/jfiscus/87%20Jeep%20Cherokee%20Trish/DSCI0215.jpg
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c72/jfiscus/87%20Jeep%20Cherokee%20Trish/DSCI0214.jpg
light coats are the trick though.

[WrenchMonkey]

you went with flat? Seems liek mud would be so much harder to get out, especially haspin mud...

I'm sure you're right, and I'm just going to see how bad it bothers me.

I shied away from the gloss because I knew it'd be a lot harder to get it even. That flat rustoleum is really, really forgiving.

They've got a few levels in between, if the flat doesn't work, I'll try again with the satin...

Yours looks great, by the way...

Robert

[Coppertop]

Yep, I agree they all look good..

Robert ,I like the roof idea.

Nick

[WrenchMonkey]

Update...

I decided to just do the roof black, too. The more I looked at it, the red was in such bad shape (faded and peeling) that the flag would've looked like chit.

Plus, I found the same Rusto-Pro in a quart, so I just rolled the roof... :cool:


Here it is (sans bumper) with my buddy's bike, that finally conviced me to do the flat black:

http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb201/rmhull/Black/blackpair.jpg

It's a new Harley Sportster 883 Iron. Flat black from stem to stern, only chrome is the sidepipes.

I'd been thinking of black for years. When I replaced the hatch last month, I know it was the beginning of the end.

And when I saw that bike, it pushed me over the edge.

Robert

[Coppertop]

Damn I'm gunna miss Red ...:( Gotta say it looks good..

The roof flag would be cool.

Nick

Nice bike

[WrenchMonkey]

Well, I finally painted the wheels last week.

They were supposed to be dark grey, but they turned out just about as black as the body.

I've decided I like em enough to keep em...

http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb201/rmhull/Black/09102501.jpg
http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb201/rmhull/Black/09102502.jpg

Up next: she's getting a whole new face.

Well, a less abused 21-year-old face, anyway...

Robert

[Coppertop]

Lookin' good...

Nick

[WrenchMonkey]

Twenty-one minutes later, the face was stripped:
http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb201/rmhull/Black/09102503.jpg

Then two hours of piecing together what I could use from mine, plus some odds-n-ends from the 90 I bought for parts, and the new(er) face I got from my buddy Tim's MJ, and I had it cobbled together well enough to work...
http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb201/rmhull/Black/09102504.jpg

After that, it was only a half-hour job to get the new header cut to clear the winch, and then bolted on so I'd have headlights to take psycho-***** out for fried pickles and Island Ale.
http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb201/rmhull/Black/09102505.jpg
http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb201/rmhull/Black/09102506.jpg

Okay, the Ale was for me...

I plan to get all the turn signals and markers done in the morning, and see if I can swap in the wiring harness out of the 90.

Eventually, it'll get rattle-canned to match.

Robert

[itbrokeagain]

Wheels look good. Doors are on a little early. What happened to Thanksgiving?

[jmb8813]

still liked the red better

[WrenchMonkey]

Wheels look good. Doors are on a little early. What happened to Thanksgiving?

AlGore did just a good job kickin the chit outta global warming that I about froze my chestnuts last week...

I'm gettin too old to play that tough...

still liked the red better

A little late for that opinion... :rolleyes:

Anyway:

http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb201/rmhull/Black/09102601.jpg

I think I like it... It's been a long time since she looked so, um, well, so much like a Cherokee.

The trim and grill still need paint. I'm debating between flat black to match the body, or that dark grey to match the wheels.

It took a lot of trimming to fit the grill around the winch:

http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb201/rmhull/Black/09102602.jpg

...but it turned out pretty well, there's no more than like 1/8" gap 'tween the two.

Robert

[tjjeepjeep]

Looks great Robert!!! Like the way it turned out..

[RuffedUpXJ]

Looks very nice. Makes it look years newer.

[comanchedude]

Much better than red... looks mean bro

[Coppertop]

Looks good brother.The way the sun glares on the front.... I thought ya went chrome at first glance.

Nothing wrong with a little bling.:D

Nick

[Coppertop]

How's the engine swap going??

Nick

Go Bengals!!WHO-DEY!!!

[thefuzz]

i think you did good !!! looks KOOL !!!:) :) :beers: :beers:

[WrenchMonkey]

How's the engine swap going??

Well, the short answer is that it isn't...

It turned over 200k the Friday before Christmas. Drove it all over town on Saturday, then Sunday I tore it down and put in a front axle seal.

Backed it out of the garage Monday morning so she could put her Exploder away, then Monday afternoon it wouldn't start.

I thought I could smell gas, and I am getting spark, so I don't know.


In the meantime, I've spent like $1200 and more frozen mornings that I can count, keeping the Ford on the road so I can get to work.

Half that much time and money and I coulda had the engine swap done, but I hate to start with a bug in the system.

It's supposed to warm up next week, I hope to get back into it.

If it's something easy, I plan to just fix it and drive it til spring, then swap the engine out when it's warmer.

If it's not, I'll get the garage furnace fixed so I've got someplace warm to work for the long haul...

Robert