yeah I heard it sounds healthy

 

I can imagine how healthy it would sound coming straight out of the headers... Did it turn over and RUN???

 

Every time Gibby gets more excited, add another zero ont he end of the price Crash !

 

You shadaapp!

I'll be taking out a second mortgage as it is.

For anyone doing these - if you wanna do it right, count on twice the price that you expected. It's all the little stuff that you didn't plan on.

I also made choices to do it right rather than cheap but it's amazing how it adds up! I've lost track of the cost at this point

 

your going to have an extreme rig Gibby ! I know you'll enjoy it !! Shoot... Im enjoying it for you already !

 

Crash more pics please, and having fun undrair? hows the crossmember coming?

 

Since a very large portion of the engine area stuff and electrical done (still have to do in cab winch control, off orad lights, coolant fans and main power feed to the back of the rig for the air pump) it was time to do the shifter stuff since I got the goods mid week for it.

Here are the items I will be using for the tranny and t-case's.

Tranys shifter- Lokar (love these things)
T-case's Tripple shift from Offroad Design.

 

The first item I dove into will be the tranny shifter. I have used these on other rigs, and pretty well know the ins/outs of them quite well now..

Here is the main portion of the craddle that sits on the top of the tranny and this is what the shifter actually bolts to..



The one and only problem with these shifters is the back bracket is supposed to use the 2 top bolts of the tail shaft housing to hold it (these are all designed for two wheel drive aplications). Unfortunately there is a T-case in the way so that won't work.



As you can see, this little bracket just won't cut it.

 

Here is how I modified the bracket. It now use's the top bolt on the 203 adapter.



Another nice aspect of this shifter, it comes with one switch on it that can either be used for a neutral safety switch, or back up light switch, but not both.



So to get the rig to have both a neutral safety switch, and back up lights, you can buy this secondary switch..

 

Before I got ahead of myself, I decided to dig into the tripple shift kit to make sure nothing was going to interfear with the lokar shifter, and I found the main bracket that holds the tripple shifters also uses the same bolt I chose for back bracket on the lokar. Luckily, it didn't cause any issues as the mounting holes on the main bracket for the lokar are slotted and the 1/4" thickness of the tripple shifter backet didn't cause any issues..

 

Another nice aspect of the lokar shifters, they are quite adjustable so you can get the fit you want..

Here is how the shifter turned out...



Here you can get a better view of how the main part of the shifter sits on the top bracket..



Here is the linkage that goes down to the shifter on the trans and you can also see the add on switch (I used this one for the back up lamps). Here you can also see another portion of the cradle that holes the shifter to the tranny..

Now that the lokar was mounted, I was able to finish all the wiring that was laying down on the tranny. I went ad adjusted the back up light switch, and the neutral safety switch, and was able to crank the motor over (no fuel lines yet of it would have started).. I was also able to finish the vent hoses for both the 205 and 203 doubler.

 

Before I dug into the the tripple shifter, I decided to get the tranny cooler lines finished up. The tranny we had gotten came with a pair of pre-made trany cooler lines so we figured we would use them (I am a fan of hardlines myself). I usually run the lines down the motor but due to the fact these are hydro-rubber lines, I didn't want run them right next to the headers on the motor, so I opted to run them down the frame rail instead. The length of the lines ended up only being a couple inch's too long which wasn't a big deal..

 

So now it was time to hit the tripple shifter setup. Within 5 minutes, I relized, this is going to be ALOT of work. As best as I can tell, this setup is really made for a full size rig, a rig with a very wide tranny tunel. Needless to say, it took about 4 hours to just get the shifters bent into the proper shape, so they would hit the tunnel in just the right spot and not interfear with the tranny shifter.



Now, the next battle, to make a cover for the tunnel so the tunnel would be capped, and I could have all shifters with a boot on them... I actually made a cardboard template first, and then again realized I had to spend another 2 hours bending the shifters again.. Then I had to dig out (and knock the dust off) the sawzall, and remove some of the tunnel.

Here is how the cover turned out. Bolts down in six places and has threaded holes to hold all 3 of the shifter boots.



Here is the linkage mess at the t-case's. The brackets also had to be modified, but I suspect its due to how the case is clocked (203-205 adapter wasn't made by offroad design). But I was able to make things work..

 

And here is how it looks with the shifters tweeked one last time and painted. I will wait a couple of days to put the boots on since the paint is still kinda soft. But from left to right, its 203 rear front..

 

Ok, time to build the cross member. I sat there, trying to get a rough idea in my head and relized, the origional torsion bar mounts are going to be in the way. So I fired off the plasma and torch, and OMG, did I make another huge mess (not to mention I just took another dirt bath ha ha ha)..
I was only able to totaly remove one mount, as I ran outa oxygen, crap!!!

 

Hey crash....


My 3rd gen is next. Do you take Visa ?

 

Damn Gina got alot done after I left, anyway hopefully I dont have to work this weekend, and I'll be able to go wheelin'

 

I worked pretty late on it saturday night and then again sunday..

Well, the x-member is almost done and is turning out pretty slick, I think you will like it gibby,,

 

How bout the fans, are the one's that I emailed you about going to fit?

 

.