1995 RMW Jade Project Wagon

Yikes. I would have went without tips.

94Woody wrote:

Yikes. I would have went without tips.

Nah, Id rather have these than no tips. Rollpan will be next year, and I like Jarrod's idea!

Its growing on me...and it will work for this year. A lot better than the honkin redneck truck tips that were on it before. I think the new wheels will help it too...

Speaking of those new wheels... When do we get to see them on the car?

matthimself456 wrote:

Speaking of those new wheels... When do we get to see them on the car?

2nd that. I've been following this thread to see it all come together! Nice job.

If you guys were he, would you show the installed rims on the forum here, or roll up gangsta style at the meet with them?

Lol! Just been a crazy week at work and with Cello...shooting for next week on the wheels hopefully...

All done!!

Niiiiiiiiiiice.

Need clear corners.

Quite a transformation. The wheels look MEAN.

Stingroo wrote:

Niiiiiiiiiiice.

Need clear corners.

Needs nothing,leave it alone please!

I have to agree with Stingroo - clear corners.

Bam!

Sorry, Jim. lol

I agree with fishoil. I like the yeller.

Nicely executed! Clean n mean

ALL DONE?? PFTTT - they are NEVER all done.

However the Wagon looks AWESOME.............very very nice. give yourself a big pat on the back for a job well done

Looks great! Really nice work!!!

Nice Chris, that's a nice lookin' wagon.

Mike

Well..thanks guys!   Yes there will be more little things here and there….as always!  But the bulk is done for now.  Someday Id like a full repaint without the woodgrain, but that is awhile down the road.
One of the best things about this wagon, is all the forum members that have a hand in it!  Was thinking about this last night.  These are not in any order, just how they came out of my brain!
 
DBeaSSt – many parts!  Cargo cover, floormats, door switches (really everything I used from the White Wagon, since I initially got it from him…so that includes the engine and trans as well! Lol )
 
BigOldV8 -  tons of help with woodgrain and suspension…could not have installed all that alone, no way.
 
1phastsswagon – Wheeling and dealing for new steering components and pushing me to finish up the woodgrain intime for Autofair (needed that boost!)  He also hooked me up with a rear end install and a cool car club!
 
1993 Roady-man – Jarrod did amazing work on the wheels….was very fortunate to have that done by him.  WOW
 
Sprocket – Through buying my OCC, it allowed me the funds to actually finish up the wagon!
 
200OZ – Sweet pair of front 9C1 springs
 
NavyLifer – Rear swaybar, gears and posi, new trans cooler lines plus the rear shock mount kit.
 
BigBlackBeaSSt – an amazing gifted Dashpad!
 
94Woody – The RMS horn wiring and some airdam pieces, plus RMS horns…and other Pull A Part treasures I think…
 
Pat – Misc parts acquired through the White Wagon project…plus a lot of good ideas and advice
 
JaySS – LOTS of good advice and technical support
 
Nick – Uber rare rear swaybar mounting brackets for the rear LCAs. Very glad to have those!
 
The two Roos (Stingroo and Flasheroo) for nudging me to keep going...both in PMs and on Facebook.
 
I’m probably forgetting something or someone too….so if you posted on any page of my Wagon Build Thread…I THANK YOU!!!!!!
 
 

You got it all wrong Chris,we owe you a huge thanks for keeping us in the loop with all the pics
and commentary.I enjoyed this build much more than the sedan nosed wagon because you just
seemed to be having a much more fun with this wagon compared to the other one!

It looks great. That soft evening light really brings out the pattern in the wood grain. Glad your feeling better.

Some other updates as they come....

Finally finished up painting the frame and rear end. Was hoping I could use a lift at some point, but I realized that I just needed to get it done. Spent the day on the creeper.

Before final cleaning and paint...



----

After paint (just noticed I missed a bit of painters tape on the E-brake cable toward the front...lol)

Finished with Fresh Rubber undercoating on FRI.

Well, used some Birthday gift money to buy a couple items for Jade.

Bought a set of those smoked lights (with the Casper caps) and some new bulbs.

I also bought a Jeep steering shaft (really nice one) from Fred. I will try to get the headlights installed this weekend. The steering shaft might have to wait a couple more weeks (have some stuff this weekend and then Symphony next)

Chris

YES! Those lights are going to look fantastic on that car.

Well done.

Car looks great underneath,does the 5 second rule apply here?

What did you paint it with that allowed you to spray upside down?

That looks good. Might do under mine. Black out ALL the things.

Whats the jeep steering shaft? fill me in on why that is special?

As I understand it, I don't think it has the rag joint in the middle so you don't have that dead spot in the middle but not 100% sure either. Fill us in so that I can want one too, lol.

Something else to start harvesting at the yards....

Looking awesome, Chris! Man, that car is nice!

Do yourself a favor though, go to ddmtuning.com and order a set of their 30 dollah hid's. I have run 6000K, and 4500K. I like the 45 cuz it's closer to regular sunlight. the 6 is a little bluer white, but still white. You lose your high beams with their cheap ones, but it's fine, cuz you don't need them. If you need to pass a safety inspection, just swap in regular bulbs for it and swap back after.

Anyways, those (awesome looking tinted) lights with regular bulbs are horrifically bad and you will not be able to see at night. But if you return those Sylvania's, you can get usable HID's for the same money.

Just a thought...

+1 for DDM tuning HIDs. I don't have them yet because I have stock headlights and don't really want to be the most hated person on the road, but several friends do. Their newer kits with the slim ballasts look sweet.

Ok! Checking on the HID lights Crovo...will I need to upgrade my wiring? I don't want to melt anything...

Roo, I painted the frame and rear end by hand (used a couple sizes of paint brushes) with Rust-Oleum black "hammered" paint. Bought a quart. (and still have more than half left with two coats used on the frame/rear) I will say this, the black is really charcoal looking...not black. But I like it anyhow. Matches the powdercoating that came on the rear swaybar!




As for the Jeep Shaft...

I was saving up to buy a new (or pieces to make a new) Borgeson steering shaft. My stock shaft has play (the rag joint at the bottom is worn out). I could really tell after I replaced all the front end components and added Jarrod's big wheels.


http://www.impalassforum.com/vBulletin/showthread.php?t=256510&highlight=Jeep+Shaft


The more I researched...the more I found that going the Jeep shaft route (the Jeep shaft has the U-Joints at both ends and is a direct fit) would make more sense for me right now. The key would be to find a really nice one. Here is some info from Fred on this (I ended up buying one from him because his price was honestly really good and he knew which one to snag) They come out of mid 90's Jeep Cherokees.

**I also know there is a chance this shaft might not work with my headers....but for what I $$ for this shaft..it's worth a try vs the nearly $300 for the Borgeson components.

Here are my questions to Fred...


#1. How can you tell if your rag joint is done...vs steering box slop

#2. If I buy a Jeep Shaft from you, will it be plug and play (and do you have a good example of one for sale)

Quote :

#1 you have to pull the cover over the lower shaft back, and watch the two ends of the rag joint. If they do not move as one together, it is worn out.

#2 If I get you a jeep shaft that does not have the tangs between the upper universal forks, you will have to clean it, and compress it carefully. Once it is compressed, it is a bolt in item.

There is a small difference in jeep shafts for consideration. There are 2 styles of shaft that fit. One has tangs which protrude into the upper universal fork, and the tangs must be welded or the rubber isolator can let go of the iinner shaft, and it is like the rag joint having slop in it. That type is not just a bolt in.

So, I still need to compress this one to install it...figuring out the best way to do this without touching the U-joints is my next step. Also want to paint it after I compress it.

Here are some tips on compressing and installing it.... (or it looks like some people separate it instead)

Quote :

To separate the shaft ends, I put the upper end in a vice, and used a 2X2 on the lower end at the base of the universal fork. A couple of good whacks with a heavy hammer and they came apart. The other side of that coin is, that you do not have to take the shaft apart, just collapse it, and install it. You can use a 2X2 and hammer to extend it when installing it.

The splined end has a flat on it, and it will only go on one way. The column has a flat on both sides of the shaft, and will go on correctly and at 180 degreees from correct. The best way to install the Jeep shaft is to keep the orientation of the steering and column from moving while the swap is in progress. If you have the steering wheel locked, and the wheels on the ground, the chances of getting a misalignment is almost zero. It is also a lot easier to work on when it is sitting on the ground.

Here are the pics of mine...not rusty...and U joints are nice and tight.

What make, year and model exactly would I be looking for to find this shaft. Mine needs replacing like yesterday.

Wouldn't installing the non-rag type steering shaft create more road feel in the steering wheel? Shake, bump, vibration, etc... I understand this could be great for some situations, but an every day driver, may get old after awhile??? Maybe I'm just getting old and prefer comfort in all aspects of driving a car...

1993 Roady-man wrote:

What make, year and model exactly would I be looking for to find this shaft. Mine needs replacing like yesterday.

(from Fred)

You want to look for 89-96 Cherokee (not Grand Cherokee). Make sure the U-joints are nice and tight and do not click .

To remove:

Metric ratchet set, and a huge screw driver. Check with 96whitecloud for
further instructions. Unbolt the shaft and remove the bolts. Then
removing the steering column makes it easy. The shaft falls out. The
shaft will probably not want to collapse (you will have to work on it at
home). Removing the steering box is 10X harder than removing the
steering column. I have removed at least 8 of them, that is how I know.


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GMtech, I'm going for a solid feel (and don't mind if I feel the road more). The way the top piece is designed...it really seems like it will dampen the vibrations some (rubber in there too)
https://2img.net/h/i418.photobucket.com/albums/pp261/chrisandcarapowell/Jade/photo-46-4.jpg

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Finished my headlights Using regular bulbs right now until I research those HIDs more. I know you guys will hate the "egg yoke" parking lights. But I actually like that. To me, parking lights are supposed to be yellow...not clear. I know I'm weird!

Wow, that thing is looking fantastic. Only thing I don't like is how 'behind' the grille tabs show up more now that they are painted body color.....not easy to fix either...but that's just my nit picky 2 cents says the guy with a driveway full of clear coat failure cars...

Fred,how much for those jeep steering shafts?Chris,when you get yours in please let us know how
it feels.Between this wagon and the sedan nosed wagon you must have a few hundred hours
underneath them cleaning,polishing and painting!

Those look awesome, Chris! Really grab your wood just right. And the DGGM is a good match for em, too.

And I'm weird like you, too. I like my parking lights to be amber. I can't STAND clear markers!

Can you take a pic of the lights on?

toomanytoyz wrote:

Can you take a pic of the lights on?

Funny thing is.....I thought the same thing when I took that pic. lol

I will get a night shot soon!! Has to be better than what I had though!

Thanks for all the compliments too!! I agree on the tabs Sprocket...working on it at some point!

Here are a couple I just took of mine with the 4300k HID's with the same headlights. First pic looks darker outside because of the light coming from the lights.

Well...I was felling pretty good about my lights...until I saw your above post just now Ancient 1 ! HAHAAA!! I gotta get those HIDs...they look bright as heck!

BUT for now...I CAN SEE!!!! These are sooooooooo much better than my stock ones....

Chris, I have used this stuff on a couple of cars, doing hood stripes, grill inserts, rear wings and wheels..... all with excellent results. Basically it's a single stage flat paint that you mix and spray.

This is the quart kit and I used about an ounce to do my grill......

http://semproducts.com/product-catalog/color-horizons/hot-rod/low-voc-hot-rod-colors/

OH, almost forgot, it's a 4:1:1 mix ratio. let me know if you need some and maybe I can package some up for you.

I really like the new headlights. The smoked design ties in well with the dark wood and trim. Really fits!

That's turned into such a sharp car. I hope you've sent pics to the former owners....they won't believe it's the same car.

You need to post before and after pics soon. I love seeing those! Heck we need a before and after section on this forum. Hint!

-Mike

gmtech wrote:

Wouldn't installing the non-rag type steering shaft create more road feel in the steering wheel? Shake, bump, vibration, etc... I understand this could be great for some situations, but an every day driver, may get old after awhile??? Maybe I'm just getting old and prefer comfort in all aspects of driving a car...

Good point. So with these roads around here it is a big fat NO! for me.

Well, gonna try for the steering shaft install tomorrow. Have a wedding and reception to play at 4....so starting the work early. Can't wait to get rid of that slop

Chris

Oh, and Mike..I do send the former owner updates! He keeps asking if he can buy it back..lol

I bet he can't believe it!!

Yeah, now that his son is gone away to college....he is missing the memories they had in that old wagon I don't think he expected me to go nuts with it. I told him it would have a good home though!
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So!!! Jeep shaft is DONE!

Hardest part was getting the shaft compressed. I finally got it moving...but then had reservations about banging it back out once installed in the engine bay. So I took the two shafts apart and really cleaned/greased up the inner shaft. It slides muuuuuch easier now.

Put a couple coats of paint on, and BOOM! Installed. I had to tweak one spot on the shaft coming out of the firewall (the one the steering wheel is attached too) Just had to sand a touch off one spot so the clinch bolt could go all the way through and tighten. It wasn't anything drastic.

It feels GREAT. I didn't notice any harshness or extra "road vibration". What I did notice was a tighter, more precise steering feel. Well worth the time and effort.

Chris

Saw new ones on ebay for about 100 dollars,just may go ahead and order a new one for the
OCC and install it when I do the front end rebuild!

Yeah, mine was half that shipped. But I think his price went up $10 now. Only ones I saw at the time new on Ebay ( I was looking for a '94) were $120 shipped.