TwoTracker

Hey Jeeprs,

I'm now ready to mount a fiberglass body on an '86 CJ.
I've read the book, I've seen the movie...now all I gotta find out are the
last minute secrets yooz guys (and gals) know of this kinda project.
For example; draping the rear wiring over the gas tank prior to mounting
the body would make sense rather than fish it twixt the tank and crossmember
later,
and, making all dash accessory mounts on the bench where the lighting is
better)
but I need to know critical mistakes to avoid. Can I *share* a ground wire
between the tail lights, license plate light and reverse lights or does each
one need it's own ground point?
I would hate to get it all threadlocked and then a day later remember I
shoulda done something before that.
One old timer said to just place the body on the frame and then go have a
beer with yer buddies and talk about it for a week.
I have thought about pre-mounting certain rubber mounts with High-Tac gasket
compound (to keep them from moving) since I know where they all go already
from pre-fitting.
The factory wiring is '86, and I can't find any recalls or updates....unless
somebody out there knows something.
All lighting (except headlights and frog lights :) will be LED, so outside
of running a ground to all that illumination will I need a balast?
Thanks for checking this out. Any help is appreciated ...
Happy Trails!

Mike Romain

I ran one 10 ga. ground wire for each harness piece including the dash
and brought them together in a house style fuse panel wiring block I
mounted above the Jeep's fuse panel on the engine side of the firewall.
I then bolted that to a battery cable that runs across the firewall to
the battery.

I ran the grounds to this 10 ga. wire. I stripped about an inch of
insulation off it as I went along and wrapped the light or whatever
ground pickup to the bare area then soldered it. I slipped heat shrink
along the length of this wire for each joint and used dielectric grease
under the heatshrink.

Most of my body mounts needed large washers as spacers to match them up
for height. I used a cold galvanizing spray on them and they haven't
rusted.

I also put metal plates under the body where the Sport bar connects. I
made these front plates large enough that they tag the frame mounts so
my bar is now frame tagged.

I know nothing about LED lights so can't help there.

Mike
86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail in '00
88 Cherokee 235 BFG AT's
Canadian Off Road Trips Photos: Non members can still view!
Aug./05 http://www.imagestation.com/album/in...?id=2120343242
(More Off Road album links at bottom of the view page)

TwoTracker wrote:
>
> Hey Jeeprs,
>
> I'm now ready to mount a fiberglass body on an '86 CJ.
> I've read the book, I've seen the movie...now all I gotta find out are the
> last minute secrets yooz guys (and gals) know of this kinda project.
> For example; draping the rear wiring over the gas tank prior to mounting
> the body would make sense rather than fish it twixt the tank and crossmember
> later,
> and, making all dash accessory mounts on the bench where the lighting is
> better)
> but I need to know critical mistakes to avoid. Can I *share* a ground wire
> between the tail lights, license plate light and reverse lights or does each
> one need it's own ground point?
> I would hate to get it all threadlocked and then a day later remember I
> shoulda done something before that.
> One old timer said to just place the body on the frame and then go have a
> beer with yer buddies and talk about it for a week.
> I have thought about pre-mounting certain rubber mounts with High-Tac gasket
> compound (to keep them from moving) since I know where they all go already
> from pre-fitting.
> The factory wiring is '86, and I can't find any recalls or updates....unless
> somebody out there knows something.
> All lighting (except headlights and frog lights :) will be LED, so outside
> of running a ground to all that illumination will I need a balast?
> Thanks for checking this out. Any help is appreciated ...
> Happy Trails!

Mike Romain

I ran one 10 ga. ground wire for each harness piece including the dash
and brought them together in a house style fuse panel wiring block I
mounted above the Jeep's fuse panel on the engine side of the firewall.
I then bolted that to a battery cable that runs across the firewall to
the battery.

I ran the grounds to this 10 ga. wire. I stripped about an inch of
insulation off it as I went along and wrapped the light or whatever
ground pickup to the bare area then soldered it. I slipped heat shrink
along the length of this wire for each joint and used dielectric grease
under the heatshrink.

Most of my body mounts needed large washers as spacers to match them up
for height. I used a cold galvanizing spray on them and they haven't
rusted.

I also put metal plates under the body where the Sport bar connects. I
made these front plates large enough that they tag the frame mounts so
my bar is now frame tagged.

I know nothing about LED lights so can't help there.

Mike
86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail in '00
88 Cherokee 235 BFG AT's
Canadian Off Road Trips Photos: Non members can still view!
Aug./05 http://www.imagestation.com/album/in...?id=2120343242
(More Off Road album links at bottom of the view page)

TwoTracker wrote:
>
> Hey Jeeprs,
>
> I'm now ready to mount a fiberglass body on an '86 CJ.
> I've read the book, I've seen the movie...now all I gotta find out are the
> last minute secrets yooz guys (and gals) know of this kinda project.
> For example; draping the rear wiring over the gas tank prior to mounting
> the body would make sense rather than fish it twixt the tank and crossmember
> later,
> and, making all dash accessory mounts on the bench where the lighting is
> better)
> but I need to know critical mistakes to avoid. Can I *share* a ground wire
> between the tail lights, license plate light and reverse lights or does each
> one need it's own ground point?
> I would hate to get it all threadlocked and then a day later remember I
> shoulda done something before that.
> One old timer said to just place the body on the frame and then go have a
> beer with yer buddies and talk about it for a week.
> I have thought about pre-mounting certain rubber mounts with High-Tac gasket
> compound (to keep them from moving) since I know where they all go already
> from pre-fitting.
> The factory wiring is '86, and I can't find any recalls or updates....unless
> somebody out there knows something.
> All lighting (except headlights and frog lights :) will be LED, so outside
> of running a ground to all that illumination will I need a balast?
> Thanks for checking this out. Any help is appreciated ...
> Happy Trails!

Mike Romain

I ran one 10 ga. ground wire for each harness piece including the dash
and brought them together in a house style fuse panel wiring block I
mounted above the Jeep's fuse panel on the engine side of the firewall.
I then bolted that to a battery cable that runs across the firewall to
the battery.

I ran the grounds to this 10 ga. wire. I stripped about an inch of
insulation off it as I went along and wrapped the light or whatever
ground pickup to the bare area then soldered it. I slipped heat shrink
along the length of this wire for each joint and used dielectric grease
under the heatshrink.

Most of my body mounts needed large washers as spacers to match them up
for height. I used a cold galvanizing spray on them and they haven't
rusted.

I also put metal plates under the body where the Sport bar connects. I
made these front plates large enough that they tag the frame mounts so
my bar is now frame tagged.

I know nothing about LED lights so can't help there.

Mike
86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail in '00
88 Cherokee 235 BFG AT's
Canadian Off Road Trips Photos: Non members can still view!
Aug./05 http://www.imagestation.com/album/in...?id=2120343242
(More Off Road album links at bottom of the view page)

TwoTracker wrote:
>
> Hey Jeeprs,
>
> I'm now ready to mount a fiberglass body on an '86 CJ.
> I've read the book, I've seen the movie...now all I gotta find out are the
> last minute secrets yooz guys (and gals) know of this kinda project.
> For example; draping the rear wiring over the gas tank prior to mounting
> the body would make sense rather than fish it twixt the tank and crossmember
> later,
> and, making all dash accessory mounts on the bench where the lighting is
> better)
> but I need to know critical mistakes to avoid. Can I *share* a ground wire
> between the tail lights, license plate light and reverse lights or does each
> one need it's own ground point?
> I would hate to get it all threadlocked and then a day later remember I
> shoulda done something before that.
> One old timer said to just place the body on the frame and then go have a
> beer with yer buddies and talk about it for a week.
> I have thought about pre-mounting certain rubber mounts with High-Tac gasket
> compound (to keep them from moving) since I know where they all go already
> from pre-fitting.
> The factory wiring is '86, and I can't find any recalls or updates....unless
> somebody out there knows something.
> All lighting (except headlights and frog lights :) will be LED, so outside
> of running a ground to all that illumination will I need a balast?
> Thanks for checking this out. Any help is appreciated ...
> Happy Trails!

TwoTracker

Thanks for the idears Mike! Putting the central ground on the firewall
over the fusebox is a great idea! Making a ground there and using a split
connector to the various needs would look neat too. I remember when I took
this Jeep apart I found screw attachments for grounding into the frame in
several places.. Some were barely hangin on by a strand. I think I should
make one convergence point for the rear of the vehicle (for the gas tank
sending unit, reverse light, and taillight ground).
Allright now I see in a parts catalog Painless makes a grounding kit for
fiberglass bodies.

I found out too that a balast isn't necessary for LEDs, however that may be
required in some digital readout applications (like a gauge or a sequential
blinker).

About the plates you installed for the sport bar. Did that affect ride
quality at all? A buddy of mine installed a frame tie in kit, where the
plates under the roll bar are welded to tubes that are welded to the frame.
It made for a more of a jolting ride. So he cut about an inch out of the
middle of the tubing, made larger sleeve around the cut out space (welded
only to one tube) so that in the event of a roll the tube(s) would not
displace). This is all theory, as he has never rolled it to see if this
engineered gap would withstand any omnidirectional forces. It did restore
ride quality tho by allowing the rubber mounts to do their job.

I enjoyed the excellent pix of your end of summer run.




..

..





"Mike Romain" <romainm@sympatico.ca> wrote in message
news:438F9CDB.4F32331D@sympatico.ca...
> I ran one 10 ga. ground wire for each harness piece including the dash
> and brought them together in a house style fuse panel wiring block I
> mounted above the Jeep's fuse panel on the engine side of the firewall.
> I then bolted that to a battery cable that runs across the firewall to
> the battery.
>
> I ran the grounds to this 10 ga. wire. I stripped about an inch of
> insulation off it as I went along and wrapped the light or whatever
> ground pickup to the bare area then soldered it. I slipped heat shrink
> along the length of this wire for each joint and used dielectric grease
> under the heatshrink.
>
> Most of my body mounts needed large washers as spacers to match them up
> for height. I used a cold galvanizing spray on them and they haven't
> rusted.
>
> I also put metal plates under the body where the Sport bar connects. I
> made these front plates large enough that they tag the frame mounts so
> my bar is now frame tagged.
>
> I know nothing about LED lights so can't help there.
>
> Mike
> 86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail in '00
> 88 Cherokee 235 BFG AT's
> Canadian Off Road Trips Photos: Non members can still view!
> Aug./05 http://www.imagestation.com/album/in...?id=2120343242
> (More Off Road album links at bottom of the view page)
>
> TwoTracker wrote:
> >
> > Hey Jeeprs,
> >
> > I'm now ready to mount a fiberglass body on an '86 CJ.
> > I've read the book, I've seen the movie...now all I gotta find out are
the
> > last minute secrets yooz guys (and gals) know of this kinda project.
> > For example; draping the rear wiring over the gas tank prior to
mounting
> > the body would make sense rather than fish it twixt the tank and
crossmember
> > later,
> > and, making all dash accessory mounts on the bench where the lighting is
> > better)
> > but I need to know critical mistakes to avoid. Can I *share* a ground
wire
> > between the tail lights, license plate light and reverse lights or does
each
> > one need it's own ground point?
> > I would hate to get it all threadlocked and then a day later remember I
> > shoulda done something before that.
> > One old timer said to just place the body on the frame and then go have
a
> > beer with yer buddies and talk about it for a week.
> > I have thought about pre-mounting certain rubber mounts with High-Tac
gasket
> > compound (to keep them from moving) since I know where they all go
already
> > from pre-fitting.
> > The factory wiring is '86, and I can't find any recalls or
updates....unless
> > somebody out there knows something.
> > All lighting (except headlights and frog lights :) will be LED, so
outside
> > of running a ground to all that illumination will I need a balast?
> > Thanks for checking this out. Any help is appreciated ...
> > Happy Trails!

TwoTracker

Thanks for the idears Mike! Putting the central ground on the firewall
over the fusebox is a great idea! Making a ground there and using a split
connector to the various needs would look neat too. I remember when I took
this Jeep apart I found screw attachments for grounding into the frame in
several places.. Some were barely hangin on by a strand. I think I should
make one convergence point for the rear of the vehicle (for the gas tank
sending unit, reverse light, and taillight ground).
Allright now I see in a parts catalog Painless makes a grounding kit for
fiberglass bodies.

I found out too that a balast isn't necessary for LEDs, however that may be
required in some digital readout applications (like a gauge or a sequential
blinker).

About the plates you installed for the sport bar. Did that affect ride
quality at all? A buddy of mine installed a frame tie in kit, where the
plates under the roll bar are welded to tubes that are welded to the frame.
It made for a more of a jolting ride. So he cut about an inch out of the
middle of the tubing, made larger sleeve around the cut out space (welded
only to one tube) so that in the event of a roll the tube(s) would not
displace). This is all theory, as he has never rolled it to see if this
engineered gap would withstand any omnidirectional forces. It did restore
ride quality tho by allowing the rubber mounts to do their job.

I enjoyed the excellent pix of your end of summer run.




..

..





"Mike Romain" <romainm@sympatico.ca> wrote in message
news:438F9CDB.4F32331D@sympatico.ca...
> I ran one 10 ga. ground wire for each harness piece including the dash
> and brought them together in a house style fuse panel wiring block I
> mounted above the Jeep's fuse panel on the engine side of the firewall.
> I then bolted that to a battery cable that runs across the firewall to
> the battery.
>
> I ran the grounds to this 10 ga. wire. I stripped about an inch of
> insulation off it as I went along and wrapped the light or whatever
> ground pickup to the bare area then soldered it. I slipped heat shrink
> along the length of this wire for each joint and used dielectric grease
> under the heatshrink.
>
> Most of my body mounts needed large washers as spacers to match them up
> for height. I used a cold galvanizing spray on them and they haven't
> rusted.
>
> I also put metal plates under the body where the Sport bar connects. I
> made these front plates large enough that they tag the frame mounts so
> my bar is now frame tagged.
>
> I know nothing about LED lights so can't help there.
>
> Mike
> 86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail in '00
> 88 Cherokee 235 BFG AT's
> Canadian Off Road Trips Photos: Non members can still view!
> Aug./05 http://www.imagestation.com/album/in...?id=2120343242
> (More Off Road album links at bottom of the view page)
>
> TwoTracker wrote:
> >
> > Hey Jeeprs,
> >
> > I'm now ready to mount a fiberglass body on an '86 CJ.
> > I've read the book, I've seen the movie...now all I gotta find out are
the
> > last minute secrets yooz guys (and gals) know of this kinda project.
> > For example; draping the rear wiring over the gas tank prior to
mounting
> > the body would make sense rather than fish it twixt the tank and
crossmember
> > later,
> > and, making all dash accessory mounts on the bench where the lighting is
> > better)
> > but I need to know critical mistakes to avoid. Can I *share* a ground
wire
> > between the tail lights, license plate light and reverse lights or does
each
> > one need it's own ground point?
> > I would hate to get it all threadlocked and then a day later remember I
> > shoulda done something before that.
> > One old timer said to just place the body on the frame and then go have
a
> > beer with yer buddies and talk about it for a week.
> > I have thought about pre-mounting certain rubber mounts with High-Tac
gasket
> > compound (to keep them from moving) since I know where they all go
already
> > from pre-fitting.
> > The factory wiring is '86, and I can't find any recalls or
updates....unless
> > somebody out there knows something.
> > All lighting (except headlights and frog lights :) will be LED, so
outside
> > of running a ground to all that illumination will I need a balast?
> > Thanks for checking this out. Any help is appreciated ...
> > Happy Trails!

TwoTracker

Thanks for the idears Mike! Putting the central ground on the firewall
over the fusebox is a great idea! Making a ground there and using a split
connector to the various needs would look neat too. I remember when I took
this Jeep apart I found screw attachments for grounding into the frame in
several places.. Some were barely hangin on by a strand. I think I should
make one convergence point for the rear of the vehicle (for the gas tank
sending unit, reverse light, and taillight ground).
Allright now I see in a parts catalog Painless makes a grounding kit for
fiberglass bodies.

I found out too that a balast isn't necessary for LEDs, however that may be
required in some digital readout applications (like a gauge or a sequential
blinker).

About the plates you installed for the sport bar. Did that affect ride
quality at all? A buddy of mine installed a frame tie in kit, where the
plates under the roll bar are welded to tubes that are welded to the frame.
It made for a more of a jolting ride. So he cut about an inch out of the
middle of the tubing, made larger sleeve around the cut out space (welded
only to one tube) so that in the event of a roll the tube(s) would not
displace). This is all theory, as he has never rolled it to see if this
engineered gap would withstand any omnidirectional forces. It did restore
ride quality tho by allowing the rubber mounts to do their job.

I enjoyed the excellent pix of your end of summer run.




..

..





"Mike Romain" <romainm@sympatico.ca> wrote in message
news:438F9CDB.4F32331D@sympatico.ca...
> I ran one 10 ga. ground wire for each harness piece including the dash
> and brought them together in a house style fuse panel wiring block I
> mounted above the Jeep's fuse panel on the engine side of the firewall.
> I then bolted that to a battery cable that runs across the firewall to
> the battery.
>
> I ran the grounds to this 10 ga. wire. I stripped about an inch of
> insulation off it as I went along and wrapped the light or whatever
> ground pickup to the bare area then soldered it. I slipped heat shrink
> along the length of this wire for each joint and used dielectric grease
> under the heatshrink.
>
> Most of my body mounts needed large washers as spacers to match them up
> for height. I used a cold galvanizing spray on them and they haven't
> rusted.
>
> I also put metal plates under the body where the Sport bar connects. I
> made these front plates large enough that they tag the frame mounts so
> my bar is now frame tagged.
>
> I know nothing about LED lights so can't help there.
>
> Mike
> 86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail in '00
> 88 Cherokee 235 BFG AT's
> Canadian Off Road Trips Photos: Non members can still view!
> Aug./05 http://www.imagestation.com/album/in...?id=2120343242
> (More Off Road album links at bottom of the view page)
>
> TwoTracker wrote:
> >
> > Hey Jeeprs,
> >
> > I'm now ready to mount a fiberglass body on an '86 CJ.
> > I've read the book, I've seen the movie...now all I gotta find out are
the
> > last minute secrets yooz guys (and gals) know of this kinda project.
> > For example; draping the rear wiring over the gas tank prior to
mounting
> > the body would make sense rather than fish it twixt the tank and
crossmember
> > later,
> > and, making all dash accessory mounts on the bench where the lighting is
> > better)
> > but I need to know critical mistakes to avoid. Can I *share* a ground
wire
> > between the tail lights, license plate light and reverse lights or does
each
> > one need it's own ground point?
> > I would hate to get it all threadlocked and then a day later remember I
> > shoulda done something before that.
> > One old timer said to just place the body on the frame and then go have
a
> > beer with yer buddies and talk about it for a week.
> > I have thought about pre-mounting certain rubber mounts with High-Tac
gasket
> > compound (to keep them from moving) since I know where they all go
already
> > from pre-fitting.
> > The factory wiring is '86, and I can't find any recalls or
updates....unless
> > somebody out there knows something.
> > All lighting (except headlights and frog lights :) will be LED, so
outside
> > of running a ground to all that illumination will I need a balast?
> > Thanks for checking this out. Any help is appreciated ...
> > Happy Trails!