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Jeep Wrangler JK
JK Build Threads & Member's Rides
Scepter Toad
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<blockquote data-quote="ScepterToad" data-source="post: 459079" data-attributes="member: 25142"><p>Hope everyone had a great Father's Day weekend! I managed two things on the Jeep. Got the base plate installed and got my soft top on. Soft top was pretty straightforward and no pictures of that. The base plate was not straightforward (at least not for me) as it involved a fair amount of fabrication on my part. What started as a money saver ended up costing me in the form of time. I'll chalk it up to getting to know my Jeep better and overall experience. I can work on and fix just about anything, but metal fabrication isn't something I've done a lot of.</p><p></p><p>I started out with a video on etrailer of one of the etrailer branded base plates. Theirs has a flat plate at each end with one hole pre-drilled for the center hole in the crash bar, and then the installer must drill holes into the frame, add a spacer, and bolt it in. So, I took that model to my base plate. Mine has 2 holes in the end of it that I needed to locate against the hole in the crash bar. I set up the base plate in the position that I wanted it, made sure it was gapped against the bumper and centered. I also used a square to make sure it was perpendicular to the frame horns. From there, I took a piece of cardboard and cut and trimmed to shape, using the curved area at the ends of the base plate where the bolt holes are. Once I was happy with the general shape, I needed to locate the 3 holes. And they were blind to me, so I couldn't just mark them. So, I sat for a bit and thought about it. this is where inexperience comes in. What I settled on was spraying the area with Amsoil frame protectant. It's a pretty oily spray used for rust prevention. Sprayed it on, slapped the cardboard on there, pulled it off, and viola! Printed holes! Cut the shapes out of 1/2" steel plate and got them fitted to the ends of the base plate as best I could. From there, I clamped them together and ground the curves to match. Then I laid the cardboard on them and drilled them out to 1/2" holes. I ended up not getting the holes exactly right at the base plate, so I hogged out one hole a little bigger. That gave me a bit of wiggle room, which I needed. After multiple fitments, I was happy with the placement, bolted everything mostly tight, clamped the brackets to the frame, and drilled my holes. I also made spacers out of a piece of pipe to go between the bracket and the frame. Eased all the edges, painted it all, and installed. The holes in the frame were the hardest to get the bolts tight. Everything got lock washers and red locktite. One thing I do want to do is use a paint marker on the bolt heads so that I Can easily identify any movement. The ones I'm worried about are the frame bolts. Etrailer uses the nuts with a wire fused to them, which you can use to hold the nut while tightening. I didn't have those, so I used a combination of wire wrapped around them tight and then stuck a flat bar through the hole and between the nuts to hold them to get them tight. Still left to do is get the wiring installed, plumb in the actuator on the brake pedal, and test. We have a short trip this weekend to test fully and get some much needed down time.</p><p></p><p>Overall, this took me an entire Saturday to get done. Worth it to me for the experience and and satisfaction of getting it done. However, from a purely monetary standpoint, totally not worth it.</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]124639[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]124640[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]124641[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]124642[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]124643[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]124644[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]124645[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]124646[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]124647[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]124648[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]124649[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]124650[/ATTACH]</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="ScepterToad, post: 459079, member: 25142"] Hope everyone had a great Father's Day weekend! I managed two things on the Jeep. Got the base plate installed and got my soft top on. Soft top was pretty straightforward and no pictures of that. The base plate was not straightforward (at least not for me) as it involved a fair amount of fabrication on my part. What started as a money saver ended up costing me in the form of time. I'll chalk it up to getting to know my Jeep better and overall experience. I can work on and fix just about anything, but metal fabrication isn't something I've done a lot of. I started out with a video on etrailer of one of the etrailer branded base plates. Theirs has a flat plate at each end with one hole pre-drilled for the center hole in the crash bar, and then the installer must drill holes into the frame, add a spacer, and bolt it in. So, I took that model to my base plate. Mine has 2 holes in the end of it that I needed to locate against the hole in the crash bar. I set up the base plate in the position that I wanted it, made sure it was gapped against the bumper and centered. I also used a square to make sure it was perpendicular to the frame horns. From there, I took a piece of cardboard and cut and trimmed to shape, using the curved area at the ends of the base plate where the bolt holes are. Once I was happy with the general shape, I needed to locate the 3 holes. And they were blind to me, so I couldn't just mark them. So, I sat for a bit and thought about it. this is where inexperience comes in. What I settled on was spraying the area with Amsoil frame protectant. It's a pretty oily spray used for rust prevention. Sprayed it on, slapped the cardboard on there, pulled it off, and viola! Printed holes! Cut the shapes out of 1/2" steel plate and got them fitted to the ends of the base plate as best I could. From there, I clamped them together and ground the curves to match. Then I laid the cardboard on them and drilled them out to 1/2" holes. I ended up not getting the holes exactly right at the base plate, so I hogged out one hole a little bigger. That gave me a bit of wiggle room, which I needed. After multiple fitments, I was happy with the placement, bolted everything mostly tight, clamped the brackets to the frame, and drilled my holes. I also made spacers out of a piece of pipe to go between the bracket and the frame. Eased all the edges, painted it all, and installed. The holes in the frame were the hardest to get the bolts tight. Everything got lock washers and red locktite. One thing I do want to do is use a paint marker on the bolt heads so that I Can easily identify any movement. The ones I'm worried about are the frame bolts. Etrailer uses the nuts with a wire fused to them, which you can use to hold the nut while tightening. I didn't have those, so I used a combination of wire wrapped around them tight and then stuck a flat bar through the hole and between the nuts to hold them to get them tight. Still left to do is get the wiring installed, plumb in the actuator on the brake pedal, and test. We have a short trip this weekend to test fully and get some much needed down time. Overall, this took me an entire Saturday to get done. Worth it to me for the experience and and satisfaction of getting it done. However, from a purely monetary standpoint, totally not worth it. [ATTACH=full]124639[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]124640[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]124641[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]124642[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]124643[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]124644[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]124645[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]124646[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]124647[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]124648[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]124649[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]124650[/ATTACH] [/QUOTE]
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Jeep Wrangler JK
JK Build Threads & Member's Rides
Scepter Toad
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