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02 Jeep Grand Cherokee Build (AKA Project Silent Night) Mechman, Neo Slow


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Parts of this log will be copied over from where I currently have it on CACO I just wanted to share it here since I'm a new member started working on it in early December it's a slow project.

Well for a long time I'd been trying to sell my Grand Prix and just couldn't seem to get rid of it. Guy offered to trade me a Jeep and I've always wanted a jeep so despite the Jeep having 250K miles I took him up on it. The interior is super clean and the outside is in good shape as well. Rockers are a little rusty but that's a Michigan Jeep thing.

The plan for the Jeep is for it to be a winter beater/audio ride. Trying to keep the salt off of my Duramax. As far as the audio goes planning a B Pillar 4th for 4 18's on roughly 8k. From my rough measurements today I will have 46 cubes gross to work with. Progress will be kind of slow as I'm currently laid off. The goal is to be finished by whenever the first show in Michigan is. Will be primarily competing in IASCA and ISPLL. I always wanted a cool build log name even though it's lame.

Builds that I'll be pulling some inspiration from include, Galen Winesette's Jeep, Chris Russ' Jeep, and Don's TDH Jeep.

Tenative Equipment List:

Electrical
2 Mechman 320's  Externally Regulated
Full Throttle Group 31 for under the hood
JY Lithium (Leaning towards 80 AH)
Welding Cable 2/0 (Lots of it)
ILL Customz Battery Terminals 

Clarion CZ702 already have (unless I find a great deal on an 80 PRS)
4 Cascade Omega Neo 18's (building motors like Robs, PSI recones likely)
Amp must be under 8K class restrictions (Flatline B2A, M1S, AB 750.1)
Not sure on mids probably Crescendo PWX's or McLaren
4 Channels (Really thinking PPI 900.4's)

Other:
Welder (Really want a lincoln Power Mig 210 with the Tig torch)
300 or so feet of steel 1x2 tubing
Air Bags of some sort I'm sure
BHE 4th order design or something similar
Volt Meters

Out with the old:
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In with the new:
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Like I said it's clean:
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Going to be a shame to gut it from the B-Pillar back:
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Steel sets:

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This will be my first time building a wall, also will be my first time using more than 2 woofers and my first time doing a recone of any kind. Hoping to do a 50 not sure if it will go well. When I put the radio in, at first I couldn't get the radio to turn on, it turns out that there was a blown fuse. After I got it to turn on I wasn't getting any output turns out the jeep has the factory infinity system which is amplified and you actually have to use the remote turn on to get the factory amp to turn on.

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Also I put this on I'm sure it's good for at least 2 decibels :lol::lol::lol:20161127_175535_zpssizvecix.jpg

In all seriousness I hate the look of radio antennas and I never listen to the radio. I originally bought that thing for my Duramax but it didn't fit (ended up just removing the antenna).

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Oh also I got a new phone that I'm getting going today, maybe it will lead to better build log pictures:
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If you need large quantities of fasteners or other stuff I'd check out Zoro all this stuff was like 50 bucks. 
-100 T-Nuts
-400 #8 Self Tappers
-30ft 1/4-20 Threaded Rod
-200 Weld Nuts
-Epoxy
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I drilled out my top plates and the back plates for the weld nuts. I used two different size drill bits a 3/8 to go the depth of the weld nut and a 5/16 to open up the top of the hole a little because the weld nuts wouldn't sit quite flat. Picked up the steel for the neo pillars today it was $40 from Alro which is the local steel distributor. Hoping to get them machined next week I'll try and get some videos or something because I think he plans to do them on a CNC machine.

In other news I ended up finding 2 Mechman 320's for the jeep used so I bought them, figured it was a better route as it was only a little more than some of the quotes I got for a single alternator. They're coming with a bracket but it looks kind of rough so I'll probably fab up a better one. Additionally I finally got in touch with Droppin Hz and Mr. Young from Full Throttle. They ran out of 65's and the one the dealer was going to send me went elsewhere. So they're sending me a Group 31 instead of a 65 I just have to make it fit. Might have to weld up a battery tray. So anyhow on to the pictures, nothing real exciting.

I screwed the top plates down while drilling them made it a little easier.


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Top plates drilled.

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T-Yoke bottoms drilled, by this point I was over drilling it was a tedious job.

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20ft of A36 I only needed like 11 feet but I figured I can have some extra cut in case I want to run 6 subs in the future. The rest can be used as bracing or something.

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I need to clean the cases though they have a lot of belt dust on them.

 

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640 Amps of powwaaaa


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She's a heavy girl definitely going to be a challenge fitting her under the hood.

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I got everything from the back seats back out. Lots of room for activities. The drivers side dash tweeter was blown (just clicking) I think I might try and cram a super tweeter in there but I'm not sure yet there's quite a bit of room. 

When I was cleaning out the Jeep I found a Gameboy (doesn't stay turned on, probably give it away) and my secret santa stuff came so I'll have all the lugs I need. Anyhow onto the pictures as usual I'm rambling.

One seat belt bolt didn't want to come out so it met the sawzall.

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Lot's of room for activities

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Beefy factory tweeter

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Free gameboy

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Secret santa stuff

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Well I did something with the help of my friend and his CNC machine lol. I went in after hours and my friend set up the program and after he got it dialed in I ran the parts through the machine and he supervised. It took a minute and a half to run each part and then I had to move the rod forward and pull each part out as the machine didn't self feed. Pretty easy just time consuming, need to sand blast the scale off these so that I can prime them. 

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Faraday rings for the motors I should have gotten 3 out of the piece of aluminum that I had but I messed one up so I will order another foot for the last two rings. 
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I cleaned the alternator cases up as best I could they're much better than they were but not perfect. 
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Went into where my father works and used the sand blaster, tried using the band saw to cut the threaded rod but it wasn't working well so I gave up on that I could probably do it faster with a hack saw. I wanted a little different paint color scheme I don't think the inner rings will really be visible when they're assembled but oh well I guess. Wasn't going to paint the tops of the pillars but the chamfers made it so I kind of had to. There was a small mishap with the paint as well I packed them too close together when I left that by the time I got home some of them had stuck together, I think that I'll be able to position them so none of the flaws are visible but we shall see.

Sandblasted:
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Painting some stuff:

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All lined up after unpacking:
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Small preview of the motors:20170109_233348_zpsvb5kam8u.jpg20170109_233342_zpsmcgiyu79.jpg

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I may have been wrong about doing it faster with a hack saw, but I was much faster with a angle grinder and a cutoff wheel lol. The epoxy set up pretty fast they aren't perfect as some of the paint flaws are visible but I'm happy so far. The epoxy took 3 days to fully cure but was 90% cured in 24 hours. Here are some pictures I took while putting the 4th one together. 

Threaded rods in the weld nuts:
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Half of the pillars on and the weld nuts finger tight:
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All the pillars on and finger tight:
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I then put the top plates on part way they're a tight fit had to tap them down with a rubber mallet. Then I tightened the weld nuts with some channel locks. All of them curing:
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I don't envy the people that have to package the magnets, I can imagine some pinched fingers. Anyhow I took the top plates off and the weld nuts holding the pillars down. I must have been real strong the day I tightened them down because I had a hell of a time getting them off. A couple of the pillars the epoxy didn't hold so I started out by re attaching them.

I did the first two motors worth of neo and then that evening I set the last two. I had the forks that Jeff printed me but I ended up just using my fingers mostly. I used my polarity checker to make sure I was putting each piece on the right way. The last piece I set I accidentally put on upside down because I got distracted but I was able to get it off and put on the right way thankfully.

I wasn't very impressed with the finish on the neo I expected it to be a little more shiny or mirror-like. I guess it's something I can't control so I just rolled with it. I should have painted the neo copper and the pillars black and it would have looked like I had subs made of duracell batteries lol.

2 motors worth of neo:
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20170113_131150_zpstgipmtwv.jpg20170113_131156_zpsuvuzxzqe.jpg20170113_190024_zpsacuhdg6p.jpg

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Rings in and curing.

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Well I managed to get the motors wrapped up (well with the exception of having to grind down 12 weld nuts). I'm happy with how they turned out it's been a fun project, now it's on to other aspects of the build. Maybe if I can sell my stock duramax turbo I can purchase a welder. I have an idea for some fuse holders I want to make as well one for under the hood and one for the rear. 
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I almost made it through the whole project without pinching myself, but I managed to do it while setting the second top plate on. It hurt like hell.

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In this picture you can see that I had to grind down the edge of the weld nuts by each of the basket mounting holes. I still have to do this on the last 3 motors.

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15" basket.
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18" basket, I'm really leaning heavily towards some TI baskets.20170115_204232_zpsjmbulx17.jpg

Alternator plugs from Mechman came in. I like that they have about 3 feet of wire on them so I can mount my external regulator just about anywhere under the hood. 

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Interior? 

Never heard of her.

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I took the headliner down I think I'm just going to cut it from the B-Pillar back and use that maybe recover it in black micro suede. Current plan is kerfed MDF for the back two sections of the roof and Vibraflex 160 from the B-Pillar forward. Sadly I also had to replace the heater core so I have to order those parts as well and rip the dash out.

In other news I modified the stock battery tray and got the battery laying in there flat and snug now. It was pretty easy and I think it turned out well.

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I also had to trim this little metal bracket to get it to fit but the battery doesn't touch it.20170119_185352_zps7xwgmbtc.jpg

When my dad bought this I was like when the hell will this ever get used, but man it is handy.20170119_185359_zpsyrikpm77.jpg

Trimmed the thing that retained the battery in place and used it to hold the new battery surprisingly it works well.20170119_194137_zpscn7sr3vf.jpg

Tada all finished looking much better than it was before.20170119_211626_zpstcqruzdg.jpg

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I made some fuse holders, they aren't fully finished but you'll get the idea. I couldn't justify buying a bunch of the singles (at like $8 a piece) or paying for a machined one ($160 for 1 6 spot). I think the overall cost of the two of these was roughly $60, I'll put the links for them in the post if anyone else wants to make their own.

Project Box $12.66
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B010724T3Y/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Aluminum Bolts $10.82
https://www.zoro.com/value-brand-hex-cap-screw-516-18x1-14-pk25-1yb73/i/G0458595/?q=G0458595
Aluminum nuts $6.02
https://www.zoro.com/value-brand-hex-nut-516-18-aluminum-plain-pk100-1we75/i/G1624226/?q=G1624226
Square foot of 1/4 inch lexan $9.90
https://www.zoro.com/lexan-sheet-stck-12-in-w-12-in-l-0236-in-t-1etl3/i/G3360192/?q=G3360192
Aluminum bar stock $12.55
https://www.zoro.com/value-brand-bar-stock-aluminum-6063-14-x-1-in-8-ft-6alw7/i/G4333901/?q=G4333901

If you wanted to cut cost farther you could potentially use thinner lexan, not use the bar stock at all and use steel hardware, but I felt this offered a good solid final product.

First I made a template of the lid out of paper, I cut the inside out with a razorblades so I could get closest to the edges. The lid has a slightly tighter inside area than the bottom piece apparently.
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Then I transferred that to a piece of cardboard.20170120_123857_zpsomlk0jsa.jpg

So I cut the lexan with a scroll saw and apparently I suck at it, however it cuts better than my jigsaw.20170120_125630_zpsyzigubdd.jpg

All put together,  when I drilled my holes in the aluminum I used one as a template and then transferred that to all the others. Apparently that wasn't a good idea as some of my holes got off their intended like I should have drawn them all out.20170120_173341_zpsq2codhvv.jpg

I think I want to paint the inside when it gets warmer, you could also add LED's inside if you were so inclined. I still need to make the openings for the wire to pass through.20170120_182721_zpsktaikhon.jpg

I realized that the outlet side of the fuses shouldn't be connected by aluminum so I fixed my mess ups and notched out the sides. I wasn't going to take the time to make individual spots for each wire. I know the cuts look low but they're in line with the nuts. They do need to be painted this summer the whitish tan plastic seems to get dirty easy. 

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