Varg In Jeep's Clothing

I use Zippo fluid. Although aqua net hairspray performs the best in potato guns

 

Done it as well... I always make sure to pull the valve core so the extra pressure has a place go

 

Ok I'm ready for the test drive! Video?

 

My pavement isn’t flat. In the shop, the body is within 1/16” between the sides. Maybe you’ve developed a super-sense for Jeep lean detection!

 

Lol. My garage slab has settled so I park the lf on a piece of 5/4 so it doesn't bother me when the door is up.

 

I would’ve had this thing ready to take for a spin by 7 this morning, but I had a no-start issue that took me nearly 7 hours to diagnose. It would crank fine, but I’d get a puff or two after I let off the starter. It would only occasionally start if the timing was advanced as far as the distributor would allow, and even then it would run sporadically and hunt like it had a massive vacuum leak.

I finally found the main issue after I removed the boot off of the distributor cap:



I swapped it out with a spare I had. It started and ran ok, but still had a vacuum leak so bad that the power brakes weren’t even working.

I finally looked at the brake booster and saw that one of the backfires through the intake must’ve blown the cover off the check valve on the booster. I fixed that with a nickel and some ultra black.



This thing runs like a raped ape now! It pulls hard. I’m wondering if that post on the cap was broken from day one. I took my wife for a ride, and she seemed impressed. The handling on the street is like no Jeep I’ve ever driven. It’s silent over bumps and flat in turns. 100% fun.

So far, I’m super impressed with these tires. It walked right up a hill in 2wd that those stupid swampers barely made in 4wd. Street manners are great.

She’s not clean anymore.

 

congrats .......

 

Very nice!

 

Congrats!

Did you have to charge up the battery during that 7 hour won't-start debugging session? I would have gone through two cans of starting fluid and then called you.

"...likeno Jeep I’ve ever driven..." Any oil stains on the driveway to indicate what needs to be topped off or is the varg leak-free?

 

I forgot, and this thread is 98 pages long or I'd go look, does the Varg have a turbo? Or is the Volvo engine that strong? Congrats, it looks great!

 

Currently NA but I'm sure there's room to grow....

 

Congrats and excellent work! It's so exciting getting near useable state.

 

Thanks guys!

It would run enough between the no-starts to keep the battery topped off. It was super frustrating.

The D300 has a very slow leak from two locations, the front axle has a drip hanging from the pumpkin but has never dripped and the knuckles are seeping as the knuckle pudding is separating, and there is a slight leak from between the bell housing and transmission. It can go a few days between a single drip. I can live with that.

I left room for a turbo on the passenger’s side, but it would require some serious re-engineering of the air intake and filter. It would be a huge undertaking. I always keep my eye open for a cheap turbo donor car, but I’m not really in any rush to do it. My biggest worry would be to lose some low-end torque just to gain some top-end power.

I’ll work on that...

 

i will trade you for an FC-150

 

Has that stopped you before?

 

No, but tearing back into a “finished” project is never fun. I’ve held a turbo in place and stared at it for more time than I’d like to admit. The only logical solution I could see was that it might require a custom intake manifold to get the intake runners where they’d fit.

This thing is going to me making a lot of trips over the 4th of July Pass. I think the determining factor will be what kind of speed it will be able to hold up that grade. I can already tell I’ll be plenty satisfied with the around-town power, but that hasn’t factored in any wind resistance. We’ll see. I might be content with it. Or, it might take one long trip to plan a major rebuild.

Edit: The other thing I’m concerned with is heat. This radiator size is already questionable. Adding a turbo and relying on the current radiator to keep an extra 45hp cool is asking a lot. If I get a gauge hooked up and the current setup keeps it cool with ease, it’s still on the table. But if not, no way.