Well, the exhaust has 3 joints that are just pushed together - not even clamped yet, so it leaks pretty good at all 3 of those joints. Plus the last one - right in front of the mufffler - is a piece of 2-1/2" slipped over a piece of 2-1/4" so it has a 1/8" gap all the way around the joint!

Once I get clamps on those 3 joints it should quiet down a good bit...

 

Nice!!! Won't be long before you get the first drive!

 

So just wondering, why are you making the exhaust convertible so you can run either N/A or Turbocharged?

Great build by the way!

 

Because I want to drive it in NA form to start with (while I freshen up the turbo). Then I want to be able to put the turbo on it without having to pull the engine or do anything else major - basically just bolt it on.

That way
1) I get to drive it sooner and
2) I'll appreciate the turbo a lot more after knowing what it is like as a NA.

Besides, it was also MUCH easier to do all the exhaust work to make it easily convertable to turbo while the motor was out sitting on the bench.

Thanks man...

 

I gotcha.

So whats the estimated time of completion?

 

Well, its a little loud, due to there being 3 exhaust joints with no clamps - just slipped together. Add to, that one of those joints is a 2-1/4" pipe slipped inside a 2-1/2" pipe - with about an 1/8" gap all the way 'round just a couple of inches in front of the muffler. Plus the air breather/filter wasn't installed either, so not only was the exhaust unmuffled, the intake noise was too.

Once I get all that fixed it ought to tone down a lot and sound pretty good. No bad engine noises - not even any significant valve train noise as far as I could tell.

It seemed like it was vibrating the body of the Jeep quite a bit though - until I thought about the fact that the "frame rails" are still sitting solidly on jack stands about a foot behind where the crossmember bolts up. Once the front end is sitting on the springs and tires I think that should damp the vibrations a LOT...

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Tonight when I got home from work I started it up with nothing more than a 7 second cycle of the glow plugs.
That felt REALLY good...

 

Made some more progress today.
Rear driveline is done. I took the double-cardan slip yoke end off another driveline and put it on the end of a stock Grand Cherokee (ZJ) driveline in place of the stock slip-joint and that made me a shaft that's 4" longer. Turned out great!

Got the last little fitment adjustments to the exhaust finished too - install a couple of clamps & its done.

Finished installing the controller for the electric fan.

Tomorrow the front axle goes back in with new brake hoses.

Then all that's left is to put the front nose panel, grill, lights, etc. back on and its ready for a first test drive!

Other things left to do:
Put in new door panels & headliner
Fab/modify the a shifter bezel/cover
Modify the torque converter cover (starter cutout is on the wrong side)
Few other little odds & ends (interior pieces, etc.)

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Well DANG! Things didn't go quite as planned today. Got the exhaust all clamped together, put the air cleaner on , and started it up. Sounded pretty good.

Got the front axle all bolted in and discovered the stock springs are WAY too weak to support the heavier motor. Got some heavier springs to put in it, but I'm gonna' have to use the spring compressors to get them in.

So I started working on the brake line hoses. One came out great, the other one just wouldn't budge. I fought it for close to an hour - no joy. Looks like that one is going to have to be cut and re-flared. WHAT A PAIN in the @$$!

 

Are you lifting it at all or just stiffer springs to return it to stock ride height?

 

I want to lift it a couple of inches. But the stock springs wouldn't even give it stock ride height. The axle stuffed all the way up and the frame never even lifted off the jack stands.

 

You may have to go with some big wire springs like I did, the stock ones in mine were tiny! It's a little stiff but carries the heavy motor well.