Alabama Off-road/ Mods/ Meets Thread

I know

I guess I should have said "I prefer jelly for the smooth operation, rather then jamming it".

 

I think I'm sold, you get to say I told you so if I'm making a mistake, Paul. I think the parts alone are going to be worth going to grab it.

He was honest about the body - he's rolled it at low speed, hence the obvious damage, but clearly the cage holds up. He has driven it on the street since, and it still tracks straight, etc, so the frame should be straight - at least straight enough for my purposes.

It has 3 rust spots, but it's not a rusted out POS. I would plan on cutting the spots out and asking my professional welder buddy to weld new metal over them. Also, I can add more electrical grounds to try to prevent them coming back.

Axles are off an 85 yota, rear is welded, front is open. Transfer case is from trail gear. YJ springs are new. Radiator is a new 3-core as part of the recommended upgrades going to a bigger motor, and the harness was sent to trail gear for their rewiring service.

Looks like he built it right and beat it up, which is exactly what I'm looking for.

 

Not sure I get this?

 

it deters the rust from road salting and such. pretty big business up north..

think it is an alternative from putting those lead blanks on your frame.

 

I'm no chem e or corrosion expert, but as I understand it, you can get rust from oxidization, of course. But salt makes rust worse because it makes water/snow a better conductor, yielding more oxygen at the rust site, rusting it faster. If your grounds are bad or insufficient in a car, apparently you can get issues if current is ending up using the body as a ground, for the same reason.

I don't claim to get it fully, I just have been told by people smarter than me that it helps, and it'd be a cheap upgrade.

 

or just get an aluminum body for like a grand, i think that is what it went for....

 

yeah, but I bet you a $2 rattle can is cheaper and easier....

And from my understanding of electricity, you would have to have ground straps between every body panel to do what you are saying....and even then....it won't help haha. Not to mention you'll get funky shit happening from multiple grounds.

 

I mean, do both. All I'm saying is that one cause of rust is poor grounding, so the engine ends up using your car's body as a ground. All I'm talking about doing is replacing the standard grounds with bigger cable and making sure they're not corroded.

 

I thought you were meaning splitting up systems and adding additional grounds. You would have all kinds of problems then.

 

Ah, nah, I mean making sure the existing grounds are clean and corrosion-free and making them bigger if they're small.

 

Snake oil in my opinion. I have heard of this for years and there has been no actual PROOF that it does anything that I have ever seen. If there were any truth to it, then the manufacturers would have done this a long time ago. The largest amount of current is from the ignition system, starter, and the AC blower. If the engine is grounded to the battery, as most every car out there is because of the starter, then that is not going to be an issue. Also a single ground from the firewall to the engine block is sufficient for the blower motor current.

The best way to prevent rust is to keep metal protected from oxidation. This means primer and paint where the body is concerned, then keep the water from collecting inside any panels by making sure that the seals and gaskets for the windows and doors are clean and new. Most body panel rust is from the inside out. Rain water and such is VERY acidic, and the inside of body panels are not as protected from this as the outside of course.

 

Well, I plan to do both. I'm with you about the manufacturer's stock wiring being fine, but this is a 25 year old vehicle. What I'm talking about is simply making sure the grounds are still good, to prevent the body acting as an anode. Even if I'm wrong, it's good maintenance to do on a car this old and doesn't cost anything; the miata had corroded ground points too.

That's a good point about the inside of the body panels though, I'll be sure to check it out inside-out.

Looks like I won't be getting it this weekend though, for a myriad of reasons all trailer-related. I'm thinking about going ahead and getting that 7x12 trailer and seeing this guy in a couple of weeks, once I'm really situated to do it right and account for my lack of tow cap as much as possible (brake controller, weight-distributing sway-control hitch).

 

Yeah, galvanic circuit! Yay! Whee!! The physics / chemistry behind it is solid, whether or not it makes a difference in practical application, dunno.

<mmmmbourbon>

 

I too love discussing physics when i'm drinking.

 

damn, i missed out on the drinking again!! keith you were sup to keep me in the loop better this time! and paul....... WTH???

 

The coriolis effect is always a great discussion topic post 4 drinks or so.

 

that may be but you are sup to help me out and let me know that its time to get started, not just get 4 drinks in and forget about me. geez, you know i dont like drinking alone, but that is what it looks like is gonna have to happen so i can catch up to you guys!

 

you think I drove down to bham and drank? ha.

 

I wasn't told about any drinking either so I was outta the loop also! I guess I'll be drinking with you Justin.

 

no, its the long distance cheers... duh! thought you were sup to be smart...