It runs! We hooked up the wires, fuel line (only one - no return necessary), put a couple of gallons of premium in the Gen-Right tank, and turned the key. The Hemi cranked one time and fired right up. The V8 sounds great and is an indicator of good things to come. We then shut it down and prepared to remove it from the YJ.
We had always planned to remove the body to clean everything up for paint. The decision was made to get everything working and in the Jeep first, so if we scratched, banged, or burned the frame or body it wouldn't make any difference. This turned out to be the right decision, as some bolts required a torch to persuade them to loosen. To get a flat crossmember, the sheetmetal was pounded and massaged to gain clearance for the Atlas transfer case. We also cut the fender openings so Warn TJ Trail Flares would bolt on. Gen-Right rear corners protect vulnerable sheetmetal. We were thinking of painting them body color but after installing them have decided to leave the corners black. Rock Slide Engineering rocker-panel guards from Mount Logan Off-Road will also protect Old School in the rocks.
Now that everything was installed, we disassembled the body, unplugged the wiring, and lifted the YJ body off the frame and sent it to Elden Dattage Towing & Auto Repair for paint. We've decided Old School will be Ford Grabber Blue. When we were at the paint shop, the guys there told us they'd be happy to sandblast the frame and paint it, so it looks like we'll be stripping that and taking it over to the paint shop too. Project Old School has turned out to be a frame-off restoration in reverse.
Next time, we'll show you the cleaned-up and painted Project Old School in all its glory.
We performed some trial-and-error getting the correct starter. The one that works is Mopar part number 0922386. | 
We chose to use an old-school aluminum air cleaner from Mopar Performance. | 
We chose to use an old school aluminum air cleaner from Mopar Performance |
It fits perfectly and looks good on the 5.7 MPI Hemi crate engine. | 
The Gen-Right gas tank and skidplate tuck up well out of the way. | 
Our Deaver springs came with Baja Bushings that eliminate the inconsistent reactions of conventional bushings. When the Baja Bushings are installed in the spring eyes, they allow the leaf springs to rotate on a spherical bearing that is Teflon-lined. This allows the leaf spring to move freely (up to 18 degrees of pivot angle) without the bind and twist normal bushings force. |