The Brute Rebuild / Refurb / Rehab Thread

[Yetters]

Yetters,
Can't wait to see it. I think the old TJ Brute single cab with a VW diesel would be absolutely stunning combination. With the white paint are you going to go with a tan interior?
Who's going to do your body work and paint? Interested because I am in Phoenix area and looking for a good shop to do a frame off, strip, repaint, rewire on my 81 Scrambler.

Guys

First, there is no hijack here, just good conversation. As a group we can stay informed and learn from others by just being nice and sharing what we have learned. So no harm, no foul
on getting off point.

As for the value of the swap, it never came to mind. I am doing this for several reasons, one of which is to see the response by certain parties to a Jeep with a diesel that works and
can be a real Overland rig. We will also build a second Jeep on an LJ as a commuter / mall crawler to judge the interest in that sort of a pairing, if we get the interest we think we
will, look for us to start doing the conversion here in the USA.

And for those who asked, two tone white paint, bed liner or some other sort of tough finish on the fenders, tan guts and carpets and as of right now we don't have a clear winner in
the body shop race, but i will share it here when we do.

Yetters

 

[big a]

I am not saying it is bad. Just saying you don't do it for cost savings. I seriously considered the VW option; problem I had with other diesels was that you couldn't have them in emissions regulated regions. So only other option was the heavy Mercedes OM617. Instead I opted for a custom 42 gallon fuel tank; a lot of vehicles also have the option of the second long ranger fuel tank too. That was my solution and I felt the best option for me giving me cash freed up for other pursuits. If I didn't have other things I wanted to do with my cash I would have done it.

That's a good argument... where you want to spend your money. Unfortunately that's a limited resource for most of us , LOL!!! I completely understand the direction you went, and you made a good point! There's many factors that should be involved in the decision. It's a shame that here in the states we have a very limited selection to choose from. Also, I wouldn't have gone this route if I had to pay a shop to do the conversion. That eliminated a large portion of the conversion cost. After considering reliability, cost, location in the country (state emission laws), time, etc, it was an easy choice for me especially given the vehicle I started with which needed an updated drivetrain anyway. This is obviously a discussion that could go on and on and has been beat to death

In the end, we all make choice for or against a swap on criteria we individually deem relevant to meet our end goal. While our directions may all be slightly different, the end goal is the same for all of us, to get out and explore!!!!

 

[big a]

Yetters,
Can't wait to see it. I think the old TJ Brute single cab with a VW diesel would be absolutely stunning combination. With the white paint are you going to go with a tan interior?
Who's going to do your body work and paint? Interested because I am in Phoenix area and looking for a good shop to do a frame off, strip, repaint, rewire on my 81 Scrambler.

Guys

First, there is no hijack here, just good conversation. As a group we can stay informed and learn from others by just being nice and sharing what we have learned. So no harm, no foul
on getting off point.

As for the value of the swap, it never came to mind. I am doing this for several reasons, one of which is to see the response by certain parties to a Jeep with a diesel that works and
can be a real Overland rig. We will also build a second Jeep on an LJ as a commuter / mall crawler to judge the interest in that sort of a pairing, if we get the interest we think we
will, look for us to start doing the conversion here in the USA.

And for those who asked, two tone white paint, bed liner or some other sort of tough finish on the fenders, tan guts and carpets and as of right now we don't have a clear winner in
the body shop race, but i will share it here when we do.

Yetters

I'm really interested to see how your conversion turns out and get your feedback after driving and wheeling it. My friend dropped a Mitsubishi 4D55 in a Bronco II and it left a lot to be desired even after dropping in 5.13 gears. To me, building a new rig is as fun as getting out and exploring the wild blue yonder! Great thread!!!

 

[paroxysym]

This is Coty Built?

wondering the same thing... after seeing that they make kits for TJ/YJ/XJ its really nice to know this and actually makes me consider looking into this for the GFs TJ when the 4.0 kicks the bucket

 

[Yetters]

wondering the same thing... after seeing that they make kits for TJ/YJ/XJ its really nice to know this and actually makes me consider looking into this for the GFs TJ when the 4.0 kicks the bucket

Yes, we used Coty Built for the parts and conversion, but a major part of the praise has to go to the folks at 4 Wheelers here in Phoenix, with special praise to Barry for finding all the bits and pieces we did not have, and to TJ, the tech
who has worked on this project even when there has been times we both wanted to torch the thing and start over.

Does Coty Built offer a conversion?, Yes they do, but its not "plug and play" or "weekend mechanic" sort of a project. You need to have a really good knowledge of what you are doing, ability to make or redesign parts and pieces and
to be able to do all this with little to no instructions from Coty Built. Next build we will know more and be able to make the swap quicker, in the future?, we hope to have this streamlined and the parts and pieces sourced local for minimal
wait times and better performance.

For now we are getting the last fe things done on the Brute so we can get it on the road and start collecting data on milage and performance.

Oh and we also want to go exploring, drive some back roads, play in the mud and go overlanding!

Yetters

 

[big a]

Glad things are going your way with the build. I'm really looking forward to the feedback on the engine swap and how viable this option is!

 

[Yetters]

OK

It started and ran today!!

Good to hear it crank and fire over, quiet and steady and wanting to get on the road. Bad news?, some minor problems with the gauges but we should have those sorted soon.

Will post video of it running and driving soon.

Yetters

 

[Riley]

All right......so how is it working out? Such a great project that deserves a finale.....

 

[BenHedrick]

First of all, welcome to the Brute club... It's a fun club. I'm about to start my 7th one in a few weeks. Secondly, I am interested in your final thoughts on the COTY Built product. I've considered this swap in a Brute too.

Ben

 

[Viggen]

Your 7th? Arent the kits NLA?

 

[BenHedrick]

Your 7th? Arent the kits NLA?

The AEV Brute's are still available. You might be thinking of the AEV Highline fender kits. Those are not being manufactured anymore. Only one's out there are from people that bought the last sets for sale when AEV discontinued them. Like me...

Ben

 

[Yetters]

Guys

Well, a long a strange trip it has been, and this is where we are at the moment.

It runs, it drives and it overheats like a big dog at anything over 65mph. Right now the problems are as follows,

1) The water pump for the intercooler that was shipped with the conversion was made of plastic, the sort of thing
you might see on a bass boat and would stay cool with lake water running through it, not the 225 degree water
we have running through the Jeep. So the pump melted and caused some overheating, we replaced the pump with
an all metal one and it seems to work, but more road testing is needed.

2) The turbo was a remanufactured POS and failed after less than six hours of run time. Upon inspection, the main
bearing seems never to have been changed, and internal parts were never even secured after rebuild. A new turbo
is on the way from another supplier, this might also help with the overheating.

3) The power steering pump was a remanufactured POS, failed after 45 min of run time, had to be replaced with a
new unit.

4) The converter for the VW to Chrysler gauges is finally working after the unit shipped with the conversion was
found to be faulty and poorly built. Coty Built provided a replacement, but only after several weeks of back and
forth on the phone between my installer and the tech at Coty Built. So far it works, but there are still wiring issues
that need to be sorted out.

So far?, $15k for the conversion, $20k for the install and I still don't have a working Jeep that I can drive and it
continues to be an issue. I cannot back out now with the amount of money I have into the project, i would never
break even no matter what i sold it for. I will stick with this and see it through to the end. It will run, it will drive and
I will keep it as long as I can.

More to follow, as soon as I know more.

Yetters

 

[big a]

Man, what a deal! Sorry to hear about your troubles. Glad you aren't giving up! I truly hope it all works out for you in the end! Thx for the update! I'm sure interested to get your take on the finished product as this seems like a potentially good diesel swap option.

 

[Yetters]

Man, what a deal! Sorry to hear about your troubles. Glad you aren't giving up! I truly hope it all works out for you in the end! Thx for the update! I'm sure interested to get your take on the finished product as this seems like a potentially good diesel swap option.

Thanks Big A

This will get sorted out and it will be on the road soon. Its too bad that this has turned into such a mess, i still think this is the future for older Jeeps looking for new life and
people looking for a reliable power source.

Yetters

 

[big a]

My friend came across an '83 Mitsubishi Mighty Max with a 2.3L turbo diesel. He rebuilt it and we put it in a bronco ii. The engine was a bit anemic to say the least and that was with 4.56 gears on 31s. Well, the crank snapped in front of the front main. He checked everything but never figured it out. Well, we rebuilt that engine but stroked it with a 4D56 crank and shaved the pistons. It was a fun build. Anyway, after 2k miles he snapped that crank in the same spot. Found out the adpater plate between the tranny and bell housing wasn't square. That placed an imbalance on the crank through the input shaft which created a harmonic through the crank. He busted both cranks on the same hill with the engine under load. So after all that, he scrapped it all and replaced the entire drivetrain and swapped in a 4bt. This is all over the past 2 yrs. I say all this to inspire your to keep your head up! I'm very sure it can be discouraging, but it's really cool to see you pressing on! Can't wait to see some pics when you get a chance!!!!!