I have been wanting a set of 5 lug aluminum rims that match the six lug aluminum rims for the racer. Yesterday, while fuming about the oil leak, I went on FB Marketplace and did some searching for local motorhomes (pondering the idea of getting a gently used, older motorhome to take to races). After looking through ads, on a lark, I entered a search for Desert Dogs. Lo and Behold, these three popped up for sale for only $400! Check out all that barely used tread!

Even better, the dogs were mounted on the style of rims I had been seeking!  I made arrangements to get them, which meant driving to Boise today.

It turns out they had been an extra part of a Suzuki Samarai purchase.As a bonus, they threw in another desert dog, though it doesn’t have much life left.

This rim has a little cosmetic discoloring and the tread is slightly different, but no bid deal. On the left you can see the other rims. The COOP tires on the green rims will be transferred to the other matching six lug aluminum rims that I have.

This is the worn tire. It has enough tread for racing.

Helpers helping …

Despite the sauna-like temps, and with ice-water-bottles in front of my sho- fan blasting at full speed, I nearly completed the wiring (a couple things left to do). The principal goal was to secure it to the firewall to limit movement while racing, which should keep connections intact and stop cables from rubbing to bare wire. (On the yellow race jeep I could see where the battery cable had rubbed through the protective outer layer at some point, then it had been patched).

I decided to add a second jumper connection which solely handles the lights. I’ve now got most of the wiring in place in case I want to later add headlights and turn signals. I still need to add a switch to power the gauge lights and rear driving lights (in case I need them for some reason). I also didn’t think about adding a fuse for the rear lights until just now .. oops.

Ann helped me put the body into place to make sure the wire dropped under the lip of the cowl from the rollbar:

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Yesterday, we had our only heat spike of the season, with temps hitting, but thankfully nothing like 2021 and temps of 116! Today will be 107, followed by around 104 tomorrow. Saturday, the highs will drop to a comfy high 80s. So, without air conditioning in the shop, not much progress will be made.

I’m currently working through this rats nest and how I want the new wiring junction atop the firewall to be strung. The firewall top sits up to 1.5″ under the cowl in places, so no wires have to go through the wall. There’s also not much rewiring to be done, as I didn’t have to make many changes.

The remaining floors are about ready to be reinstalled, but I want to make sure everything else is in place before I add them.

Oops. I was 2″ short on my fuel line. I replaced a rubber hose at the fuel pump side, which gave me enough room to attached this valve.