The cut looks ragged, but that is just the tape all jinkered up.

So I cut it larger and larger, and at least 6 times. I filed each time and checked the trim ring, then adjusted the cut some more...And so it went for about two hours.

At this point I noticed the trim ring was sitting 9/16" low, so guess what I had to do again, and again, and two more times!!!!!

And in the end, I had a marvelous fitting snorkel and hood and trim pieces. It looks very nice I want to say.

And here comes the surprising part. I went for my test drive and discovered the joy of induction sound that had been mostly missing.

and

No doubt about it, it has better acceleration than before. The factory system must have had some restriction that is now absent because it just feels peppier. I was able to accelerate right up to 72 mph and lock it in there, and it cruised with more ease than it did before. It felt like it was struggling some before, but now it seems to be more willing to run at that speed. I tested it on a highway loop and netted 16.2 mpg. The previous tankful negged 15.9, so the increase is really within the margin of error.

Yep, looks good. Wheres the "Real-Man" logo?

Looks great

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I am starting to look at the Jeep as the summer adventure season approaches.

As usual, I am questioning everything.

One thing I did not like so much was the sag of the rear springs. You may recall that first I installed the standard Overland spring, and that seemed to droop under the weight of all the overland stuff. I swapped in the HD overland rear spring and oddly enough, it sagged a little too. I had installed a rear Firestone airbag, and that is sort of a band-aid. It prevents the rear springs from really flexing so although I can again carry a bunch of weight, I am limiting rear flexibility. You always need to run air in the bag since it is made to shove itself out between the coils. If you let the air all out, then the spring chaffs against the poly bag and damages it.

So, I am scrutinizing all of that. The search for a solution led me to Metal Cloak once again. When last I upgraded to Clayton suspension components, Metal Cloak was the contender. In the end, I got a wonderful deal from Clayton and so I went with them.

Well all that is up in the air again, so today I called Metal Cloak again and talked to Will, a 12-year veteran of MC. He is one of the smart guys and is a wealth pool of information about many areas of Jeeping, suspensions, and overlanding.

He recommends I install their overlanding kit with a 4.5" rear spring and a 3.5" front spring along with their new Rock Sport black 2.5" adjustable shocks.

I am currently running the Falcon 3,3 series Big Shock and they are really good. But they are made for super soft springs, and Clayton springs are not. Being somewhat firmer, I have gone full soft in my adjustment to get a livable ride. Apparently, according to Will, the Metal Cloak springs are firmer, and therefore their shocks are tuned along those lines. The bottom line is they would be a much better match.

So for now all of this including a full suspension change is in the zone of consideration for the upcoming Wyoming adventure.

Nice job on the hood stack cutting.  It’s always a pucker moment when cutting a painted surface


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Concur

I made many cuts, sneaking up on the final profile.

Saving grace: The trim piece,

and,

The fact that the hood is aluminum.