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I'm really excited tonight because my boat anchor of a winch is now a jewel on the front of my jeep. AND IT WORKS!!!!! :cocktail:
I had been shopping for a winch for months. The chinese imports were looking awfully appealing. I kept shopping ebay and the forums, and one day this guy in Tulare runs this ad on Pirate for an 8274 WARN in "good condition" for $450. Now, I should have known better when it was that cheap and the guy says "I bought it about 6 years ago and had it on my Scout and never used it. It's just dirty and corroded from sitting out."
So my research says they are the grand-dadddy of all winches, the fastest in the land, but $1200 for a new one? Out of the question. This one sounds like a good deal for a third less, it "just needs to be cleaned up a little". Yeah, right, that's what HE said.
I Paypal'd him the $$ and a week or two later I got a buddy of mine that lives in Bakersfield to go get it for me. It sat in his garage for a month or so before another friend met him up in Barstow at an event and picked it up for me.
Here's what I got:
So I disassemble his 100lb beast and start cleaning and fixing. Strip off the old cable, take the rats nest of a control box off and start cleaning and polishing. It looks like new inside! The control box cover is broken, and it's just held on to the motor with a couple of giant hose clamps. BOGUS SETUP!!
With some more research online about relocating the solenoid box under the hood, and running a lead to the plug-in for the remote and installing it under the drivers headlight, I got clean remote wiring and controls. I source Amsteel 3/8" rope, found a cool laser cut billet fairlead, and re-finished the old beast with urethane automotive enamel.
In a couple of days of hard work I have a restored winch:
I had to source a mount from Hansen Bumpers, and fit it to one of their front bumpers with an integrated winch mount. Double cost for an upright winch!
I spent another day just fabricating 2 guage welding cables to run power and ground to it. But IT WORKS!! And it works Great!! I am so excited.
I called WARN today and they told me how to ground it. They also told me based on it's serial number and components, it's about 25 years old. So as far as I'm concerned, it's a freakin' antique to boot!
The good news is that ALL of the parts are interchangeble with a new one. Just minor updates. AND, they are sending me new cable boots, and a big red WARN insignia, FOR FREE!!. Gotta love it.
Guess I need to splurge for a new OPTIMA!!
I had been shopping for a winch for months. The chinese imports were looking awfully appealing. I kept shopping ebay and the forums, and one day this guy in Tulare runs this ad on Pirate for an 8274 WARN in "good condition" for $450. Now, I should have known better when it was that cheap and the guy says "I bought it about 6 years ago and had it on my Scout and never used it. It's just dirty and corroded from sitting out."
So my research says they are the grand-dadddy of all winches, the fastest in the land, but $1200 for a new one? Out of the question. This one sounds like a good deal for a third less, it "just needs to be cleaned up a little". Yeah, right, that's what HE said.
I Paypal'd him the $$ and a week or two later I got a buddy of mine that lives in Bakersfield to go get it for me. It sat in his garage for a month or so before another friend met him up in Barstow at an event and picked it up for me.
Here's what I got:
So I disassemble his 100lb beast and start cleaning and fixing. Strip off the old cable, take the rats nest of a control box off and start cleaning and polishing. It looks like new inside! The control box cover is broken, and it's just held on to the motor with a couple of giant hose clamps. BOGUS SETUP!!
With some more research online about relocating the solenoid box under the hood, and running a lead to the plug-in for the remote and installing it under the drivers headlight, I got clean remote wiring and controls. I source Amsteel 3/8" rope, found a cool laser cut billet fairlead, and re-finished the old beast with urethane automotive enamel.
In a couple of days of hard work I have a restored winch:
I had to source a mount from Hansen Bumpers, and fit it to one of their front bumpers with an integrated winch mount. Double cost for an upright winch!
I spent another day just fabricating 2 guage welding cables to run power and ground to it. But IT WORKS!! And it works Great!! I am so excited.
I called WARN today and they told me how to ground it. They also told me based on it's serial number and components, it's about 25 years old. So as far as I'm concerned, it's a freakin' antique to boot!
The good news is that ALL of the parts are interchangeble with a new one. Just minor updates. AND, they are sending me new cable boots, and a big red WARN insignia, FOR FREE!!. Gotta love it.
Guess I need to splurge for a new OPTIMA!!
[COLOR=blue]Chris[/COLOR] 
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