Update

Well, I've been remiss in updating the blog with the repairs and updates performed on the jeep. So, in no particular order here's the skinny:

1. Rear window works now and has a toggle on the dash near the steering column. Press the toggle up, the window goes up. Press it down, the window goes down. Repair of the window was due in large part to copious amounts of my Dad's time and his knowledge and application of Belzona products. Good stuff, check out their website.
2. On a night run I discovered the the dash lights do work - you just need to find the sweet spot on the dimmer switch and then never touch it again. We still have the always on "seatbelt light turned into dash light" though as a back up.
3. Changed the oil and filter. The previous owner gave us a filter so it seemed like a good thing to do. Bringing a couple of quarts extra for the trip but in close to 200 miles of driving so far, I haven't seen much oil consumption.
4. Still ignoring the inoperative fuel gauge but have discovered the jeep gets about 14 mpg in mixed highway / city driving. That number will probably go down with 3 other guys and gear but it's not as bad as I thought it would be. The "fuel gauge" is blue painter's tape on the dash with a mileage marked down denoting a "suggested refueling stop" accounting for some reserve and knowing the tank is approximately 20 gallons. We're all engineers so we shouldn't have a problem with the math...but I bet we run out of gas due to hangover, confusion, short attention span or the fact that we lose the radio presets every time we shut the truck off. Stay tuned.
5. Mounted the eTrex GPS on the dash using some left over copper pipe, zip ties and a 2x4. The cell phone antenna for the wireless card was much easier because it has a magnetic mount and was simply plopped on the roof. The borrowed DeLorme GPS for the nav system is zip tied to the dash near the eTrex. It's not pretty but can be removed quickly when we get to New Orleans.
6. Plugged the original, leaky left front tire and mounted it on the right front. The old spare is on the left front and the old right front is now the spare. Still make sense? Put the "new" spare back under the truck and forgot to swap the chrome trim ring back to the "new" right front. We've easily got the nicest spare tire on the rally, but I'm not climbing under the truck again for a crummy trim ring.
7. The budweiser can exhaust patch lasted exactly one trip to work before it blew out. In exhaust repair part deux, I simply rotated the rest of the can over the hole and put on some heat activated exhaust repair tape. I also patched a hole in the rear muffler. MUCH quieter now. Let's hope the repair lasts. If not, our stereo goes to 11. Anyone who gets that joke will be welcome on our Babe Rally 2k8 team.
8. The "headlight on" buzzer decided to buzz whenever the key was on, regardless of the position of the headlight switch. It was promptly removed and is now living at the bottom of my toolbox.
9. The parking brake works and releases. It is however a last resort. It SLOWLY brought the truck to a complete stop from about 5 mph or so. Let's hope we don't ever need it.
10. Speaking of brakes, we inspected the brakes. Rear drums work and don't drag. Front brakes look good and have plenty of pad. Greased front caliper slide pins and topped off the fluid.
11. Jacked up the rear of truck slightly, locked front hubs and put the truck in drive. Only the rear wheels spun, so we're 100% positive that the truck is in 2wd, no matter what the dash or 4wd lever says. WE then unlocked the front hubs, lowered the rear end and acted like we didn't see the neighbors scratching their heads.
12. Checked the fluid in transfer case and rear diff. Fluid in transfer case looks brand new. I bet the previous owners couldn't figure out the damn 4wd system either!