1988 Grand Wagoneer

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husker77
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Joined: Thu Jan 03, 2013 9:13 pm
Location: Glenvil, Nebraska

1988 Grand Wagoneer

Post by husker77 »

Not sure I should even start this since I move so slow, but what the heck.

Not long ago I traded the 77 Cherokee that I had gotten into a reliable, well running machine, if still completely rusted.

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For this 1988 Grand Wagoneer, I need to get a decent front 3/4 shot.

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It is rusty also, hopefully not as bad. It is not running, the p.o. thought it was an ignition problem. It is, the dist/cam gear need replaced. I had stuck a new dist gear on and ran it for a while and it started chewing it up also.

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It is going to need rockers

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Quarters

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And more

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The driver's window had been busted out, think maybe the kid who previously owned it is not well liked or something because I heard the rear window on the Cherokee got busted out also. So in my search for replacement parts I bought this thing, 1991 Grand Wagoneer.

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It is ridiculously rusty, but I drove it home from the scrapyard with the cruise set and the ac on.

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The frame is all but gone next to the fuel tank. I was thinking of yanking the doors and tailgate and cutting off the roof to make a river jeep until I saw that.

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The b pillars are no longer attached at the rocker panel.

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You can see the front tires from under the hood.

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But it has this

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And these

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A pretty nice interior

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And it should have the 1 year only cable window regulators.

I also ended up with this, that has a good windshield and a new bj's 6" lift on it.

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So I am leaning towards just pulling the motor from the 91 and stabbing it into the 88. Probably less actual work than doing the cam/dist gear. Then I can have a motor to rebuild while keeping the Waggy driveable. I was going to stick the 6" lift from the Cherokee on it but I am leaning more towards a soa. Have not made up my mind, have a buddy trying to wrestle a hp dana 60 out of a 79 ford from one of his friends for me, which would make that decision easy. I may find the 88 isn't to good and move on I don't know. Also thinking of making as good a rig as I can out of all the parts, selling it and trying to find a real nice waggy. I will just have to see what I got when I really get into it.
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husker77
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Re: 1988 Grand Wagoneer

Post by husker77 »

Couple of pics I like of it...

When I backed it up to the vintage(the word we use for something that is old but not worth any money) camper to see how they look together. Pretty damn good I think. I really hope to have the entire mess at Ouray next year.

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And the driveway with both in it, twinsies.

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husker77
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Re: 1988 Grand Wagoneer

Post by husker77 »

So here is why my project makes no progress. The idea was to take the wife into town for some garage sales this morning and maybe start swapping engines around 11ish. Nope, swung by my Dad's shop that I help part time at, he runs a lawn mower and small engine sales and repair shop. Went and delivered a mower we had repaired earlier that week. Went to pick another demo unit up from a customer. Then I had made the mistake of finding an owner of this. She decided she wanted a small one also. I can't argue to much when there are three FSJ's in the driveway.

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I had negotiated a more than I wanted to pay but to cheap to pass up deal. So go meet the guy, pick it up and pray it makes it the 30 miles back home. It is always a little nerve wracking wondering how the bearings and tires of these old things that have been sitting for 10 years are go to hold up.

Back to Dad's shop, and get stuck there till 4:30, go try and give the old camper a bath and get home about 5:30, completely shot from the day. Tomorrow is Church and shopping for clothes for my Son's upcoming graduation. Maybe next weekend. :|

At least I covered it up from the rains we have been getting all week. Oh and the little atv is from the shop that Dad didn't want to "officially" work on, don't think he wants to get into those things right now, so he had me bring it home and do it here.

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husker77
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Re: 1988 Grand Wagoneer

Post by husker77 »

Finally did some work on it, did not go well. Wanted to pull the front of the motor off to get to the cam gear and check the timing chain. Of course most of the water pump bolts were rusted, did the little thing where you work them back and forth and got most of them out but a couple broke off. Then while trying to get the water pump off the broken/rusted to the water pump bolts, it broke a chunk out of the timing chain cover. So this is getting more expensive all the time.

I was going to try and get this engine running instead of swapping the one from the 91 into it, I would like to build that one up and keep driving.
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Lumpskie
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Re: 1988 Grand Wagoneer

Post by Lumpskie »

^Man, I hate it when 1 job turns into 3 jobs because of broken bolts and similar...
1989 Grand Wagoneer - Rebuilt 360, 2" Alcans, 10" travel Gabriel Guadian shocks.
1996 Land Cruiser - 1HD-T Diesel, Gturbo (23psi), Wholesale Automatics 442f, F/R ARBs, 35" Duratracs, ARB Rear Bumper, OME 2" lift, home built sliders and aluminum belly skid
2000 Honda Civic - Integra GSR engine, transmission, shift linkage and axles, 200hp, 33 combined mpg
2006 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution 9 - 437hp/447ft-lb
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Atla
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Re: 1988 Grand Wagoneer

Post by Atla »

Man, that's some mighty bad rust on that '91!
~Atla. (I'm just here for the pictures)
1983 J-10
2001 TJ

My Build Thread - http://fsjnetwork.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=2722

twisted frame
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Re: 1988 Grand Wagoneer

Post by twisted frame »

Lumpskie wrote:^Man, I hate it when 1 job turns into 3 jobs because of broken bolts and similar...
Well said, indeed!
73 J4000. 360, MC 2100, T18A, D20, stock closed knuckle Dana 44 front, 60-2 rear. Warn Lock-O-Matics, Warn/Belleview electric winch, true duals with glasspacks, old-school front diff skid plate, used 265 Toyos on 16" AR wheels.
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husker77
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This went about completely horribly!!

Post by husker77 »

New to amc but pretty sure this is not how it is supposed to come apart.

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The bolts were seized in the aluminum timing cover, once it was broken I could spin them right out. A little antisieze would have prevented this entire mess.

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Cam gear.

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Just a little play.

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Now to decide what to do. The 91 has about the same miles so I doubt that engine is much better. Lot of money to just put the front back together on this one. Might see if the timing cover will come off of the blue parts cherokee. I want to get it driving soon.


Side note got some 17" bullitt mustang wheels for my son's galaxy. And got his carb rebuilt so it should be back on the road tomorrow.

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husker77
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Re: 1988 Grand Wagoneer

Post by husker77 »

So I thought, let's pull the timing cover off the blue parts cherokee and see what kind of shape it is in. Started yanking bolts then noticed this.

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Not sure where I am at now, plan D maybe? I would just order one up from bulltear but right now we are saving for a trip to go see my son at his basic training graduation in about 10 weeks.

But I hunted down the owner of this and looked at her a little more closely, he told me to make an offer. Think it is a 79, 360, auto, quadratrac.

Pretty rusty, not really much good for parts tbh.

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Does this look like a factory plow? The mounts look just like the ones we had on an old Cherokee at a former employer of mine. It has power angle.

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Factory cb? Thought it was cool and then realized my dash is the newer style so of course wont really work.

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Going to take my floor jack tomorrow and try and get under it and verify it is only a 360, hoping it is the elusive 401, but it isn't supposed to be.

Probably only willing to give him a few hundred bucks for it. I would love to have a plow but I know they are very hard on the vehicle.
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husker77
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Re: 1988 Grand Wagoneer

Post by husker77 »

Stupid thing has a 304 in it.
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husker77
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This is sad!

Post by husker77 »

Still a unbuild thread. I offered the guy who ended up with my yellow cherokee the body from the blue one I have so thought I should get it torn apart for him to get it. I decided to get it pretty stripped down.

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The motor was supposedly rebuilt but it sat for years with no intake.

New pistion .030

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But a lot of good that does.

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Crane 863902 cam, but completely stuck, lifters are seized in the bores.

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Think I did get a couple good parts out of it.

Made in the USA headers.

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Double roller timing chain.

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I saved the frame, it has a nice new exhaust on it and I may build it up eventually for a frame off build and then swap a body onto it.

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And playing around while the body sits in the driveway.

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husker77
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Re: 1988 Grand Wagoneer

Post by husker77 »

So now it is an 89. This thing has been sitting around for a few years, I have stopped and talked with the guy a few times. I think the first price he gave me was $3800 and I just didn't think it was worth near that much. Every few months or so I would stop in and bug him, last time he said he had offered it to a guy for $2000. So still not having my 88 running and kind of needing another vehicle quick I stopped in and talked to him, offered $1500 and drove it home.

Topping off the tank before heading home.

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Seats are pretty rough and headliner shot but the rest of the interior is pretty decent. I am trying to get the rear window to roll down, cruise control to work and rear wiper. Starting at the dash.

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Tailgate seems pretty solid. My 88 didn't have the rear wiper and adding it seemed like it was going to be easy. Going to pull the tailgate off the 91 and rebuild all the internal motors and stuff then swap them to the new 89.

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It's got rust, it's from Nebraska. Going to need rockers, quarters and a couple of spots on the floor. But not to bad I guess.

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It got hailed at some point so I will just pull the hood off of one of the parts rigs.

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My 88 didn't have the overhead console either. Headliner is one of the first on the list.

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Got the rear window trim piece that none of my others ever had. Going to have to figure out a way to repair it.

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And the roll up cargo cover. :D

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Also didn't have a rear spoiler on any of the other rigs. He had pulled it and the roof rack off but kept them. Got some spare parts and the original radio. I had pulled the ac duct off working on the electrical under the dash.

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Door panels look good.

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Steering wheel and dash aren't to good.

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He did the tfi upgrade but the wiring is SKETCHY. Plan on doing a mpfi with cnp before long so it will all go away anyway.

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husker77
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Re: 1988 Grand Wagoneer

Post by husker77 »

This still wont be much of a build thread, just a repair thread right now. I had been daily driving the old beast.

My brother even needed a part picked up about 60 miles away just a few days after I bought her and I took off on a road trip.

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After a couple of weeks of course I noticed a small radiator leak.

Called up BJ's and ordered an aluminum radiator, water pump, and new thermostat.

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After I got the old radiator out we got a nice little blizzard, over 5 foot tall drifts and no jeep to play in the snow with.

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The build quality on the radiator is very, very nice. Bolted right in.

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The transmission cooler is on the driver side instead of the bottom so I used 90 degree fittings for the transmission lines, and ran new hoses from the factory cooler. I did have to grind the bottom elbow shorter because it hit on the radiator mounting bracket as I tightened it.

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This would be my only knock on the radiator. Since it is a crossflow the inlet could not really be put in the right spot, a hose designed for the stock radiator is maybe a bit short. One guy mentioned he had problems but so far I have not.

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The water pump and thermostat where straight forward except for some issues from "custom" bracketery. I had ordered a bolt kit from alloy bolts on ebay.

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I reinstalled the factory fan but hope to have an electric setup by summer. It heats up better and seems to stay at a more consistent temperature, I am just using the factory gauge so who knows what is actually running at.
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