Meet Road Trip

Area to show off your Custom Build threads.
Post Reply

Topic author
Road Trip
Posts: 313
Joined: Mon Jun 11, 2012 8:46 am
Location: Bryan, Texas

Meet Road Trip

Post by Road Trip »

Meet Road Trip Image
WARNING: This is long as it has been building for two years and I need to VENT!

A little history is in order. In 1979 I was in graduate school, I had a job starting at the end of the semester and was getting married 2 weeks after I started the job, AND I needed a car right then. My 1969 Plymouth GTX with the 440 magnum had finally ceased being reliable. I found two cars that could work, one was a yellow 1979 Jeep Cherokee Chief Sport and the other was a Buick. Since I was starting a career, getting married and being the responsible person I wanted the world to think I was, I went with the Buick. However, for all these years I couldn’t forget that Chief.

I had been thinking about doing a restoration for years. I had even begun collecting tools to help with the project. Then at a salvage yard on the side of a highway in the middle of nowhere I saw it, a yellow 1979 Jeep Cherokee Chief Sport. I turned around and looked at the Jeep. I told them I would be back that weekend with a trailer to pick it up. You guessed it, before I could get back that weekend, it was gone. So I started looking around and found Road Trip, a 1979 Jeep Cherokee Chief Sport.

Now this was not my first Jeep, and you would have thought I would have learned from my first one, a 70’s CJ7. In 1983 I found it in the country and towed it home with the homemade angle iron tow bar the PO had built. When I got it home and got it to run, I thought it rode really rough and made a strange noise when going over, well anything. Upon further investigation I found the frame was broken in two inside the front spring hanger, on both sides. I welded two plates on both sides of the broken frame and it seemed solid. Then, I tried to pull a shrub out with it and the driver’s side axle spun inside the hub. I thought about it a little and took it to a machine shop and had a key way cut in both the hub and the drive axle, and put a high grade steel key in it and never had another problem. The seats were shot and falling apart, but I found some Camaro seats and fabbed some brackets and had some very comfortable seats on the Jeep frames. I did the body work, moving the fill tube to the back end so it would not catch on tree limbs and took it to Maaco for a “great” paint job. Then came the stereo that I could hear at 70 on the highway with no top. Then I added a soft top and doors that popped and snapped like a flag, making more noise than the stereo could cover up. By this time I had been working on it for several months, and it would sit around and the battery would be dead. I bought it a Sears Die Hard because I thought the battery was bad. It would run like a champ. I’d park it and in less than an hour the battery would be dead, or it could sit in the garage for weeks and start every time I tried it. It had a ghost short that I could not find. I sold it to a guy who said he was “good with electrical stuff.” For his sake I hope he was.

Anyway, I learned some about Jeeps and I am at that point in life where I needed a challenge, so I bought Road Trip.
The first thing I did was make a plan. I was going to restore the body and insides mostly stock, and go with a LM7/4L60 power plant. I grew up with vacuums and carburetors and I didn’t want to go that route. However, I’m now having second thoughts and am not quite sure which way to go.

YES, THAT WAS THE EXTENT OF MY PLAN! Did I mention I have the ADD and I can’t sit around long planning, I have to be doing. I had no idea it would be so hard finding parts for this thing. I mean you can get parts for a Chevy everywhere!

I stripped the insides out to see what was there. I even got the rear window down with some screw drivers. Image That didn’t work so well, I chipped the window, well broke might be more accurate. Put that on the list to replace.

When I bought it, I stomped on the front floors and they seemed solid, but that was the sheet metal pop riveted over the rusted out holes and covered with ¼” of roofers tar and carpet. Image This is what it looked like when I got all the rust out.

Now I have welded with a stick welder, but I was patching things at the ranch with heavy metal. So my welds are called “Gorilla welds” by my relatives who can actually weld. I knew that I needed something other than my stick welder to weld that sheet metal after I blew holes in the first pan. So I picked up a MIG to weld with. I got some gas and I practiced a little, well I practiced on the first panel. Image And then I began patching small things like the tailgate latch where the nut stripped out of its holder. Image Image It actually worked, and I knew I could use the grinders and clean it up enough to paint it.

It was about this time I found the IFSJA site. The write ups of the people who had been through this before me were a real help. If only I had found that help before I broke that rear window. Anyway, they said if I was going with the GM drivetrain I’d need driver’s drop axles and I had passenger drops on the Quadratrac. I now know why, but I started looking for axles because they said I needed them. I found them in Ark, Iflypropjobs sold me a black 82 Laredo, sans motor and tranny. So I made a road trip to drag it home. It had a sunroof and a vinyl top and I wasn’t too interested in it at the time, but it had the axles I was told I’d need and a good windshield, so I was happy.

I kept patching small holes like the one under the driver’s vent where you can see light from inside. Image Of course the rear flares had some rust, I just didn’t know how much until I ground off some of the bondo. They were so shot the whole lower portion would have to be replaced. Then I found it. Image Where the roof meets the drip rail, it was sort of like Swiss cheese. If I had found this first, I might have scrapped the whole thing, but by now I had cussed it, bled on it and named it, so I had to keep going. At this point I had almost a year in it, with not much to show, except I knew how to use a grinder and weld a little.

Now I am working at the ranch, over an hour from home. So “LIFE” as WH says keeps getting in my way. I get to work as best as I can tell about 8 hours every other weekend. Now when I’m there I work a lot more than that, I just don’t get there that often enough to average more than that. Work, family, LIFE.

So I looked closely at the 82 as a replacement for the body tub. Yeah, it has a sunroof, but Laura likes those. So I started tearing into the sunroof. I tried to find new parts and may have found them, but I kept coming back to the design and components used in 82 would never be as good as I wanted. BUT I could cut a patch out of the good section of the red one and patch the hole. On a hot Texas day I peeled the vinyl off and started stripping the second one. Image That Texas sun on that black vinyl was HOT!

When I removed the front seats, the seat stands were really rusty. I thought “not again”, but when I peeled the carpet back from the firewall, the floorboards were in very good shape considering the leaky sunroof and it's a JEEP. So I fixed the small spots I found up front and went underneath to pull out the dealer installed auxilliary gas tank where the spare tire should have been. When that tank came out I looked up at the floor and said a bad word, maybe a few. I climbed out from under and started ripping out the carpet only to realize the floorboard in the back was rusted to the point I was going to have to cut out all the way past the wheel wells to get good steel to work with. I had the red one and it was good there, so I could cut the roof patch and the rear floor out of the red one and use them to patch the black one. I was not a happy camper as this was now more work than I wanted, and after a year and a half I was still not building. To the rescue Serehill, the guy with the Ebay habit.

Rick found this Image A NOS body tub stored in a warehouse since 86. It made life worth living again. Yes, it blew my budget, but I was back on track for a real build, with a body that is not rusted out.

That brought me to the frame. I wanted to use the steel gas tank from the 79, not the plastic one from the 82. So I put the axles from the 82 under the 79 frame and vice versa so I could have a roller for the body while I finished the frame. Image

Good plan, until I started reading again. I should have done that first I guess. Apparently, with the driver’s side drop the 79 gas tank won’t work! Something about the driveshaft hitting it, bummer. Back to the 82 frame the axles went, the second time I moved axles under frames.

DID I MENTION THIS IS A HOW NOT TO?

In the garage I was polishing the frame with wire brushes when I found the body mounts on the 82 frame to be less than satisfactory. Image This was the good one. I thought about repairing them, but- I also had a rusted out section of frame where the gas tank had been. Oh well, I’ll just cut the tank perches off of the 79 and put the 82 gas tank perches on it, and use the 79 frame because it is in great shape, and I now know how to move the axles under the frame for the THIRD time! Image

I used two air grinders, one straight and one angle and I used up 2 electric grinders and I’m on my second set of these and I've been using the Dremel as a small grinder to get in places I missed with the others. I’ve used every wire brush I can find to get some that work best. On the electric grinders I use a twisted wire brush wheel and a twisted wire cupped brush and on the air grinders I use a 1” wheel and a 1” twisted wire brush cupped. Those have given me the best results. Image I think it’s good.

That brings me up to the PM Master Series paint that WH talks about. It really does seem to have all the properties one would look for in a rust proofing and finish paint. It is a process that takes some time. Once the metal has been cleaned, I used the metal prep to seal the metal and prevent flash rusting. Then I applied the first coat of rust encapsulator, let it set up for about four hours and applied the second coat. Image That has to set up for no more than 24 hours, I allowed about 12 hours from the first coat before I applied the black top coat. Image I’m sure many of you recognize some of these parts. One that may be “unknown” is the arm rest frame. When I pulled the cover and foam off of the frame it was rusting. It was raw metal that they foamed and covered and it was rusting from the inside. I don’t think it will rust any more. Did I mention I hate rust? I mean I really hate rust!!!

I have some more small parts to paint, and then I'll do the axles and the frame. So I think I'm finally headed in the right direction.

Now about that plan for the drive train...oh wait, I'm not done painting or reassembling the frame and axles. Darned ADD!!!
Robert

AwesomeJ10
Posts: 3031
Joined: Sat Aug 27, 2011 10:26 am
Location: Off the grid on Storm Mountain Colorado
Contact:

Re: Meet Road Trip

Post by AwesomeJ10 »

Looking great!

Assembling clean/painted parts is sooo nice!
User avatar

Stuka
Site Admin
Posts: 11789
Joined: Thu May 12, 2011 5:53 pm
Location: CA
Contact:

Re: Meet Road Trip

Post by Stuka »

Looks like you are making good progress!
2017 JKU Rubicon
Pevious Jeeps: 1981 J10, 1975 Cherokee, 2008 JK, 2005 KJ, 1989 XJ

Topic author
Road Trip
Posts: 313
Joined: Mon Jun 11, 2012 8:46 am
Location: Bryan, Texas

Re: Meet Road Trip

Post by Road Trip »

Thanks guys! After 2 years of one step forward and two steps back it feels like I am finally going in the right direction.
Robert

Topic author
Road Trip
Posts: 313
Joined: Mon Jun 11, 2012 8:46 am
Location: Bryan, Texas

Re: Meet Road Trip

Post by Road Trip »

I am down to the front axle and the frame and I can start putting the axles/frame back together.
Image
Image

Man am I ready to at least look like I'm putting something together.
Robert
User avatar

Tad
Vendor
Posts: 2267
Joined: Fri May 13, 2011 4:08 am
Location: Southern AZ
Contact:

Re: Meet Road Trip

Post by Tad »

Good on you for sticking with it, that's an impressive adventure you are on.
A collection of 1966 to 1986 parts.
Self Inflicted Flesh Wound
Caddy425/TH400/Atlas 4spd/14B/D60/locked front and rear/Hydroassist/39.5 Irocks
(Join date = Friday the 13th)

My Stuff:
http://www.ttsfabworks.com/
Tech Stuff:
IFSJA WMS Project

Topic author
Road Trip
Posts: 313
Joined: Mon Jun 11, 2012 8:46 am
Location: Bryan, Texas

Re: Meet Road Trip

Post by Road Trip »

Well it was more daunting than I could handle until I got the NOS body. Now I have two old bodies to play with and once I'm satisfied I've learned enough on them then I'll get the new one going. First the frame and axles. Small steps as I am old but still learning! After that the engine/tranny/transfer case. Then I'll get back on the pretty stuff.
Robert

Topic author
Road Trip
Posts: 313
Joined: Mon Jun 11, 2012 8:46 am
Location: Bryan, Texas

Re: Meet Road Trip

Post by Road Trip »

Some of you may remember that I removed the pinion gear from the AMC 20 with an 8 pound sledge. It took 3 overhand solid licks to get it out, and I mushroomed the end pretty good. You may also remember that I took it to an oilfield machine shop and they said "we can fix your little gear." Well they did.


Image

If you look closely you can see where they cut the threads, they started close to the bottom of the threads about 1/4" up and went out from there. When I asked them "how much" they said "we wouldn't even know how to charge for something that samll." It's nice to meet good people.
Robert
User avatar

REDONE
Posts: 2678
Joined: Tue Sep 13, 2011 5:48 pm
Location: Lakewood and Bailey, CO

Re: Meet Road Trip

Post by REDONE »

I love it when you get a good hand up from strangers. Get 'em a thank you bottle of something refreshing. The way you go to the sledge headed problem solver you'll probably need their hand again. :-bd
79 J-10 (Honcho Mucho) KE0LSU
304/Performance Fuel Injection TBI/MTA1/SP2P/Magnum rockers
T18/D20/D44s&4.10s/33" Mud Claws
Grizzly Locker Rear
4" front spring drop, 5" rear shackle flip
Chevy style HEI (ECM controlled)
Dolphin "Shark" gauges in a fancy homemade oak bezel
3/4 resto, rotting faster than I've been fixing it.

Topic author
Road Trip
Posts: 313
Joined: Mon Jun 11, 2012 8:46 am
Location: Bryan, Texas

Re: Meet Road Trip

Post by Road Trip »

Before I went to the sledge I tried a dead blow hammer, then I tried heat, then a 2 lb hammer with a block of wood protecting the pinion, and after all that it took 3 heavy blows from the 8 lb to get it out.

You are right about the thank you for them!
Robert

Topic author
Road Trip
Posts: 313
Joined: Mon Jun 11, 2012 8:46 am
Location: Bryan, Texas

Re: Meet Road Trip

Post by Road Trip »

Well, the frame painting is finished for the time being. I'm sure there will be some touch up like when I weld the motor mounts back in. But it's ready to go back together now.

Image

The 5.3L/4L60 should be in my possession by next Friday. It is coming out of an 05 Avalanche with 84K on the odometer.

Today I either picked up or ordered the parts to put the springs, axles, brakes and brake lines back on the frame.

This weekend is a family weekend, so no visiting the Jeep. But the last weekend of April I hope to get the frame assembled ready for the drive train. If the drive train is in the back of that F350 when I get to the jeep I may have to take off work to see if I can set the drive train. I know I won't be thinking about work while the drive train and the frame are not mated up.

Wish me luck, I could use it to get that all done in one weekend.
Robert
User avatar

66stepside
Posts: 3793
Joined: Sat Oct 13, 2012 9:59 pm
Location: Spokane Valley, WA.

Re: Meet Road Trip

Post by 66stepside »

I like the 2 part painting system for the frame and axle parts. I've never heard of it, I plan on trying the when I go to work on the next frame. The frame on my 66 lasted about 10 years with POR15. I don't want to redo that every 10 years or so.

Your build is coming along!
User avatar

Strode182
Posts: 374
Joined: Sat Jun 09, 2012 8:38 am
Location: Littleton, Co

Re: Meet Road Trip

Post by Strode182 »

Road Trip wrote: Wish me luck, I could use it to get that all done in one weekend.
Good luck :)
User avatar

Mdcptman
Posts: 400
Joined: Sat Jun 09, 2012 5:15 am
Location: New Orleans

Re: Meet Road Trip

Post by Mdcptman »

Hmmmmm........!
Have I mentioned how envious I am? Lol. It looks awesome Robert! What weekend are u going to set the drivetrain? I might just need to hand deliver your fan shroud and give you a hand if you want it.
88 Grand Wagoneer
360/727/208
Edelbrock 2131, non-EGR
Holley 600
Hydroboost
Hedman headers
Dual exhaust
MSD 6A
TFI conversion
Rusty's 2" Add-a-Leaf kit
31 x 10.5 LT15 Goodyear Wrangler Authority Tires
S-10 Steering Box Mod


Quote From Friend's Mom:
"You don't rely on that vehicle do you?"

Topic author
Road Trip
Posts: 313
Joined: Mon Jun 11, 2012 8:46 am
Location: Bryan, Texas

Re: Meet Road Trip

Post by Road Trip »

Todd you'd be welcome anytime you can come over! Heck, we'll put you up and feed you and your wife if she would like to come with you. The Bluebonnets have been out, and next weekend will probably be the last before the grass/weeds choke them out if she wanted to join you for a nice road trip. Otherwise, it will be a long drive to Brenham for her to sit on the deck, sipping a cool beverage, looking over the cows in the green pasture and feeding the miniature horse and the donkey carrots. It's tough, but most people from the city live through it.

I got to go visit RT for about 2 hours today and I have a new issue. I can't get the 2" lift springs I wanted from BJ's right now, they are on back order. So I'm going to use the old ones off the 79 as I read that they started life about 1 1/2" higher than the other models, so maybe they haven't sagged to the point they are too low. If they are, I'll use them until the others come in.

So next weekend I have to pull them from the frame and clean them up to use them. I also have some other parts that I want to paint before I install them. That means next weekend may be a little long on MORE PREP and not long enough on assembly. But next weekend I do plan to do as much as I can. You would probably rather be there for the engine/tranny implant and I doubt that will take place next weekend based on what I was looking at today.
Robert
User avatar

Mdcptman
Posts: 400
Joined: Sat Jun 09, 2012 5:15 am
Location: New Orleans

Re: Meet Road Trip

Post by Mdcptman »

Robert you are such a nice guy. Really.

Frankly I'd love to be involved in any part of it. Including cleaning and prep. And it would be great to see how that motor goes in. Ultimately that's what I would like to do, as you know.

Unfortunately next weekend I'll be having company over from Texas family. And the next weekend my daughter graduates from College. How does time pass so fast?

the good news is that I'll be in Nashville and they still have a couple grand Wagoneers there for me to pick at the pull apart. I'm thinking about a tailgate and transmission.

So, what is your time line ?maybe I could come up at some point to help out.
88 Grand Wagoneer
360/727/208
Edelbrock 2131, non-EGR
Holley 600
Hydroboost
Hedman headers
Dual exhaust
MSD 6A
TFI conversion
Rusty's 2" Add-a-Leaf kit
31 x 10.5 LT15 Goodyear Wrangler Authority Tires
S-10 Steering Box Mod


Quote From Friend's Mom:
"You don't rely on that vehicle do you?"

Topic author
Road Trip
Posts: 313
Joined: Mon Jun 11, 2012 8:46 am
Location: Bryan, Texas

Re: Meet Road Trip

Post by Road Trip »

Well, this weekend proved to be more daunting than I had hoped. The axles were not ready and the motor/tranny were not ready either. However, I did get a look at the 05 Avalanche it is coming out of, and here is the 5.3L with less than 85K on the odometer. They are pulling it and pressure checking it this week - they promised. As for the axles, I have no idea, they were supposed to be ready over a week ago.
Image

Then, I had a lot of help on deciding what to do with the hubs, some from you guys. Remember, I started with rusty, cleaned up with a wire brush, and then I decided to paint them with black brake caliper paint. Before:
Image
After:
Image

Then I had the bad news that the 2" lift springs I wanted to go with are on back order, forever, so I had no choice but to change my other my weekend plans and work on the springs.
Before
Image
And ready for paint
Image
I treated all the leaves with the rust pre-treat for the AGIII system, which I hope to put on next weekend. We'll see.

But I needed to do something that made me feel good, so I got out my new Prothane inserts for the shackles and I installed the frame shackles.
Image
I thought they looked great, and I felt so good to have put something together I called the wife out into the garage to see the accomplishment. She laughed out loud, but I got a kiss on the cheek and a "good work." It was like when the 4 year old writes his name kind of "good work", but I felt good about it.
Robert
User avatar

Mdcptman
Posts: 400
Joined: Sat Jun 09, 2012 5:15 am
Location: New Orleans

Re: Meet Road Trip

Post by Mdcptman »

"I thought they looked great, and I felt so good to have put something together I called the wife out into the garage to see the accomplishment. She laughed out loud, but I got a kiss on the cheek and a "good work." It was like when the 4 year old writes his name kind of "good work", but I felt good about it."

That's priceless. Its cool that even tho she has no clue what it means to you, shes just happy you are happy.
88 Grand Wagoneer
360/727/208
Edelbrock 2131, non-EGR
Holley 600
Hydroboost
Hedman headers
Dual exhaust
MSD 6A
TFI conversion
Rusty's 2" Add-a-Leaf kit
31 x 10.5 LT15 Goodyear Wrangler Authority Tires
S-10 Steering Box Mod


Quote From Friend's Mom:
"You don't rely on that vehicle do you?"

Topic author
Road Trip
Posts: 313
Joined: Mon Jun 11, 2012 8:46 am
Location: Bryan, Texas

Re: Meet Road Trip

Post by Road Trip »

I have the 5.3L/4L60 combo waiting to be put on the frame, and had a question. I plan on using an Advanced Adapter to connect the 4L60 to the Jeep NP208, then I can use the stock Jeep shifter with some modifications (I think). Has anyone done this? Can anyone think of complications or issues that might come up with clearances or mounting? Thanks.
Robert
User avatar

whsii
Posts: 354
Joined: Thu Sep 15, 2011 4:01 pm
Location: Frankfort, KY

Re: Meet Road Trip

Post by whsii »

Hello Robert,

The length of the shifter rod is the only thing I can think of that might be a problem. Length of the transmission plus the adapter compared to the original set up. You might have to lengthen or shorten the connecting rod.

Just my thoughts...
Post Reply