Full Size Jeep Network

Figured I'll have so many questions along the way I might as well start a build thread for my new project.
1984 Grand Wagoneer, 134,000 miles.
My goal is not to get it 'perfect'. My goal is to learn, make mistakes, and in the end have a decent looking Wagoneer. I'll take short cuts and do things wrong. I'll get frustrated and wish I hadn't wasted my time/money. I'll experience successes and be so glad I DID waste my time and money.

I also live in an apartment with no garage, and will be doing all the work on the street. Much much fun.

Anyway, I've had relative success before fixing up a Cherokee so the mechanics I feel OK about. For now.

Things I KNOW it needs:
Headliner
Rust repair
Gauge covers reattached
New glovebox liner
SEATS (will pay professional to reupholster)
A rear interior quarter panel
Tailgate fixed (doesn't work at all)
Neutral safety switch
Full tune up (fluids, plugs, caps, wires, etc)

Pics to start it off. How it looked when I got it, one with gasoline leaking profusely from the tank (turned out the tank was totally rotted out. And damn it was hard to find another one). Today I started to sand away at all the rust. PO primed over some areas obviously trying to cover up some rust, so there was LOTS of sanding to do. Following this video for fixing the rusted areas.

How it looked when I first got it. Giving it it's first full tank of gas!
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Aaaaand all that gas pouring out of the fuel tank, which was completely rotted out.
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Interior (dem seats UGLY)

Trunk, including a box of random accessory pieces and the broken tailgate motor

Headliner that will be torn down and replaced, I'm thinking, with a wooden headliner!

Warped chrome coating on the grill and grill frame

Rust

Rust

And more rust

After hours of sanding. (including a trip to the store to buy a drill with a longer battery life)

Today's progress!


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Next up- patch up those rust areas, install a new neutral safety switch (when I can find it/my repair manual gets here) and put up a rear view mirror, and figure out how to post larger images.

welcome to the asylum... and remember that searching this site is your best friend, such as using your favorite browser

ammeter bypass site:fsjnetwork.com

for the repair manual call TSM, go to tom collins website... can't remember if they have an 84 manual but up to 1985 they are mostly the same

letank wrote:welcome to the asylum... and remember that searching this site is your best friend, such as using your favorite browser

ammeter bypass site:fsjnetwork.com

for the repair manual call TSM, go to tom collins website... can't remember if they have an 84 manual but up to 1985 they are mostly the same

Oh yes, can't wait for the months/years of frustration. I already had a dream last night that it started up no problem!
see you've got a GW similar year too.

Welcome to the nut house. You'll find lots of info here. Do the Ammeter bypass.

Didn't catch where you are from, but highly recommend putting an in tank fuel pump in to either supplement or bypass the mechanical one. You'll eliminate a major gremlin by doing this. Vapor lock.

Here is the post I made when doing my conversion with the part numbers you will need: http://www.fsjnetwork.com/forum/viewtop ... 11&t=12680

Also recommend cleaning the cowl out.

Thanks! What's the cowl?
Also I'm up in Seattle. Lord knows where the beast has been before here.

memsiej wrote:Thanks! What's the cowl?
Also I'm up in Seattle. Lord knows where the beast has been before here.

Welcome aboard! The cowl is the area at the base of the windshield. (outside, not inside) Pop the hood, then locate the screws that hold the cowl vent in place. (This is the vent at the base of the windshield.) Remove the leaves and debris inside that area.

To really get after it, check this thread, and clean out all the gunk that's fallen down into the kick panel area, which is down by the driver and passenger's feet: http://www.fsjnetwork.com/forum/viewtop ... f=7&t=7426

Awesome info. Thanks!!

memsiej wrote: My goal is not to get it 'perfect'. My goal is to learn, make mistakes, and in the end have a decent looking Wagoneer. I'll take short cuts and do things wrong. I'll get frustrated and wish I hadn't wasted my time/money. I'll experience successes and be so glad I DID waste my time and money.

If more people thought like you, this world would be a better place. I think I live my life by this phrase. So many people do it so much better than I do, but still I plug away... Good luck in the madness brother!

I like nice vehicles, but no longer desire perfect. I like to drive. Drivers will get dings, scratches, etc.

But I have the joy of owning, maintaining, and driving unique, nice rides. Yeah, they aren't Mecum standards, but they still get looks, kids think they are cool, older guys stop to chat, etc.

That, along with the connection to something that isn't so refined you are disconnected from the driving experience.

I busted my brother's chops awhile back. He is leasing an Infinity QX80. The thing books for $85K.

He took me for a ride in it.

Him-"Watch the headlights, they follow the road as you turn."
Me-"Yep. Preston Tucker invented this back in 1948. It was mechanical, but still the same concept."

"The headlights can auto dim when you meet someone."
"(Yawning) Cadillac-1959."

"Check out how smooth it rides. And this turning radius! (Turns around in the intersection at the end of my parent's road) This is a 4 wheel drive!"
"You do know, my Waggy will do the same thing, right?"

He got me on the heated and cooled seats.
However, come reupholster time, I am putting butt warmers in the fronts. My wife's car has spoiled me for wintertime travel....

Hey thanks for the kind words, guys! I agree- a car is to be driven and used. While I'd love for it to look nice, I also want to drive it. That means dings and scratches, muddy shoes on the carpet, coffee spilled on the seats, dogs and camping gear in the trunk, etc. If I give it a little mechanical work, an unprofessional paint job, and try to get the interior better than awful, I'm happy!

I'll put up more pics later today.

As promised, todays minimal work.

Taped up some really shabby wire covers I'll eventually replace them but electrical=fear=death in my book so I'm procrastinating. And found one spot where the wire cover was melted? This should be fun...

Also just finished sanding out every rust spot. Some were bigger than others, like this rear quarter panel with the whole bottom chunk rusted through! Took the lazy way out- sanding, wire mesh, bondo, sanding, more bondo, more sanding. Pics are from most previous round of bondo and sanding. WIll probably do one more to fill in the last nooks and crannies.

OH AND I put up a rear view mirror. Exciting times, no?






free ebay image hosting

Cleaning the vent cavity up front was mentioned. And should be done.

There's a drain hole behind where you're working too. Hose out the dirt back there and make sure the drain is clear.

memsiej wrote:Hey thanks for the kind words, guys! I agree- a car is to be driven and used. While I'd love for it to look nice, I also want to drive it. That means dings and scratches, muddy shoes on the carpet, coffee spilled on the seats, dogs and camping gear in the trunk, etc. If I give it a little mechanical work, an unprofessional paint job, and try to get the interior better than awful, I'm happy!

I'll put up more pics later today.

Sounds like mine. Bought it basically for the dogs. And because it's pretty cool!

SJTD wrote:Cleaning the vent cavity up front was mentioned. And should be done.

There's a drain hole behind where you're working too. Hose out the dirt back there and make sure the drain is clear.

If it stays nice out, I'll do it today!

When you're ready to troubleshoot the rear window, we'll be here to walk you through it and build your confidence on electrical. It really isn't that hard.

Well today's "simple tune-up' turned out to be more fun than I hoped. Went in thinking I'd just do plugs and wires, distributor cap and rotor, air filter, PCV valve, oil cap, basically all the stuff I got from my TGW tune up kit.

First mission: Locate the PCV valve. The Haynes manual I got shows thing thing being in a different place and looking different, but I THINK it's back in here somewhere. But am unsure, so I held off until I can confirm. Never had a PVC valve be so hard to find.



Second mission: Spark plugs. Take off the first hose, go to remove plug, and of course my plug socket doesnt fit. WTF? Measure the size of one of the new plugs and it fits a 21mm wrench. My spark plug socket is no where NEAR big enough. So that'll have to wait. At least I get wires and dist.cap/rotor done. Set came with an extra wire, not sure what that's about but I got 10 wires total.

(Pic with new wires, but old cap. Did wires first, cap/rotor second so as to not get anything crossed.)


Filter was a breeze, and didn't really need to be replaced (I'd just thrown a new one in when I first bought it) but oh well.

Oil cap too was fine, and the old one was GROSS. seems loose on the stem, so I'm trying to think of ways to keep it more tightly snapped on.

You can see how gross it is-the darkness is how black and mucky the inside of the old cap was.



And for a last bit of fun, when I first went in to pop the hood, there was water pooled on my floorboard mats. So that's coming in from who knows where. bet the whole bottom of this thing is about to rust through.


Forgot to do the fuel filter and clean that cowl you guys told me about, so I'll be back out there today once I thaw a little bit. Also got a canister filter with the kit and have NO idea where that thing is. Oil change and filter replacement tomorrow if it stays dry.

Fuel filter done. Found two areas that are concerning because of how gunked up they are.
This one scares me because electrical=death


These hoses are disgusting, and there are these bits on the end connecting to whatever that box is, and they're torn to shreds.


Tomorrow, brake pads and the other 4 spark plugs. Beginner stuff.

This is what the old plugs looked like.

Pictures no show. No see peectures.

I seesum.

I HAVE SO MANY QUESTIONS.
Went in today hoping to pull the headliner, spray some undercoating under the wheel wells, paint the air cleaner case, and take pics to get help with the tailgate.
Did those things, and ended up with a MUCH longer to do list. Shocking.

This hose here, leading to nothing. Coming through the carpet, via a hole the PO cut. Leaving some sort of residue. WTF?


What is this, and can I just mount it up under the foot well there?


Peeled back a corner of carpet by the rear seat. Holy rust, batman! Also the screws on that silver plating are completely soggy and stripped, so I can't get that off to pull the carpet and see how far it goes.


The tailgate that I'll never fix.





At least the gross headliner is gone!


Spraying up under the wheel wells and find this- buncha rust and worn bushing(?) How worried should I be?




Painting the air cleaner case. The gasket is totally rotted and disgusting but I can't for the life of me find where to buy a new gasket. Just a whole new case itself.


Painted!


This is always fun to find. Another hose leading to nowhere. Again, how worried am I?


This is where it leads (kind of in the background there, under the yellow wires)


Under this car is grossssss


Another thing I found out I need but can't find anywhere to buy


After some cleaning and painting. Wasn't a TOTALLY defeating day. Wait... yes it was.


Gotta measure this so I can start planning the new headliner.