1977 Wagoneer "FrankenJeep"

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ghinmi
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1977 Wagoneer "FrankenJeep"

Post by ghinmi »

Well, up to this point only a few knew but I'm back on my feet and ready to start rebuilding so I'm alright with talking about it now. A couple weeks ago my black '76 had a bad fuel fire in the garage. Through a series of coincidences and good luck I was able to get it pushed forward and save the garage and other cars. The Jeep wasn't so lucky. It burned underneath front to back and took pretty much everything that wasn't metal. Paint/bodywork is pretty much all ruined. But the interior survived and the drivetrain looks mostly salvageable. I know everyone wants to see pictures, they can be seen at http://s30.photobucket.com/user/ghinmi/library/Jeep Those that have seen the Jeep in person know how much of a shame it is and how upset I was.

On the plus side, it was insured with an agreed value policy and even though I had under-insured it by a LOT, I'll still make out ok because so much is salvageable. The insurance put the Jeep up for auction and I was able to purchase it back for the high bid. Which was $50. Deal of the century, huh?

Also, on another brighter side (and the reason I started this thread), I was able to pick up a sweet deal on a '77 Wagoneer. 19 hours on the road and a little over 1000 miles later it's sitting in my driveway and I am ready to start the build. I am going to be using the '77 body/wiring/accessories with an '83 frame and the drivetrain and interior from my '76. It will end up being pretty much like my old '76 just slightly improved in a few ways. So with that, here come the pictures of my new project, "FrankenJeep"

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Stuka
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Re: 1977 Wagoneer "FrankenJeep"

Post by Stuka »

Oh wow, I had not heard. Really sorry to hear that :( I didn't know you put a turbo on it either, I had thought it was all motor.

But really happy you are safe. And congrats on the new waggy. Hopefully you are able to salvage some stuff from the old waggy (I assume the engine is probably mostly ok inside).

Looking forward to the new build.
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Pevious Jeeps: 1981 J10, 1975 Cherokee, 2008 JK, 2005 KJ, 1989 XJ

Topic author
ghinmi
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Re: 1977 Wagoneer "FrankenJeep"

Post by ghinmi »

Yeah, the turbo was a recent addition. I had it up and running for a few days before this happened. From the little bit of driving and tinkering I was able to do it seemed like a real beast. I figure it was making 900ish hp at 12 lbs of boost. The turbo stuff, although ugly, is still ok. Like most everything else, just need new seals/gaskets and a good cleaning. There is so much salvagable off the black Jeep it's hard to believe they totaled it out. The list the insurance adjuster put together shows a little over 16k in damage, not including any of the performance parts.
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jaber
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Re: 1977 Wagoneer "FrankenJeep"

Post by jaber »

My condolences... :-?

Cant wait to see the new ones build. Looks like a clean start. :-bd
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fulsizjeep
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Re: 1977 Wagoneer "FrankenJeep"

Post by fulsizjeep »

Sad for your loss Greg. What a shame. Had no idea this happened. :(
It appears you are quick into action for the replacement. :-bd
Flint Boardman
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The PIG Smith
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Re: 1977 Wagoneer "FrankenJeep"

Post by The PIG Smith »

Greg,

Allow to offer another I am sorry.
At one of our Meet and Greets, I declined your offer to ride in your black Wagoneer to ride in Larry Miller's Wagoneer.
I always thought there would be another day to ride in that Wicked Wagoneer.

Here is a picture of your Wagoneer I found while cleaning off my phone.
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Gumby
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Re: 1977 Wagoneer "FrankenJeep"

Post by Gumby »

I wings say it.... :cry: . I really am happy to see your spirits are up an ready to build a " Phoenix" . I bet that turbo turned some heads :D .

:-bd
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ghinmi
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Re: 1977 Wagoneer "FrankenJeep"

Post by ghinmi »

The PIG Smith wrote:Greg,

Allow to offer another I am sorry.
At one of our Meet and Greets, I declined your offer to ride in your black Wagoneer to ride in Larry Miller's Wagoneer.
I always thought there would be another day to ride in that Wicked Wagoneer.
Bryan, the new one will be done before you know it. And you know that you and Nathan are always welcome to a ride. Thanks for the picture!


Gumby wrote:I wings say it.... :cry: . I really am happy to see your spirits are up an ready to build a " Phoenix" . I bet that turbo turned some heads :D .

:-bd
Yep, I debated what to do but after a few days it became obvious that I need to rebuild. Too much sentimental value to send it down the road. And the turbo? Yeah, nobody knew about that. :-bd
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Re: 1977 Wagoneer "FrankenJeep"

Post by fulsizjeep »

ghinmi wrote:And the turbo? Yeah, nobody knew about that. :-bd
That came stock on the 304 didn't it?

;)
Flint Boardman
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Topic author
ghinmi
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Re: 1977 Wagoneer "FrankenJeep"

Post by ghinmi »

Haha, this one might have a "360" in it. :P

First progress on the rebuild tonight. Rolled the '83 chassis into the barn.

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And disassembled to the bare frame. Check out how clean it was in the gas tank area!

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Now I've got to clean and paint it then start re-assembling with new parts.

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ghinmi
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Re: 1977 Wagoneer "FrankenJeep"

Post by ghinmi »

Got a little spare time between ordering parts and cleaned up a section of the frame. Going to be a huge improvement over the old frame.

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ghinmi
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Re: 1977 Wagoneer "FrankenJeep"

Post by ghinmi »

Finally got the frame cleaned up and painted. Came out pretty nice.

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Got the engine pulled out of the black one, ready to be cleaned up.

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Dead float Dana 44 from the black Jeep. Also needs to be cleaned up.

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Had to put an axle under the front of the black Jeep to keep it move-able. Wide trac front axle and 31s fit with lift springs.

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Topic author
ghinmi
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Re: 1977 Wagoneer "FrankenJeep"

Post by ghinmi »

Front axle/suspension cleaned, painted and assembled.

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ghinmi
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Re: 1977 Wagoneer "FrankenJeep"

Post by ghinmi »

Got the fuel tank, pump, and turbo/crossmember/exhaust mounted. The turbo is a Bullseye CompR83 which is a modified Borg Warner S400 platform. 83mm cold side, 96mm 1.32 hot. The wastegate is a JGS 50mm unit. Piping is 3.5" into the turbo flange, 2" wastegate piping, and 5" exhaust. Fuel pump is a Magnafuel Prostar 500. The rear axle and springs are just temporary to hold the back end up while I work on it. The good axle is getting sent out to check straightness and to swap from 4.10 to 3.55 gears and I'm having a set of custom springs made.

The cool part about this setup is that I welded a spare turbo flange to the crossmember and sandwiched it between the turbo and exhaust flange so that the turbo is solid mounted to the crossmember. When I want to work on it all I need to do is break the v-band connections on the exhaust and remove two thru bolts and the whole assembly drops right out.

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Topic author
ghinmi
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Re: 1977 Wagoneer "FrankenJeep"

Post by ghinmi »

One of the bigger changes I'm making over the old Jeep. I'm moving the engine down a couple inches for hood clearance so I can actually run a decent intake and a carb hat spacer.

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Last edited by ghinmi on Sun Sep 15, 2013 8:58 pm, edited 1 time in total.

twisted frame
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Re: 1977 Wagoneer "FrankenJeep"

Post by twisted frame »

Way to get on it and what a super good frame to start with!
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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ghinmi
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Re: 1977 Wagoneer "FrankenJeep"

Post by ghinmi »

Got a few more pieces cleaned up and painted. Mostly been working on the motor, hoping to have it cleaned up and test fit within the next couple days.

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Re: 1977 Wagoneer "FrankenJeep"

Post by Tad »

Very nice!
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ghinmi
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Re: 1977 Wagoneer "FrankenJeep"

Post by ghinmi »

Got the motor more-or-less cleaned up and painted. Still need to pull the exhaust manifolds and paint them and the cylinder heads. I will be swapping the Torker intake to an Indy one. Put it in the truck to check position of motor mounts. I still need new motor and trans mounts, better get those on order huh?

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Topic author
ghinmi
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Re: 1977 Wagoneer "FrankenJeep"

Post by ghinmi »

Got a lot more cleaning done on the engine last night, pretty much done with that mess. I had to return the new distributor and power steering pump due to various issues otherwise those would be installed already. Need to replace the balancer and swap the intake still.

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