I thought I would post a photo of the 1976 Cherokee S that I towed home September of 2012.
I am new here but I joined IFSJA in '01 after inheriting a '76 Waggie that was rusted beyond recognition, I swapped the 401/T400/QT to a '79 Waggie and drove it for a few years out of necessity, bought a '75 for the factory slots and parted it out and then bought a '76 Cherokee with a blown 360 but a fantastic body. Parted out the '79, sold the 401 and stored all the spare parts in the garage with the Cherokee for years with big plans to build it but finally let it go, no money, no tools, no time and eventually filed for divorce. I was honestly sick for two weeks after I sold the Cherokee, I had never felt that way about any vehicle in my life and I have owned a bunch.
After the divorce and while raising my kids I built a baby Jeep to stay occupied and then went full circle and picked up this narrow track '76. Not nearly as nice as my previous '76 but certainly a worthy candidate for a project. It looks better in the photo than standing in the driveway, both rear quarters are body filler, it's a full re-paint but not a good one and it was hailed on at some point. The red was heavily oxidized so a week ago I buffed it with Presta Ultra Cutting Creme and it brought back a nice shine. My plan is to build it as an all around driver, 5.3/4L60E/NP241C replacing the current 360/T400/QT. I will probably hang on to the 360 just in case I get bored with the 258 in the baby Jeep.
I was able to get it started with a remote switch but the harness was fried from a bad amp gauge connection. In December of 2013 I decided to install the replacement harness so I could start it with the key, after a week or so I had everything installed and was able to drive it for the first time around the neighborhood, and let me tell you, it was like I was back in my favorite pair of cowboy boots!
I swapped the Cherokee whitewalls with the Michelin LTX MS 30/9.50's on my daughters truck before I sold it. I rebuilt the MC2100 and it runs decent but I am not happy with decent. I built a junkyard TBI for the baby Jeep and plan on building another for the Cherokee, it's just too cheap to for the gains in driveability and cold starts alone. I have a modified harness now and picked up a complete system for spare parts a few weeks ago. I will have to get a bonded title on this one, I did the same with the baby Jeep and it was pretty painless. I will get it insured, titled and inspected in the next few months and start working on the priorities while trying to source the hard to find parts that I know I will need.
The short list:
Replace dash cluster.
Rebuild or replace steering box.
Alignment.
TH400 fluid and filter.
'97 Blazer fuel tank and pump module.
Junkyard TBI
After the short list:
Weld up the eighteen holes in the roof from the roof rack and deflector.
Door seals.
Ospho the roof and reinstall roof supports.
Work on rear window and wiring.
Lift springs and shocks.
Rebuild the NP241C.
The long term build:
As I said, 5.3/4L60E/NP241C
2"-4" lift springs and shocks
31/10.50's or maybe 32/11.50's
Replace quarters.
Bodywork and paint.
New late model buckets and recover rear seat to match.
That's about it for new, more to follow in time.