New/First Project

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Topic author
Catfish55
Posts: 5
Joined: Sun May 22, 2016 7:42 pm

New/First Project

Post by Catfish55 »

So I've had a wild hair up my ass for a couple years now to build an expedition style vehicle that can double as a daily driver. A good camping/fishing/hunting/offroading/whatever I want rig, with enough cargo space for extended outings, multiple passengers, and enough room to sleep in the back if I have to.

I started looking at broncos and blazers, but they're a little too big and bulky, then moved to XJ cherokees and decided they were a little too small (plus everyone has one). Then I looked at the full size cherokees and decided they were just right.

Finally after looking for 2 years, I found my base. Just brought home a 1979 Cherokee Chief, AMC 5.9, TH400/Quadratrac drivetrain with stock D44s/3.54 gears, wedged springs for lift on 33x12.50s. Runs and drives, but has a misfire on the #1 cylinder. Central New Mexico jeep and it seems to be pretty light on the rust, mainly just the rear fender flares at the bottom, but we will see exactly how much as I dig into it. I'm into it for $2500 which might have been a little high on the price, depending on what the cause of the misfire is and the work needed to fix it, but at least i finally found it after looking at FSJ cherokees for a while.

The plan: I'll point out that outside of the normal DIY projects up to transmission and carb rebuilds, carb'ed motor swaps, minor body work, etc, I am pretty much new to projects this big, and completely new to FSJs. I hope to be able to lean on you guys for information and advice as I go along, as well as pass along lessons learned. Anyways, stages as follows 1. Get the stock engine running correctly/reliably. (easy) 2. Strip interior/exterior, repaint, and refinish interior in a minimalist style.(easy ish) 3. Mods - bumpers, winch, roof rack, full size spare and fuel can carrier/swing gate, lights, larger lift/35" tires, axle regear to 4.56s, maybe a cage? (not as easy) And finally step 4. Vortec 5.3/6L80E/TBD transfer case swap (not easy).

If the Albuquerque area holds any experts on any of the steps I plan on doing, I welcome you to come share my beer during the process and tell me what I'm doing wrong.
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243
Posts: 740
Joined: Sat Mar 16, 2013 7:32 am
Location: Texas

Re: New/First Project

Post by 243 »

The NP241 is the most widely used xfer case behind an LS swap.

Looks like a nice platform to start the project, welcome to FSJN.

Image

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1978 Cherokee NT, 5.3/4L60/NP241 in Progress
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243
Posts: 740
Joined: Sat Mar 16, 2013 7:32 am
Location: Texas

Re: New/First Project

Post by 243 »

I like the razor the best but I think the muscle grill would look perfect on your rig.

Image
1978 Cherokee NT, 5.3/4L60/NP241 in Progress
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Tatsadasayago
Posts: 3684
Joined: Thu Aug 28, 2014 2:22 pm
Location: Sacramento, CA

Re: New/First Project

Post by Tatsadasayago »

Nice score!
Welcome to the madness and know there are plenty of folks here to help you out as you go.
Learning how to care for and feed FSJs is like learning Japanese; Difficult at first but you get the hang of it if you are persistent.
1977 Cherokee Chief - The Blair Jeep Project III
A collection of parts flying in close formation

Topic author
Catfish55
Posts: 5
Joined: Sun May 22, 2016 7:42 pm

Re: New/First Project

Post by Catfish55 »

243 wrote:I like the razor the best but I think the muscle grill would look perfect on your rig.

Image
I'm actually thinking about the rhino grill... something about it just appeals to me for this build
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DustinLangston
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Joined: Fri Jun 14, 2013 8:03 pm
Location: Cedar City Utah

Re: New/First Project

Post by DustinLangston »

I'm not too far away in Southern Utah. I've done a couple of LS FSJ swaps. If you're doing the 6L80e you can do the stock GM T-case. You can adapt the 6l80e to your Jeep T-case with your options being Dana 300 or NP208. The 79 Cherokee has a passenger side front axle drop so the Dana 300 is your best option. If you switch front axles you can go with the NP208 or standard GM T-case.

http://fsjnetwork.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=9536

http://fsjnetwork.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=4400
1982 Wagoneer Limited 5.3L Vortec 4L60E swap - finished/restored - sold - bought back - sold again
1979 Wagoneer 360 TH400 1339 QT - built into perfect daily driver - sold
1981 J10 Sportside Honcho - finished/restored - sold
1979 Cherokee Golden Eagle - 5.3L Vortec 6L80E swap - finished/restored - sold
1967 Super Wagoneer - sold, too much work
1978 J10 Golden Eagle - finished/restored - sold
1962 Rambler Classic Cross Country Wagon - current project, wife's daily driver - she'll never let me sell it
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243
Posts: 740
Joined: Sat Mar 16, 2013 7:32 am
Location: Texas

Re: New/First Project

Post by 243 »

Although I like the D300 in my CJ I picked up an NP241C passenger side drop for my swap to eliminate the cost of the adapter. I have also thought about buying a drivers side drop axle and using the complete drivetrain from a late model pickup/suburban/tahoe.

The rhino grill looks good on any FSJ :)
1978 Cherokee NT, 5.3/4L60/NP241 in Progress

GaJeep94YJ
Posts: 313
Joined: Fri Dec 18, 2015 12:00 pm

Re: New/First Project

Post by GaJeep94YJ »

I just did a ls, 4l60e, Dana 300 swap. I'd saw to swap your front axle to driver's drop. The 4l60e is offset pan to the passenger side and the 300 is very short. I used the Novak adapter and I had too clearance the pan a good bit. Plus exhaust sucks.

That being said I love minenow that's it's done!

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GaJeep94YJ
Posts: 313
Joined: Fri Dec 18, 2015 12:00 pm

Re: New/First Project

Post by GaJeep94YJ »

Btw you can get a 300 to fit a 4wd with no adapter. Just swap the input shaft and enlarge a hole on the trans

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will e
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Joined: Sat Aug 18, 2012 8:21 am

Re: New/First Project

Post by will e »

Welcome! Don't worry if you spent too much, the inital cost is only a drop in the bucket. ;)

I also have a WT Cherokee. I have set it up for being a great camping rig. I decided to yank out the back seat since I ALMOST NEVER had passengers back there. A friend built a roll bar. I put the spare inside along with so much stuff I have to keep a spread sheet just to keep track of it. Are you going to carry a family around or just you and maybe another? If it is the latter you might consider yanking the seat and using the room.
81 Waggy 'WILL E' Retired
82 Cherokee WT - SOA/SF/high steer/Alcan springs/agr box/Borgeson steering shaft/AMC 401/performer/holley TA/HEI/BeCool/727/ALTAS (2.0/2.72/5.44)/D60 Snofighter(Yukon Zip,hubs,stubs,4.56)/14 Bolt (FF,BF shave, Discs, ARB,Artec Truss)/MTR 37X12.5/Corbeau XRS Baja & 5 point retractable harness/Hella Aux lights/tuffy console/killer32 sliders/Evil Twin bumpers, rack and roll cage/WARN 8000/TT Fabworks steering brace/dual batts/custom TC skid plate/ARB fridge

Topic author
Catfish55
Posts: 5
Joined: Sun May 22, 2016 7:42 pm

Re: New/First Project

Post by Catfish55 »

GaJeep94YJ wrote:I just did a ls, 4l60e, Dana 300 swap. I'd saw to swap your front axle to driver's drop. The 4l60e is offset pan to the passenger side and the 300 is very short. I used the Novak adapter and I had too clearance the pan a good bit. Plus exhaust sucks.

That being said I love minenow that's it's done!

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
I thought about that, but I do like have both differentials on the same side for clearance. Its not going to be a purpose built rock crawler, but being able to have the extra clearance on the driver side would be a big plus on some of the areas I go to. I'm currently driving a 2004 GMC 2500HD lifted on 35s and its pretty tight on the differential ground clearance for some of the spots I get into.

Topic author
Catfish55
Posts: 5
Joined: Sun May 22, 2016 7:42 pm

Re: New/First Project

Post by Catfish55 »

will e wrote:Welcome! Don't worry if you spent too much, the inital cost is only a drop in the bucket. ;)

I also have a WT Cherokee. I have set it up for being a great camping rig. I decided to yank out the back seat since I ALMOST NEVER had passengers back there. A friend built a roll bar. I put the spare inside along with so much stuff I have to keep a spread sheet just to keep track of it. Are you going to carry a family around or just you and maybe another? If it is the latter you might consider yanking the seat and using the room.
I plan on having the back seat removed most of the time, but occasionally will need to throw it back in for more passengers. Doesn't seem like it would be a big deal to swap it in and out every once in a while

Topic author
Catfish55
Posts: 5
Joined: Sun May 22, 2016 7:42 pm

Re: New/First Project

Post by Catfish55 »

So last weekend I had adult responsibilities and couldn't get to it, but making progress this weekend. Checked out the motor and found the standard leaks and such as well as compression is shot on most of the cylinders... one only making about 30 psi on the crank, so pausing from that while I consider options of either getting it rebuilt or just moving straight to the ls swap. In the meantime, got the interior stripped except for the dash and wiring. I was pleasantly surprised to see few rust issues in the floor. It all seems salvageable and just need some welds here and there where therrs a couple cracks around seat mounting bolts. I saved all the old interior panels for patterns to make my own, does anyone have experience with/tips for that? I don't want to do upholstered, just maybe some steel or abs plain Jane panels. Also found $2.19 cent in change in and under the seats and carpet... she's doing what she can to offset the bills. And I found the factory bumper jack with all parts, a york compressor, and a box of random parts including the chief emblems stowed in the back fender so there's some more bonuses! Can't seem to get the pictures uploaded, for some reason they're "too large". I don't get that very often.
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