1981 Jeep Cherokee 4WD 4 Door Wagon
SJ
Vehicle came with documented history from 1998
and included receipts for parts and work done,
including engine swap, Auto rebuild and shift kit,
LP gas system fitting, custom lambswool seat covers, Paint and panel (BMW colour) Dakar yellow
blacksmith for spring resetting, accident reports for insurance work
and all rego slips amongst other things.
Purchase price was $14,000 au
Fitted with Cragar Mag minilite wheels and Timberline tyres, from ?????
350 Chev V8, 4 bolt mains,
Fuellie double Hump heads'
High compression pistons,
Holley 750 on Holley Street Dominator manifold,
Cam racing type unknown grind,
Manley roller rockers with Valve guides and lash caps
MSD distributor,
On Gas and Petrol
Chrysler 727 auto with shift kit and adapter to small block Chevrolet
4WD
Dana 44 front differential
AMC20 rear diff
with Koni adjustable shocks all round (rebuildable shock absorbers)
Power Steering
Disc brake front, drum brakes rear
Lowered spring height 2inch
The side steps were removed as the mounts collected mud sand and crap and the steps simply looked wrong,
The Bullbar though functional blocked sight of the front indicators and also looked crap, both were removed.
Repairs
Our first problem was simply a fuel bowl float sinking and had been a problem for a while but easily fixed once found.
Then the rear left axle shaft decided to part company on the highway, no damage apart from a very bent axle, found a replacement at a wreckers at Hervey Bay and had both side rear bearings replaced.
Problem was that a repair documented by the previous owner had mixed up the seal and bearing combination, greased and/or oiled bearings are available. No inner seal for an oiled bearing !!
The Jeep had always been tricky when changing from fuel to LP gas and once the float was fixed it became plain that the situation was worse ?
Turns out that a 4 barrel carb with a rear float chamber that retains petrol and dumps it into the LP gas flow under acceleration is not safe on the highway until fully cleared of petrol
Strike one against LP gas.
Strike two, we live in a country town too small for a petrol station and the nearest gas is over 35 k away.
Then the first occurrence of a failed MSD type distributor.
Poor performance and poor fuel economy was next and traced to collapsed mufflers, both mufflers and resonators change to free flow type.
Then while on gas a valve spring broke at 100 kph and when we slowed down a backfire occurred that put a dent in the bonnet with the air cleaner fastener.
Strike three and out goes the LP gas tank.
After due consideration we rebuilt the top end of the motor to take advantage of the performance available.
Started with
350 Chev 4 bolt mains block, checked casting number and is correct for a performance engine or a HD truck.
High compression pistons
Fuellie double hump heads, old school high performance,
Manley Roller rockers with Lash caps, same as 265 hemi 6. Check out E49 Charger from Aust.
New
Holley 600 CFM on a super sucker spacer sitting on an Edelbrock Air Gap Performer Manifold
Camshaft Heatseaker stage 2/3 power grind, a nod to Rob, Lawnton Autobarn for research, advice and sourcing some bits. We chased torque over Horsepower, and it worked.
Valve springs
Lifters
Pushrods
Lash caps
Dbl row timing Chain set
Water pump
Alternator
Hoses, thermostat and housing and all the gaskets sealants and oils etc
After the work was complete, the power and economy improvement was great and while being used to tow a car on a car trailer, the Jeep had power to burn up hill, used no oil.
The Gas system was completely removed at this time.
Shortly after while tuning another MSD type distributor failed,
The third Distributor failure and I replaced the MSD type with a Magnetic pick up type, same power as MSD.
Rewiring the distributor circuit I found that the old circuit had been on 9v all of the time causing the MSD failures as they require 12 after starting.
During the rebuild the air con was removed, (dash unit left in for future use) the air con condenser was rotted and the system used the old gas and would have been useless on the new gas. A new system will be fitted when $ are available.
Meanwhile much of the wiring added since 1981 has been removed and a general tidy up of the engine bay has been done. Wire wrapping is awaiting a dual battery system, I will hide a gel cell in the back.
New
Old
The fuel tank metal support was rusty and the fuel tank etc was removed and the coffin rebuilt. Fuel tank cleaned and all lines flushed.
I have fitted a pair of Old school Lucas horns from the 60s, remember when you could pull them apart and adjust the tone, with a high tone air horn the Jeep now has a horn to rival the exhaust.
The CD player in the dash being a new cheap looking unit has been replaced with an 8 track player.
Inserting any 8 track cartridge activates a switch that powers up an amplifier under the drivers seat that receives music from any Bluetooth source .
speakers were replaced with Boston 5.5LF's
Some interior items have been source via Ebay such as new window winder handles $7 each.
As my other car is also a Jeep WJ V8, I couldn't keep them on the road at local part prices
Thank goodness for Ebay.
Next on the job list is the channel that holds the glass in the tailgate, swollen by rust and so catches.
Some small body rust bubbles that were present on purchase are next on the list, kept at bay by wax and WD40.
prev owner had kept a label from the paint he used so matching should be simple.
Dakar Gold paint code 267
That catches up with Nov 2014.
PS, the SJ would easily beat my WJ (4.7, Chipped, exhaust mod and cold air intake), but dont tell Tina, I told her its built to cruise. She may react like ^$^$%$
