81 wagoneer limited

[81waggy]

Started into my first project today. Came across this at a BMW repair shop off the beaten path in NC. Its an 81 Wagoneer limited with a straight 6 & power everything. My plan is to tun it into a daily driver. It came with a bunch of extra parts including a straight 6 from a 95 jeep. Both motors are in pieces and need put back together. Probably going to sell it all unless someone can convince me otherwise.

I'll add some pics soon.

As for its history: Its been sitting for the last four years. The engine caught fire before it was parked. Came up through the carb and put a nice little toast mark on the hood. Engine wiring harness is shot. But other than that and a little spot on the rear quarter panel, this jeep is clean. No rust on the frame, body, etc. I assume the 3 speed auto works.

My plan is to pull the original drivetrain and transplant a 5.3 Vortec with a 4L60E overdrive transmission (drivetrain from a post 2001 Silverado). My reasoning for the engine and tranny is for better fuel effiency, reliability, and easier highway driving. 4 leaf springs aren't going to make it the most comfortable ride but it'll run like hell.

The schedule is to get the electrical and brakes sorted out first since its been sitting for the last 4 years. My dad is going to help me with the transplant in 6 weeks when he's done with his treatments. His last swap was with a 69 gto (in 1971). I told him its all the same....just more wires.

Today I started on the power windows and locks. Took me 3 days of research and head scratching to figure out how to get the power window arm off of the glass. If you need help figuring it out...I've got pictures.

So all the window motors & switches work. The power locks are a different story. Would like to fix them but the windows were more important. Unfortunately, the weatherstripping inside the doors is so bad that one window binds up as it goes down. If anyone knows how to replace that, I'd appreciate the advice. Got a Haynes repair manual but it only goes so far.

From here its figure out why the dash lights don't work. Same with the rear window switch and the wipers. After that I'll start on the brakes. By then I'll have my donor and ready for the swap and get this beast on the road.

Anything I'm overlooking?

[twisted frame]

Sounds like a perfect platform for a swap! On the dash light problem, try pulling the headlight switch and seeing if the contacts need cleaning. If you can get power to the switch temporarily, (since your wiring under the hood is shot,) rotate the headlight knob/shaft with the switch in the ON position just to see if you can get the dash lights to flicker at all. The switch could need replacing. You also might want to pull the gauge cluster and inspect the circuits on the back to see if anything melted.

Check out Tom 'Ol Jeep' Collins page for wiring diagrams and more: http://oljeep.com/gw/elec/GW_wiring.html

Was the Jeep's fuse block damaged at all by the fire?

I am planning on replacing the window run channel in both my doors soon so I'll try to post pics. The felt channel inside my doors is practically gone and then bunched up towards the bottom, making my windows difficult to open and close.

[81waggy]

Hard part now is finding a donor that's not a small fortune. Friend of mine is a mechanic who said the 5.3 swap is pretty easy. When you take the entire drive train, there is really no need to simplify the wiring harness or the computer. We'll find that out soon.

The fuse box is under the dash so it survived. I'm actually surprised how much under the hood survived. The wiper motor works. I don't think I'm getting power to the heater blower motor to see if it works, and the AC under the dash doesn't work. But its only March. I have time to get both of those working.

definitely let me know how the window channels go.

after messing with the switch a little, the dash lights work. They flicker when you turn the knob, so i have one on order. sending the first one back to amazon because it was defective.

Pulled the grill off today because the headllights were all screwed up. One adjustment screw is busted, but I think I can rig up something.

Tomorrow I'm pulling the steering wheel off so I can replace the ignition switch. It doesn't like going to the start position.

[will e]

Welcome to the forum! Thanks for saving the old girl. It sounds like a great build you have going there.

[81waggy]

So haven't made a whole lot of progress lately. I've been searching for a donor for the drive train. Problem is everything is high miles and too expensive. A 300k mile Silverado for $4000? A little hard to swallow.

So here is my plan. Stopped by LKQ today to do a little research. Turns out I can get everything I need, complete engine, Transmission, transfer case, computers, wiring harness, gas pedal for about 1000. Has anyone gone this route? It seems like a good deal, presuming you get good parts on the first shot. Is there something I should be looking out for that isn't obvious? Worst case, other than it being junk, I rebuild the tranny and new long block.