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Hey everyone. I purchased a 1990 Grand Wagoneer in Dark Baltic Blue over tan/sand interior in the middle of December. I bought it sight unseen after a few too many beers one night. Surprisingly it did show up on a truck about a week later but thats when I started find the issues. Buyer beware and all of that. Nothing too crazy bad, just maybe hyped up nicer than it was.
Basics: 198,000 miles on it, was running poorly and leaking from everywhere. On the first tank of gas I averaged 3.6 MPG, so something was seriously wrong, also it felt like the rear brakes werent working.
Luckily when I bought the jeep it came with a Howell EFI kit which hadnt been installed yet. So over christmas I installed the EFI, can answer questions on that if needed. I then bought the CARB legal upgrade kit to make it easier to get through California smog.
I hadnt wanted to spend money on the jeep until I could get it registered first. So I finally was able to get it through smog with a new CARB legal Cat in early April. So now that the car is legal im moving onto the new projects. I have all new stock ride height springs on their way, new shocks, going to order new carpet and have a shop who will redo the seats for a very reasonable price.
What ive done so far. Howell EFI install, New CAT, Right rear wheel bearing, transmission gasket x 2, Rear Main seal and oil pan gasket, Vacuumed down AC and recharged with an R12 equivalent and surprisingly the system does work, All new brakes all around.
Current situation: Today I decided to remove the seats and interior trim and carpet to prep it for the new interior. That was going fine until I removed the carpet. I was expecting a bit of rust but what I found is a lot more than what I was expecting. Pics will be in the next post
Found a bunch of rust under the carpet. So ordered new front floor pans and will learn how to replace them. Ordering wire wheels and will start stripping rust and junk in the cargo area.
Found this defect sticker under the carpet in the rear.
Honestly a pretty solid truck, if you already have it driving, AND passed CA emissions. The rust you have here is minimal, so encouraged you got really lucky with that "hold my beer - watch this" move.
Will be following
'81 CJ5 Base, 258 I6, MC2100, T176 4 spd, 300 TC, D30 Front NT, 3.31, 2-Piece AMC 20 rear NT, 3.31, 4" high arc spring lift
'84 Grand Wagoneer, 401 V8 (.030 over), Edelbrock clone 1406, 727 auto, Selec-trac NP229, AMC 20 REAR - D44 FRONT - WT 3.31, 4" high arc spring lift
Rather be driving, than waiting to be modified
devildog80 wrote: ↑Mon Apr 22, 2024 3:14 pm
Honestly a pretty solid truck, if you already have it driving, AND passed CA emissions. The rust you have here is minimal, so encouraged you got really lucky with that "hold my beer - watch this" move.
Will be following
Yep got it through CA smog, runs and drives well. So the rust is a curve ball but I have new floor pans showing up this week and I will start grinding out rust this weekend. I will order new carpet tonight and get it on the way.
I have my springs in, 2 rears from Crown and 2 fronts from Dorman 97-400 7 leafs. Ordered my carpet with the mass backing in Almond. So hopefully that comes soon enough
I also ordered some plaid fabric samples for the center sections of the seats. Looking to do something vaguely like the seats pictured below.
Update: got the ruse holes fixed. Welded in new metal, then rust resistant paint and lots of sealant. I did notice water on the floors this morning so I have to track that down.
I'm in the process of spraying the interior trim with Duplicolor Desert Sand vinyl paint. If you look at one of the pictures it compared a painted handle to the section which was covered up. I believe everything has faded. I also picked a fabric for the seat centers, it'll be the plaid on the left in the pictures.
I have also been adding sound deadening to the floors, wheel wells and door panels. I'll add more photos of that when I can. Hopefully the carpet comes in soon but I have to fix the water leaks before I can do anything with the carpet.
Get the truck in the garage at night, put a bright drop light inside the truck on the floor under the dash, then close the truck and garage door and shut off the interior garage lights. Now crawl around and look under/over/on top/sides of the truck to see if any light comes through. This will let you know if any more rusted spots need tended to, or will validate it is probably windshield/door/cowl seals, that need replaced.
'81 CJ5 Base, 258 I6, MC2100, T176 4 spd, 300 TC, D30 Front NT, 3.31, 2-Piece AMC 20 rear NT, 3.31, 4" high arc spring lift
'84 Grand Wagoneer, 401 V8 (.030 over), Edelbrock clone 1406, 727 auto, Selec-trac NP229, AMC 20 REAR - D44 FRONT - WT 3.31, 4" high arc spring lift
Rather be driving, than waiting to be modified
devildog80 wrote: ↑Mon May 06, 2024 2:21 pm
Get the truck in the garage at night, put a bright drop light inside the truck on the floor under the dash, then close the truck and garage door and shut off the interior garage lights. Now crawl around and look under/over/on top/sides of the truck to see if any light comes through. This will let you know if any more rusted spots need tended to, or will validate it is probably windshield/door/cowl seals, that need replaced.
Good idea, I should do that. I'm trying to find all of the holes before i get the carpet in. I know that I have had water come in from the doors and the cowl vents. So need to get the vents off and clean that out. As for the doors I need new vapor barriers.