Grand Wagoneer Refresh...

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Topic author
jtf9146
Posts: 6
Joined: Fri Jan 27, 2017 12:26 pm
Location: Burlington, CT

Grand Wagoneer Refresh...

Post by jtf9146 »

I picked up this 89 GW from California. Spent most of its life in CO. This is the best angle, because you can't see the peeling clear coat on the roof and tailgate:
PassengerSide.jpg


Rougher than it looks but mostly rust free which is a bonus for us east coasters. Can't call it a restoration it's not that far gone. Electrically it was a mess, melted wires, blowing fuses, nonfunctional windows, door locks, turn signals, wipers, cruise control. The rear window was missing, shattered by the previous owner. I'm almost done with the interior repair/refresh. Soon I'll be moving onto tuning, and then suspension.

First lesson learned was how easy I had it with my 77 Bronco, practically every part is available OEM or aftermarket. It's hard finding parts for this thing sometimes...

I've already found lots of answers to my questions here, hopefully I can contribute some as well.

Thanks.
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Justin
1989 Grand Wagoneer
1977 Bronco Sport
1970 Porsche 914-6
2011 Rubicon (Daily Driver)
Past Projects: 2008 Dodge Magnum RT AWD, 1992 VW GTI 16v, Yamaha XT350, Kawasaki X2 750

will e
Posts: 5096
Joined: Sat Aug 18, 2012 8:21 am

Re: Grand Wagoneer Refresh...

Post by will e »

Welcome to the club! Good looking Jeep!
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
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dodgerammit
Posts: 1434
Joined: Wed Jan 11, 2017 11:20 pm
Location: Middle TN

Re: Grand Wagoneer Refresh...

Post by dodgerammit »

BJ's off road if you haven't already checked them out. They'll have most of the typical parts you'll need as far as lenses, weatherstripping, springs, and other mechanical parts.

Electrically, they aren't any worse than any other vintage ride I own or have owned. They all suffer from corrosion and degraded harnesses.

Coming from an 80s full sized Dodge truck, these have support for days.
84 Grand Waggy-Radio Flyer (Garnet Red/3M Ebony Metallic woodgrain, with honey interior) AMC 360 :cry: 2004 4.8LS/Advance Adapter/727/242 D44/AMC20 Serehill tailgate and headlight harnesses :fsj: Ongoing thread-viewtopic.php?t=11897

92 Wrangler Islander 4.0/32RH/231 D30/D35 RHD

Topic author
jtf9146
Posts: 6
Joined: Fri Jan 27, 2017 12:26 pm
Location: Burlington, CT

Re: Grand Wagoneer Refresh...

Post by jtf9146 »

Thanks. I've been through the BJ's and TGW sites and I have been checking Facebook and eBay regularly to find the stuff that can't be fixed or replaced with new parts. My Bronco I could literally rebuild from the ground-up with new parts (if I wanted an inferior reproduction version with everything made in China). Complete interiors, new bodies, new frames, every nut, bolt and fastener available in repro form. Just takes some more time searching for parts on the GW, that's ok I like the hunt.

I think I'm just about done with the wiring. I like wiring projects, I don't get many chances to soldier in my everyday life, but the GW has a lot more going on than my past projects. My Bronco and Porsche have simple no frills systems. The Wagoneer is more complex. Fingers crossed, hopefully it will have it's maiden voyage this weekend...
Justin
1989 Grand Wagoneer
1977 Bronco Sport
1970 Porsche 914-6
2011 Rubicon (Daily Driver)
Past Projects: 2008 Dodge Magnum RT AWD, 1992 VW GTI 16v, Yamaha XT350, Kawasaki X2 750
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Yeller
Posts: 1521
Joined: Thu Apr 01, 2021 7:54 am
Location: Rogers County Oklahoma

Re: Grand Wagoneer Refresh...

Post by Yeller »

Nice looking truck!

You are correct, these are much more difficult to find parts for but still a great community here that is quite helpful.

Also, your not the only other bronco guy here.... I'm Yeller on Classic as well ;) :)
The bus I ride is so short it is a yellow Smart Car full of squirrels, monkeys and clowns.

1970 J2500 Resto Mod
https://www.fsjnetwork.com/forum/viewt ... 12&t=21395

1974 Bronco “Broncno”
https://classicbroncos.com/forums/threa ... st-3411909
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dodgerammit
Posts: 1434
Joined: Wed Jan 11, 2017 11:20 pm
Location: Middle TN

Re: Grand Wagoneer Refresh...

Post by dodgerammit »

jtf9146 wrote: Fri Jan 21, 2022 8:48 am My Bronco I could literally rebuild from the ground-up with new parts (if I wanted an inferior reproduction version with everything made in China). Complete interiors, new bodies, new frames, every nut, bolt and fastener available in repro form.

Yeah, a lot of reproduction parts aren't what people think they are. Just because you can get it new, doesn't make it a good thing.
84 Grand Waggy-Radio Flyer (Garnet Red/3M Ebony Metallic woodgrain, with honey interior) AMC 360 :cry: 2004 4.8LS/Advance Adapter/727/242 D44/AMC20 Serehill tailgate and headlight harnesses :fsj: Ongoing thread-viewtopic.php?t=11897

92 Wrangler Islander 4.0/32RH/231 D30/D35 RHD

letank
Posts: 4009
Joined: Wed Oct 03, 2012 9:16 pm
Location: SF bay area

Re: Grand Wagoneer Refresh...

Post by letank »

Cheers to your project....
OE parts are tough to find... junkyard are seldom getting FSJ, and when they are in the yard, a quick inspection let you know that rust was the major reason... I found an 87, that was eaten raw, the A pillar was almost powder... yes in the SF bay area... the second one a 1989 barely clocked 2000 miles between 2003 and 2020, with plenty of rodent turds in the engine bay, not too sure why, spark plugs looked perfect, may be trans! ... the DMV paper for change of ownership was still inside, so was the for sale sign from the PO ... and less than 99Kmiles... I had to buy the cluster, the charcoal canister and the carb
Michel
74 wag (349 Kmiles... parked, next step is a rust free body)
85 Gwag (229 Kmiles... the running test lab)
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BaldBeardedBastard
Posts: 168
Joined: Fri Jan 29, 2016 2:52 pm

Re: Grand Wagoneer Refresh...

Post by BaldBeardedBastard »

Welcome! Great community here with a lot of support offered.

The wiring side of these definitely offers a lot of opportunity to improve and upgrade. :-)


Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

'86 GW Cummins 2.8/4l60E. Hopefully bouncing down a dusty road somewhere.
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Topic author
jtf9146
Posts: 6
Joined: Fri Jan 27, 2017 12:26 pm
Location: Burlington, CT

Re: Grand Wagoneer Refresh...

Post by jtf9146 »

Thanks for the welcome! Yeah none of the salvage yards in my area have Wagoneers. Found a nice one in the Atlanta area, tried ordering parts, called the yard, “Son, where are you calling from? I don’t ship anything”. Oh well…

When I was cleaning up the fuse box, I found this kit helpful:
https://www.americanautowire.com/shop/c ... 8AQAvD_BwE
F1DAB75A-CAF7-4C16-84F1-974FA42A13BF.jpeg
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Justin
1989 Grand Wagoneer
1977 Bronco Sport
1970 Porsche 914-6
2011 Rubicon (Daily Driver)
Past Projects: 2008 Dodge Magnum RT AWD, 1992 VW GTI 16v, Yamaha XT350, Kawasaki X2 750

Topic author
jtf9146
Posts: 6
Joined: Fri Jan 27, 2017 12:26 pm
Location: Burlington, CT

Re: Grand Wagoneer Refresh...

Post by jtf9146 »

letank wrote: Fri Jan 21, 2022 6:00 pm 1989 barely clocked 2000 miles between 2003 and 2020, with plenty of rodent turds in the engine bay
My Bronco was infested, it lived it’s life in a temporary shelter as a plow truck, hadn’t run in years. There were nests, skeletons, and acorns everywhere… every time I thought I had found the last one there was always another. I had to vacuum out the frame rails, I found bodies in the coolant reservoir (they had chewed off the cap), seats, glovebox, rockers, heater core, heater fan, in the shift boot for the transfer case. The garage smelled like bleach for months…
B5027298-9E28-4454-94DA-836581036D41.jpeg
Now:
ED02918B-D304-48A9-B897-F7A723A01467.jpeg
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Justin
1989 Grand Wagoneer
1977 Bronco Sport
1970 Porsche 914-6
2011 Rubicon (Daily Driver)
Past Projects: 2008 Dodge Magnum RT AWD, 1992 VW GTI 16v, Yamaha XT350, Kawasaki X2 750
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devildog80
Posts: 1069
Joined: Wed Apr 13, 2022 2:41 pm
Location: Apache Junction AZ

Re: Grand Wagoneer Refresh...

Post by devildog80 »

So how is this Waggy project coming along?
'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), MC2150 HA Comp, 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

CREEPYONE
Posts: 8
Joined: Tue Dec 10, 2019 3:29 pm

Re: Grand Wagoneer Refresh...

Post by CREEPYONE »

Welcome. A few years back I had an 81 wagoneer. It was plagued with gremlins that took the fun out of driving it. I sold it with full disclosure. Now have two Cherokees. Both with manual lift gates and windows.
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