’76 Cherokee Chief Restoration
I have found a hens tooth - or, rather, it found me.
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My J20 trucks (patiently waiting for restoration) could be seen from the road, so a guy dropped by and said he had what I needed... Here in New Zealand (N.Z.) they are a very rare thing. So of course I paid my money, and now a very tired 1976 Cherokee Chief has started me on a journey towards getting it into active life once again.
I think the VIN plate indicates this new import into NZ had a white colour body with blue interior and upholstery, an AMC401, TH400, and Quadratrac trans. Maybe someone can confirm for me?
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Now it sports a back-yard black paint job covering various repairs, namely the bottoms of rear mudguards, fenders, under the tailgate, and bottom of the 'A' pillar. It has no blue internals as they are painted black, very tired rear bench, original front seats are gone, no headliner, cab lights, carpet, and the wiring loom under the dash has been ravaged. The engine is now an AMC360 dedicated to LPG gas, with a TH400 (I think) mated to a Toyota FJ40 ASCO transfer case, Dana 44s front and rear.
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This truck is in quite a mess really, with Lots of missing parts, and it has been hacked about here and there. But they are rare here, so I am on a mission to get it back on the road and have some fun!
I am going to need many parts to make this Chief my usable and fun vehicle. I will see how close I manage to do a restoration to original specs, or maybe a restomod may be a little easier. None of the parts I need are available in N.Z. so it will all have to come from the U.S.
I will do some research in the library of info’ and experience contained within the pages of this Full Size Jeep Forum to help me. I am sure I will be posting some questions to you, and I welcome any thoughts, tips and info’ that you think will help me with my job here down-under.
This build will be a steady one, and I hope to complete at or near the end of this year, but I have had a really good start on it this week, where I got most bits removed from the body, and the body and chassis separated. Next I will remove the engine and transmission, mount the engine on a stand, mount the body on a rotisserie, and then I will be ready for the big clean up and blasting ready for repairs and painting...
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I had posted on IFSJA quite a while ago about the three J trucks a 'brought back from the brink'. This Chief has taken priority, but the J20s will be next in line for restoration.
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