Thanks for the reply! All great advice. The rust is supposed to be minimal. One floor pan and the fender flares. I don’t think there is any up by the roof but I won’t know till I see it in person this week. I took a bit of a risk buying it sight unseen. Hoping for the best!Renodemona wrote:If you're going to replace the motor, replace the trans too. Vortec with 700R4 probably. You can get the parts to swap out the tail shaft on the transmission to fit onto the Qtrack transfer case. 3-4" lift with 33s will get you pretty much anywhere you'd want to go. How is the rust though? I'd be more concerned with rust on the structure. Fender Flare rust is fine, when it starts to get into the roof by the rain gutters...not fine.
I'd always say mechanical before cosmetic. BJs Offroad is your friend
Thanks for the advice! I’ll read up on what it takes to pass and hope for the best!letank wrote:welcome, CA is not a very friendly place for our older rigs... the smog check is fairly strict... so check with the diagrams to make sure that you have everything lined up, or that your swap can pass the smog visual. In doubt find the nearest smog referee for advice on accepted swaps... the BAR is a good start, Bureau of Automotive Repair
https://www.bar.ca.gov/Consumer/Smog_Check_Program/FAQ
Thanks! I just got it delivered yesterday so once I get to dive into it I’m sure I’ll have 1000 questions!will e wrote:Welcome to the club! It's a great site with lots of helpful folks.
That rig looks pretty solid overall. Buying site unseen is exciting.
The general rule when doing a restoration is first drive train, then body then interior. Poking around to fix rust issues while doing the drive train is good but don't paint it until you have all of the mechanicals worked out.
There is a lot of info on doing various drive train swaps on this site. You are only limited by your budget.
I stubbornly held onto the AMC/TF727 combo but my rig isn't a daily driver and most trips it takes are to and from the trail. I've focused a bit more on making it a reliable trail rig.
Have fun with your build! It sounds like you have a realistic time frame to work with. We are looking forward to reading about the progress along with seeing more pics!
I’m going to non op it for a while. I think I’m going to start tinkering with the body and interior to get my feet wet and start to tackle mechanical as I get acquainted with it.SJTD wrote:Start your odyssey with the DMV sooner rather than later. Put it on Non Op if you aren't going to drive it. Save you much hassle when you go to register it.
I'd do the body and interior before the drivetrain.
I would have used three paragraphs rather than posting the same thing three times.Srdayflyer wrote: ↑Thu May 06, 2021 10:22 pm i would pull the floor coverings back and check the drivers and passengerside floors for rust thru, very problematic area,i would also drop the fuel tank,and check the frame rail, i found my cherokee frame rail packed completely with mud and dirt,also the parking brake cable runs in the space between therail and the gas tank also the fuel lines {metal} run thru that area also,. if you need to replace the springs either for sag ,broken,or spring lift the driver side rear spring eye bolt passes thru the frame rail to a nut spotwelded to the rail, easy to install and remove when origionally built but they break the welds and you end up having to drop the tank, also there are 2 vent check valves on the top of the tank and mine were broken and the sealgaskets cracked so when i filled the tank to full fuel leaked all over,or when 4 wheeling fuel sloshed it leaked badly,, not being in cali [az] i would see what you need to have for emissions ,or what you plan on doing with the power plant old style emissions parts are hard to come by fortunately im exempt from emissions due to the fact the vehicle is over 30 years old. there are a lot more items i would check im ready for paint now but the ones i recommended are the ones i would check as the frame rail has been known to fail in the tank area and the driver/pax floors due to either the a/c evaperator drain line missing and dumping water inside pax side and the freshair vent behind the parking brake peddle as leafs and debris clog that up and water starts to collect and rust thru that side of the floor , hope this is a start areas to inspect
Wow! Thanks for the reply. I’ve been trying to research my options and have been hesitant on spending the $600 on the BJ pans. I’ll wait to hear what all the nay sayers say but this sounds like a good option!rocklaurence wrote:OK, everyone is going to Shame me for saying this. IMO [Ive done it], regarding the floors. Patch any hole larger than a Nickle and then removed the surface rust, treat the area with Rust Converter and then coat the floor with Bed Liner. Small pin holes/ holes use Duct tape under Neath-from the bottom, so that the Liner doesnt drip through. the Bed Liner is strong and very durable. Ive never had this fail and Ive also used a layer of Fiber Glass mat for added strength/durability. Laying the mat over wet bed liner and then coating over it.