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My son who is in the USAF purchased a '79 Wagoneer recently that has some suspension mods. It has a 360cid engine, a t18 trans. The front end has been swapped for an earlier year.
Most of the interior is missing or in bad shape. We are starting on the interior to get it cleaned up then the body will be addressed.



We refurbished the brakes already, the A/C system is next along with some engine upgrades.

I've started with door panel templates for the interior.

That looks like a pretty good start. Welcome to the site!

Hi, yeah, looks like a solid start. Welcome to the board!

Welcome,

Love the lift. I need one. The lift being outside cause any issues?

az chip wrote:Welcome,

Love the lift. I need one. The lift being outside cause any issues?

I wish that lift was mine... LOL That was the day he picked it up from the PO.

kZ900Jim wrote:

az chip wrote:Welcome,

Love the lift. I need one. The lift being outside cause any issues?

I wish that lift was mine... LOL That was the day he picked it up from the PO.

Dang. LOL.

I think I know that color. It looks like Toyota Quicksand.

So I can get a little crazy with projects sometimes...
My son made a comment about wanting driving lights on the Wag... so i pulled the round covers inboard of the lights and found an nice empty space.

I designed an aluminum replica that will be machined from plate and fitted with a pair of 4" LED driving lights from a Wrangler.



The little 4" units put off some light too.. the light on the front of the Lincoln is from just one unit.

Small update.. Now that the '79 is now a '72....

We have a new manifold and headers for it.. New dual exhaust system is next.

Did some work on the Wag this weekend...

Pulled the cat back exhaust off (its For Sale, less than 100 miles on it) and removed the OE manifolds, one was cracked. I added a set of Headman headers, the drivers side fell in, the passenger side, well.. there was a lot of foul language being used! the removal of the heater core, starter and the front drive line later it was in.
A new Edelbrock Performer manifold and 600 cfm Holley was added along with a new chrome air cleaner for a touch of bling. I'm adding a set of chrome stock style valve covers too when they show up.

The not so fun part was pulling up the rubber floor mat, I knew we may be in for some floor pan repair - and I wasn't wrong. We have plenty of light thru both the driver and passenger side foot boxes so new replacement pans are on the way.

Back working on my sons Wag build, I pulled the heater core box and fiberglass repaired a hole in the bottom of it using come clay to match the corner at the other end of the box, then taping it over the hole to mimic the corner and then laid the resin and fiberglass cloth on the inside.





I also pulled the fan box as the blower was making noise, turns out the fan was pushed against the plate the motor is mounted on, easy fix so I cleaned everything up and painted the blower housing too.


http://s32.photobucket.com/user/kzjim/m ... v.jpg.html


My son also picked up a Dakota Digital dash for the Wag, he went with the analog gauges, black face with white lettering and needles, its back lit in blue. The unit came with all new sensors for water temp, oil pressure and fuel level. I've started reading the install guide and it look pretty easy so far. It's also GPS enabled. I'll post more pics of the install when the time comes.







We're also getting ready to go to body and paint in the next week or two... Those should be fun pics..

Small update on my sons Wag build..

Bought some parts from a guy of a FB FSJ page and got screwed on the deal.. the famous " I'll get you the tracking info tomorrow" line.. well... kiss that money good-by.

Had a lifter collapse on the way to body and paint.. so back in the driveway it went, engine is all better.

I did get the new distributor housing I designed from the machinist for the my new electronic ignition system for the 360, I'll post more pics when it's installed.

kZ900Jim wrote:Back working on my sons Wag build, I pulled the heater core box and fiberglass repaired a hole in the bottom of it using come clay to match the corner at the other end of the box, then taping it over the hole to mimic the corner and then laid the resin and fiberglass cloth on the inside.

I also pulled the fan box as the blower was making noise, turns out the fan was pushed against the plate the motor is mounted on, easy fix so I cleaned everything up and painted the blower housing too.
http://s32.photobucket.com/user/kzjim/m ... v.jpg.html


We're also getting ready to go to body and paint in the next week or two... Those should be fun pics..

aVery impressive work, any details on that bypass valve for the heater, very interested on your parts list
thank you

Michel,
Thanks..
The bypass valve is the same unit as on the '90's XJ's, vacuum operated. It's an O'Reilly p/n 74777, it will come up as a 96 unit, that is the XJ year I have.

Good fabricating work on the fiberglass!!!

Nice progress. Any pics of the completed lights? You might be able to produce and sell the plates for a profit.

Does that dash bolt in and look 'factory'?

Timing is everything right?
I sent the drawing to the machinest this morning.. getting them started...
I'll post pics when I get them.

Finally back to working on the wag.. I've been picking thru the wrecking yards looking for door parts to build up some custom door panels. I've found some great parts like arm rests with power window and lock controls (90-95 4runner), because we're adding those bits, I also found nice speaker pods with pockets ('00 Land Rover Discovery).
I'm pretty excited as to how the mock up looks so far. I'll be testing some materials to paint the plastic parts the color we want, as my son wants gray interior.
I've also found a company that can provide custom vinyl and cloth panel material with a 1/4" foam backer in just about any color combo.

Love the speaker pods. I may have to swipe your idea. Can always use the extra storage. Does the door shut good with no issues?

Swipe away! It's all good...

I'll get a pic of the Rover unit on the mock door panel on the door, sitting in the seat and holding it there it had plenty of room. The extra space is nice.
I will need to add a spacer to the new door panel as the Rover units speaker doesn't mount to the pod, rather the door panel, which is not a big deal as the PO did hack on the door sheet metal and it moves the speaker forward in the door so its not shooting into the seat.
If you should find a Rover in a wrecking yard, chances are the "dual-lock" system may be engaged, meaning you cant open the door from the inside at all.. This is how you get the door open... I hate to do stuff like this as the doors were in cherry shape...