83 Wagoneer Project w/ Dad

[tallen1984]

Hello! I received an 83 Jeep Wagoneer Limited for my 29th birthday in August. I've always been enthralled with these vehicles, and I'm very happy to be an owner! My dad and I plan on doing as much of the work as we can, so this is definitely a father / son project.

Here are some pics of her when we got her a few months ago:











As you can see, she needed some love, but for $800, I thought she was a solid investment. We don't really have any timeframe for completion, and we're not aiming to return her to factory condition. I'm just looking for a vehicle that I can be proud of!

[tallen1984]

After we got her home, we started doing some work. The first step was getting that damned vinyl removed. We DO plan on replacing it at some point, but the old vinyl was in terrible shape and took several hours in the hot sun (with a heat gun), and resulted in many blisters.







After that, we turned our attention to the interior. We removed the tattered seats, the worn carpet, and the sagging headliner.








All in all, things look to be in pretty decent shape, physically. Some rust, but I suppose that's to be expected.

[tallen1984]

My dad has been taking on the majority of the tasks, as he is retired and enjoys working on vehicles. In the last few months, the primary areas of focus have been bodywork and brakes.

We've run into a slight problem with the brakes. We bought brake parts (drums, cylinders, shoes, hardware, hoses, calipers, pads) and installed them. We bled the breaks, but found that the master cylinder leaked. So, we got a rebuilt one of those. It leaked too. So we got a new one, installed it, and bled the brakes again. Still no pedal. Goes all the way to the floor. We removed and re-bled the master cylinder. Still nothing. We even went so far as to order ANOTHER master cylinder. STILL no brakes.

We got in contact with PO and, surprise, the brakes have always been bad. So my dad got in touch with a guy who has a bit more knowledge on this topic than us, and he suggested to block off both master cylinder outlets, then try the brake pedal. That seemed to do something, as we had a hard pedal. That indicates it's definitely a "plumbing" problem, so we bought a new rear brake hose. When we went to remove the old one, it was frozen on. Eventually we got it, installed the new hose, then reattached the brake lines to the master cylinder. The result: STILL NO PEDAL.

We have bled the brakes two more times since then, and still no pedal.

My first question is this: When people refer to something as being "A Jeep Thing," are they referring to soft brakes? Seriously, is this a common problem?

Secondarily, does anyone have any suggestions on this? What are we missing?

[tallen1984]

Sorry to stream posts like this, but I just wanted to wrap this up. I've been reading this forum almost daily for insight, inspiration, and lessons learned. It is great to know that we're a part of this online community and that we've got some helpful people at our disposal.

I've always loved the Wagoneers, and I am very excited to work on this vehicle with my father. From time to time, I think he might be the one posting from my account.

We look forward to sharing our project with you, and we thank you in advance for any assistance you're sure to provide us!!!!!

[lobie]

Welcome. Looks like you have a good platform to work with.

Brakes suck. The only thing I can say is start replacing things. Wheel cylinders, adjust the back brakes, etc. may be able to block the rear and visversa to isolate the front and rear.

[pyro]

Keep us posted...I like these threads. I need to get mine updated. Sigh

[SJTD]

If the master holds pressure with the ports plugged and goes to the floor when hooked up to the wheels it should be easy to figure out. The fluid HAS to go somewhere.

Only places I can think of: A leak - should be easy to find, just keep pumping; a bad hose that bulges; really badly adjusted rears; caliper pistons that are springing back instead of pumping out.

Put it up on stands then see if any any wheels can be turned when the pedal is bottomed out.

[jaber]

Welcome to the network...

I would change the front hoses also. Just had another member go through this after an axle swap. Adjust the rear shoes until tight in the drum to center shoes, then back off to proper drag.

[tallen1984]

While my dad is working on some of the mechanical things, I've been focusing on the 'cosmetic' items. Over the weekend I managed to score a pair of seats from a Dodge Durango; they should be arriving in a few days. Pretty excited about that!

Over the past few months of ownership, I've come up with a bit of a wishlist of things I'd like to have in my Wagoneer.
- An overhead console that includes HomeLink (garage door opener), thermometer, compass, and possibly some additional storage. I'm looking at an item like this that would match the Durango seats I picked up. http://www.ebay.com/itm/04-05-06-DODGE- ... fd&vxp=mtr
- A custom center console that can house a Double DIN head unit, and that can supply power via (4) USB outlets and (2) three prong outlets, and additional storage.
- Keyless entry & remote start

Has anyone attempted to install an overhead console in a FSJ? If so, is the process difficult? Right now we're basically working with a blank canvas, so this seems like the time to recognize the possibilities, and determine the feasibility.

Speaking of the headliner, here's what I had in mind (I pulled this from IFSJA; my apologies for not giving due credit to the person who created this masterpiece)


We have fabricated wooden armrests for the doors that I think look pretty good; I'll get pics up when I get back out to my parents' house. We're trying to bring the wood to the inside, but in a classy way. The overall goal of our Wagoneer project is to combine the three decades old class of the Jeep with some modern amenities and custom touches.

[dambram]

That headliner is awesome. Be sure to post lots of pics if you come up with something like that.
Looks good!

[HowardT64]

I WANT A HEADLINER LIKE THIS!!!!

[tallen1984]

I did a little looking, and I can now give credit where credit is due. The wood headliner came from http://www.ifsja.org/forums/vb/showthread.php?t=131897 . That's actually a pretty interesting discussion. I'd love to put as much wood on the inside as possible, but I'm somewhat skeptical of vibrations / rattling / echoes / etc. But, I agree with you guys: when I first saw that wood headliner, it was love at first sight!

[tallen1984]

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

A quick update: I bought front seats from a Durango on Ebay, and they showed up last night! Considering what some people are asking, price-wise (some people sure seem damn proud of their seats!), I think $200 was a pretty good deal. Anyways, here they are:





The color isn't a match at all, but I'm sure we can figure something out. The plan for the backseat is to take it to a local car upholsterer and just get it wrapped in leather (probably wind up going with vinyl) to match the front seats. Nothing too fancy, just to get a color match.

[Tad]

Nice project.

My take on the brakes in addition to the above comments.
Brake line in the area between the gas tank and frame.
Hard to see in that area, gets filled with mud and crap that can hide a lot of fluid, bad rust area for many of us.
and
Proportioning valve.
Has a pin, some need to be pushed in, some pulled out.
There is a tool of sorts to use on that, never seen one as I do not have a proportioning valve.

[Road Trip]

Welcome! That wood looks great, with the right adhesion it shouldn't rattle. As for brakes, a lot of folks have looked into the hydroboost as a way to increase the stopping power. However, like said before, you have to get the current system to hold pressure first. Either air or a leak and should show up it is a leak, so next question is air. Good luck and keep us posted.