Dave's 76 Cherokee

[243]

Thanks, the duals are old-school cool but the 5.3 exhaust will probably be a single 3" with stealth exit behind the drivers side rear wheel.

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I damaged the harness that can be seen hanging on the left side, I need to lower the window and drop the tailgate and pull the wires through the body because I found some bare wires last year. Apparently they are prone to damage where they exit the tailgate and go through the body to the frame.

I would like to replace the crossmember if I can find a straight used part unless they are available, they are for baby Jeeps but there may not be a market for FSJ's.

I am still looking for a good center section for the rear bumper, it gives me heartburn thinking about a rear tire carrier, I love the look of the three-piece bumpers and don't want to lose them.

I also noticed there are a bunch of button like objects on the tailgate trim panels, I have no idea what they are or why they are there but I bet there are a lot of holes to weld up down the road. Who knows, I would not be surprised if a DSPO cut holes in the outside of the tailgate to get access and covered it up with the trim panels.

[243]

I lowered the window and had to remove the bumper again to get to the harness to cut the sheathing off the cables. I tried to pull it through using picks and hooks to work the sheathing but it was trying to peel like a banana. As I said earlier, I damaged the harness on the lower end, chafing some insulation, burned some of it with the torch and yanked the plug off the motor circuit.




On the other hand, during my initial attempt to get the window down I found an issue with the wiring where it's routed through the body, as you can see the power feed and both motor feeds were bare in places, it's a wonder the window worked at all and lucky it didn't short and melt wires or start a fire.




I will solder and heat shrink the tattered wires and I bet I can find a abrasive resistant loom at the junkyard for cheap. I am pretty sure I have seen heat resistant cloth type covers before, probably at the starter on some vehicles. I also noticed a splice by a PO that may or may not have too much resistance so I will make a permanent connection.




On my CJ, I used a GM firewall mounted power distribution block as a ground buss, mounted just above the battery and it worked great. If I recall, I ran a 6ga cable to the back bulkhead of the tub and used a brass bolt and nuts to make a ground point for the taillights, fuel sender and any other accessories I may need. I suspect that little ground connection in the tailgate is not sufficient. I will do the same on the Cherokee and I bet that will eliminate some issues with the power window; I may run a dedicated hot cable and use the existing circuit to trigger a relay.

With all the hassle ahead of me, I would far prefer a manual window!




The next higher priority task is weatherproofing the cab, you can see they typical rust from the roof rack that I removed and covered the holes with duct tape. I see water damage on some cardboard behind the rear seat but I can recall if that was before or after the temporary patch. I will weld up the holes and if I ever need a roof rack I will use a gutter mount.

I ordered a gallon of Ospho earlier this week and my plan is to wire brush the flaking rust and coat it. I also like what I have read and the demonstrations of Corroseal on Youtube, I plan to use one or the other in a garden sprayer and coat the places I can't physically reach like the areas along the perimeter of the roof, over the windshield and down in the A-pillars.







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[243]

I patched all the wires and the window works pretty well going up with the tailgate down, and quite a bit slower on the way down. I need to search for pictures of the rollers because I can't tell if mine are chewed up or not, but it's getting dark and hard to see. I used the cheapo HF roller contraption that you use when rolling long items towards a bandsaw or chop saw, it worked great while the tailgate was down.

I could not find suitable sheathing for the wires but I didn't want to leave them bare so I used a bicycle inner tube, should be fine for a while.

I checked the disconnect switch with a continuity tester and it worked fine once I worked the switch back and forth quite a bit.

[243]

I just returned from the junkyard with a 40.00 class III hitch, 4" wider than the Cherokee frame rails...post surgery




I also picked up two pieces of braided nylon sheath that were used to protect fuel hoses near the tank, the small piece is about 1" in diameter and I think it will work great to protect the tailgate wires where they are routed through the body.




I pulled the tank and cut the tailpipes off to work on the hitch, as I said earlier I would post some photos of the tank skid and the mounts that are simply 1.25" angle iron. The straps are factory '97 Blazer and bent to fit, they are bowed upwards in the middle so they are somewhat flat to the tank when the bolts are tightened. The skid is 1.5" flat plate welded to 1.5" angle iron, bolted to the bed floor support on the rear and bridging the spare tire bump stops towards the front. I positioned them to be on the flat surface of the tank and put a single layer of 1/4" closed cell foam weatherstrip on each side.








I needed a front bumper for my CJ so I bought a piece of 3/16" square tubing, split it and mitered the ends. The Cherokee frame is 4" tall and 4 1/2 x 4 1/2 x 1/4 structural tube is listed on the web but I am not sure if it's a common size or not. I will call Monday, if I can get it locally I will go ahead and replace the crossmember while everything is apart.






I will need to make some long cuts in 1/8"-3/16" plate when I build my CJ bumpers so I picked up a Demon blade at Home Depot last week. I had not even taken it out of the truck but I needed to cut the ends off the trailer hitch and I was out of cut-off wheels.

I put it on an old Skil saw and the damn thing is amazing, quiet, not many sparks and it didn't heat the metal up...just like it's advertised

I cut both sides of this end in less than 30 seconds. This will be very handy because I will make plunge cuts on the plate so I can bend it and keep it aligned when I weld it.




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[243]

My parents AC quit so I had to stop for a few hours and go buy a window unit and install it so they can sleep tonight, it will be a week or more until they can get a new system installed.

I cut the other side plate off, cleaned them up and temporarily bolted them to the frame using an existing hole on each side. Cut the hitch to length and hung the bumper with two bolts to make sure I had good clearance, I need to fine tune the location front to rear but I think it's going to work just fine. I am pretty sure I can raise it up about 1/2" closer to the bumper.







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[243]

I dropped off my O2 regulator at the welding shop during my lunch hour and there was a metal fabricator shop next door. They will break a piece of 3/16" plate for less that 50.00 so I placed an order. The original crossmember is functional but looks like ass and is less than 1/8" thick so I feel it's a reasonable cost.

[twisted frame]

Thanks for the tip on that circular saw blade. Progress looks good!

[243]

Thanks for the tip on that circular saw blade. Progress looks good!

Thanks!



I picked up the bent plate at lunch today, well worth the expenditure in my opinion; it's at least 1/16" thicker and a tad bit nicer looking

I drilled the holes to attach it to the top and bottom of the frame and to mount the bumper and found a hole saw in the box to cut the the body mount holes. The factory crossmember is about 1.5" wide on the bottom and the ends are notched I believe, for access to the body mount bolts.

I put it up on the frame and did not see any reason to cut the bottom or notch the ends, it saved some work and will be a bit stronger.

I reinstalled the bumper and double checked my hitch dimensions, pulled it back off and tacked the side plates. This weekend I will drill all of the hitch attachment holes in the frame, paint the crossmember, finish my welds on the hitch and get back on the tank installation.

It ain't much to look at, not like dropping in a 5.3, installing leather seats or painting but it's all gotta get done.








It's hard to see but the side plates are not tight to the bottom of the crossmember, once I add bolts it will raise the receiver in the middle to be about a 1/4" under the bumper.

Also, I have room to trim the bottom of the side plates about an inch, do you think I should trim them closer to the hitch or leave them as is for just a bit of tank protection?

[243]

I can't believe I have not worked on the Cherokee since June, time passes quick!

Been really busy at work with about 150M in active projects and also trying to buy a house or property, and of course it's hunting season and although I don't get to hunt much I do get out and shoot once in a while when it cools off.

I decided to hold on the tank installation until I had the nylon fuel hose and compression fittings to bridge between the hard lines and the tank, since I received the parts way back I decided to dedicate the weekend to getting the tank in and at least test the pump. I ran into a snag hooking the filler hose to the tank, over the summer I picked up a 1"x2" copper adapter from the plumbing supply company thinking that would be an easy fix. It was not, for starters finding a few inches of 2" fuel hose and even 1" fuel hose is a major pain at least in my town, and the adapter hit the top of the frame.

I had the tank installed but I pulled it all out last night and using a large washer drilled out to 1" and a piece of 3/4" pipe (1" o.d.) made a nipple and welded it to the tank nipple that is about 1 7/8" diameter. That worked well and for now I used 1" and 3/4" heater hose and connected the filler neck and removed the vents that run through the cab.

This morning I finished running the wire loom up to the engine, filled the tank with 5 gallons of gas and checked the Sport Comp fuel gauge, it read about a needle width more than empty and I would estimate there will be 2-3 gallons at or slightly below empty and that seems like a decent reserve.

It took a while to get the Summit regulator set to 2.5 lbs and I ran the pump for a few minutes watching and listening for problems and checking for leaks.

The nice part, once I figured out the battery was not dead, it was the crimp on battery cable ends that were corroded, the 360 fired right up and idled smooth, sounded funky with no mufflers but not obnoxious. I am going to hook the fuel pump to a key on power source and take a spin around the neighborhood.

Over the next few weeks I will sort out what I need for a safety inspection and start making repairs. I want the Cherokee at least drivable but legal would be better if I do close on a house, and as back up for the Nissan. I did have all the lights working but I robbed parts of the Cherokee to finish the CJ, I know I need a headlight switch, dimmer switch and horn. Now that I have the tank in, I can paint and re-install the Class III hitch and the bumper, I have not decided what to do with the rear window, for now the wires are hanging out above the crossmember so I can raise and lower it with a battery.

[Stuka]

What, you are letting LIFE get in the way of your JEEP?!

Good luck on a house!

[243]

I get sidetracked all the time, but I have survived by following one rule the last dozen years....the project is NOT the daily driver!

When I decided to do a frame off with the CJ, it did not matter what happened to sidetrack the project, mistakes, sourcing parts, money, family, holidays, tired, hunting, fishing or just mad at the world; when something happened I just closed the garage door and walked away.

The Cherokee is a different type of build, I want to drive it as is, install a new suspension and drive it, upgrade the interior and drive it, install the LS and drive it some more. At that point I will decide if I want to paint it and keep on driving it. But it follows my #1 rule and will not be my daily driver unless the Nissan has a catastrophic failure, but that is reason for getting the Cherokee legal. When the Nissan dies I will reluctantly, buy a newer but used daily driver.

I have thousands of photos on the CJ build but have neglected to take many of the Cherokee up to this point, pictures are interesting but there is not much to see, I will post more as I move forward.


I don't feel that I have accomplished much in the last few days but progress is progress:

1. Located and repaired the headlight wiring issue.

2. Broke a turn signal when I removed the grille and ordered new housings and lenses last night.

3. Ordered side marker lenses last week.

4. Bought the correct oval head screws for the grille and headlight buckets in stainless last night.

5. Mounted the LED license plate light and decided I don't like the mount so I will correct it today.


Today I have a rather ambitious list but:

1. Reinstall heater fan box and motor.

2. Install vacuum hoses and test heater controls.

3. Install new windshield wipers.

4. Install all the new screws in the grille and headlights and adjust the headlights tonight.

5. Located the missing instrument cluster lights and install them.

6. Once the cluster is re-installed, install the steering wheel.

7. Remove the cruise control junk and repair the horn wiring.

8. Install the license plates after buying the correct screws that I forgot last night.

9. Flush the cooling system and add new coolant.

10. Install the nylon fuel hoses between the carb and new steel hard lines.


After inspection and before I drive it to work the first time:

1. Pull the QT and install a new chain and verify the vacuum motor operation.

2. Install the new steering gear

3. Weld up the roof rack holes and throw the duct tape in the trash.

4. Have a new exhaust installed, front to rear with Hooker Aero Chambers.


First Quarter 2015:

1. Order a VSS and a chip from Hamilton, rebuild the throttle body and install the TBI harness and adapter that has sat on the fireplace for six months.

2. Install a lift and shocks.

3. Manual tailgate crank conversion and rebuild.


One upgrade I am planning is the instrument cluster, although I don't like the look of the heater controls I am not sure I want to mount them under the dash or hidden, if they were mounted in a console that would be fine but I don't have a console. I will keep it simple though, speedo, fuel, oil pressure and water temperature. I have not made up my mind on a tach, a column mounted tach would be fine.

I bought the Autometer Sport Comp fuel gauge and like others will mount the Autometer gauges in the cluster. One detail item that really bugs me is the LED indicators, I do not like the large LED's but I ran across a custom dash indicator that I will integrate into the cluster and that solves my anal issue with LED's.

New Vintage USA

http://www.newvintageusa.com/panels.html




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[243]

I completed quite a few items Sunday and a few after work this week:

1. Reinstalled the heater fan box and motor...fan blows great!

2. Located and installed the heater vacuum hoses and the heat/defrost controls work fine, the hoses need to be replaced and I also need one defrost hose.

3. Installed the windshield wipers.

4. Installed all the new stainless screws in the grille and headlights, still need to adjust the headlights.

5. Replaced the instrument cluster bulbs, cleaned the contacts and coated all with dialectic grease, ran an extra ground to the cluster.

6. Once the cluster is re-installed I will install the steering wheel and bolt the column to the dash support and reinstall the trim.

7. I removed the cruise control junk and repair the horn wiring.

8. Installed the license plates.

9. I need to flush the cooling system and add new coolant.

10. Installed the nylon fuel hoses between the regulator and new steel hard lines, made a bracket and bolted the regulator to the fenderwell.


It is supposed to rain all weekend but I will try to finish a few more odds and ends so I can get it inspected sometime next week.

1. Weld up roof rack holes.

2. Reinstall roof supports, this is temporary because the roof has a lot of surface rust I want to remove but the drumming on the roof is pretty severe even at 40 mph.

3. Reinstall the bumper and hitch.

4. Mix up some Quadratrac fluid and top it off.


I can't wait to drive it!


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[243]

Tough crowd, oh well.....I wanted to get it inspected today so I topped off the TH400, mixed up some homebrew and topped off the QT, duct taped the roof rack holes, replaced the heat/defrost vacuum hoses, installed the lower seat belts and two of the roof supports, bolted the column back in place and put the steering wheel back on.

I passed a cop around the corner from my house on the way to the gas station and another on the way to the inspection station but didn't get pulled over. No problem passing the inspection, I stopped by NAPA and grabbed two blind spot mirrors. Took a long ride through town to get a feel for how it was running, stopped at Sonic and grabbed a cherry coke and headed for NTB. Had the front end aligned and then a major storm rolled in. I decided to hit the highway and head home rather than cutting through town. With the rain and traffic I only hit 62 mph but felt some driveline vibrations so I will replace all the u-joints pretty soon. I also heard some howling/whining from the rear diff, I need to make sure it's topped off with gear oil and then check the bearings.

The windshield wipers were working fine when I snapped some photos and then I heard a pop and the drivers side wiper swung wide left and stayed there. It was a royal biatch driving without wipers and the defroster, but I made it home with no more surprises. I pulled the gauge cluster out again to get access to the wiper linkage and found the drivers side broke at a brazed repair. I ground off the brass and MIG welded it and put it all back together, not bad for the maiden voyage and I feel comfortable enough to drive it to work next week...I did have my phone, a tow strap and jumper cables and plan to pick up an new fire extinguisher tomorrow <grin>

I am pretty surprised how well it runs, it has not been registered or inspected since 2007.

But she is legal now!

[Tatsadasayago]

Maiden Voyages can be a real circus! Congrats!

[ShawnQ]

Bad wiper is all! Sounds good to me! Glad you got it going. Did you end up with that gauge light panel?

On my maiden voyage I stalled trying to go over the Galveston causeway...about 6 times. Finally made it. Got home and realized previous owner installed fuel filter wrong. Load on the engine trying to climb the hill caused more fuel burn and sucked the filter dry.

[243]

Maiden Voyages can be a real circus! Congrats!

Thanks, not a bad ride at all!

Bad wiper is all! Sounds good to me! Glad you got it going. Did you end up with that gauge light panel?

On my maiden voyage I stalled trying to go over the Galveston causeway...about 6 times. Finally made it. Got home and realized previous owner installed fuel filter wrong. Load on the engine trying to climb the hill caused more fuel burn and sucked the filter dry.

Dang, I bet that was a white knuckle ride, people haul ass over that Causeway!

I will add the gauge panel when I rebuild the cluster.

[Stuka]

Is that a GPS in your windshield or is it your phone running an app? Could use something like that in my Truck if its your phone running an app to give you speed and such.

My Cherokee had the passenger side wiper fail. It actually cracked all the way around the splined part (not on the wiper, but ont he part it connects to). I ended up drilling a hole and putting a pin through it. Well, by pin I mean nail. Each nail would last me most of the winter. It was that or tear the dash out.

Congrats on getting it up and driving again!

[243]

GPS...Carmin is always along for the ride <grin>


I plan to drive it to work tomorrow, I have a short list to work on today after I clean the garage:

Install rear bumper.

Install trailer hitch.

Hopefully install defrost duct if the part arrive at Autozombie's.

Install the sun visors.

[twisted frame]

Passing inspection rules. It's one of the best feelings there is when it comes to FSJ ownership! My wipers had been messed with when I bought my truck years ago and I always wondered why the PO removed the wiper arms (exterior.) One of the under-dash linkages had broken off and maybe the guy said to heck with it and just pulled off the wipers. I'll never know. I do know they certainly weren't removed for a paint job, that's for sure. Again, congrats on the inspection!

[243]

The 79 I owned while in Houston fell under the 25 year rule so I had to pass emissions. It became more difficult each year I owned it until I flat gave up, parted it out starting with the 401 that was originally in my grandmothers 76. Guy down in South Texas drove up and said he wanted to pull the heads to verify the condition and I agreed. He found a cracked valve and likely the source of the emissions issue and said he understood if I didn't want to sell the motor. No way I would jerk the guy around and sadly, helped him load it up. But it *was* a royal pain and now I am over the 25 year rule and not in an emissions county.


Yesterday I picked up the defrost hose at Autozombies but did not have time to install it.

I finished the tailgate wiring harness and tucked it back up in the frame.

Installed the trailer hitch.

Installed the rear bumper.

Oiled the hood hinges and release.

Installed two new headlamps and went out last night and adjusted them "by the book", lows seemed way to low so I raised them slightly.


This morning I am going to drive it to work and show off a little <grin>

It will be really nice holding my cappuccino and not alternating hands to shift, I am sick of shifting <bigger grin>