W.I.P. - 79 J10 258

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MRjerkyface
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W.I.P. - 79 J10 258

Post by MRjerkyface »

As I have been working on rebuilding my old beater J truck into hopefully a nice truck, I realized I should just create a post of the build in hopes it can collect good pointers and tips along the way. I read a lot of useful tidbits on this forum, and hoped I could add something along my way that someone else may find useful in 12 years.

History of it; When I purchased the truck about 10 years ago, it had no bed (I understand now it was probably rusted out) no fuel routings, no brakes, no grill, no interior besides a seat... Just a cheap $700 pickup. I welded a bed and a bumper, fitted a fuel cell and got it running so I could use it for hunting and was fully content.
then I ran a log through the radiator, and by the time I could get back up to the farm to fix it, the battery was dead, buy the time I got there with jumper cables... long story short it didn't want to start and had set up for several years. Since we had the truck in our wedding as the beer stop, and wedding pictures, my wife is attached to it and is allowing me to revive it!

His name is Earl.
Earl.jpg

Now, current day. I have the body completely off the frame. I created a document of sorts that I could track my disassembly process to make sure I had a clue how to reassemble. I bagged and tagged every bolt and clip and clamp, so feeling confident it will return to assembled condition.
I have painted the frame with POR-15 and top coat. I was impressed with that product honestly, pleased with the turnout.

New Centerforce clutch and pressure plate is in, transmission married backup and motor is back in the frame sitting on new mounts. Funny note, from sitting up a family of field mice chewed through the fork boot and made a cozy nest in the bell housing. Spent a while containing that mess when we cracked the transmission free of the engine.
I formed new brake lines all around. and have replaced all hoses, lines, and belts along with plugs and wires.
I have swapped the BBD for an MC2100 and am anxious to get the wires all hooked up to see if I did that properly.

I am currently waiting my 4" lift, 35 x 12.5' ProComp MT2's, and 4.09 gears to arrive next week. At that point I do intend to go at the re-gear job myself as the local shops wanted to charge $1500 to set them up. I have the G2 clamshell bearing puller kit, and a fair amount of patience with a decent understanding of the setup process... stay tuned to see how this goes.
This guy does a great job of explaining the setup, and I get that it will likely be torn apart several times until the new shim-stack is determined. Old bearings as setup bearings and leave the oil seal out until its dialed in...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dAqAqODmcj4

I did find a new bed from a guy in Birmingham for about $300 with a tailgate in good shape. Straightened a few dents on the flair and it is looking as good as I can make it look. Still need the latch plate and latch for the tailgate. George up at Montana Jeep ranch has one for me, but I believe they don't get much time to focus on Jeeps in the Montana winters as it has been a couple month process so far to get that.
I found some 3 pc bumpers, but now have seen where the front frame tabs may prevent me from using them.

That is the basic status of my build project, I am sure I have forgotten a lot of what I set out to say. But I put this up here in hopes someone may read this and offer advice through experience at any point of the build. I know very little, and am willing to take any advice...

Also, last weekend I saw a post on marketplace for a '65 gladiator, "65 Wagoneer, and an '86 CJ7 for sale as a bundle. I couldn't help but ride up to look at them, and wound up loading them up for the ride back home. So there is that... Pretty excited to get the Wagoneer buttoned up and running. They came with an extra Rhino grill and facia which I may very well install on the 79 truck. Which reminds me, I also picked up a front end off a '78 (Razor Grill, lights, trim Facia...) So whichever one I don't end up using will probably get sold along with the bumpers if I can't use them.

New Trucks.jpg
That is enough for now, I am doubting anyone has followed my ramblings to this point. If so, thank you.
My J10 teardown document is too large to add here... but if anyone would like to see it, send me a message. It isn't that great, but it is probably humorous for you to read how far behind I am on things...
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MRJerkyface
79 J10 project - 258; 4 ' lift, 35x12.50, 4:10 gears, Auburn Gear limited slip diffs
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Stuka
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Re: W.I.P. - 79 J10 258

Post by Stuka »

I like the green in the “new” one. The waggy looks pretty nice too.

Also, at first I misread WIP as RIP, so was expecting to read something terrible had happened. Glad it wasn’t the case :)
2017 JKU Rubicon
Pevious Jeeps: 1981 J10, 1975 Cherokee, 2008 JK, 2005 KJ, 1989 XJ
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tgreese
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Re: W.I.P. - 79 J10 258

Post by tgreese »

WIP works in progress.
Tim Reese
Maine beekeeper's truck: '77 J10 LWB, 258/T15/D20/3.54 bone stock, low options (delete radio), PS/PDB, hubcaps.
Browless and proud: '82 J20 360/T18/NP208/3.73, Destination A/Ts, 7600 GVWR
Copper Polly: '75 CJ-6, 304/T15, PS, BFG KM2s, soft top
GTI without the badges: '95 VW Golf Sport 2000cc 2D
Dual Everything: '15 Chryco Jeep Cherokee KL Trailhawk, ECO Green
Blockchain the vote.

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MRjerkyface
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Re: W.I.P. - 79 J10 258

Post by MRjerkyface »

Stuka wrote: Sat Feb 13, 2021 9:24 am I like the green in the “new” one. The way looks pretty nice too.

Also, at first I misread WIP as RIP, so was expecting to read something terrible had happened. Glad it wasn’t the case :)
That green truck really is pretty cool. I picked up the seat today from the P.O. and it came out amazing.
My friend bought the green truck to save me from buying another vehicle I couldn’t sell.
Wagoneer came out of some safari park in Oklahoma. Not Joe exotic’s park...
They both have running 327’s which is good considering parts are tough to find to get them running.
MRJerkyface
79 J10 project - 258; 4 ' lift, 35x12.50, 4:10 gears, Auburn Gear limited slip diffs

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MRjerkyface
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Re: W.I.P. - 79 J10 258

Post by MRjerkyface »

I have tried to add some images of the build.
My inability to use technology is shining through as it only comes through in a link. I opened a Flickr account and that help me post a new kind of link, but still no embedded image...
I will get there eventually, but didn’t anticipate I would struggle this much.
MRJerkyface
79 J10 project - 258; 4 ' lift, 35x12.50, 4:10 gears, Auburn Gear limited slip diffs

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MRjerkyface
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Re: W.I.P. - 79 J10 258

Post by MRjerkyface »

I decided to tear open the motor that I picked up in the Jeep’s purchase, the 258.
Seeing the state it was in, and realizing my motor was 7 years older than that one. I decided to rebuild the motor and swap it for my original motor.
I had a local machine shop do the heads and the machine work. I did the assembly on it and feel like it went pretty well for my first time putting one together. I had a few manuals I was reading from so I feel confident it was ok. I plasti-gauged the bearings along the way and they were all in spec and not showing taper. So fingers crossed.
I also decided to paint the newly rebuilt motor with Eastwood’s AMC Blue ceramic engine paint. Learned a lot about painting really quick, and it came out somewhat alright. Most of it will be hidden by bolt on parts anyway right? One thing is, wait between coats... I thought I had to do it every 20 minutes between coats. You have 20 minutes to 4 hours of a window to apply follow up coats... oh and make sure the compressor is plugged in.

https://flic.kr/p/2kHuXvZ


https://flic.kr/p/2kHuXvP

Lift, Gears, and Tires are supposed to be delivered today so I need to get this motor back in and buttoned up so I can start reworking the axles.
MRJerkyface
79 J10 project - 258; 4 ' lift, 35x12.50, 4:10 gears, Auburn Gear limited slip diffs

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MRjerkyface
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Re: W.I.P. - 79 J10 258

Post by MRjerkyface »

Learned a tough lesson on Dana 44 differentials the hard way that I am sure most already know.
If you intend to regear your Dana 44 for larger tires, make sure you pay attention to the stock gear size you have. Where this matters is that 3.73 and numerically lower gear offerings came with a different carrier than 3.91 and numerically higher gear ratio axles.
Where that comes into concern is if you cross that thresh hold, you need to plan accordingly. Either pick up a 3.91 and higher differential carrier (or locker, limited slip...) or consider the thick gear offerings.
I learned this after trying to install my 4.10 gears on my axle which came originally with 3.54's. after biasing the ring gear all the way over and the pinion all the way down, I was still barely seeing contact. Enough so that I didn't even try to pattern the gears as the backlash was .25"...

My solution has been to order Auburn 5420109 limited slip carriers for 3.91 and up. But, I am waiting on the parts to show up before I can confirm the solution to be effective or not.

While waiting I went ahead and primed the oil system on the newly built motor. After doing so I started bolting parts on that side of the motor on. When installing the dipstick tube, I knocked the retainer into the bottom of the oil pan. :banghead:
So now I will drain the oil into the jugs to salvage it and drop the pan which I am not planning to do with the front end up on stands. I will say that is a deflating 'tink' noise to hear on the last part to bolt on to the motor.

So lessons learned this week;
Pay attention to your gears and the carrier you have when swapping gears
install the stupid dipstick retainer tube before you put the oil pan on.

Front lift is in, still waiting on Skyjacker to send the rear springs and pitman arm. They have a tendency to offer 2-3 weeks as their expected delivery. 2-3 weeks is turning into 2-3 months, 2-3 weeks at a time. Not much of a concern yet as I haven't gotten to the rear axle yet.
MRJerkyface
79 J10 project - 258; 4 ' lift, 35x12.50, 4:10 gears, Auburn Gear limited slip diffs
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Stuka
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Re: W.I.P. - 79 J10 258

Post by Stuka »

Those carriers should solve your issue. Back before thick gears came out you HAD to buy new carriers. It was a godsend when Yukon first came out with thick gear sets.
2017 JKU Rubicon
Pevious Jeeps: 1981 J10, 1975 Cherokee, 2008 JK, 2005 KJ, 1989 XJ

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MRjerkyface
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Re: W.I.P. - 79 J10 258

Post by MRjerkyface »

Hey Stuka, the limited slip diff carriers did solve the problem. I was able to get the gears set and printed which was a huge relief!
https://flic.kr/p/2kXEhaf
https://flic.kr/p/2kXMKn4

Since then, I have the chassis mostly buttoned up and ready for the body to drop on
https://flic.kr/p/2kXEhcE

I will say, sanding paint isn’t my favorite. I had to use stripper in some areas to remove the rubber bed liner the PO put on it. That took those areas down to the metal. Also the bed I picked up had some previously poorly done body work, so it’s down to the metal on all outside surfaces
https://flic.kr/p/2kXMKnz
https://flic.kr/p/2kXEhcQ

I should be about done with the sanding, and on to paint in the next couple of weeks.
MRJerkyface
79 J10 project - 258; 4 ' lift, 35x12.50, 4:10 gears, Auburn Gear limited slip diffs
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Stuka
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Re: W.I.P. - 79 J10 258

Post by Stuka »

Glad you got the gears all setup and working, nice patterns.

I think if I had to do that much sanding, I would have bought/rented a media blaster. Thats a whole lot of surface area.
2017 JKU Rubicon
Pevious Jeeps: 1981 J10, 1975 Cherokee, 2008 JK, 2005 KJ, 1989 XJ

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MRjerkyface
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Re: W.I.P. - 79 J10 258

Post by MRjerkyface »

I priced it... believe me I did. But I don’t think the media blasters would take the rubberized coating off. It would just heat it and turn it to goo.

PSA, Don’t coat your vehicle in bed liner unless you intend to burn it when you’re done.

Also, The abrasive paint eaters for the grinder work remarkably well. The ones that look like a sponge dipped in rubber then sand. Just takes some time, and a respirator.
MRJerkyface
79 J10 project - 258; 4 ' lift, 35x12.50, 4:10 gears, Auburn Gear limited slip diffs
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Stuka
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Re: W.I.P. - 79 J10 258

Post by Stuka »

You can chemically remove bed liner with something line peel away. It makes it peel right off with a putty knife. It can be messy, but it works well enough.
2017 JKU Rubicon
Pevious Jeeps: 1981 J10, 1975 Cherokee, 2008 JK, 2005 KJ, 1989 XJ

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MRjerkyface
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Re: W.I.P. - 79 J10 258

Post by MRjerkyface »

For the most part, the bed liner peeled away in big sheets. I attribute that to poor prep before hand and a generous coating. There were large sections that didn’t get a generous coating and it didn’t have the tensile strength to pull itself loose. Those areas I used Citra Strip which worked well if applied heavily.

Honestly I’m too cheap to pay to blast when I can spend time sanding/grinding it on my own.
MRJerkyface
79 J10 project - 258; 4 ' lift, 35x12.50, 4:10 gears, Auburn Gear limited slip diffs

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MRjerkyface
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Re: W.I.P. - 79 J10 258

Post by MRjerkyface »

Status Update -
I see it was several months ago that I said I was too cheap to pay to blast the parts. I had them blasted... I was struggling to keep up with the surface rust and it would start in before I could finish sanding. So I had a local shop blast the parts and I sprayed primer on them almost immediately to keep them from rusting. I was able to save a boatload of money by doing the majority of the sanding ahead of the blast though.
Before I took the parts to get blasted, I welded in new floor pans, cut out and patched a rusted spot on the bed, and pulled dents with a stud puller I picked up (the stud puller is the single most gratifying tool I have bought for this project). Basically I did my best to straighten the body before hand.

After blast and prime, I sanded. I sanded so much I would relate it to the film when Tom Hanks was stranded on the island and he made a friend out of a volleyball. I named and began speaking to my sanders (Fred and Frank) in that same manner. I started off being stubborn and using an orbital sander (Frank) and a foam block. That is a waste of time. Lesson Learned- if you are doing a crapload of sanding, go buy a pneumatic sander from Harbor Freight that has a 12" x 2.75" pad with 1" stroke, name it Fred and get familiar with it. That will not only save you a lot of time, but it will make the parts so much straighter. Then use the foam block to come back and block sand down the grit chain. Unfortunately it took me a few months to find that trick out. I would apply some filler, sand sand sand it away, spray high build primer, sand a lot more, I got sick of sanding. couldn't talk to Fred the sander for a while because he said something to make me mad, we made up and I plugged him up and sanded some more. My joke is that I applied 1 gallon of body filler, then sanded 1.5 gallons of it off. There really cannot be much filler left on the body.

I will admit that I horribly underestimated the amount of sanding that goes into the body work stage.

Moving on finally from sanding I applied the sealer. Well I used a reducer provided instead of an activator I should have used and it didn't really set up well. So, I got to sand all of the sealer back off of everything external that I applied it to. But it was ok because at this point I am a professional sander right? (insert hysterical laughter)
Next, the weather turned cold and I couldn't paint with the temps so low in my shop. After waiting a little while, I finally got the temps I needed over Christmas to paint. Finally, done with sanding... almost.
I guess in the warm weather, the moths also came out to sabotage the bed and tailgate portion of my paint. (and the bed looked so good too.) So now I get to sand the bed and tailgate (yay more sanding) and re-coat those panels. I have a break in humidity this coming Thursday and plan to wrap up the paint then.

Then on to sanding out my drips which I am really excited about doing more sanding.

I will hopefully be able to complete the sanding and paint this week, then move back on to the fun part of putting the pieces all back together and making old Earl drive once again.
MRJerkyface
79 J10 project - 258; 4 ' lift, 35x12.50, 4:10 gears, Auburn Gear limited slip diffs

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MRjerkyface
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Re: W.I.P. - 79 J10 258

Post by MRjerkyface »

I am starting to get everything put back together now that hunting season is over. I believe I have added a pic of the current status but I am challenged when it comes to adding pics on forums.

I did have some issue with the body bushings/clutch linkage that took me longer than I am proud to admit to figure out the adjustment. Turns out there is an adjustment in the link from the pedal to the bell crank... duh.

My bushings do cause the cab to sit lower than it did previously I think, hard to say since I didn't start with a bed on the truck. The bed is on a .25" pad and is sitting too high. So I will have to have to remove the pad and just use a thin piece of rubber to dampen vibrations between the bed and frame. I will do this when I get under the truck to hook the fuel tank lines up. I ordered a poly tank and the hoses from FSJJEEPPARTS. I am not convinced the fuel filler hose is the proper one to connect to the short filler neck. I am waiting their response to help troubleshoot which hose I do need. I am not completely sure what year the bed is from, I believe an '81. I am figuring it out as I can but it doesn't help that I couldn't disassemble the bed to begin with to know how to put it back together. I was pretty proud of myself when I got the tailgate parts all installed in the tailgate and it actually works as intended.

Had a few issues when I went to fill the coolant, poor gasket placement on my part led to a leak. The T-stat housing has a blind hole in the block that was also filled with crud. When I torqued the bolt down, it didn't seat all the way. I have fixed those issues and it is full of coolant now.

I ordered a wire harness off of BJ's which just arrived and am now trying to determine how to omit the through firewall connector. I believe it is relatively simple by adding a plate to fill the square opening for which the fuse panel will hold in place when it mounts, then adding the pass through grommets to said plate. I will learn more about this once I get into it this weekend hopefully.

Right now I am welding the holes up in my dash as I got tired of trying to find a new pad for it, and I plan to paint the dash black anyway. Once I get the dash mounted, I will be able to start on the wiring. From there I should be finally ready to fire this thing up... I really hope it runs.

Since I didn't have a grill on the truck, and the light buckets were busted, and since the previous jeep purchases came with an extra Rhino front end, I plan to go that route. This has led me to searching the forum o figure out how to hook up the extra set of lights on the front instead of using those pie plates. I feel as some extra lights will be nicer than pie plates anyway.

I am starting to accumulate a pile of old parts which I need to sell off soon simply to free up shop space. The new dash I bought had a Cherokee S badge on it if anyone needs one of those. I am also debating if I should reconnect the old CB/Radio combo or if I should just put in a modern/retro style simple radio.
Earl4.jpg
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MRJerkyface
79 J10 project - 258; 4 ' lift, 35x12.50, 4:10 gears, Auburn Gear limited slip diffs
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Stuka
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Re: W.I.P. - 79 J10 258

Post by Stuka »

Looking really good!

Personally, I would add height to the body mounts for the cab and core support than lower the bed. The pads for the bed are thin, but they do help to allow a little movement when the chassis flexes to help prevent cracks.

We have some posts here on adding lights in place of the pie plates. Including the model and numbers and such. If you don't find them let me know and I will dig one of them up.
2017 JKU Rubicon
Pevious Jeeps: 1981 J10, 1975 Cherokee, 2008 JK, 2005 KJ, 1989 XJ

akguy09
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Re: W.I.P. - 79 J10 258

Post by akguy09 »

What paint and paint code did you use? That truck looks like my J-10's twin and I am about to paint mine
1979 Jeep J-10 304/T-18
2017 Jeep JK 2DR
2021 PowerWagon
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tgreese
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Re: W.I.P. - 79 J10 258

Post by tgreese »

Stuka wrote: Thu Jan 27, 2022 7:25 am Looking really good!

Personally, I would add height to the body mounts for the cab and core support than lower the bed. The pads for the bed are thin, but they do help to allow a little movement when the chassis flexes to help prevent cracks.

We have some posts here on adding lights in place of the pie plates. Including the model and numbers and such. If you don't find them let me know and I will dig one of them up.
I would buy some Delrin and make shims, either thinner ones for the bed or thicker ones for the body mounts. McMaster-Carr sells the material, or you can find it somewhere locally. Maybe HDPE instead https://www.mcmaster.com/polyethylene/m ... -and-bars/
Tim Reese
Maine beekeeper's truck: '77 J10 LWB, 258/T15/D20/3.54 bone stock, low options (delete radio), PS/PDB, hubcaps.
Browless and proud: '82 J20 360/T18/NP208/3.73, Destination A/Ts, 7600 GVWR
Copper Polly: '75 CJ-6, 304/T15, PS, BFG KM2s, soft top
GTI without the badges: '95 VW Golf Sport 2000cc 2D
Dual Everything: '15 Chryco Jeep Cherokee KL Trailhawk, ECO Green
Blockchain the vote.

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MRjerkyface
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Re: W.I.P. - 79 J10 258

Post by MRjerkyface »

akguy09 wrote: Thu Jan 27, 2022 7:57 am What paint and paint code did you use? That truck looks like my J-10's twin and I am about to paint mine
I used a Sherwin Williams 32669 Delivery Gray. I did expect this to be a little darker per their paint chip, but it came out light. I don't dislike to color, but it wasn't really what I had in mind when I saw the chip. I say that to say you may have better luck matching the mixing ratios than the paint code? Hopefully the picture attaches and it gets you in the hunt.
Earl Paint.jpg
Tgreese and Stuka, Delrin is a great idea on the cab, Thanks!
I bought a silicon rubber which I wasn't pleased with so I scrapped it. On the bed I also tried a rubber belting material that is used on Hay balers, simply because it is tough, thin and available. I left the belting on, but see adding Delrin to the cab and support as my new direction.
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MRJerkyface
79 J10 project - 258; 4 ' lift, 35x12.50, 4:10 gears, Auburn Gear limited slip diffs

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MRjerkyface
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Re: W.I.P. - 79 J10 258

Post by MRjerkyface »

Nearing the end of the build now and thought I may give a final update on progress in the event anyone is still reading at this point.
I installed the EZ-Wiring Harness from BJ's offroad. There isn't much on the instructions for this wiring kit, simply a phone number and a tech support guy to help you solve the issues. It wasn't terrible to do for an electrical idiot, but I did have some complications. Mainly due to my own error, but I will say it does matter which wire you attach to which location on your parking/turn signal lights. My lights worked, my turn signals worked, but they did not work when the lights were on. Turned out I had my parking lights hooked to the turn signal wires which was the brighter of the two filaments. I did confirm that the other filament simply wasn't lighting, so I dug in further. In this, I also had the rear side marker connected to the turn signal which then goes to ground. Turns out that the parking light needs to wire to the side marker and go to ground. I figured it out after studying the wiring schematic in the Haynes manual and after a few swaps of connections it works. That took way longer than it should have to figure out. A good one to note here that is likely obvious to most. My 79 had a GM Turn signal connections, Late model GM Charging system, and Ford Electronic Ignition connection. Once the tech support guy helped me realize that, I was off to the races.

Next, I had horrible over heating issues upon engine start up. I spent a lot of time checking the system and going through coolant swaps, Tstat tests, even swapped the head gasket. In the end, it turned out that my water pump impeller was facing the wrong direction. Made sure I didn't order the one for the serpentine belt, but I guess this one got by me. I was so focused on solving the problem of my pulley being offset, and the new pump solved that problem upon inspection that I didn't even think to check the impeller direction. Always check the impeller direction!!!
Earl Waterpump.jpg
Carb tuning was the next hurdle as I hadn't done much of that in my time. I swapped to the MC2150 and it took me a while to get it to dial in. I found the best luck by calling a local shop and the guy advised me to try the following. Close both mix screws completely and don't torque them down, just close them. Back them out 1.75 rotations, and work one side at a time by turning it until it runs rough, then backing it out 1/2 turn. After that, it really smoothed the engine idle out and is now running a lot better. I still have some tweaking to do on the carb, but I feel that is a thing I will always tinker with.

To wrap up the build I just need my gauges to work. I have two clusters, and feel like neither of them work properly. I have swapped gauges and have only been able to get my temp gauge to do anything, and it almost instantly goes to H. I ordered a refurbished gauge set from one of the few FSJ parts suppliers, but after a month of no ship and no response I had to find a way to cancel that order. I bit the bullet and ordered a Dakota Digital from BJ's... That was a painful purchase, but I hope it gets this all sorted out.

I haven't had any luck finding the threads on the extra lights in place of the pie pans on the forum here. Stuka if you have links by chance I would appreciate it.
Earl Front side.jpg
Earl With Glass.jpg
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MRJerkyface
79 J10 project - 258; 4 ' lift, 35x12.50, 4:10 gears, Auburn Gear limited slip diffs
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