1975 j-20 wrecker

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nimbus09
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Location: manitoba canada

1975 j-20 wrecker

Post by nimbus09 »

Hey guys,
My name is Myles Magnusson and I'm 17 and from Manitoba, Canada. I've decided to make a build forum for my 1975 j-20 wrecker, this is my first build, first post, and first fsj so you may have to bear with me though this.

I saw the truck this spring on kijiji, after a few months of thinking and looking at pictures (add this forum), I drove 7 hours to Saskatoon and dragged the beast home. The truck was once parked a little to close to a fire and all the lenses are either melted or broken, there is also a fair amount of rust through the floors, and some holes in the wrecker bed, the front fenders are bent up and rusting away, and the exhaust has rusted away. but she seems to run well and have a solid drive line including the PTO for the wrecker winch it has the 360 and a 4 speed manual, with the d20 tcase. I paid $1000 for the truck and some might say that's high considering the condition but to be fair it looked a lot better in the pictures the guy sent me and after all the planning and driving i wasn't coming home empty handed.
this is the truck in question

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for any of you that are wondering, yes a j-20 will fit on a u-haul trailer with mere inches to spare, also the irony of towing a tow truck was well noted along our journey.


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I believe this to be the same factory option as Jaber's wrecker and found this diagram of the wrecker on alpar this picture shows almost exactly what the wrecker looks like except on my truck the tail lights are ressesed

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this is the floors, not a great picture but it shows the extent of the rust on and through the floors, the driver side I can put my foot through.


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this is a Cherokee chief i picked up for $300 for parts (mainly the front clip) pm me if you think i might have something else on the vehichle you may need for your project


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this is how the truck sits currently front clip has been removed, and interior gutted. the first goal is to get solid floors under my feet and put on the new front clip on. then fix brakes and replace windshield to get this beast on the road

will update when further progress is made.
Last edited by nimbus09 on Mon Nov 10, 2014 10:57 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Myles Magnusson

'75 j-20 wrecker
'77 Cherokee chief (parts)
'91 yj wrangler
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mud89
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Re: 1975 j-20 wrecker

Post by mud89 »

Awesome truck
I guess it has the 8000 GVW option ? BTW i remember also a J20 wrecker with aftermarket duallies
The hubcaps are nice and pretty hard to find
J10 81, J10 77, CJ7 80, Gladiator 64, Wagoneer 65, ZJ 5.9
parts vehicles : wagoneer 63, cherokee Golden eagle
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jaber
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Re: 1975 j-20 wrecker

Post by jaber »

Welcome to the Network...Image

Glad to see yours is more complete then mine was when I got it. Nice grab for sure... :-bd
Jeff

'46 cj3a
'51 Willys p/u
'51 Willys Parkway Conversion
'74 CJ5
'75 J-20 Wrecker
'75 J-20 Cummins service truck
'77 J-10 p/u
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http://s252.photobucket.com/albums/hh14/jeffaber/
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jsinajeep
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Re: 1975 j-20 wrecker

Post by jsinajeep »

You got a winner there. Welcome to the form and keep us posted.
From sunny AZ
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Stuka
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Re: 1975 j-20 wrecker

Post by Stuka »

Cool truck!
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nc wagoneer
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Re: 1975 j-20 wrecker

Post by nc wagoneer »

Very nice, that's low rust around here!
77 J20 flatbed FOR SALE
"old blue" 79 waggy-sitting in Jake's full size jeep junkyard, traded for j20 parts
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Atla
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Re: 1975 j-20 wrecker

Post by Atla »

That's a pretty nifty ride
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66stepside
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Re: 1975 j-20 wrecker

Post by 66stepside »

1000.00 seems like a great deal for that- nice score, sweet ride. Welcome!
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nimbus09
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1975 j-20 wrecker

Post by nimbus09 »

Thanks for the support guys, I'm loving the forum, and I check it almost nightly just to see whats going on.

Here is an update on where the wrecker is now.

Before the snow was here I welded together new exhaust far enough to get past the cab for now (this truck had stacks once in its lifetime as holes were cut in the wrecker deck and exhaust clamps were still attached) I plan to eventually run pipe up to stacks so I left it at the end of the cab for now.

I modified the exhaust off of a old wagoneer to replace my rusted away pipes. I only used the small section with the flanges attached from the waggy then used dual 2 inch pipe to go back to 2 thrush glasspack mufflers. A local exhaust shop bent up some 90 degree bends in 2 inch pipe that I can fit together as needed to snake around the frame to the stacks.


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As you can see, I also removed the cab so I can squeeze it into the garage to do body work over the winter,

a suggestion for anyone needing a cart to push a cab around, use wheels from a hand cart or furniture dolly, found them for 6 dollars a piece instead of paying 25 dollars each for swiveling casters. and these are possibly heavier tires. I used 2 wheels on the end of a length of pipe as an "axle" and 1 inch square tubing from an old corral panel for the frame. when its time to move it I can slide in two handles and lift one side like a very large wheel barrel.


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like I said before on the first post the first picture did not show the amount of rust in this cab these new pictures show it a little better.

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:!: also wondering what everyone uses to post pictures, image shack is telling me my free trail ends tomorrow! :shock:

Thanks again for the positive response and Ill be sure to update when progress is made.
Last edited by nimbus09 on Tue Dec 09, 2014 10:09 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Myles Magnusson

'75 j-20 wrecker
'77 Cherokee chief (parts)
'91 yj wrangler
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jaber
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Re: 1975 j-20 wrecker

Post by jaber »

I have had a Photobucket acct for years and like it a lot. Even has mobile app so you can upload from your phone very easily. :-bd

It does look goofy without the cab, but your making good progress... :-bd
Jeff

'46 cj3a
'51 Willys p/u
'51 Willys Parkway Conversion
'74 CJ5
'75 J-20 Wrecker
'75 J-20 Cummins service truck
'77 J-10 p/u
'79 Cherokee
'88 Grand Wagoneer
http://s252.photobucket.com/albums/hh14/jeffaber/
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carnuck
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Re: 1975 j-20 wrecker

Post by carnuck »

I use the email uploader for my photobucket. That way I don't have to wait for my phone to have hardwired internet access to send pics.
Check my parts for sale near Seattle

GO OVRIT
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Re: 1975 j-20 wrecker

Post by GO OVRIT »

Cool project. A FSJ wrecker is definately on my list to build/own.
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66stepside
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Re: 1975 j-20 wrecker

Post by 66stepside »

Nice progress.

I've used Photobucket for pics, and still do sometimes l, but now I prefer the tapiture ap on the phone to upload and get notifications.

Keep up the progress on the jeep!
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nimbus09
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1975 j-20 wrecker

Post by nimbus09 »

Well time for another update!

Thanks for your suggestions guys, I now have a Photobucket account to upload images

Here is some progress I have made on the truck starting with the gauge cluster

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Looks a little dirty


Before polishing lenses


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After polishing


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Still deciding how best to clean up the rest of it (faded and worn plastic, peeling chrome knobs so i don't have it entirely together again yet) I also found overlays in many different patterns:
http://www.amazon.com/Metallic-Gauge-Cl ... s=jeep+j20
this is just one of the available dash overlays
I might also take this opportunity while it is out to swap in a volt meter and fix the possible ammeter issues while still being able to keep track of the electrical system of the truck


I'm slowly deciding how best to repair the cab


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This is the kick panel (the panel to the left of the drivers feet) the passenger side is the same. My plan currently is to entirely replace this entire panel by removing all spot welds around it. It is mostly flat to i will use the old panel as a template to recreate a new one. also a large section of the floor has been removed


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I ended up removing the cowl area as it allows me to get to all the spot welds to remove the kick panel, also i can clean up the surface rust and re seal the seams


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This is inside the cowl area. The pinch welds for the kick panel needed a little attention and that hole was allowing water to flow directly into the cab. Might be why the floors are completely rusted through

I've decided to leave the floors and rockers until close to the end as I need to repair many panels around them first such as the fire wall and inner rocker. But having the panels would help plan things out I'm wondering if anyone has ever used floor pans and rockers from classic to current Fabrication http://www.c2cfabrication.com/
They have the lowest prices i have found yet but I'm wondering if the quality reflects this if anyone has used them let me know what you thought. Id also like to hear what people think about other company's they've used for floor pans and rockers

Again thanks guys for your input and support.
Ill keep you guys posted.
Last edited by nimbus09 on Sun Jan 04, 2015 10:26 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Myles Magnusson

'75 j-20 wrecker
'77 Cherokee chief (parts)
'91 yj wrangler
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berettajeep
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Re: 1975 j-20 wrecker

Post by berettajeep »

nimbus09 wrote:After polishing

Image

What did you use to polish them?

nimbus09 wrote:Still deciding how best to clean up the rest of it (faded and worn plastic, peeling chrome knobs so i don't have it entirely together again yet) I also found overlays in many different patterns:
http://www.amazon.com/Metallic-Gauge-Cl ... s=jeep+j20
this is just one of the available dash overlays
I might also take this opportunity while it is out to swap in a volt meter and fix the possible ammeter issues while still being able to keep track of the electrical system of the truck


:-bd I tried to save mine when I swapped everything from my '74 to a '78 cluster. ( the heating control plastic labels are different) but it ended up ripping. Thank you for posting this!
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Tatsadasayago
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Re: 1975 j-20 wrecker

Post by Tatsadasayago »

Excellent progress nimbus!

Could you share a few more photos of the cowl seams/pinch-welds so those of use with leak issues can get a better idea how water gets in? Detail shots of the end and corner seams would be great. It's hard to see and get to those as you know. With your permission, I'd like to add some of these photos to the 'Water..water...everywhere' thread for reference.

Keep up the good work!
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Topic author
nimbus09
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1975 j-20 wrecker

Post by nimbus09 »

berettajeep wrote:
nimbus09 wrote:After polishing

Image

What did you use to polish them?

:-bd I tried to save mine when I swapped everything from my '74 to a '78 cluster. ( the heating control plastic labels are different) but it ended up ripping. Thank you for posting this!

Image

This was the weapon of choice for those gauge lenses, a little but of polish, an polishing rag and about 2 hours of math class is all it took for me to clear those lenses up nice. Around here it runs about 40 dollars a bottle but works amazing for detail work like lenses and I plan to use it to clean up my chrome trim.

also thanks for the input, it dawned on me last night that i have another cluster from a 77 Cherokee. went out and looked today and it is in much better condition so the next time it warms up a bit I'm going to pull it out and give it the same polishing treatment.(my math teacher must hate me) I didn't look to closely at the labels would there be a difference between a 75 and a 77 cluster?
Last edited by nimbus09 on Mon Jan 05, 2015 8:57 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Myles Magnusson

'75 j-20 wrecker
'77 Cherokee chief (parts)
'91 yj wrangler
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DarkMonohue
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Re: 1975 j-20 wrecker

Post by DarkMonohue »

Looks like a fun project so long as you don't catch the tetanus.

Magnusson, huh? Hmm. You don't say.

Image


Amiright?
'85 J20 Old Man Truck, bought @ 65K miles. Not great, but better than nothing at all.
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nimbus09
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1975 j-20 wrecker

Post by nimbus09 »

Tatsadasayago wrote:Excellent progress nimbus!

Could you share a few more photos of the cowl seams/pinch-welds so those of use with leak issues can get a better idea how water gets in? Detail shots of the end and corner seams would be great. It's hard to see and get to those as you know. With your permission, I'd like to add some of these photos to the 'Water..water...everywhere' thread for reference.

Keep up the good work!
yes absolutely feel free to add these pictures to another thread, I added a few things to the pictures to help show where things are and how water would flow. the originals are also available on my photo bucket if you would prefer.


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this is the truck before i removed anything


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this is 91 spot welds later when the cowl was removed the blue shows where water would flow and the red in this picture shows the wiper holes for reference


Image

Image

showing the pinch weld that is causing the issues


on the side of the pinch weld the red circles are rust holes that go directly into the cab, you can see how this would allow water in


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this is a view down the hole at the end of the "trough" the red circle shows the tiny hole at the bottom that all the water is expected to drain through, on my truck this became clogged with leave, chunks of body filler, and everything imaginable. on day in the rain I could see water pooling all the way up and pouring into the cab through the fresh air vent. this would be a good area to check on occasion it is accessible by removing the fresh air vent from the kick panels and reaching in to remove the crud.


if there is any other things you would like to see feel free to ask, I imagine the cowl will be off for a little while as i work at repairing that pinch weld and the holes.
Last edited by nimbus09 on Mon Jan 05, 2015 9:32 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Myles Magnusson

'75 j-20 wrecker
'77 Cherokee chief (parts)
'91 yj wrangler
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berettajeep
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Re: 1975 j-20 wrecker

Post by berettajeep »

nimbus09 wrote:also thanks for the input, it dawned on me last night that i have another cluster from a 77 Cherokee. went out and looked today and it is in much better condition so the next time it warms up a bit I'm going to pull it out and give it the same polishing treatment.(my math teacher must hate me) I didn't look to closely at the labels would there be a difference between a 75 and a 77 cluster?
Differences? I am not sure. I know liked the look of the '74 better. I will get a picture to show what it looks like.
'47 CJ2A My build
'74 Cherokee S 401/auto My build
'94 Cherokee 4.0 5 speed
'06 Liberty Renegade
'46 CJ2A
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