83 Cherokee Laredo re-wire, minor rust repair and ??

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Topic author
Laredo Matt
Posts: 331
Joined: Fri Jan 08, 2021 3:32 pm
Location: Washington

83 Cherokee Laredo re-wire, minor rust repair and ??

Post by Laredo Matt »

resized Interior out .jpg
resized door rust.jpg
outside resized.jpg
exterior resized.jpg
Hi,

New to the Forum. I purchased this 83 Cherokee Laredo right before New Year. Was looking for a late 70s Cherokee Chief but landed on this. Body is in really good shape. It already had an LS swap and interior was in fairly good condition.

Want to do a few things to make it a reliable driver for years to come

First, new full body and engine harness. Immediate thought was Painless but a friend suggested American Auto wire Highway 22 Plus Universal Wiring System. Anyone use it and have thoughts? Note - I've never wired a vehicle but am a pretty quick learner. My buddy is a master mechanic and builds custom hot rods. He'll help if I get stuck but I want to do it myself to learn how and know the jeep.

Will add lizard skin coating and probably dynamat to help with noise. Will add some new creature comforts; ; powered and heated seats, power windows, some charging ports, dakota dash and AC unit along with some additional interior lighting and LED headlights. Hoping the 22 circuits is enough? I'll be doing some research but thinking I can use a single circuit for more than one accessory as long as I don't overload it....any thoughts?

Got most of the interior out today and there is some rust in the lower inner doors due to a very shoddy speaker install in its past.

Whoever did it, decided to make patch panels using untreated tin and some duct tape...ughhh. Crap quality resulting in rust in the door itself. Otherwise, body is solid. I've inspected everything including between panels and places requiring a small camera for inspecting pipes etc.

I'll have to get the rust repaired first first since I can't weld. Debating if I should do a respray while I have it apart.

I'm sure I'll have questions as I go and have seen some good resources here already. If it turns into a bigger build (seems to be how it goes when you start digging) I'll post pictures.

matt
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66stepside
Posts: 3793
Joined: Sat Oct 13, 2012 9:59 pm
Location: Spokane Valley, WA.

Re: 83 Cherokee Laredo re-wire, minor rust repair and ??

Post by 66stepside »

That’s a sharp looking ride- keep it up, and welcome to the club!


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letank
Posts: 4010
Joined: Wed Oct 03, 2012 9:16 pm
Location: SF bay area

Re: 83 Cherokee Laredo re-wire, minor rust repair and ??

Post by letank »

Welcome to the asylum.
As for rust, remember that the roof is spot welded, then a rapid prime... not too much, and not that much paint either in the recess of the inner roof rail/support. The 70's were the worst, the 80's a bit better, the 86 and latter a lot better than even the 85 YM.
Checking the air vent box is also a good point to remove pine needles and leaves as the air vent has a wide slot. check the water, water everywhere post

viewtopic.php?t=7426&hilit=water+water+everywhere

The rear quarter panel drains in the jack storage and the driver's side as well is also a good place to make sure that water drains
As for the wiring, anything will work, it all depend on how much you want to swap. The fuse panel is a real headache when you need to change fuses. Some have relocated the fuse box in the engine bay.

This is the cut out of your roof, you can see rust developing, this is an early 80's in California

Image

and I forgot the ammeter bypass...

https://www.fsjnetwork.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=16778
Michel
74 wag (349 Kmiles... parked, next step is a rust free body)
85 Gwag (229 Kmiles... the running test lab)

Topic author
Laredo Matt
Posts: 331
Joined: Fri Jan 08, 2021 3:32 pm
Location: Washington

Re: 83 Cherokee Laredo re-wire, minor rust repair and ??

Post by Laredo Matt »

Thanks for the links Letank.

Already have my USB camera out ready to poke around and see what'sin all the gaps and known spots for leaks. And will likely get the fresh air vents soon for a good cleaning and spray with a rust inhibitor. From what I can see without the camera, rear quarters look good inside, dry very little surface rust. Door interiors look good etc.

I have a feeling I'm going to be in this phase of fixing a lot of little things while I have it apart to make sure I don't have to tear it down again for quite a while!
Matt
83 Cherokee Laredo WT
L8T 6.6L, 6L90
GEN III LS Swap (LM7 block)
4L60E

Topic author
Laredo Matt
Posts: 331
Joined: Fri Jan 08, 2021 3:32 pm
Location: Washington

Re: 83 Cherokee Laredo re-wire, minor rust repair and ??

Post by Laredo Matt »

66stepside wrote: Mon Jan 11, 2021 9:07 am That’s a sharp looking ride- keep it up, and welcome to the club!


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66Stepside, looks like we're kinda neighbors. Would love to pick your brain on any good resources in the area who know jeeps ie. body shop, welders etc. Also, any cool local events you might be aware of. cheers.
Matt
83 Cherokee Laredo WT
L8T 6.6L, 6L90
GEN III LS Swap (LM7 block)
4L60E
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