what did I get into?

[svmcgover]

I started a thread a while back, with plans to make a reliable winter beater. That has slowly spiraled out of control. I'm probably going to keep this thread picture heavy, so I'll limit the typing.

a little background:

I always wanted a J truck since I was a kid. My grandpa shared my admiration, and actually built a RC truck, which I just found the other week




So I bought two of these guys, one with a great interior and shot frame. the other with a great frame but crappy interior, I'll let you figure out where this is going

bringing them home:








So as I started to dig into these things, I realized I may have bit off a tad more than I could handle. here's some of the damage

blue truck floor is completely rotted out



fender is torn up



roof is a mess



frame on the tan jeep looks like sin



the body on the tan jeep is pretty shot (sorry for potato quality)





glass on blue jeep is torn up and stained



inside the blue jeep is atrocious

[svmcgover]

but it's not all bad news. here are some of the highlights

great condition Levi's seats




great moldings and glass all the way around the tan jeep





floor in the tan jeep is salvageable (passenger side is in better shape. I don't have a picture unfortunately)



frame on the blue jeep is solid all the way back



roof is in great shape on the tan jeep

[jaber]

That looks like a project. Dont let it overwhelm you, just step back, take a breath, and pick one step and follow it through.

How much of the swap over controls did you get with the Yellow one?

[svmcgover]

That looks like a project. Dont let it overwhelm you, just step back, take a breath, and pick one step and follow it through.

How much of the swap over controls did you get with the Yellow one?

thanks! everything is going to be swapped. all the electronics in the tan jeep are flawless. there are multiple issues with the blue jeep's wiring

[svmcgover]

So, I figured I'd start tackling the actual mechanical issues first to get it running reliably, then work on the aesthetics.

So I bought some new rubber, and polished the rims



before



after





while I was working on a few things, I noticed my leafs were very tired, so I purchased the 3" rough country lift








[/QUOTE]

and installed

[svmcgover]

So one of the first things I did was change all spark plugs, wires, distributor, solenoid, cap, rotor, etc... so the ignition was running strong.

then, my fan clutch went out. So I figured it would be a good time to do a e-fan swap. I used fans off of a 2002 intrepid, and wired it to a relay.




well, then I was flushing everything, and changing all the fluids, and the radiator started leaking slowly... then like a sieve



so I bought an aluminum 3 core off fleabay

no real good pictures of it installed. but here she sits

[svmcgover]

well, as you can imagine, my alternator took a crap, so I thought it would be a good time to do the cs-144 install. and upgrade all my wires. I went with 2g




I had to tweak my bracket



mocked up

[svmcgover]

obviously, I had to change the ammeter







while I had it apart, I figured I'd add my own little touch with these




the final product

[svmcgover]

So that's where I'm at now. next step is to fix a few electrical issues (i.e. the fuel gauge and oil pressure gauge aren't working), then It's onto the body work!

here are a few pictures just because





and Uhaul actually let me tow with this thing!

[svmcgover]

So I've been accruing parts rather than doing any actual work on this thing. but I did get a few small things done. I also lucked out on Craigslist. there was a guy 20 minutes away from me selling a never installed full molded carpet kit from BJ's (same color as my seats) for $75.



it was a little dirty from storage



but it cleaned up really nice

[66stepside]

Wow, nice score on the carpet. Your rig is looking sweet. I am digging how you modded the ammeter gauge to fit in the stock housing, that's slick.

[svmcgover]

Wow, nice score on the carpet. Your rig is looking sweet. I am digging how you modded the ammeter gauge to fit in the stock housing, that's slick.

thanks! I got the idea over at ifsja

[Gumby]

Wow, nice score on the carpet. Your rig is looking sweet. I am digging how you modded the ammeter gauge to fit in the stock housing, that's slick.

thanks! I got the idea over at ifsja

I just had a conversation about doing this mod with a friend today. Do you have any issues with you dimmer switch and are those LEDs blue?

[svmcgover]

Wow, nice score on the carpet. Your rig is looking sweet. I am digging how you modded the ammeter gauge to fit in the stock housing, that's slick.

thanks! I got the idea over at ifsja

I just had a conversation about doing this mod with a friend today. Do you have any issues with you dimmer switch and are those LEDs blue?

Leds don't dim and honestly I didn't know the thing had a dimmer switch hah. And I think they are "cool white"

[Renodemona]

Wow, looking pretty nice! Great score on the carpet!

[svmcgover]

Wow, looking pretty nice! Great score on the carpet!

thanks! hopefully I'll have more time to work on it in the next few months. there are so many things I have on my list, but so little time

[svmcgover]

So I've been having amazing luck finding parts for this thing. if you look back in my pictures, you can see the PO smashed up the front passenger fender and core support pretty good. and there was a bunch of rust where the horns mount. So I had plans to replace the doghouse in the long run. but I went to my local junk yard and found a completely rust free 77 cherokee (too bad I couldn't use the fenders because it's a widetrack) so I scored the inner fenders and core and grill support. they are in amazing shape, this thing had to be a Florida truck. I also picked up everything for $30 because it was half-priced day.





also found a (non-working) clock



but my luck didn't stop there! There was a guy three hours away from me selling brand-new fenders. albeit cheapo Chinese brand, but they are in better shape than mine. I talked him down to $50 because I had to drive so far, and he's been sitting on them for a few years



and all loaded up and ready to get cleaned up and painted



now I just need to find some time. :/