Really slow build of 77 cherokee by husker77

[bigwalton]

Nice. Mines a ways from drivable with the cam and dizzy gears getting munched regularly and it's a long way from pristine. Good luck getting the brakes sorted so you can drive the wheels off of it


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[Knucklehead]

I have a chrome WT 3 piece bumper I would like to get rid of if you are interested.

[rstep]

Nice rig.welcome.

[husker77]

Thanks for the welcomes and the help guys, I do appreciate it.

I think I got the brakes sorted out. Must have been an air bubble somewhere. I took each fitting loose starting at the master cylinder till nice clean fluid came out then tightened the fitting back up worked my way to the back ending at the wheel cylinders. Hopefully that did it, I need one bolt to put the seat back in, then to take it for a spin. It will have to wait till tomorrow.

Why did Jeep not make the seats flip forward for access to the rear seat?

I've heard rumors of 3-6 inches of snow this weekend. If I get her going I'm hoping for 6.

[Stuka]

Thanks for the welcomes and the help guys, I do appreciate it.

I think I got the brakes sorted out. Must have been an air bubble somewhere. I took each fitting loose starting at the master cylinder till nice clean fluid came out then tightened the fitting back up worked my way to the back ending at the wheel cylinders. Hopefully that did it, I need one bolt to put the seat back in, then to take it for a spin. It will have to wait till tomorrow.

Why did Jeep not make the seats flip forward for access to the rear seat?

I've heard rumors of 3-6 inches of snow this weekend. If I get her going I'm hoping for 6.

The factory seats do flip forward. Well, the upright part leans forward. I was able to get into the back of mine easy enough. Oh, but only the passenger side did, the driver side did not (well at least on my 75).

[husker77]

Guess I will keep looking for the lever on the passenger side.

[fulsizjeep]

Welcome from SW CO. Nice trade up. I always liked that sunshine yellow and have never understood the logic behind some FSJs having two fold up buckets and some having just the passenger side. Our 77 J20 has buckets with right side only folding. The 76 Cherokee we had both of them folded up. Same on the truck benches, some folded some didn't. Good luck on your projects. I think you are miles ahead with the trade. The other guy probably thinks he is.

[Stuka]

Guess I will keep looking for the lever on the passenger side.

For me it was a small silver lever right at where the upright part connects to the lower seat part. Unless somebody swapped out your seats and put in seats from a wagoneer or something, which do not flip forward.

[husker77]

Looked for a lever for the seat, must not have that option.

So I have come up with a really stupid idea. If you notice in the picture the rear sits lower than the front and I would like to remedy that, it looks like I need about 2". I was thinking of using bjs shackle up front to get another 1" there making it 3" I would need in the rear. Then using the 6" spring and taking out the 2" blocks, giving me 4". But then using the bjs shackles in the rear, which would actually lower the rear 1" giving me the 3" to make it even. It should give me more lift and flex.

Am I over thinking it? Or just really stupid?

[66stepside]

Real nice trade! Welcome to the addiction!

[The PIG Smith]

Looks like you got the good side of the trade.

Wow! I'll agree with Stuka that you came out on the better side of this trade!

Welcome from Fort Wayne, Indiana!
Good look'n rig, especially with the new shoes!

[husker77]

Well drove her to work today. Issues...

1. Brakes still suck. The rear still aren't doing anything.
2. Went to put my seatbelt on and seen it is missing the center pieces for both sides. So I need to hunt down those pieces.
3. The seat back sits way to far back, I like how the base sits but I lean way to far back. There is no adjustment for that.
4. The exhaust needs some attention, it's not bad just kind of drones at highway speed.
5. I hate the rear sitting lower. The hoods are big enough without having them run uphill. Think I might just get a 2.5" leaf pack from another truck and build a "custom" set of leafs. Adding or subtracting till I get the right height.
6. When it shifts to third it up and down shifts like 3 times before it stays.
7. I screwed up and forgot I hadn't secured my battery, it slid off the tray into the exhaust manifold and melted the case. Now my $150 battery is junk! My own stupidity.

All I can think of right now.

[Stuka]

Ahh the joys of a new to you vehicle

Your seat back may be bent back from years of use. Not sure of a way to fix it other than grabbing seats out of a newer vehicle.

Does the rear have any lift? You could do the spring thing, or run a small (Steel, not aluminum) block.

For the transmission sounds like the modulator may be at fault. That or the vacuum line going to it.

[husker77]

Ahh the joys of a new to you vehicle

Especially one that you trade for.

Your seat back may be bent back from years of use. Not sure of a way to fix it other than grabbing seats out of a newer vehicle.

I was hoping to find something, would like power seats. I had a set of power leather seats out of a 90's gw that I had from some other project along the way, but the mechanisms got a little rusted and don't work anymore.

Does the rear have any lift? You could do the spring thing, or run a small (Steel, not aluminum) block.

It has a 2" block so I didn't really want to go to 4" blocks. I thought maybe the spring thing would allow me to get enough lift to remove the block and not get to harsh of a ride. Plus it would be fairly cheap.

For the transmission sounds like the modulator may be at fault. That or the vacuum line going to it.

Thanks on that, never really messed with trannies( ), I will do some checking. Man would I love to have overdrive.

[husker77]

The battery seems to be fine, not sure how with 2 quarter size holes in it. I was thinking of using some epoxy to put a couple of "patches" over the holes and then refilling the "water".

[husker77]

Well after taking the batt out it just has 2 small holes where it actually went all the way through the case. Wonder if I can just melt some sort of plastic into the holes?

[fulsizjeep]

I would junk that battery but that is me.

[husker77]

I'm going to try and save it, mostly to see if I can more than anything. Not really out anything if it doesn't work.



Got to thinking my brother had a 95 cheby with a 383 stroker in it that rusted out. He pulled the drivetrain. Would be nice to have efi and overdrive. Kinda like the idea of keeping the amc motor though. I don't think I would use the transfer case if I did swap his motor and tranny, probably try and find a np205. I think I would have to move the fuel tank to have a centered diff in the rear though.

[Stuka]

I'm going to try and save it, mostly to see if I can more than anything. Not really out anything if it doesn't work.



Got to thinking my brother had a 95 cheby with a 383 stroker in it that rusted out. He pulled the drivetrain. Would be nice to have efi and overdrive. Kinda like the idea of keeping the amc motor though. I don't think I would use the transfer case if I did swap his motor and tranny, probably try and find a np205. I think I would have to move the fuel tank to have a centered diff in the rear though.

Manual trans FSJ's of that era had a centered output on the t-case.

The QT would be a pain to adapt to any modern trans. A 205 can be adapted, but the round pattern ones are a bit more rare than the figure 8 pattern models. And the stock t-case is a driver drop, your front axle is a passenger side drop. But you could find a GM NP208 that can bolt up. It has a slip yoke, but should be fine if you don't run tons of lift.

[husker77]

Ya there are some things I would have to work out. A lot is just thinking out loud. There just isn't a real cost effective way to add overdrive. Plus the 4l60e would have a lower first gear. A 4l80e would be a lot better though.

I don't know, need to win the lottery.