new fsj owner

[cajcole]

just bought my first jeep 1975 j10 4speed 360 2bbl, and have been poking around this awesome forum, and thought i would introduce myself. im for the most part cutting my teeth on this project so bear with me. found this off craigslist and just couldnt live without it, but now all the fun has started. so im sorry as this might be a long post. but here goes.
she didnt run when i brought her home, but a new carb (still need to tune) , new battery, and she fired, (not very well), drained the tank, new valve stem seals, new valve and exhaust gaskets, and 16 new push rods (i had 4 ones that looked like s's ). just found out that the alternator is bad so... now i at a funny point. i have a rats nest of wiring and a working ammeter, and with all the horror stories of fires im not sure weather i should rewire it and put a fuse box in the engine bay.:confused:
on a side note if the alternator was bad might that make the it miss, pop, and hesitate being that it was running off the dying battery. hmm
anyways thanks for the great forum.

[Brizio]

Welcome! :)

[telecomken]

Good luck on all the wiring, I had the same deal about 7 or 8 years ago when I got my 77 chero. If you do start doing any rewiring you might want to go all the way and do the TFI upgrade, theres lots of write ups on it all over the net.

[[]V[]AXX]

Take it from someone who's fought with screwy wiring, if you're unsure of your wiring harness, see burned or exposed copper, and don't have the patience of a saint, buy a Painless universal kit, and start from scratch. After spending weeks of my spare time chasing dead ends in an old, messed up harness, I gave up, and my ride is better for it. Good luck with your build. I'm also a newcomer here and will be asking lots of questions.

[jaber]

Welcome from Az.

[fulsizjeep]

Welcome from SW CO! :thumbsup: Wiring can be a PITA, good luck with it!
When it is running good, go out and enjoy it. :fsj:

[Headhoncho]

Welcome from South Jersey! Congrats on the J with a 4speed and brow as it doesn't get much better than that. Wiring is a nightmare. May be best to look for a new harness or to get a factory TSM (shop manual) for your year.


JR

[HD_JEEP]

Big Jeep wave to you from Little Rock, AR. :thumbsup:

Everyday I learn something new here great people on this site....Enjoy.

[newtojeeps]

Welcome looks like you have a nice starter rig there. Get a TSM!!!
As far as the wiring goes, start pulling the wiring harness mark were all the wires came from. A set of wire numbers will help available at home Depot. These come in a little booklet and wrap around the wire and stick on. Clean the place where you intend to stick them. then put the same number where you took them off of. Then disassemble the harness by removing the plastic sheathing (if It is still there). Check for burnt or spliced together wiring. NOW IS THE TIME TO ADD EXTRA GROUND WIRES!!! A lot of the problems with the wiring in these vehicles is the ground to frame. on the longer runs like to the rear tail lights and gas tank a new ground wire works great. Measure all the wires according to size, color and type. Remember that some of these will be a fused wire, so you will need to get some fusable links. Then build a new or just rework the harness you have. Just adding to guessing where the wires go will create mo problems in the future. Just my two cents

[JoshDes]

welcome! always love to see j trucks! :thumbsup: