Hi there, prospective FSJ owner!

[10sun]

Personally, I am a 28 y/o tech head with an outdoor streak.
I live in Central Ohio, I've got a fair sized garage at home and access to my friend's pole barn, but no lifts (I'll probably have to rent garage time for the leaf spring replacement). My budget is tight as I'm only working part time and in school finishing off my BS, I want to put no more than $1500 into this until April. However, I have the backing of a machine shop for fabrication and associated material costs are nil (working for a major R&D company has perks).

I'm looking at a '79 Cherokee WT V8 Manual, trading some crap I picked up at an auction that I haven't been able to offload; so lets just say price = $0, but not from a friend.

Engine runs (360 tall deck) idled without issue for ~20 minutes today when I took a look at it.
Clutch is loose, but shifts fine. Didn't take it past second though.
Frame is rough, but not rotting.

Major problems
1. leaf springs need replaced all around (front and rear)
2. Oil is pooling at the top of the block and I'm not sure where it is from.
Minor problems
1. carb needs cleaned / adjusted, just has issues with sluggish starting.
2. rust needs scraped from frame & sealed
3. wheel wells/fenders need replaced; figure I'll just fab large patches from sheet metal for the wells & pick up some plastic Wrangler fenders until I get the time to find some better looking ones.

Goals:
Short Term: ~5-10 miles a week to get groceries/run errands and do a 100 mile round trip drive once a month until April.
Approach
Remove, clean/rebuild carb [$50 or less]
Tune-up the engine [$100 or less]
Clean rust from frame (putty knife + wire brush + angle grinder attachment) & seal (epoxy primer + white paint for increased visibility of issues) [?$100]
Replace leaf springs [?$1,000]
Rivet in wheel well patches [$100 total or less]

Long Term: continue as weekly driver & utilize as base-camp vehicle starting April?
Approach
gut the interior, spray bed liner on floors and refinish roof. Reupholster or replace front seats, install lockbox directly behind passenger seat, & install two jumpseats in the rear. [$1000+]
Fabricate & install 3" tubular front bumper with brush guard and mount for winch & tow hooks. Nothing heavy duty, just enough for light brush & pulling stuck vehicles. [~$300]
Fabricate & install 3" tubular rear bumper with brush guard for lights & reinforce frame for potential towing. [~$250]
Fabricate & install roof rack. [~$250]
Replace rear tailgate. [~$250]

Looking for some info on where to find suspension components as the local salvage yards that I know have been picked clean (Central Ohio).
Would it simply be better to just get a set of Skyjacker leafs?
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This will be my first major restoration project as the lead. I've helped a friend with a '65 Ford Galaxy and I've pretty much replaced all non-block related mechanicals in my friend's CJ5 (not saying a whole lot honestly); I've never had to source major parts for them, just provided the labor for beer.
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Thoughts? Comments? I welcome all data.
It isn't too late for me to back out at this point and feel free to correct me on anything I am mistaken about.

[coyote220]

I just replaced my leaf springs (all 4 packs!) in my garage, with no lift, by myself. Ideal, no. Do-able yes.

Go slow and use lots of GOOD jack stands.

[10sun]

Do you have an estimate on the cost would be & how long did it take you?

[78J-10]

I just picked up 4in front leafs for 160 shipped. With a little looking you could find a deal on some stock ones or used lift springs.

I have all my stock ones if interested..



Good luck!!


P.S. - just take your time and you will find the parts for looking for or need for a lot less then if you rush

[Billygoat]

You can do springs with a floor jack and stands, and impact wrench and torch are a big help.

You could put an ad in the wanted section for a set of springs (if you are looking for stock) people putting in lifts may be taking out decent ones, then you can get a set of bushing and bolts from BJ's (see vendor section)

[Brizio]

Welcome!

[Lindel]

First off, welcome! You've got a solid plan in place so far.

The number one weak spot for Cherokee WT's is the rear flares. Sounds like yours might already be gone. If that's the case then you'll need to seal up the body where the flares are at/were. After that, then you can install whichever flares you prefer, be it fiberglass, bushwhacker or small Jeep (meaning baby or xj style Jeeps).

Oil on the intake (depending on where it is, of course) might be bad hoses for the PCV valve, or leaky valve cover gaskets. If it's directly behind the carb, it's the hoses, along the sides then it's the gaskets. If oil's collecting on the timing chain cover, then it's probably the timing cover gaskets or could be the hose that runs from the oil breather cap to the air filter housing.

For most of your parts, Z&M Jeeps, BJ's Offroad and decent McParts stores are your friends. Dealerships might have some parts, but will be outrageously overpriced. Check out the vendor forum. The wanted forum is also a good place to source needed used parts from. Beware most of the online Jeep stores, as they don't usually cater to the full-size crowd.

[letank]

Welcome to the asylum.

As said for springs, your best friend is PB blaster (penetrating oil to loosen rust) spray for a few days before removal of spring bolts. And yes you can do it without a garage, it has been done on the trail.... go to the bottom of the page:

http://www.ifsja.org/forums/vb/showthread.php?t=68048&page=2

Back to the rust, recheck carefully under the carpet at all 4 wheel well corner for excessive rust damage.... big holes or sieve looking floor board can be fixed but not too much fun driving in the rain.... Same for hole in the rear quarter panel where the jack is stored.... The next step is the roof line at the top of the door and windshield. The rivets /patch of steel will work if an extra layer of caulking is added.... Works for the rear wheel well by the rear bench area....

Rechec again the driver's side framerail next to the gas tank shield... this is the weakest spot where frame can litteraly fall to pieces.

For the tune up do a search for the TFI upgrade.

[10sun]

decided to skip the '79 Cherokee, the frame was just too bad after a second inspection.

Still looking for a FSJ; having a friend scout out a GW in NY this weekend for me and I'm looking around at a few GWs & FS Cherokees in Ohio. Barely missed a garaged '86 GW for $2k yesterday.

Oh well. Gotta keep looking.

[DerekTJeep]

Frame is bad, but if you are just going to trade craps that you cannot unload, why not go for it? Tell the seller that the frame is bad and that you will trade for it only. You don't want to pay cash for a vehicle with a bad frame. I would imagine that a vehicle with bad frame would probably be easier to unload than all those craps that you have been trying to sell... just my 2 cents.

[10sun]

Wider market on my trade items (antique bedroom set, vintage steamer trunk, & some other stuff I'm horrible at marketing and should just take to a consignment shop) and I'll let him stick it on the market for a bit and come at him later with a lower trade if I end up with something that could use parts from said '79 Cherokee and he hasn't gotten rid of it.

[fsjman1978]

Welcome from another Ohioan. Will keep my eye out for u. Any sertion year your looking for?

[10sun]

Key thing for me is budget.
$2,500 limit for a vehicle + getting it running enough to be a weekly driver for the next month. I'd prefer not to tow it home.

pre-86 SJ, Cherokee or Wagoneer.

Non-rotted frame, functional or nearly functional powerplant, operational drivetrain.

Rust is never liked, but at my price point I can accept; understand rear wells/fenders/floor/floors, lets avoid any rust above that though?

Standard or automatic, would prefer standard; though I recognize that the new Wagoneers don't offer that.

Interior doesn't matter so long as there aren't springs digging into my backside.

Cluster doesn't matter much, I'd roughframe & install replacement parts for the time being and plan on fabricating a new dash within 6 months if it is too far gone.

I would prefer no mods/kits etc, but will accept up to a 3" lift. No idea on drop kits... probably avoid anything dropped. Any rhino grill would be welcome though ;)

Brushguards / bumpers are of no concern. Either good or bad or gone.

and secondary note, I might be traveling to the NY/NJ/CT area over the holidays, so I wouldn't mind getting myself a Christmas present out there either ;) There are a few Wagoneers out that way I've got leads on.