The Chero is home, and now it's running nicely...

[DanHS]

*update at the bottom*

Well the weather today was awful, but I got my Chero home. It was a bit of a pain, but it's home. When we got there it had begun to turn to freezing rain, everything was covered in ice and kept icing over again after scraping it off. I had no windshield wipers on the Chero because they were encapsulated and the ice wouldn't melt. Anyways I stuck in the battery I had but it wasn't powerful enough to start the Chero. I jumped it with the Wagoneer and it started ok, but it wouldn't run well, it wasn't getting enough fuel, and the choke doesn't work. I looked down the carb and pulled the throttle back, it only sprayed fuel from one side, the other was clogged. It opened up after running the engine for awhile, but it seems to have fouled up again or something after we started driving, and the carb sucked terribly the whole time. It has sat for awhile, but I'm surprised because it was rebuilt not too long ago, and the Wagoneer also sat for awhile and had no such trouble with the carb. Either way the Chero ran worse and worse on the way home, until it got to the point where it would stall out when you tried to get moving from a stop, no matter what. The battery wouldn't charge enough to spin the starter fast enough either. We had to push start it with the Wagoneer repeatedly, which resulted in the bumper brackets on the Chero getting a little bent and one of my nice Hella lamps on the Wag getting broken. Perhaps the carb was beginning to freeze up or something. My dad drove it most of the way home, and had some issues but it would go, but shortly after I started driving it wouldn't work, it got so bad the truck was shuddering and running very rough, it wouldn't accelerate smoothly enough to shift gears well, never mind that it had to be pushed each time I had to start from a stop. On top of that the brakes were sticking, it pulled to the right when you stepped on the brakes anything more than gently (luckily compression braking limited the need for stepping on the brakes much), and I went to step on the emergency brake only to have the cable snap somewhere and the pedal go to the floor. It was a disaster pretty much.

So once it warms up a little I'm going to go through the carb and see what's up with it, and I'll check all the vacuum lines and charging system, and put in a better battery. I'll probably combine this carb with the other carb I had already started to rebuild so that I can have this thing driving properly. Then I'll have to fix the emergency brake and unstick the stuck brakes, and then it should drive well. Once all that's sorted I'll do the TFI, and then the 4bbl upgrade later. Other than those issues it has the truck seems pretty solid, it is rusty, but it's not rusted out. From what I could tell it rides relatively smooth and handles well, but with the engine stuttering and stumbling it was hard to tell over the shudder it created. I can feel that the performance is there, it's just stuck under a messed up carb and dragged down by sticking brakes :rolleyes:

I did get some pictures after I got it home, none from picking it up though.

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a22/DanHS/FSJ%20stuff/Cherokeefeb1407.jpg
Pretty decent looking Chero I think, rusty, but solid

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a22/DanHS/FSJ%20stuff/Cherokeefeb14073.jpg

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a22/DanHS/FSJ%20stuff/Cherokeefeb14075.jpg
The interior is in rather nice shape, the carpet isn't too great, but the seats are nice and clean under those fuzzy sheepskin covers

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a22/DanHS/FSJ%20stuff/Cherokeefeb14074.jpg
It has some rust, this was the worst spot, the flares are fiberglass, there's sheetmetal patches inside the fender. Will need some doner sheetmetal someday soon.

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a22/DanHS/FSJ%20stuff/Cherokeefeb14077.jpg
Best nighttime shot I could manage of the fleet. Once this thing is running right I'll have a bunch of beach pics, hopefully with snow.

[bigun]

Sounds like a rough trip, but I am sure you'll get it sorted out!

[KaiserMan]

Yikes! Sounds like you had a rough time. Pretty decent looking Jeep for $500.

[Heavy_Metal_Thunder_81]

$500!?!?!:eek: Man I got ripped of! I got my old Chero for $550 and it didnt even run before I bought it nor was it even saveable body wise. Live and learn I guess.:rolleyes:

[J10Joe]

you need another muscle grille now, eh?:)

[Ristow]

360 with a T15,fun combo!

i'm sure the powervalve is rotten,so it's flooding.i gotta lotta parts for these things,so if you need anything lemme know. lots of carb parts too.

[Jeep_Guy]

Thats a real neat lookin pignose, looks sweet with the center all blacked out like that. Good Score!

[grand_wag_85]

Congrats! Could have been worse ya kno but for $500 and a snow day you can't go wrong:thumbsup:

[DanHS]

Thanks everyone. The ride home was pretty awful, I almost regretted buying the Chero, I wish I had bought it in Nov instead when the weather was better, lol. Looks like I'll have some time Friday and Sat to get it working, provided it doesn't rain or snow.

I figured $500 was a great deal though for a Jeep with 30k on the rebuilt and upgraded engine, a manual trans, and new tires. Plus it's from the original owner who took good care of it for 326k miles. Runs horrible now but I think I'll have it sorted quickly. Sitting on grass is prolly what messed up the brakes, all the moisture. I just wish the trans was a T-18 so I could have the granny low first, it sure would have helped driving it today too.

The power valve in the carb should be good, it was a Holley piece, not some cheapo replacement. Could still be bad though, it did run rich, and felt like it was flooding, but idled alright. Probably needs the TFI and carb rebuilt before it'll run smooth. I might need an accelerator pump cover for the carb I was rebuilding, unless I combine this carb with it. I plan to put on the 4180-c carb soon enough anyway.

The grille looks cool, but I'm going to put the muscle grille on the Chero and put the old blacked out pignose back on the GW, and prolly put the Chero's grille on the wall since it's nice and clean looking. Can't wait to drive this thing around and go faster than 45mph, and to go wheeling with two FSJ's.

[Ristow]

holley p/v's don't usually work too well in a motorcraft carb,the threads are way too short,and can strip off.better investigate.

[Bama Burden]

good work getting it home. looks like a helluva steal for $500.

[91G-Dub]

Let's see:

paid $500 for a FSJ that's older than you are and it was difficult to get it home.

You got it home without a tow truck! :eek:

That's a h3ll of a score in my book.

Congrats Dan, looks pretty good from the pics you posted.

[janie]

Dan, looks like a heckuva score for $500.00. Definitely sounds like ya'all had a rough trip home, but trust me, you will laugh about it later.

Congrat's on the new Cherk!:thumbsup:

[grand_wag_85]

Dan-What's the black box above the AC vent on the driver's side of the dash? Plow control? Just noticed it& never seen one like it before....

[Cherokee01478]

Taking them home's always fun. I remember the fun of bringing back my MGB on a trailer; after about five minutes it jumped OFF the trailer - the owner handn't put the handbrake on, nor put it in gear. So, it was freezing cold and pouring rain - me and my mate had a non-running car half off its trailer. We finally managed to manhandle it back on, but on the journey home, the handbrake seized on, meaning we couldn't push it off the trailer; in the end, we got the back wheels on the ground and my mate pulled out the trailer from underneath it. Ah, the fun of transporting an old car. It's always worth it in the end, though.

[mark]

very nice dan!
i hope to meet you sometime
mark

[bigun]

Dad and I once went after this 46 Chevy he had bought well we didn't have a trailer so we chain towed it home. No big deal we did that all the time. First problem Chickens had been roosting in the car, so the first thing I had to do was get a place clean enough to sit! Then we started out we came up to the first stop sign I stepped on the brakes nothing tried to shift it in gear found out the drive shaft was disconnected (which explained the vibration that was causing all the dried chicken cr*p to become air born) in desperation I tried opening the door and dragging my foot needless to sy that didn't work either!! After I bounced of the family car dad got out and asked me in no uncertain terms had I forgotten how to be towed after I explained to him our delima we shortened the chain dad then had to start anticipating lights by slowing down till the 46 would touch bumpers then slow us down. After meeting Black Bart and having access to a trailer for towing, I can't believe we never acquired one!

[DanHS]

Yea, it seems bringing home an old project vehicle is always an exciting adventure. The Chero made it most of the way ok, only stalled once, but then it got so bad it would hardly move, and it shuddered like mad. I think I found the problem however...
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a22/DanHS/FSJ%20stuff/Cherokeefeb15075.jpg

I bet this could do it, no idea how that ended up like that, but it would sure explain most of the trouble. The powervalve cover is reversed and pouring gas everywhere. Looks like I shall be combining the two carbs into one now and redoing the vacuum lines. No time to mess with it today because I have school and homework today, Friday and Saturday I'll tinker with it if the weather is alright, perhaps I'll take the carb off now and try to fix it up tonight after school. At least I have an idea of the trouble now. That little black box is some goofy intermittent wiper thingy, I think I'll take it off and perhaps try to use the intermittent wiper switch from a later FSJ, the one in the GW works pretty well so I'll look for the one from another 80's FSJ.

While I was out there I took some pics in the light. I like the color of this thing, I can't wait to wash it and fix up the paint, now I'm leaning towards just keeping it all Bordeaux Metallic because I like the color so much.

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a22/DanHS/FSJ%20stuff/Cherokeefeb15076.jpg

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a22/DanHS/FSJ%20stuff/Cherokeefeb1507.jpg

[JeepBountyHunter]

Looks like one of them old aftermarket wiper delays???

Dan, good catch, my first Cherokee was a 78/79...never got to drive it beyond the yard...enjoy yours.

Dan-What's the black box above the AC vent on the driver's side of the dash? Plow control? Just noticed it& never seen one like it before....

[DanHS]

Alright, so The Chero is running real nicely now. I had a carb off an '85 GW I almost finished rebuilding but I needed a couple parts. I cannibalized the Chero's 2150 for them and finished the carb, put it on, and started the Jeep up. Still got a little bit of tuning to do and I need to replace all the vacuum lines, but it runs nicely now. It does need TFI of course, it misses here and there while idling, but it has great power, even for completely open exhaust (everything but the cat fell off when I was messing with it, then I cut the cat off, which was kinda clogged anyway). Sounds awful, it's nice and loud and rumbly, but it sounds like a boat. I think I'll just pick up one of Summit Racing's cheap turbo mufflers, they're $15, can't go wrong for $15, anyone use these mufflers?

I need to get a parking brake cable too, prolly order one from BJ's, I need to buy a few more things from them anyway. Still need to work on the brakes and check the steering, the brakes are weak and the steering is kinda loose, I'm thinking the stabilizer is prolly shot and the brakes are prolly rusted stuck and need a flush too, maybe the rotors turned and new pads, we'll see.

It shifts gears nicely. Before you had to rev the engine and go nuts to make it go, now you can let out the clutch slowly and the Jeep will go into gear without giving it any gas, and it'll idle along in second. YEAAA :D I'm quite happy. I can't wait to get it all wrapped up and on the road. In the spring it will get the 4bbl and perhaps headers and dual glasspacks, but I may hold off on that exhaust since it won't really give that much of a performance gain, it will prolly hurt the low end power, which would not be helpful. I'll also tend to the rust spots as best I can and try to find some Bordeaux metallic paint for it. Of course I already messed with the grille, my muscle grille wouldn't fit because of the hood latch lever, and I didn't want to remove that and have to reach behind the slats to pop the hood, so I put on the GW's blacked out pignose, which looks pretty good. I blacked out the center of the muscle grille and it looks really really nice now, it fits the GW perfectly.

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a22/DanHS/FSJ%20stuff/P1010009.jpg
It looks really nice this way, an awesome sight for someone's rearview mirror

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a22/DanHS/FSJ%20stuff/P10100111.jpg
GW looks just right like this

[AZJ10]

Nice rigs Dan. And some of my best memories are of getting Dad to go with me to get some junker that I bought.:)