First Post: My Project...

[Heckofadeal]

Hey all I've been lurking around and researching around here for quite awhile. I've learned a lot and you folks have been more help than you will ever know! Thank You!

I puchased this '82 wagoneer in March of 06. When I got it, it was a mess (still is!). Looking at it now its hard to tell I've made any progress. I got it from a friend who needed money badly and I was looking for a project. The transmission and transfer case and all kinds of other parts where in the back of it along with various rodent/animal remnants... The previous owner said it had been sitting around 4 years. The odometer had 198K miles on it. I got it home with a trailer and a few friends. After unloading it I put a battery in it and hooked a boat gas tank up to it and after a couple tries it fired up! It smoked like crazy but at least it ran.

This is what it looked like when I got it home.
http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j179/heckofadeal/wagoneer/IMG_0788.jpg

http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j179/heckofadeal/wagoneer/IMG_0792.jpg

http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j179/heckofadeal/wagoneer/IMG_0793.jpg

I removed all the carpet and anything that appeared to be holding in the funky smell from sitting for so long. I replaced all the brakes, parking brake cables and installed a 4" lift. I later installed a 2 inch body lift because I needed to replace all the body mounts anyway (one of those might as well while I'm at it things...)

http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j179/heckofadeal/wagoneer/IMG_0840.jpg

I put the new wheels and tires on so I could mark where I wanted to trim. I also had to replace one of the doors because it was rusted shut. The mechanism was so badly rusted inside that I had to cut the door off. Luckily a buddy had a couple parts trucks sitting around and he gave me a door, transmission and torque converter for $50.00.

The latest projects have involved cutting out all the rust and replacing with new metal. Pretty big challenge for me since I never even touched a welder until a few weeks ago. I've patched all the holes and rusted places left on the roof from the rack. I was in the process of the replacing the rear quarters and the driver's side rocker panel when the snow and ice moved in. Thankfully that's about to dry up.

http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j179/heckofadeal/wagoneer/IMG_1208-1.jpg

http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j179/heckofadeal/wagoneer/IMG_1209.jpg

http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j179/heckofadeal/wagoneer/IMG_1210.jpg


The woodgrain has been the biggest obstacle. The heatgun has been the most effective but even then it only comes off in little pieces. The 3M remover seems to have no affect on it at all. Maybe it will work better when the temp gets into the 80's or 90's here...

With all those miles and the amount of smoke the engine produces I know it's going to need a rebuild if it is even rebuildable. Also I have no idea about the condition of the current transmission or transfer case.

I'm trying to decide what to do for the drivetrain. I plan on using this for mild off roading mainly at the river and driving no distance over 150 miles one way. The most it would ever tow would be a 3500 pound boat and that would be a rarity. I plan to keep tire size at 35's.

What would you all suggest? I'd like to get decent mileage, but reliablitly and simplicity are also important aspects to me. I've been researching the Cummins 4BT swap and other late model gas engine swaps. Does anybody know of any good AMC engine people in Oklahoma? Particularly the south or central part. I wouldn't mind keeping this motor if I knew it was rebuilt properly. Money is also tight which is part of why i'm stretching this project out. Any insight, comments and/or suggestions are greatly appreciated.

[dlowrance]

First off, welcome to the madness!

You've got yourself quite a project there...I'd say a few things based on your post...

You're going to be driving a rolling box with 35's on her, throw economy out the window. Plan on getting 10 MPG or so. If you beat that call yourself in grand shape.

As far as drivetrain, the 360 is in many folks experience a fairly dependable power plant, if taken care of. There are folks on this site with more miles on their rig than you stand at right now with no rebuild yet.

That being said if she's smoking (and presumably leaking) as bad as you say you might be right, she needs something. It doesn't sound like tackling the rebuild yourself is something you're up for? If not you're looking at a decent chunk of change to have it done, unless you have a pal that can hook you up. But before you do anything I'd have a compression test done, oil pressure check, etc, to see what you really have there. You'll probably at least need rings and mains, which if that's all isn't a terrible job. That's only a temp thing, but if she's not a DD then you could be good to go for years....

Others will chime in, but again welcome to one kick @#$ forum...there are a lot of good folks here and a TON of knowledge...and a few wiseacres, yours truly included in that category;) .

[Chrome]

Welcome aboard! You're definitely off to a good start. Another option you can look into is buying a reman engine from your local parts store like Auto Zone. This way you will have a warranty with the engine. As for converting to diesel no further than you plan to drive it I just don't see it being worthwhile for the time, trouble, and expense to convert it to diesel.

Good luck!

[Dirtball]

Nice starter... like the black wheels...

Can't wait to see where your project takes you!!

[armyfsj]

Welcome to the kingdom of the addicted. You can find out just about anything you want to know about full sized jeeps here so dont be afraid to ask lots of very knowledgable people here. As for the engine in yours I looked at some prices of reman engines online b/c I was curious as well. If you are mechanically inclined and have the time I would do the rebuild yourself it looks like they are getting about $2000 for a reman. If on a real tight budget it is easier to cut out a few of the costs when doing it yourself. Take the block, rods, and pistons to the machine shop and have them cleaned up and checked for cracks but other than that do it yourself.:thumbsup: Summit racing has a kit for $199 to re-ring and replace bearings. That is the route I'm going when i do the rebuild on mine.
Again Welcome:drivin:

[fulsizjeep]

Welcome! The Wag is coming along nicely. You are obviously hooked. :thumbsup:

[Jeepsmith]

The woodgrain is a pain to remove, but you're on the right track. I used the heat gun and a razor scraper to peel the sticker off in strips, and then 3M General Purpose Adhesive Cleaner to remove the remaining adhesive.

[Heckofadeal]

Thanks for all the input so far guys. I've done some work on the motor I put a new intake and carb on and Replaced the water pump, belts, and hoses. The timing cover had a hole rusted through the back of it causing it to shoot a stream of water back toward the carb. I temporarily patched with this two part epoxy stuff and it has held out fine no more than i drive it. I also replaced the valve cover gaskets and oil pan gaskets and seals. It doesn't seem to leak oil really.

I have a new timing chain cover with oil pump kit and timing chain in a box at the house. I also have new valve stem seals. I'm just waiting for the weather to get a little better before I tear into the thing.

I'm wondering if i'm going to do this much work on the motor how much harder would it be to go ahead and completely rebuild it? I haven't done a comression test yet but the oil pressure isn't that great now after it warms up....

Another question: is there supposed to be any kind of gasket between the transmission and transfer case. I didn't take it apart just put it back together. It was a little low on transmission fluid last time I checked it.

[jeeping1974]

not sure if you have a sanels out our way but they have a woodgrain remover solvent that i heard works pretty good. i think 3M makes it so you might be able to get it at any place that sells 3M product.

[MrSigSauer]

Yeah, the wood grain stickum is alot like the old Trans Am firebird decals. I've seen hoods that were taken down to the bare metal just to have the outline come through the primer! Tough stuff! We have very similar rigs so it's interesting to see all yours pics. Very ballsy going with 35's! I am trying to figure out my exact lift size right now but have always had 35's on my CJ's but these are different and I am sticking to 33's this time. It will be interesting to see if they rub for you. Nice work so far overall, are you planning to replace the woodgrain or paint over?

[Heckofadeal]

The paint looks so good under the stickers I was going to just strip all woodgrain off, wet sand, paint that one door and call it good. But I've decided to just remove the woodgrain by any means (the wire brush in the angle grinder is looking pretty tempting right now!). It took like 3 hours to get one front fender... I'm planning on doing the roof in white durabak and the rest of the body in dark green or dark gray. but, i'm leaning more toward the green.

I don't have any pictures of the sheet metal trimming that I did yet, but it was a little drastic. They shouldn't rub too badly. At full lock they lool like they could rub the springs if forced against something but it also looked like there may be some adjustment needed. It seems to turn a little more one way than the other.

[xupe45tgp]

Where are you at in OK? There are a few of us Okies on here. Maybe we could get together and exchange ideas?? It is never ending so be ready.

[Heckofadeal]

I'm in Ada. It's about 80 south of OKC. Man it seems like every project leads to another...I removed the vinyl top and roof rack. fixed the rust from the holes in the roof, got everything ready to paint the roof and saw that there is all kinds of rust in a couple spots along the top edge of the windshield. So i guess I'll be pulling the windshield out to make sure there is no major damage before I paint the roof. It never ends!

Where all do you wheel? I'll be looking for places to go sometime. Hopefully this nice weather will stay around a little while.

[xupe45tgp]

We go to the north and south canadian. We just got back from Clayton a few weeks ago. I will be down in Stratford Monday not too far from you.

[Driftwood]

How much did the 35's and black wheels run you. I really like them. You should paint the rig a nice copper color. Keep us updated.

[Heckofadeal]

I don't remember exactly. I got a set of 5 from BJ's. I believe I paid around $1200. It was the best deal I could find at the time and from what I read all over the web everyone has had good experiences with them. I have bought quite a bit of stuff from them and I have too. As far as the color. I'm still mulling that one over. I like the current color, and I like the Jeep Green metallic color on the new wrangler, But I think that would be way too expensive for what i'm going to do with this truck. I'd hate to be all worried about scratching it!

[Heckofadeal]

We go to the north and south canadian. We just got back from Clayton a few weeks ago. I will be down in Stratford Monday not too far from you.
I'm pretty familiar with Stratford. I used to drive through there every day. We used to go to the peach festival when I was a Little kid every now and then.

[GWDriver]

That really is a nice Wag. Almost reminds me of mine when I got back from overseas. Sadly, I did need an engine rebuild, which has, been done. Unfortunately, the Intake manifold got painted but NOT cleaned so back to the shop it goes.

Good luck with your truck and Welcome (to this insane hobby). Keep us updated.

[GWDriver]

Speaking of manifolds, carbs, TBI, etc. Have any good ideas That I might look into?

[Heckofadeal]

I went with an edelbrock intake and holley truck avenger carb. I haven't really been able to drive it to test the combo off road or on road for any distance. I will say that It always starts. I mainly just drive it around the house since I just have a gas can southern engineered at this point. It sat several years with no gas cap so one of the first things I did was remove the gas tank to clean out any debris. Then I just decided not to put it back in until I finished welding all the body panels.

As far as engine ideas. I'm looking into rebuilding what I've got. Doing some type of diesel swap-no practial purpose really, just the cool factor. Or finding something late model that has been wrecked and just swap all the drivetrain over- also cool to me but I think would have some more practiacal, justifiable advantages.

Good luck on your truck as well! Be Safe!

[steven79]

We go to Grand lake and keystone alot too, mine is doa for a bit till i get the tranny rebuilt and the rear diff. i got a good chain the otherday for my t-case:thumbsup:
Ya we need to plan a gathering sometime and we even might let lindel in on it lol.

[Heckofadeal]

I Got the rust holes on top of the windshield along the roofline patched up and put some new metal in places to replace where the lip that the windshield gasket goes onto had rusted out.

http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j179/heckofadeal/wagoneer/DSC02861.jpg

I got the new rocker panel in for the most part. It needs to be cleaned up and trimmed along the back wheel well to match the fender trimming I did for the tires. It's not pretty but it will work for this truck's intended purpose...I see now why so many people just bondo the crap out of the rusted places, but maybe this'll be more permanent...

http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j179/heckofadeal/wagoneer/DSC02862.jpg

Next I get to put in the new rear lower quarter panels.

http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j179/heckofadeal/wagoneer/DSC02864.jpg

I drilled a couple extra drain holes in the rocker panel. Was that a bad thing? Also I painted the Inner rocker with POR15 but the areas that got welded were bare metal. Is there any way to seal/coat these seams to stop rust? This is the first time I've done any kind of body work.

[NVJEEPER]

Awesome job. Makes me anxious to get my 4" springs in. I got 33's but maybe with a 2" body lift i wont have to cut the sheetmetal, 35's are looking better everyday. Another member on here i know has 35's with the Amc20 an 4.56. He let me drive and i was Hooked! Big tires and low gears ROCK!!!

[Heckofadeal]

Awesome job. Makes me anxious to get my 4" springs in. I got 33's but maybe with a 2" body lift i wont have to cut the sheetmetal, 35's are looking better everyday. Another member on here i know has 35's with the Amc20 an 4.56. He let me drive and i was Hooked! Big tires and low gears ROCK!!!


That was gonna be one of my questions for later on down the line. What gears to get. How were the 4.56's at highway speeds with the 35's?

[Jameshallmodel]

i have a 4" lift with 3" body and I didn't trim at all. Been good so far.

[NVJEEPER]

That was gonna be one of my questions for later on down the line. What gears to get. How were the 4.56's at highway speeds with the 35's?

we just drove in town, hopefully he may see this and he can let you know about the highway. He does have some powerful engine stuff too. I know i picked 33's an 3.73 gears and 4.56 are falling from the sky.

[NVJEEPER]

i have a 4" lift with 3" body and I didn't trim at all. Been good so far.

is the body lift as tough as it sounds? I like the look of the rear trimmed with 35's or bigger, but i will stay 33 cause i am close to having all the parts and uncut is cool because my crafting skills are not to great.:rolleyes:

[Heckofadeal]

I did the body lift in one day with the help of a friend. My biggest problems were casued by rust. The body Mounts have a square nut with a sheet metal cap holding them in position. The old bolts and nuts were rusted together and when I put the impact on them they broke the little sheetmetal caps off (kinda hard to describe unless you've seen them.) with nothing holding the nuts in place (no pun intended) they just spin freely. I had to cut through the floor in four places to get to the nuts, And I cut 2 slots on the back of the back crossmember where the rear body mounts are.

I also replaced all the bolts from the kit with grade 8 bolts. A friend suggested it and I figured it couldn't hurt. Overall it was pretty easy to do, just time consuming.