stupid things the POs did to your rig

[KaiserMan]

I have a better one. I had a fender/inner fender/front panel that had all been welded together

Sounds like you where part way to having a unibody.

[jaber]

Spray foam between the rear fenders and flares to fill rust holes...

[Brynjminjones]

The P.O. of mine had apparently tried to fix the non-functioning windshield washer.

He disconnected the pump, then extended the wire from the rear washer to reach the front washer pump.
The result was that the front washer switch did nothing, the rear washer switch operated the front washer and the rear washer was disconnected.

I put the wiring back as it should be and found the wiper module connector under the dash was loose. Clicked it back in and now everything is back to working 100%.

[rang-a-stang]

He disconnected the pump, then extended the wire from the rear washer to reach the front washer pump.
The result was that the front washer switch did nothing, the rear washer switch operated the front washer and the rear washer was disconnected.

HAHAHAHAHA!!!!

[letank]

I have owned my GW for 17 years. It was in good shape and had 95K on it when I got it. All, I mean ALL teh DSPO stuff on it is MINE.

Same here, the 74 had 78K in 1983, all the hacks are mine!


Great reading when the pain kicks in at 4am and waiting for the good stuff to work

[Old Ironsides]

When I bought the '75 the TC was locked, and the PO had installed locking hubs which were running "free". The cardan joint was wasted. Needless to say, when I opened the TC to rebuild, the front brake cone splines were badly stripped.

The PO had installed a aux gas tank, abandoned the original, and had rigged a fuel selector valve under the front seat. The original tank, when I dropped to restore to service, was filled with a quart of fluff. Surprisingly the tank was not rusted and I brought it back to service.

He also drilled the bottom of the dash and installed a temp gauge instead of replacing the original.

But the best thing he did was install a cow horn, which I kept and my boys love it!

[RoadRacer_Al]

Just bought a 67' Gladiator.

It was bought by a flipper - he admitted as much - from a family who'd kept it for probably 30 years and sent 2 generations of kids to college in it.

That said, it was in **amazing** condition, and mostly stock.

I'm assuming the flipper couldn't get the electric choke to work and put a cheap auto store choke cable on it. Dang shame because other than the choke cable, the dash is original and uncut.

[Jonny Mac]

PO rewired some things wrong, "attempted" to fix the body, "solved" the vacuum line mess (not even sure what that meant). Had the trans and engine rebuilt but then let it sit for years; so it's rebuilt, but I am sure the seals are questionable at best.

[ZackN920]

Little things on mine. Some things like odd blobs of caulk/silicone here and there on the damn TRIMWORK! and junk like that. Also had some odd vacuum line junk that I fixed that was one of the PO's fault. For mine, its more like what they DIDN'T do. (just let it rust away, don't bother with no protection)

I also now wonder what the hell happened to the clear coat. I think the PO that I bought it from might have killed it with something. Probably washed it with some questionable chemicals. I wonder this because I recently found pics of my Wag dated 2012 and it had PERFECT clear coat, yet when I bought it in 2015, it was all pretty much gone on the flat surfaces. I don't think clear coat comes off that fast naturally. It should have had spotty clear coat on it if it was starting to deteriorate from '12, if it happened naturally.

I don't know if any of you "older" members remember it, but I have the wagon that was once "Frankenstein" when the PO before me bought it. That was something dumb, and a sight to be seen. It was an original grill (rhino) that was mounted inside the original "final" grill which had be cut to accept it.

[SJTD]

AAAHHHH! My eyes! My eyes!

[scout4bta]

One of the POs had tried to repair the fusible link to the ignition switch thats on the starter relay. Instead of buying a piece of fusible link or even wire he just twisted the burnt wires together and left them exposed.

[ddversatile]

Weld the fender onto inner fender

[AM Woody]

My GW had wood paneling on the insides of the cargo area. Looked sort of okay from a distance but I decided to go back stock. Also they were held in by the side window trim piece, so you had to unscrew the one side to get to the jack (as you know that trim piece also holds the side glass in.) Meanwhile, there was a rust hole happening behind one rear wheel on an otherwise solid body - turns out he had stuck a pair of cotton work gloves in with the jack that were just collecting moisture down there for who knows how long.

[Brynjminjones]

AM Woody, the gloves in the rear quarter sounds familiar. I found all sorts of filthy rags and things in mine that were doing everything they could to make the quarters rust.

[661warwagon]

Installed a flowmaster dual exhaust