1973 Wagoneer Restoration

[austinaubinoe]

That is a survivor!! Very few vintage 4x4's are that clean or rust free. Replace whats broken and worn out, and just clean up the rest. If I were you id keep the stock AM radio, it looks so cool. I think you can get transmitters for your ipod. Or get one of those hidden FM radios that goes under the dash or in the glovebox.

If you hack that beauty up I feel you will regret it. That could be a real show winner.


FOund this:

http://www.vintagecarradio.com/store/product_info.php?cPath=4&products_id=90

These guys know what their doing, my dad bought the radio for our 51 chevy truck from them.

[ScottsMojo]

I'll probably strip the peeling wood off to clean her up a bit.

Nice ride! You might want to rethink peeling off the vinyl. You will probably find near factory fresh green paint underneath...

[tgreese]

CTO = Coolant Temperature Overide switch, aka ported vacuum switch, vacuum control switch, likely others. CTO is Jeep's name for it. Check the emissions chapter in the '74 manual.

Check out Flint's site for info on the Quadratrac. http://jubileejeeps.org/quadratrac/index.htm The BW13xx was revolutionary in its time, but it can have some issues. Its main drawbacks stem mostly from abuse/neglect, and that the parts supply is drying up. There are a lot of uninformed opinions about these units out there, so don't be shocked by what you might hear.

[autoarcheologist]

That is a survivor!! Very few vintage 4x4's are that clean or rust free. Replace whats broken and worn out, and just clean up the rest. If I were you id keep the stock AM radio, it looks so cool. I think you can get transmitters for your ipod. Or get one of those hidden FM radios that goes under the dash or in the glovebox.

If you hack that beauty up I feel you will regret it. That could be a real show winner.


FOund this:

http://www.vintagecarradio.com/store/product_info.php?cPath=4&products_id=90

These guys know what their doing, my dad bought the radio for our 51 chevy truck from them.

Thanks for the tip. Trust me, I have no plans to hack her up. I get more joy from restoring things to factory condition than modifying things. I'm probably one of the only people here who don't want to lift their Jeep! I only want to lift her back to original height. Iif I do install a different radio I will keep the original. But for now I'm having fun finding AM stations. Before our first long trip I need to do something lest I have to listen to our 4 year old sing for hours.

[autoarcheologist]

Nice ride! You might want to rethink peeling off the vinyl. You will probably find near factory fresh green paint underneath...

You're right. That would totally throw off the patina. Hmmm.... Don't worry, my plans are way greater than my time.

[autoarcheologist]

CTO = Coolant Temperature Overide switch, aka ported vacuum switch, vacuum control switch, likely others. CTO is Jeep's name for it. Check the emissions chapter in the '74 manual.

Check out Flint's site for info on the Quadratrac. http://jubileejeeps.org/quadratrac/index.htm The BW13xx was revolutionary in its time, but it can have some issues. Its main drawbacks stem mostly from abuse/neglect, and that the parts supply is drying up. There are a lot of uninformed opinions about these units out there, so don't be shocked by what you might hear.

Thanks Tim, I'll check it out. I love doing research, good bedtime reading!

I poked around in the manuals as I was downloading them this morning and saw the CTO mentioned, but didn't catch the acronym. I'll see if anything is still connected, thanks!

[SNO*MAN]

Enuf said...Score

[tgreese]

...

After buying her I realized that the '74 had a few nice upgrades, like the front disks. Can a '74 or later axle be swapped in easily? I'm much prefer disk brakes, but it would likely be easier to run some cooling ducts to the drums for towing through the mountains.

...

One problem with a new axle is that the lug pattern changes from 5 to 6 on 5.5". So you need to swap front and rear to keep a consistent lug pattern. Also I think the spring mount style changes from '73 to '74 ... not sure of the details. I suggest you post up a new thread with this specific question.

The closed knuckle axles (ala '73 and earlier) can be converted to disk brakes. There are several articles on the net with how-to info - Google "Jeep closed knuckle disk brake conversion" and you'll find lots to look at. You have a Dana 30 axle, but the 25, 27, 30 and 44 all use the same parts from the knuckle out, so one is applicable to the other.

Another possibility is to drill the drums. This was de rigueur for stock cars back in the day, and is said to be very effective.

So, your Alfa sedan (it looks like an Alfa grille to me)... Berlina? Giulia? Don't know much about them, but looks like a fun car.

[mud89]

Congrats !
It's indeed a survivor, great score, all is there, maybe you even have the buildsheet ?

[temps425]

First wag huh? You picked a good one. Great color, rust free, and runs good. the 3 most important things. Thats one easy restore as long as theres not much hidden rust. (which is BTW the MOST important thing) The older ones dont have a million little broken things to fix on them. GOODLUCK and welcome to the madness. WATCH OUT! they will start piling up in your driveway if yer not careful!

[autoarcheologist]

Well the parts are already piling up! I had a little fun today after work. Swung through one of the local pick-n-pulls that had a '78 and grabbed a few misc parts. But I just couldn't let this go to the crusher, and this row was about to go away:



I can use the headlight bezels now, if my grilll can't be straightened I'll swap this on until I find a good correct cheese grater grill. More than likely I'll just sell it to someone who needs it.

[autoarcheologist]

One problem with a new axle is that the lug pattern changes from 5 to 6 on 5.5". So you need to swap front and rear to keep a consistent lug pattern. Also I think the spring mount style changes from '73 to '74 ... not sure of the details. I suggest you post up a new thread with this specific question.

The closed knuckle axles (ala '73 and earlier) can be converted to disk brakes. There are several articles on the net with how-to info - Google "Jeep closed knuckle disk brake conversion" and you'll find lots to look at. You have a Dana 30 axle, but the 25, 27, 30 and 44 all use the same parts from the knuckle out, so one is applicable to the other.

Another possibility is to drill the drums. This was de rigueur for stock cars back in the day, and is said to be very effective.

So, your Alfa sedan (it looks like an Alfa grille to me)... Berlina? Giulia? Don't know much about them, but looks like a fun car.

Thanks for the info Tim, I'll do some research before making any big moves, or before buying a big trailer to tow.

As for the Alfa, yup, she's a Berlina. '74. Bit of a rat rod, but runs pretty well and is ratty enough that I don't spend a ton of time restoring her, just fix the broken stuff, make her go faster and drive her. The goal is to do some autocrossing or track days at PIR with her next year, along with weekend drives out in the twisties.

re: the Golf in your sig, I think Grassroots Motorsports just did a series on one of those if I remember correctly. Sounds like a fun little car, I've always like the Golf/GTI ever since a roommate in college let me drive his GLI Jetta back in the early 90's.

[autoarcheologist]

I've got one just like it, same color but much more rusty. My grille looks like someone drove into a snow bank too!

What does the emblem on the green portion of the left fender read? Is the right emblem the same? I don't recall having any on mine.

Here's a closeup:

[bruner1981jpce]

I'd pull as much off of that wag in pick n pull as you can. If you think you or someone else has a use/need for it, get it. No good letting those parts go to waste. And you can probably make some money getting them from pick n pull then selling them here. There was one time there was a 79 wag and 2 late 80's GW's in the pick n pull near me at the same time Why someone would do that rather than sell them here is beyond me. Sad thing is knowing those 3 are long gone to the crusher . Just wish I could have gotten more off of them first. Now the only ones that show up are baby wags.

[SEdmonds]

Welcome. Having a survivor is great - and they clean up so nice.