Chero: SO it begins . . .

[threepiece]

Do your Jeep (and yourself) a favor. Lift the rear and remove both wheels. There is a hole about one inch in diameter on the wheel housing (outer I believe) directly behind the rocker panel, it should have a plastic plug. Remove the plug and use a small flashlight to look for contamination all the way down to the front end of the rocker. Two of my Jeeps (Arkansas and Arizona) had enough dirt to fill a two gallon bucket each!!! I spent over an hour on each rocker using a custom scraping tool made from 3/16" steel rod about 6 feet long, with a piece of sheet metal shaped to fit the bottom of the cavity tack welded to one end. I also used a plastic tube about four feet long attached to a compressed air blow gun. I finally used water to flush out any remaining debris and made sure all the drains were totally clear.
Dan

[cu4whln]

Dan -

Good advice ! So.. when you come over and lend me that cleaning tool ??

. . . and of course show me how to use it??

[royaustin2000]

It does my heart good to see someone doing what I had hoped my son and I would. Keep the pictures coming. Thanks

[cu4whln]

Progress report..

Have pulled the heater and blower motor.. all the various stuff on the fender wells. Basically everything I can, but keep it running to get it up on the trailer in a couple of weeks.

Have pulled all the interior, starting to work on the dash stuff. So, I have a 82 FSM.. it's not super clear on the IP removal? Do ya really have to take out the windshield to get the crash pad out??? What? Can I drop the metal portion of the IP after the colum drop and get it off?

Don't want to pull the glass til it's in the shop inside. Not that a little more water inside is going to hurt it ! LOL. I am marking all the hardware and storing it inside the Jeep. I am using plastic tubs to hold the interior stuff, underhood stuff, IP stuff. At least it will all be grouped somewhat together when I put it all back together. It is coming all aprt for paint.

Oh, the body is coming off for frame cleanup/refresh and an engine update. Some type of fuel injection engine- no more carb heat issues! Any body want a decent 360 / 400/ Q-Trac [with part time kit] 92 K miles

The body is solid - but needs the front floorpans. Geez- I can see why these things leak- all kinds of sloppy plastic fasteners just poke through the firewall with no real sealing ability. And then there's the body calk.

Or the lack of body calk. What are you guys using to reseal the cowl and various seams? Some PO literally used a can opener to make a hole in the pass cowl to run an antenna wire?? Yea, it just pours water onto the floor. Yikes !

Have pulled the cowl.. wiper set up next.....

Having fun - and no blood for 2 days !

[ob1jeeper]

Progress report..
Have pulled all the interior, starting to work on the dash stuff. So, I have a 82 FSM.. it's not super clear on the IP removal? Do ya really have to take out the windshield to get the crash pad out??? What? Can I drop the metal portion of the IP after the colum drop and get it off?

Don't want to pull the glass til it's in the shop inside. Not that a little more water inside is going to hurt it ! LOL. I am marking all the hardware and storing it inside the Jeep. I am using plastic tubs to hold the interior stuff, underhood stuff, IP stuff. At least it will all be grouped somewhat together when I put it all back together. It is coming all aprt for paint.
Having fun - and no blood for 2 days !

Sorry to be the one to confirm what the Serv Man stated... But this old gal does NOT have a "roll-out" IP like today's vehicles do... ...

Back when this vehicle was designed, and being built, the IP sub-structure was a weldment collection of several stamped parts, welded into the body structure, then painted, overlayed with the wiring harnesses, guage packs, glove boxes, then finally the "dash pad" before the w/shield was installed, with the glass seal covering the lower front edge of the dash pad...

Sorta sucks given what's available in today's assembly methods, but that's how it's put together...

HTH...

[cu4whln]

AA-RRR-GG-HHH !

Oh well . . .

[cu4whln]

Work .. work ... work.. 11 hours a day.

Then play with the Chero every night. Getting to the point where I am running out of things I can remove, and still keep it running. So the remaining stuff is loose and dropped with wires attached on the floor.

Fender wells loook so much better with all the "Stuff" removed ! LOL Of course, the large hole where the heater was looks kinda bad.... I am worried the "new" engine is gonna be too wide to fit between the heater housing and brake booster ? Hmmm

I'l get some updated pics soon.

I am waiting on the floorpans to arrive.. will patch those in and then it's :

"Off with it's Head !" [ well, body actually ]

Wife is just "resolved" I am gonna just live in the driveway till it goes to the shop. Kids just come out and visit me in the drivway. They seem to understand a bit better.

Neighbors ? They just glare as they walk their fancy dogs..... Oh well.

Edit: Located an NOS Rhino grill with a distant freind- it's on its way! And got some decent pie plates from my buddy [ free ! ]. Now just need some CJ lights and buckets..... My buddy has some, he's on vacation...

[cu4whln]

Another day of taking the Chero apart.... wife still does not get it. Hmm

Got all the wiring loose and disconnected everything I can and still keep it running. Making "high tech" labeling devices to mark where each wire came from [ masking tape and sharpie].

All the various parts and fasteners are in marked bags. It will be so much easier when it comes time to put it back together ! Only a few things to take off now- windshield trim, wiper moter / pivots.

Then its more cleanup and off the my buddies shop to remove the body. So, should I wait and do the floorpans after I pull the body? Or should I do it now before taking it over there? All glass will come out at the shop.

Body is coming off to modify the drivetrain/suspension... and will get some cleanup and detailing since, well you know, I went this far already.. lol

Notice all the holes in the firewall.... I think some of that Dynamat stuff is in order so I can plug a lot of the extra holes that held the jute/sound pads.

No blood for another 2 days now ! Whoo Hoo !

[ob1jeeper]

Lookin' good...

[Mark Wilde]

Good, heck, it's lookin' pretty bare! Great job..you'll have a show-quality restoration if you're not careful!

Can't wait to see the finished product.

[cu4whln]

Uh -I don't know about "show quality".. I am doing this in my driveway... lol

My plan is to make it "nice" and I do plan to wheel it. I have a window to get into the paint shop by mid Sept. So I need to kick it in high gear !

Next I plan to clean the underbody very well. Have been putting rust penetrate on lots of chassis bolts.... not too rusty, but can only help it come apart better.

Good, heck, it's lookin' pretty bare! Great job..you'll have a show-quality restoration if you're not careful!

Can't wait to see the finished product.

[JeepinPete]

I'm not certain what ob1jeeper is talking about, but the dash is bolted into the rig. There is a series of bolts underneath the windshield gasket. Some have been able to pry the seal up and work those screws out. These are two screws on each side that you can get to from underneath. There are also various bolt on braces than have to be removed. Then the metal dash and dash pad come out together. It is very easy to do once the windshield is out though, so I would wait until you get to that point.

[Driftwood]

Do me a favor. One of the pins in the round multipin connector in the above pic provides a ground for the instrument panel. Take a digital volt meter and check each one for continuity till you find the ground pin. Another member is having instrument panel problems and so am I with my 79. PM me if you want.

http://www.ifsja.org/forums/vb/showthread.php?t=89961

[cu4whln]

I had to fix the XJ tonight.. didn't get much time on the Chero. I did take a look at the cluster plug. It has letters on each cavity for each wire.

now, I didn't check it with the multi meter, but one of the wires was black. That is the universal color for ground, right? The black wire was in cavity "A".

If you have a FSM, that should tell you what color the ground wire is...

I think if you search the archives, there is some info on the cluster and its wiring??

[cu4whln]

More clean up and a major reorganization. I have been bagging and tagging all the stuff as I take it off, but wanted to group it neatly together for storage while I attack the body and chassis work.

So - SJ "kit" anybody ? lol