Another 70 wagoneer build

[rorylane]

So I installed the same window wipes on my tailgate in May... I can say that after a few months the rubber gets stiffer and doesn't grab the frame as bad. It's still not ideal though. I'm installing BJ's stainless window channel this weekend, I might try going without the frame... Not an option on this build, I know. I also just did some undercoating and couldn't find a solvent that would thin it. Didn't try naptha but discovered gasoline worked perfectly!

[Kaiserjeeps]

First off, I am impressed with your skill and dedication to this project. Remarkable. I will definitely be looking back through this thread as I restore my '68 Wagoneer. I think mine is in worse condition though!

I'm sure that I'll come across many questions and frustrations along the way. My Wagoneer should really be a lost cause, but I just couldn't junk it. The number of Kaiser era Wagons out there seems to be quite low, and as stupid as it is, I want to save this one.

I also sent this thread to my husband for reference since he's my partner on this restore (and I'll be impressed if both of us and our marriage survives just kidding though) and he said "why isn't this guy mass producing this stuff!" in respect to various parts throughout this thread, whether it was small stuff or door skins, or whatever. So I think you're doing a great job! It must feel so great to see that the end of the build is near.

Thank you Jetscuh. And welcome to IFSJA! I have received may PM's asking to make parts. I build stuff as the requests come in and send it out. So I could probably be convinced to make more. Actually my intent was to stock up on some things and put them on Ebay. But right now my first priority is getting Sadie back to my Friend in Seattle. 10 years patient he is... When you get to the point of needing something I make, PM me and we will go from there. I also hope to make a list of what I have been able to reliably reproduce and put it in the vendor section. So people know. So keep an eye out for that.

Yes save those Kaiser era full size rigs. They are indeed nice to have.
Like one of our members here, Crankyolman says... I am only interested in 1973 and older. For me it is 1971 and older. I can sure relate.

Post your wagoneer and build. It is nice to hear from someone in Germany.

[Kaiserjeeps]

So I installed the same window wipes on my tailgate in May... I can say that after a few months the rubber gets stiffer and doesn't grab the frame as bad. It's still not ideal though. I'm installing BJ's stainless window channel this weekend, I might try going without the frame... Not an option on this build, I know. I also just did some undercoating and couldn't find a solvent that would thin it. Didn't try naptha but discovered gasoline worked perfectly!

Well that is good to hear. I hope the same thing happens here. I did put a rounded corner cut on each end. It seems to have helped it not grab the rubber so bad. I wish I had an NOS outer wipe. There was a guy on Ebay from Japan selling NOS stuff for incredibly high prices. I think I saw one in his listings. But I could not bring myself to pay what he was asking for it. Same with several other parts I needed. I managed to find solutions for everything except that darn wipe. Having one even used could be a guide for trying to make replacements. I did find bulk wipes and some metal clips. The metal clips were not right though. I guess what I am saying is I am not giving up on this one. I will look more later when my time is freed up some.
Thanks for the feedback on your window wipe. It is good to know.

[Kaiserjeeps]

Holy Moly 100 pages long. Glad to be of help in providing some reading material while a good portion of you are at work.

A good title for this picture would be Sadies first run in nearly 10 years. To the absolutley stunning Priest Lake Idaho location. It seemed like a low traffic place that would be safe to drive for the first time off my property. It was and in full interest of preparing Sadie for the madness of Seattle, we exposed Sadie to rain and a coffee stand. Baby steps as Bill said tonight.



This is after our test drive. And while loading back up a couple driving by saw Sadie and pulled in off the hiway and went all over Sadie. They loved it!! While they were pulling away, the wife gave a big thumbs up!!
Sadies first thumbs up Bill.

The drive went well. There is a driveline vibration and heat would not transfer from floor to defrost. I will get after those things asap. The rebuilt 350 makes a lot of power. And I went easy on it because the ring and pinion are new. But the power is right there.

This makes me want mine running.

So darn close....

PS, I saw a thread recently asking about trailering a FSJ and trailer size. That is a 16 foot trailer.
Cheers

[Jetscuh]

Thank you Jetscuh. And welcome to IFSJA! I have received may PM's asking to make parts. I build stuff as the requests come in and send it out. So I could probably be convinced to make more. Actually my intent was to stock up on some things and put them on Ebay. But right now my first priority is getting Sadie back to my Friend in Seattle. 10 years patient he is... When you get to the point of needing something I make, PM me and we will go from there. I also hope to make a list of what I have been able to reliably reproduce and put it in the vendor section. So people know. So keep an eye out for that.

Yes save those Kaiser era full size rigs. They are indeed nice to have.
Like one of our members here, Crankyolman says... I am only interested in 1973 and older. For me it is 1971 and older. I can sure relate.

Post your wagoneer and build. It is nice to hear from someone in Germany.

Thanks for the welcome. I've been lurking around this forum and others for awhile. Not my first Jeep but my first FSJ. Great to hear that you are open to making things for others, it can be difficult to source parts for these older Wagoneers. I do have an APO address so I can avoid international shipping has$le for the most part and go with USPS, so I'll let you know if we run into anything.



I personally have no interest in Grand Wagoneers or really anything newer than '73 but I occasionally see a mid or late 70's Wagoneer or Cherokee that draws my attention. I have a build (more like deconstruction of my rust bucket) thread elsewhere, but I'll probably start one here. Getting ready to tear into the 350 shortly when the body and frame gets sent off for a chemical dip to see what's left! Sourcing parts from overseas has been my biggest struggle so far, but it hasn't been too bad.

10 years is certainily an exercise in patience! I am hoping that your friend has many years of enjoyment with his Jeep. It looks great.

[Kaiserjeeps]

Photobucket is at it again. They want money to post any more pictures. Plus I am now 1000 pictures over my newly imposed limits. Thats just super.

So some goofball did not hook up the vacuum accumulator to the intake. Thats why the defrost did not work. At least I er I mean that goofball capped the intake port. Easy fix...

The rear driveline is 8.3 degrees out of phase. Checked with a digital protractor. The pinion is high. Stock spec newly made springs, and stock trans and motor mounts. So why the gross difference, no clue so far. I have steel 8 degree shims and aluminum 6 degree shims on the way. According to my spicer driveshaft installation techniques guide there are three basic rules.

1. U-joint operating angles need to be at least 1 degree from straight or no angle at all.
2. Operating angles on both ends of the driveshaft need to be equal or within 1 degree of each other. 1/2 a degree for motorhomes.
3. U-joint operating angles should not be larger than 3 degrees and if they are, make sure they do not exceed the maximum operating angles.

(I realize our lifted off-road rigs violate rule number three all the time. Usually they are inside of the max operating angle which is what makes them work)

There is a lot more to u-joints than just that. But since I can't post a picture of the paragraph, the three basic rules will have to do for now.

Waiting on parts for both Sadie and my dodge tow rig. MAP sensor died.

[63J200atLSU]

Holy. Cow.

Al. Sadie looks ridiculously good. I know you already know this, but you should be so proud man!

I have a question that I feel like you know the answer to. Are the dog dishes the same from the jeepsters to the early FSJs? I got a set of dog dishes off of a guy, the rears are as nice as I could imagine, NOS I'm told (and believe based on their condition and stamping on the inside...) and they fit on the mounting clips perfect. The fronts, with the cutout for the locking hubs, must be from a later model, because the cutout doesn't fit the lock-o-matic and the cap is too small for the clips, about 1/4" smaller than the fitting caps. I found a set of jeepster caps with the warn cutout, but thought I'd ask you before I do something foolish...

I also figured you might know a guy who knows a guy with some to sell...

So proud of all your work man. Let's talk soon!

[Kaiserjeeps]

Good to hear from you Greg. I will try to be brief....LOL

Yes, Jeepster commando kaiser badged hubcaps are the same as early wagoneer or J truck hubcaps. There are some differences and I will explain.
All kaiser colored hubcaps should be 10 3/8 across. There is a what looks Identical baby moon that Jeep made that is 10 1/2 (?) and while they fit, they will pretty much fall off while driving IF they have been mounted on a early 5 on 5.5 wheel. Typically the 10.5's should be chromed and not the yellowish stainless earlier ones. So 5 on 5.5 wheels could be for one or the other.
And as far as I have seen AMC colored hubcaps were all 10.5. I could be wrong so don't take it as gospel.

There were two styles of Kaiser era front's as far as I have seen to date. Both stainless of course and one has a bigger opening than the other. And a taller ridge on the smaller one.



The bigger hole with a small rolled lip. I believe this is what you need. I only have one. And it needs repair.


The smaller hole with a taller rolled lip. These are what are on Sadie with new Warn locking hubs. There is 1/8 clearance from the locking hub to hubcap hole. It's dirty and needs a wash.



Across the back of a kaiser colored early rear hubcap.



Cutting the center of a rear out and keeping the rolled edge will still only be 3 3/4.



Cutting past the rolled edge is not a good idea. SS super hard to cut and will anneal itself with any heat from cutting becoming so hard, you will end up with a mess. This one came with some hubcaps I bought years ago.

Honestly this is just nasty and a travesty in my overly picky opinion. Avoid trying this if you possibly can. The cut will also be razor sharp.



One of the things on my Jeep to do list is to order some 4 inch high density plastic rod. And make non scratching dies so I can roll the edge in on a rear hubcap cut out for a sanitary conversion to a front hubcap. It would still only be a 3 3/4 opening and would probably only fit a Warn hub since they get smaller in dia out towards the dial.
You need to measure your wheels.
Be patient and try to find the big opening front I showed. If you find a set and they have MINOR dents, send them to me and I will do my best to straighten them. Find a set with one good one like mine, and I will give this one up for you to have for your truck. You need to check your wheels for what size the hubcap should be. You mentioned clips. All the wheels I have delt with were stamped with three bumps the hubcap slid over to hold them on. You may consider changing wheels if it gets to that.

You could also get a set of cutlass hubs. They are very slender. I have been trying to put a picture up of a 68 Jeepster that has a three bump wheel here that has cutlass hubs. Same with a picture of Sadies Warn hub with a 3 3/4 hole cap. Paint is refusing to save the pic's . Maybe later.

A word of note... Kaiser 5 on 5.5 early wheels had three bumps to hold the 10 3/8 cap on. Later wheels had 4 bumps and these were typically for the 10.5 hubcap. That is what I have found and I could be in error on any of this. So be aware of the variations and do some measureing.

Hope this helps....

[63J200atLSU]

Wow, thanks for all that Al! As usual, you've outdone yourself. I think I've found a solution to my problem. Current plan is to run 1.5" spacers at all 4 four corners and put full caps all around. I have two that are in good enough shape to paint and put on. I'll let you know how it works out

[Kaiserjeeps]

Brrring.... Hello? Hey, whats going on? What are you up to? I am working on the wagoneer.. I thought you were done with that? No, the parts don't work well, blah blah blah, I have to hand make this and that yada yada....blah blah

If I could count how many times in the last two years I have had that conversation. I'd need 6 hands and a big chalk board..

Well Sadie is done. DONE! <-------------------- 10 years. 10 long years. Bill brought me Sadie in November of 2009. Everything works down to the AM radio. I never thought it would take this long. My wife and I trying to beat really bad weather the next several days loaded Sadie up on the trailer and blazed to Seattle on Sunday. I turned on bills street to see a crowd. His neighbors Diana who has an award winning Buick Riviera and Valiant Mike who has some super sweet mid 60's wagons and sedans, plus brothers, more neighbors and the wife all standing there as I rolled up.

OK lets back up some.... I had a 8.3 degree disagreement in the rear U-joints and had a pretty bad vibration. I had ordered some shims to put in but knew something was not right. It hit me sitting in the living room. I grabbed a flashlight and went out to find I had made a goofy mistake that I really should have known better. I assembled the new OEM springs to hang down under the rear shackle pin. They were supposed to be mounted ABOVE the frame pivot pin. I wondered why it sat high in the back.. I swapped the shackles to swing to the top side. Now the driveline U-joints were right in but now the rear sat low. Geez... I needed a 1 inch block. More ordering and waiting.

After the suspension correction and no block.



After the addition of a procomp 1 inch block. The rocker now measured the exact same front to back with the ground.



Problem solved...

The rear window stalled and the glass run was the wrong style. It has two lips that extend towards the center of the channel and the more the window raised the more it acted as a brake. Bad design and yet another it will do part that is not an improvement at all. So I found a glass run made for windows with a metal frame. From Steele Rubber company. It has the felt sides and does not grab the glass. It took some fitting. It was just a bit to wide and I took care of that by installing it over a spare glass piece and squeezing it with a pair of vise grips for a very consistant reduction in width. You could do the very same thing with a piece of 3/8 plywood and the same vise grips.

Like this.



It is this stuff here. It is exactly what was in the rig new. Felt sides and back spine. Aside from needing to squeeze it and after getting it put in the channel and installing reduced head mini counter sunk screws, THEN spreading it open to fit perfectly with a pair of door panel pliers, the window now opened all the way and closed all the way with NO RELAYS and nothing but stock components. Totally cool.





It is flexible to go around corners.



Rivet on the mounts from the inside tailgate glass run pieces and you will have a perfect duplication of the factory guides. No lips to drag and stall the glass. OK another good end outcome...

The Auveco door seals did not seal the tailgate. Of all things that needs to keep exhaust gasses out. I searched and found a perfect seal with a longer flange. It seals just perfect.



You will have a hard time folding this around the lower tailgate corner. I measured out the corners carefully and pie cut a 90 degree section out leaving the edge intact. I glued each corner with 3M weatherstrip adhesive (yellow) and let them cure for a half hour. Then glued each corner in and followed up with glueing in the remainder of the seal.



Installed and working just super.



The rear window switch would not work. New and NOS I knew the switch was good. I had a broken power wire from the circuit breaker on the firewall next to the brake booster that goes down the frame to the ribbon harness. I had a spare ribbon harness and dang me if that power wire was broken inside also. I made a complete brand new wire harness for the entire tailgate and I used marine tinned wire and epoxy filled heat shrink terminals. And big heat shrink for the visible part where it goes from the tailgate to the body opening to the frame. I only shrunk the ends to hold it on the wires in the right spot.
I used a 12 GA power wire and now the window races up and down with the rear switch and key. Sweeeet.



The brakes stink. A low pedal. Plus the shoes are not broken in at all with the drums. Well I was having trouble measureing the booster pin and master cylinder. I ended up ordering a very much needed tool. It showed me why the late pedal. Not something you might use a lot, but priceless for setting up the booster properly with .005 thousandths clearance.

First measure the master cylinder depth and set the set screw. Make sure it is centered and not like this. Taking a picture and doing this was fun.




Check the booster.... Geez, no wonder.



What a great tool.

I verified everything worked. Loaded it on the trailer and absolutely did not sleep that night. I never thought I would see the day. Well it was here.

Onward to the final post.

[Kaiserjeeps]

This is the last of a long haul. I am submitting the wagoneer to Rock Auto magnet division. I have learned a lot. I was stumped on some problems but made it through. I moved three times hauling Sadie with me. I shed blood more than once. I am very grateful for the friendship I have with Bill the owner of Sadie. I helped him find Sadie 25 years ago and he paid a whopping 325.00 dollars for it. I can honestly say after being home a day after a 700 mile round trip delivering Sadie back to her spot at home, I have to tell myself it is over.
There is no rush to get back to it. The shop has a spot waiting for the next adventure. It is going to snow soon. We had 14 degrees here two nights in a row. I was worried about not making it before the mountain pass got bad. Well we made it.
Thank you everyone for all the support.
I bring you Sadie.

[Kaiserjeeps]

Bill and two of three of his boys. Gunner in the blue and Dash in the white.
Jackson was off at college and was skyped in.



I had to do it...



Bill and I. We have been friends since 7th grade.



Bill and wife Julie. A very happy day.



I will still call you every 20 minutes Bill.

THE END.

[SJTD]

I get to be the first to say: congrats!

Beautifull!

I'll miss watching your progress and look forward to your next FSJ project.

[63J200atLSU]

Holy cow, man. When I saw the word "DONE" I was in disbelief. I haven't even been following since the start of the second half of this, but I'm always just blown away by the work you do. Congrats my friend. Look forward to seeing what you've got coming. Hopefully see R&R first.

[rws31]

Absolutely stunning. Congrats on the completion of a very cool project. I thank you especially cause I borrowed some of your ideas. She is a beautiful ride and the owners will enjoy it for a long time.