J10 Refurbish/repaint (moved from PRIS)

[bkilby]

I guess what I meant to say is, I think your price is very reasonable. Lol. I wouldn't sell mine that cheap and it's not even painted yet.

[Towtruck]

Fixed the speedometer today. Turned out the drive gear in the transfer case apparently wasn't engaged...not sure how that's even possible. Pulled it out and the teeth looked OK, so carefully reinstalled and checked the shaft for engagement...it seemed hooked up, so Rufus and I took it for a drive. Bingo, speedo.

Also hooked up the heater hoses to the core. On demand heat and defrost for the first time in a decade. Turned it up full blast so I could leave Rufus' window down and still stay comfortable. What'll they think of next...heat in the cab when it's cold outside.

Found a spare A/C power switch in the boxes of left overs, so that got fixed. Also found the aluminum door sill trim pieces, and ordered a new pair of anti-roll bar rubbers yesterday. Little projects for next week. Plan to remove as much of the air injection (emissions) systems as possible. No longer checked in Texas given the age of the vehicle. I'd like to pull the tubes on the manifolds and plug the ports, but I've read bad stuff about getting the fittings to break loose. Maybe just pull the pump and hoses. I'll save the parts for the next owner.

By the way, I used Velcro to reattached the passenger side door card/upholstery. Used staples on the back side of the cardboard. Glue on the door piece. Worked OK, but the stack up of Velcro leaves a visible gap at the rear door edge. I plugged the gap with some thin black foam...looks decent, but I'd go back to the clips if doing it again.

I need to put one of those little chrome JEEP emblems on the tailgate to keep other drivers from "tail gating" as they try to identify the make of the truck. Today two guys in a C10 first rode my rear roll pan, then pulled up close on the passenger side and mouthed "what is it?"...until Rufus jumped half out the window and growled at him. "Stay away from my truck, ya damned fools" Good dog! Then the driver pulls forward and almost side swipes us as he rubber necks the front grill. Rufus is understandably berserko. Guess they missed the "JEEP" that's clearly embossed on the spinning hub locks...

[Towtruck]

As I mention in my ad in the For Sale section, I took the truck over to Streetside in Fort Worth yesterday. They want to list it and say they can get me what I'm asking here....but they'll add their $2500 to the sell price.

[Towtruck]

I'm going to drag the roll bar out of storage and clean it up. Looking for opinions as to whether a street restomod truck would look better in advertising photos with or without the roll bar installed. It goes with the sale, but I'm trying get the best look for an advertising spread.

[SOLSAKS]

that truck will look good with or without roll bar installed !

but the roll bar is a definite plus to add to the sale.

this is a great j10 for someone out there.

dave in NC

[rang-a-stang]

My useless recommendation would be to offer it for sale in the classifieds here. I think you will make a couple hundred on it but it won't raise the value of your truck at all.

Or use it as a bargaining chip. Buyer says "I'll give X for the truck." you say "Hm. That's a little less than I was hoping. How about X+Y and I keep the roll bar?" He says "Ok, sounds good" (then you sell it here) or buyer says "Ah man, I really wanted that roll bar." You say, "OK, X+Y, and I throw in the roll bar for free" and he feels like he is getting a deal but you are actually getting rid of the roll bar and more money for your truck.

I know it would suck to ship but when I have seen folks looking for those original roll bars, they are usually willing to pay decently for them, along with shipping...

[Towtruck]

I took the truck over to a local car club gathering last night...lighted mall parking lot. Most lookers thought it was a Chevy C10 from the rear. Then they thought it was a Comanche. So I think I went too far with "cleaning it up".

I decided to reinstall the Honcho roll bar and will put the J10 badges back on. The roll bar cleaned up nicely. Finished the installation today. I used the engine lift to get it onto a creeper in the bed and then rolled it forward. Tight squeeze and I didn't want to scratch or ding the bedliner. Took a looong time by myself, but it's done. The one thing I like about the look of the roll bar is that it tends to hide the angular, lopped off appearance of the rear of the roof.

A few photos...

DSCN2151 by Rufus, on Flickr
DSCN2152 by Rufus, on Flickr
DSCN2154 by Rufus, on Flickr
DSCN2158 by Rufus, on Flickr

[SOLSAKS]

HOLY CRAP
IT JUST KEEPS GETTING BETTER.
I AM A BIG FAN OF THE BAR.
dave in NC

[bkilby]

Wow. Nice. It looks great!

[Towtruck]

I've been away for a while. A couple of engine compartment photos. Edelbrock manifold/4-barrel, new battery, new power steering components, HEI. Lots of thumbs up but no buyers on the various websites. Haven't taken it to Streetside yet....guess I better get after it.

DSCN2159 by Rufus, on Flickr
DSCN2160 by Rufus, on Flickr

[Towtruck]

Missed all the usual Spring car show sale opportunities, since they're all shut down in these parts. Backed it out of the shed last week to check the AC in warm outside temperatures. Just a trickle of cool air. Added a small can of dyed tracer oil. Bingo....right in front of me...the suction hose fitting on the compressor was leaking. Tightened it and added a can of freon. Still pumping ice cold today. Fixed. I also replaced the sway bar mount rubbers. Still need to hook up the new interior light and clean up the grill. Pretty much done.

I think I'll put it in storage over the blazing hot Texas summer. Nobody seems to be looking or buying toys anyway.

[Towtruck]

Well, it started right up after almost six months in storage....and then it abruptly died after about ten seconds. Turned out it was the distributor. Rather than start chasing/replacing components, I just bought a new HEI complete with plug wires. Swapped out the driven gear to preclude any issues concerning mesh with the cam gear.

The AC has also lost it's charge, so a new compressor is on order. I'm running out of things to fix.

[rang-a-stang]

Has it been 6 months?? My goodness!

Could you post a video of it running? I would love to hear those side pipes!

[Towtruck]

Installed new AC compressor and belts. Also replaced the HEI and plug wires with new. Need to"tidy up" the engine compartment a little....dang wires and hoses everywhere. But it's mechanically about done. I'll charge the AC in a few days when I received new "Jeep spec" service port hardware for the compressor. Hoses were converted to R 134 tolerant material some years ago. Nothing much to see in the photo, but about a week of work for this old geezer. Need to find and install the fan shroud...

DSCN2349 by Rufus, on Flickr

[SOLSAKS]

price just went up,....just kidding

one of the nicest j trucks out there.

the right person has not seen this yet...

dave in NC