'73 Wagoneer Build

[EKWagoneer]

Well, heads up folks. I'm getting geared up to start working on my Jeep. Going to start by tearing out the 360 to rebuild it and add a couple mild performance parts. After that I will work on the other chassis by doing some welding on it (shock mounts are questionable...) busting all the rust off, primering and paint, and preparing for the drivetrain. I should be gettting another engine stand for it this week sometime, and preparing to order parts. Next weekend should be when I start all of this, unless something comes up.

Here she is nosed up to the shop.


Wish me luck!

Ely

[63J200atLSU]

SUBBED!

[EKWagoneer]

Delayed...

Well, I said I would start the real work on my Wag today unless something came up. Something did. My uncle showed up because he had some wiring gremlins in his pickup and his trailer. I washed the Wagoneer at noon (had done other chores before) and was ready to pull it into the shop when my uncle showed. We spent 6- 7 hours chasing electrical connections and checking every fuse in the pickup, and had to fix his cigarette lighter because it got burned up. I should get something done tomorrow after I get home from church. I'll see how far me and my dad get. School is going to start next week and in ag class I got permission to bring in my chassis and do some work on that. At least something will get done...
For anyone who is following this, I assure it will be more exciting later.

Ely

[EKWagoneer]

Well, I got in a short afternoon of work on the Wag. I got the radiator out, along with the fan, fan shroud, the trans cooler (put up a fight for some reason), what appeared to be a AC condenser held in with baling wire...funny, because there is no AC on the vehicle. Got the heater hoses off, too. Tomorrow and the next day will be disconnecting more stuff (power steering lines, vacuum lines, wiring, carb, etc.) The engine should be out by next weekend unless something happens. Also, school starts Wednesday...just another opportunity to work on the 1/2 Wag.

Today:

[63J200atLSU]

You are going to have a seriously cool wag on your hands, man! Can't wait to see how this build goes!

[EKWagoneer]

Thanks. It'l be a long, hard road but I'm going down it.
Still put in a prayer now and then for everyone in Louisiana and other flooded areas. Hope everyone can get back on track down there soon.

[EKWagoneer]

Update

Got some more stuff done today. Got a lot of the vacuum lines off and labeled, disconnected all the wiring and labeled it, got the flywheel to torque converter bolts off, and loosened some of the bellhousing bolts- which leads to something else. While I was crawling around down there I noticed that there was and adapter plate between the transmission and the engine. I was hoping that it was a Chevy pattern TH400 adapted to the 360, so I could put almost any GM transmission I wanted behind it, but I found out something quite different on the internet. Apparently for the 1973 model year only AMC put in Buick Nailhead Th400's, which use a completely different bellhousing pattern, and the bellhousing is 2 inches shorter than a normal TH400!!! That is because the skirt on the back on the Nailheads were about 2 inches longer. Not that this is bad, it is just surprising.
I didn't get quite as much done today as I had hoped, but I had to fight some wasps part of the time and the darn cat kept getting in the way.
Today:


The cat "supervising"

[racegas]

its great to see how methodical you are being in tagging everything. From the pics, it looks like your front end chrome is in really good shape, especially given its age. You might want to consider taking it all off and setting it aside so nothing gets dinged or scratched while you are digging into the engine.

[EKWagoneer]

Thanks for the input. I like to label stuff to make sure I know what goes where so putting things back is much easier. About the chrome- it is not actually quite as good as it seems. There are small dings in it, and a few bends, but it is still good, and probably better than I give it credit for. Everything is going to be off of the body at some point in the project, and the chrome will get removed. Maybe sooner than later. The grille itself is a bit damaged, too (not major) but I have an aftermarket 71-72 Chevy pickup grille made up of small- diameter pipe in horizontal rows. I can modify it slightly to work in place of the stock grill on the Wag. Someday I might repair and restore the stock one.

Ely

[EKWagoneer]

Just About

Got a bit more done today. Got the carb off and all the vacuum ports labeled and color coded. Loosened all the bellhousing bolts and engine mount bolts. Other miscellaneous stuff disconnected, too. I might get the engine out this evening when my dad gets home. If not probably this Saturday or Sunday. School starts tomorrow.

Today:



And my high tech, ultra- pro long reach flyswatter. This is for wasps when they are buzzing around near the ceiling. Ceiling is about 11-12 feet high.

[racegas]

the one in the middle or the one in the case on the right?

[EKWagoneer]

The one in the middle. The gun case is empty, my dad and I were using it to try to see how to fit it on a motorcycle (Honda Trail 90) if we ever took one hunting.

[EKWagoneer]

Engine Out

The engine is out! It came out fairly easily after we found another bellhousing bolt that was really difficult to get out. Got the adapter plate off, along with the flexplate, and marked a few things for future reference and to make reassembly easier.
I will probably just fiddle around with it for the rest of the day and get it cleaned up later. After that I will get all the accessories off, and the intake and maybe the heads. This will most likely wait till next weekend. After I get it mostly disassembled I will order parts.
Here it is:

[EKWagoneer]

Minor Update

I got the power steering pump and bracket off, along with the alternator and its bracket, which looks like it was a combination bracket that would also hold an A/C compressor, but that part has been hacked off. From what I have seen on the Wag, I would say that it was an original A/C vehicle. I also broke loose all the intake bolts and moved a few miscellaneous parts off the engine. Tomorrow afternoon I will probably degrease the engine and get the intake and distributor off.

Ely

[63J200atLSU]

Good stuff man! Your attention to details is definitely going to serve you well on this project. Really enjoying watching your progress