1989 GW Slightly Modified Daily Driver

[BigOberg]

Here's some pics of what I'm starting with. My 1989 Jeep Grand Wagoneer, Grey with Burgundy Interior. This Waggy was bought new by my Uncle in 1989. It was driven for probably ten years then used sparingly. It had a New Jasper Engine and Trans installed about 3k miles ago but has been sitting for about 3 years since then. My plan is to go over the entire vehicle short of a frame off restoration. I'd like to make a daily driver out of her and since that's the plan there's a lot to go through. I want something safe and reliable but still cool looking and fun to drive with occasional off-road use and trailering duties. Here she is before any work done.







Here's a pic of the inside after about an hour or two with the shop vac and some armorall and leather cleaner. Looks pretty good for an 89!



I'll be posting more as I progress. I've found everyone else's posts and pics very helpful. Lots more to come!

[BigOberg]

Work performed so far:

1. Saggy Headliner removed/Purchased New Material & Adhesive
2. Power Steering Box & Power Steering Pump & Hoses/Replaced New
3. Brake Master Cylinder/Replaced New
4. Installed all New Inner & Outer Window Wipes
5. Removed the Roof Rack and reinstalled with New Gaskets/Seal Kit
6. Installed a New Fuel Pump
7. Purchased a Howell Fuel Injection Kit
8. Purchased & Installed New Optima Red Top Battery
9. Performed a Full Service
(Changed Oil and Filter)
(New Spark Plugs, Wires, Cap & Rotor)
(All New Belts)

Some of the work was done to make her water tight again. And the rest of the above work was done just to verify the shape of the engine before I go ahead with the fuel injection install. I'm happy to say the thing runs like a champ and things can now proceed as planned. Although runs is the key word. She doesn't stop very well! Hence the New master cylinder. But I found out that the line going to the rear brakes was cracked and leaking. So one more thing on the list!

[STJonesin4]

Looks in nice original shape. I'd say it's a good score.

[BigOberg]

Looks in nice original shape. I'd say it's a good score.

It's not bad. The main reason I'm willing to put the time and money into it is the family connection. I loved this truck when I was a kid. I was 8 when my Uncle got it and I always loved it. Then years later I actually took my drivers license test in it! It does however have some issues which I'll be going through in this process. Normal stuff like frame rust and the like. It should be fun though!

[GT500]

Beautiful! That looks exactly like mine that I just bought only in much nicer shape. I thought mine was in good shape until I saw yours. I'll be starting a build thread soon.

[BigOberg]

So I got some more work done last weekend. The teardown has begun. I started by removing the air pump and all of its hoses. Then I removed the carb and all of the vac lines. (Preparation for the Howell FI kit) So far so good. I then moved on to the exhaust manifolds. (Preparation for the new exhaust) Driver side came out without a hitch. I quickly realized the passenger side was gonna be tough do to space. I decided to take out the heater core to alleviate this. Plus I knew it was probably jammed with crud and I suspected my blower motor to be toast. Since the jeep sat for a few years the firewall air intake was loaded with crap. I removed the grate and sucked it all out with the shop vac. Then removed and capped the coolant hoses then removed the two nuts in the engine bay as well as the cable connecting the damper flap. Inside the cab I dropped the a/c down to access the remaining two nuts and out with the core. I then removed the blower motor and hot wired it to the battery. As I suspected it was dead. With the heater core out of the way the passenger manifold came out easily. Here's a pic of my clogged heater core. That would have smelled this summer for sure! Gonna snap some more pics today of my progress and post them later. Stay tuned!

Clogged Heater Core

[BigOberg]

Well it snowed again on Thursday so I wasn't really able to do too much this weekend. I did however manage to work on a few things today for an hour or two. I started by bagging and tagging all the stuff I've removed so far. Should make the reassembly go a bit smoother.

Here's the underhood now.

[BigOberg]

I also removed the air tubes from my exhaust manifolds. It went pretty well. Lots of PB Blaster. Managed to only break two of the bolts off. Drilled them out. One came out perfect but I wasn't completely happy with the second one. I ended up tapping it to 1/4-18 NPT and installed a pipe plug. It came out really well. So much so that I might do all the others as well.

[BigOberg]

Now that the tubes are removed I decided to try this Calyx stuff I got from Eastwood. Supposed to clean up the cast iron manifolds. Basically just rub it in like shoe polish.

Here's the after. Looks really good and it was easy. Can't wait to see them totally done and back on hooked up to a new S/S exhaust.

[GT500]

Wow, those sure cleaned up nicely!

[BigOberg]

Well I was able to get a few things done this weekend. Although I have to be honest, I spent most of the time BS'ing with my older brother. But it's good to pick his brain and let him see what I've got going on since he's a World Class Certified ASE Master Mechanic! It's nice to have his opinion and ideas! Now that the weather is starting to break I'm getting ready to drop my Fuel tank. There's some rust along the frame rail where the skid plate attaches. While I've got the tank down I'm going to repair/weld/reinforce the frame. I'm also going to replace the hard brake lines with stainless steel ones. I started by getting to the fuel tank access door in the cab and draining the fuel tank.

Fuel Outlet - Return and Sending Unit Power & Ground - Breather off to the Left

[BigOberg]

I also removed the rest of the exhaust (Y-Pipe, Cat, Muffler & Tailpipe).
While I was under there I also removed the spare tire & spare tire mount.

Spare tire mount removed

Exhaust from front back

With all of this removed there's a little more room down here. Also a little less weight. Here's the underneath now.

Seems to be sitting a little higher in the back now!

[BigOberg]

So I've been busy on the jeep and I've taken a lot of pics. So one of the main projects in this rebuild was going to be repairing the frame rail along the fuel tank skid plate. In order to do this I knew I was going to have to drop the tank. Well last week I did it. A little messy but all in all nothing some wrenches a grinder and brute strength couldn't handle. First thing I did was disconnect the fuel filler and vent tubes at the back of the tank.


Then I disconnected and removed the driveshaft for clearance. And then started loosening the single nut and bolt on the front top edge of the frame rail and then the two at the back center of the vehicle.
Back center bolts

[BigOberg]

Here's some before pics of the frame rail and skid plate. It looks bad but as you'll see, after I got into it and cleaned up a bit it wasn't too bad. The bottom edge of the frame for about 8 inches is gone but the sides and top of the frame rail are very solid. A welded in piece of a36 along the bottom should be fine.
Underneath the rail

Side view

Back driver side corner below the triangle bracket

Bottom of the skid plate

On the way down


View from above the tank


Almost out

And there she is

[BigOberg]

Ever wonder what it looks like between your tank and skid plate? It isn't pretty!



Skid plate is shot


After some scraping

The aftermath



View from inside


These ones really show what I'm dealing with. Back to front view.