1966 Bone Stock Wagoneer Build

[66Stepside]

I picked up a 66 1414 base model Wagoneer from Hayden Lake, ID. over the weekend. Bronze Mist exterior, Amber Poly Interior. 50k on the odometer, but probably 150k.



4.09 gears in the rear, 4.10 in the front. Uncut, 98% stock (Buick hubcaps, non-stock tires).



A few dents and dings here and there. Spare tire (white wall GoodYear). 1200 Hornets and 45 hornets nests.



Single family owner since new.



It's been sitting in a field for 12-15 years. Broken windshield.










232 inline 6, T-90 3 speed transmission, Dana 20 transfer case with ebrake drum on the rear output.





I scrubbed the heck out of her, drained and changed the oil, ran some mystery oil down each cylinder and she turns over just fine. I checked the wiring, installed a battery and the lights, stock radio, horn and blinkers work. The brakes light do not, but I believe the master cylinder is bad, or it needs a bit of vacuum. I'll be attempting to fire her up over the Thanksgiving holiday. The shifting mechanism on the column appears to be broken. That'll get replaced over the holiday as well.

[bkilby]

Nice looking rig! Congrats on the score!

[joe]

Beautiful unmolested survivor. Nice find.

[66Stepside]

Thanks guys. I am surprised to find one so original. I hope to keep her stock.


The old gas has been drained (wasn't much in there), 5 gallons of new gas went in, old tires and rims are off, a better set installed. Next on to the column swap.

[Kaiserjeeps]

Wow! what a find. It's pretty clean looking. The grille is nice and straight.

I think while these rigs were never a hot item to restore, I am seeing them starting to show up here and there restored and looking sharp. If grand from that Texas site can go for 25K then these older wagoneers have to be worth more in the long run. There is a nice 70 on Ebay in NY for 15K. These rigs are just plain cool. Good find for sure!! Love the original color.

I'll get down there someday. Happy Thanksgiving Adam.

[toddthewelder]

That is sweet!

[66Stepside]

No spark to the Dist?

Thanks guys!



The good news is that she turns over just fine, but there's no spark to the plugs.

I've cleaned every contact, tested power- the coil gets power when the ignition is on, but inside the Dist. doesn't seem to ground out the points when contact is made.

I used the old light method to test the coil and the coil fails the light test when the light is hooked up to the positive and the negative side of the coil with the ignition in the on position- there is no light.

If I ground the light wire on the block, and put the other light wire to the positive side of the coil, the light lights up with the ignition in the on position.

If I ground the light wire on the block and then run the power wire to the negative side of the coil, the light comes on when the ignition is in the on position.

The problem seems to be somewhere before the coil. The service manual does not show a ballast for the 232 for the j100-300, or j2000-3000 Series rigs. goes straight to the ignition switch and is split to a relay that also ties into the heater controls, and a toggle control under the dash for the 4wd indicator lights.

The ignition switch tests fine.

I've only seen the relay on one other dash, but it was bypassed.


Any thoughts, or suggestions?

[EKWagoneer]

This is interesting. The coil is no good when tested on its own, in line, but when it is grounded through the block it is good? Correct me if I am wrong on that. Also the distributor is not functioning properly/at all? Make sure the points are moving, and to the specified gap (probably about .015 to .020, or a dollar bill if all else fails) and that you are sure you get power to the distributor somehow. Look for bad wires throughout the ignition system? Any more info would help, if you have it. I hope someone else chimes in on this.

Ely

[66Stepside]

This is interesting. The coil is no good when tested on its own, in line, but when it is grounded through the block it is good? Correct me if I am wrong on that. Also the distributor is not functioning properly/at all? Make sure the points are moving, and to the specified gap (probably about .015 to .020, or a dollar bill if all else fails) and that you are sure you get power to the distributor somehow. Look for bad wires throughout the ignition system? Any more info would help, if you have it. I hope someone else chimes in on this.

Ely

It seems as if the distributor is not grounding, or perhaps the coil isn't grounding.

All the wires seem to be intact and without corrosion. All the voltages seem to be within specs, too. The service manual indicates that the 232 does not use a ballast, but the 230 did. I've traced the coil wire from the positive side to the inside at the ignition switch. It splits there to a relay under the dash that also ties into the heater switch, headlight switch and the 4wd indicator light toggle switch.

Ignition on = 12 volt power to coil on the positive side and negative side.

But there seems to be no energy/power/voltage build up within the coil to allow discharge to the distributor cap wire from coil to cap.

[EKWagoneer]

Bad coil? There could be continuity but something internal could be out of whack? If you have an extra you could swap it out real quick and see if that does anything different. Look at the distributor again maybe, if voltage is getting through the coil? An issue from another system?
Hope this helps.

Ely

[66Stepside]

Bad coil? There could be continuity but something internal could be out of whack? If you have an extra you could swap it out real quick and see if that does anything different. Look at the distributor again maybe, if voltage is getting through the coil? An issue from another system?
Hope this helps.

Ely

The new (last night) coil tests within specs, the old coil did not. I am going to try replacing the condenser and install new points, too. I checked all wires for continuity and they're within specs as well.

[EKWagoneer]

I guess just see what happens after that... If you're getting voltage through the coil the distributor is next to look at. You could probably take the cap off and see if you get spark between the points. I have had to do that before.
Good Luck.

Ely

[66Stepside]

I guess just see what happens after that... If you're getting voltage through the coil the distributor is next to look at. You could probably take the cap off and see if you get spark between the points. I have had to do that before.
Good Luck.

Ely

She's purring like a kitten. I installed new points, condenser and spark plugs. More importantly, I think, I used a bit of dialectic grease on the bottom plate where it makes contact with the distributor housing. Just a tiny bit at the three points of contact to ensure a proper ground. I also used a bit of the same grease where the coil and condenser are screwed together.

All in all, maybe it was just the points, or condenser, though. It's right st 950 rpm, I think that's a bit too high. Thanks for hanging in there with me!

The clutch works! Now on to the shifter column swap.

[EKWagoneer]

Alright, sounds good! Dielectric grease works good for lots of stuff, I especially use it on spark plugs where the boot goes on. 950 rpm does sound high for idle. Good luck with everything else!

Ely

[66Stepside]

Alright, sounds good! Dielectric grease works good for lots of stuff, I especially use it on spark plugs where the boot goes on. 950 rpm does sound high for idle. Good luck with everything else!

Ely

Thanks!

She has a new single barrel carb, that was enough to get her to start every time without starter fluid. I swapped in a working steering column- 15 minutes to take it off the doner rig, 4 hours to install!

I found out why the steering column imploded. One of the shifter arms hits the clutch housing when in gear, and gets hung up on that clutch bracket attached to the bell housing as you shift down to 3rd. A simple, short term fix worked for tonight. Once I freed up the 4wd shifter to shift smoothly, I was able to shift it into gear and she pulled forward a bit- but as I have no brakes, or steering wheel, I couldn't try to actually drive it. Brakes are on the list- so are locking hubs.