1990 Grand Waggy Build Thread

[Suddendeath]

I figured I'd post up the history of my Wagoneer, plus what I'm planning to do to her for others to review and comment on.

First, some backstory...
I purchased my Wagoneer in December 2010 for the grand sum of $650. I was in desperate need of a vehicle, since my beloved 1994 Solid Axle Explorer had been hit head-on and totally smooshed. I had two options when it came to buying a new vehicle...either the Wagoneer or some old Cutlass Ciera...so I naturally picked the 4x4 big V8 Wagoneer. Here is a picture of my Wagoneer the day after I bought her, with my Explorer in the background in the process of being parted out. (It doesn't look that bad in this pic, but it is)



Here is another pic...



Now, when I bought the truck it was entirely stock with some things that I immediately noticed that needed fixing. The electrical system was pretty whacked out, all of my fusible links were either bypassed or burnt out or about to burn out. My reverse lights, turn signals, dash lights, overhead lights, radio, and numerous other electrical systems simply didn't work or worked half the time. The interior was in decent shape, except for the driver seat which has a rip and the headliner which was falling down. The roof rack was completely loose on the driver's side, you could grab it and lift it off of the roof that's how bad it was

The previous owner had clad the truck with relatively new Definity Dakota M/T's, which I have to say have performed beyond my expectations for a chain-brand tire from Pepboys. That was the only good thing he did. The A.I.R system was removed, but the PO left the metal lines running into the exhaust manifolds and just plugged the rubber hoses that would've run to the air pump. The catalytic converter was hollowed out, but I didn't know that at first.

But by far the most perplexing problem that my Wagoneer had was the lack of a front driveshaft.

So now I had a new truck to work on, RIP Explorer, and new problems to tackle. I assembled what I called "The fix list" and got to work. Some good news was that the engine ran like a top and the transmission looked to be rebuilt, so I was set in that department for a while.

1. Get a front driveshaft. It was winter, with lots of snow, and I wanted 4x4. DONE
2. New Brakes/Tune Up/Oil Change. DONE
3. Pull down the headliner to fix the roof rack. DONE
4. Fix the roof rack. DONE
5. Fix the Electrical System. DONE
6. Fix the rust forming on the rear passenger quarter and the rear passenger rocker.
7. Fix the rusted out exhaust. DONE

I also started crusing IFSJA and started planning an eventual off-road buildup, and I created my first "Offroad List" around this time too. I figured while I was fixing things, I might as well start upgrading too.

1. HEI Ignition for reliability and increased power. DONE
2. SOA/SF with the TT'sFabworks kit. Extended brake lines, swaybar discos, extended shocks, etc. DONE
3. 33x12.50's. DONE
4. Performer Intake manifold/Performer 1406 carb for more power. DONE

So, you have the starting point and the initial plans...let's see how I went from there.

[Suddendeath]

I started to prioritize what needed to be done into cost vs effectiveness. At the time I started this build I was an unemployed college student, so I needed to do a lot with a little bit of cash over a period of time. I don't have a garage, but my good buddy does so I had access to all the air tools and welding gear I could need. Since it had to come down anyway, we started with pulling down the headliner to inspect the roof seals and see about making the truck look less raggedy. This is my buddy pulling the screws for the front trim pieces. The headliner was litterally turning into dust as you touched it, so we had goggles on. Nobody wants that in your eyes.



I also was missing the panel/carpet that went on the tailgate, so at this time I decided to go ahead and clean up the rusty/multicolored tailgate to make the truck look cleaner inside. I sanded the whole tailgate down, grindeded some rust spots clean, and then prepped/painted it with rubberized undercoat and truck bedliner. This adds some durability and makes the truck look better inside. And, it was free since I had the undercoat and bedliner left over from doing the floor in my Explorer! I like free!





We also pulled off the dinky, broken foglights that the PO had put on and replaced them with the big Marchal Magnums that I had on my Explorer. Suprisingly they survived the accident with no damage.





I saved up my pennies and bought my first batch of truck parts around this time also. My truck didn't come with door keys, so I just never locked it. That was going to change. She needed a tuneup pretty bad too, so I used that as justification to do a HEI conversion. I also picked up a carburetor rebuild kit, because she was running real rough and seemed to need it. I also grabbed some other little-fix items.

• New HEI Distributor Skipwhite Performance/Accel Wires P# 4040/Copper Plugs P# 65
• New Door cylinders/Tailgate cylinder for new keys
• Carburetor Rebuild Kit. Autozone Part #96-437A
• Napa Universal Windshield Washer Pump
• Fuse Kit
• Miscellanious Wires/Etc

[Suddendeath]

We took a weekend and did my HEI conversion, running into plenty of problems on the way. The Skipwhite HEI is made in china, but it is a quality unit. She has some weight to her and is quite large, be careful when positioning it in the engine bay. You are going to have to clock the distributor to clear the power steering pump and still have room to advance/retard timing.

It took us 2 days, mainly due to stupid mistakes and a broken grounding tab inside of the top of the distributor. The grounding tab grounds the in-cap coil and it wasn't grounding, so we had no spark. But we finally got her fired up and adjusted the timing. We had it too far advanced for a few days and got some pinging, but I turned her down a little and got it pretty close. (This was when I had to clock the distributor, because you couldn't back it off anymore with the PS pump in the way.)



In this pic you can also see my funky engine bay wiring. I'm in the process of fixing that. Don't worry.

If you're planning an HEI converison with a distributor like mine, you're going to need one of these HEI Pigtails. It made my install so much easier.

The week after we did the HEI I went on my first offroad adventure with my waggy, with Pineymike and 91G-dub and another FSJ'er.



It was then that I realized how many little things were 'wrong' with my Wagoneer. Both Wagoneers in this picture are 90's. Mine is to the right. My sidemarker light on the passenger side is wrong, my grill is wrong, I'm missing the rubber bumpers up front...but other than that, our trucks were pretty darn close to identical

This trip went well, but it became obvious that the carb rebuild I had been putting off needed to happen. So the weekend after the trip I tore into the carb and rebuilt it. I had some problems with the needle seating, but after all the quirks were figured out she runs better than before. Swapped to a manual choke, but regret it. It's given me nothing but problems.

Fast forward a few weeks, and I grabbed a set of flat-top knuckles from a IFSJA member for my eventual SOA. I wanted to clean them up, since they showed up looking like this :



During Sandblasting (I own my own compressor/air tools, but my buddy has the garage to actually work in )



After blasting/primer/paint

[teamsandman]

How does that distributor look or how's the quality of it, look's like a good price and thought about picking one up for mine.

[Suddendeath]

My pignose grill was a hastily added afterthought, and it seemed like whoever owned the truck before me had started to do a Gladiator swap and then either died or quit halfway. Some of the mounting tabs for the normal grill were gone, and the pig was held on by one bolt up top. I wanted it gone.

It was around this time that I got a job (Score! ) and could actually afford some truck parts. I saw a decent deal on a full Rhino setup, so I grabbed it up.

Here is the new front end as it showed up:



I watched the TRUCKS! epsiode for inspiration, and then got to it. My first problem was that my headlight buckets were different than Stacy Davids. I had the older style, early 60's buckets. It actually turned out to be a good thing, they mounted much easier. Just whack them into your headlight holes and run some self-tappers into the lip that hangs over the edge. Here it is all installed and repainted to be chrome again: (You can see my funky passenger side marker light too. I dont know whats going on there.)



It was around this time that I decided that the Wagoneer needed to get painted. I have a nasty rot spot on the rear quarter above the exhaust and the paint just looks trashy, so I'm going to patch the rust spots and bondo her up and then get her painted.

Of course, that means the wood panels have to go so I can prep the metal underneath.

It was hard, but I started pulling the wood in stages. It took me two solid days of about 5 hours each day.











Since I don't plan on painting it right away, I'm trying to leave the paint that was underneath the panels as intact as possible. The double-sided stickytape that held the trim on is a total MOOGELY to remove, so be warned if you're trying to salvage your stock paint. Luckily for me, when it comes time to start prepping for paint, I'll just sand it all down to metal anyway.

[Suddendeath]

Originally Posted by teamsandman

How does that distributor look or how's the quality of it, look's like a good price and thought about picking one up for mine.

It looks good, its a huge unit though. It seems really heavy duty. One word of caution is don't over-tighten the top cover screws for the coil, they screw into the plastic and you can strip them out. I have more pictures of it then the one I posted up. So far I've had no issues with mine, and from what I've read here on IFSJA many guys run the Skipwhite with no problems. I'm pretty sure the more expensive Mallory HEI actually is the Skipwhite with Mallory stickers. Here is another pic from a different angle:

[Suddendeath]

I also redid my exhaust with a Thrush Turbo muffler from advance auto parts, some 2.5" pipe, and some clamps. You guys can be the judges:

http://www.facebook.com/video/video....ideo_processed

[710 Burner]

I bought a Skip White replacement billet distributor off Ebay for my V6 Chevy truck for $55. I am very pleased with it.
I have always like the sound of a good turbo muffler at idle, but the last one had quite a drone around 65mph. I was not a Thrush though, some cheap knock-off.

[SmrtJustin]

I'll vibe watching this thread. This is how my Wag started off, a $900 special. I'm still fixing stuff, lucky for me I don't have to DD mine though.

When you rebuild the Carb make sure to check the vapor canister. They can be the source of a vacuum leak and can also leak charcoal chunks into the Carb bowl vent line. There's a solenoid that's supposed to close the vent line while running, but many have rotted internally by now. Mine allowed charcoal to get into my bowl that then got plugged into the jets leaving me stranded on a trip and requiring a Carb rebuild. Just something to check. The original vapor canister is now unavailable but there are threads on here of a Grand Cherokee one that works fine.

Good luck!

[Suddendeath]

Originally Posted by SmrtJustin

I'll vibe watching this thread. This is how my Wag started off, a $900 special. I'm still fixing stuff, lucky for me I don't have to DD mine though.

When you rebuild the Carb make sure to check the vapor canister. They can be the source of a vacuum leak and can also leak charcoal chunks into the Carb bowl vent line. There's a solenoid that's supposed to close the vent line while running, but many have rotted internally by now. Mine allowed charcoal to get into my bowl that then got plugged into the jets leaving me stranded on a trip and requiring a Carb rebuild. Just something to check. The original vapor canister is now unavailable but there are threads on here of a Grand Cherokee one that works fine.

Good luck!

I'll have to check that out. My truck idles funky like it has a vacuum leak, I always assumed that it was because of the lack of emissions now.

I managed to score an Edelbrock 1406 for $50 on craigslist, going to get it this weekend. If the deal doesnt fall through, a Performer intake manifold and gasket kit will be purchased promptly

[DanHS]

Moving along pretty fast there, looks nice, very little rust that I can see too.

Did you reuse your old distributor gear or did the Skipwhite come with one? If it came with one, keep an eye on the distributor drive gear on the cam, I've read of many replacement gears being made from poor quality hardened steel, they eat the cam gears right away.

[Suddendeath]

Originally Posted by DanHS

Moving along pretty fast there, looks nice, very little rust that I can see too.

Did you reuse your old distributor gear or did the Skipwhite come with one? If it came with one, keep an eye on the distributor drive gear on the cam, I've read of many replacement gears being made from poor quality hardened steel, they eat the cam gears right away.

I used my old distributor gear, but kept the new one for a rainy day.

Also, only $110 left on my BJ's Offroad layaway order. SOA/SF kit and extended brake lines! After that, just need to send my knuckle out to get machined for crossover steering.

[Suddendeath]

Got my new 4bbl carb today. Pretty sweet deal for $40. The pictures tell the rest.







Just ordered the new 2131 Performer Intake and gaskets, also nabbed a 1" four hole carburetor spacer. I doubt it will improve performance at all, it may, but I doubt it. The real reason was to try and put some insulation between the carb and intake, it's all aluminum and aluminum transfers heat too well for my liking. With a nice 1" thick chunk of plastic in between, plus the gaskets, it should simulate the stock insulator pretty well if not better.

More pics and updates will follow.

[austinaubinoe]

actually I think carb spacers do make an impact. Its throttle body spacers that do jack.

[FallonJeeper]

They recommend a Carburetor Plate between the 2131 performer intake and the 1406 carb.

See page 1 of this PDF file - http://static.summitracing.com/globa...s/edl-2131.pdf

"CARBURETOR RECOMMENDATIONS:

Performer Series #1406 (600 CFM)

#8034 AMC Throttle Adapter (‘79 and later); #2732 Carburetor Plate"

[Suddendeath]

Got my new Edelbrock Performer intake manifold yesterday, along with all the gaskets/bolts I could need and my 1" carburetor spacer.

They recommend a Carburetor Plate between the 2131 performer intake and the 1406 carb.

See page 1 of this PDF file - http://static.summitracing.com/globa...s/edl-2131.pdf

"CARBURETOR RECOMMENDATIONS:

Performer Series #1406 (600 CFM)

#8034 AMC Throttle Adapter (‘79 and later); #2732 Carburetor Plate"

I didn't grab that "Carburetor plate" and it seems like it will work fine, that plate is basically just a metal gasket that gets put between the two paper gaskets. My 1" spacer should do the same job just fine. We'll see how it goes.

Today I went on a harbor freight/autozone trip, grabbed some awesome stuff on sale for cheap. Got a tachometer and a vacuum gauge from HF for $20 a piece, they're 2" units with LED colored lights. Compared to the $40-140 models at Autozone, I'm content with these little guys.

While I was at HF I grabbed a hot knife to remove the double sided stickytape that was left over from my wood removal, it broke in half after about 4 panels worth of pushing and peeling tape. I also grabbed a 7" variable speed sander/polisher for $24, seems like a nice heavy duty unit. That will deffinitely help when it comes time to prep the truck for painting.

I also nabbed some Permatex "Right Stuff" for installing the intake manifold and I got some high-temp engine paint for my intake and valve covers. I've got a tiny oil leak at the rear of my driver side valve cover, just enough to drip on my exhaust manifold and make the truck smell like burning oil. After my HF trip I went to autozone and got new valve cover gaskets, I figured since the intake would be out I might as well change those too.

Pics:

Intake box! AWESOME!




Carb, spacer, and intake mocked up so I know what I'm looking at for install:



Performer AMC, Baby



I work pretty much all weekend, so Monday will be install time! I'll keep you guys posted.

[cajun_lad]

You'll need that Edel P/N 8034 throttle plate adapter, or your throttle cable will be too short. AMHIK. Also, here's some good info on setting up those carbs for any type of off-road use... http://www.ih8mud.com/tech/carter.php

I actually bought the offroad needle and seat, and when replacing mine, realized it already had it. If you need/want it, I have a slightly used extra set.

[Suddendeath]

Originally Posted by cajun_lad

You'll need that Edel P/N 8034 throttle plate adapter, or your throttle cable will be too short. AMHIK. Also, here's some good info on setting up those carbs for any type of off-road use... http://www.ih8mud.com/tech/carter.php

I actually bought the offroad needle and seat, and when replacing mine, realized it already had it. If you need/want it, I have a slightly used extra set.

Are we talking about this adapter plate...



I grabbed the recommended adapter plate, intake bolt kit, and etc when I bought the intake manifold. Basically everything listed under "Required" or "Recommended" I got. I didnt want to start this job and then realize halfway through that I needed X part and it would take 4 days for it to show up.

[ProTouring442]

Originally Posted by Suddendeath

I didnt want to start this job and then realize halfway through that I needed X part and it would take 4 days for it to show up.

Do not be too discouraged when that happens anyway. Such is the way any modification and 2/3rds of repairs go.

Nice looking project!

Shiny Side Up!
Bill

[Suddendeath]

New Update: The Intake manifold and carburetor are IN!!

It took me 2 days of roughly 4 hours each, but then again I didn't just swap the intakes straight up. I also pulled my valve covers and cleaned/painted everything. I had little experience doing engine work and everything seems to have come out fine, thanks to the Edelbrock instructions and IFSJA. I'm afraid I don't have any pics of when we were installing it all, except for one my girlfriend snapped of me and my buddy sitting ontop of the truck working on it.

For your viewing pleasure:



Thats me on the left, my friend on the right. He's the same one who helped me pull down my headliner, so thats why he looks familiar.















It took us a few drives to properly adjust the transmission control lever and the air/fuel mixture. Also had to play with the timing a bit. Had a knock at first due to a too-lean condition coupled with some distributor advance issues. Re-timed it and adjusted the mixture screws to 6 1/2 turns out and man does it sound and drive like a whole new truck. I've never idled smooth, and its so nice now you cant even feel it rumble inside. I'm totally impressed. And a noticeable power increase too. Once those secondaries kick in, bam, you're at 50+ mph.

Next major upgrade...SOA/SF and crossover steering with 33's.