My J4000 and the debacle begins

[Myke Honcho]

Ok let me start by filling u in on where I am. I recently bought a 72 J4000. For those who don't know its a 2bbl points ignition setup. The debacle comes in that the motor is missing all of the ignition as well as a few other parts. The wiring is chopped and missing connectors.

Now on to the questions. Would it b better to just locate the replacement parts or to upgrade to an electronic system or just do a GM TBI swap?

Once again let me say there is nothing left of the original ignition. Some help here would be great.

Btw, the truck is going to b a play toy only and I fully intend to make a truggy out of it eventually. Just need to get it running so I can move it around but don't want to redo small projects. However, making it move is my top priority and making it cheep.

Thanx guys

[joe]

W/O a core dizzy to turn in it may be a bit expensive but the distributor and ign ition is nothing exotic. It's a Delco brand points distributor avail at Napa and prolly other parts houses. It is AMC specific though.

[jpcoutts]

If the engine harness has been hacked-up you'll need to have a wiring diagram handy to do much of anything. They're available on-line at a member's site. Do a search for FSJ wiring diagrams. Maybe somebody else will chime in with the addy.

[Myke Honcho]

That's what I was leaning toward but keep in mind I have to completely rebuild my harness also. I'm just not familiar with amc engines

[Myke Honcho]

Originally Posted by jpcoutts

If the engine harness has been hacked-up you'll need to have a wiring diagram handy to do much of anything. They're available on-line at a member's site. Do a search for FSJ wiring diagrams. Maybe somebody else will chime in with the addy.

I have some diagrams np. Just trying to find a starting point.

Do u think it would be better to upgrade it while it's pretty much not there?

[joe]

http://oljeep.com/gw/elec/GW_wiring.html

edit: If it were me I run the stock points stuff. But I'm prolly the odd soul on this forum that likes points. Solid, reliable, easy to service etc etc. Yeah ya don't get the super pooper mega magazine spark the advertisers tell us we must have but they work well unless you're racing for money and 1/100's of a second counts. I kept the Delco in both my 72 and 73 trucks and never saw a need to go electronic.

[The PIG Smith]

Zack at ZM Jeeps can set you up with an awesome wiring harness.

[twisted frame]

If you're planning on upgrading then it I'd say now is the time to do it. I have the stock distributor in my 73 J4000 and it's fine for me. Upgrading to a quality HEI setup won't be cheap though and you did mention cheap.

Maybe post up in the wanted section that you need a wiring harness, or at least a harness that will cover everything in the engine bay. There's always a few 70s rigs being parted in the Parts and Pieces section on here and I'll bet you could get a distributor and underhood wiring pretty quick from someone. The only difference is that you might find the mid-late 70s Duraspark distributors more common. Maybe/maybe not...but worth a look.

[Myke Honcho]

Thanx guys for the replys

[KaiserMan]

I'd stick with a stock points set up myself. All of the vehicles my father and I have around where with electronic ignition have had some sort of EI related problem at one point or the other.

Can't remember ever having trouble with a points distributor that a little sand paper didn't take care of.