Hi Everybody!
I wanted to share my first Jeep project to aid others and leach some knowledge off of those of you who have been at this for as long as I've been alive.
I picked up a 1964 J300 about a month ago and have been slowly getting into it. It's the first Jeep that I've ever owned after wanting one since like 8th grade and I'm pumped to get to get my hands dirty again. It runs and drives (more on that later) and I don't have the room to do any large changes to it (e.g. drivetrain swap) so it's mostly fixing little things to make it a bit more daily driver friendly. I bought it off a farmer in Indiana and given it's age and use it's in pretty decent condition. The frame is great, the previous owner (PO) had the brakes redone last year, steering is as tight as it can be, and mechanically it's pretty sound. It's also fun because the company that I work for produces material that goes into the new Gladiator. Anyway, onto photos!
Took this one the day I went to look at it. This was after I stood on the brake instead of the clutch; killing the engine and getting it stuck in-between gears. The truck clutch and 3 on the tree were totally foreign to my Subaru driving self.
The PO worked for a utility company so he grabbed a bunch of signs and patched the large holes in the floor with them. I dig the look but it would be executed better. Can't do a great job of fixing it until I get a welder though.
Basically the whole interior needs to be washed out. It's grungy.
So that's the introduction. Now for the bad:
- Not a single gauge works, not even the added pod
- The PO replaced the generator with a 3-wire alternator and I don't think it's charging the battery
- Interior is beat
- Turn signal stalk is a pair of vicegrips
- Farm fixes
- HVAC needs repaired
- Electrical system tune-up
- Road sign floor
- Rusty tailgate
- 1 broken shock in rear
- Leaks oil from everywhere
- (I'm sure there's lots that I haven't discovered)
My Plans:
- Make it as mechanically & electrically sound as possible
- Update to modern era as much as possible (function over form)
- Swap entire drivetrain (eventually). The tornado is cool but woefully underpowered and low on replacement parts. Could go with a 4.2 or a 4.0 or a Merc diesel or a hemi to keep it true or piss everyone off and put in a 2JZ.
- Make the interior decent with a radio and door panels and real knobs and better seatbelts
- LEAVE THE PATINA
- Take it to car shows, go camping in it, have fun
Onto me asking for advice. On the topic of the charging system; when I got the truck registered I had to get the battery fully charged the day before and then installed it the morning (started right up though). When leaving the BMV I barely got it started and the next morning the truck wouldn't even turn over. I've had the battery tested twice and the alternator tested once and both passed. I traced the alt wiring and it appears to be hooked up like the image below with two exceptions. I can't find a dummy light and there's a ballast resistor in between the ignition and the started solenoid.
I don't know much about ballast resistors but I think it's needed since the ignition is a points style(?) and I believe the dummy light can be replaced with an in-line resistor like this one based on this article. Is that correct? Has anyone ever done that before? I'm considering not adding a dummy light because I don't know how it would fit in the cluster since there's a rudimentary circuit board and that I may just upgrade to a digital dash. I'd rather just start out with something that, in theory, should work and has those modern conveniences than trouble shoot old gauges. The old gauges are much more cool though.
Anyway, you've made it this far. Thanks for listening to me ramble. I'll try to keep this updated as stuff gets done, no promises though. I want to get it decent and then take it to the Toledo Jeep Fest in August since I'm in the Cincinnati area.
I wanted to share my first Jeep project to aid others and leach some knowledge off of those of you who have been at this for as long as I've been alive.
I picked up a 1964 J300 about a month ago and have been slowly getting into it. It's the first Jeep that I've ever owned after wanting one since like 8th grade and I'm pumped to get to get my hands dirty again. It runs and drives (more on that later) and I don't have the room to do any large changes to it (e.g. drivetrain swap) so it's mostly fixing little things to make it a bit more daily driver friendly. I bought it off a farmer in Indiana and given it's age and use it's in pretty decent condition. The frame is great, the previous owner (PO) had the brakes redone last year, steering is as tight as it can be, and mechanically it's pretty sound. It's also fun because the company that I work for produces material that goes into the new Gladiator. Anyway, onto photos!
Took this one the day I went to look at it. This was after I stood on the brake instead of the clutch; killing the engine and getting it stuck in-between gears. The truck clutch and 3 on the tree were totally foreign to my Subaru driving self.
The PO worked for a utility company so he grabbed a bunch of signs and patched the large holes in the floor with them. I dig the look but it would be executed better. Can't do a great job of fixing it until I get a welder though.
Basically the whole interior needs to be washed out. It's grungy.
So that's the introduction. Now for the bad:
- Not a single gauge works, not even the added pod
- The PO replaced the generator with a 3-wire alternator and I don't think it's charging the battery
- Interior is beat
- Turn signal stalk is a pair of vicegrips
- Farm fixes
- HVAC needs repaired
- Electrical system tune-up
- Road sign floor
- Rusty tailgate
- 1 broken shock in rear
- Leaks oil from everywhere
- (I'm sure there's lots that I haven't discovered)
My Plans:
- Make it as mechanically & electrically sound as possible
- Update to modern era as much as possible (function over form)
- Swap entire drivetrain (eventually). The tornado is cool but woefully underpowered and low on replacement parts. Could go with a 4.2 or a 4.0 or a Merc diesel or a hemi to keep it true or piss everyone off and put in a 2JZ.
- Make the interior decent with a radio and door panels and real knobs and better seatbelts
- LEAVE THE PATINA
- Take it to car shows, go camping in it, have fun
Onto me asking for advice. On the topic of the charging system; when I got the truck registered I had to get the battery fully charged the day before and then installed it the morning (started right up though). When leaving the BMV I barely got it started and the next morning the truck wouldn't even turn over. I've had the battery tested twice and the alternator tested once and both passed. I traced the alt wiring and it appears to be hooked up like the image below with two exceptions. I can't find a dummy light and there's a ballast resistor in between the ignition and the started solenoid.
I don't know much about ballast resistors but I think it's needed since the ignition is a points style(?) and I believe the dummy light can be replaced with an in-line resistor like this one based on this article. Is that correct? Has anyone ever done that before? I'm considering not adding a dummy light because I don't know how it would fit in the cluster since there's a rudimentary circuit board and that I may just upgrade to a digital dash. I'd rather just start out with something that, in theory, should work and has those modern conveniences than trouble shoot old gauges. The old gauges are much more cool though.
Anyway, you've made it this far. Thanks for listening to me ramble. I'll try to keep this updated as stuff gets done, no promises though. I want to get it decent and then take it to the Toledo Jeep Fest in August since I'm in the Cincinnati area.
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