Build Thread 1978 CJ7 - Christine

[Airstrike]

yeah I know what you are thinking.. Christine was red and surely wasn't a CJ... but I am here to tell ya.... I think I found her reincarnated.





Funny how my mother got me started down this road. We spoke of how when I was a kid it was so awesome when my parents would say "come on kids lets go get some icecream!!" My brother and I would dive in the back seat of the jeep and away we would go! Funny how simple yet lasting these memories are for me. So of course now that I have kids I decided.. well heck I am gonna do the same for them. So in a suprise my mother found me an old 78 glass bodied CJ7 and poof... I had a new project.


Now I know I got off on a tangent but it was important to lay the back drop for what was to become a love hate realationship with the I now call Christine.

*ring ring*
Hello?
Guess what Mom?
Oh no... what did she do now...
heheh... damn throttle cable snapped off on the maiden voyage! And it was new!!!
Well... I suppose that is better than redoing the entire brake system again....
Good point... love ya mom!
You too.. have fun!

Mission accomplished...



But there is so much story in between...

 

[Airstrike]

Re: 1978 CJ7 Christine...

yumm...... icecream.. yeah yeah.. so somethings I haven't out grown. What can I say... I am a sucker for a jeep and some icecream. My wife wonders if I got the jeep for an excuse to get more icecream... some secrets I will take to my death!!!

Anyways... so Christine ends up at my mothers homestead in Ohio. Seeing as I live in Florida... I am constantly on the phone asking questions and super anxious to get up home to start working on it. Mind you this is March and I am figuring I can do a complete restore on it and bring it home by the 2nd week of July.

I am assuming you are still laughing at me. I'll just wait a moment.

So... I am digging her for specifics... what motor and Transmission mom? Is it all fiberglass... how does it run... typical anxious kid stuff. In my delight I learn it has a AMC 304 already built and runs really strong. Glass is rough and interior is a rat nest... and rust is the main color underneath. A perfect jeep!! :drool:

Anyways.. I head up to ohio over 4th of july weekend with the mind set of getting the frame and drive train all rebuilt and painting it and bringing it home. All in one week of master planning. Step father jumps in the fray and tears down the body and gets it all stripped and does all the ugly dirty work prior to my arrival.

So... from this..


to this.....




yeah yeah.. that is a trash bag covering the motor... we professionals here! Also in out master plan we sent the glass body out to be Linex'd underneath and inside the fenders and tub.

 

[Airstrike]

Re: 1978 CJ7 Christine...

so..... as I drive like mad to get to Ohio... the wheels are in motion.

One week...
Get Tub back from Linex... send to paint...
Rebuild complete underneath of jeep as needed and paint...
Put body back on....
Wire up some lights....
DRIVE IT TO FLORIDA!!!
One What?

So again...I am assuming you are laughing at me... curious.. was it the one week.. or the idea of driving a freshly rebuilt 78 jeep 1000 miles?

So.. I arrive... eager as eager gets... ready to nail this project down and enjoy my new toy!

Day one... work begins... drain all the fluids and clean the front and rear ends... funny... I don't remember Oil looking like chocolate pudding... is that normal? Looks yummy.. but I must say that the smell is a bit tough to stomach. Is that fur in there?

Day two... wake up... "what the hell is wrong with my hands!!!" they are swollen and sore and man o man my forearms are aching as well. Ah mom has breakfast going.. smells good.
Mom.... you got some Aleve?
Yeah why?
My hands are killing me.
Hahah.. sissy forgot how to turn a wrench? That what you get for being a manager. You got them soft desk hands. Wimp!
(to myself... wow .. has it really been that long?)

back to the garabge... time to start rebuilding the rear end... this gonna be great. New springs, shocks, brakes, brake lines, polyurethane bushins, shackles... oh yeah.. it gonna be asweome.

Lets start with the Bushings for the springs... just push em out.... wah? Did someone glue these things in? *grunt, groan, ,.. what the , and who in the *... Grabs the Cutting torch...and on the 9th day God created Acetylene. Step-Father walks in. *sniff sniff... something burning?*

So much to my delight.. day 2 comes to a close with Progress!!

 

[Airstrike]

Re: 1978 CJ7 Christine...

Sunrises... and day 3 starts with 3 Aleve and a Soda... Did I mention I spent 12 hours+ that lasts 2 days on floor working? For some reason my childish enthusiasm is dimming.

Time to start on the front end... should take but a day or two.. same as the rear end right? .... did the dog just laugh at me?

So tearing apart the front end... I find it interesting how how this thing even stopped as both front calipers are siezed up and the thing is a complete mess. Even the dust shields are rusted through like Swiss Cheese. Hmmm.. something just seems wrong.

Wow look nice and shiny spindle! Oh wait... that is where all the metal is missing......




Did I ever mention Saw-Horses Rule!!

 

[Airstrike]

Re: 1978 CJ7 Christine...

Day 4 begins... I gingerly get out of bed and head to the kitchen.

Wife is up... and for some reason she is looking at me with a bit of a concerned look.

What?
You really need all of those?
* looks at hand * the 4 Aleve?
Yeah,
Pfft... damn right... pass me a soda!
* one for each day seems like simple math right? *

So once again... the front end is the focus of my concern. But my concern quickly turns to dread... Walking around the jeep I manged to kick one of the front draveshafts on the ground. Suddenly my stomach turns as the sound of a loose sloppy metalic joint reaches ears....

"oh no... not the U-joints..."
"yeah they all need replaced.... main drive shafts too" says my stepfather...
* my poor hands... *

After a major battle with the new spindles and bearings... we torched out the end of a 2"+ socket just to get the nuts on over the spindle for the wheel bearings. Acetylene.... remind me to thank someone for that. Hubs are fresh out of the parts cleaner and freely working! Might be a good day after all!

 

[Airstrike]

Re: 1978 CJ7 Christine...

Day 5...

Hmm.. 5 Aleve might be pushing it...
Wife looks at me with concern again...

What happened to your fingers?
Which ones?
The purple ones????
Oh... U-Joints... * damn my shoulder hurts from swingin that hammer *

So as I continue on my quest... I am starting to question my own sanity in trying to get this done in a week. Apperantly my step-father and mother had their doubts from the moment I arrived but were kind enough to let me bask in my glory of achievement.

*ring ring*
Hello?
Sorry but we have had issues at the paint shop and your jeep tub won't be done this week.
Really? *SWEET!* That is a shame... sorry to hear that. Tell yea what we will come get it to put it back on the frame before painting!
Ok great.

A Reprive!... suddenly I can breathe a sigh of relief. Regardless I can't complete it this week so I will not be so challenged. Although saddened that I can not take it home with me when I go back to florida I know I will leave it in capable hands of my step-father to button up before I get it.

So as Christine constantly causes unforseen issues the week goes on and I continue to whine and work until the frame and drive train is finished.



Time to marry the fram and body again.



Off to Paint!!!

 

[Airstrike]

Re: 1978 CJ7 Christine...

Well sad to say I must return home... back to sunny florida... without my jeep.

So the jeep is off to paint... I had thought long and hard about what color to paint the jeep. As you can see I went with orange. The color is a factory 1978 AMC Dupont color called Sun Orange. Mom was shooting for yellow but decided orange would look good too. So ... Orange it is.

So I ask my mother... how is the jeep going??? Here is my photo response from her... was I not wanted as a child??



But... shortly after I get this!!... looking shiny!



So reassembly begins... again.. much thanks to my stepfather and his buddies that helped finish what you see on the next few stages. I must admit it is really tough just waiting. I am a 40 year old man fealling like a kid waiting for christmas the next morning. And having my mother laugh at me about it was all the more painful.

 

[Airstrike]

Re: 1978 CJ7 Christine...

So after many many many days and nights.... the day for arrival looms near.

Mom and Step-Father have decided to do a road trip and come visit for Labor day and bring the jeep to florida! How cool is that.



95% is done... need to finish putting in the seats, seat belts and get the brakes bled. Should be easy.


At this point I want to give a short run down of the $$ damage...

NEW
Springs, Shocks, Bushings, tie rods, u-joints, alum. fuel line, spindles, calipers, rotors, brake pads, brake shoes, brake lines, e-brake cables, best-top seats, best top rear fold tumble seat, paint, linex, marker lights, rear lights, front lights, light housings, wiper arms, wipers, seat belts, dash lights, rear mirror, side mirror, bikini top, rear and front bumpers.

Oh.. and 90 trips to the hardware store... " need more bolts"

 

[Airstrike]

Re: 1978 CJ7 Christine...

ok ... so the Jeep has arrived in Florida .. AWESOME!!...

So... stepfather takes a moment to say high and we dive right into it. Lets bleed the brakes. He takes a moment to tell me how he got frustrated cause he couldn't get the brakes to build pressure in the front so he changed the master cylinder and proportioning valve (add those to the NEW list).

Well after half the day we give up.. something is wrong... we can't get it to build pressure in the front. We can lock up the back but no dice up front. DENIED MY GLORY!!!

Well after multiple runs to the parts stores I am saddened by the fact nobody has one for my jeep. Seems the 2 bolt front disc with 11 X 2 drums in the back is the rare one of the bunch for master cylinders. So I ordcer it and wait patiently. In the meantime the family have a great time and they return to Ohio.

I decided to start installing the seats and new seatbelts and stuff.. get all the dash lights working and etc. I must admit it is really nice to work on the wiring by just pulling out the front seat.

Did I mention I need more Bolts?

 

[Airstrike]

Re: 1978 CJ7 Christine...

Ok .. here is where hopefully someone can learn from my mistakes along the way. My master cylinder arrives... and I install it with anticipation. I am chewing at the bit to get this thing out on the road!

So I get it all installed and guess what.. no pressure in the front. At this point I am close to raging and setting iton fire to roast marshmellows with the kids instead. Sorry kids.. no icecream, how about smores?

After sitting and reading all kinds of info here on jeep-cj.com I come to the conclusion something else has to be wrong. Why am I not building pressure. I look around everywhere for an adjustable push rod for the master cylinder. No luck. I don't have the tools myself to modify one. No luck. Then it dawns on me... the fire wall is thinker for a glass jeep than a regular one. So I inspect the fire wall and guess what.. there is a metal plate imbedded in it. So I decide to break out the Dremel Tool and grind it out and recess it into the fire wall flush with the plate.



It was odd as the clouds parted and the sun came out and I would have sworn I heard someone whisper Acetylene... but anyways.. I HAVE PRESSURE!!! The fire wall was not allowing it to get a full throw ont he pedal to build pressure. Yes I cried... after all.. I was gonna finally get my icecream!

 

[Airstrike]

Re: 1978 CJ7 Christine...

So the following weekend I took the jeep to the beach and took the kids for ice cream. Since I have done a few things like add rear bumpers and a hitch. Also I went ahead and changed out the entire brake line system with new Stainless Steel lines since one of the lead lines to the Prop Valve was small.

Either way... the jeep has brought nothing but smiles and good times these last 2 months and in the end it was all well beyond worth it. I look forward to many good memories with the family and hope to pass down the ice cream tradition to my son's future families as well. Happy Jeeping!

 

[Airstrike]

Re: 1978 CJ7 Christine...

Incase some are curious... the motor came built when it was bought... the motor is a AMC 304 bored .60 over. Has Edlebrock intake and heads, Holley avenger carb. I must admit it runs really really strong. I have a big ole box of receipts for the motor but have yet to go through them all to really learn it more. Still needs alot of love under the hood, but that is the winter project I think


Also as I said before my jeep is a Fiberglass body. That includes the windshield frame AND the front GRILL. It is not a kentrol grill. It is one of the old rare front glass grills prior to Jeep copyrighting the image. I have had others look at it and they think the body is from a company up north that closed and is no longer around. If anyone has info they could share to enlighten me as to what it might be body wise that would be cool. Thanks.

 

[Airstrike]

Re: 1978 CJ7 Christine...

I have had a couple people ask me what it might sound with the side pipes and headers. Personally I like the noise The side pipes are in fact Purple Hooties sanded and painted with epoxy high temp black.

Anyways.. here is a link to the jeep... I have done alot as of late to it that perhaps I need to put more into. Perhaps I can have the admin move this thread to the Build forum so I can add and get comments more often.

GOPR0013 - YouTube

Either way.. Thanks for the "thanks".

 

[JR74CJ5]

Re: 1978 CJ7 Christine...

Perhaps I can have the admin move this thread to the Build forum so I can add and get comments more often.

I took care of it for you Airstrike! Now in build thread(s) section.

I must say I thoroughly enjoyed your build / posts!

You guys did great on her!

:drool::drool:


~ Jr

 

[Airstrike]

Re: 1978 CJ7 Christine...

I took care of it for you Airstrike! Now in build thread(s) section.

I must say I thoroughly enjoyed your build / posts!

You guys did great on her!

:drool::drool:


~ Jr

Thanks!... it was important to me to remind everyone of the real reasons we love jeeps the way we do. For me it is all about the spirit of family that comes with having a jeep. I was lucky enough to have that as a child and I am happy to keep the jeeper family tradition going!

 

[Petescj]

Nice Job. Love the Beach pics. :drool: The members rides section was set up as a section to show off your Cj but we didnt want a bunch of posts like "cool Jeep" , "nice Cj" and so on , so it was set up as a no reply sub forum. You'll get more comments here.

 

[Airstrike]

Nice Job. Love the Beach pics. :drool: The members rides section was set up as a section to show off your Cj but we didnt want a bunch of posts like "cool Jeep" , "nice Cj" and so on , so it was set up as a no reply sub forum. You'll get more comments here.

We ( wife and kids ) took the Cj out to the beach on easter sunday and had a great day. It was 80 degrees and windy. We flew kites and had an awesome time.
I even managed to burry it up to the Transmission Support in 2 feet of sugar sand pulling out a guy in a 2 wheel drive dodge truck lol. I wish I had taken a picturebut I forgot like a fool , was more concerned with Christine's apperant desire to become a gopher and dig holes straight to china.

I bought a GoPro3 hero black edition last Saturday so I am gonna start taking some videos of it. Should be cool. I always host on YouTube so I hope that is all good. Here are a couple examples of me trying to learn the camera from Sunday Enjoy.

GOPR0021 - YouTube

GOPR0020 - YouTube


One of the biggest things is that when you get back to the house it takes every bit of 2 hours to wash out the under carraige to get teh salt and sand out which is a must!!

 

[Airstrike]

Some simple recent changes.... from this......




To this....I bought the after market replacement which came in blue as you can see in the previous picture and the glass shows in a green color. So... if you take off the light covers on the replacements you can take a razor blade and shave off the blue filament color to make em white. Also I took out the blue domes from inside the speedo and added orange led replacements bulbs to make the speedo all orange.

 

[Airstrike]

Also added a Hitch but I used the old school bumperettes as they give a slight cushion, and look cool in my book, but I wanted a 2" reciever for my bike rack. So I found one that mounted up under the bumperettes and wala!

 

[Airstrike]

Also some small advice that most probably know but those thinking of going to "under fender" headers should consider.

If you want your jeep to sound mean without the header and flange leaks go with the think 1/8 inch dead aluminum gaskets.

Other wise it will leak as shown below and sound like you are dragging a bag of cans down the road from all the blow by. Not to mention so rather obnoxious back fires once in awhile.



All better..........