Build Thread 1979 Cj-7 Let the games begin! Rolling restoration

[CJ BRIAN NJ]

Hey guys I just picked up this Cj yesterday so I thought getting an early start on a new thread was a good idea! She is not pretty but I waited a long time for the right jeep to come along. I traded 2 Suzuki Quadracers in good shape for the Jeep and $250. So the first step is breakdown and getting a list together for the things i will be doing to her in the future!

Basics : 1978 Jeep CJ7 , AMC 304 v8 , 3 speed .

All origional including the complete numbers matching drivetrain and origional hard-top and doors!

I was going to yank the AMC 304 right away and prepare for the straight 6 , to my surprize the V8 is the smoothest , quietest , most perfect running Jeep motor i have exer heard.

the Transmission is tight and the Transfer Case is also tight and smooth. Both rears are tight and true with no probs , even the exhaust is quiet .

There is a bit of a python gang bang(messy wires) behind the dash and under the hood but it all seems pretty intact and most of the electrics work with the exception of the fuel guage ,the blower , some dummy light bulbs and the ammeter.

Manual windows , locks, steering , and breaks.

I will update with pics as i get into it more and more. And Im sure i will have questions along the way thats why i joined! So here are some pics from today (Day-1). oops gotta put th pics on photobuckt first be right back!

 

[BC CJ]

Sounds a lot like the Jeep I've just started on! Matching numbers, fairly original, smooth running AMC 304 , good running gear and a rats nest of wireing!

I'm looking forward to these pics and watching your build.

 

[CJ BRIAN NJ]

Re: 1979 CJ7 Let the events begin! Rolling restoration

http://www.jeep-cj.com/gallery/files/8/9/2/6/img_2515.jpg

sounds a lot like the jeep i've just started on! Matching numbers, fairly original, smooth running AMC 304 , good running gear and a rats nest of wireing!

I'm looking forward to these pics and watching your build.

thanks alot for checking it out! I will keep an eye out for yours too~!

Brian

 

[IOPort51]

Re: 1979 CJ7 Let the events begin! Rolling restoration

I think it is interesting that the bot takes offense at the word "semag"(backwards) and changes it to "events". It kind of changes the whole idea, don't you think??

:ww:gentlemen, from the Republic of Texas and good luck on your builds.

 

[CJ BRIAN NJ]

Re: 1979 CJ7 PICS POSTED (BEFORE PICS)

HEAR ARE SOME PICS! I JUST NOTICED THE Levi (Edition) STRAUSS RIVETS ON THE BACK SEAT IM NOT SURE HOW TO TELL IF MY JEEP IS A Levi (Edition) EDITION SO ANY TIPS ON HOW TO I.D. WOULD BE GREAT! I WILL KEEP UPDATING THE PICS EACH TIME I FIND SOMETHING THATS WORTH LOOKING AT. I WORKED OUT ALOT OF THE ELECTRICAL GREMLINS BY CLEANING AND REPLACING BAD WIRES , GROUNDS , FUSES ETC . SO ITS RUNNING GREAT WITH ALL THE LIGHTS WORKING AND ITS CHARGING , IT WILL STAY RUNNING WITH BATTERY DISCONNECTED BUT IF I TURN ON THE LIGHTS IT STALLS ?? IM GUESSING REGULATOR OR BAD CONTACTS IN THE ALTERNATOR SO ITS NOT PRODUCING ENOUGH JUICE TO RUN THE LIGHTS AND IGNITION , I WILL LET YOU KNOW WHAT I FIND OUT. I ALSO TRACKED DOWN ALL VACUUMM LEAKS SO SHE IS REALLY RUNNING SMOOTH NOW. SOMEONE REMOVED THE ELECTRIC CHOKE SO IM GOING TO EITHER MAKE IT MANUAL OR REPLACE THE WHOLE CARB/INTAKE. I AM ALSO GOING TO RE GASKET AS MUCH AS I CAN WUITHOUT PULLING THE MOTOR . I AM TRUYING TO AVOID REMOVING THE DRIVETRAIN AND BODY , I DONT WANT TO BE ANOTHER GUY WITH "PARTS FOR SALE " AND SINCE I CAN GET TO MOST OF THE FRAME EASILY AND THE TUB IS IN GOOD SHAPE STRUCTURALY SPEAKING . I ORDERED THE FRAME REPAIR SLEAVES AND PLATES AS WELL AS A WINDSHIELD FRAME AND FENDERS. IM PULLING THE DIAMOND PLATE ROCKER COVERS NOW BUT IT LOOKS REALLY GOOD UNDER THEM , NO ROT THROUGH AT ALL SO I AM REALLY HAPPY WITH THE JEEP SO FAR! STAY TUNED FOR PROGRESS REPORTS , I WILL KEEP THEM COMING!

 

[CJ BRIAN NJ]

Re: 1979 CJ7 Let the events begin! Rolling restoration

I think it is interesting that the bot takes offense at the word "semag"(backwards) and changes it to "events". It kind of changes the whole idea, don't you think??

:ww:gentlemen, from the Republic of Texas and good luck on your builds.

I AGREE IOPort51 NOT SURE WHY MY ORIGIONAL TITLE WAS CHANGED AT ALL? how did you know that it was changed?

thx brian

 

[IOPort51]

Re: 1979 CJ7 Let the events begin! Rolling restoration

I wrote something about fun and semag yesterday and it came out fun and events.

I AGREE IOPort51 NOT SURE WHY MY ORIGIONAL TITLE WAS CHANGED AT ALL? how did you know that it was changed?

thx brian

 

[CJ]

Re: 1979 CJ7 Let the events begin! Rolling restoration

The word games is replaced because it is a common spam word the gets posted often - I turned it off.

 

[mtnwhlr]

:ww: from Colorado. You said you were going to pull the AMC 304 and put in a AMC 258 i6 / 4.2l . Why would you do that when just about every one who has a AMC 258 i6 / 4.2l wishes the had a V8. And then yours is orginal.

 

[IOPort51]

Re: 1979 CJ7 Let the events begin! Rolling restoration

I knew there was a reason, just couldn't imagine what it could be.

The word games is replaced because it is a common spam word the gets posted often - I turned it off.

 

[CJ BRIAN NJ]

:ww: from Colorado. You said you were going to pull the AMC 304 and put in a AMC 258 i6 / 4.2l . Why would you do that when just about every one who has a AMC 258 i6 / 4.2l wishes the had a V8. And then yours is orginal.

hey mtnwhlr thanks for stopping by and checking the start of my build!

i have a HO AMC 258 i6 / 4.2l that was rebuilt , cammed , ported and polished i had built for another jeep i had . the jeep was wrecked less than 100 miles after the build and its loaded with bolt-ons and a holly pro injection setup. i traded for the jeep because of the body and frame assuming the motor was beat but to my surprize its the best running jeep v8 i have ever seen or heard. im going to regasket the topend and leave it all origional . my other concern was mpg and after some research i found that the v8 gets 1-3 less miles per gal than the AMC 258 i6 / 4.2l so no big savings there either. and lastly i have seen the jeep AMC 304 's selling for $750+ so i was going to use that cash during the build but i will now just sell or save the AMC 258 i6 / 4.2l .

thanks , brian

 

[BC CJ]

The rust looks pretty surficial in the pics - looks like a good Jeep to build. Are you planning modifications or a stock rebuild?

Man I get excited seeing all these CJ's being rebuilt, I love CJs. (guess I came to the right place) Great forum!

 

[CJ BRIAN NJ]

The rust looks pretty surficial in the pics - looks like a good Jeep to build. Are you planning modifications or a stock rebuild?

Man I get excited seeing all these CJ's being rebuilt, I love CJs. (guess I came to the right place) Great forum!

i think the plan is to make it a daily driver / trail jeep. if it turns out to be a Levi (Edition) Strauss ed. i will most likely try to get it back to its completely origional glory , if not it will just be a mild custom lifted jeep to pull my quads around and plow a few small driveways. so far the only real rust "problems" are the two rear frame sections. the body is surprisingly clean and straight i found some pin holes and a 6" circle of bondo on the hood . i will post the new pics now too.!

 

[wondernad]

Looks like we are both heading towards the same kinda idea. Making a reliable DD and an occasional trail/beach jeep. I will be keeping up with your progress. Good luck and take lots of pictures. I'll try to do the same.

 

[CJ BRIAN NJ]

Re: 1979 CJ7 UPDATE PICS

here are some new pics , i just started stripping paint to see what im dealing with i will try to strip a panel a day until its all ready for the hamme r and dolly. i bought a case of $.99 cent white spray paint from Walmart and i will be putting a light coat on everything bare to prevent flash rust before bodywork.

i also learned i need to move my wood burning stove to get the old girl in the garage, im only short 8-10 inches so maybe i can turn the stove sideways??

 

[tonkatrucksryan]

Nice find!!!!! Cant wait to see it finished... Keep up the good work!!!

 

[CJ BRIAN NJ]

Nice find!!!!! Cant wait to see it finished... Keep up the good work!!!

new pics up soon ! thanks

 

[CJ BRIAN NJ]

Re: 1979 CJ7 movin forward , guess what? more bondo

Hey guys i got some more work done and took some pics. i pulled the fender flares and diamond plate rocker covers to see how bad it was underneith and its not to bad at all(for a east coast jeep). both the rocker and quater have some bondo on them but not to crazy! the tail panel above the back bumper is the worst so far because the frame rot crawled up and ate it but its flat and only spot welded so i will cut it all out and replace it . now i know i will get knocked for this but the rust on the body
is just going to get grinded down to bare metal sealed and re-bondo'd i know i should cut the panels and replace them but im not going to. the bodywork thats on it now is 18 years old and has no cracking and only 2 spots that bubbled through,so as long as i prep and use quality filler and chems it will last me at least 15 years and thats fine for me .

you will see in the pics all the bodylines and edges still have solid steel on them even the rocker bottom and back wheel well lip is strong. and my doors are both complete solid and working 100% even the door panels are in good shape so i will just smooth the dings out and paint them.

i found a set of f150 aluminum wheels in great shape (need cleaning and polish) they have 33's on them but they are shot. i want to put 33's or 35's on it with a 4-6" suspension and no body lift.

im looking for advice on primers , filler , sealers and other body chems. i will por15 all the hard to reach areas i cand grind clean but i need tips on what order to do the bodywork?? i always thought that body filler should go on bare metal only but i have also heard you have to seal metal before putting bondo on . and what are the toughest most durable paint and primers, brand names , types , where to buy and any other importand stuff i need to know before i start doing the bodywork..

and i will be putting bondo over some pitted areas after i get them bare , so how do i prep the pitting before filling ? or should i just lay down several coats of primer to fill all the pits in?

i should have the body all ground down to metal by sunday and will take a ton of pics to show everyone how she looks.






i still need the sandblaster for the scale and undercoating but stripping the flat metal has been pretty easy im mostly using 40 and 60 grit flap discs on the 4 & 1/2 " electric angle grinder i grabbed a 1/4' die grinder and 3" high speed cutter from Harbor Freight for $10 each and they are also going to help alot im going back for the blaster and a 90 degree die grinder with front exhaust so i can use the 2" twist lock sanding discs in the tight spaces

sorry for rambling on but my buddys are 9-5 ers that can barely hang a picture or chang a light bulb so i cant wrap with them about this stuff, if i get boring just check out the pics and ignore the txt hahah

 

[BC CJ]

Re: 1979 CJ7 movin forward , guess what? more bondo

You're making good progress man. mine is very slow going - little here, little there.

I wont knock you for painting over rust - I'm an even worse offender! I dont have a welder and I just want to get my Jeep cleaned up so I can drive it! A company in my home town produce aluminum jeep bodies (Aqualu Industries). I think I'll do a major frame-up when my son is a teenager and can help/learn. For the next 8 - 10 years the body will be a hack job. I hope to put my efforts into rebuilding mechanical stuff. I have a lot to learn; I'm pretty green at this stuff

 

[CJ BRIAN NJ]

Re: 1979 CJ7 movin forward , guess what? more bondo

You're making good progress man. mine is very slow going - little here, little there.

I wont knock you for painting over rust - I'm an even worse offender! I dont have a welder and I just want to get my Jeep cleaned up so I can drive it! A company in my home town produce aluminum jeep bodies (Aqualu Industries). I think I'll do a major frame-up when my son is a teenager and can help/learn. For the next 8 - 10 years the body will be a hack job. I hope to put my efforts into rebuilding mechanical stuff. I have a lot to learn; I'm pretty green at this stuff

glad to hear that , im figuring once this one is done and im driving it i will start the search for a donor for a full frame off resto. i got my welder for $100 on craigslist and i am pretty good at making strong structural welds but its tough with thin metal or i would just weld all new panels on. but i dont want to be one of those guys that cuts up a jeep and loses interest so im just going to make it safe and decent looking and get it on the road . my goal is to have it tagged by June 1st so i can get some road time in while its still nice enough to go topless. i also saw a guy with tube half doors that had mesh in them like a nascar drivers window or nerf bars from a quad and i cant wait to make a set for the good weather! next update will be sunday night and i hope to get all the paint off by then . i am pretty sure i only have 5-6 hours labor in it so with another 4-5 i should be ready for bodywork and frame section repairs. i ordered the repair section already and im going to ad the roll pan or "tail piece" to my list the rest of the metal is just going to get smoothed out.

and i think i finally decided on a color , im going with a deep dark grey/silver with tons of big metalic flake like a 70's dunebuggy or a bumper car from the carnival and im getting a set of blue jean denim seat cover made with the big white stitching to look like a pair of jeans, maybe even some jean pockets on the back or sides . my jeep is not a Levi (Edition) Strauss edition but the Levi (Edition) back seat gave me the idea!

and if anyone needs guages Harbor Freight has a 3 guage cluster (volts,temp,oil pressure)if you remove them from the mount panal they are an exact fit in the jeep dash . i think all 3 are only $20-30 and they come with all the wiring , adapters hoses and hardware. there is also a company selling a complete digital dash for $1100 that looks amazing so im keeping an eye on ebay hoping to find a used setup or maybe one from a totalled jeep.

kinda like this! Redirect Notice