Build Thread 1979 CJ7 Rapid restore - 1 Year build from tired and rusty to all go and some show..

[DconZ]

Out with the old!


In with the new.. after bench bleeding that is. Took a lot of pumps to get those last little bubbles out! dont forget to bring your patience when doing that.

 

[DconZ]

Strange how we can have a frustrating situation, but look back and say it's funny.
But, I do the same and that's how I've learned best - by making mistakes and going forward from there.

Rear brake shoes were a major reason why I went with discs. The Scout II drums are a bastard size (11x2.25) and I was informed that the shoes were getting difficult to find.

Looking

I dont mind working on drums and shoes, its been a while but it came back to me after I smashed a couple knuckles

 

[DconZ]

I did the wheel studs as well, they were in need of a freshen up. I used my air chisel with a blunt tip to tap out the old studs, that works really slick. It can be a bit hard to hold square on the stud but you only need a few hits to pop the stud out..





Waiting on a replacement Dorman slave cylinder now to finish this off a few more days

 

[Hilblee68]

I can't believe this is going to be your beater until you buy something else. Geez it's gonna be 100% better than what I'm driving

 

[DconZ]

I can't believe this is going to be your beater until you buy something else. Geez it's gonna be 100% better than what I'm driving

This CJ is destined for full restoration. Once I get through all the mechanical and there is nothing left to repair or replace, I will be doing a new tub/body/paint (if I can find a new tub for a reasonable $ that is) and coating the frame at which point I guess it will be "done".. I almost typed that with a straight face, we all know it is never done

 

[DconZ]

Got things back together finally and out for some test runs. Wow I really didn't have alot of breaking power before this in comparison. I have so much break pedal I had to move my seat back a few clicks

I really took my time bleeding the cylinder on the bench and then did 2 passes on all four corners. I still had a few bubbles in the lines on pass 1 and I could feel it in the pedal, patience is the answer..

Painting the cover turned out not great, I thought some tough 3m strips would prevent the arms from scraping the paint off but that didn't work quite as planned. It will have to come off and get stripped back to bare metal.





I made this little stubby line with the 90 degree bend so I didn't have to leave the bench bleeder tubes and lid off while installing it. Seems better than the lid off method!

 

[DconZ]

Well, I found the most annoying part of the entire project thus far...





The Leed booster mounting brackets and linkage combo put my pedal right at almost its highest point then had a bit of slack on top of it. If I pulled the pedal all the way I was popping my brake light sensor switch out of its mount. Man this little sucker is so hard to reach... I pulled my entire dash off only to realize that doesn't really help unless you go all the way and remove your column and brackets..

There is adjustment on the Leed supplied linkage but all the way in and still a little bit long. I made 1/8' spacers out of flat bar I had laying around and that put things in a perfect position, brake pedal now rides ever so slightly lower than my clutch pedal and its a lot easier to slide off the gas and on the brakes!


Kind of hard to see them..



Old switch was fine but I put in a new one anyway. The Borg warner has more movement before tripping whereas my OEM is super sensitive and for the switch to cut off, pretty much the entire plunger needs to be in




This doesn't help trust me...

 

[DconZ]

Test run in the mountains.. The first real mud holes it has seen since the start of the project, it digs as expected!!

 

[DconZ]

So I went and bought this 1980 yesterday thinking I was just getting a nice new aluminum body for my build.. turns out I got way more than that.. and rather than being the doner it might be receiving everything I have put into the 79!!

 

[KRUPP]

Oh man. Has the Jeep CJ bug really bitten you!
Aluminum body is interesting.

 

[DconZ]

Oh man. Has the Jeep CJ bug really bitten you!
Aluminum body is interesting.

I'll agree to call it a mild addiction lol

I wasn't looking for a second CJ and it fell into my lap off a search alert setup on a local buy and sell.. What I was looking for was a better tub, fenders and hood but for the price I paid for this entire, clean and nice running CJ it was a no brainer..

 

[Belizean]

Nice one !

 

[DconZ]

So what was supposed to be a doner for body parts is going the end up taking over the build. The body really is in mint conditional, YJ spring conversation, coated frame.. Now I have to rip off every new part I put into the original 79 and move it over to the new 1980 chassis ...




These old school pro comps are brand new!