Build Thread 1980 CJ7 rehab project..

[gert]

awesome thanks for the info. any reviews on the gronk guy that sells the 2100/2150 on ebay?

sorry I do not have any reviews for him, I have seen him on ebay several times

 

[DrDoc]

awesome thanks for the info. any reviews on the gronk guy that sells the 2100/2150 on ebay?

I got one from him last summer, installed easy and fired right up, and it fixed all my idle and dieing problems, would recommend

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[smbundy13]

ok, had some progress on my CJ7 . Decided to sell my DD F-AMC 150 to put money in the bank and save on monthly payments. that pushed the jeep build to the front of the line.

so, i recently bought a new Weber carb to replace the Carter BBD that is in need of a rebuild... havent installed it yet, want to get my good friend that has much more mechanical experience than me to help with that install.

also recently completed my set of method wheels and found some Rubi take-offs for cheap ($100 per tire cheap).. got the tires mounted and threw two on the jeep... i need to get some more lug nuts as the newest two didnt come with lug nuts...

I am going to buy a 2.5" lift to better fit the 32s and replace the 37 year old saggy suspension... I am thnking about some wheel spacers because the new tires hit the leaf springs before full lock. I know i can adjust the steering stop and will probably do that anyways but with narrow-track axles, more width will be nice.

anyways.. finally can post some pictures after the photobucket debacle..

before



after.. with my helpers in the shop



close up of wheels



and our new shop mascot that my wife found while she was looking for black widows (for some reason)



I really think that once the jeep gets cleaned up, the wheel color will be close to the jeep color.

 

[gert]

Man that’s gonna be a sweet Jeep I had to get a snake out of my garage years ago, freaking thing scared me when I saw it start moving around


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[shum8]

Cool rims - kinda reminiscent of the wagon wheels on the Golden Eagles. Very nice.

Snake's a cool touch as well....

 

[JAE]

Looks like a hognose, it'll eat the rodents and leave you alone. You can find videos of them playing dead inn YouTube

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[mtnwhlr]

I love the wheels they are a nice match to the color of your Jeep. You have a couple of cute helpers and the snake would freak me out.

 

[Belizean]

Don't know why but I can see the snake but not the rest of the pictures in that post

 

[smbundy13]

update on the jeep, I ordered a 2.5" lift and am waiting for it to ship.
Superlift super ride. we will see how it goes.. I know the general consensus is the YJ conversion is the best but, I just couldnt part with triple the amount of money for now. will drive the jeep with the superlift on there and see how it goes.

sometime between now and christmas, I am hoping to get lift installed and new weber carb installed.. only major thing(s) after that is brakes, general tune up and possibly wiring..

I think I am going to buy the corbeau seat bracket to lower my drivers seat down a bit.

 

[gert]

Sweeeetttt


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[smbundy13]

update.. i started to install the lift saturday but ran into a snag.. I didnt think about the frame side shackle bushings and the kit didnt include them. I started to just install the lift with the old bushings until i broke a shackle bolt in the front.. so, went ahead and ordered new shackels F & R and bushings F&R.... didnt get the carb installed... i will say, the plasma cutter came in handy with the ubolts... some of them were frozen solid even after multiple applications of pb blaster over a couple days/week. I do think this thing will look good after the kit install is finished.. no pictures..

 

[smbundy13]

alright.. after a long time and two additional part orders.. i got the lift installed.



I had to order 1 new shackle.. so i went ahead and ordered 4 new ones... after that, I figured out that the rear shock location was not in the correct place.. it was welded on the axle (ugly welds as well) instead of on lower spring plate... so, ordered two new spring plates for the rear and longer sway bar links.

got everything installed and torqued and took it for a short drive.. I am pretty sure i over-torqued the main spring eye bolt.. (not the shackle side but the other side of leaf spring)

I read online that it is supposed to be torqued to 100ft lbs. now the jeep rides pretty rough.. maybe i put too much torqued on those bolts? or maybe i put too much torque on the sway bar links before it was on the tires?

either way, I still need some engine tune-up work to be done.. i have a terrible exhaust leak and need to install my weber carb. also, need to get some spacers until i can find some w/t axles.. I also scored a '95 YJ bar for $80! so that needs to go on at some point.

 

[smbundy13]

onto my (apparently) annual update of my project... it has been at my buddy's shop for a while to do some work. he installed my Weber, DUI distributor and the painless kit.. last weekend, we got the timing and the carb dialed. we have a couple things left of the dash wiring.. had some problems with my gauges so i found some used gauges that i have been told work.. (we will see)..

I have some W/T axles bought and will pick them up the next time i go back to visit alabama.. I am planning on swapping the n/t hubs to the w/t axles to keep the 6 bolt hub that, according to my reading, is stronger than the newer 5 bolt.. will probably do a 1 piece rear axle conversion before they get put in as well..

got the YJ bar installed and the windshield bars are in.. since my last post, i found a YJ softtop and half doors for an absolute steal right down the road from my house..

since my CJ is an '80, it doesnt have the provision in the body for the new style striker.. I bought the Collins brothers adapters for the newer style strikers and got them working.. took a lot of modifying to get them to work which is dissapointing. we had to machine almost a half inch spacer on the actual striker and turn the striker down a hair to get them to fit.. as of right now, they are working great..

I have a fixed back rear seat that will be installed after the gauges and what not are finished. then we will tackle the 3 point seat belts front and rear.

Doors installed.. funny enough the bar and the doors are from two different jeeps but the colors are spot on.. we will be painting the bar


the red arrow shows the spacer we had to make


Weber carb... note, the filter plumbing is not finalized in this picture


DUI HEI distributor and nice Live Wires plug wires


Battery hold down strap.. should work better than the stock clamp.. not bad for $10 in bits.


fit of the doors.. should be great.

looking forward to this being done..

 

[smbundy13]

newest update.. got some finishing work done on some of my lights..

got the headlights in.. and running..


expanded side shot with my side marker lights



tail lights working.. also pictured.. old 4wd hardware sticker and plate with 1992 registration sticker on it.. awesome

 

[mdeluca]

It's like time lapse photography... year by year.

I really like the half doors!

Did the YJ bar bolt right in or did you have to drill new mounting holes?

Looking good...

 

[smbundy13]

It's like time lapse photography... year by year.

I really like the half doors!

Did the YJ bar bolt right in or did you have to drill new mounting holes?

Looking good...

LOL yeah, work and young kids make progress hard to come by..

the YJ bar bolted right in.. I actually had to buy new "feet" for the front body mount of the roll bar but that is because the stock ones had rusted..

The half doors are awesome and were another excellent find..

I am somewhat disappointed in the black mountain (collins brothers) door striker adapters because of how much actually fabrication it took to make them work..

now, that might be just on my jeep..

 

[smbundy13]

update.. she is back at home. after driving her a bit, i figured out that i have to really tune the carb as its running quite rich. and I need to adjust my clutch as there is no free play at the top and i think it might not be disengaging fully.. only picture i got was a quick one before my shop turned into an exhaust installation shop for my cousins new truck.. it was a nice change to work on a new truck with no rust or dirt to fall into my eyes/mouth etc.

​

for now, that is how she will roll.. not very pretty to say the least but functional

 

[smbundy13]

got a couple things done on the CJ last couple of weeks.* had to adjust the clutch travel since I dont think it was fully disengaging.* I am fairly certain i will be replacing the clutch very soon.. but this at least makes it driveable.* *did some other horse trading and got some JB Fab twin sticks..* these things are awesome.* Transfer Case shifts smooth as can be now.. infinitely better than the factory shifter that has some... interesting mods (or repairs)..*

I need to do a little work to get the tunnel cover correct... the new shift boot doesnt cover the hole..*
old

new

 

[gert]

Dude that’s cool, I love my JB shifter, I had to make a new cover for mine out of some left over sheet metal, I didn’t like the rubber boots they sent so I sewed up some new boots


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[smbundy13]

got a few things added to the jeep.. started the install of my YJ softtop but I need to buy some hardware (I think) mostly the screws for the windshield channel and the windshield door seals...

got the rear 3 point seats installed.. so the kids can be safe.. well, as safe as you can be in a CJ7 ... also got a new shift knob.. didnt take a picture installed. from Core Shifters . com.. only like $29 and it threaded on.. once I got all the crud out of the threads..