Build Thread 82 CJ7 frame swap & lift build

[rbagley]

I picked up this 82 Jeep CJ7 Limited from the original owner (sort of). The bill of sale will say I am the second owner, but it spent about a year in my buddies hands before it was sold to me for what he had in a carburetor rebuild, a new gas tank and fuel line ($400). The earliest pictures that I took of the Jeep were in October of 2008- I picked it up earlier that year if I remember correctly. The pics show the Jeep after I sold the top and original wheels. I had the black wheels/tires lying around from an old Ford truck I sold about 10 years prior- they were not my first choice, but are serving their purpose for now.

The Jeep was 100% stock from what I could tell. The clutch, brakes, lights, gauges and 4-wheel drive all worked. Rust had taken care of the rear frame rails and was wearing holes in many spots on the tub. We live in MI, so for a 1982 I didn’t think this Jeep was that bad off. I figured I would put a little time and money in and have a fun and inexpensive trail rig. (As many of you have been there and done that, I have over $4500 in and a lot of work to go- glad I picked it up so cheap!)

I have been buying parts and working on it on and off for the last 2 1/2 years. The decision to buy a solid replacement frame has changed the plan from "fix what is broke" to "might as well fix it up nice while I am at it" -hence the $4500.

Looking forward to reminiscing about the progress I have made so far while sharing what is soon to come.

 

[rbagley]

As the story goes, Mrs. original owner took the Jeep to the local dealership wanting to see about getting it restored for her husband- this was the 1st new "car" he had ever bought and they always took it to the dealership for repairs. The guys at the dealership advised her, more or less, to drive it off a cliff- she left very concerned about safety so was ok with letting it go. She gave it to my buddy who didn’t have the time or workshop to take on a rotten frame, so he sold it to me for what he had in it.

From the information I collected from the vehicle identification number (and have verified as I have taken it apart) this Jeep came from the factory with the following:

Vehicle: 1982 Jeep CJ7 Limited
Front Axle: Dana 30
Engine: In-line 6 (AMC 258 i6 / 4.2l ) AMC 258 i6 / 4.2l (either 168K or 68K- I need to still ask)
Transmission : T-5 ; 5 speed w/OD
Transfer Case : Dana 300
Rear Axle: AMC20
Vehicle Gross Weight: 4150 lbs + -

I have taken a lot of pictures along the way and am in the middle of a lot of progress, so I hope to continue updating as I go.


As these pictures show, the frame was in need of attention. As I drove it around the yard, the Transfer Case developed quite a leak as well. The engine ran well, but was a dog when I took it around the block.

 

[rbagley]

Not exactly sure if posting a reply is how I post more info to my own build thread, but it seems to be working ok this way.

I picked up the Jeep in 2008 because I couldn’t pass up a great deal-not necessarily because I was sold out on Jeeps. The more magazines and Jeep sites I read, the more excited I get about owning and building one- my wife will tell you that is all I talk about during certain seasons of the year- especially during basketball season because that’s when I anticipate getting paid for coaching- it all goes to the Jeep.

The original plan was to put a small suspension lift on it and fix what was wrong with it, while replacing worn parts. Besides the lift (which came with shocks, leaf springs, drop pitman arm etc) brakes were in the plan and tie rods too for the front. Ended up replacing what seemed to be about everything in the front end- figured I might as well paint/powder coat everything while I was at it.

I bought a Rough Country 4” lift in 2010 with the shock upgrade and ended up replacing the ball joints and the u-joints in the Dana 30 along with a steering stabilizer. I bought new calipers, rotors, pads, stainless brake lines, hub bearings/seals & greased the hubs. I bought stock replacement shackles to connect the leaf springs, but wish I would have went with something beefier since I was replacing the old ones. All of this was bolted on by the beginning of this summer.

 

[rbagley]

I couldn't believe how much the 4" lift raised the front end when it was all together. I was so excited, but the front suspension was only the beginning.



I had since started breaking off all the body mounts and has removed the driveshafts (replacing the u-joints with a hammer and socket on the workbench) removed the Transfer Case and sandblasted a number of parts to be painted/powdercoated as mentioned above.

I picked up a gasket/seal kit for the Dana 300 , but have yet to start replacing stuff. It worked fine getting the 4x4 in high and low, but was leaking a lot, leaving a puddle on the cardboard. I think it was the seal between the Transmission shaft and the case.

 

[rbagley]

"figured I might as well paint/powder coat everything while I was at it"

The next town over (Plainwell, MI) there is a company that makes sandblasting cabinets and rents them out to the public for $15 an hour. It takes me about 15 minutes to get there and they have cabinets big enough to roll the whole Jeep in if necessary. Also, up the road there is a powder-coating place (Tuff Coat), so I took advantage of both, even though at the time powdercoating parts didn't really fit into my build plan. I just didn't feel like wire wheeling dozens of parts and priming and painting it all like usual.

I am glad now that I did get stuff powdercoated since I picked up a nice frame and now the build is going a whole new direction.

Stuff that I couldn't powdercoat because of cost or otherwise, I either sandblasted or wire wheeled, wiped down and primed with Rust-Oleum primer and paint. It isn't nearly as tough as powdercoat or por-15, but should keep stuff from rusting and easy to re-apply if/when necessary.

 

[rbagley]

I debated upgrading to the 6 bolt hubs while I was working on the Dana 30 but for now since they are working fine I decided to keep the 5 bolt ones despite reading that people have problems with the bolts coming loose or something. After seeing how much new 6 bolt hubs and Warn lockouts would cost, I figured I would consider upgrade if/when they break.

I took pictures of the disassembly so that I wouldn't mess up when putting it all back together. I forgot half way through when tearing apart the one side, but luckily I remembered to on the other side.

I bought the socket for the spindle nut through Quadratech (part # 98001 00) for $8.99. I bought a couple of new spindle nuts while I was at it because people often tighten them with a chisel or punch of some sort. They were only $4.99 a piece (part #52449 1176). In that order I picked up a diff gasket for the cover. I drained the fluids completely and wiped out the inside. If I would have know what to look for I would have inspected the gears too, but that is a little out of my league besides obvious damage.

 

[rr41mag]

very detailed build nice work

 

[Kane]

Nice write up you are doing here. Keep them coming.

 

[rbagley]

One of the things that I wasted a little time on was cleaning up and painting the original frame. Had I known that I was going to get a "new" frame I wouldn't have taken the time to bolt back up the front axle and suspension as it was finished, either.

I knew that the tail sections were rotten, but never realized the rust went clear to the rear shock mounts (I could put my whole hand inside the frame there).

The original plan was to fix the rusted tail sections of the frame by welding in custom made ends- I was hoping to somehow do that without taking the tub off entirely. I spent the $225 ($99.99 per side + shipping) through Quadratec for the replacement tail ends (what was I thinking). I was worried that they would end up cockeyed, but didn't plan to get to them until I had some other stuff taken care of first. I wasn't thrilled about doing a half-a-- job, but never intended on putting much time or $$ into the project.

My front bumper was still in decent shape and I didn't have any plans for a winch bumper in the near future, so while the paint brushes were wet, I cleaned it up and put a coat of primer and paint on the underside to keep it from rusting any further.

 

[rbagley]

I check out craigslist regularly & found a solid frame ready to go for $800 in the middle of October 2011 (less than two months ago). It was only an hour north so I drove up & checked it out.

I knew if I bought this frame that it would take my project in a new direction. I had gone a little overboard already by powder-coating a lot of the brackets, so it would all go well together.

The frame had been sandblasted, por-15'd 2x, undercoated through the holes in the frame rails, painted over for UV protection, the cross-member replaced with a factory one, and the body mount holes repaired. The frame rails themselves had not been repaired at all and were solid. It looked like practically a new frame with some pitting up where the front shock mounts sat, but other than that in great shape.

The guy was building what I would consider a show Jeep (he didn't intend on driving in the rain, mud, rocks or snow). He found a Scrambler and decided to swap his axles to the Scrambler frame to build something a bit more rare.

I am happy as a clam now that I am building mine on this frame rather than trying to piece together what I had. I am afraid I would have replaced over a third of the frame just to be able to find solid medal to weld to with my original frame.

I skipped ahead a bit with the last picture, but it shows my (almost 2 year old) helper next to the new frame shortly after I rolled the front axle and suspension under and got some of it bolted up.

 

[rbagley]

It looks like once the post has been up for a day or so, my ability to edit is gone.
I wanted to put 2 pictures side by side of the difference the 4" lift made in one of the above threads. You will see what I am talking about. The tires are the same size and the engine is in- in both pictures. I was so exited when I got the wheels on and saw how high it sat.

I have a set of used 32" & 33" tires now, and I imagine they will sit her up a bit higher once they are mounted, as well.

I bought the Daystar 1" poly body mount kit, so that will take the body up a touch. I figured if I was going to replace the body mounts, I might as well get the 1" lift type- though I am not a big fan of much of a body lift.

Right now the body is completely off the frame, so I have not begun installing the body lift, just finished breaking off all the old body mount bolts not too long ago though.

Funny story about putting the new body mount on the old frame under the grill. I was trying to get the new body mount in the old hole (which was still in great shape) but the medal sleeve on the mount was too big. I spent at least a 1/2 an hour with a medal file to make the hole bigger, only to find out later that not all of the body mounts are the same. Come to find out, the one that goes up front is slightly smaller than the ones on the sides. I was pissed because I didn't look at the directions close enough to see that there was a different code for some of the holes and I made the hole too big since I never should have filed it in the first place. Luckily I got a whole new frame and I won't make that mistake a second time.

 

[rbagley]

I made two trips up to look at the frame and brought it home on the second trip. After seeing it for the first time I began unbolting stuff because I had made up my mind that a replacement frame was the new rout I wanted to take whether I picked up this one or not.

I started unbolting the fenders, the grill/radiator and unplugging stuff from the motor within a few days of seeing it. It was more than I wanted to pay, but was ready to go. Sometimes time is worth something. If I would have found a solid frame nearby I would have had to sandblast it and probably replace the rear cross member and weld some spots where the body mounts sat- just like this guy did. In the end, it was worth it.

A couple weeks after buying the frame I bought a cherry-picker ($100 from Harbor Freight with a coupon) and had the engine ready to pull. I week or so after that I had the AMC20 ready to slide out and was on my way to getting the body off the old frame.

I used a light duty come-along that was chained on one end to a beam that sat on top of two of the barn trusses and the other end to my roll bar. I was able to lift the tub up and slide the old frame out by using my come-along and hi-lift jack without any help from anyone else.

 

[BajaEdition]

looking proud

 

[rbagley]

Thanksgiving break I spent a few hours each day out in the barn working on the Jeep. I was able to pull the motor, remove the rear axle, remove the old frame and swap the front axle and suspension over to the new frame.

I took off the brake/fuel lines as well as the clips and set them on the new frame where I would have to bend up new lines. This is currently where the project is.

I have Christmas break coming up in a week and a half and hope to make some good progress then as well. I have all the brake/fuel lines and hoses/connectors/hose clamps etc that I need, as well as some stainless line clips that a friend of mine made me to keep them in place on the frame.

I would like to get the AMC20 sandblasted and painted so that I can bolt up the rear suspension and work on the brakes while the axle is attached to the frame. My barn is not insulated, but my 2 car garage is, so I could heat it long enough for paint to dry on the AMC20 .

That just about catches me up to where I am at.

 

[Petescj]

Looking good. Shame they left that sit around without a top and ruin the Limited seats. Carry on.

 

[Project86]

Super job so far. I like it.

 

[gert]

looks great

 

[rbagley]

Thanks guys for checking out my progress and for the encouragement. It is cool to be a part of this community.

 

[rbagley]

I picked up a AMC 304 on Craigslist for about $200 including the motor mounts (which appear to be the AMC 258 i6 / 4.2l mounts) and a flywheel.

I stopped into the local machine shop and talked to the guy about the cost of a complete rebuild. This would be my 3rd engine rebuild (400 & 302 Ford previously). I would disassemble and have the shop inspect everything to see if the cylinders would need to be bored, heads re-done, etc. It sounded like I would have over $2k in the build after all was said and done. I do not have that kind of money, especially since I just dropped about $1500 into the frame and body panels and other parts. I may look to sell it and wait till I have the money and am ready to move ahead. Sadly the AMC 304 didn't have the stock manifolds or any of the brackets, so if I decide to use the AMC 304 I will need those.

I have enough for a while to keep me busy, which is good since side jobs may be few and far between.

I have been reading the posts about the 4.0 head on the AMC 258 i6 / 4.2l and right now I think that sounds like something I might want to do- although the sound of a V8 is desirable. Anyways, whatever I decide, it will be a ways down the road.

 

[Niedhogg]

I picked up a AMC 304 on Craigslist for about $200 including the motor mounts (which appear to be the AMC 258 i6 / 4.2l mounts) and a flywheel.

I stopped into the local machine shop and talked to the guy about the cost of a complete rebuild. This would be my 3rd engine rebuild (400 & 302 Ford previously). I would disassemble and have the shop inspect everything to see if the cylinders would need to be bored, heads re-done, etc. It sounded like I would have over $2k in the build after all was said and done. I do not have that kind of money, especially since I just dropped about $1500 into the frame and body panels and other parts. I may look to sell it and wait till I have the money and am ready to move ahead. Sadly the AMC 304 didn't have the stock manifolds or any of the brackets, so if I decide to use the AMC 304 I will need those.

I have enough for a while to keep me busy, which is good since side jobs may be few and far between.

I have been reading the posts about the 4.0 head on the AMC 258 i6 / 4.2l and right now I think that sounds like something I might want to do- although the sound of a V8 is desirable. Anyways, whatever I decide, it will be a ways down the road.

You know, it could look like this...
View attachment 7554
V8's are too cool.. Just sayin'...