Build Thread 82 CJ7 frame swap & lift build

[rbagley]

PARenegade- thanks for checking out my build and posting! It is a wonder how the frame doesn't fold when it gets that bad.
My wife (who is great BTW) has asked if it is worth the time posting the details- thinks it is my obsession. The posts are as much for me as entertainment to others who are like me, I guess.
I am looking forward to reading and keeping up with your build as well.
Thanks for the advice. I was checking prices on Quadratec for gears and saw a note about having to get a different carrier if I go up to a certain size. I priced the one piece axles at that time as well.
My priority is to get it back together after fixing up the body and on the road. Hopefully once I start wheeling I will be able to decipher which upgrades I have to have and what can wait till I strike it rich : ).
I checked out the website on the frame you bought- looks like a sweet start!:drool:

 

[rbagley]

It has been a month since I have made an update. Luckily, I have been making some progress, just haven't had as much time to post pictures.

For a while, the only progress I was making was brake and fuel lines and pictures of that are pretty boring. After I got nearly every one of them done, I finally picked up the bits I needed to double flare my own lines when the stock sizes were too far from what I needed. I think my grandpa gave me the flaring tools years ago, but I never used them and didn't know that there were bits that went with them to double flare.

I watched a couple of YouTube videos and it worked on my first try. Seems that the trick is to make sure that the line is tight enough in the tool. (You want to make sure the fitting is on before flaring or you have to start over). The first step is done on the flat side with the bit sitting inside the line and on the second step you flip the tool over and press into the line with the cone. It felt good to learn something that I had not known how to do before.

The brake lines are all done now. I have a supply and return for the fuel, but not the third line back to the rear fender (still waiting to find out if that third line is necessary).

 

[rbagley]

I took another batch of parts to the sandblaster(motor mount brackets, steering arm, oil pan, Transmission inspection cover) and began working on getting the engine ready to put back on the frame.

The engine runs well, so at this point I am not going to put the time or money into an upgrade. It was a hard decision to make since it is out of the Jeep, but it will have to wait until after the axles get re-geared. I don't have the money this year to do the motor, get it painted and on the road so I will have to do the axle re-gearing & motor in the next stages.

I bought an oil pan gasket and rear main seal and am getting the oil pan powder-coated before I bolt it back up. I unbolted a number of parts so that I could wire-wheel and paint the block. It may not be freshly rebuilt, but it looks a little nicer. That's as far as I am going to go with the motor.

 

[PaRenegade]

Looks good. I wish I had the fortitude to make that decision.... and stick to it. I'm currently working on my engine and what initially started as a plan to just replace a leaking rear main seal and valve cover, new water pump and freeze plugs, then paint the block and manifolds. I'll do some major things in another year or two. This has changed to.... after removing the intake manifold and seeing some crud build up on the valve stems, which lead to removing the head for a valve job. Which then lead to discovering a cracked piston top so now a new piston. Since it was on the stand I convinced myself to change the timing chain and sprockets. Then I discovered a cracked cover (one of the bolt hole bosses cracked to the outside) and when removing that I snapped 2 small bolts off in the block. So now a new cover and removing 2 bolts are in my near future!

So be happy in your decision to hold off on engine repairs! It would have undoubtedly brought on more repairs.

 

[rbagley]

Looks good. I wish I had the fortitude to make that decision.... and stick to it. Be happy in your decision to hold off on engine repairs! It would have undoubtedly brought on more repairs.

Hard luck on the problems that you ran into. I was anticipating someone to tell me to do it right while I have it out- which is what I would have said to myself a year ago.
Thanks for the encouragement. I wasn't going to touch it at all, but couldn't bare to bolt it up to my frame all rusty looking . I am considering but need to research the 4.0 head on the AMC 258 i6 / 4.2l block, so I didn't mind putting the time/$$ into the oil pan if I am going to keep it long term. My buddy has my engine stand so I am not having much fun working around the lift and getting under the block.

PaRenegade, I have a question for you. Is it o.k. to only remove the bolts for the last cap on the crank to get to the rear main seal or is that putting me in jeopardy of warping the crank? Did you just take the last cap off and not mess with the rest?

On a different note- I attached a picture after putting the Transmission and Transfer Case on the dropped down skid plate...I am anxious to see how well my driveshafts line up now that the new lift is in.

 

[PaRenegade]

Yes, it's fine to just loosen the rear cap to change your rms. I'd have to check but I believe the tightening sequence is similar to the head bolts where it's in a circular pattern starting in the middle. So the last one tightened (and the only one loose) would be at the end cap. That's how I did mine years ago and had no issues with it.

If I may make a suggestion, and I'm just thinking ahead to how I will do it. There's several ways to skin a cat. I would have set the engine in first, since the mounts may need adjusted. Then I would add the tranny since it's lighter and easier to line up the shaft (since the tubs off), then finagle the lighter tcase into place. But that's just me

 

[rbagley]

Thanks for the feedback.

I would have set the engine in first, since the mounts may need adjusted. Then I would add the tranny since it's lighter and easier to line up the shaft (since the tubs off), then finagle the lighter tcase into place. But that's just me

It is one of the things I did just to get my Jeep fix for the day. I went out there in my good jeans and ended up dripping Transmission fluid down the leg. Go figure. I was being careful- I thought.

I am waiting for my motor mounts and oil pan to get back from the sandblaster so I got a little anxious to make some progress. It has been so long since I unbolted stuff, I am not sure where it all goes. The Transmission . is being held up by a jack stand in the front, not bolted in at all- although I did mate the Transmission and Transfer Case together. I like the word finagle too! A good description of how it will all get lined up and in place. I will pull them off before I drop the motor in. I am still not sure which set of holes they are supposed to be in at this point. I had 3 to choose from- I will be able to tell once the motor is in place.

Supposed to get my parts back tomorrow...we will see how long it will be before I am able to put some time in on it again.

 

[PaRenegade]

rbagley - I owe you an apology and a correction. I had said it was fine to just loosen the one cap, but last night I was looking thru the manual for something and noticed in the rms removal and installation that they DID say to loosen all the caps. So I checked another manual I have and it said the same thing. So I don't want to steer you wrong and hopefully I'm not too late. I don't recall doing that before, but maybe I did. I'll be doing mine tomorrow after I stick a new piston back in. I put on a new timing chain and sprockets tonight.
The tightening sequence is a bit different in that you do them all in like 10 ft/lb increments at a time, so check your manual.
Once again, sorry for my bad advice. The memory ain't what it used to be!

 

[rr41mag]

I'm enjoying watching this build. It's very detailed. I would like to add a couple things. You can use cardboard to make templates for frame repairs. Second you flared your own brake lines. I did this too on another project. When you get done let the jeep sit overnight to see if you have any leaks. Again, a very entertaining build.

 

[rbagley]

It is sometimes easier to just ask others how to do something, rather than look it up in the manual, but in the end, I take full responsibility whether the advice was perfect or not. I haven't done the rear main seal yet, so I will follow the manual like you said PaRenegade. Thanks for mentioning it.

I got my parts back from powder-coating Wednesday but was out of town over the weekend, so I haven't put anything on yet.

My buddies and I chased the snow up to Traverse City, MI where they got 18" of snow in 12 hours. Luckily my buddy had an extra sled I could use. I have a young family and a stay at home wife, so I've had to choose one hobby to stick with. I CHOSE THE JEEP .

The parts turned out nice. I mainly wanted to get the oil pan and motor mounts done. The only thing not in the picture is the Transmission inspection cover. Tuffcoat did the batch for $100.

 

[PaRenegade]

Glad to hear I'm not too late. I took my rms out last night. Boy that bugger didn't want to come out of there too easily, but after 5 minutes of pounding on both sides it finally left loose. Use about a 1/8" diameter drift punch and be careful it don't bounce over to the block for the next strike.

 

[apereziv]

Subscribed! Getting lots of great tips for my Project! Thanks for the DETAILS!!

 

[rbagley]

For some reason the other night this site wasn't working for me so I browsed Craigslist instead for "Jeep CJ parts." Lo & behold there was a guy about 45 minutes North of me parting out a fiberglass CJ7 he had just bought. He was asking $1000 for the tub so I went the next day to check it out. I ended up buying the tub and fiberglass windshield frame too (complete with glass, a new motor, rubber seals etc) for $1100.

I checked prices online before I went up there and new tubs go anywhere from $1800 to $3500. I read up on this site the pros & cons to fiberglass as well as what to look for in a good tub. Fiberglass windshield frames (Kendrol) were $650 w/out the glass, so I figure I got the tub and w/shield for a good price with all the holes already pre-drilled. It was off a 79CJ7 so I am hoping everything is the same on the firewall.

This one is thick and has the medal in the firewall between the glass. There was one repair where the door straps tie in to the little medal hook. The door must have flown open and ripped the hook out. As you can see in the picture a lot of stuff was left on the tub.

Next week the plan was to weld in new floor boards, sides & corners in the original tub before I found this one. I bought the repair panels in January from JC Whitney (which seem pretty thin) because I couldn't justify putting $2K+ into a fiberglass tub. I hope they have a good return policy!? I am on spring break so hopefully that will mean a lot of progress.

The only thing I am disappointed about is that I will loose the look of the tailgate. I do not prefer the clean look on the back. I would rather see the Jeep tailgate, but the thought of not having to worry about perfect welds or rust coming back after paint should keep me happy.

Now I just need to find a way to replace that $1100 that I took out of savings....thankfully my wife trusts me that I will reimburse the money. The rule has always been that I will only put my side money into the Jeep. So far, so good.

 

[73CJ]

Nice score rbagley!

4WD makes a nice tub. Looks like PO may not have done the best job cutting the holes, but not hard to repair/redo.

Glad to see the "loosen all caps". That's the right wat to do it. While you've got them loose, take a look at the bearings and even plasigage them for clearance. Can't hurt and may save pulling the pan if the oil pressure drops to replace the main bearings.

I don't mind doing things right, but I sure mind doing things over. . .

 

[Petescj]

That is one of the better fiberglass tubs on the market. The only thing I can think of thats different is the sidemarker lights at the rear of the tub were in the taillights on later models.

 

[rbagley]

Glad to hear I'm not too late. I took my rms out last night. Boy that bugger didn't want to come out of there too easily, but after 5 minutes of pounding on both sides it finally left loose. Use about a 1/8" diameter drift punch and be careful it don't bounce over to the block for the next strike.

I was glad to be able to read from others on this site before I attempted to change my rear main seal. They were cheap enough that it made sense to replace them while I had the oil pan off, but other than hearing about them before, I really only had an idea where they were located- didn't know much else about them.

I loosened the bearing caps a little bit at a time in the proper fashion until I had the end cap off. The seals were stuck in there pretty good- especially the one in the cap itself. I had to be really careful not to shave off the back side of the seal as I put the other one into the block- I read about someone having to re-do theirs after it leaked on them when it was back together for that reason.

I also ordered and changed one of the valve cover grommets- JC Whitney was doing a promo for free shipping no minimums, so I had one shipped to me- mine wasn't looking very solid any more.

 

[rbagley]

The plan about two months ago was to just powdercoat the oil pan and clean up the motor since I hope to either put my AMC 304 in or do the 4.0L head swap on the next phase.

While I was in there for the rear main seal, I was looking around and jiggled the timing chain. I couldn't believe how much play there was to it, especially since the motor seemed to run well prior. The chain had what seemed to be over an inch in and out and also quite a bit up and down. I ordered a new chain, seal and gasket- since water pumps are only about $30...why not. A few $'s later I had a new thermostat as well- so much for just doing the oil pan.

I broke a couple of bolts taking the timing cover off, but luckily they came loose with a couple of wacks with a hammer and a pair of vice-grips.

The sad thing was that I tried to pull the harmonic balancer with a different style puller and when it wouldn't come, I tried heat . If you didn't already know it, these harmonic balancers are made with a ring of rubber squished in between the medal. I didn't know that until the heat allowed them to separate so now I have a nice looking new harmonic balancer and puller (in case you want to borrow it some time).

That is the cost of learning as you go ($80). I am just glad that I didn't take it in to get powdercoated. I imagine he would have caught it before putting it in the oven?

More about my adventures with the timing chain to come.

 

[tarry99]

You might want to take a look at those bearings. That rear main looks a little rough.

 

[rbagley]

...take a look at the bearings and even plasigage them for clearance. Can't hurt and may save pulling the pan if the oil pressure drops to replace the main bearings.

I don't mind doing things right, but I sure mind doing things over. . .

"You might want to take a look at those bearings. That rear main looks a little rough." tarry99

I ordered new main bearings today after the advice. I had considered it, but didn't want to put the money into the motor. Now that I have replaced the water pump, rear main seal, thermostat, timing chain & seal and have a new oil pan gasket, why not. I already put the oil pan on, but what is another 2 hours anyway?

I will be glad that I did once it is done, I suppose.

 

[73CJ]

It's best to plastigage them since you can't mic the crank. It may have a reground crank. The bearings should also be marked if they are oversize.

I bought a Jeep that had been rebuilt by a pro shop and they put STD bearing on a reground crank. Good for me, it went cheap. Too bad for PO.

Pretty easy to Gage them.