Misc. Carrying on my dad’s legacy

[B4tn]

My dad passed away 4 years ago and left me his nearly finished CJ7 project. My dad has had a Jeep of some sort since I can remember. I have memories of the sand dunes, pulling off the side of the road for an interesting hill climb, or just a big mud hole. When he retired he decided to build his dream jeep and this is the product. I only know enough based on our phone conversations He stripped frame and body basicly to bare metal and painted/coated all. I am pretty sure it has a 327, I remember him mentioning he wanted 11:1 compression and used aluminum heads, the cam is super agressive! Very lopey. Additionally I am pretty sure it has a holley 650, Tubo 350 with Hurst, I am not sure of the Transfer Case . Its dual stick so maybe Dana 20 or 300, He put 35's on it and the front brakes look to be upgraded. I still need to do a deep dive and figure out whats what. It has sat for 4 years aside from my brother in law coming out to my moms house to fire it up every few months, but I put some fresh gas in it and it fires without hesitation and I just towed it cross country home. When I got out of the Army I built up a 4dr JK that I did some minor rock crawling with but this will be my first CJ and is going to be a learning experience and have a feeling I will be leaning on you guys for assistance. I intend on driving it regularly so some questions.

- I know nothing about carbs, I am in South Florida, the Jeep grew up in NW Oregon. I am worried about the heat, humidity, and vapor lock here. Should I not worry about it and learn how to tune a carb? Or should I invest in a TBI kit?

- Speaking of heat, it looks to just have a clutch fan with NO fan shroud. Even in Oregon cooler temps it would start getting really hot. The Rad looks to be stock CJ with an oil cooler mounted in the front. Any RAD shroud jun yard combos that will fit the jeep and the SB chevy ports?

- It does not have power brakes which is not going to work in South Florida lol. I dont think a brake booster will work well with the agressive cam. Has anyone had any experience with hydralic brake boosters?

- lastly, is the CJ-YJ suspension swap "Really" worth it? It would be nice to make it a little more highway friendly.

 

[CJ]

What a great 1st post and I enjoyed reading it. So much family history...
As for the YJ suspension swap / upgrade, to get the best ride and flex, IMO it is well worth it. The good thing is that Rugged Ridge makes a complete kit that takes a minimal amount of raw fabrication. The kit is about 95% bolt on but it's not cheap because you are paying for the convenience.

 

[Belizean]

Looking forward to more on the story and Jeep.

 

[B4tn]

Thanks, I am not nearly as skilled as my dad was with fabrication so it will be a challenge for sure.

 

[CJ]

What ever you need or questions that you have, we have your back. That is what CJ owners do for each other.

 

[Jeep Soup]

LOOKS Great !!

Loved the Overhand Monkey Knots in the tie down straps ...
LOL.

As for the Fan Shroud, there are DIY online videos and posts on making one.

Have Fun

 

[melih714]

I read your post, and I can say that my favorite Jeep is an original one. I believe it can be a more enjoyable vehicle for daily use with original tires (rims) and shocks, but it looks great this way too. Good luck.

 

[B4tn]

LOOKS Great !!

Loved the Overhand Monkey Knots in the tie down straps ...
LOL.

As for the Fan Shroud, there are DIY online videos and posts on making one.

Have Fun

LOL. Yeah, you can tell I don't trailer often. That trailer was not really designed to carry anything bigger than a 29" tire. It took some creative thinking to get it strapped down safely. The chain around the front diff probably did the heavy lifting. But it made it through 9 states without shifting