Build Thread Deerejeep's '81 CJ7 Iowa

[Deerejeep]

Welcome to my thread: Let me give you some background on me.
I've owned 4 Jeeps 3 of which I currently own.

'99 TJ: Sold to family, totaled.

Looking for a picture.


'06 WK: Yeah it has a hemi and it hauls all the cheerios the kids can throw on the floor!



08 JK 4" Lift 35" tires and lots and lots of other stuff. Yes, I wheel it and real jeeps have No doors





'81 CJ7 that I've owned for 1 year. Here's a pic of the day it came home!


Born and raised in Georgia this baby was in the process of a rebuild that a guy just could not get done. He had lots of parts
35" tires, 4" lift, iron duke.

Why did I buy this Jeep?
I jumped at the chance to get a southern owned Jeep. I've always wanted a CJ ever since my uncle had them back in the '80's. I build my JK up and that gave me some experience to start another project.

What will I use the CJ for?
Friday drive to the office and weekend rides around town. I'm not wheeling it, probably will not have a top and rarely will it have doors on it. No rain, no salt. I would like to hang on to this for a long time.

What experience do you have?
I read a lot, have decent tools and no fear. I'm looking for some advice. I'll ask some stupid questions.

More to come. Please subscribe!

 

[Deerejeep]

My first goal with the CJ was to get it running the previous owner had replaced a number of components but when I purchased the Jeep it did not start.

I began by charging up the battery and troubleshooting.

Fuel pump sucked up fuel right away and started right up.


Now, it was time to replace the fuel line, tank, sending unit and filter. Here a couple pictures of why.
Sending unit

New 15 gal poly tanks vs. original

New fuel filter vs. old

Fuel line

The fuel line for the Iron duke runs down the passenger side frame rail as does the AMC 258 i6 / 4.2l . The trouble with this install was having to jack the body up to get the fuel like in place on top of the frame, where you run a soft line to the sending unit.

I also spent time changing out fluids. Man do I hate the smell of gear oil. Do you think it was a good idea to get this out of the AMC20 ?





Most of this work was completed in May-June 2012.

 

[Deerejeep]

Over the next six months I spent most of the time getting the CJ ready for transportation. It had to go 1000 miles on a trailer and had to be able to get on and off of the trailer. I installed the hard top, had a windshield installed and made sure it was ready to go.

Once spring came I went through the paces to get the duke going again and decided that I did not want to spend $1 or another hour on the Duke. This is when I decided the scope of my rebuild was getting bigger..... AMC V8.


Ready to pull my first engine!


Also, began my debate about an AMC 360 or an AMC 401 on Craigslist. Ultimately I picked the 360. You can see my thread on the decision here.
http://www.jeep-cj.com/forums/f2/amc-401-amc-360-newbie-install-first-engine-swap-18180/

 

[Deerejeep]

Well I needed some shop tools so I picked up a 2 ton hoist and an engine stand from Harbour freight

 

[Deerejeep]

I went and picked up the AMC 360 from a '79 Cherokee last weekend. Complete with AC compressor, radiator etc. I doubt that I'll put AC in my CJ but I understand you can convert easily for on-board air... maybe a truck horn install?

I used a tire given to me by a tire shop to transport, an 35" 18" rim nitto terra grappler is a great big tire that made it easy to transport and stand in my garage until I can get it on the stand.




Next steps:
- Get engine on the stand
- dissassemble, label and store components
- Sell Iron Duke parts
- Bring 360 to shop for rebuild. (flywheel purchased for balancing)
- Followup with shop on Dana 300 rebuild and T-18 purchase.

Things I'm debating right now.
- What level of work to do to the frame? It's solid, I don't intend to put it out in the snow, salt or mud. Does it make sense to spend a bunch of time redoing for a weekend warrior?
- Comp CAM for AMC 360?
-Paint color

 

[mtnwhlr]

 

[Deerejeep]

Well I got started on disassembly tonight. Broke off one bolt while removing the exhaust but other than that pretty smooth.

These are dogleg ports, right?



Also looking into buying another T-18 , Dana 20 setup. I have a Dana 300 and T-18 that is committed time but the adaptor for 500 is a good bit of coin. Is it woth $500 to run a Dana 300 ?

Tired but putting in all the extra time I can.

 

[Deerejeep]

Put a couple hours in this week and have the engine broken down to ready for the shop condition in my opinion. I did not pull the oil pan, timing or intake but thought this was good enough to take it in. The issue has been the time to find to get the correct bolt to bolt it up to the stand. I've done disassembly on the tire it's sitting on, not the best for the back.


Also tried out the engine plate that lift from the carb studs. Hmmm, I feel comfortable using it to reposition it on the floor but I'm not comfortable using it to free stand lift the engine.

Some pics.




Also my good buddy sent me a picture of my ol' TJ at Jeep Jamboree . Must have been 2003. His quote "you come a long way with your jeeps".


The stat of the addiction.




Also made a nice shop upgrade!

 

[bearsden]

Keep posting !! Love to read the up dates. I'm new to the jeep thing but have always owned and built 4wd's. Looks like good clean fun to me !

 

[Petescj]

Yup those are dog legs. As for the adapter you need it if you want to have the lowest crawl ratio possible. The Dana 20 can be geared to 3.15 using a Tera low kit. The Dana 300 can be gear to 4:1. Id try out what you have now first and then upgrade according to your tastes. The T-18 is going to really help you out with that 6.32 1st gear. If your going to get into heavy rock crawling I could see using the adapter and adding the 4:1 kit on top of it. It does get a bit pricey though. It really depends how your gonna wheel it.

Well I got started on disassembly tonight. Broke off one bolt while removing the exhaust but other than that pretty smooth.

These are dogleg ports, right?



Also looking into buying another T-18 , Dana 20 setup. I have a Dana 300 and T-18 that is committed time but the adaptor for 500 is a good bit of coin. Is it woth $500 to run a Dana 300 ?

Tired but putting in all the extra time I can.

 

[Deerejeep]

Keep posting !! Love to read the up dates. I'm new to the jeep thing but have always owned and built 4wd's. Looks like good clean fun to me !

Owning Jeeps keeps me off the street and out of trouble! Keeps me in the garage.

Yup those are dog legs. As for the adapter you need it if you want to have the lowest crawl ratio possible. The Dana 20 can be geared to 3.15 using a Tera low kit. The Dana 300 can be gear to 4:1. Id try out what you have now first and then upgrade according to your tastes. The T-18 is going to really help you out with that 6.32 1st gear. If your going to get into heavy rock crawling I could see using the adapter and adding the 4:1 kit on top of it. It does get a bit pricey though. It really depends how your gonna wheel it.

Appreciate the insight. I currently own the Dana 300 that was behind my S4.

The big victory today is that I finalized the sale of the CJ T-18 and I thought it was a more than reasonable price. So looks like I'm going to sink some money into adapting the Dana 300 .

But, I'm also not planning to wheel this thing so ugh. I could probably get away with a Dana 20 . T-18 and Dana 300 might be overkill for a street jeep.

 

[thiswontbetooexpensive]

But, I'm also not planning to wheel this thing so ugh. I could probably get away with a Dana 20 . T-18 and Dana 300 might be overkill for a street jeep.

At least you know you can keep your foot in the fan belt and not tear up the rest of the drivetrain! I have a bad habit of driving everything I own like I just stole it...

 

[0822]

Great reading keep the updates coming.

 

[rr41mag]

I own a 81 also. I ordered axles for it took them to get the bearings pressed got them back home and they were one inch too short. After many phone calls including a conference call with morris and a guy from crown they said I have an 82 rear end. So be careful if you order parts like that. Things changed in 82.

 

[Deerejeep]

Terrible weather for the long weekend but I did get some more work done. A little more disassembly of the 360. I've got to figure out when this week I'll get it to the shop.

Well I guess I somewhat decided on a direction for the frame. I cleaned up the front 1/3. Primered and used rust oleum. I also learned about "John Deere Blitz black" paint being a good option to use. Apparently a lot of custom car guys like it and spray it for a matte black look on bodies too. I think I'll pick some up but well I needed to get moving forward and when I get a chance to work, I've got to work.

Worked a little bit on my v8 motor mounts I picked up off of eBay. I was originally going M.O.R.E. bomb proof but figured I would save a couple hundred.

Before



After







V8 motor mounts. Checked and they bolt up to the 360.



Matte black CJ.... Hmm maybe not green now.

 

[0822]

Looking good. Sounds like you are having the same weather that we are have in St. Louis...rain rain and more rain.

 

[73CJ]

I'm thinking there's green and yellow in the future. ..

:ww:

 

[Deerejeep]

I'm thinking there's green and yellow in the future. ..

:ww:

Always a possibility!

Good progress today. Setup dropping off the 360 this week. First goal is to get it checked out then I need to make sure I've got my upgrades straight. I'm thinking. Comp camp mother thumper, Oiling upgrade.

Researching brake options too. Ultimately I want to go total disc setup to handle 35". I currently have manual brake. Disc/drum and I have a power booster that I assume is a disc/drum setup. Is the reservoir just different for a per disc/disc than a disc/ drum? Doe stat just Bolt up to the booster?

I think I'll get the hard lines in the front replaced since its easy now and just use the e-brake as needed for moving it a round. Then, once I near completion I can do the disc/disc conversion. Feedback welcome. Can't wait to get the engine in progress!

Touched up the frame paint. Lookin good.

 

[Deerejeep]

Txt from wife: Oil is leaking from new engine to under garage door. I put kitty litter on it so it won't go to driveway. (Visa lee outside garage)

Me: good job

What a mess must be 3 quarts on the floor. Shame on me for not putting it on the stand to drain it. Also my mistake in loosening the crankshaft. Thinking the pulley came off that way.

Made some scrap man's day today. The iron duke did not last 15 minutes on the curb. Hate to see it go to scrap but I tried to get rid of it.

360 to the shop tomorrow!

 

[Deerejeep]

Rented a trailer. Loaded the AMC 360, dodged Tornado-ish weather and dropped it off. 3 weeks until they can open 'er up, but I'm in the que! Hope I have found a good shop that does good work and asks for a fair wage.