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Build Thread I'm making progress on my project 79 CJ

Build Thread I'm making progress on my project 79 CJ
HumboldtCJ said:
Wow. That thing is looking great!!! I'm new here and was wondering how many hours do you think you've put into it total. A cost and hours breakdown would be VERY interesting to see!!!

WTG on that beautiful rig :D
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I wouldn't even be able to guess how many hours I've put in on it. I've spent about half of the weekend daylight hours since April, and probably about 2 hours every other weeknight after work on avaerage building it. I'll have about $4,200 total in it since I did a lot of shopping around on craigslist and found some pretty sweet deals on things like tires etc... I'm guessing it would probably bring about 8k if I sold it and I definitely wouldn't put this much work into another one just to sell it and make only 4k profit. I plan to keep it for a long time, so it's all worth while. At least with it being fiberglass, I don't have to worry much about rust! :D
 
Yeah. Tough part is I'm in the service and we don't have anywhere for me to really work on it other than in the driveway. This is one of those times I wished I still lived near home so I could "borrow" my father's garage and the lifetimes worth of tools he has =)

As of right now it needs a new exhaust manifold, the intake manifold gasket needs replacing, drivers front leaf spring is flat, and the 6" lift they put on it, while done well, is not something I want.

So I have a project in front of me but one I'm happy with.
 
HumboldtCJ said:
Yeah. Tough part is I'm in the service and we don't have anywhere for me to really work on it other than in the driveway. This is one of those times I wished I still lived near home so I could "borrow" my father's garage and the lifetimes worth of tools he has =)

As of right now it needs a new exhaust manifold, the intake manifold gasket needs replacing, drivers front leaf spring is flat, and the 6" lift they put on it, while done well, is not something I want.

So I have a project in front of me but one I'm happy with.
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I'm just happy mine is almost complete for now. It was a huge undertaking.

Maybe next year when I get bored I'll do a 4.0 head swap from a mid 90's. That's supposed to be good for a ton of horsepower on the old AMC 258 i6 / 4.2l 's without hurting the mpg.
 
I'm looking into doing a diesel swap myself. It won't be for a year or two but I'm seriously considering putting a turbo diesel in it. I want to drive this thing on the daily =)
 
HumboldtCJ said:
I'm looking into doing a diesel swap myself. It won't be for a year or two but I'm seriously considering putting a turbo diesel in it. I want to drive this thing on the daily =)
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There's a local KCJeepclub member that has a diesel Jeep. The exhaust took a lot of doing, but the thing is awsome!
 
I don't really know even where to begin on the idea but it's something I've always wanted to do with a Jeep. And, like I said, I don't plan on ever getting rid of it. I have a friend of a friend kinda thing who put a 3.9L turbo diesel in a CJ7 and it get's 31mpg and has "torque for days!" according to the owner. Financially it'll take some time but it's my goal eventually.
 
HumboldtCJ said:
I don't really know even where to begin on the idea but it's something I've always wanted to do with a Jeep. And, like I said, I don't plan on ever getting rid of it. I have a friend of a friend kinda thing who put a 3.9L turbo diesel in a CJ7 and it get's 31mpg and has "torque for days!" according to the owner. Financially it'll take some time but it's my goal eventually.
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There is a ton of info on the diesel swaps on the net. The Cummins 4bt is a pretty popular one. Another good choice is the Jeep diesel out of the Liberty or Grand Cherokee. You also have the VW world. Moving up to a bigger diesel would require a lot more work, but it would be doable. I think it would be a great swap. The only thing to watch out for is the emissions. Not all states would be happy to see it done.
 
Build update.

Been driving my "New" old CJ for a while now. I'm still working on the to do list, but it's getting shorter every day. I finally have upper and lower doors so I can drive it in any weather! :D
 
Cheepjeep85 said:
how do you like the supertop with the 2 pc soft doors. are they weather tight? does it fit the cj good with no leaks?
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I love the doors. They fit well. I pieced the top together from numerous sources including the new doors, a non bestop frame, and a supertop that's a different model, but it all fits well. I'm actually making a modification to the top because it doesn't have the upper door surrounds. The used ratty off brand top that came with the frame is supplying the part that surrounds the upper doors. I'm using snaps to attach it. It's all coming together great and looks like it was supposed to be made that way.
 
Great work, I just purchased a 79 CJ7 V8. I was sooo eager when I saw it that I did not look at the frame. My frame looks just like yours and I am not a mechanic or welder. I thought that I only had surface rust, but I had no idea of "what lied beneath"!!!! I've done the basic tune up and it runs great, but what I thought was just surface rust turned out to be frame, pan and body rust. I really need help with this CJ that i love despite the cancer. Does anyone have any suggestions on a welder and/or body guy that doesn't charge the bogus (astronomical) prices that I've been receiving over the phone??? I need to find a true jeep lover, not a jeep capitalist!!! I want to do as much of the work as I can, but I know my limits….
 
Great work, I just purchased a 79 CJ7 V8. I was sooo eager when I saw it that I did not look at the frame. My frame looks just like yours and I am not a mechanic or welder. I thought that I only had surface rust, but I had no idea of "what lied beneath"!!!! I've done the basic tune up and it runs great, but what I thought was just surface rust turned out to be frame, pan and body rust. I really need help with this CJ that i love despite the cancer. Does anyone have any suggestions on a welder and/or body guy that doesn't charge the bogus (astronomical) prices that I've been receiving over the phone??? I need to find a true jeep lover, not a jeep capitalist!!! I want to do as much of the work as I can, but I know my limits…. Where should I start?

Rescue Diver said:
The engine is assembled and I managed to find the Holly Grail of transmissions, a factory 1979 Jeep T-18 with the ultra low 1st gear that will bolt directly to my Dana 20 Transfer Case and will also work with the bell housing from the old T-150 and the new clutch that came with my CJ!

I'm done cutting the holes in the firewall and I installed the steering column, heater and pedals. It'll all have to come back out when I paint it, but at least I'm done with the hard work of locating and cutting all the holes, since my project came with a fiberglass tub and no template from the old tub.
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Great work, I just purchased a 79 CJ7 V8. I was sooo eager when I saw it that I did not look at the frame. My frame looks just like yours and I am not a mechanic or welder. I thought that I only had surface rust, but I had no idea of "what lied beneath"!!!! I've done the basic tune up and it runs great, but what I thought was just surface rust turned out to be frame, pan and body rust. I really need help with this CJ that i love despite the cancer. Does anyone have any suggestions on a welder and/or body guy that doesn't charge the bogus (astronomical) prices that I've been receiving over the phone??? I need to find a true jeep lover, not a jeep capitalist!!! I want to do as much of the work as I can, but I know my limits….

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Rescue Diver said:
The engine is assembled and I managed to find the Holly Grail of transmissions, a factory 1979 Jeep T-18 with the ultra low 1st gear that will bolt directly to my Dana 20 Transfer Case and will also work with the bell housing from the old T-150 and the new clutch that came with my CJ!

I'm done cutting the holes in the firewall and I installed the steering column, heater and pedals. It'll all have to come back out when I paint it, but at least I'm done with the hard work of locating and cutting all the holes, since my project came with a fiberglass tub and no template from the old tub.
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breezelife7 said:
Great work, I just purchased a 79 CJ7 V8. I was sooo eager when I saw it that I did not look at the frame. My frame looks just like yours and I am not a mechanic or welder. I thought that I only had surface rust, but I had no idea of "what lied beneath"!!!! I've done the basic tune up and it runs great, but what I thought was just surface rust turned out to be frame, pan and body rust. I really need help with this CJ that i love despite the cancer. Does anyone have any suggestions on a welder and/or body guy that doesn't charge the bogus (astronomical) prices that I've been receiving over the phone??? I need to find a true jeep lover, not a jeep capitalist!!! I want to do as much of the work as I can, but I know my limits….
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Can you put up some pics of the rust? Certifit sells floor pan sections. You could always just pop rivet them in if you don't have access to a welder. Where is the frame rust? If it's at the spring hangers, I'd have a good frame shop fix them.
 
This thread makes me feel all good inside! That one awesome jeep! CONGRATS!
 
I'm not that great with navigating these forums, I'm trying to contact Keith 460 (Doylestown, pa) in reference to my body rust and frame issues. If someone could help I would really appreciate it. My email is breezelife7@hotmail.com. Thanks...
 
Thought I should probably update my build thread since a lot of changes have already been in the works since I "finished" the CJ.

I recently installed a stainless twin stick shifter for the Dana 20 Transfer Case after getting frustrated one time too many with trying to shift in and out of 4wd. The new shifters work great!

I decided I wanted to squeeze more horse power out of the 1979 AMC 258 i6 / 4.2l six banger after all this time of losing mph on long highway uphills so I started collecting parts for the popular 4.0 head swap project. I found a 1995 Cherokee at the local pick-n-pull with a high output #7120 head casting still in it. I purchased the head and the aluminum valve cover for only $50. It's going to the machine shop this afternoon for a valve job and resurface. For the exhaust I ordered a brand new 4.0 Cherokee manifold for only $72 including shipping from an ebay seller. For the intake side, I decided I want to stick with a carburetor instead of all the mess of installing fuel injection. Since my stock cast iron one barrel intake will not work on the 4.0 H.O. head, I ordered a later model AMC 258 i6 / 4.2l two barrel aluminum intake from ebay that will work with the new head after a couple minor mods. That just leaves the caruretor to deal with. Since my trusty freshly rebuilt one barrel YF carb will not work on the two barrel intake, I decided to go with a Motorcraft MC2150 carb and a Mr. Gasket #1937 adapter plate. A fellow Jeep-CJ forum member offered to sell me one that he has laying around that will require a rebuild, but is priced about the same as what I would pay at pick-n-pull for a rebuildable core. I might as well save myself the trouble of stomping through the slush at the bone yard and send a little money to a fellow Jeeper while I'm at it! :chug:

I'll follow this up with pics and details of how the swap goes as I make progress.
 
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