Build Thread My Cj-8 build thread

[Petescj]

Its all gonna be ok. Think Im just gonna avoid the drama and head out to Tractor Supply.

 

[Petescj]

Anyway a month and a half later here we are. Family business has kept me away for quite awhile but I have managed to get a few things done.

I figured out why I had the wrong size U-bolts. The Dana 30 front takes 2 different sizes. My "friends" at Morris 4x4 sent me only 1 size for all 4. There are 3 that are smaller and go directly over the axle tube itself. On the passenger side there is 1 that is larger and slips over the centersection itself. You can see in this slightly fuzzy pic.

 

[Petescj]

Of course Morris sent me 4 of the larger ones. Tractor Supplly had the 3 smaller ones I needed that were slightly shorter. I crossed my fingers and grabbed them up. To my suprise they worked out perfectly. It was the stock spring plates that gave me trouble. Seems the Superlift springs used slightly larger spring pins and hardware. I decided to open them up a little with one of the conical grinders. That solved the clearance problem.

 

[Petescj]

After that small snafu everything else went rather quickly. I painted up my new to me springs.






Then bolted them up under the axle with all new hardware and the correct shackles.

 

[Petescj]

I still need the correct length shocks but it was nice to get the Scrambler out of the garage under her own power for the first time in quite awhile.

 

[Petescj]

Ive also grabbed up everything I could use from the parts Jeep. I bought it for the auto tranny swap and got power brakes and steering for the Scrambler along with it. Now it was just a matter of getting it all out.

 

[Petescj]

Now when I originally put up the want ad for my parts Jeep I just wanted an auto Transmission Jeep no matter the body condition. That left me with this sitting in my driveway for over a year. Time to go.

 

[Petescj]

My friend Harry brought his torch set over and we got to work. Ive come to the conclusion that Ive been disassembling Jeeps the wrong way for fat to long.

First thing reved was the cowl area.

 

[Petescj]

After that we moved on to the tub itself.

 

[Petescj]

The only decent sheetmetal on the Jeep was in the rear floor and held us up slightly getting to the mounts in the rear. With that done the frame gave way suprisingly easy.

 

[Petescj]

And here is the final result. This will be the new drivetrain for the Scrambler. Everything will be rebuilt. The AMC 258 i6 / 4.2l will also receive alot of mods , many seen right here on this site. The rears will also be rebuilt. The great part about doing it this way is I'll still be able to enjoy the Scrambler in its pesesnt form while a completely new drivetrain is built.

 

[Old Dog]

:ww:stranger. Glad to see the old girl on her feet again.
You know a real jeeper would have kept that doner jeep as a yard ornament

 

[Petescj]

Well she was a yard ornament for quite awhile. Thanx for the welcome back. My Father went through a stretch of health problems that took up alot of my attention. Hes now in an assisted care facility but in good spirits and still enjoying life. The Old Dutch/German guys arent easily overtaken.

:ww:stranger. Glad to see the old girl on her feet again.
You know a real jeeper would have kept that doner jeep as a yard ornament

 

[Petescj]

I forgot to add I did get a couple of pieces painted as well. Just a couple pics to share. Cleaned up some of the accessories off the old AMC 258 i6 / 4.2l .

 

[Petescj]

After the vote it appears the Scrambler was the run away winner. It was actually alot closer than it looked. I myself was leaning more toward the CJ7 .

The Scrambler isnt going to be built for playing in the rocks. Its main purpose will be taking Vicki and I to different camping/rafting venues and some light trails at Rausch Creek Off Road Park

 

[Petescj]

Im working alot again wich of course is good for buying up parts but not so good for installing the articles bought. 1 day off in 2 weeks did net me cleaning her up some more.

I had routed some lines wrong and built up a good deal of crankcase pressure that blew oil everywhere. I sprayed some degreaser all over it and washed it with a hose. It pretty much looked like this when I started , only a bit more baked on:

 

[Petescj]

I had gotten rid of all the air pulse emmision stuff earlier in this thread but it was a mess otherwise. I reapplied some degreaser and borrowed a pressure washer from a friend.

This netted much better results. Its now Amc blue again. The motor will be pulled and the whole engine compartment will be beautified at a later date. For now its going to be some simple fixes to get her to run reliably throughout the Pa. winter

 

[Petescj]

Still working quite a bit and after agonizing over the 2 Jeeps for days I believe the "final plans" have been drawn up for the Scrambler. I will go ahead and finish the Scrambler as asked by all who voted in the poll.

The drivetrain in the above pics will be rebuilt like I stated but their final destination will be here:
http://www.jeep-cj.com/forums/f98/600-salvage-cj-7-a-3095/

I'll still be cleaning up the rust areas , working out the bugs in the carb and even install those nice turbine wheels I got about a gazillion months back. Plenty of other stuff to come pretty soon as well, but if you were looking for the engine/axle/Transmission mods I'll cover all that in the above link.

The end result for the Scrambler right now is to get her ready for winter. I wish the kids wouldve showed more interest in it as I originally thought. Some things just arent meant to be I guess. It'll still be a great ride in its Pick up form for Vicki and I to enjoy our little excursions.

 

[Petescj]

Well the Scrambler has finally made its way back in the garage. I wrote up the laundry list it'll take to make her ready and was fairly suprised it didnt go to page 2 and 3 and 4 ... Alot of basic stuff, 2 tires, bleed brakes , some shocks , shackles for the rear ,wiper linkage , but nothing really major. I'll be swapping the carb from the CJ7 to test one problem I have that I believe is carb related.

Id like to know if anyone has had any luck using a soft upper on 1/2 steel doors in conjuction with a hardtop. I really like the way the Yj style 1/2 doors look with the lines of the Scrambler. Suggestions? Sorry for the dark pic.

 

[Petescj]

Well here I am to ( kinda ) explain what I thought was the carb related issue I mentioned. While the Scrambler would fire up and run, lately I really had to keep the pedal down for about 4 min before she'd idle. Then there was no "launch" when I let out the clutch. Again high rpms got it moving.

My engine got soaked with oil a while back due to my own stupidity. I didnt have the vacuum lines routed right and my AMC 258 i6 / 4.2l has no provision for a crankcase "breather". I believe crankcase pressure built up and blew oil all over. There isnt a drop of oil under it now since I routed things correctly and cleaned it all up.

After work today I decided to swap MC2100s between the 2 Jeeps. Not very difficult considering I already had all the parts. Could this be the reason I had to really stand on it to move it? I just ran across it when I looked down.