CJ7: 1978 rolling rebuild
I've been asking a few questions, so I should give some info about my CJ7.
I started looking for older jeeps about a year ago and ending up buying my one in October. What I was after was a project car, not a nicely restored beast that was all ready to drive. It's not really a financially logical idea as the repair and rebuild costs soon stack up, but hey, I wanted a toy car.
The car was being sold by an old mechanic apparently on behalf of a guy doing flyin fly out work. On the test drive it would have to be the worse car I've ever driven. The brakes were so soft my foot disappeared into the floor and even then they barely worked. The steering was manual, incredibly heavy and so worn that is stuck and held rather than rotating freely. The suspension was worn out and very stiff. The starter motor was very loud and sounded like it wasn't matched to the ring gear.
The car had apparently not been used for around 10 years and the mechanics instructions were to get running and sell at minimal expense. The mechanic had replaced the fuel pump and apparently cleaned the fuel lines out.
The PO owner had sunk a bit of money into the interior and body 10 odd years again. It had new carpet, a stainless dash, autometer gauges etc. He replaced the wiring, but not everything worked, ie no factory temp gauge, no ign, handbrake or high beam lights on the dash. The fuel gauge didn't work and the tank had a bad leak.
They want $6k, I offered a lot less seeing the extent of the repaired needed. We settled on a fair price.
The first thing I did was add fuel (a fair amount landed at my feet due to old hoses etc) and took it a car wash and degreased the running gear. It then went home for working on.
I stripped the brakes and found the system to be in good shape, but the fluid was old. With help from the better half, we ran about a litre of new fluid through and got the brakes working pretty well.
I drove it to work for a few days cursing the steering, but wanting to get to know the beast better. The starter motor died about a week later and it was time to order parts.
I couldn't get good used parts or sensible pricing in WA, so I did an order through SummitRacing in the US.
The starter motor was the first item to be replaced, but over the next two months I replaced the dizzy with a new electronic unit, with new leads to match. This made a good difference.
The steering was a pain. I brought via ebay power steering parts including pump, box, brackets etc. I forgot to account for the LHD verses RHD and needed to get a RHD steering box (I have a good original LHD one if anyone needs it). After moving on from dealing with high priced wreckers I brought a good used TJ Cherokee box on ebay.
The next issue was the steering shaft. I ordered a replacement power steering shaft with universal joints from SummitRacing. The issue is that the CJ7 power steering lower spline is 36 spline, 13/16". The Cherokee was smaller 11/16 from memory with 30 splines. After a lot of back and forward with the shaft supplier Borgeson, I got a suitable Uni joint to fit. Another $130ish plus freight though.
I tackled the suspension while sorting out parts for the steering. I replaced the suspension with ARB springs and shackles for the later YJ model. The springs you can get for a good price locally. I needed new spring plates and spring hangers on the front to fit the longer YJ springs.
While replacing the springs I had petrol dripping from the bash plate, so decided it was time to tackle the tank as well. I dropped the tanks and found the mechanic had pulled out the earth wire, hence the gauge not working. The bash plate was beaten up and rusty. The tank looked ok, but obviously had a leak. The straps and hoses were in a bad shape. Another order from the US for a plastic tank (no rust), fuel sender, replacement straps and new bash plate. All separate orders, all placed in early Dec right before Xmas...
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