My First Jeep CJ

Creekin

Creekin

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jun 26, 2018
Location
Hickory
When I was in high school, all the cool kids had a CJ. I was not one of the cool kids...

Flash forward a few years...
Picked up this CJ-7 as a project.

The Good:

AMC 304
Manual Gear Box: 4 Speed
35" Tires
Custom Front & Rear Bumpers
Custom Running Boards
Limited slip rear
Front diff is locked (not sure how yet...)

The not so good:

Hardly ran when purchased
No Parking Brake
Ratty Seats
Battery not Charging
Winch not working
Temperature gauge not working
Fuel gauge not working
Interior dash lights not working
Rear axle bent (did not find this out till later)
Interesting lift kit
and the list goes on...

1983 CJ-7 2.jpg
 

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One of the first things to fix was the carburetor.
Off to the friendly folks at NAPA. They found the correct rebuild kit
I have never had much luck with a carburetors, but this one came out ok.
At least now the jeep would run.

Carb.jpg
 
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Next problem...
The new battery would not stay charged.

Old Alternator
Alternator.jpg

A new alternator, some new wires, new connectors, etc.
Now the CJ is running and the charging system is working.
 
Since the CJ-7 is running, time to take if up to the gas station and put in a couple of gallons.
The jeep had been sitting for some time, so the gas is old, but the jeep is running.
Returning home, it was noticed that the fuel was leaking around the tank.
An old ATV jack works really well to lower a gas tank...

Tank.jpg


Time for a new tank and a SS rock guard along with all new hoses and clamps

Tank New.jpg

Man these jeeps love to chew up cash...
 
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Talking with my local tire guy, Jason, about the 35's on the jeep.
We agreed that the 35's were OK for the street, but not for the trail.

Found a used set of rims. They were pretty nasty and needed a bunch of elbow grease to get them cleaned up...
Jason had a great deal on some off road 33's

Tires.jpg
 
One day I was looking at the CJ and the right rear tire seemed to be a little off.
Maybe new bushings, shackles and shocks are needed...

Shackles.jpg

We after all that work... some was still off...
Jason checked the alignment and it was determined that the AMC 20 rear axle was bent a little.
 
I think I might know some history on that jeep, shoot me a pm on where it came from, I think I was riding in it when the big scratch got put in the door.
 
After a bunch more work, it was time for the CJ's first outing.
The rig was lifted as to put on the trail tires and to the 4x4 system.
By inspecting the drive system, it was determined that the 304 was connected to a T18 gearbox that was mated to a Dana 20.
I figured I could count the revolutions to determine if the gear box was a 4 to 1 or a 6 to 1.
I came up with a 5 to 1... Something off... or well, I will figure that one out another day.
The rear differential was limited slip, though it appeared to be tired.
The front locking hubs were working and they front is locked when the hubs are engaged.
I had hope to get the winch working, but I ran out of time for that project.
I had been working on the power steering and had it almost ready when the 23rd arrived.

Jason recommended going to the June 23 at Uwharrie National Forrest (Southern 4wd Event)

My son & I met Jason and his crowd early that Saturday morning. Jason's rig is this crazy beast.
That should have been a clue to what was to come later.

JR1.jpg

As we pulled into the starting area for the event, it was hard to image so many 4x4 vehicles of all shapes and sizes.

R1.jpg

R2.jpg
R3.jpg

Jason said we should line up for the medium trails. I thought, sure, sounds good.
Of course I did not have a clue as to what was ahead.
 
So far, everything was great. The folks I met at the event were very nice.
Once on the trail, my son & I were talking that this trial seems nice.
Not too hard... his truck could make it (Hummer H3T, Manual Gear Box)

H3T.jpg

Just about that time, things go interesting...
It seemed like the trail changed from flat, to mild incline, to straight up vertical.
Not something a stock H3T could do
I had no idea if the CJ would make it up those climbs.
Jason's rig was two vehicles ahead of me and having no troubles.
Somehow, the CJ was simply climbing. No real drama.

At the top, Jason took the first trail to the right (way crazy)
The Cherokee in front of me took the middle trail (crazy)
The third trail on the left was the only option. Still looked crazy.
The CJ pulled through and we had made it.



Top.jpg

At the top, Jason found a rock to play with...

JL.jpg

After some more wheeling, my son wanted a turn.
He did really well driving the CJ.
He was having a lot of fun and I didn't get the steering wheel back for the rest of the day.

All in all, the CJ did an amazing job.
The tires Jason recommended were great.
One thing I learned on the trial, I need to keep working on the CJ.
I need to upgrade the axles, seats, seat belts, roll cage, etc.
More to follow...
 
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Glad you had a Great time. I saw your CJ there, as I "like" the colors, just didn't get to meet you. I ran with a different group. Jason is a great guy, & very knowledgeable! He's done work for me, in the past. As for your ratio's, & even engine, you probably know it's all been swapped in. Nothing wrong with that, I'm running the Same set up, in my 79. Jeep did offer several different ratio T-18 s. Some like mine are 6.32 low, but they had a 5 something too. Jeeps Love, Money$$$
 

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Rodney,
Nice Jeep! Are you going to be at Potts Mnt on the 14th?

After Uwharrie, one of things I wanted for the Jeep was Dana 44's from a Scout.
Though not as tuff as Dana 60's, I don't plan on going crazy with this CJ.

Found a very rusty Scout with a 196 motor that had not been run in ~20 years.
Not much left except the drive drain and a home made snow plow setup.
The frame seems to be in good shape though.

S1.jpg S2.jpg

S3.jpg S4.jpg

Learned that a 196 is 1/2 of a 392 motor. It is a 3.2 liter 4 cylinder motor. Crazy

When taking out the axles, found out they have 4.09 gears in them, as far as I can tell.

SA1.jpg

Now I have to figure out the best knuckle, steering linkage, hub assemblies to put into these axles.
That will be a winter project.
 
In the column for more Horse Power, I picked up a 1971 low mileage AMC 360 from a Waggy.

360.jpg

Another winter project.

I have a set of headers that should mate up to the existing SS exhaust system.
Maybe an aluminum intake too and a Holley 4 barrel carb?
Aluminum heads are nice, but $$$
 
Forget the carb, and swap on some kind of fuel injection. You are going to want it if you continue down this rabbit hole.
 
I'll be at Potts! Lucky You on the 360! I'll soon be working on one. You should do a LOT of research on using the Scout axles. Can be done, but Not your best bet! Aluminum heads? No. Holly? A Big NO! Fuel injection? The new wave!
 
I would highly recommend something with fuel injection for off roading. Even a TBI (throttle body injection) 350 is a huge leap forward over a carb.
Not only is it better for Hill climbs and off camber situations, you will have a lot better throttle response and usable power.
The most popular swap right now is a Chevy LS motor (4.8,5.3,6.0) which can be had very reasonably priced. Found in Chevy trucks and SUVs and even on here as a package with the wiring harness and all.
It is relatively easy to trim down the harness to just what is needed and there is a wealth of internet info on it, also dozens of people on here who have done it. Spare parts are plentiful, and aftermarket support is endless for these motors.
A stock 4.8 or 5.3 LS motor would be my choice.

With all of that said, many people have been wheeling succefully with carbs for years! So it’s not a must have swap. But I’d seriously consider it before spending money on heads and a 4 barrel carb.
 
Nice write up and build. Does your friend have a last name?
I have a hunch it is Mr. Lackey. If so tell him Drew Johnson says hello please.

If not tell him hello anyway!
 
Thanks for the all the advice.

A LS Motor is a great option.
I am going to try to keep the motor AMC.
Kind of keeping it period correct.

Thinking about FI. TBI is Ok...
May check out a multi-port injection system.
Would a mulitport FI system from a dodge magnum motor work?
Just a thought. Like to find stuff from junk yards and make it work.
 
Did some work on the winch.
The winch did not come with the remote. Picked up a new remote; however, the winch would not work.

Found out the motor would work, but the solenoid relays were not engaging even when I applied 12 VDC directly to the relay terminals
About decided to purchase a new set of relays when I read that the coils for the relays are grounded through the case
Grounded the case that the solenoids mounts to and all the relays started to work.
Cleaned up the ground connections, tapped some holes so the ground connection would be better and all is good :D
That process took way longer than it should... but a heck of a lot cheaper than a new winch.

IMG_1782.JPG IMG_1783.JPG
 
Buy a whole self learning fuel injection kit. Take the old carb off, put fuel injection on hook up 2-5 wires, set your parameters with the hand held and your done. Most are under a grand now. And stupid simple to use. Waggy axles would be a better option In my opinion, you can get narrow or wide and have a lot more aftermarket support than scout axles (they have it but scout stuff is money).


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Wonder if I could use the scout 4.09 gears on a set of waggy axles??
I've got a bunch of research to do...
Don't mind going away from the Scout axles. I like the width, just a little wider than a stock wide CJ axle.
Based on my first trial experience, it was easier to get through stuff with a relatively narrow CJ, Just my $0.015 worth.
 
It depends on how hard you want to wheel it. There will be a time that it’s better to have wider axles.

@McCracken did have some j-10 axles idk if he has either of them now



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Waggy axles are pretty much a bolt in less moving front spring perches if you keep same spring width and wheel bolt pattern. If I remember correctly, scout front axles are 0 caster and will have be shimmed or knuckles rotated in order to have drivability.
 
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