PROJECT "WHAT TO DO"

WHAT TO DO

  • Total voters
    3
JSJJ388

JSJJ388

GREEN GREMLIN
Joined
Aug 31, 2016
Location
HAMPTONVILLE, NORTH CAROLINA
I drug this 86 waggy out of the woods in Mt Airy for $150 last summer and have been rolling around ideas for what to do with it ever since. No title so that kind of limits things. I ave found a few titles for sale, but that just seems sketchy, or maybe Im just paranoid.

The jeep is solid for having set in the woods for ten years, no bad places in the frame, and only one rust hole in the body. Brought it home and with a battery and some starting fluid, she fired up. Engine runs good and it will do a nice one wheel peel. Interior is kinda trashed from a leaky sunroof.

My two thoughts are:

A) do a SOA and throw some bigger tires on it, put enough of the grill back together to keep things put, and wheel it til it dies. Its already got dana 44/amc 20 axles. Biggest issue with this is that it would need to be hauled to the trails, and I dont have a big enough truck, nor really the funds to get one.

or

B) try to find a title and get it on the road again, tow the ZJ and let that be my main trail rig. My main concerns with this is that its an old v8, while its still got plenty of get up and go, I doubt itll be fun on the hwy, and the whole title issue.

Other options are sell it or just let it sit until...

So, what say ye?

When I got it:
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Now:
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Jody Treadway said:
Buy a YJ frame and tub. Insert powertrain and drivetrain items from Waggy into said YJ. AMC 360 in a YJ is a fun little package. Been there, done that.

Otherwise, part it out and make about a grand plus the scrap steel.
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The YJ doesnt sound like a bad idea. But, I bought it to try and keep alive in some way. Guy was "gonna scrap it if I dont get $300 for it in the next two weeks".
 
Im with ^ and ^^. If it's not stolen, you can get a title for it. If the guy you bought it from was the rightful owner, its even easier.
 
Personally, I would not be paranoid about having 'another' title for an old cheap vehicle like that. I like Jody's idea best though.
 
Had a 360 in my CJ when I bought it. That was a torquey little bastard! Sounded like it might have had a mild cam in it, but that also may have just been the side pipes growling.

I'm also down with the YJ idea, but I think that it would also make a sexy-as-hell double duty rig as it is. SOA, 35" or 36" tires, and drive it til the rust won't hold it together anymore. I'd start with a title search, or see if you can apply for a lost/rebuilt title. I'm assuming you got a bill of sale?
 
Scooter402 said:
Had a 360 in my CJ when I bought it. That was a torquey little bastard! Sounded like it might have had a mild cam in it, but that also may have just been the side pipes growling.

I'm also down with the YJ idea, but I think that it would also make a sexy-as-hell double duty rig as it is. SOA, 35" or 36" tires, and drive it til the rust won't hold it together anymore. I'd start with a title search, or see if you can apply for a lost/rebuilt title. I'm assuming you got a bill of sale?
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I do have a bill of sale. I think itd be cool to wheel a SJ, at least to my 21 y\o self it would be. Dont really want to get rid of it, as Ive grown fond of it.
 
Ill try and do a title search. The guy I bought it from said he bought it 15 years ago for next to nothing to get a few parts off of and parked it. Said he never got a title. The guy used to have several waggys, and this was the last one to go. He was clearing the land and just wanted it gone.
 
I think they are badass and a pretty stout factory platform. Some 35’s and wheel it but being able to have it on the road would be way cooler. I’m in the same boat with my toyota and I’m lookng to find a title so it’s not a trailer queen.
 
I would build it to drive on the street and wheel.

If you get some fullwidth axles, the front with bolt in for an easy SOA. Trim the fenders a little and rock out. Rear will need to have new perches welded on most likely.

If put a set of Chevy 3/4 ton axles in an old J10, it was a blast. Here is it on 38s & H2s with 35s:

full

full
 
Clean it up and flip that bitch.
Get a bonded title.
The amount these things are going for nowadays is crazy.

Use the profit for the next project
 
After simmering some more, I think I have an idea that would kill two birds with one stone... Ive been having some problems out of my 4.0 in the zj, and I dont have a title for the waggy, or the funds to get it running currently. So, why not pull the 360 out of the waggy (possibly trans as well) and put it in the ZJ. I think itd be cool as hell to have a carbureted V8 ZJ.

Or, am I just crazy?
 
I will never own a wheeling rig with a carburetor again. They are fine for street driving or scenic trail riding, but not for real wheeling.

I would get a title, get it running, driving, cleaned up, and sell it, even if it takes you a year or so to come up with the fix it funds. Use the proceeds from the sale to fix the 4.0 in the ZJ.
 
drkelly said:
I will never own a wheeling rig with a carburetor again. They are fine for street driving or scenic trail riding, but not for real wheeling.
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X2.

Also, If I was going through the process of swapping a non-factory engine into a ZJ, it would be something with more power, like a LSx.
 
drkelly said:
I will never own a wheeling rig with a carburetor again. They are fine for street driving or scenic trail riding, but not for real wheeling.

I would get a title, get it running, driving, cleaned up, and sell it, even if it takes you a year or so to come up with the fix it funds. Use the proceeds from the sale to fix the 4.0 in the ZJ.
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paradisePWoffrd said:
X2.

Also, If I was going through the process of swapping a non-factory engine into a ZJ, it would be something with more power, like a LSx.
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This is why I'm building an EFI system for mine. I'm tired of tinkering with carburetors, even if they are easy. I want a "once and done" setup to go with forever and ever, amen.

EDIT: With some patience, the DIY EFI kits can be adapted and tuned to ANYTHING under the sun. To quote from their website, anything "from a single-cylinder lawnmower to a V12 fire-breathing monster." There's also some plug and play aftermarket kits, while a bit more spendy, are incredibly effective and versatile.
 
Scooter402 said:
This is why I'm building an EFI system for mine. I'm tired of tinkering with carburetors, even if they are easy. I want a "once and done" setup to go with forever and ever, amen.

EDIT: With some patience, the DIY EFI kits can be adapted and tuned to ANYTHING under the sun. To quote from their website, anything "from a single-cylinder lawnmower to a V12 fire-breathing monster." There's also some plug and play aftermarket kits, while a bit more spendy, are incredibly effective and versatile.
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this is kind of what I was thinking. Like everything else I do for wheeling, Ill just have to build it up as I go. Im hoping to get another year or two out of the engine thats in the ZJ, that way Im not rushed into anything. Thats what got me in this mess. Blown engine and a deadline. I got burned on this engine.
 
X4 or whatever on carbs suck offroad. I had the motorcraft 2150 "poor mans fuel injection" stock 2 barrel on my 78 f150 truggy. After it nearly killed me and a passenger in caliente when it flooded, stalled and wouldnt restart as I careened down a mountain with no power brakes I told my passenger if I made it home I'd have efi. Three weeks later my 351m ford motor had gm throttle body injection on it.

Nowadays the prices of the bolt on kits is so low itd be stupid to put a carb on a wheeling rig when you can get fitech efi for less than $1000.

Sent from my HTC6545LVW using Tapatalk
 
JSJJ388 said:
this is kind of what I was thinking. Like everything else I do for wheeling, Ill just have to build it up as I go. Im hoping to get another year or two out of the engine thats in the ZJ, that way Im not rushed into anything. Thats what got me in this mess. Blown engine and a deadline. I got burned on this engine.
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Depending on how electrically/electronically inclined you are, I'd check these guys out. It's what I'm doing with mine.

MegaSquirt Engine Management & Fuel Injection by DIYAutoTune.com

I'm going with one of the total DIY kits, assemble/tune it myself, build the harness, etc. It sounds like a huge thing to tackle, but having done wiring/electronics in previous applications...ain't skeerd. I've never used a laptop to tune an engine, but hey - I've seen it on tv! how hard could it be? o_O
 
Jody Treadway said:
Did someone say Redneck Fuel injection? Motorcraft 2 BBL turned around backwards and a E250 throttle cable?
Party like it's 1998 all over again!
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Tell me more? lol
 
Jody Treadway said:
Did someone say Redneck Fuel injection? Motorcraft 2 BBL turned around backwards and a E250 throttle cable?
Party like it's 1998 all over again!
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Damn, and I thought I was doing a Redneck Fool Injection on my pile...scrapping together a pile of bits and pieces that were never meant to work together in the first place!
 
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