Rookie's 67 Cj5 (re)build - Here We Go....again

I think I have things figured out for now. Took the exhaust manifolds to the machine shop to the the old studs pressed out and new holes tapped. That's the easy part. The next step is getting my pulleys to line up right without things hitting. I'm running a mechanical fan, so I'm going to have to get a clutch or a spacer, since it's rubbing on the crankshaft pulley. Then the flat pulley is also rubbing on the timing tab. The 4.3 was originally run with a serpentine, and long pump, and I'm going v-belt and short pump so I can reuse my pulleys and alternator w/ brackets. I'm also going to have to find a spacer to fit on the harmonic damper of the 4.3. It has a lip, and the holes are recessed. I need to measure it and find out if any of the spacers at Summit will fit and not push everything out too far or not enough. Fun stuff.

 

trail and error... i LOATHE that part...

seems like so much $$ gets wasted that way... for me anyway

although this site sure reduces it by a lot!

 

Made some more progress, but always taking a few steps back with each step forward. I put my d18 back together today, and put in new oil seals and a whole lot of permatex. Hopefully it won't leak quite as bad this time. I'm pretty much doubtful that I'll ever get it stopped completely.



So then I mounted it to the engine, and started lining things up.



Things are starting to look good, until I mount the drivers side exhaust manifold to check for clearance:





Now I get to figure out if I want to somehow shift it all to the right, or if I just buy headers, or maybe even talk to a really creative exhaust shop. Also discovered that I'm going to have to shorten my drive line a bit in the rear - but then again, that was expected. chainsawguy

On the bright side....my rebuilt overdrive is currently on a truck in Nashville, and should be here tomorrow. Woohoo!

 

That's exactly what I'm thinking, Warloch. Might be easier to just carve up the hump a bit more and drill some new holes in the cross member, rather than trying to be creative. I do have a Saginaw manual box mounted at the front, so at least all I have to contend with is the steering rod.

 

on the harmonic balancer to v-belt pulley.
I took quality washers of the same weight / thickness and shimmed it out, I suggest adhering the washers to the pulley because it is not easy to stab the bolts and washers at once.

 

I think I may add the washers too. Thanks Joe. I wondered how that would work originally - but if yours runs and drives, that sounds like a plan. What I ended up doing to make it fit for now was cutting the lip of the timing tab that was sticking out too far. That allowed the pulley to mount up to the balancer without much of an issue. Next stop - moving everything over and mounting my rebuilt overdrive. Thanks Herm!

I was hoping to have this done by summer, but it's looking like it might be fall before I have the time and the finances to get this done. Might have to switch the title to - rookie's longest build ever.....

Here's a question for those running TBI. Did you get the VSS from Novak, or does it run fine without?

 

Good lookin jeep and well done thus far on the build. Speakin of builds...your title sounds awful similar lol. Good luck with the jeep, lookin great

 

Moved the motor several weeks ago. It's all bolted up and ready to go. Now I need to install my overdrive, and start working on everything again. Unfortunately our hvac unit just died at our house and we're going to have to replace the whole unit - so not going to be spending any money on the project for a while. Sigh. Maybe this is a 2 year project? 3 year? Finish by retirement in 35 years? Hmm.

 

I started my build in june of 2010. I told myself that it would be a short build...only a few months tops. Well, here it is June of 2012, 2 years later, and I am still wrenching and welding on it. Hope you get your ac working again soon, dont know about where you live, but here in the valley its HOT!

 

After a long hiatus, I'm trying to pick up where I left off. Today I installed my Advanced Adapters chain clutch control, and finished running brake lines. Bled the rear but haven't done the front yet.

I also started to install my rebuilt Warn. I really hope I got that snap ring in place. That just makes me nervous. I'm also having trouble getting it to slide into the bowl gear. Hmm. Enough for one day.

Next up: run fuel lines and order a wiring harness.

 

Got the overdrive installed the other night. Woohoo! First attempt with flaring the fuel lines failed. I now have a double flare tool, and am going to start again. My lines leak at several of the fittings...oops. It's all a learning experience!

I also started trying to reconnect wires on the engine tonight. Looks like I need a new manifold coolant temp sensor for the pcm, a heated oxygen sensor, and a fuel pump relay/harness. Everything else seems to be coming in to place. The main struggles I have right now are figuring out where my vacuum lines all go, and also reconnecting the hacked apart harness wire by wire. Fun stuff. Here's the overdrive and the rats nest of wire...

 

Found this somewhere. And thinking about it...this might be helpful for anyone else doing TBI w/o buying a painless...

 

Finished up the brake lines today and the brakes are nice and firm. I also installed the fuel pump and started running the fuel lines. After I made it as far as I could without making a run to a FLAPS, I decided to start trying to piece the harness back together. I thought it wouldn't be much trouble, but then I discovered that there are wires that are the same color coming from the harness. There are several dark blue wires, and the applications vary, from knock sensors, to the vehicle speed sensor, to the fuel injectors. I've decided I'm not going to mess with that and just bite the bullet and get a painless, or find a fully intact used harness. At least I'm still making progress.

 

Scratch that on buying a harness. I just discovered a pinout diagram for my PCM #16197427. I'm going to try to make this work. There's a place at the end of my road that reprograms pcms, so I may run it by there to see if they can bypass the auto transmission. Got the fuel lines finished up last night. The pot metal quick disconnect connector for the heater hose on the back to the manifold disintegrated when I tried to remove it, so I had to hack saw it out by cutting it in four places and pulling it out with needle nose pliers. I replaced it with a standard heater hose nipple.

 

Spent my entire day off yesterday in the garage. Got my brake lines finished and not leaking. Also got my wiring harness spliced back together thanks to the pin out diagram I found for my computer. I also got my radiator mounted and connected, and my alternator mounted and v-belt tight. Then I just got bored and decided to sit the tub on the frame and play with my new DA sander. Off to a full day meeting today.

 

Holy Bondo Batman! I started sanding the paint on the body today and found myself stuck on a cracked area of bondo. It was at least a 1/4" thick! Found a patched and welded panel underneath.

And I'm done for the night.

 

My EZ wiring harness came in today. Looking forward to getting my tub painted and getting this thing back together!

 

It has become apparent to me that no matter what I say about "bubba," the PO of this Jeep, if anyone else looks at it when I finish it up...I'll be the "bubba." Bondo is going to have to be my friend. Welding is not a skill that I have been able to master. I tried welding the holes for the snaps closed, and when I grind them down, the hole isn't filled at all. This is my first time doing anything like this with a vehicle (other than working in a bicycle repair shop in college). I definitely need a new floor in the back of the jeep, but I'm just going to deal with a hole-filled, wavy, beat up floor, because I'm not going to spend the money on a new one and mess it up trying to weld it. I have no clue what I'm going to do with my hole filled dash.

My goal at this point is to get it functional and painted, and hopefully a tad bit better than it was when I started. This warm weather has given me the itch to drive it again. And I'm definitely going to sell the old white top and get a supertop. I'll post it here first though.

 

Have you tried using a copper backer when you weld the holes shut? Start in the middle and get a small puddle going then work your way to the outer edge of the hole.