1975 Brutally Simple Daily Driver

This is Pinky. I introduced him and myself HERE.



Pinky is an unmolested Jeep but it’s far from original. Seems like the previous owners only did enough to keep it on the road. Its got no real upgrades but it does sport some poor bondo work and severely faded red paint.

It’s a well enough driver but my intentions are to keep the look as is but simply improve on the drive ability of it. There’s a list of things I’d like to do with it. Does it need any of it to drive it everyday? Nope! What it will need at some point in the future is body work though. Again, does it need body work to drive it everyday? Nope! We’ll see how far things get.

At the top of the list was fuel injection. I went with a kit from Performance Fuel Injection out of Michigan. Excellent kit for the money! It comes with an HEI distributor but lacks any sort of plan for making your throttle linkage work. Easy enough though! Like most kits it doesn’t come with fuel hose, clamps, an air cleaner, or plug wires. What wasn’t supplied was easily found at the local parts store. I used an air cleaner housing from an International Scout to keep the look I wanted under the hood. Unfortunately it seems as though it’s only temporary as it’s sharing a space with where the future power brake booster needs to live. Stay tuned for that!





Overall I’m blown away with the improved performance out of this 258! Waiting to see what kind of mileage it’ll be giving me now also. In the future, the list I’d like to accomplish now is the addition of power brakes, rebuild the brakes and maybe add disks, a taller tire to lower my RPMs at cruising speed (with wheels that aren’t black ), update the front bumper and winch mount, and body work way down the road... maybe. Until then my plan is to continue driving and upgrading!

 

I like the black wheels on pinky...then again i like black wheels in general
Looking foreward to more!!!

 

Very nice. I started with a similar plan and the scope just keeps getting bigger and bigger. Love the fuel injection tho, would like to know more about it. How many sensors does it have, what controls it, is it something I could tackle and make work on the Dauntless etc?

 

Not sure if there’s a kit out there for the Dauntless, but everything in mine is based off of GM components. It’s got the Howell throttle body and sensors include coolant, O2, MAP, and a couple that are part of the Howell. Everything is run by a GM style computer that fits behind the glove box. Easy, easy!

I’d get in touch with Kevin at Perfirmance Fuel Injection. Looks like they base their kits for stock engine applications.

 

Maiden voyage with the updated fuel delivery today. Put 30 miles on it without so much as a hiccup. First time I even had it up to 70! It even maintained speed!

Definitely needs a tachometer now. Between the wind, road, and tire noise it’s difficult to judge by ear when enough is enough. On the hunt for the right vintage tach!

 

like this one?

 

Yup! Something like that. It’s got some aftermarket gauges that someone added so I’d either like to match the original speedometer or the gauges

 

jealous...looks like fun!

 

Very Nice

 

Thanks guys! Unfortunately the immediate starts with the fuel injection has brought up a new issue. Seems as though my oil pump is on its way out and I never really noticed it before. I turn the key and “CLACK! CLACK! CLACK!” then a slow rise to 30 pounds. This then drops to a miserable 7 pounds at idle. I’m already running 15/40 in it too. Reluctant to jump to 20/50 with the temperature I see in the mornings. Not a big deal... just need time to do it.

 

The dash looks beautiful.

 

Most likely needs bearings and cam bearings. My 238 has something wrong with lifter bores, ate two lifters and made weird clacking noises with low oil pressure. I fixed it with a 304.

 

Thanks! Really too bad someone hacked it for a radio.

 

I didn’t want to be the first to say it. I’ll be having a look inside a cap when I get there. Doesn’t feel to me like there is any lack of power though. Haven’t a clue how many miles are on this engine. Fingers crossed for good luck.

 

Wow, really nice. Just so you know, I've gotten a fair amount of miles just slipping in new bearings if you don't want it down for the summer rebuilding your engine. Just an idea to keep you moving along...

 

Currently running a blazer with a 4.3 we did this to.

 

Few things have happened since the last update. Pretty much sums up with the fuel injection being awesome, developed a rod knock, THIS THREAD discussing a potential 4.0 swap, lucked out and rolled in a standard set of rod bearings, and then a continuation of being awesome.

I’ve been getting back to my list of wants and I think it’s getting to be time to look into the brakes. I’m yet to pull the drums off to see what I’m starting with, but even with the 11” setup it feels like it’s leaving some to be desired. No decisions will be made until I know what kind of demons are yet to be discovered behind the wheels. Until then here’s a picture of Pinky and a deer to liven up the thread.

 

Small update... Pinky learned a new trick yesterday. I got cut off in traffic and had to dynamite the brake pedal. Now it pulls hard to the left when braking. REALLY hard. The brakes were next on the list of things to do but a razor blade pushed new tires to the head of the list. Granted, I’ve been loving my new tires!... but I was hoping to recoup a little before throwing more cash at it.

I think my plan now is to throw on some disks up front and do what I need to in the rear. The shop I work at sells a kit for the front that’ll make things very simple. Stay tuned, I guess.

Updated picture for interest:

 

It's a blessing in disguise. Great brakes on an ECJ make them even more fun to drive. If I had to choose between power disc brakes or power steering... well I'd choose both, they really are amazing.