Deredneckdefying The '58

So I got these Jeep from the reneckiest neck who ever necked. It is one huge cluster/Jerry rigged mess. It had the standard gun holder welded to the floor and seat belts from a Chevrolet. The entirety of the removable panels on the floor were held on with self tapping screws

To my question.

The tank, can it be cleaned? Or should I buy a new tank? I have 3 kids and a boat, so I'm poor.

Is there a ready made wiring harness that will work with my M38A1/CJ hybrid? The wiring horrifies me.

Any suggestions on cleaning all this horrid JB weld off the tank?

 

Whether you clean the tank or buy one may depend on if it is rusty enough to have leaks, or just needs to be flushed out.
The M38A1 tank is deeper than a CJ5 and holds much more fuel. It may also be more expensive. Almost $500 for a crappy Omix reproduction.

OEM military would be better. I actually soldered about 100 rust-pits and pinholes in mine, coated the inside, and it worked fine.

That wiring is WAAAAY more than necessary. You won't need half that much.

 

I used an ez-wire kit in mine, I think the 10 fuse one. It was pretty straight forward, and more than I need if I want a dome light or a rotating disco ball or somesuch

 

Try to save your gas tank if you can- replacements are pricey. Like Pete said, first see if it will come clean. Radiator shops will generally clean gas tanks. You might end up with pinholes (mine did also) but they can seal them up.

If you put in a civilian gas tank, then you too will become a redneck Not that there's anything wrong with that...

 

There are harnesses that will get you very close out there, Kaiserwillys has a good assortment. But you can make yourself a perfectly good harness for less than that ~$300 if you are on a budget or have special requirements. I did find a small marine fuse-block to greatly clean up the POs non-factory wiring to the point of being pretty OK looking.

You can have that tank chemically stripped to nothing but clean metal, of course then you will find out how much (or little) clean metal is left.
They have pretty much forced the radiator shops near my to quit doing any real cleaning work, but I'm in CA. Give the local radiator shops a call but failing that you can look for "chemical paint and rust stripping" shops near you.

Yep, some repair solder will make it right for smaller pinholes.

 

I found a good used M38a1 tank at a swap meet. When testing the tank I found one of the seams needed repair. I took the tank to Performance Radiator in Tacoma Washington. They Fixed, cleaned, and coated the inside and out side if my tank.
Depending on the condition of your tank, my old one wasn't worth fixing. (Rusted from the outside in.)

 

I have used the Hirsch tank slosh with good results. It was an all-weekend project though, in the middle of summer. Still won't be free - the materials cost ca $50 IIRC.

The main issue with making a harness is buying enough different colors of wire. The cheapest way to do this, if money were really tight, would be to strip the wiring out of another car and use that as material for the new harness. Buying many rolls of different color wire will get expensive, and you won't be able to match the number of different colors and traces used on a factory harness. This is why most use a "hot rod" harness like EZ-wire. Check "wiring harnesses" on eBay for a deal on a 12-circuit kit. The original wiring on these Jeeps is very simple - look at the wiring diagram from the factory manual. here is a helpful article about working with automotive wiring harnesses - BASIC WIRING 101, Getting You Started! - JeepForum.com

 

HSC Electronic Supply - Silicon Valley's Electronic Marketplace is a surplus electronics shop right near me, they have an entire isle isle of the store dedicated to wire sold by the foot in a pretty legit variety of sizes and colours.
Sometimes they have some amazing silicone-jacket, fine-strand, tinned wire and such like that you couldn't purchase or afford any other way that surplus.
Check the phone book for electronic or industrial surplus near you.

 

Yes!!! Just lay out one circuit at a time. Being this is not a stock resoration, I would go with the waterproof Delphi Weather Pack connectors. Best purchased here: Waytek | 12V Electrical Components Distributor

Summit Racing also has them from Casper but way more expensive. I'm also pretty fond of the Bussmann fuse blocks:
EATON's Bussmann Series 15712-14-06-21A ATC Fuse Block | Waytek

If you do embark on this adventure, make sure you record your wiring diagram. Both you-and especially the next owner-will really appreciate it. Note both color/code and wire gauge for everything.

This is an example of what my 3B documentation looks like:


And when you are done you will not likely ever need any outside help with your electrical system. That alone is worth the price of doing it yourself.

 

This is so true and besides, it's a lot of fun.

 

Just a comment - the weatherpack connectors are very good, but realize that the harness connectors in automobile wiring are not there to benefit the eventual owner; instead they are there to benefit the assembly line workers and boost profit. Making the wiring modular helps to put the cars together fast. Faster assembly means more cars built in less time at lower labor cost. In general, connectors are a reliability liability, and a maintenance headache. I suggest you simply leave them out if you don't need them ... and in most cases, you don't need them.

 

At least you got a gun rack.
And...if it makes you feel any better...I've seen way worse wiring than that.

 

If you ever really need a disconncet at a certain point, add it when you need to.

 

Delcity.net has by far the cheapest prices that I have found. I rewired 5 Jeeps last year and so far 3 this year from scratch. Actually one of the more enjoyable parts of working on a Jeep.

 

I would just drive it as is, till it dies or quits, true redneck style...

 

In the dim recessses of my memory, I seem to recall it is about 17-1/2 gallons, versus 10-½ gallons for the civilian.

 

While I am from SE Texas and that would make perfect sense, I am already doing that with my old Ford. My wife will only allow one redneck vehicle in the paddock.