Started My ECJ5 Build

Hooked up the gas pedal, and mounted the horn, wired the speedo, and the headlight switch. All that is pretty much left wiringwise is the turn signal, horn switch, reverse light (need a switch for that), and the wiper motor. Haven't figured out the wiring for the oil pressure gauge, hooked up the wire to the oil light on the speedo, plus need to read on hooking up the voltmeter; not to worried about either one though. I'm kinda thinking of replacing one of those with a small tach unit, and maybe a clock for the other one.......

 

Looks like you are closing in on it!

 

Painted the steering wheel tonight, white column, and truck bed paint on the wheel (to hide the cracks) and give me some sports car grip........

Need to pick up some battery cables and try and crank her over sometime soon!

 

Cranked the engine over today, no fuel / tank can attached yet, but with all the new stuff hearing the starter crank it was a good sign from the first turn of the key.

 

Are you going to be able to start it soon? Now that's exciting.

 

Got one wiring issue, the front headlights and fron turn signals do not light. The front blinkers do. Figured out the Yankee turn signal unit, plus got the Summit heater working and the YJ windshield wipers, two speeds only, and do not have the washer fluid bag and spray motor yet. Gonna get a new floor mounted hi-lo switch, off to NAPA.

I'm gonna try hooking up a gas can to it today, and see if I can get it running.

 

Got the headlights and front parking lights working. It was the dimmer / brights foot switch. However, first pull turns on the parking lights, second pull the headlights come on, and the front parking lights go off. Oh well, I can either live with that, or learn to play around with it....

Rigged up mini fuel can, and got the engine to fire, but it appears the fuel pump is not pulling fuel, it'll sputter if I pour fuel down the carb, but the pump appears to not pull, it's a new pump also...... aggravated.... That Toyota LC starter sure spins the engine fine. Gotta love that.

Found a rear driveshaft that may fit, need to test it out / measure it, then replace the u-joints ifn' it fits....

Closer.

The turn signal indicators on the Yankee Turnflex do not light up. Maybe needs bulbs in the unit.

So close I can taste it.

 

Well, that works for me then.

Need to figure out the fuel pump issue.

 

Well, I head out to the barn this AM to take a look at timing and fuel delivery. I could get it to sputter, backfire slightly by pouring fuel down the carb, and shots of starting fluid. I try priming the pump, pulling the new lines and blowing them out, ya know the normal stuff of tinkering and failed attempts at pleasing the Jeep Gods. After a while of playing with timing and these repeated steps. I have my 7 year old come out and turn the key, while I "watch".

I turn my eyes down to my water bottle and as he's cranking the engine over the fuel line is blowing bubbles in my water bottle......

Go figure, the fuel inlet and outlets are reversed as compared to the previous pump, or at least my recollection of the previous set up. I begin to dismantle my lines and re-assemble everything, turn the key and in 2-3 seconds the Jeep roars to life. After letting it warm up for about 10 seconds she's idling on her own with no throttle input.

Also hooked up the rear driveshaft, it fits but need new u-joints.

 

That's great. Driving it soon I hope. If I can get my wife to help me bleed the brakes today I'll be able to drive mine aound a little.

 

Well, gotta get my intermediate steering shaft, while it runs, I have no control of direction. I'll be taking a trip over to Flaming River next Saturday.

Gotta re-bleed my brakes also, I installed a Mico-Lock lever, and also swapped in a different master cylinder, so need to re-bleed.

 

Well, not only does it run, it moves, it stops and it steers. Drove it outta the barn so it could get some sunlight. Installed the new Borgeson steering shaft, re-bled the brakes, had to remove the added residual valve as the rear brakes would not "return" when you lifted off the pedal. I need to adjust the tie rod a bit. Gonna work on the seat frame / mounting, as I got none of that stuff, so I'll be cutting, grinding and welding tomorrow. I'm half torn, I know a place that has the Levi seat covers (factory stuff), I'm half tempted to go with the blue instead of the tan. The tan will look better with the paint job, any thoughts? I really like the blue though. I already have tan Levi seats, but only one of the three is usable, the others have some significant tears.

Sure I need to loom the wiring and tidy that up a bit, cutt off the "extra" circuits and such, but it should be on the road by the end of the month.

I'm also tempted to mount the tailgate even though the opening closed in. That way I can have a higher rubicon rack, and use the tail gate for a seat / work platform / lower rack. I'm still torn on the mounting of the spare tire. I like the roof mount idea from a practicality standpoint.













And yes, I need to figure out some sort of rear bumper arrangement. I'm thinking some form of corner wrap arounds then two later CJ/YJ factory bumperettes.

And yes again, that chrome rear diff cover has got to go.

 

Well been finishing the boring stuff. Got the front seats in, and the rear seat belts, need to bolt the rear seat in. Finished up the dash, and the defrost ducting, it's functional, but it kinda blends in..... Picked up my ARB compressor, need to finish plumbing that, also installed a new Solex carb, got the master cylinder in, brakes plumbed and the mico lock is working fine. Need to installed the front seat belts.

I got two issues remaining, my fuel gauge and temperature gauges are unresponsive, so any help with problem solving there would be great.

I'm still not happy with the dumbo ear looking fenders. I'm predicting tire rub on the rear and the front. Last big thing, is I need to pick up shocks, make the winch mount, and spare tire carrier issue......











I'm pretty tempted at making some rock crawler front fenders....... Probably pick up a CJ7 kit and cut that down to fit.

Runs well, but I got a decent leak somewhere that looks like the mating surface between the T90 and D20.


I need to free up the throttle cable, it's sticking, well, darn stuck.....so I disconnected it from the carb. Having the choke cable hooked up makes starting A LOT quicker.

 

Really coming along. I think the CJ7 fenders are going to be too long for your front clip. Any fenders after "71 are going to be about 3" longer than an Early CJ. I used "73 fenders, but changed the hood to '73 also and moved the grill forward. But I lengthened the frame to accomodate the extra length. You probably have the only early CJ that has defrosters that actually work!

 

My fuel guage didn't work because of a faulty ground. If it were me, I'd be checking the wires to look for a loose connection or something like that.

 

Jack: I have a plastic tank, so yes, a ground would be a good idea. Thanks, that never even crossed my mind.

Posi: If I got CJ7 fenders, I'd have to cut them down, I'd bet there is room to do so in those kits, no one makes ECJ5 fenders like that. And well, I'm too bushed to try and make my own. One duct from the Summit heater will go to the defrost, and I'll split the others going to the dash vents / heat vents. I should be toasty warm, if I clean up the air gaps on the hard top....

 

So are you looking at an aftermarket flatty type fender kit for CJ7's?

 

Probably.

Didn't get the fuel gauge to work. Found out the plastic float has a hole. Tried two other sender units I had laying around (one had a cork float), and no luck, tried two other fuel gauges and no luck.....

 

The gauge has to have a ground and the sender as well. I just went through this with mine. I didn't understand why the gauge needed a ground since I thought the sender provided the ground. But that's not the case. Somehow the sender provides resistence between the ground at the gauge and the needle on the gauge.