donor wagoneer

http://springfield.craigslist.org/cto/1828867983.html

I'm considering buying this wagoneer to use as a donor vehicle so i can start AGAIN on my CJ; motor, axles, powersteering.....any suggestions/guidance? I've started planning a rebuild twice in the last 2.5 years, and I'm now in the middle of my 2nd deployment in 2.5 years. At the end of this one though, I'll have enough dwell time to actually get some work done on it...woo hoo!!! So I'm all ears, lets hear your thoughts/suggestions?!

 

Ok ... what year is this Wagoneer? It has a razor grille which would indicate a '66-69, but they say 360, which did not appear until 1971. It may be a 6-lug car ('74 or later), which means a flanged Dana 44 rear and open-knuckle Dana 44 front with disks. If it's older, it will be a closed knuckle front end, and 5 lugs. A closed-knuckle Wagoneer axle is a 27 or 30 and would be thrown away by most builders.

Also, Wagoneer axles have lousy gearing for a CJ ... typically 3.31s or 3.07s. Some later cars came with 2.73s. You plan to regear these axles?

You really want to put a 360 into a short hood CJ? It can be done, but it's kind of pointless considering how many '72 and later CJs came from the factory with the V8 already in place. What's wrong with the 231?

The TH400 is very long for a short WB CJ, especially with a V8. I expect it could be done, but you'd be making life hard for yourself.

If you swap in a V8, I'd suggest a Buick 300, 340 or 350. And the T-86 or T-14 transmission won't stand up behind V8 power, so you need a trans swap.

Not a lot here appeals to me...

 

Also (sorry to pile on) - that's far from a $575 car IMO. A lot depends on what parts are there and what parts you need, but junky Wagoneers sell for scrap prices. I would not pay much for it unless I could run the engine and maybe drive it. Check the oil pressure and compression before you buy it as an engine donor.

 

I agree with Tim-not much worthwhile on a wagoneer to put in a CJ. The description on your sig line sounds like a pretty good Jeep to me.

 

To add more fuel to what was said above the front axle has drive flanges (slugs) instead of locking hubs which indicates most likely it has a Quadratrac full time transfer case. While a decent transfer case parts can be very hard to find and it requires special Quadratrac fluid which is expensive. Last Q-trac I rebuilt it took five to make one good one as the cone clutches are not, or at least were not, available new.
Not worth it imho. If you can pick it up cheap enough it might be worth some parts, power steering box, shock mounts, maybe steering column if a tilt unit, but really not worth much for swapping purposes. If it has a Dana 44 disc front then that's worth about $200-$250 around here.

 

Hijack...

What is so special about the transfer juice, and why does this case need it?

 

Essentially, the transfer case has a limited slip differential in it, which requires special fluid.