65 Tux Park sees daylight

My winter project - a 65 tux park. Bought on Ebay and been restoring since. Missing rear bumper and fold-down tag holder, correct tailights and (obviously) hubcaps. Most everything else is stock. Super-clean dash, split bench, heater, F134, and runs good.

 

Rims are 16" and tires are STA 16x6.5 Rear seat is out of a Laredo, and fox tail is off a . . . well, a fox.


been going for a stocker look. I think the wheels and tires MAKE it.



Somebody off this forum sold me the emblems (Thanks!) which I repainted with a tiny brush and a lot of eye strain.



Previously, I've owned a 46 2a (Bought when I was 13 for $300!) a '68 CJ5, a VEC '46 Column shift, and a '42 Slatgrill MB. This is my only Jeep now. Something I don't mind my daughters playing with.



Couple of questions for you guys:

#1 - With the fat tires that were on there (30" with chrome wagon wheels) I didn't notice it, but now I really notice how much "play" the steering has, and the jeep tends to "wander" left and right. Can the steering be tightened up, or do I have to buy a new steering box? Any other possible causes of the drifting? Steering wheel does have about 4" of play . . .

#2 - Trying to get a valve tick out, I adjusted valves to about .016. But BEFORE I did that, it ran GREAT. Now under load (like going up a steep hill on the highway in 3rd) it sputters and misses like it's starving for gas, but only when you push accelerator all the way down. During hard acceleration in 1st or 2nd . . . no missing. What gives???

 

4" of play is about right. If you had 1/2 a turn of slack in the steering, I'd be worried. You are not going to get out all the slack. The steering system is made of a series of ball and socket joints. They will all by design have a slight amount of slack and when you add them up at the steering wheel, you will have side to side neutral motion. That design is very old and the only way to really see the difference is to go to a saginaw setup, which, I bet you wouldn't want to do on that tux

You can try and tighten up the sector shaft tensioner bolt. Its the bolt with the slotted head and jam nut on the left face of the steering gear. You have to take the tension off the wheels by putting the front end on jack stands. Tighten that bolt untill you have just a slight amount of resistance in the steering wheel when the wheels are parallel or in the center of motion. The drag will release on either side of center. They designed it so it would be tight while you are driving straight down the road which is what you want.

If that doesn't fix some of the slack, I'd look at the steering components.

 

Very nice. Keep watching for the elusive 2nd bumper. It will turn up one day.

 

Nice looking little Tux.