A few years ago, I offered to help an old friend get his derelict Jeep CJ7 back on the road. We were stationed together at Camp Lejeune back in the 90’s, and as we were constantly deployed overseas or sent to the field, one topic remained significant in our offline conversations. That was what we were going to do to enhance or build our vehicles to our liking when the time was right. Mine of course was the Bronco, and I was obsessed with EFI (even back in 1994)a project that I am still working on and his was to customize his Jeep and basically fix all that was wrong with it. Being that it was an AMC product built as the company was on the way out in 1986, that meant there was A LOT to fix… A few years later my friend was transferred to Panama, and he took the Jeep with him for several more years of additional service in Central America. Upon his end of active service he took a few weeks leave and drove the Jeep back to the United States through Mexico and across the border into Arizona where for the next several years he attended graduate school. Once he completed school he brought the Jeep back to his home of record in Northern Virginia. Needless to say the old Jeep was tired and in need of some work…
To its credit the Jeep served him faithfully throughout these years without many issues and upon his return to Virginia, he parked it safely in his garage where it sat for almost a decade, enjoying a much deserved hibernation while it awaited the long ago promised upgrades and repairs.
This is where I came in…In 2011 after several personal life altering events in both of our lives, we decided that the time had come to get his Jeep on the road again. Perhaps we felt that we either do this work now, or it will never get done. With that thought in mind, I drove down to Washington DC early one morning in late September 2011, with a trailer to collect up the old CJ and bring her back to my garage in PA for an extensive overhaul. Upon initial inventory inspection of the Jeep, I determined that everything seemed complete and solid (especially the body), but the years of neglect and use were obvious when it came to the mechanical aspects of the vehicle. I knew that there was a lot more work here than I originally anticipated, but I also knew that it was nothing that I could not handle. I just needed to gauge the extent of the work at hand, and make a few decisions about what we are going to do and not do.
DO:
1. Engine overhaul, (cam, carb, TC and head) while leaving bottom end in place.
2. Sand and paint body panels Rod Primer black
3. Roll in a bed liner
4. Deal with wiring because what was there looked like a bird’s nest.
NOT DO:
1. Suspension
2. Transmission/Clutch
3. Gas Tank
4. Axle seals
With initial tear down completed and as with many projects, it started to get a bit crazy as we discovered more and more things that were in need of repair or replacement.
The engine itself was the easiest part of the project to deal with. We ended up with a new PS pump and hoses, a Weber carb kit, a rebuilt head, valve cover, fuel pump, coil and a solid state blue tab Duraspark ignition.
Nothing in the engine was really that unpredictable, so most of that came together nicely.
It was the other things that really came out of nowhere. The dash was an absolute mess. Wires everywhere, hanging, corroded, cut and just plain not working. It was readily obvious that a new wiring harness was in order for this Jeep if it was going to be a reliable vehicle after all of this work. So we added a Painless kit to the list.
Next came the dash. I found a guy in Lancaster area who builds custom dashes for Jeep CJ’s and he built us a beautiful custom dash with black powder coating and a few extra cutouts for accessories. Very slick…
I also had to send the steering column out to a shop in Idaho for rebuild, and while the logistics of the operation were a bit odd, the price and the quality of work were excellent.
A few other things that we did not anticipate replacing, was a new Borgeson steering shaft, and some various electrical switches and other odds and ends.
Now that we had everything identified and/or purchased, we began the process of reassembly.
The Painless kit was interesting to me. In many ways it was very simple to work with, however I did have to peel back a lot of the harness tape that they applied at the factory to wire it more tightly to the engine compartment. I removed the factory EEC that was no longer necessary, and with the addition of an Ammeter and Blue Tab Duraspark ignition, I had to do some additional wiring. It turned out really nicely. I insisted on wiring in an Ammeter and teaching my friend how to read it. The original Jeep dash has a Voltimeter, and the combination of these two gauges are critical to proper electrical system monitoring. So I did not mind wiring this additional gauge into the Painless harness. I also felt that the Duraspark creates a solid reliable ignition platform for this vehicle. My thinking is that if something does go wrong with this vehicle on the road or trail, the parts are easily accessed at any store or vendor. Not to mention they’re very easily swapped out as well. Something that I kept in the back of my mind while planning the rework. For the record, I may suggest that he opt for the TFI upgrade sometime in the future, as it offers a hotter spark, and it is still as common as the coil and cap combo that is on there now.
So we painted it black, did the Rhino Liner, installed the steering column, wired up the dash and ignition. We also replaced the seats, rebuilt the heater and vent box, and replaced the windshield hinges and gasket.
Then after years of sitting and with a new cam, timing chain, carb and head installed. It came time to start it. I made a rookie mistake and installed the distributor a tooth off, the pending backfire completely blew the new muffler to shreds, so we got a new one after I fixed the timing problem. It was really great to hear the engine crank and fire after being dormant of almost 10 years. I got it to idle smoothly and did what I could to adjust the Weber carb. I knew at that time that I had to really research that carb setup because it did not feel right when accelerating, or idling. However the engine ran smoothly and would start up on the third crank every time. The vacuum gauge showed 18 at idle and the needle was dead calm, so I knew that I had a solidly built engine on my hands.
For the rest of 2012 we worked on finishing touches, installing bumpers, driving lights, seat belts, body assembly etc…
Then came the time to drive it from PA to VA…Stand by because this is where it gets complicated…
Well we chose a cold weekend in January to fire up the Jeep and drive it the 100+ miles to Fairfax, VA. The Jeep had other plans…
With a short list of small details and tasks, we were ready to back it out of the garage and get some of them done prior to the drive. This proved to be more difficult than planned as we could not get the engine started. No matter what we did it would not start and run. I could get it to fire, but could not keep it running. I tried everything that I could think of to get it started, but something was very wrong. My friend had to buy a return ticket home, and we called it a weekend. I spent the next few weeks in the cold garage, removing and inspecting the various aspects of the engine that could be preventing it from starting.
I took the Weber carb apart several times to clean the jets and look for blockages in the system. I added a Holley Fuel Pressure Regulator and clear fuel filter to monitor fuel delivery. I cleaned and purged the fuel lines, reset the timing, clean the spark plugs. Still nothing…
Finally I circled back to the carb. It had to be the culprit…I took the top off (as I was getting good at that process now) and examined the float mechanism. It looked okay, but this time I blew into the intake fitting and could not get any pressure past the float into the flow valve. Nothing…It was plugged. Ah-a! I finally found my problem! So I proceeded to disassemble the needle valve assembly only to realize that it was stuck shut. The needle will drop via gravity when the float lowers as gas is sucked out of the bowl. This drop allows fresh fuel to enter the bowl. However this valve was stuck shut and though no gas was getting into the bowl. I cleaned and brushed the needle valve and soaked the whole thing in carb cleaner. I tested and retested the valve and it seemed to be working perfectly. I also tested the process of whacking the top of the carb with a screwdriver handle if the valve sticks again. It is gravity operated, so a simple rap with a tool will break it loose every time.
I also did the TFI ignition upgrade and it was easy and clean to do. In the process of testing the new coil, cap and wires, the ICM box from the Duraspark failed. The engine would not stay running…I replaced the Chinese knock off box with an OEM Blue Tab that I had as a spare for my Bronco, and it has been working ever since.
This weekend is the new retro plan date, so hopefully by next week the Jeep will be home safe and sound in VA ready for another 40 years of service.
We’ll see…
