Dice...... The 1978 Jeep Wagoneer

[DGarman]

Figured I better decide what to do with the back of Dice..... Overland Expo West is right around the corner!.....

Set up all the big stuff in the back..... the floor will be all covered with plywood..... thinking about a bed with milk crate storage underneath on the left half..... keep the right half open, with easy entry for the doggies through the rear passenger door...... for sleeping, a lot of stuff could be easily moved onto the front seat......





So..... since everything is somewhat loaded in place..... might be good to take a drive with Flint...... see how he likes the proposed set-up..... he's the biggest puppy at 100 pounds.....
He spent the whole trip standing on the spare tire..... looking out my window and licking my head..... he'll probably spend trips either standing or laying down on the bed.....
I think the layout for the back will work fine...... just need to start building it!


Since I'm such a pushover...... Flint talked me into stopping at In-N-Out Burger.....


..... for Flying Dutchman's!...... these things are delicious!...... and to my doggies they are like Heaven In A Flimsy White Box..... got 8 of them..... shared one on the drive home.....




Been picking up more 8-Tracks..... some work good...... some have needed new foam and splices..... this is about half of the collection.....

 

[villageidiot327]

living the dream Sir.

 

[Factoid]

Great find, Dennis, well done!

Dice is much better than Nutz, so you have a winner. Does the rear window work well? They were notorious for pinching the wiring and shorting out. Dice looks great, though.

 

[DGarman]

living the dream Sir.

Thanks Colby!

Great find, Dennis, well done!

Dice is much better than Nutz, so you have a winner. Does the rear window work well? They were notorious for pinching the wiring and shorting out. Dice looks great, though.

Thanks Factoid!
I did have to wrap some bare spots in the rear window wiring with tape..... works fairly well now...... until I rewire it with relays or something.
The storage in the back will be set up to access it from the inside also..... just in case the window fails on a trip and I can't get the tailgate down!

 

[DGarman]

Not much progress on Dice..... just enjoying a project that can be driven anywhere!

Kind of hemmin' and hawin' about the storage/sleeping in the back..... I have sketches, dimensions, and artist's renderings about how to do it.....
But..... I keep thinking about how it can be done simpler..... 1970s style..... without adding 100+ pounds of plywood in the back.....
Maybe just add some D-rings to the floor and sides....... tie stuff down during the ride...... it's just me and maybe a dog..... we don't have a lot of stuff.....
Toss some stuff under Dice at night..... sleep on half the floor..... hmmmmmm..... that would be simple.....

Aside from that...... when you start Overlanding you want to have the best gear possible..... but this is a Retro build..... 1970s style.....
That means you need a Coleman Ice Chest..... I already had the big one..... a 1976 model..... found a smaller cousin to it..... a 1963 model..... My refrigeration problem is solved!


Both ice chests were EBAY finds..... bought the ones that still had the original Sandwich Trays!......
No soggy sandwiches for THIS guy!...... I bet I don't even need to put my deviled ham sandwiches in fold-over Glad Sandwich Bags!.....


"But Dennis! What is the 8-Track situation?"..... I know you're all asking this..... I have about 50 tapes now..... all music that I listened to in High School..... Class of '78.
Over half of them needed new foam and splices..... I messed with one tape...... realized that was not my "Area Of Expertise".....
Sent the poor performing Tapes to Kate's Track Shack in Arlington TX..... new foam and splice for $2 a tape!..... money well spent in my mind.....
http://www.katestrackshack.com/taperepair.htm

I haven't built the boombox yet..... but I've been diggin' listening to the music from high school on the cobbled together system on my bench.....
This is one of my Forgotten Favorites..... from '75.....


Third Rate Romance.....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aTT-Jmi1nOc

 

[DGarman]

A few new farkles for Dice came in..... from BJ's Off Road in WA.....
http://www.bjsoffroad.com/

Rear-view mirror to replace the one with 2 settings....... way too high and way too low.....
A couple of mirror cranks that have actual knobs on them.......
Speedo cable to bypass the cruise control that doesn't work....... and I wouldn't use even if it did.....


Waiting for this storm to pass through...... working on product in the leather shop...... Dice is waiting patiently in the rain for his new farkles......
Rockin' to the 8-Track tapes while I work.....

"I brought you a crate of papaya, and waited in line by your door."


Another Forgotten Favorite..... Jungle Love.....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HBFXpLOslXU

 

[SOAZ]

Looks to me like Ol Dice is itching for an adventure!!
I dig those old coolers. Tonto needs one, but other priorities have kept it low on the list!

 

[DGarman]

Looks to me like Ol Dice is itching for an adventure!!
I dig those old coolers. Tonto needs one, but other priorities have kept it low on the list!

Dice is definitely ready to go somewhere....... I'm just knee-deep in leather stuff!
Finding vintage Coleman ice chests in good condition on EBAY can be done........ but they cost 2+ times what you can get a Coleman Extreme for new..... and it works better!

 

[DGarman]

Not much....... but did a little on Dice today.....
New window cranks...... every door has a window crank with a knob on it now!


Now that every window has an associated crank...... I find out that the left passenger window is STUCK in the closed position..... Stuck Up....... better than down I guess.....
The right passenger window will come down 6" or so...... not good for a complaining Mother-In-Law....... but fine for the doggies I travel with.....


Screwed on the new rearview mirror...... replaced the pitted, spastic, carnival fun-house mirror that was there.....
Now I can make sure I look my best when I go to the Chevron/Market/Beer Emporium, the Post Office, and the Dollar General.....


After owning Dice for 3-1/2 months........ I really like:
* Having 4 doors.
* Having an automatic trans.
* Having a flat-topped dash..... this is going to be a huge help when working inside.


Continuing to go through my collection of 8-Tracks...... I want my friends at OVEX West to only hear the best that the 1970s had to offer.....
Another Forgotten Favorite..... Get Outta Denver.....



Note: If your speakers are not turned to MAX......... you will want to do that now.........

 

[Darkrider]

Barebones and simple! Nice

 

[DGarman]

Barebones and simple! Nice

Thanks Darkrider!...... I'm trying to keep it simple....... and solve problems when they come up......
Trying to avoid coming up with solutions looking for a problem!

 

[SOAZ]

How is Dice doing and more importantly how is the 8 Track collection coming along???

 

[DGarman]

Not much in the way of improvements........ but Dice got an oil change.....
Wix 51258 filter..... best oil filters you can buy.....
Shell Rotella 15W-40 dinosaur oil..... since it's a "diesel" motor oil, it has more zinc and phosphorus in it than "car" motor oils..... flat-tappet cams LOVE zinc and phosphorus.....


Dice doesn't leak oil like a Jeep should..... I thought he might be empty!......
Checked all his fluids..... all within operating limits..... topped everything off to the FULL mark.....

How is Dice doing and more importantly how is the 8 Track collection coming along???

Tim, I think we have a decent collection going on..... Lots of Eagles, Steve Miller Band, Bob Seger..... also Dire Straits, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Fleetwood Mac, Jefferson Starship, Doobie Brothers..... some forgotten jewels like Rita Coolidge, Kenny Rogers, The Platters, Connie Francis..... etc., etc.....


{The "X" on a tape means it had the foam and splice replaced...... because I'm a former Engineer with OCD......}

Those of you that were in High School in the '70s will remember the hassle of carrying these EVERYWHERE you went!..... we didn't have the luxury of cell phones that could hold every song ever written in the history of the Earth...... and it was uphill in the snow both ways too!.......


Thinking I need to add a few Buck Owens tapes to the collection....... for the enjoyment of folks with discriminating musical tastes like mine......

 

[Dr. Marneaus]

Your Wagoneer is like taking a step back in time, it’s awesome.

Mine is like being stuck in a hellish nightmare that never ends because you think you finally woke up and are safe, but realize that was all just part of the nightmare and you’re still in it

 

[DGarman]

Your Wagoneer is like taking a step back in time, it’s awesome.

Mine is like being stuck in a hellish nightmare that never ends because you think you finally woke up and are safe, but realize that was all just part of the nightmare and you’re still in it

Thanks Doc!..... I reverted back to old trucks almost 20 years ago.....I like the simplicity!
I've been following your EFI Adventure..... I think you're on the one-yard line with the new distributor..... ready to score!
Should be a good runner after that.....

I do know about nightmare projects..... I bought a '77 J-10 401 Shortbed a couple years ago that was grossly misrepresented on Craigslist.....
When I'm ready for some frustration..... I'll get working on it again!