1978 Cherokee Chief Build

[ttravis5446]

I picked up this Cherokee last month. The first hurdle was getting it titled. I never want to mess with an out of state title again. I finally got all that wrapped up last week and I'm ready to get started on it.



So this is the beast. 1978 Cherokee Chief. AMC 360 , Turbo 400, and Quadratrac. Dana 44's. Its rolling on brand new 35x12.50R15's BF Goodrich M/T's, but I don't know if they'll stay. The PO did a spring over on the front and blocks in the back. I'm thinking I'll probably just do a 4" spring lift and 33's. I'm also contemplating ditching the Quadratrac and going with a twin sticked Dana 18.

The next hurdle will be getting it to pass emissions. All of the smog pump / air tube stuff is long gone. EGR stuff is messed up. Has a true duel exhaust but it came off of another jeep and is in bad shape. The good news is that according to the factory manual it looks like it came from the factory with dual exhaust and no Cats. Its got an edelbrock 4 barrel on it now. I'm thinking I might try out the Howell's TBI kit just to make the Emissions test easier and reliability better.


I've got it running good enough to drive around the neighborhood but its still running super rich and the vacuum lines are probably not hooked up right. I'm going to get my first parts order together this weekend so I can start doing more work next week.

 

[MtnClimber]

Where's the WANT button?...
Subscribed. I had a 78 2 door as well. 360,33's too many hands were involved in the wiring so I cut my losses. That was a dumb move on my part. Aw well, hindsight is 20/20, right?

 

[ttravis5446]

Here are some more pics. It looks better in the pics than it really is. The body is pretty decent, the only real rust is in the rear quarters behind the rear wheels.





Scary rear block setup.




Vacuum lines are seriously messed up. Distributor line was hooked to the CTO, which was hooked up to a line that had a tee going to manifold and ported vacuum.


My first purchase for this Jeep. Fresh from Ebay.

 

[ttravis5446]

Running way too rich. Adjustments on carb don't seem to make any difference. Have more research to do on that.


Looks like it has a drop pitman arm already. I think its going to back spring under with a spring lift.

 

[1leglance]

I can tell you first hand that the Howell stuff is worth every penny. They do top notch stuff and the customer service is great.
It would be easy to spend that money again without a second thought, great company.

Oh and killer rig you have there, one of my favorite old school rides.

 

[ttravis5446]

Thanks for the heads up on the Howells stuff, thats pretty much what I've been hearing. Seems like a much better route to go than finding air tubes and smog pumps and all the rest of that crap.

 

[jeepdreamer]

Drool. Drool. Drool! Subscribing!
My thoughts after several FSJs...
First, get on the IFSJA website and make friends. They, like here, are a great bunch of folks with amazing knowledge.
2nd (as you plan) ditch those blocks. Who uses blocks AND some rectangular tubing?? Yikes!
3rd Howell is good stuff. If you were anywhere but CO I'd say you could make it work well by doing a nutter and having a good carb tuned. But bang for the buck with elevation changes...you won't beat the Howell kit.
SJ (FSJs) have pretty limited clearance in the rear which prob explains (but doesn't condone) those blocks. I'd suggest keeping it SOA since the front is already done and just order some quality rear springs and sort out that end. Rustys speaks FSJ pretty well so if you need stuff, try them.
Do you know if your Quadratrac has a part time kit installed or the low range? Its honestly not a bad system as long as you keep it serviced. And in the snow its a beast. Just FYI, you can't simply pull the Q trac and bolt up a Dana 18 or 20. The pattern is different and likely the splines on the output shaft are as well. There are many options but I'd run it as is until you get it where you want the rest of the jeep to be. Best option would be to swap the tranny and use a corresponding t-case. If you want to stay with an auto, and GM auto with an overdrive would be a big help. Don't expect huge mileage out of her but if you go with an OD trans then you'll see some. Plus you have a more modern, less maintenance intensive drivetrain you can actually get parts for. May even be able to sell off the working Q trac and tranny since it is in good shape.
Good luck...We are watching.

 

[ttravis5446]

Yeah, I was on IFSJA years ago when I had my first FSJ, but I can't for the life of me remember my sign in info. And you can't sign up anymore. It seems like that site is kind of winding down. I've been on FSJ network lately.

Blocks are definitely going away. I'm still researching the price difference between finishing the SOA right with crossover steering and new springs vs just ordering the whole 4" or 6" kit from BJ's.

The quadra trac has low range but no part time kit. I was leaning. Towards the Dana 18 because they are pretty plentiful in the junk yards out here and it seems that the adapter for the Dana 20 should work for that swap. The only thing I have against the Dana 20 swap is the offset of the rear diff. I could either live with the extra angle on the driveline or swap the rear axle for one from a D20 equipped W/T FSJ. Who knows which way it'll go in the end. I even thought about doing t he manual conversion to T18 with a D18 or 20 transfer case, but I'm not sure if its worth all the trouble. I used to be a manual tranny only kind of guy but with as much as I drive these days I've come to have an appreciation for autos.

 

[Funrover]

That is a sweet Chief you have there!

 

[GP'd]

Looking forward to following this!

 

[theQman]

BJ's Offroad is a great resource for parts and help. I have a 1988 Grand Wagoneer and they are one of the only shops still stocking parts for these rigs

 

[Area52]

That's not the original grill, is it?

I always loved these rigs.

Jim

 

[ttravis5446]

That's not the original grill, is it?

I always loved these rigs.

Jim

Nope, that's an early grill. Looks better in my opinion.

 

[Maverick1701]

VERY cool rig! I have always had a soft spot in my heart for cherokee chiefs...dang they look sharp!

 

[CLK Foxhall]

Congrats!

Ol' Chief looks cool

Good luck & have fun

Cheers!
~CLK