83 CJ7 - 12 years of love and hate

[67tank]

I recently decided to post build threads for my CJ-7 and my M416 trailer in order to share some of my lessons learned as well as thank a few vendors and friends for their invaluable assistance. My trailer build was relatively simple since I decided to keep the 416 as stock as possible. My CJ-7 is a whole another story. I found this little gem on a farm in Northwest Jersey back in 2001 while we were pheasant hunting. 500 bucks for a rusted out, worn out, hunk of junk. Wheeled it that summer but by August of that year, decided to do a frame up build. Frame of the CJ-7 was shot - years of east coast winters and salt on the roads had toasted the frame beyond saving. Ordered a new frame with the Chevy 350 mounts and and reversed front shackles already welded on. .....
Photos - 'Finished project' and the start point.

 

[67tank]

When I started this project, I made a list of what I wanted for the jeep and the general direction. The only previous experience I had on a build was a 1968 Dodge Charger that my high school buddies and I worked on back in the late 80's (which we subsequently crashed the 2nd night we took out) and a frame up build on a 68 Ford Bronco. I had (and still have) a lot to learn.
I am not a 'rock crawler' but wanted the ability to traverse most trails in the USA and still be able to get from point A to B on the hardball when out on a roadtrip. However, it was not going to be a DD.
Couple of items: Chevy 350, automatic trans (went with a 700R4), and a Ford 9 inch for the rear from Currie. At the time, I decided on 4.10 gears and to keep the Dana 30 front and upgrade with warn axles. Needed a new gas tank and went with a stock 15 gallon tank - hindsight should have used the opportunity to put in a 20 gallon tank.
Tried to salvage what I could from the jeep - but tub was rusted beyond repair. Picked a used up one from another guys failed project for a couple hundred bucks but it had the usual east coast issues.

 

[67tank]

I went with OD Green for the paint job. I had served on active duty as an Armor officer in 3rd Bn/67th Armor and at the time I started this project was serving as a Company Commander in a New York NG tank battalion. However, due to 9/11 and our deployment to Ground Zero - I had no time to wrench. Found an off road shop in NW Jersey and the owner built me a 350 and installed the engine/trans (and a whole bunch else) while we were busy.

Couple of mistakes/bad decisions made here:
1. Went with side exhaust (like the early CJ-5's). Loud, obnoxious, and exhaust fumes into the cab. Thought it was cool at first - then realized how f...ing stupid it was after driving 3000 miles across country. Finally blew one side off after a 4wd trip to Lake Pillsburry, Ca, and went with an inside the frame dual exhaust. Better for hunting, better for me, better for my neighbors.
2. Installed a Be-Cool radiator and had a mechanical fan. Bad all the way around. At the time - did not know about Novak Jeep and their amazing knowledge database. After overheating in Nevada, the Rubicon, climbing the Sierras, etc I tore all that out and installed Novak's radiator and electric fan . Much better.
3. 700r4 was mounted but had a mounting point that used an extra long bolt. That was of concern to me at the time and came back to haunt me years later - explain later.

 

[just eric]

That Sir is a bad *** Jeep. And it is always refreshing when someone can point out the mistakes they made or things they could have done better. It really helps to get honest feedback. Congratulations.

 

[67tank]

That Sir is a bad *** Jeep. And it is always refreshing when someone can point out the mistakes they made or things they could have done better. It really helps to get honest feedback. Congratulations.

Eric
thanks much. Keep checking over the next couple of weeks - I plan to layout a lot of issues, screw-ups and lessons learned over the history of this jeep. I hope someone can learn from my mistakes and save themselves some money.

 

[67tank]

In the summer of 2002, I finally had the opportunity to return home to Northern California. My regular job offered me the chance to relocate back ( I had left in 1987 for college in NY and had not been back) - and I jumped on it. The jeep was almost complete - engine and trans were in, did a Painless wiring kit, installed Hollley fuel injection, and the shop that it was in measured for and ordered Woody Drive Shafts (absolutely first class product). Had some cheap bucket seats that would work for the time being.

Did a road test up to Maine to shake the jeep out and then one of my closest friends from childhood and I drove 3000 miles across the country in the jeep. No doors, bikini top, basic gear strapped above, dog in the back seat. Started in Times Square and ended in San Francisco. Broke down three times across country, had to do some welding in a small town in Ohio, fell asleep in some small town's square grass area only to be greeted at dawn by sprinklers coming on, ran out of fuel once, and alternately froze our butts off/sweated like pigs. In other words - a great trip. Stopped in Moab for the 4th of July and went exploring, swung by Vegas, saw the arch in St Louis, and visited with some old army buddies along the way.

 

[67tank]

Roll Bar

As seen in the previous post I added to the original CJ stock roll bar and did a front loop with 4 bars across the top and one across each side right below the seats. The side bars were a PITA getting in and out of the jeep. In 2007-08 (?), I had rust finally eating thru the bottom of the original stock CJ rollbar brackets and used the opportunity to rebuild the roll bar.

1. Dropped the side bars down below - right at the seat mount levels
2. Added a bar across the dash to add side impact strength and dive me a spot to mount gauges near eye level.
3. Added a bar across the original stock loop at the bottom
4. Built a full cage for the rear passengers - (my dog)



Didn't think the rear cage all the way through- too far back and my CJ softtop no longer fits. Not that big of a deal since I never have a top on anyways. I ordered a UV full length shade top from Spider Web Shade out of Florida ( http://www.spiderwebshade.com/?gclid=CPWV5YDmubcCFeuDQgodFAMAhQ ) at a fraction of the costs taht local shops out here wanted for a custom top.

For the next phase I plan to tie the roll bar to the frame and attach the seat mounts to the roll cage..

 

[67tank]

Transmission - 700R4

At the start of this project I knew the 700R4 was the transmission of choice. Since I was planning to own this jeep for a very, very long time I invested some money in a brand new 700R4 from Bowtie Overdrive. I was really happy with the performance, the quality of the product, the gas mileage, and the reliability. Only had one nagging issue that concerned me - how we had mounted the transmission. In the rush to complete the project back in 2002, we created a mounting system that incorporated a 4 inch bolt. That bolt was the weak link in an otherwise bullet proof system. With close to 400 ft-lbs of torque in the small block Chevy, that bolt eventually sheared on a trip in the Sierras. I was able to limp the jeep home, and replace the bolt. Huge mistake. I should have redesigned the mounting system and fixed this issue immediately.

My failure to properly deal with this weakness came back to haunt me - In March 2012, a dip into a ditch caused the bolt to shear once again and crack the transmission housing along the side with a 10-12 inch crack while boar hunting in the hills of Hollister California - trans was a total loss and I got to practice recovery of a wheeled vehicle in the middle of nowhere once again.

Had an 8 day expedition into the Nevada desert with my friends scheduled for that summer and had a new 700R4 (from Novak Jeeps - http://www.novak-adapt.com/knowledge/th700r4.htm ) ordered, installed and prepped but wasn't able to get the bugs worked out and missed our annual expedition. It was a costly, painful lesson learned.

here's a photo of the trans secured as it should be - short, Grade 8 bolts, solid steel brackets, welded steel onto the Jeep trans mount.

 

[bdp1978]

Did a road test up to Maine to shake the jeep out and then one of my closest friends from childhood and I drove 3000 miles across the country in the jeep. No doors, bikini top, basic gear strapped above, dog in the back seat. Started in Times Square and ended in San Francisco. Broke down three times across country, had to do some welding in a small town in Ohio, fell asleep in some small town's square grass area only to be greeted at dawn by sprinklers coming on, ran out of fuel once, and alternately froze our butts off/sweated like pigs. In other words - a great trip. Stopped in Moab for the 4th of July and went exploring, swung by Vegas, saw the arch in St Louis, and visited with some old army buddies along the way.

Thats ************.

Great Jeep and Nice Work!

 

[67tank]

Thanks bdp1978 - much appreciated

 

[67tank]

Transmission- part deux

Okay - Just got back from a 4 day trip up Highway 1 to the Lost Coast. Camped 2 nights at Usal beach with a buddy in his '76 Landcruiser and then headed up to Shelter Cove along Usal Road (32 miles of worn out fire trail/old logging road)

At the end of the trail hit a ditch in the road a little too fast and sheared my new transmission mount....again. 3rd time in 13 years. Wasn't going that fast. Getting a little tired of this. Limped the jeep to the next camp and jerry-rigged the trans/transfer case to the frame with a ratcheting strap.


The next day was able to get the jeep out of the mountains, over to Highway 101 and heading south before it went tits up (fuel issues - still troubleshooting) and had to be brought home by Triple A once again

Starting to seriously think about retiring this jeep to the Sierras as a dedicated trail rig and go out and buying a new 4 door Rubicon Jeep as my Expedition rig. Great gas mileage, Air conditioning, hard top, coil suspension.....girlfriend and dog are in agreement.

 

[ZombCJ]

That's a great Jeep man, don't give up on it! I have a 78 CJ-7 and had a 79 in High school. I had to give up the 79 when I went in the service and needed something more reliable to drive across country. Always missed and regretted it. A few years ago I was able to get my 78. I'll keep this one til I'm unable to drive, then pass it to my kids. There's nothing better than a CJ!

 

[67tank]

That's a great Jeep man, don't give up on it! I have a 78 CJ-7 and had a 79 in High school. I had to give up the 79 when I went in the service and needed something more reliable to drive across country. Always missed and regretted it. A few years ago I was able to get my 78. I'll keep this one til I'm unable to drive, then pass it to my kids. There's nothing better than a CJ!

Thanks Zomb - Not giving up on the CJ. Will keep it until I'm an old man. But I'm just coming to the realization that this is not a great expedition rig for me anymore. I need a rig for long trips and can do moderate trails off-road while hauling the M416. The new 4 door Rubicon with the tow package can haul 3200 lb, has a lot of room for my dog, and needs nothing (besides some Army stars) before heading out on my next trip. Still have some serious work to go on this jeep like a new engine - current engine has way too much power. My engine build and new direction is coming in the next couple of days.

 

[67tank]

Engine Build - part one

I started this build with the single minded focus of putting a high horsepower Chevy 350. Started with a old 70's block and got a little out of control. This was back in 2001- 12 years of offroading in a jeep has given me a little (and I mean little) experience and really changed my thought process and design ideas.
This is where I started.
Compression ratio 9.50.
Max hp 326 at 5000 rpm / 294 at 4000 / 221 at 3000
Max 389 ft-lb at 3500 rpm
Holley Commander 950 FI system, 700 cfm
MSD ign

The high compression ratio means running high octane fuel, the horsepower is a tad excessive for a jeep (for what I need it for) and means a lot of excessive heat in the small engine compartment. The Holley Commander FI system has proven a huge PITA. And the MSD ign was a huge waste of money. Had two fail and have removed the entire system. Engine still running strong but recently (past 6 months or so) running into fuel starvation issues when hot and running up hills. Still trying to figure out if it is a vapor lock issue, another electronic issue, etc....

 

[67tank]

Engine Build - Part two (heat)

As I mentioned heat has been a huge problem with the Chevy 350 in a small jeep. Started with a BeCool aluminium radiator with a trans cooler built in and a mechanical fan. Most of the industry has gone away from this (from what I have been told). This BeCool radiator never worked for me. After 8 years or so of running hot, I went with the Novak radiator and electronic fan. Had to move the radiator a few inches forward by making a few small adjustments to the front grill but works great. Engine still gets a tad warm climbing a hill and dragging the 416 trailer. Threw the BeCool radiator in the trash - didn't even want to sell that to some poor unsuspecting soul.



For inside the hood - I wrapped the starter, fuel pump and fuel filter with heat resistant foil. I initially put in small Vents on the hood from Gen-Right. Looked good but wasn't getting enough heat out so went with the extra long vents from Run Cool Hood Louvers. http://www.hoodlouvers.com/ I just installed them. powdercoater put on the wrong version of OD green but it is growing on me.


After I got away from the side exhaust, I went with inside the frame headers. use some cheap un-coated headers to start. Mistake. Bought ceramic coated headers and running dual exhaust. Does the job.