PCO6

It's a reoccurring theme … lots of really fundamental design gafs looking for practical solutions. Your tips have proven this over and over again!

LOL That ground wire alone is 2/3's of the overall length of a SWB MJ!

What the hell were they thinking? I just made this fix on my '89 XJ and my blower runs much better now. Thanks Cruiser! My '88 MJ blower runs fine but I'm going to fix it as well. Hope it won't run too fast!

I agree. Apart from using some low end items, one of the problems with some of the store bought kits is that once you take most or everything out of the container you'll have a hard time getting it all back in. Also, there's little or no room to add to the kit. I make my own which generally include a lot of the above items. I keep a fanny pack latched to the driver's seat of my LJ and transfer it to another vehicle depending on where I'm going and what I'm doing. I have a similar kit for camping that I keep inside a small plastic ammo box. I like these because they're light and when you flip open the lid it's easy to rummage around inside. btw - Cody … I hope you're OK and had some JD as Pete suggested!

It looks like fun when they get together but I pity the neighbours if they park them in the driveway.

I live in the rust belt about 40 mi. north of Toronto. I drove about 140 mi. north again to get my MJ. The seller said he didn't drive it in the winter but he couldn't vouch for the 5 previous owners. It spent its entire life up there. There were a few VERY MINOR rust spots underneath which I have since taken care of. Rust free vehicles do exist up here. A lot depends on how they were used. I suspect mine was a 2nd or 3rd vehicle for its previous owners and they had other winter options. My XJ & TJ are the same. Both came from the "rusty" Toronto area. I am the 3rd owner of each one. In both cases the 2nd owner was a relative or friend who bought it from the aging original owner who didn't use them that much. These may have been total BS stories but based on their condition and low mileage I tend to believe them. Rust free cars do exist up here. You just have to keep looking and be patient.

Isn't that the truth. One month ago I rolled my ankle and damaged my ligaments while playing tennis. It was the last night of our league play. I just shed my air cast and am looking forward to six weeks, hopefully no more, of physio. Two days later my younger brother (64) pulled a hamstring while curling of all things. For both of us it's our driving foot/leg. The worst part is that we're both missing the auto flea markets, shows and auction we've been going to for a long time at this time of year.

I have Duratracs on 3 Jeeps that I drive year round in a variety of conditions. I've been happy with them and would buy them again.

While flipping through a some sales literature I found a pic in the '86 Accessories brochure that shows Marchal lights on a sport bar. Most have clear lenses or are too hard to make out but these are clearly Marchals. The caption reads … "DRIVING LIGHTS - Lights will illuminate objects up to 5,000 ft. ahead. Available for front bumper mounting and mounting on the sport bar." The pic also shows the wiring coming out of the back of the light, going over the bar to the back side and then into the bar on the bottom side. I'm still not sure what the holes on top of the bar are for.

Thanks, I'd appreciate that. The sports bar lights I have are "no name" brand. I'm assuming the lamps were replaced at some time but the "Jeep" covers were kept. They fit the lamp housings perfectly. They appear to be a bit smaller than what I can eyeball in sales brochures. They are 6" wide by 3.125" high. All of the bumper mounted driving lights I have (Bosch - not original Marchals) are 7" wide by 3.125" high.

Thanks. There is a pic in the '86 Accessories brochure that is the same as what you provided. It looks A LOT better than what I imagine the one I have would look like.

That's interesting re the top holes. I'm glad I didn't start welding! In the link below, Gjeep provided AMC installation instructions and it appears the wires go in through the bottom. I might just leave things as is and fill the top holes with rubber plugs. Otherwise I could see a fair bit of water getting in. As for the tonneau, I thought snaps would be a good way to go. Velcro makes no sense to me.

Not surprising. The seller said he got it at the dealership many years ago … but who knows.

It's odd that jeep would have Marchal driving lights and KC lights up top. I have Bosch driving lights on my XJ & MJ, in fact that's all I've seen around here for quite a while. I have about 5 extra sets. I don't know if Marchal are still available. As mentioned, I like the covers and I'm guessing they came off of some Jeep.

Thinking that it might be an early overlooked printing error, I Googled both spellings with the part number and nothing came up. The instruction sheet has 8/86 on the back page which I take to mean Aug., 1986 so it's "old". I couldn't find anything similar in sales brochures and I thought it would be add that AMC would use Velcro. As I said, I might modify it some way IF I decide to use it.

I picked up a parts MJ a few months ago and am transferring some of the parts to my ’88 MJ Eliminator. This the parts car and it’s the same as what I currently have on the road … I’m installing the sport bar and thought I’d ask this first. It has what I think are a pair of non-original 3/8” holes on the top of the bar. There are 3/8” holes in the same location but on the underside. I’m pretty sure the bottom holes are where the wiring for the lights should thread through. I can’t see why there would be holes on the top. Can someone confirm this or tell me what the top holes would be for? I figured I’d better ask before I start welding to fill them in! Regarding the lights, the pair that came with the parts car appear to be a bit smaller than what I think the originals were. There are no brand markings on them (Marchal, Bosch, etc.) but they have plastic “Jeep” covers. They work and they’re in good restorable condition except for the retaining ring that holds the light in to the housing. Normally I’d just replace the lights but I kind of like the covers. Does any one know if they are original or if not what Jeep they might have come off of? I’ve looked at some original sales literature and I haven’t seen any roll bar lights that have covers. BTW – as far as I can tell the lights were never hooked up on the parts car as there is no wiring harness, switch, relays, etc. Lastly, I have what the seller of the parts car said is a factory tonneau cover. It’s in great shape and it came with all of the hardware and instructions. There’s nothing on the instructions indicates it is a factory part though. I’d install it as is but I don’t like that the sides and rear attach to the bed with Velcro. My MJ is black, which would help, but a strip of Velcro on the body would really stand out when the tonneau was off. If I do use it I might come up with another way of fastening it. Any comments would be appreciated.

I have a JVC too … although a little older (KS-R390).

I agree with Minuit but for what it's worth, I have Firestone Destination AT's (M+S) and am happy with them. I bought my MJ from a guy that lived 200+ mi. away. I was away camping at the time and the vendor handled the certification for me. I spoke with his mechanic over the phone and he recommended them - said they put these on many of the cars that went through his shop. Worn out Firestones were on the MJ when I bought it. The drive home included about 150 mi. of highway driving and I like them right away. He was right!

That's in good shape and appears to be unmolested which is a big selling feature. The earliest models ('62-'65) were nice but the '66-'69 models were the best in my opinion. '76+ with the raised suspension and rubber bumpers are popular but most people's last choice. I've owned 7 or 8 MGB's and always loved the GT's but you have the one a lot of people want. Re MGC's being "neat cars" … you're right. Great for long distance high speed driving but not nearly as much fun to drive as an MGB. Midgets are even more fun. Neither are as much fun as a Jeep though! lol

MGB's have a big following and you'll have no problem finding a buyer. '66 to '69 are probably the most popular years., especially with wire wheels. I had a '68 MGC/GT (6 cylinder) up to about 5 years ago. Same colour as yours. It was a Florida car but I think the original owner parked on the beach every night. More rust than I would have liked to deal with. Yours is in nice shape … mine, not so much but there was a line up when I decided to sell it.

If you change your mind on your valve cover … brake fluid is also good cutting oil.

I tried that in my LJ and it bought me a few years before I finally had to replace the box. It happily surprised me!

Why remove the one thing that doesn't rust?

I was faced with this on my old XJ. I'm not sure how you use your MJ or if it's a look that that you'd want but I found it MUCH easier to go the 2"x6" slider route. I cut the original rockers out and found that a lot of the original sheet metal they were welded to needed repair/replacement too. I decided to gut everything and it made the job pretty straight forward. You could play a bit with 2"x5" or even 2"x4" tubing if you want to tuck the rockers in more to make them less noticeable.

Ron Covell's work is great! I have a few of his books that go back to the pre-internet days. It's much better to see his videos now though. That's the right approach. I think I started out at 80/20% and eventually worked my way up. lol. I like to think I made a few "perfect" panels ... but I'm not so sure. I've met 4 or 5 panel beaters over the years and got to go through their shops. They all had pretty good equipment but they all had a LOT of home made ones too. A lot of their work was done by hand. I never pass up a good "chunk of metal" that I can bang something out on. You do nice work btw. I'm enjoying this thread!