Project "Honcho" - The '87 MJ

[Egm89]

Goos to see ur still here!

Ur project was like my inspiration man! Keep doing that good job!

[Guest]

:cheers:  

 

Thanks guys; feels good to be back.  :waving:

[Guest]

Been thinking about looking into pricing for a good paint job. Paint is starting to fleck away in a few places (mostly on the bed) and is starting to get minor surface rust in a few spots. Could just sand off and re-paint, but I'd rather put the effort into something better.

 

Also, attended another car show last week. Took a good amount of pictures, and sadly, I was the only Jeep in attendance. :(

 

Lots of oohs and aahs from the locals and non-locals around here though. Seems my truck is pretty well known, even though my old man gets more questions about it than I do.. 

 

On a side note, met a guy while at a local camp-ground a few weeks ago who's a diehard AMC guy. He came over when I was getting out after recognizing the decal on the back window. Asked if the truck was really an AMC model, and I told him it was. We struck up conversation while waiting to register; told me he just got his hands on a low-mileage 401 to replace the 360 in his Javelin. I told him he shouldn't bother with the 401, and instead donate it to a good home. *cough cough*  :yes:

 

Shame he didn't go for it. Had a good laugh over it though.  . :MJ 1: .

[Guest]

Still on the road, doing it's thing. Still leaks, still groans, but it's got a lot of power to spare, and everything's working as it should.  . :MJ 1: .

 

 

Very soon it will be off the road for an overhaul. Looking now to score myself a good-running Cherokee to use as a DD for a few months until the work is completed. 

 

On a different sort of note, this is just not the year for me. Ended a 4 year relationship with the fiance for reasons better left unspoken. Seems like I can't get a break this year with everything that's been going on. :(

[ComancheKid45]

Sorry to hear bud, I myself also have had a rough year, I ended a near 10 year relationship with my fiance' back in September.....Stay strong, things will turn around ;)

[88whitemanche]

Hey man

It'll get better for you...it only makes you stronger.

Go and have fun. Put that extra love in to the truck.

[Guest]

Just greasing and cleaning. Now that part of the oil / dirt / grime / grit is off from the undercarriage, I can see just what kind of shape it's in. Not too surprised at most of the paint missing, but that's not a big deal. Now that the thing isn't leaking anymore, I can finally relax a bit. 

 

 

[Dadinator]

kept it from rusting.

:thumbsup:

[Guest]

Went out to Daytona yesterday to pick up some needed parts, etc. No MJ's, but a lot of different Cherokees. Hunted a bit in the GM side for Sonoma parts for a friend of mine. 

 

 

Who needs an engine stand when you have a perfectly good driveshaft?  :fool:

 

 

First victim of the day. Found a few interior parts; this Cherokee also had the in-dash speaker setup with wiring. Don't remember if I snagged either though. Love the pin-striping down the side. Always was a sucker for that orange hue.

 

 

After many other trucks, stumbled across this "1987 Grand Wagoneer"; at least that's what was stated on their website when I did an inventory search. It may not have been a GW, but it was pretty nice nonetheless. 

 

 

Interior. I wish the seats weren't power though. With a bit of restoration, they would have been excellent finds.  :fs2:

 

 

Sitting in the back of the Wagoneer was this lovely. $25 later, and she found a new home.  :clapping:

 

Found a Cherokee Country with a pristine chrome bumper. Bolts were stripped on it though, so I couldn't snag it. Just my luck.  :fs1:

 

 

 

All in all, was a productive day; managed to get a lot of little pieces I had been missing or needing to replace. Well worth the effort.  :banana:

[88whitemanche]

Should've grabbed those rear taillights from that wagoneer those lights are hard to find...similar to the comanche rear taillights

[Guest]

Should've grabbed those rear taillights from that wagoneer those lights are hard to find...similar to the comanche rear taillights

Yeah, I thought about it, but I didn't have the greenbacks for them. They were in rough shape though, but still. Live and learn, I s'pose.

[88whitemanche]

Nah I understand about the greenbacks...I haven't been to the jy in the past two weeks and I usually go every other day to see if there's something that I can grab....especially if it's a comanche which I've only seen 2 in the 2 years I've been searching

[91Pioneer]

Look at the roof spoiler on that Wagoneer, it must have done a good job of pushing down on the vehicle at high speeds LOL

[Guest]

Look at the roof spoiler on that Wagoneer, it must have done a good job of pushing down on the vehicle at high speeds LOL

:yes: Believe me, seeing things like that is pretty common down here. I had a good laugh when I finally noticed it after working inside of it for 20 minutes.

[Guest]

Replaced the cracked, worn out battery tray with a good one. A much needed upgrade.  :brows:

 

 

Also gave me a chance to clean the 26 year old crud out from under the tray. Clean and fresh now. Would upload pictures, but it isn't that hard to imagine. 

[Guest]

Planning on hoofing it out to the usual stomping grounds in the next week or so to hopefully get another bucket seat.   :crossfingers: 

 

Been working on the Cherk, so not much time for the MJ.  :thwak:

[Guest]

Ordered up a new heater core, planning on doing the dreaded dash-removal to swap it out. :ack: Once the new one is in, I can finally say I have a truck that doesn't leak anywhere, period.

 

More good news on that I was able to find an OEM mating harness through Crutchfield to replace the butcher job that the PO did to mine. Hopefully this does the trick, because I've been concerned about the cruddy job I did slapping the stereo together last year when I was trying to get it working.  :dunno:

 

Also scouring the web for a nice stereo system. I believe I'm going to go with a Kicker setup all around. Figured it would be a good opportunity to install the speakers in behind the B-pillar trim while I have the dash out, and everything ready to go.  . :MJ 2: .

[JoeLAW]

Thats Awesome man! Hey I have a Dummy light dashboard on mine too and already found a donor with the tachometer and other gauges; how much of a PITA was it to swap them? In other words any tips or stuff I should look out for?

[Guest]

 

Just an update of sorts; plans and whatnot, as well as what can be expected. Made a few mistakes talking about things, but it's not too bad. I blame it on a poor night's sleep the night before. :yes: You'll also have to excuse all the "Uh's"; it's been some time since I recorded anything of this sort, and I was fishing for what I wanted to say really. :dunno:

[Guest]

After a few hours of work yesterday afternoon. Now just waiting on a few goodies to arrive before I begin fixing all the jury-rigged wiring, HVAC issues, and heater core replacement.  :wrench:  :popcorn:  

 

[RockMJ]

Looking good man! That blue interior is probably my favorite that came in the MJ's. One of these years we really need to get a FL MJ meeting going.

 

RockMJ

[Guest]

Looking good man! That blue interior is probably my favorite that came in the MJ's. One of these years we really need to get a FL MJ meeting going.

 

RockMJ

I remember trying to get a meet set up some time ago, but it sort of fizzled out. Would be good to get one going, seeing as how summertime is about here.  :chillin:

 

Also, I agree about the blue. I thought about painting it black, but thought better of it. Don't ever see any more OMP (Old Man Pants) Blue interiors anymore.  :yes:

[RockMJ]

Yeah man, I think everyone got busy and what not. I most certainly want to get a meet and greet going. I rarely ever see another Comanche rolling around let alone speak with someone in person who owns one. Would be great to help each other out with projects in the future with us Floridians.

 

Definitely keep the blue man. Its pretty rare and I have only see one blue interior in person. Talk with you soon.

 

RockMJ

[Guest]

Very busy this week. Should have a large update coming soon. 

 

On a side note, the old heater core was full of garbage and rusty water. No surprise there, although now it's been cleaned out. Also, I much prefer the mounting tabs of the AMC one as opposed to the cheap-o one from the parts store. 

[Guest]

Big update time finally.  :yes:

 

SO, I had everything apart generally from where it was in the last picture update. Nothing too different aside from inspecting lines and wiring for faulty points. 

 

Fixing the PO's piss-poor wire-thumbing job with proper connections. I don't see how the either side's speakers never shorted out with the one wrap of electrical tape shoddily thrown on there for the last 3 years.

 

Random pictures while I was doing wiring in the back of the Grand.

 

 

Found the cause of my HVAC controls defaulting to "Defrost" only. Plugged one of the vaccuum lines back into the Y connector. Problem solved.

 

Between days of working on the MJ, I managed to sneak a day out and head to the local P&P for much needed small parts. Scored a few connectors and most importantly, the little speaker mounting tabs for stock speakers on the door. Decided to go with 5 1/4" Kickers for up front, and 4x6" Pioneers for behind the seats. Finally got to use the brackets I scored from Fiatslug some time ago. Random picture while sitting in the middle of the 2 mile traffic jam during the last weekend of Bike Week on my way to Daytona.  :fs2:

 

Found a rusty 78 CJ at the junkyard in Daytona that day; definitely an out of the norm vehicle down here in FL. Poor fella had a hard working 258 inside. My old man was adamant about pulling it, but we didn't have any use for it aside from using it as a paperweight. :dunno: Also found an old DJ with a carbureted I4 inside. Rusty and trashed, but it served a good life.

 

 

 

Got home and promptly mounted the speakers and wired them accordingly.

 

 

Decided to do something about my door panel problem. I wanted to make a speaker cover since I had originally mounted the 6 1/2s I had directly onto the door panel. Long story short, that was a bad idea I made when I was still naive, and everyone kept bumping them with their feet upon entry and exiting the cab. Not to mention the window cranks kept fighting with them, so they had to go. Moseyed on down to my local Jo-Anne fabrics to do a little shopping...  :popcorn:

 

As luck would have it, AMC's medium blue is a hard color to match, as is the carpeting I have on the door panel. Decided to go with something slightly darker to offset the colors, plus, it had a nice pseudo-denim texture. Reminded me of the old "Levi-Edition" Jeep interiors AMC used to make back in the 70's, so I got a yard of it.  :brows:

 

Made up a nice square piece to insert in-between the panel and carpet backing. Finished product. Looks better than a gaping hole, and I like it.  :thumbsup:

 

 

Finally began to address my glaring issue of the heater core. Taking off everyone's favorite nuts here. Only got 1 to cooperate with me and not spin the whole bolt.  :wall:

 

After much time spent cursing, drinking beers, and sweating in the FL heat, I removed the housing. Removed the old heater core and gave it a thorough cleaning out. Surprisingly it was in good shape, aside from the years of mild build-up inside the core itself. Decided to hang onto the old core in case the new one decides to give up the ghost.  :crossfingers:

 

Decided to clean up the wiring job on the blower motor. Still in decent shape, but will eventually get replaced down the road. Again, one of those slap together electrical tape jobs everyone has seen done before. That had to go. 

 

Much better.  :brows:

 

Sometime late last year, I picked up one of those backing boards for behind the bench/bucket seats in the MJ. Mine didn't come with one (assuming the PO trashed it or it never came with the truck) so I decided to paint it black. Conveniently had enough fabric paint left over from when I did the door panel striping to do the panel. It looks better in person than the pictures shows.

 

With all the trim removed from the truck, I decided to clean everything up from 27 years of dirt, grime, and other questionable smells and stains.  :ack: Fresh and cleaned up. Applied a liberal coat of mink oil to the dash, defroster cowl, and glove-box before re-installation.  :drool:

 

Got the dash in with minimal problems. Much easier than I was expecting. The only thing I wish I had done differently is replaced the push-in zip ties that attached the wiring to the dash itself. Unfortunately, I couldn't find those little buggers anywhere. :dunno:

 

Took a break after I got to this point and worked on some other projects. Installed new wiring and a relay for the horns using the cargo light switch, but for some reason, it's not working. Will have to go back and check on the wiring leading off from the switch. Piddled with some wiring underneath the hood and replaced other minor bits and things.

 

Finishing up the installation of the dash, I went out to a big flea market with some friends of mine and snagged up a good supply of cassettes for the OEM radio. Feels good being able to finally use the cassette holders I've been keeping on the sun-visors. :yes:

 

 

 

With most of the loose ends tied up, I finally got to drive her again.  . :MJ 1: .  After driving the 5.9 around for some time, it was a much welcome reprieve not being able to go 0-60 in 7 seconds.  :shake:

 

Currently, how she sits; finally, after 3 years of ownership, I have a 100% leak free truck!  :banana:

 

 

Best news of all is that the gas guage mysteriously started working again 100% correctly. Some mysteries are are perhaps better left un-questioned.  :hmm:  :dunno:

 

And on a related note, it seems that that damn vacuum line on the HVAC's Y connector came off again after I got everything buttoned up. So much for "leak-free".  :doh: