Project "sipsey": '88 Pioneer Long-Bed

[8valvehero]

UPDATE!

 

I feel like the project has really turned a corner now that the door is fixed, so I'm getting in to high gear.

Next up:

POR-15 the floors:

 

 

While that dried I kept working on stripping the donor. Gotta make sure everything gets labeled and sorted!

 

 

 

The next day I cleaned up some of the panels and tossed them in during reassembly. 

No dash swap yet, I've got to insulate the cab so all this has got to come out again soon.

BUT HERE'S A VINYL FLOOR:

 

The floor was very fragile after I had removed the jute padding and It tore a bit, but I'll patch it up and re-back it when I finish the interior later.

For now, it's much quieter to ride in.

I also replaced the e-brake cable, did an oil change and swapped on the new front clip and factory brush guard

 

The donor body panels have this awful mirror trim on them that has to go, so I had to grind off the troublesome adhesive and cover it with bedliner.

The wife says she likes it and we should do it to all the red panels as they go on in order to blend together the black/red scheme until we can get it painted.

Note: parking chock no longer necessary!

 

 

THANKS FOR READING!

NICE ONE!

CHEERS!

[8valvehero]

UPDATE!

 

I got a new windshield so I've been chasing around my leaks and I think most of them are sorted out.

A dry cab meant it was time to do the interior swap.

None of my accessories worked because the PO had hacked the interior wiring and fuse panel to bits so there was no point in trying to figure it out:

(seriously??  :doh: )

 

 

 

I harvested the entire dash harness from my donor, cleaned it up and checked all the wires and connectors. Some got replaced:

 

 

 

 

While everything was out, I figured I'd spruce things up a bit.

I pulled the damper box out, cleaned it and replaced some of the foam seals.

Then I replaced the firewall padding with an intact/dry one from the donor and put down 1" of jute padding on the floors, back wall and ceiling behind the headliner:

 

 

 

Also I made a panel for the back wall out of some left over headliner, cardboard and 1/2" jute padding:

 

 

 

The cab is now whisper-quiet and all blacked out.

(excl. bench seat because my wife doesn't like the feel of the black vinyl on her legs.  :laughin:  I'll find a black cover for this one)

edit- woah check out the uncleaned damper controls!

 

 

With that, the interior is done and I can get back to work on everything else.

The new harness brought all my accessories back to life: Wipers/sprayers w delay, cluster dimmer, courtesy lights, radio, e-brake light, everything.

I had ZERO issues using the '86 2.5L AX4 harness in my '88 4.0L ba10/5 & tilt column w delay switch from an '89.  This was a surprise.

From the driver's perspective, there's nothing wrong with this truck.  :thumbsup: 

 

Next project: bed swap!

 

STAY TUNED!

CHEERS!

[outlaw star]

Nice job.

[8valvehero]

UPDATE!!!

 

I've been away from CC for a while, but that doesn't mean I haven't been turning wrenches!

Today I finally got the bed swap done. With that, I'm down to just a couple odds and ends before it's time for paint!

 

BEFORE:

 

Redneck yard:

 

I've been spraying the bolts with PB for weeks, so everything came out like butter with the help of a 18" breaker bar.

Frame is immaculate, but it breaks my heart to see that beautiful grey spray-painted over:

 

 

In other news: Sipsey got her first taste of off-road a couple weeks back on a camping trip with the topper:

 

[outlaw star]

Coming together nicely. An average paint job down here, if going with same/original color, costs 500-600 bucks.

[8valvehero]

UPDATE!

 

I've been away from CC a while. Been busy with work- so not turning wrenches on the truck too much.

Sipsey has been mostly a dream. I've been highway and country road driving her daily 15mi to work in town and 45mi up to Mt. Baker Ski Area where I work on the weekends.

 

I discovered my D44 has a Trac-Loc limited-slid diff. in it, so that's cool but I still wanted to finish the project and go 4WD.

 

Enter- this:



My brother-in-law sank a '95 XJ Sport (HO, AW4), so I paid the $250 recovery bill to make it mine.

My hope is to use pretty much everything that still works to update and go 4WD in my MJ.

 

It didn't run for long in the drink, but it did sit submerged overnight and the interior smells like burned wires.

 

It sank Monday, I picked it up yesterday and work starts tonight with purging water and flush+fill of the motor, trans, t-case and axles.

Any input would be appreciated!
 

Wish me luck!

[8valvehero]

UPDATE! (having picture problems- will update later with pics)

 

I didn't mention earlier that this thing is RIGHT HAND DRIVE. She was built RHD in America for export to Japan. The cluster is metric and most stickers are in Japanese. She was re-imported to the USA for postal work and did less than 75,000 miles of rural delivery before ending up with me.
 

This complicates things because I can't use anything off the dash, none of the steering gear or most of the accessories.
The upside is that there's some neat features that I'll get to later.


 

[Lee21490]

UPDATE! (having picture problems- will update later with pics)

 

I didn't mention earlier that this thing is RIGHT HAND DRIVE. She was built RHD in America for export to Japan. The cluster is metric and most stickers are in Japanese. She was re-imported to the USA for postal work and did less than 75,000 miles of rural delivery before ending up with me.

 

This complicates things because I can't use anything off the dash, none of the steering gear or most of the accessories.

The upside is that there's some neat features that I'll get to later.

 

 

 

Or you could just make a right hand drive comanche :P

[8valvehero]

Except it smells like a burning rubber band inside the cab and when I hooked the battery up to check things out, the relay box lit on fire.

I doubt RHD wiring harnesses are easy to come by.

 

EDIT- Weird quote box I can't delete

[8valvehero]

UPDATE!

Remember how I said that I worked at a ski area? No? You weren't reading? Well I got a 4-day weekend because a monsoon-like rain killed ski conditions for at least a week. This gave me time for projects.
My wife's '99 XJ needed a heater core installed on day one, but with that out of the way I could tear in to the flooded XJ "Bess".
Bess was purchased recently by my mother-in-law. The vehicle came in to my possession a couple weeks back when her son (my brother-in-law) accidentally drove it off the road and down a levee on a flooded night. It sat in 6ft deep water overnight. I figured I could use some parts off of it, so I paid the tow bill and made it mine.

Bess is a '94 HO AW4 4WD right-hand-drive model that was manufactured in the USA for export to Japan, then re-imported for postal use here in the states. Because of this, I find myself unable to use a TON of parts. I can't even salvage a windshield wiper.

SO- change of plan. Now if I'm going to get my money's worth out of it, I've got to get in there and save the low-mileage t-case and engine (no plans to attempt to salvage the submarine AW4).
When I vacated the cylinders of water and pulled the drain plug a whopping 7.5 GALLONS of fluid came out :laughin: . I'm glad I went for the XL drain pan. I filled her up and put on a fresh filter, then turned it over by hand a dozen times to make sure things were lubed. I also filled up the cylinders with oil to protect the bore walls until I could get in there and assess the situation.
The t-case seemed to fare better- with only a little water inside. I should be able to flush & fill a couple times and be alright.  

 

 

 Evidence of her export days in Japan:

 

 

 

One thing I do have plans to use is the overhead console and speakers:

 

 

 

I immediately grabbed up the infamous export-only amber turn signals and installed them on my MJ:

 

 

I don't know how I feel about these, but they're also OEM export-only:

 

 

By all accounts, during the crash the motor swamped and died gently rather than seizing in a hydro-lock situation. It rotates easily by hand and there was no shavings in the oil, so I figured I should get in there and see if things looked salvageable. I took the head off (don't worry- I kept the lifters in order) and found that aside from some carbon deposits and mild surface rust from sitting, things looked just fine. It mic's round, there's absolutely no "lip" at the top of the stroke and no pitting of any kind.
Looking positive:

 

 

I guess the plan now is to re-finish the bores with a dingle-hone and replace the rings. I'm probably not going to mess around with any unessential bearings or seals if I can help it. I want to rebuild it totally, but I'm married and on a budget so this'll do. It's better than my 300,000+ mile engine that I'm on now anyway. I've got 97+ intake and exhaust manifolds that I can put on it, then maybe install it running my existing Renix and ba10/5 until my 4WD AW4 91+ swap comes together. 

Any input from you guys would be appreciated!
Thanks for reading!

Here's a pic of how my MJ is looking right now:

 

 

Here's my parts MJ serving temporarily as tool shed ('68 Dodge Van in the background. It's for sale/trade):

[8valvehero]

UPDATE!

 

I don't have enough time for my projects, but things must carry on when they can.

Today I pulled the engine, transmission and transfer case out of the submarine XJ donor. I don't have a garage and it was raining, but I had no choice- it had to be done today.

Other than having to lay in the mud, things went smoothly and the whole thing was out by 9:30.

 

I spent the afternoon cleaning up some rust and carbon in and around the block.

 

As the Superbowl started on the radio and the light faded, I quickly lubed and reassembled the top end and put the manifolds on to keep her stable until next week when I can clean up the head and install some fresh gaskets and seals. 

 

[BlackBeast]

Wow way to go man! That looks tough!

[outlaw star]

Looking good man.

[8valvehero]

Thanks guys. I yearn for the day that I have a garage.

Here in the Pacific NW, flash rust is a huge issue, so I basically find myself having to spray everything with a coat of lube before I walk away from it.

The bores were flash-rusting almost instantly when I was loosening up the carbon with some IDRed (my favorite aerosol degreaser).

[8valvehero]

MINI UPDATE

This past week, I had noticed that my clutch felt bad and that my gear shifts were poor. I didn't inspect anything because I just assumed that after 350,000mi, my ba10/5 was ready to retire.
Well, the other day when I start the truck, the clutch pedal makes a popping noise and bends to the floor. I stuck my head under there to reveal that the entire thing was broken.
Luckily, I was at the auto parts store so it was easy to enlist help for a push-start to 2nd gear. I limped it to a friend, who attempted some unsuccessful emergency repair welding while the pedal was still installed (next to my new fuse panel, btw. yikes!).

I ended up getting a ride. That means that for the first time ever- my truck couldn't make it home  :(.

My parts truck provided the replacement, and a trip to the plumbing section unearthed a great poly bushing for the pushrod.
 

So it's still on the road and the AW4 swap stays on a back burner for now.

I wonder if I can push this transmission over 400,000mi... :hmm: 

[Kickinmule]

When you say "new" fuse panel did that mean new or swapped from your donor. If "new" do you have a link to where you decided to get it from?

[8valvehero]

Harvested from the donor and cleaned up. See page 2.
I've read about some "new" fuses boxes, but they were always hand-made by the owner one wire connection at a time.

[Kickinmule]

Gotcha.

[Crash]

Just read through this, I like what you have done and are doing. Even though I am on the left coast, MJ's around here are hard to find in decent shape. And even the rust buckets usually cost a good amount. 

Other than possibly already having one, why do you want to swap to an Auto? 

[8valvehero]

Sorry about the long delay-

 

 

Primarily I need to swap to auto so the wife can drive it. We've been together 12 years and I've given up that debate. Part of the deal in getting a project truck was that I have/love an XJ but she wanted a Toyota pickup, so I sold the idea of an XJ truck that she could drive.

 

Also the AW4 has a smooth power delivery that I just can't get out of my ba10/5 w/ tracloc in my MJ.

 

I have a bench seat and the wife likes to sit in the middle. It's nice when I don't have to shift so I can have my arm around.

[BlackBeast]

Aw4 is a dang good transmission. I've had to Compromise and sale my ideas as well ,to the wife! Goodluck .