88' Pioneer Restoration, Poppaw's Truck

[Mountain MJ]

I am new to the forums, I have lurked around for a few years but this is my first time posting.  I have begun restoring my Grandfather's '88 MJ.  He bought it a few months after I was born and drove it until his Alzheimer's forced him off the road.  I hauled it up the mountain (along with his '46) to try and get them running again.  We have always been jeep people, so it was great to keep them in the family.  

The MJ is/was an 88 Pioneer.  It originally had a longbed on it.  A few years before he stopped driving it he replaced the box with a flat bed.  After driving it around like that for a few years the frame had rusted out, so he and a friend frankensteined 2 MJs together to get to where we are now.  I am fairly sure (though his mind is far to gone for me to ask) that the bed and frame came from a later model manual MJ.  I have a lot of hillbilly engineering to work through and decipher.  I say that with love though.  He was a mechanic in the Korean war, and then came back home and worked in the coal mines of WV. Thats where the 46 spent its whole life, deep in the mine shafts.  

Anyway! My goal is to get it back to looking as close to how I remember it from my childhood as I can, and get it cleaned up and protected so that I can haul my munchkin around in it, like I got toted around by my Grandpa.  Going on adventures and running up the street alike.  I started the whole thing off by replacing the battery, changing the oil and pouring some mystery oil in the spark plug holes.  It had been sitting for around 8 years and I figured that would help loosen anything stuck.  I got it to turn over but was getting no fuel so I began the deep dive into rebuilding a fuel pump.  

Fast forward a week to today when I finally had some sunshine instead of snow and freezing rain and temps above 20 and I pulled the old pump out.  Everything rubber was basically chewing gum at this point so I scraped it all off, figured out how to install the new Bosch unit which took a bit of engineering, and got everything hooked back up.  Fired up after the second turn of the key!

Now there is a pretty major leak coming from the fuel pressure regulator, and possibly elsewhere along that fuel rail system.  All of which will have to get addressed next.  Along with swapping out the other fluids and plugs and wires for good measure.  I am also going to work my way through refreshing the grounds to avoid future issues with them. 

I am certainly no mechanic, and everything I learned was from my Grandfather.  I am handy when it comes to construction, but engines are a mostly foreign language, so I am just teaching myself as I go.  one project at a time.  Hoping to have all the fuel leaks sorted soon so I can move it around and get a feel for the transmission and such.  I know the shift indicator does not work, but it will move forwards and back as I tested both today.  

I am not sure if anyone will end up reading this but I appreciate the opportunity to learn from everyone and to have a place to keep a record of my project to look back on. If anyone has suggestions or advice I am all ears.  I know if he was still coherent he would be proud to see it fire up again.  Cheers Poppaw.

Edited August 21, 2023 by Mountain MJ
Corrected the year

[Pete M]

family projects are the best projects.   I know your grandpa would be proud! 

 

I spy a hidden winch!

[MiNi Beast]

1 minute ago, Pete M said:

family projects are the best projects.   I know your grandpa would be proud! 

 

I spy a hidden winch!

Not very hidden now is it then? 

 

Awesomeness.  Thanks for sharing with us vs just being a lurker. Love to have some of your insights contributing to the site. Be great to have more details on them good looking jeeps parked about. 

[Pete M]

what mini said.  feel free to start build threads on the other Jeep specimens  

[MiNi Beast]

@Cruiser54 he's has a great technical support site that will help you. 

[janky89]

Beautiful truck!

[Mountain MJ]

Small update! After the original post I replaced the fuel injectors and pressure regulator, along with an oil change and moved it from the upper yard to the driveway to do more work on it.  At that point life got in the way with a vengeance and we have now moved and are in the process of selling our old home at which point I might actually have 12 seconds to myself to get back to work on the truck.  I coaxed it back to life to drive it up on the trailer to move it, and while it complained, once I got it running it sounded great.  I believe my next big step is going to be getting the electrical sorted.  

As I said in my original post the truck is cobbled together and the electrical system is barely functional.  Headlights seem to work, but the blinkers don't and one of the tail lights is sitting in the passenger floor board.  When I click the blinker stalk over, the entire dash panel flashes.  none of the interior lighting works, and the winch does not function (being this old, it may be toast and I am totally fine replacing it as long as I can find one that fits) so I have a ton of stuff to chase down and learn.  

I will get more photos up here as soon as I get a chance, and start parsing through all the rogue wiring that has been done. I am hoping to at least make it safe and road legal soon so I can get an inspection done and register the thing so I can drive it around and keep it moving.