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Not sure where to start

TexAg98

TexAg98

Scrambler Fan
Gold Member
SOA Member
City
McKinney
State
TX
Hi everybody. New to me ‘81. Had all the stuff I was looking for (350 V8, automatic, fuel Injected, disc brakes) but I’m fairly novice at mechanics. Former owners had more electrical stuff plugged in than you could imagine. Power windows, multiple light sets, remote locks, 2 aerials, and more I don’t even recognize. I’m guessing a wiring cleanup will be first. Luckily I have Collins in my backyard but not sure how enthusiastic they are about working on non Jeep engines. May need to find a speed shop in north Dallas to give me a hand. Runs fine for now and compression test was good with one cylinder about 17% higher than the average. No real ask here other than possibly some encouragement or advice/recommendations on where I should start cleaning this up. Appreciate the help.
 

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Thanks all. That is what I am doing. Getting all the safety stuff sorted so it’s drivable. Collins did an awesome inspection and produced a list of everything needed to get her back in shape (even with the GM engine) so I can work on it over time. Get it back next week. Can’t wait!
 
If it's running and driving you're already finished, just drive it and fix things as needed. It's tempting to start tearing everything apart on a new purchase, but it's risky because if it's not driveable then it's easy to lose motivation and let it sit for years.

The two things I do when getting a new project car is rebuild the brakes and go over the steering. I've seen some questionable repairs before so I don't trust anyone else's work if my life depends on it. Chances are the fluids needed to be changed anyway so that's a good time to do it. If you had it inspected and they didn't find any issues then you're good to go.

If the wiring is a mess but everything works, just run it like that for now, and slowly start upgrading one piece at a time. I always start by installing an auxiliary fuse/relay box under the hood, usually from a later model car of the same brand. The XJ's and wranglers have a pretty good setup all the circuits and relays are powered by one main wire so it's easy to install. That gives you plenty of additional circuits and a factory look.
 
Last edited:
ducktapeguy said:
If it's running and driving you're already finished, just drive it and fix things as needed. It's tempting to start tearing everything apart on a new purchase, but it's risky because if it's not driveable then it's easy to lose motivation and let it sit for years.

The two things I do when getting a new project car is rebuild the brakes and go over the steering. I've seen some questionable repairs before so I don't trust anyone else's work if my life depends on it. Chances are the fluids needed to be changed anyway so that's a good time to do it. If you had it inspected and they didn't find any issues then you're good to go.

If the wiring is a mess but everything works, just run it like that for now, and slowly start upgrading one piece at a time. I always start by installing an auxiliary fuse/relay box under the hood, usually from a later model car of the same brand. The XJ's and wranglers have a pretty good setup all the circuits and relays are powered by one main wire so it's easy to install. That gives you plenty of additional circuits and a factory look.
Click to expand...
Counterpoint, I swapped a 4.0 and kept the XJ PDC thinking it was a great way to get switched relay circuits… and it was, but I ended up using just a fraction of them and the PDC took up a lot of room under the hood.

Looking back, I would have been better with something like the Trail Rocker or making my own setup.
 
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