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Butters - Jeff's 81 Scrambler Build Thread

He beat me to it, that's definitely not stock and something's been done on that rear crossmember for sure. I guess it was to attach that receiver hitch.
 
bigwalton said:
He beat me to it, that's definitely not stock and something's been done on that rear crossmember for sure. I guess it was to attach that receiver hitch.
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As soon as I can get a grinder with a cutting wheel in my hands I am cutting it off. I just don't like the tire banging around on the back end of the Jeep. Ugh.

had a chance at some sweet bumpers from this board and Columbia, but missed the chance as I had some other things I have to do first. :(

I did a little research on the wheels though. They are 1980's Enkie EK32's and are two piece 15X11's. I kinda like them but need to clean them up.
 
Can you jam something between the swing out and the bumper/latch thingamabob for now?
 
Ok, lots has happened since I last posted in this thread.

  1. The Saga of the Awful Whine
    • Had the power steering pump and steering gear rebuilt. Symptoms - leaking at the hose connections.
      • Diagnostic that got me to that decision? - Visual only. What a rube I was. I didn't take off the power steering pump belt to see if that fixed the whine.
      • End result - I now have a rebuilt power steering pump and gear box. Works great, just like it did before I sent it off. Oh, I also replaced the hoses for $35 which fixed the leaking.
      • Total cost - $735.00 in wasted effort.
      • Feeling afterwards...like an idiot.
      • Actual cause of the whine - the previous owner installed a Timing Gear Set instead of a Timing Chain. Geez is it noisy. Local mechanic says he can put in a timing chain for $300 in an afternoon. I will probably take him up on it.
  2. Hmmmm...That Doesn't Blow Enough
    • I replaced the blower motor with one from an old Blazer. Works great!
    • Bad news - I decided to dig into my wiring behind the dash.
    • Still working on it!
 
Today I documented my engine wiring harness, mapped all the wires and looked it all over. I found that the harness behind the dash is in pretty good shape. But, the engine harness is a mess.
Harness1-1.jpg


I have 12 wired contacts in my engine harness (the engine half vs the headlight half), but only 8 of them go anywhere. On top of that, the wire from that goes to the positive post on the starter solenoid is actually 5 pieces of wire spliced together!!!!!! HOLY CRAP! Only one wire in the whole harness did not have another piece of wire spliced into it.

Pretty crazy under there. Anyone know where to get a fresh bulkhead connector or how to get the pins out of the original one so I can replace the actual wires?????


Also, anyone know what this black gunk is???
Harness2-1.jpg
 
The black gunk is waterproofing "gunk". I think I have both halves of my old bulkhead connector if you need an extra. The male pins have a side release- squeeze the side and the wire pulls out from the back. They are Packard 56 terminals, available at Napa.

56m6-1.jpg



The female pins come out with a release tool. I have a cheap 3 piece Pico set but they work fine. The release is on the opposite side of the picture I posted, the release tool goes in from the front and the wire pulls out the back.

6529013204psrchttp3A2F2Fwwwclipsandfaste-1.jpg


pco0660pt_w_m-1.jpg
 
Hey friends, I am moving slowly as I get parts in the mail. I am working with Dan of Double D Fab who is great to work with. He is designing a dash cover for my Jeep. SO, would like your input if you do not mind:

1) I have thus far intended to put two BlueSea power ports in the bottom part of the cover.
  • One is a USB charging port, and the other a standard looking cigarette type with cover.
  • I am a tech geek and appreciate a USB port and also have a big spot that plugs into a cigarette lighter. So, problem solved.

2) the top row of switches I have asked Dan to include are my issue. I am going to put in a Contour fan with a FlexaLite wiring kit that will control the fan. I do not see myself fording many rivers for some time, so am waffling whether I need the switches. I might put in some driving lights and maybe a power inverter so i can string up some Christmas lights...so maybe a few extra switch points are a good idea.
  • Do you guys plan for future switches?
  • is 4 too many?
  • I can probably safely get by with 2.
  • Thoughts?

3) I had thought about having 5 gauge pods, instead of 4, so I could add a fuel gauge and not use the stock one, but why wouldn't I? I need to drop the tank to see if it is the sender or the gauge. I have never had a Jeep with a working gauge before so I am completely lost on whether they are reliable or not.
  • What do you guys think? Is it worth it to just use the Jeep speedo for speedo duty and rely on the aftermarket to keep the gas gauge working?

Thanks as always for your input. Jeff

jeffs-dash.png
 
You can never have too many open switches. They will get used eventually.

Why not have a complete cover made that will allow you to run an aftermarket speedo and tach? The electronic speedos are cool...just push a button and you can reprogram for tire size changes.

From his website-
IMG_1004-1.jpg
 
Well I hadn't really thought of that. Hmmmm...So would you really have to butcher your dash for that? it looks like you would need to cut some good size holes in the dash. i had thought about just getting a whole dash, but I am trying also to not freak my wife out with expenditures :O lol His prices are pretty great though.

I hadn't even thought of running an electronic speedo. I'll have to look up how that works.
 
The dash would need some "modification". I'm overly particular...it would bother me to have duplicate gauges, and I like having all gauges the same brand. I usually use VDO, they seem to be very reliable and their Vision Series are easy to read and illuminate nicely. Not too bad a price either...

Ouch...I just checked...I paid $269 for the 5 gauge set plus the tach, prices have gone up some...
 
Forgive me fellow forum members, it has been a year since I posted to my own build thread. :)

So, we are handing the body over to be painted and I will be working on the undercarriage and running gear while that is happening. To start things off though, I wanted to post how it is today. So, I returned to the location it came off the truck to me (was not intentional, but I ran out of time to take it somewhere more scenic). Its gonna be picture heavy.

I am thinking my doors may be too far gone to be honest. Any one fixed worse doors?








 
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Did you ever get that part number for those top latches? Must've missed it on jscherb's gaucho thread. I'd like to go that route when I finish my postal top
 
I did not ever get the part numbers, but I do know that if you email Gr8Tops they will sell you the latch kit which includes the appropriate three latches and mounting hardware and instructions (don't quote me on instructions...They just told me how to do it so I am making an assumption they can provide instructions).

I am going to go that route when I am ready, I am just not ready yet.

Email them at gr8tops@gmail.com Tell them in your email that you weren't able to find the "Storefront" on the website, because you should be able to find these on the Storefront, but that is missing at the moment. I verified with the guy at Gr8Tops that the Storefront is missing, so he said just email them.

Hope that helps! Jeff
 
Hey All - I am not going to lie. I just have not had time to fix my own Jeep. I have kind of dropped off the forum out of embarrassment and the fact that I haven't driven my Jeep hardly in a year since I did the rewiring job myself. Screw that.

I worked with a mechanic initially who said, "yep, your engine is shot" and it has been smoking and such. Then I took it to about the crustiest mechanic I could find who said the engine was fine but something else was wrong and to bring it back as he had to finish up a Corvette. But, he kept putting me off due to the lingering Corvette. So, I took it to a guy to rewire it, because, I'll be completely honest here, I was a cheap bastard and wired it up myself instead of just buying a harness and honestly, wrenching is what I'm better at and really my wife and 3 year old don't allow me much time to work on the Jeep.

SSSOOOOO...today I am picking it up from the guy doing the wiring. While he was in there I also had him fix the brake proportioning valve, reroute the fuel filter, install the Speedhut gauges, and put on a new cooling fan. He's about done and I hope to pick it up at 4 and then go get some new tires put on.

I'll have brakes and brake lights, a working gas gauge, an engine that gets properly cooled, and according to Andy the guy doing the wiring, it runs great after all the numerous wiring issues (grounds, not fully tightened connections and poorly crimped wires were soldered instead. So I am hoping that my engine smoking and running like a raged old man was really poor quality of wiring work by the owner (me) and a timing issue caused by that.

And, all it took was money and someone else two weeks of their time, while I went to work to make the said money. Work is work, I hope it all works out when I pick it up.

Jeff
 
alright..... welcome back.. i was going to text you yesterday to see what you where up to.. :bacon:
 
BRKLYNZ28 said:
alright..... welcome back.. i was going to text you yesterday to see what you where up to.. :bacon:
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Seriously, I have been lurking for what seems like the last year just feeling like a noob. Glad to be headed back, REALLY glad to go pick up my Jeep and that it may not be trying to kill me. :)
 
Sometimes you gotta bite the bullet and consult a pro! Glad to hear you're getting back a good running Scrambler!
 
Well, things did not go quite as planned.

  1. 1) the wiring looks and works just great.
    2) the cooling fan covers the whole radiator and also works great
    3) the new Speedhut gauges look awesome and work well too (pretty much, more in a moment)
    4) the Jeep now starts immediately upon turning the key...no cranking away
    5) the brake lights work!

    But, there are still some issues:
    1) the fuel gauge does not work. Speedhut provided two tests (which I can share if you are interested) to make sure it if it is a gauge issue or not. The fuel should be near or a little over a half tank and it shows 63 Ohm, but we are not 100% it is not a GM sending unit which is 0-90 ohm or 90-0 ohm, or if it is an AMC sending unit of 0-73 ohm. Either way, it should show something other than full or empty (depending on which way the settings on the gauge are set); something closer to 1/4 or 1/2 a tank. If not the gauge, probably will need to drop the tank down and take a look. Ugh.
    2) the brake proportioning valve is aluminum (wilwood) and the lines are steel and the threads stripped out of the valve. Have to get a new valve and reinstall. Oops!
    3) the brake master cylinder bracket may be in upside down. I have found 99% of the pictures on the internet with the fulcrum point on top, but my instructions showed it on the bottom. I found only 3 photos of it on the top.

So there you go...not quite ready to pick up just yet.

BTW...anyone using Goodyear MTR's? I got a set of 32's for a nice price and, while not installed yet, am wondering if anyone has tried them. Hope I don't regret jumping on the deal. Yikes
 
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