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Ken's 1985 CJ7 refurbishment thread

999K views 3K replies 267 participants last post by  John Strenk 
#1 · (Edited)


My intent is not to rebuild this CJ. I don't have the time, money, or patience for that. I want to drive my CJ.

But, like most CJs, this one needs work. While it generally looks OK and has a generally solid frame, it has some common problems.

Here's the thread I posted when I first found this Jeep. It has lots of photos and details:

http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/f8/your-opinions-1985-cj-7-a-1036735/

Here's the thread I posted after buying her:

http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/f8/just-drove-her-home-1985-cj-7-a-1039261/

So, this thread will catalog the work I on this CJ. I will attempt to post photos to keep it interesting.

This will not be a frame off restore. My intent is to fix and refurbish things as I go along, slowly improving the looks, performance, and reliability. I hope for this CJ to be a 50% daily diriver.

EDIT 4/19/2011: I have included an index to the major work I've done on this Jeep. Here's the page with the index:

http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/f8/k...ment-thread-1040550/index45.html#post11394398
Ken B.

:cheers2:
 
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1
#2 ·
Ken,
first thing i would do before anything else is drain all fluids and replace them,
gear oil in the diffs is gear oil (do not think it matters much unless you have a LS)
Gear oil in the Trans has to be GL4 i believe.
Engine oil up to you.

After that, have fun. I went though my CJ with a fine tooth comb and decided the paint was last.
I made a list then reorganized it in order of priority. For example The window defrost in mine does not work (flapper is stuck i think) but as it was 94 here today it was not that important unlike the AC , I wear business cloths to work, so AC on the way to work and top down on the way home.

What are you going to do on the floor?
I ran Herculiner (rolled it on) and it turned out great. Set of rubber mats in the front (i have a Tuffy Large box in the back) and it looks fantastic.

After that and after i fixed the years of neglect items like tie rod ends, i am down to the minor stuff like oil leaks and the steering box.
Took me 2 months and about 2k to do it. But i put a lift on it and new bumper front and rear and a new top. You have all of that so yours should be cheap as hell, that and your tub is in alot better shape than mine (have a new windshield frame on mine to)
 
#5 ·
What are you going to do on the floor?
I ran Herculiner (rolled it on) and it turned out great. Set of rubber mats in the front (i have a Tuffy Large box in the back) and it looks fantastic.
My plan on the floor is to strip it down to the bare metal, POR-15 it, and repaint it with something that resembles the factory white. As far as the small rust holes, I'm not sure about the best way to handle those. I suppose that welding in new metal is the best method but that's out of my league at this point. I'm a big DIY'er and have no problem learning though. I did find a local guy who teaches welding classes.

Everyone seems to love the Herculiner route, and I can see the value there. but for some reason at this point I'm wanting just white metal with rubber floor mats.

The original interior appears to have had red. The back seat is red. The vinyl dashboard is red, but has a black coating over it. I can see these velcro-like things that were probably there to hold in place the original carpet. But the engine bay is all white so I suppose that was the original paint color.

The hood clearly has remnants of the original Renegade lettering, although this is so faint that I was not able to get a photo to depict this.
 
#3 · (Edited)
So far I've had the Jeep 3 days. I've done some general cleaning inside and removed some of the wiring from the non-functioning car stereo. I removed the lights and wiring from the light bar and am still working to get one of the 4 screws out.

I have parts on order for the TeamRush. I also have oil and a filter. I'm also waiting for: shift knob with shift pattern, turn indicator lever, shims/clip to secure the shift lever to the transmission, shifer boot, rust converter, and a few other things. I have also lined up the necessary parts for a valve cover gasket replacement (gasket, RTV, and carb cleaner).

Tonight I finally had a couple of hours to get started on the chalky white paint finish. I have been washing and waxing cars since I was a kid and have been eager to see what I could do with this CJ.

I worked only on the hood. That seemed like a good place to start. The basic procedure was: wash with dish soap, scrub off large deposits, dry, claybar, speed glaze, cleaner, polish, and wax. I am partial to Meguiars products, since they have always worked well for me.

Here's what I started with:



I put my arm in the shot to give it some reference.

Here are the after shots, about 2 hours later:









Don't spend your money on Meguar's microfiber cloths. You can get a bag or 25 or 50 microfiber rags on Ebay for maybe 80% less than the name brand ones.

The results were good, but not night and day. I took the after photos in very dim light so perhaps it will shine more in the sun.

However, I am pleased with the results and hope to do the remainder tomorrow.

I think the completed job on the paint will give the Jeep an added head-turning dimension.

In other news, I got my first official Jeep Wave today. I was driving through an intersection and saw a red TJ waiting at the light. I waved at the driver and immediately got one back.

I have some rust converter and will start cleaning/treating the body rust spots. This clearly is a temporary measure until the body panels can be replaced or fixed at an unknown point in the future.

oh, I also replaced the wiper motor fuse, but only had a 15A, not a 20A. Add one more thing to buy :)
 
#4 ·
Looks nice....
 
#6 ·
It would depend on the size of the rust holes. anything a dime or even up to a quarter in size, , wire wheel it and then use rust converter and then use some fiberglass filler to fill it. Either use an aluminum filler after that or just sand it down and use a lightweight filler to smooth it out. That will hold you for a number of years and should be fine.
For larger holes (i cut about 6" x 3" out of my passenger side rear quarter and a hole 8"x 4" by my from a pillar) i would cut the rust out and weld new metal in.


As for POR15, great stuff just remember it does not like sunlight, so you need a top coat, it will look nice with the white.

My interior was Tan. It is now black. Black front seats, black dyed rear seat and the crash pad is in the trash, I left mine off and i think they look ugly, and the CJ looks so much better without it.
I just put a black wiper motor cover on.
 
#37 ·
It would depend on the size of the rust holes. anything a dime or even up to a quarter in size, , wire wheel it and then use rust converter and then use some fiberglass filler to fill it. Either use an aluminum filler after that or just sand it down and use a lightweight filler to smooth it out...
Great information. So I have some questions:

Can you provide links to some specific products (fiberglasss/aluminum/lightweight fillers)? I know almost nothing about body repair work, other than knowing that Bondo has a bad reputation despite the fact that people seem to keep using it.

Also, what's my best method for matching the existing paint? I'm fairly sure that this Jeep is on its seconds paint job, so I have no assurance that the paint matches the original, although I think it's close.

It seems like fixing these small rust holes to buy a few years is going to take some planning.

Keep in mind I'd like to avoid re-painting the whole Jeep at this time.

Thanks!
 
#10 ·
I have rep'ed Meguiars products for 30 years in the marine & Industrial and aviation markets and it is nice to see others use and like the product..The only filler I use on small repairs or medium for that matter is a waterproof filler like USC's duraglass or pro-glass..a ton better than regular fillers and lasts forever, very nice looking jeep...

PS meguiars makes some of the best clay bars and just use with the detailer and you get great results...

here is my 80 after a Meguiars do over, I was in the woods all day and you could not see out the windsheilds..
 

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#13 ·
Ken your Jeep looks great. Nothing like a white CJ. TeamRush was an amazing change on my 82, one of those things I wish i would have done day one. Another thing to research is the MC 2100 carb. The combo of the TR and MC2100 really wakes up the 258, and lets you remove a few miles of vaccum lines from the engine bay.
 
#15 ·
Good start right there... as I mentioned in your other post, a little elbow grase (along with meguiars) can go along way.

I also used the rust converter, and had a local paint shop mix me a quart of single stage paint for touch up BEFORE I rubbed everything out. touch up all the rust/chip spots first, then go to town. no one will mistake it for a new paint job up close, but it REALLY cleans up the overall look. it was amazing how much of a difference that little extra step makes overall.

keep it up!:thumbsup:

Hoss
 
#16 ·
Good start right there... as I mentioned/posted in your other post, a little elbow grease (along with meguiars) can go along way.

I also used the rust converter, and had a local paint shop mix me a quart of single stage paint for touch up BEFORE I rubbed everything out. touch up all the rust/chip spots first, then go to town. no one will mistake it for a new paint job up close, but it REALLY cleans up the overall look. it was amazing how much of a difference that little extra step makes overall.(I won't cloud your thread with any more of my pic's :p )

keep it up!:thumbsup:

Hoss
 
#18 ·
Spent most of the day working on the CJ. It's amazing how much time these things take, but it's enjoyable and rewarding work.

If you've ever watched that show called "Hoarders" you may notice that many of the people express dismay at figuring out where start cleaning their mess. I don't feel that way, but in the back of my mind I am always thinking about how long the to-do list is. For me, though, half of the fun of a CJ is working on it.

My left and right blinkers are a bit fast, so I decided to look into that. The right front turn lamp had become water logged at some point. Here's what it looked like when I opened it up:



I wire wheeled it, but the tough part was cleaning the lamp socket. I had to buy a small wire brush for the Dremel, and it fit perfectly. The inside of the socket looked new. The reflector part looked OK but will be fine for real-world use:



The wagon wheel spare needed some work, so I figured that would be a fun project. Here's the before:



The tire actually looks OK and is in workable shape. First, I scrubbed the whole thing with dish soap and a stiff brush. Then I wire wheeled the front/white side and the rear which was already black. I used orange paint stripper on the front after wheeling it. Then I used rust converter on the back. Finally, I used paint thinner to clean all of the metal.

Here's the front masked off for painting:



Here's the wheel after the first coat of white:



I will apply 1 more coat tomorrow and post a final photo. I also polished the lug nuts. You may have noticed that I pulled off the balance weight before painting. I decided to go ahead and do this and just get the thing re-balanced after the paint has cured.

The Jeep came with 33" x 12.5" tires on 10" wheels. Those were too big for my liking, so I had new 31"x10.5's installed on new 15x8 wheels. They look fantastic. I took a bunch of 'before' photos of the old tires on the Jeep, but failed to take any 'after' photos today. I'll get some tomorrow. Here are the old tires before a JF member hauled them off for me:



I ran the paint restore/wax process on the right side of the Jeep. Here's an 'after' photo:



I removed the factory jack and mounting plate from under the hood and wheeled, rust converted, and repainted those. Here's the jack before:



I'll complete the paint and post an after photo tomorrow.

Finally, I noticed the throwout lever boot is shot. How difficult is it to replace this?



Here's a shot of the Jeep on the back patio. I'm envious of the folks who have lots of acreage for their projects.



My original shift knob was missing the pattern. I installed a new shift boot and knob. In typical Jeep fashion, all three screws holding the boot on were different.



I got the light bar off, finally, after purchasing a big screwdriver.

Tomorrow I'll finish the jack and spare tire projects. If I have time I will repaint the spare tire carrier. After that I want to start getting things cleaned up under the hood. That will be a good transition to doing some real mechanic work. I also need to bench test the stereo and get it working or drop in a new one. So many things to do...
 
#44 · (Edited)
Spent most of the day working on the CJ. It's amazing how much time these things take, but it's enjoyable and rewarding work.

If you've ever watched that show called "Hoarders" you may notice that many of the people express dismay at figuring out where start cleaning their mess. I don't feel that way, but in the back of my mind I am always thinking about how long the to-do list is. For me, though, half of the fun of a CJ is working on it.
Years ago when I had my first or second Vehicle, I was 18 and I complained to my dad that I had to "work on my car today" he promptly said this to me; "Owning a car is a privilege and so you should treat it as such, it is never work on a car but the enjoyment of taking care of it".
I am 41 now and over the years I have thought about this and I completely agree with him. The way I see it is you could always walk or take a bus, train etc. With the exception of 1 I have never regretted any of the 45 vehicles I have owned over the years. (that one is my Chevelle and I have it now. See reason below)

I finally came to the realization the other day that with a CJ, each person has to decide how many broken or sub-par things they're willing to live with.

It's different for every person, and that's why you see some CJ projects where they're rebuilding them from the ground up. Other people drive a CJ that's full of known problems that they can live with. Then there's the factor of time and money, of course.
When restored my Chevelle I had the replace replace replace idea in my head hell it was a restoration and my first real one after all (I had refurbished many cars in the past but using the methods you are). $6k later in parts I learned a hard lesson and I have regretted it ever since. It looks awesome but I would never do that again.

When I bought my CJ (in worse shape than yours) I had a plan before I handed the PO the money. Mine was spend as little as possible on fixing things, but rather upgrade.
Aside from a new Windshield frame (no choice there as I could not rebuild it) I upgraded the original suspension (2.5" lift), bumpers (did not have any) seats (originals were trashed) and tires. Everything else; lights, gauges, body, frame, engine, etc is original and being slowly fixed up.
So far with my winch (i rebuilt a M8274) I am in mine for 4.5 K with the original price of the CJ which I paid $2400 for. So $2200 in new or used pats and most were to replace missing or damaged beyond repair items.
Big ticket items, Winch and soft top. ($1500 right there damn top was $900) if I did not have to get those, I was looking at around $700 to make it as nice as i have it (pic comming soon). Decent IMO.

So keep it up and enjoy the hell out of it. The CJ is by far one of the best (not mechanically but satisfaction wise) vehicles I have ever owned and puts a smile on my face every day I drive it, even when i breaks I am still smiling.

Like your post and you have given me some god ideas on cleaning some of the things to. BTW you air cleaner looks new, Some of the smallest changes make the biggest difference.
 
#20 ·
Thanks again for the tires. Now I'm going to revive mine from the dead and get her cranked up after sitting for 3 years.

Later,
Phil
 
#21 · (Edited)
I share Ken's passion of restoring worn out, grimy, old parts, and making them look like new again, too. It's very self rewarding.

Ken, to replace the boot, you'll have to remove the return spring, loosen the threaded adjustment rod, and drop it down.

Pull off the old boot, and slide it off of the throwout lever.

Slide the new boot over the throwout lever, and snap it onto the bellhousing.

Replace the adjustment rod and the return spring. You may have to play around with the rod adjustment to get the right amount of clutch pedal freeplay.

The sad thing about these boots is that they don't last long. I replaced mine, and within a few months, the new one was cracked.

Rich
 
#23 ·
I share Ken's passion of restoring worn out, grimy, old parts, and making them look like new again, too. It's very self rewarding.
I had an interesting revelation last night.

I was dog tired and sitting in bed browsing the Quadratec, JC Whitney, and other catalogs looking at Jeep parts. I started paying attention to the prices for various things. $10 for a knob, $25 for a tail light, $125 for a seat cover, $100 for a set of hinges. I realized that pretty soon you're talking about real money.

So this confirmed my goal to refurbish the parts I can, and save money for the really big fixes and things that simply need new parts.

I was reminded of my theory that from about 4 catalogs and a few online sources, one could probably build an entirely new Jeep CJ for probably $40,000.

Ken, to replace the boot, you'll have to remove the return spring, loosen the threaded adjustment rod, and drop it down....
Sounds super easy, and it's no problem to get under the vehicle. Thanks for the details.
 
#24 ·
Ken,

The budget is a concern for me too, I would love to throw more dollars at it but I have keep it reasonable. I started a spreadsheet about a year into the build to keep a ballpark total. Purchase price, new parts, used parts, parts sold, parts wanted etc. and then I added 10% for holes in my estimate. I will probably change that to 20% which I think will be more realistic.

I know what I have in it now and I know it would be easy to go 20K with a frame off restoration without serious upgrades. And on the flip side, a guy could build a very nice CJ for 5K, it just depends on the person.

Be sure to price shop everything online and compare online + shipping to local + tax. In many cases if you find it locally it is cheaper. Typically, Autozone is cheaper than most other places but they wanted about 20.00 for the input seal on the D300 and NAPA had it for 9.99.
 
#25 · (Edited)
Okay, here are the before and after shots of the wheels and tires:

Old (33x12.5 tire on 15x10 wheel):



New (31x10.5 tire on 15x8 wheel):



Here are before/after shots showing the width:





You can see there is just a bit more clearance, but my main interest is a balanced look.

Here are a couple of driveway shots:



Here's the refinished spare wagon wheel and tire:



You will see the child car seat in the back...



Later I'll post the before/after shots of the air cleaner housing top.
 
#27 ·
Oreilly's normally carry a decent selection of Meguiar's more aggressive paint cleaners like Medium Cut #1 and Fine Cut #2. They will cut much better than the products in the Deep Crystal System. I use the DC System too but only after paint restoration.

Wash
Clay
Wash
Clean
Polish
Wax

I also bought a dual acton polisher from Meguiar's that happened to be cheaper than the Porter Cable when my Frontier was new. Before I had the Frontier I used the DC System by hand on my long bed Quad Cab Dodge and it took a day and I hurt like all hell afterwards.
 
#30 ·
Oreilly's normally carry a decent selection of Meguiar's more aggressive paint cleaners like Medium Cut #1 and Fine Cut #2. They will cut much better than the products in the Deep Crystal System. I use the DC System too but only after paint restoration...
Good information. I have always been confused between the consumer and professional lines of Mequiar's products. I just wish they would tell you the abrasive quality/grit of each product so it would be easier to get the right product. For a chalky paint job, clearly on needs much more abrasive action than what most consumer products are designed to do.
 
#28 ·
My oldest son wanted to re-do the paint on the air cleaner filter housing (top piece), so we worked on that today.

I let him do some of the wire wheeling and then spread the paint stripper on. These photos show the basic steps:

This is the thing as it looked when I bought the Jeep:



This is after wire wheeling and cleaning with paint thinner:



This is minutes after applying a coat of Eastood's Rust Converter:



This is maybe 10 minutes after the Rust Converter:



This is maybe 60 minutes after the Rust Converter:



I will spray it tonight or tomorrow after I get some high temp paint. I don't know if high temp paint is totally necessary here, but I figured it couldn't hurt. My can of white Krylon says not to use on things that will be hotter than 200 degrees.

I thought it would also be neat to pick up some stainless steel wing nuts.
 
#29 ·
In hopes of shining up the tail light lenses, I use the same procedure on them that I did on the paint. Here's a before/after comaparison that shows a slight improvement:



Here is the jack before and after:



Here is after wire wheeling, rust converting, and spraying with a couple of coats of Krylon. This shows the jack mounting plate and lug wrench too:

 
#32 ·
Love it! Everything is looking great and you're putting a bunch of elbow grease into it. Well done, sir! You've inspired me to re-paint my wheels. :cheers:
 
#36 ·
Thanks! I'm happy with the way my spare worked out. Here are some things to consider before you start:

- Do you want to pull off the balance weights and have to get the wheels re-balanced after painting?

- Do you want to repaint and/or clean the back side of the wheels? I didn't paint the inside of my spare; it was only cleaned and prepped. I did notice that there was some overspray from the front that landed on the back side of the wheel and of the tire. So, plan accordingly.

As is true with most auto painting jobs, I think 90% of the work is in the preparation. The act of painting is only a small part of the whole procedure.

Have fun with the project!
 
#33 ·


How many guys have a Jeep on their patio!? :rofl:

I would love to hear/see the details on how you polished the plastic lens covers. Besides my Jeep, I have two F150s that need it.
 
#38 ·
I found some disconnected vaccum lines under the hood today. I posted about it here:

http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/f8/can-you-identify-these-vaccum-lines-1042727/

Here's a shot of the engine with the repainted air filter housing. For the lower half of the housing, I pulled it, cleaned it (which took about an hour), and used rust converter on the bad spots. It wasn't beat up enough to need repainting, so I just left it like that. Here's the lower part after cleaning:





While I was in the engine compartment, I refurbished the light that is screwed to the underside of the hood. This was disconnected so I left it that way. Does anyone know how it is supposed to come on? What switch turns this thing on?



I thought the radiator cap was leaking, so I put on a new one. That appeared to leak too until I realized the coolant was probably coming from the reserve bottle line which connects right below the radiator cap. So I cut off the nylon tie wrap and installed a real hose clamp. Problem solved so far.

Finally today, I pulled out the non-functioning stereo and speakers. The speakers were a total pain to remove.
 
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