[BigFire]

Little background. I originally discovered Jeepforum when I bought my 02 WJ about 3 years back. I have always wanted a "true Jeep", and only recently came across exactly what I was looking for, a 79 CJ7 that needs a little work to get it to true wheeler status.

I met a friend of mine about a year ago when he parked his CJ crawler in our apt parking lot. Turned out he lived in the same building as me. We hit it off, he made jokes about my mallcrawling WJ, and we have been friends since.

He invited me to go on a few runs with him in his CJ, and my first experience in real rockcrawling was the Dakota Territory Challenge!



First trail I ever rode on was 5+. Talk about diving right in. I was a little nervous when we got to the first big obstacle, so I got out and filmed. He then hazed me to man up and ride the rest of the way, and long story short, I was hooked. We talked about what kind of rig I wanted, how much I wanted to spend, yadda yadda.

Then about 2 months ago he asked if I wanted to grab some dinner. I hopped in his truck and he told me he wanted me to check something out first. That is when I met my new mistress, Project Black.



My buddy actually built the cage and sides for it, and it had been sitting for two years, unused. I talked with the PO, and I drove away title in hand with quite the deal on it. Let just say I could sell a couple of the tires and get all my money back!

So here we go! It has been a long time since I have had something to work on, fix, improve, etc. I love this stuff, and it's only better that I can resurrect this CJ.

Specs:

1979 CJ7
AMC 304 (not original engine) I was told it originally had a 6 cyl
T18 manual tranny
Dana 20 T Case with TeraLow kit already!
AMC 20 rear with 1 piece chromoly axles, welded tubes, spooled, drum brakes
Dana 30 front with lunchbox locker, chromoly axles
4" BDS lift SUA
Full custom cage tied into frame
New(ish) floor tub pan
New(ish) 35" BFG Krawlers. Spare 5th is brand new.
15x8 D Window wheels
Brand spankin' new Warn 9.5ti winch, only unspooled once.

I guess you could list these things as the "good".

The "Bad"

Rear diff cover had a hole in it.
Front output on t-case is leaking
Had major oil leak with engine running at oil pressure sender
No choke
Need a new battery tray
Seats are trashed
Orange skins are hideous
Spring bushings took a vacation
Shocks are bent, beat, hammered, shot
Gas tank skid has seen better days
Frame needs a good refinishing

So here we are. A very smart and wise CJ god on here aka JeepHammer told me to start a thread on it as it will be easier to help/diagnose/etc. So I am doing just that. I just got into my new shop last night, got it all situated, and started tearing into it.

Here is what I posted in my club forum:

"Got a bit done last night. Got the shop set up for now. Just need the correct fittings for air lines. On to the show!

How awesome is this?


These will be my "before" pictures.












Then I got to work...now you see them...




Now you don't




It was great how easy these came off. I am thinking about replacing the hardware with allen bolts though.




Clean slate


It's a good start. Found out the rear of the pan wasn't held on by anything. I also found 2 body mount positions that line up but are not connected to the frame. I will have to do something about that for the kids safety.

I played with the angle grinder for a minute. That thing is awesome. Makes very short work of getting the paint of the frame! So tonight, back wheels are coming off, and let the grinding begin! Note to self......respirator."

[BigFire]

JeepHammer gave me a good list of things to check before I get into the carb to make sure it is working correctly. I am carb dumb. I have never really worked on one besides R/C cars and lawnmowers. Here are a few pictures of the carb. I need to know what is missing from it, and what is not hooked up correctly.



















It seems to run good, but there is not a choke hooked up that I can see. I would like a choke back, it can get cold here, even in the summer.

I DO NOT plan on doing any major engine work to it this year unless I absolutely have to. I WILL however do all the basic checks JeepHammer told me to.

So. My plans.

You may ask yourself, self, why is he calling it Project Black?

Well, the plans is to paint EVERYTHING black. I never have had a black vehicle, I think the black on black out thing looks cool, and I am a firefighter, so if I ever go out on a search and rescue call with it in a wildfire, it will blend nicely with the smoke.

Things I want to get done this winter:

Replace front and rear diff covers (done, Riddler's)
Fix sender leak (done)
Replace spring bushings (already got em from Currie)
New front u-bolts (got em)
Relocate and replace shocks (I am having Twisted Customs make me some shock hoops)
Clean and repaint frame, axles, and cage as best I can
Pull D20, reseal, add twin sticks
Rewire EVERYTHING, add tailights
Full hydraulic steering (again Twisted is going to piece this together for me, it's good to have friends in the know)
Replace left front caliper (I snapped off the bleeder valve luckily in closed position)
Figure out how to get it to stop better while still keeping manual brakes
Repaint skins black
New seats
Add powertank
New dash/gauges

And if money and time allows:
Weld-on beadlocks
Powervalves

Future plans:
Full-width axles (I already have a set from a waggy, AMC 20 waggy rear, D44 front from a waggy, just need to pick them up. A friend also offered me his full width D44 rear that is already built up)
Rear disc brake conversion
Line locks
Dual batterys
On board air (besides powertank)
On board welder

I am sure I forgot a few things, and I am very excited to start work on it, and I look forward to all the advice and learning all I can, and most of all, WHEELING IT! Creating memories with friends and family is why we do this!

Thank you guys in advance for the input and help when it arises.

[BigFire]

Question deuce.

Here are my front hubs. I was told to retighten these bolts before I take it out every time. Sure enough when I checked them, they were loose.





What hubs do I have in case I have to get replacement parts? Any way to get these bolts from loosening up? Anyone have a good write-up on how to take these apart and put them back together. Like being carb dumb, I am also partly axle dumb. My main concern is so I can carry spare parts with me in case I break on the trail, AND, I know how to fix it, on the trail.

[BigFire]

Oh yeah. YES, I do have a Haynes manual, and it is very vague on certain aspects.

[Attwanl]

Hi fellow cj owner
Had to laugh when you said "your new mistress" my wife calls herself a " jeep widow"
Congratulations on your find, looks like you are diving in and getting started. You already have a lot of mods on it already, roll cage , lockers, etc.
Morris 4x4 has alot of the manuals you might want online, you can download them and just print off want you need, as you need it. All though I probably have it all printed off by now LOL. It is in a section called jeep resources at the very bottom of the page, you'll see online manuals. All so jeep parts diagrams just to the left of the search bar was pretty helpful to when needed.
Hope this helps ya out.

[KJNewbs]

Looking good.

[AdamH07]

whatever you do, DO NOT throw away the rear seat. That looks like Levi rear seat. Even in that shape, it can bring good money. Just the Levi buttons are worth a pretty penny.

[BigFire]

Originally Posted by AdamH07

whatever you do, DO NOT throw away the rear seat. That looks like Levi rear seat. Even in that shape, it can bring good money. Just the Levi buttons are worth a pretty penny.

Anyone want to buy a "slightly used" rear seat?

Made a bit of progress last night. I did notice though, and you can see it in the rear shot above, that the previous owner must have gotten weird into something hard, and the rear of the cage is pushed over a bit. The front is symetrical, but the rear is over about an inch. I will have to try and repair that, and weld a few crossbraces in to avoid that in the future. Or, just run it the way it is for now, and redo the cage next winter.

A discussion was had with my buddy who is helping me out, and it was decided that instead of messing with the carb, we are going to get fuel injection for it right away. He is going to piece together the one he has put in 3 other club members rigs, and they have had great results with.

Rear shocks are out. I am going to drop the gas tank tonight for better access to the frame. Then the rear axle is going to come out either tonight or tommorow for cleaning and new spring bushings.







I also pulled to rear drums to take a look. Drums look great. Hardware looks great. Probably could use some new pads. I will take the drums to work, have them turned, and replace all the hardware and pads just to be on the safe side.

I should be able to get the rear half of the frame down to bare metal by the end of tonight!

[scoutboater]

Looking great so far. I'm in for the show.

[Jim1611]

Good start you have there. Nice clean roomy place to work too, that's always a big plus.

[BigFire]

Originally Posted by Jim1611

Good start you have there. Nice clean roomy place to work too, that's always a big plus.

You should have seen that place two days ago. there was a two inch layer of dirt on the floor previously. I have never swept so hard in my life. Got it swept over my lunch break that day. It is a very nice workspace, and I am extremely lucky to have it. And having air for my air tools, and 220 hookups? Quite possibly supreme awesomeness.

Anyone have a straight gas tank skid they want to sell? PM me. I would LOVE to get a Gen-Right tank and skid, but holy buckets, they are just to much $$!

[Jim1611]

Originally Posted by BHJeepWJ

You should have seen that place two days ago. there was a two inch layer of dirt on the floor previously. I have never swept so hard in my life. Got it swept over my lunch break that day. It is a very nice workspace, and I am extremely lucky to have it. And having air for my air tools, and 220 hookups? Quite possibly supreme awesomeness.

Anyone have a straight gas tank skid they want to sell? PM me. I would LOVE to get a Gen-Right tank and skid, but holy buckets, they are just to much $$!

A good source of air is great. So is having dry air. You're gonna need a 50 amp service in there for a welder too, unless you already have one. Some drill presses need 220 and bigger equipment but for most fab work and what you'll need will be 110 outlets most of the time.

[bigredisb]

Great find. Looks like a solid foundation.
The only thing I might suggest is to put a mechanical oil pressure gauge on the engine and verify your oil pressure. I wouldnt trust the gauge thats in it until I verified it myself.

Did you have a chance to figure out what gears are in it?

[BigFire]

Originally Posted by bigredisb

Great find. Looks like a solid foundation.
The only thing I might suggest is to put a mechanical oil pressure gauge on the engine and verify your oil pressure. I wouldnt trust the gauge thats in it until I verified it myself.

Did you have a chance to figure out what gears are in it?

I believe they are the stock 3.07's? Does that sound right for stock gears? The PO was not for sure what was in there, and when I did the covers I didn't have time to check. I am swapping out axles eventually anyway, but with the Teralow kit in the t-case, it is already pretty low. I am going to go with 4.56's when I change axles and movin on up to 37" tires.

I just tore out the oil pressure gauge that was in there. It read fine, but the sender leaked like a sive. Plugged it for now. I am putting in all new gauges when I redo the dash. It won't be driven until those things are done. I already have new sender fittings for it.

[bigredisb]

4.56's with a terra low 20 and a T18 will be a friggin sweet setup I bet.

The nice thing I noticed as well is you already have a aluminum 4 barrel intake, which would gives you some options if the MC2100 does not work out.