Jeep Enthusiast Forums banner

73 Wagoneer stock what can you tell me?

31K views 177 replies 18 participants last post by  73pumpkin 
#1 ·
I just bought a 73 Wagoneer with a 360 in it. Is this an AMC 360? I need to lift it to haul a trailor and a SOA on the front and a shackle flip seem to be the quickest best solution. BJs has a new complete spring replacement kit for more money but perhaps less trouble. Has anyone used this kit yet? Does it come with the proper drivetrain and steering modification parts? Can you still get their old front end SOA kit? By the way, what drivetrain, transfer case front/rear axle components were stock on a 73? Where is identification stamped or labeled about these components?
 
#2 ·
Yes, the 360 is an AMC 360 (what else would it be?).

In 73 you have a dana 30 closed knuckle front end. Not terrible but nothing spectacular. Bigger turning radius than the open knuckle D44's that were offered in 74.

Your transmission is a GM TurboHydramatic400 (TH400). 3 speed. Good strong tranny, easy to rebuild, parts everywhere for em, just not very efficient (3 speed). it may or may not be a nailhead pattern. Get under the truck and check if it has an adapter (spacer) between the engine and bellhousing. 74 was the first full year of using a TH400 with an actual AMC bolt pattern, previous ones used a spacer ring and an adapter on the crank to move the flexplate back.

Your t-case would be a Dana20 if it's part time. Again, great case, plenty strong enough. Most people's complaint is that the low range isnt very "low" and that could use improvement. They are easy enough to twinstick if you so wish.

Rear end would be a D44, standard.

If you have a tow package you have 3.31 gears, if not, you probably have 2.somethings.

you have drums all around. have fun going bigger than 33s without discs or hydroboost. Its scary sometimes on my 33's with stock brakes.

The BJs spring kits are good. I'm running a 4" kit on mine and like it. Not sure about their SOA kits.

SOA requires a lot of work...shackle flip, hi-steer, brake lines, etc etc. A lot more work than people think.

I love my 73, but there are some weird things. 73 was almost a cusp year, lots of changes afterwards (d44 front, discs up front, changed to bridged rockers, blah blah blah).

if you want more info that is readily avaiable, and with way more people into FSJ's, join up on www.ifsja.org.
 
#3 ·
Thanks so much for the loads of information, Andrew. I had seen mention of a lot of older wagoneers with Buick motors in them, that is why I was not certain that it might be an AMC. I am not all that familiar with Jeep other than the fact that they used a lot of parts from other manufacturers over the years. When you put the BJ lift kit on, do you have to change the pitman arm or other steering components? Also, do you have to shim the front and/or rear pumpkins to relieve strain on the universal joints? Are any of these parts provided with the kit or do you buy them seperately?
I bought this jeep for $800 and it runs well and the body is straight. The interior is pretty good. Heck it was worth the tires on it probably. Someone has disconnected the heater assembly and I need to look at that first. Winter is just around the corner and I'll need defrost. Could you possibly send pictures of the engine compartment of your 73? It looks to me like they relocated the alternator and I don't understand a defunct cooling fluid pump located top right as you are looking at the front of the engine. Also, if you take pictures, could I have a picture of your hitch? I expect if commercial hitches ever existed, the after market companies have long ago discontinued them. I'll have to have one fabricated.
I want to tow a 19 foot trailor with this thing and I do not think it was a towing package. the trailor has electric brakes so that will help. What is a hydroboost and how much trouble is that to add? Do you know if they make disc adaptor kits or do most people just swap out the axles? I kind of like the beast the way it is now, even its current curb height, but the towing issue probably will demand some changes.
 
#4 ·
The buick motors are buick 350's, and tend to be the older wags, as you have noticed.

I didnt install my lift, it was installed by the previous owner within 9 months of be buying it. The front has no shims, the rear does have shims to correct the pinion angle. I dont think the 4" kit required a drop pitman arm, mine looks stock. All the other steering looks stock. I would shoot them an email over on BJ's or give them a call about whats included they are very helpful, but pretty sure it's a full kit.

Here are some pics of my engine compartment:





(radiator out)


Accessories coming off:





new engine going in






Sorry, just tried to give you as many complete angles and shots as possible, haha. That's how the compartment on my 73 is set up, the only thing that changed with the engine swap was the ignition system for the new motor is electronic (from an 87) and not a points system as was original in 73.

I'll try to remember to snap some pictures of my hitch next time i'm out there.
 
#5 ·
Those are great pictures Andrew. I've been following your extensive thread about the rebuilding of your 73. It is pretty long so I have been doing 10 or 20 pages a day. Some of my questions may be answered as I read it. Why did you swap out your engine? That looks like a tranny fluid cooler or an AC coil behind the radiator with the new engine. Is it? My first problem will be getting the heating back together. It looks like one hose comes off ofthe water pmp to the heater coil and the other comes off of the rear of the block. I still have this mystery pump hanging down under the power steering pump. It is not an Ac compresser. Any ideas what it used to do? I have a similair thing in my old Dodge van that used to run a rear heater but I don't find any evidence of that. I may put some air bag helper springs on the rear for towing. Anyway, thanks for all of your help. I may upgrade my membership here to send pictures of the pumpkin. (It is a burnt orange color.)
 
#6 ·
Yeah, It goes (from rear to front) Radiator, AC condensor, Transmission cooler (it's a b&m plate style).

I replaced the engine because I was getting alot of noise from the old one, knocking, tapping, sounded like both top and bottom noise, so I just pulled it. The original motor (orange one) will get rebuilt and put back in eventually. This motor is more of a temporary setup.

Perhaps the pump you have is a smog pump, for air injection. You can see the big bolts on the outside of my exhaust manifolds. Even in 1973 they has emissions crap on these trucks, and the manifolds are setup for air injection. The smog pump pushed fresh air into the exhaust, in order to get the cat to burn hotter.

That is most likely what you're seeing under the PS pump, I believe it was on the driver side of the engine. I dont have one, it (as well as all other emissions crap) has long since been removed, which is now causing issues for me passing emissions.

PS, you'll be able to post pictures once you have 20 or 30 posts and 30 days of membership or something like that.
 
#7 ·
looked at another Jeep today

I looked at another Jeep today that was similar to mine. It was a 78 4 door Cherokee with a 401 in it for $1500. I got the chance to look over the engine compartment to see where some of the missing goodies go. I think this one was a quadratrack. It was a little rough but not too bad. If I hadn't bought the one I have, I would have dealt with the man on it. mine is a bit better shape I think. It seems to me people were saying that the 401s are hard to come by. i know of two of them now. i know of another 77 Wagoneer for $500 with a running 401 and Quadrotrack. It is a little rougher yet, but still easily restorable or beefing up for a real enthusiast. If my mystery pump is a smog pump, and i think that it is, where did it hook on the exhaist system? I do not see a place for it on the manifolds. I only see one outlet nipple on it and no intake other than some fins behind the pulley. is there a connection beyond the cross over pipe? I am still reading through your gargantuin thread, Andrew. it is a great read.
 
#9 ·
I looked at another Jeep today that was similar to mine. It was a 78 4 door Cherokee with a 401 in it for $1500. I got the chance to look over the engine compartment to see where some of the missing goodies go. I think this one was a quadratrack. It was a little rough but not too bad. If I hadn't bought the one I have, I would have dealt with the man on it. mine is a bit better shape I think. It seems to me people were saying that the 401s are hard to come by. i know of two of them now. i know of another 77 Wagoneer for $500 with a running 401 and Quadrotrack. It is a little rougher yet, but still easily restorable or beefing up for a real enthusiast. If my mystery pump is a smog pump, and i think that it is, where did it hook on the exhaist system? I do not see a place for it on the manifolds. I only see one outlet nipple on it and no intake other than some fins behind the pulley. is there a connection beyond the cross over pipe? I am still reading through your gargantuin thread, Andrew. it is a great read.
They connected to each exhaust port on the manifold, there should be fittings and banjo bolts, 4 per manifold. its possible yours were switched out.

I dont know a ton though, i never had any of that crap since I bought it, removed by previous owners, and i pass emissions testing without any of it, except for a cat.

thread hijacker here: dr marneaus- what walmart battery are you running?
No idea, i accidently drained it 100% and bought a new duralast. it was way bigger than whatever the book called for.

I think it's 875 CCA's with a 120 min reserve capacity. I replaced the walmart one with a duralast that had the same exact specs.
 
#10 ·
So those are called banjo bolts huh? Can I get rid of them any other way than swapping out exhaust manifolds? My jeep never had Ac as far as I can tell. There is no secondary black plastic duct and vent box beneath my dash. Was that only for AC or did only heated models have it and the previous own has ripped it out and tossed it on me. I read your full Beast rebuild, Andrew. It was extremely helpful. What is the beast doing now?
 
#11 ·
Yeah, banjo bolts. They are essentially just hollow bolts that allow air to flow through. All you need to do to remove the air tube system is....put regular bolts in the holes. ;)

Mine still have all the spacers from the banjo bolts on them, something about that threadsize only coming in the wrong length or something, but you can just remove the banjo bolts and install regular bolts from the hardware store to seal the holes up.

The under dash unit is only for AC, its 100% separate from the rest of the heating/ventilation system. The controls on the gauge cluster are only for heat/defrost/vent, the unit under the dash has its own fan control and temp control, so you arent missing anything. I wish mine worked, haha.

It's not doing much now other than driving well, i'm working on installing some relays to remove the load from the headlight switch, and then hopfully driving it 500+ miles this weekend on a camping trip, scary.
 
#13 ·
Thanks.

You should start up a build thread, just to keep track of what you are doing. I dont see alot of 73's here on jeepforum, or on IFSJA.org, in fact any 63-73 rigs are fairly rare.

Start a thread and show some pictures, I'd love to see it.
 
#14 ·
I will probably get around to upgrading my membership here and posting some pictures tomorrow. Money is way tight right now, so I probably won't be spending a lot on it right away. I think that it has lived all of its life in Wyoming or other dry states because i have found very little rust. I have been window shopping parts on line and talking to mechanics about topend or total rebuilds. Winter is coming on and I probably need to look at the heater/defrost first.
 
#15 ·
FYI, you can post pictures once you have 30 (i think) posts in the technical forums (general discussion doesn't add to your post count).

I still suggest upgrading if you have the cash, but even if you dont you can post pics eventually by just being a supporting memeber.

The way I look at it is that this website has saved me more than $30.00 in parts or labor, so why not donate it?

Regardless, I'd love to see your waggy. You can even post links to it on photobucket.com or similar, and a supporting member can quote you and show the pictures in the thread.

As for rebuilds, from what I have seen, for a full rebuild you'd be looing at around 2500 bucks minimum if you drop it off and pick it up running.

For a rebuild where you pull the block, strip it down, and do SOME assembly, you'll be around 1500-2000. I have my original 1973 block (painted california emissions orange) sitting on a stand in my garage waiting for me to have the funds to rebuild it and get it dropped back into the truck to replace the 1987 motor i installed as a hold over.

As I have said, feel free to ask about anything in specific about your 73, and if I can help I will. I am equally as active on ifsja.org (international full size jeep association) if you want to find me over there.

Sorry I havent grabbed pics of the hitch setup yet!
 
#16 ·
Well I'd like to upgrade my membership, but, after looking under every rock and tree of this site, I have not been able to find a way to do that. I cannot even seem to find a way to contact the site managers. Anyone out there with a connection to the powers-that-be might please send them a message to contact me.
I looked at another thread about horsepower ratings of the 360. The last comment was that in 73 the compression was reduced to comply with emmisions. Did this happen on the 73 360s then? Can it be reversed and if so, how? New heads and pistons, I am guessing.
 
#21 ·
The speaker is crap, much like yours was. I don't think it is working, but I have a friend who could probably fix it. I collect antique radios and he fixes the guts of them for me. this is not a tube radio of course, but he could probably get it working. I am not all that nuts over the orange, but it is definitely the original color. Maybe some black striping or pinstripings someday or a black roof. that is a long ways and many dollars in the future though.
 
#22 ·
I like it because i've never really seen the orange. Touch up some of your trim, and hit the paint with some polishing compound like I did and it'll shine for a few more years.

Also just noticed you dont have the chrome window trim! Nice, that seems like a fairly rare option on these things.
 
#23 ·
I almost wonder if this jeep was not used for the highway department or a city department of some kind. I do not see evidence of bolt holes for extra lights on the roof or extra equipment inside. I know where there is a 77 wagoneer with a 401 and Quadratrack in it that could be purchased real cheap. I heard the engine run. It was a little rough at idle but had been sitting for a year or more. That issue could be just plugs and wires. I only bring it up because I am wondering if the 401 would be a direct swap with the 360. If so, maybe I should buy the 77 for parts and have the 401 rebuilt. I am nervous enough about feeding the current 360, so I will probably stick with it. I don't have any interest in quadrotrac. the whole 77 could be bought for $500 or less, but I do not need yet another vehicle in my back yard. I don't think that the 77 is going anywhere soon and I am poorer than a church mouse right now. One of these days, I'll swing by it to see if it has a hitch. I am interested in pros and cons of 401s versus 360s.
 
#24 ·
the 401 should be a direct swap. The AMC V8's are externally identical. Just have to make sure you get the flexplate for the 401 when you pull it.

I've heard good things about the 401's power wise. They are a great engine, just as good and durable as the 360 if properly maintained, and can be built pretty well.

however, take the overheating issues from the 360, and magnify them. I hear 401's run pretty warm, so a good cooling system is important.
 
#25 ·
I think I'll stick with the 360. I read through an interesting thread about changing a cam, intake, and carb on a 360 on the international full sized jeep site under engines. It may answer some or your carboration problems Andrew, if you haven't read through it already. One thing that I notice is that a 1 inch spacer under the carb seems to be a wide spread reccomendation. Eventually, this may happen to my engine. Also, some good info on that carbon canister use and hook up for the gas tank relief.
 
#26 ·
Well I don't have any money for parts, but I thought that I would take a look at the heating situation. The heater core had been bypassed when I bought the pumpkin. my natural asumption was that the heater core leaked. I opened the heater box and pulled out the core and, low and behold, it appears to be a new heater core!. I filled the core with water and it does not seem to leak. I reached inside the heater box and tried to push the inner damper open. It was stuck. I managed to push it free with a little more force and it moves freely now. The old foam coating on the dampers has deteriorated to mush, so I will have to replace that with something. Looking under the dash, the ducting looks like most of it is pretty good. I will pull things apart and look it all over in the near future.
My question to any one out there, especially Marnes the 73 expert, how does a person remove the controls for the air/heater/defrost? I pulled the screws that hold the instument cluster in the dash, but it doesn't really clear the steering column. Do I have to drop the column? I pulled a 1/4 inch screw from the left edge of the cluster and that created a tiny bit more looseness to the controls, but something else is holding them in. The defrost button and the heater button seem to be jamed up. probably nothing a good cleaning and lubrication won't cure.
 
#27 ·
The bad news of the night was that I put my elbow down through the floor boards near the gas pedal. Well no big surprise there, I am from Pennsylvania originally, the land of salted roads so a little floorboard rot doesn't scare me. I do heating and AC for a living so I have some heavy steel panels to cut and patch in with. I wondered where all of the odor was coming from and I'll bet these holes are making a big contribution. I also noticed some missing screws letting daylight in through the firewall that need some attention.
 
#28 ·
I was reading through the thread, and as soon as I scrolled down to the pictures I got a big goofy grin on my face. I love these old things, and I really wish I had the time/space/money to own one! I also love that orange with the stock look that it has. Great find, and I hope you have a lot of fun with it! Good luck.
 
#29 ·
Getting the gauge cluster out DOES require dropping the column. Easy though, just two bolts under there, then let it hang while you remove the cluster.

It's alot easier to reach behind the cluster and unscrew the speedo cable before removing the thing.

Also be careful on the HVAC controls, they are all vacuum controled and you will have to kind of pull out the passenger side of the cluster first, then slide it over and pull out the drivers side to clear the vacuum tubes. Do yourself a favor and put in new tubes while you're in there, it'll cost like 3 dollars and save you some trouble later on.

Also take a GOOOOOD look at your ammeter. Lots of people say the amp meter is the #1 cause of fires in these things. I like seeing the status of my charging system, so i cleaned the posts, nuts, and connectors VERY WELL and put it all back together. If you're worried about it shorting out and cooking your rig, at the very least just put both wires on 1 terminal, that way it's a solid connection and doesnt rely on the internals of the ammeter.

Patch up the floor and keep driving! And dont worry about the firewall, haha, i can see my engine when my glove box is open through a few of the holes. I can smell it too.
 
#30 ·
It is nice to get ecouragement and enthusiasm from all of you people out there. I bought a Chilton manual for the pumpkin yesterday and found it to be very useful and actualy a good read. I have seen some ads for Edelbrock carbs -used- in the local papers lately and may look into them for the future. One ad lists an Edelbrock 780 carb, which does not come up on their cataloge list on their website. I think that it might actually be a Holly carb and just missnamed. They wanted a hundred bucks for it, which might be alright if it was an Edelbrock 750. Anyway, I am looking forward to tinkering on it some more in the future. As I remember, Marnes is a bit of a gun nut. I just got a 45-70 barrel from my gunsmith with the instructions to draw file out the lathe marks where he had turned it down. Then he will polish the barrel and match it to the Martini Henry action I aquired a while back. I'll not be hunting with it this year, but maybe it will be ready next year. Where do you mount the gun rack in a Wagoneer?
 
#31 ·
I dont know much about holley carbs, looked into them alot when I had to replace my busted eddy, but ended upreplacing my eddy 1403 with a 1406, and couldnt be happier.

As for a gun rack, thats DEFINITELY on my list of things to add eventually. I want to fab something to go in one of the rear side windows, and on the opposite side it will have a similar rack for a shovel and axe or what have you.
 
#33 ·
TexTJ209 has/had a gun rack on sale for cheap at IFSJA.org not too long ago... I remember thinking I might buy it, but changed my mind since I always go shooting in my TJ.

Anyhow, his looks like a pretty common universal fit rack. I'll bet you could get something similar at most gun shops, or sporting goods stores.

http://www.ifsja.org/forums/vb/showthread.php?t=141584
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top