[EchoWars]

The T86 can (could?) be rebuilt with T90 guts and is on par with it strength wise.

Didn't know that.

As far as the T14, I've seen a shopping cart full of failed boxes over the years (2 of them were mine). It's good to know there are still hard parts available as the last one I saw broken (about ten years ago) was unrepairable due to a lack of a countershaft (all of the failures I have seen included the countershaft), but I didn't check with Novak so perhaps they still have a stock of the cluster gears.

Novak gets cluster gears on an infrequent basis, but they do seem to find them when necessary. But there's no way I'd rebuild my T14 if I killed it again. Nope...T18 here I come.>

 

[jeepdaddy2000]

Didn't know that.Novak gets cluster gears on an infrequent basis, but they do seem to find them when necessary. But there's no way I'd rebuild my T14 if I killed it again. Nope...T18 here I come.>

LOL
Been there done that.....
The T18 will mate to the early GM BOP bellhousing (minus the adapter) with a couple of mods. I had to fill in the webbing on the bottom of the BH, then drill the BH and transmission case (then threaded it) and run the two bottom mounting bolts from the inside.

Used Ford T18 transmission housing and guts mounted on a scout mainshaft. Centered a stock Scout transfer case adapter plate on the housing and drilled/tapped the mounting holes.

I also had to turn down the input bearing retainer to fit the BH opening and the end of the input to match the stock pilot bearing.

Overall length was about 3/4" longer than the stock T14 with the adapter (a big deal for a CJ application).

 

[Kim'sJeep]

Ok guy's, just got back from picking up the Jeepster. Here are some pics. And yes, it has a V6 emblem. Only on the passenger side though?



Kind of rough. LOL







You can see someone patched it in a few places. Also needs more patches. LOL













Love the hitch.


This reflector appears to have been made to go in this location. What goes in the holes below?















So, the plan as of right now is to first take it to the car wash and blast it. LOL Then we will bring it back home and my first thing I would like to fix is the doors. They will not stay shut. One of them has a bound up inside door handle and I really don't know what is going on with the other. The window on the driver door also doesn't roll up all the way. Once I can get it so the rain will somewhat stay out of it, I will move onto other things.

 

[HAZCAT]

The 72 model year (Sept and later of 71) was the crossover year when AMC took control and changed over to the AMC engines up and down the model lines. This precipitated the different grill in the Commando.

They also changed the frame, steering, axles, and other odds and ends.

For obvious reasons, AMC wanted to install it's own engines in these platforms. While the discontinuation of the F head wasn't a loss, Selling the rights to the 225 and 350 back to Buick, IMHO, was.

That's mostly true....72 was when AMC started really flexing its muscle but 1969 was when they started the process and take over of Kaiser. First they wanted to work with Kaiser and gave them like $75 million and stock in the AMC company. Which concerned many AMC board members as that gave Kaiser himself controlling stock interest in AMC and a seat on the board but Kaiser had no interest in taking over the company and no board seat. AMC first left things alone and the Jeeps were still Kaiser. Then in 1970 the buyout was complete and they renamed Kaiser to "Jeep Corporation" and a wholly owned subsidiary of AMC though 1970 Jeeps still say Kaiser on them (mine does). In 1971, AMC started the change and were prepared for the new AMC Jeep in 1972 which got the longer front clip for their motors.

So yes '72 was the visible start of the AMC Jeep but December 2 1969 was the day they took over the direction. 1970 They took over control. 1971 they took over full control of the factory and retooling. 1972 started rolling out their "official" version of the Jeep.

The 225 is a peppy little odd fire motor but get rid of the oil bath air cleaner which is "cool original" but not real good as an air cleaner. My 225 CJ6 has side pipes on it. One side of the Jeep it sounds like a normal Jeep idling and on the other side you can hear the odd fire and sounds like it is missing a beat. Quirky but cool for sure.

 

[HAZCAT]

And....is that a 1955 Chevy Bel Aire in the background in that one picture? Did you get that too? My dad bought one when he and mom came back from being stationed in Germany in the 60s and we still have it in the family...

 

[HAZCAT]

It looks like the top taillight was raised up perhaps????

 

[JoonHoss]

And....is that a 1955 Chevy Bel Aire in the background in that one picture? ...

That's a '54...

Hoss

 

[Kim'sJeep]

That's a '54...

Hoss

Yah, it's a 54 and no, didn't want it. We brought it to CA for her. It is currently at her warehouse. I think it is going to be for sale, but not sure when and for what. It was her late hubby's first car that he drove to high school when he lived in Mississippi. Still has MI plates. They are historical plates so it is actually still registered. I doubt the motor in any good in it though, for that matter, I doubt the motor is any good in the Jeepster either. We do plan on pouring some tanny fluid down the spark plug holes and let it sit in there for a bit, then try to turn it over.

New plan for the Jeepster. Hubby wants to do an off body restoration to the frame. So we need to sell a VW single cab pickup to get it off the lift, then we can put the Jeepster on it. Need to make it so the VW is rollable first, then I will put it up for sale. It's just to far gone, and hubby just doesn't want to deal with it. Besides, I'm into Jeeps now. LOL I'd rather have the Jeepster going then the single cab.

 

[Kim'sJeep]

It looks like the top taillight was raised up perhaps????

Yah, don't understand why they did that. I will be moving them back down to where the are supposed to go. I plan on staying somewhat stock, but not totally. Willing to change things like the motor and tranny, but not too much on the body. Also want to lift it one day.

Speaking of motors. What motors can bolt to the tranny? Honestly, I don't know what one is in it as of yet. I do know it is a stick. You guy's can see the pics above, what motor is it? I think it is the 225. At least that is what it looks like the tag on the radiator support says.

We are thinking of maybe trying to put a small V8 in it. Will some sort of small V8 work??

 

[EchoWars]

Speaking of motors. What motors can bolt to the tranny? Honestly, I don't know what one is in it as of yet. I do know it is a stick. You guy's can see the pics above, what motor is it? I think it is the 225. At least that is what it looks like the tag on the radiator support says.

We are thinking of maybe trying to put a small V8 in it. Will some sort of small V8 work??

The motor is almost certainly a 225 odd-fire V6 mated to a Borg-Warner T14A with a Dana 20 transfer case. Front axle will be a Dana 27, but the rear axle could be either a Dana 30 or a Dana 44. You already know what I think of the D30 if you read my earlier post.

The V6 is about the perfect engine for a Jeepster or CJ, and the 225 V6 can be rebuilt...parts are available for about any part of the motor. But...if my own 225 needed replacing I'd be shopping for a late '70/early 80's 231 even-fire motor. Nice advantages to the 231 even fire, such as roller lifters, better cam selection, better rod and pistons available, fuel injection, and entire forums devoted to the Buick V6 motor (minus the turbo). And it's a bolt in swap.

https://www.novak-adapt.com/knowledge/engines/swap-guides/chevy-buick-gm/commando-jeepster-gm-swap/

There's tons of good info on the Novak website, but that there is a good start.

Manual Saginaw steering!. :grin2: I'd love to see more pics of the Saginaw box and how it's mounted, and a few of the steering shaft (please, if you get a chance...that setup is pretty uncommon and is what i'd love to duplicate).

 

[Kim'sJeep]

Manual Saginaw steering. :grin2: I'd love to see more pics of the Saginaw box and how it's mounted, and a few of the steering shaft (please, if you get a chance...that setup is pretty uncommon and is what i'd love to duplicate).

Is manual Saginaw steering good or bad? I will take pics if it isn't raining after I get of work tomorrow.

 

[EchoWars]

The Saginaw box is the de-facto standard bit of steering kit for 90% of the vehicles on the road in the 60's and 70's & later. Sportier cars got rack & pinion, but the Saginaw is a good, tough unit and beats the hell out of the Ross steering box that the earlier CJ's and Jeepsters were equipped with. Only thing better would have been if it was a power box instead of manual (unless yours is a power box and some dunderhead threw away the pump and the bracket, which would make steering a real chore).

The Saginaw also allows an easier conversion to hydraulic clutch, and for adding headers (if you were so inclined). Models with the Ross steering had the same exhaust manifold on both heads, so the drivers side exited to the front in order to clear the steering box (and why you see vintage Jeep guys always looking for a drivers-side rear exit exhaust manifold, just like the one on your Commando, so they can convert to Saginaw steering & the rest).

 

[EchoWars]

I will take pics if it isn't raining after I get of work tomorrow.

No hurry. Wait till it's nice out. But thanks!

 

[Kim'sJeep]

Here's some pics of the steering.










That's about as good as I could get of the steering box. It's still on the trailer so chains are in my way. We are going to take it to a car wash before we take it off the trailer. I was hoping to get to it yesterday but go to busy. Hopefully this weekend we can run it over there. I would like to putter with it a bit, and it's hard to walk around the edges of the trailer. LOL

 

[Kim'sJeep]

Today after work, since it was so nice and sunny out, I went and puttered a bit on the Jeepster. I got some Deep Creep and went to work on lubing some of the bolts and hinges and all. The hood hinges are pretty stiff so I loaded them up with Deep Creep several times. I kind of worked them back and forth a bit, but now I am just letting the deep creep, creep. LOL

I found these 3 screws in the driver side fender under the hood. What did they hold at one time?



This is the passenger door hinge area. Am I missing a rod to hold the door from swinging too far?



Looks like I need a gas pedal. LOL



I'm hoping to be able to bend that bottom piece back up to try to fix the hole for the radio.



Found these 3 holes in the trunk area. What do they hold? Spare tire bracket or something?



Finally figured out how to open the tail gate. Wasn't to hard once I figured out there were bolts keeping the latches from opening. LOL





I also Deep Creeped the passenger door innards. The window and the inside door handle are frozen solid. I sprayed as much as I could up inside it. Hoping it will start to loosen it up. I tried to take the door handle and window crank handle off, but can't figure out how they come off. I took the screws out and thought I would be able to just kind of walk them off the post, but they didn't budge. Is there another pin or something holding them on? I can't see past the rubber gaskets that are on them.

That is all I got accomplished today.

 

[JoonHoss]

Can't help you with most of your 'today' questions, but...

... I'd be remiss if I didn't acknowledge those sweet-a** Captain America door straps!

Hoss

 

[jeepdaddy2000]

That is indeed a Saginaw manual steering box. Congratulations. The Ross unit is poor at best.



You can keep the existing box or source a pump and brackets for a power steering upgrade.


Rust is a real issue on these rigs and yours seems to have more than it's share. It is especially prevalent around the rear wheelwells and the tailgate area(as you can see). I see there has been some patching back there. Take a good look at the area to insure it is solid or repairable. In fact, take a hard look at the entire body and work up a repair/cost sheet to see insure you want to invest in getting it back on the road. You can use a screwdriver and try to punch through any suspect areas. If it goes through, you're gonna have to repair/replace that spot. Unlike mechanical issues, body work takes a LOT of time and in some cases, can't be repaired without extensive fabrication. Just something to think about before investing money in the engine, brakes, axles, etc, just to hit a bump and have a door fall off..........

 

[CSP]

None of those mystery holes are factory holes. Prior owners would have to know what they were used for.

If a hole looks drilled, having a raised edge around the circumference, someone drilled it. The factory holes were punched, not drilled.

 

[EchoWars]

Holes are factory (I see five of them). The four towards the front are for the mounting of the 1/2 cab hardtop (pickup style):

When the back seat is installed, the outer two holes are for bolting it down, and the inner two are unused (the two inner ones are filled with silicone seal on my Commando).

The two towards the rear are for the spare tire mount. All the holes are backed with a welded, captive nut on the underside.

 

[Kim'sJeep]

Holes are factory (I see five of them). The four towards the front are for the mounting of the 1/2 cab hardtop (pickup style):

When the back seat is installed, the outer two holes are for bolting it down, and the inner two are unused (the two inner ones are filled with silicone seal on my Commando).

The two towards the rear are for the spare tire mount. All the holes are backed with a welded, captive nut on the underside.

I was wondering where the spare tire was supposed to go. Thanks for the info.

Anyone have pics of one. Would like to put mine where it was supposed to go originally.