Build Thread 40 years in the making. A boyhood dream.

[CJ RIGGS]

Forty years ago I was perusing a used car lot looking for my first car. I spotted a 40 something Willy's, medium blue with a white canvas top. They wanted $2,800 for it. Dang. That was almost the cost of a new car. Needless to say, I did,not buy it.
Then life got in the way and my dream was put on the back burner.
Fast forward to last September. My good friend who had an 82 CJ sitting in his garage since 91, called and asked if I wanted it. I asked, how much? He gave me an offer I couldn't refuse. "$2.00" he said. And buy me a Margarita everytime we go to dinner!
I've spent the last 8 months taking to the frame. Now the fun begins. Painting the frame. And putting it back together.

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[Belizean]

Pretty good price unless you go out several times a week !

 

[hole]

I'll give you $4.00 and a 36 pack of beer for her

 

[Belizean]

I'll give you $4.00 and a 36 pack of beer for her

I'm in at $10 and 3 cases !

 

[CJ RIGGS]

I'm in at $10 and 3 cases !

What!? No one going to throw in a box of cigars?

 

[gert]

lol what the heck i will throw in the cigars

 

[Belizean]

What!? No one going to throw in a box of cigars?

I figured Texas was getting a little like Cali and maybe you guys couldn't even light up anything these days..........

 

[CJ RIGGS]

I figured Texas was getting a little like Cali and maybe you guys couldn't even light up anything these days..........

LOL... The only thing Cali in Texas is Cali-ber, as in 44 magnum. The most powerful handgun in the world.... Now did I shoot 5 round, or 6 ;-)

 

[CJ RIGGS]

Over the weekend, I finished stripping the frame. A little black smithing, grinding and cleaning and it was ready for paint.

Put on a couple coats of Por-15 and 4 cans of Rust-O-leum rattle can and....vouala..... I have a blank canvas to start my new build.

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[ablaz812]

cool build good job

 

[CJ RIGGS]

Spent the weekend rebuilding the steering box...7 hours of dis-assembly, cleaning, painting and re-assembly. Don't know if I would do it again, but it sure was enlightening

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[gert]

LOL it was fun for me as well but heck you can get a rebuilt one with a warranty on it for $100 almost worth paying the money, your box looks nice and clean now, have you thought about drilling and taping it for the rock ram?

 

[CJ RIGGS]

LOL it was fun for me as well but heck you can get a rebuilt one with a warranty on it for $100 almost worth paying the money, your box looks nice and clean now, have you thought about drilling and taping it for the rock ram?

LOL....No. But Now that I know what it is (Thanks Youtube) I sure wished I would have. but I'm not going to dis-assemble it now. Thanks for the heads up though.

 

[gert]

LOL....No. But Now that I know what it is (Thanks Youtube) I sure wished I would have. but I'm not going to dis-assemble it now. Thanks for the heads up though.

No worries, it can be done later while it’s assembled if you are careful with the chips, if you even want to do it, I did mine just Incase I got a rock Ram and plugged the holes with pipe plugs for now


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[CJ RIGGS]

Brown Santa showed up on my door step. 2-1/2" BDS lift kit.....minus one rear leaf . Started disassembly of the Dana 30. Doing seals, bearings ball joints, tie rod ends and brake rebuild.

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[CJ RIGGS]

It's been slow going. Spent all of my jeep money on cataract surgery. I've started the disassembly of the Dana 30 and buying parts that will need replaced. Next step is to pull the gears to replace the inner seals. And let me tell you. I'm not looking forward to it. I found water inside the diff. Luckily ther was no rust on the gears. I'm struggling, trying to talk myself into waiting and buy a different ratio. Maybe 3:54s. I want a decent highway speed with 31s to 33s. In Texas you'll get run over if you're not hitting 65'70 mph.

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[gert]

man they are all over my butt everywhere i drive my Jeep, even when i hit 65 on I30 someone was on my tail....... i just thought about maybe i should install a fog machine for em lol


its sure hard to wait to buy all the parts before you start installing stuff

at least now you can see how bad you Jeep really is lol

 

[CJ RIGGS]

man they are all over my butt everywhere i drive my Jeep, even when i hit 65 on I30 someone was on my tail....... i just thought about maybe i should install a fog machine for em lol





its sure hard to wait to buy all the parts before you start installing stuff



at least now you can see how bad you Jeep really is lol

Everything I touch reinforces the need to go through every detail.

I usually buy parts as I take it apart. It's easier on my wife's psyche if she sees smaller denominations on the receipts. I just wasnt ready to drop the extra cash on 2 new ring & pinions sets.

When I'm on I-30, I get passed doing 80 like im sitting still.

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[CJ RIGGS]

Spent the last week working on the Dana 30. Removed the spider gears (after recording the play). Removed the inner seals (so I thought). I watched a Dana 30 rebuild. Guy popped out the seals. Little did I know that he left the seal cups in there. Took me a while to figure out why my new seals didnt fit. Marked and removed the yolk and pinion assembly. And now cleaning everything out.

I bought Moog ball joints and so far, removed the old ones from the knuckles. A little clean up and paint and those will be done this weekend.

Found one of the spring pads messed up. I expect that was done when the PO yanked it from the water hole it died in. Took it to work and had one of the welders fill it for me. Then I ground it off flush and re-drilled the hole.

I expect to have the diff put back together this weekend....and then onto the AMC20..

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[Project86]

man they are all over my butt everywhere i drive my Jeep, even when i hit 65 on I30 someone was on my tail....... i just thought about maybe i should install a fog machine for em lol


its sure hard to wait to buy all the parts before you start installing stuff

at least now you can see how bad you Jeep really is lol

65 heck yeah! I had a tailwind bordering on gale force today on my return trip from Bacliff and hit 65. Thought I was ripping it up until I passed by a Coke truck. I hit the blinker and went home the backroads. I was driving my daughters jeep back from a inspection. Had I been in my rig...