StormRider's 77 CJ7 Golden Eagle Restoration.....

[Stormrider]

I just bought this 77 Golden Eagle and I am planning on restoring it real soon so I figured I'd go ahead and start my build thread.

It has a 304 V8, T4, Dana 20, Dana 30. The nice thing about it is that it has a fiberglass tub, hood, and fenders so not to much rust to worry about. The frame is solid....it just has surface rust.

I am on a budget so I will be doing most of the work myself. I do have a good mechanic friend that will help out and let me use the lift at his shop and not charge me and arm and a leg. I also have a buddy that's a retired bodyman that is going to do the paint job for me cheap.

The first thing that I am going to do is pressure wash the HELL out of it! It has mud and dirt everywhere. I plan on cleaning up the motor, painting it, and replacing whatever is needed. I will also redo the whole interior, since it doesn't have much.....at least nothing that I can reuse. I also plan on replacing the lift kit since the one on it now is pretty worn out. Last thing would probably be getting it painted. Not sure if I am sticking with the same white/black combo or going with another color. With whatever color, I am going to keep the Golden Eagle theme though so I guess there goes $300 bucks at least for those decals.

Here are some pictures of it for now. I will post more as I start on it. I welcome all comments or suggestions since I am kind of new at this restoring thing. Wish me luck.....

StormRider ....AkA.... Louie.

[oldguy]

Nice find there Louie! I've never found a 77 Jeep in that kinda shape, most of mine come home in boxes on a trailer. I'd probably pick up a couple of seats a drive it for a while. Again nice find and keep us posted.

OG

[Stormrider]

Originally Posted by oldguy Nice find there Louie! I've never found a 77 Jeep in that kinda shape, most of mine come home in boxes on a trailer. I'd probably pick up a couple of seats a drive it for a while. Again nice find and keep us posted. OG

Thanks OG! I've been looking for awhile all over NC and SC and I guess the waiting paid off. I priced just the fiberglass parts and it's around 5k. So I guess I got a great deal considering that I paid $3300 for a CJ that runs. I did think about just putting in seats and driving it, but since my kids will be in it alot this summer and I am going to drive it 4 hours to Carolina Beach at least a few times this summer, I decided to go ahead a make it look and runs as good as possible. It will be my daily driver for at least 6 months out of the years and I won't be doing any offroading....just cruising on the sandy beach.

[elwood blues]

Originally Posted by Stormrider ~ ~ I am going to keep the Golden Eagle theme though so I guess there goes $300 bucks at least for those decals. ~ ~

Sweet, another golden eagle owner , glad to hear you're going to keep the hood turkey. Welcome to the site.

[Stormrider]

Originally Posted by elwood blues Sweet, another golden eagle owner , glad to hear you're going to keep the hood turkey. Welcome to the site.

Yeah I have decided to keep the bird and thanks for the welcome. Very cool forum with lots of knowledge.

[Stormrider]

Well, yesterday after I pulled the Jeep into the shop to check out the compression I couldn't get to start. Checked it out and it wasn't getting spark to the wires but the coil was getting spark. I pulled out the dizzy and found that the gear on it was beat up pretty bad. Anyways, I guess I'll go ahead and order an HEI distributor to put in it. Was going to replace it anyways. I may have some questions for you guys when the time comes.


I also looked inside and noticed that there was water in the oil so I guess it's got a bad head gasket. Either way, I was going to go through that motor and clean it and paint it. I will pull the heads and send them off to get cleaned up and inspected.

I am not too crazy about the 2 barrel carburetor that is on it right now. It seems like the PO had it locked on wide open therefore making not run right on cold start. I am not sure if I want to spend the money on putting on an intake manifold and 4 barrel right now though. What do you guys think?

[elwood blues]

From what little bit of the carb you can see under the air cleaner, I don't think that's the OEM carb. AMC used a Motorcraft 2100, that looks like a Holley 2300 series.

Holley 2300


Motorcraft 2100


They're an aweful lot alike, but they're also a lot different. The first thing I noticed was the fuel bowl, it's the dead giveaway that it's a Holley carb.

You don't have to buy a whole new manifold to put on a 4 barrell carb, just get an adapter. Summit or Jegs have the best variety.





I remember reading somewhere about the teeth on the dizzy gears getting eaten up by the cam, but I don't remember what the cause was or what the solution was. Something about bronze gears for the dizzy. And because I have a L6, not a V8, I didn't pay it a lot of attention, hopefully someone will kick in the answer, becuase I don't remember.

[Stormrider]

Thanks for the info on the carb Elwood. Yeah mine is definately a Holley 2300. I will look into the adapter for the carb. I don't have to replace it not but it's something to think about in the near future. About the gear on the dizzy, I guess if I put the new dizzy in and the gear get tore up again then I will look into it.

[CJ]

Originally Posted by Stormrider Well, yesterday after I pulled the Jeep into the shop to check out the compression I couldn't get to start. Checked it out and it wasn't getting spark to the wires but the coil was getting spark. I pulled out the dizzy and found that the gear on it was beat up pretty bad. Anyways, I guess I'll go ahead and order an HEI distributor to put in it. Was going to replace it anyways. I may have some questions for you guys when the time comes. Attachment 4548Attachment 4549 I also looked inside and noticed that there was water in the oil so I guess it's got a bad head gasket. Either way, I was going to go through that motor and clean it and paint it. I will pull the heads and send them off to get cleaned up and inspected. I am not too crazy about the 2 barrel carburetor that is on it right now. It seems like the PO had it locked on wide open therefore making not run right on cold start. I am not sure if I want to spend the money on putting on an intake manifold and 4 barrel right now though. What do you guys think?

Be care full with replacement distributors for the V8. The gears can cause all kinds of problems.

Here is some great reading on this common problem. -->> About distributor gear wear (UPDATED!!)

And a good matched set of gears. -->> Matched Set of Gears

[Stormrider]

Originally Posted by CJ Be care full with replacement distributors for the V8. The gears can cause all kinds of problems. Here is some great reading on this common problem. -->> About distributor gear wear (UPDATED!!) And a good matched set of gears. -->> Matched Set of Gears

Thanks for the info CJ! So do you think that I would be ok as long as I replace the cam gear that is in it right now and the new distributor gear with the gear set that you posted? As far as everything else internal, I guess it's all stock.

I am sure that I am not the first one to say this but it looks like I am going to exceed my original budget BIG TIME!