Wheeling Colorado Springs with Bill D
Posi
Always Off-Roading Jeeper
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- Location
- New England
- Vehicle(s)
- 54 Willys 3B, FI 401, T-18, ARB Locked, Hinkey Sidewinder Winch
Enjoyed a few days of wheeling with Bill D, Carol, and Rad last week in his neck of the woods. I also had a chance to look over my new 71 I purchased last October 31st, Bill and Carol were kind enough to pick it up for me.
The PO purchased the Jeep from his friend 1995 had some upgrades installed as well. This 71 came stock with a 225 Dauntless T14/D18/Warn Overdrive and 4.88 gears. The front axle was upgraded from the D27 to a Dana 30 disc, 4.88 and truss added. Full cage, power steering (done right), tilt, 2.5 springs, 33” tires, full Detroit rear, and Limited slip front.
It also came with a boat load of parts:
New HEI distributor, New ignition wires (8mm), SM465 4-speed, a few brake M/C, extra front axle shafts, metal plate already cut for boxing the frame, nerf bars, 225 engine, a few distributors, new filters and gaskets, and a few gallons of gear and motor oil.
The ad was only 20 mins old when I found it and called. The seller told me he has owned it for over 20 years and it has been sitting in his garage for the last 5 years unused. He was moving and everything had to go. I had the seller send me a video of the engine running, although the engine idled well I noticed when it hit the gas there was a hesitation. After chatting a bit he agreed to sell me the Jeep for 2k under his asking price. The only thing I didn't prefer on the Jeep was the outside the frame headers and racing seats.
Anytime a Jeep sits for 5 years it will need some attention, when I arrived at Bill's house we dug right into it. The engine started right up and seems to idle fine. When we took it for a test ride there was no power. The distributor and wires looked to be new, (I'm thinking he added them before selling). I added new plugs and checked the dwell, it was way off. I also checked the ignition wires and they were in the wrong terminal on the distributor cap. It was a wonder it ran as good as it did.
I decided to start from scratch, found TDC, pulled the distributor and wires and installed everything in the correct order. I tried to set the dwell and couldn't nail it at 30° once I got close it would jump, turns out the ignition points plate was worn. I tried to make the points distributor work to save time and get out on the trail, but made a decision to install the new HEI.
To remove the distributor bolt I made a tool so I didn't have to remove the power steering pump which saved time. After grinding off a bit of the intake manifold, and sanding down the two machined sections of the distributor shaft I was able to slide in the larger HEI. The engine fired right up and idled smoothly for an odd fire. The test ride was improved the power still wasn't where it needed to be. I figured it would need a carb rebuild and later after looking through the parts I found what was left of a carb rebuild kit and a receipt from 1996, 20 years, yup needs a rebuild. I believe the power loss is from the power valve in the carb, it's a power piston that works on engine vacuum and needs to move freely. I'm guessing it's gummed up.
A special thanks to Bill D, Carol, Rad, and 007 who stop by to visit, and help with the diff fluids.
Found this Mule Buck outside Bill's house on Friday morning while working on the Jeep.
Anyways, lets get to wheeling. Enjoy!
The PO purchased the Jeep from his friend 1995 had some upgrades installed as well. This 71 came stock with a 225 Dauntless T14/D18/Warn Overdrive and 4.88 gears. The front axle was upgraded from the D27 to a Dana 30 disc, 4.88 and truss added. Full cage, power steering (done right), tilt, 2.5 springs, 33” tires, full Detroit rear, and Limited slip front.
It also came with a boat load of parts:
New HEI distributor, New ignition wires (8mm), SM465 4-speed, a few brake M/C, extra front axle shafts, metal plate already cut for boxing the frame, nerf bars, 225 engine, a few distributors, new filters and gaskets, and a few gallons of gear and motor oil.
The ad was only 20 mins old when I found it and called. The seller told me he has owned it for over 20 years and it has been sitting in his garage for the last 5 years unused. He was moving and everything had to go. I had the seller send me a video of the engine running, although the engine idled well I noticed when it hit the gas there was a hesitation. After chatting a bit he agreed to sell me the Jeep for 2k under his asking price. The only thing I didn't prefer on the Jeep was the outside the frame headers and racing seats.
Anytime a Jeep sits for 5 years it will need some attention, when I arrived at Bill's house we dug right into it. The engine started right up and seems to idle fine. When we took it for a test ride there was no power. The distributor and wires looked to be new, (I'm thinking he added them before selling). I added new plugs and checked the dwell, it was way off. I also checked the ignition wires and they were in the wrong terminal on the distributor cap. It was a wonder it ran as good as it did.
I decided to start from scratch, found TDC, pulled the distributor and wires and installed everything in the correct order. I tried to set the dwell and couldn't nail it at 30° once I got close it would jump, turns out the ignition points plate was worn. I tried to make the points distributor work to save time and get out on the trail, but made a decision to install the new HEI.
To remove the distributor bolt I made a tool so I didn't have to remove the power steering pump which saved time. After grinding off a bit of the intake manifold, and sanding down the two machined sections of the distributor shaft I was able to slide in the larger HEI. The engine fired right up and idled smoothly for an odd fire. The test ride was improved the power still wasn't where it needed to be. I figured it would need a carb rebuild and later after looking through the parts I found what was left of a carb rebuild kit and a receipt from 1996, 20 years, yup needs a rebuild. I believe the power loss is from the power valve in the carb, it's a power piston that works on engine vacuum and needs to move freely. I'm guessing it's gummed up.
A special thanks to Bill D, Carol, Rad, and 007 who stop by to visit, and help with the diff fluids.
Found this Mule Buck outside Bill's house on Friday morning while working on the Jeep.
Anyways, lets get to wheeling. Enjoy!
Last edited:
does Posi owe you? :laugh: