84 Grand Wagoneer Revival

[devildog80]

Body damage......besides paint

20220515_161316 by Scott Weckerly, on Flickr

20220515_161331 by Scott Weckerly, on Flickr

20220515_161342 by Scott Weckerly, on Flickr

20220515_161304 by Scott Weckerly, on Flickr

20220515_161255 by Scott Weckerly, on Flickr

20220515_161248 by Scott Weckerly, on Flickr

[SOLSAKS]

nice rig, I like the gold wagoneers

[devildog80]

Thanks

Got lucky with the "champagne" color is what it comes up as!

Lots of fun ahead for sure

[devildog80]

Update

Been tickling the wiring now for 2 weekends, and still no start.....UGH!

Fuel tank still off, pending parts so just using the existing 2150 carb, filled the bowl, and no leaks.

We can hear fuel injecting into carb throats when throttle worked, so might be worth rebuilding, as it is an altitude compensator carb. Would be nice to have it going from home and up the mountains camping.

Did full trouble shooting steps on MSD system, and unable to get spark at coil. Backtracked and found 12V, then set to verify wiring to MSD.

Irregular readings and having to jiggle the key while testing, as voltage was jumping between 9 and 12V.....UGH.

Finally switched out MSD for OEM ECM/coil, and plugged back into OEM harness.

No change.....still voltage dropping, so next step is to pull under dash A/C out, and pull start switch connectors off. Clean up contact points and see what happens with voltage.

20220522_080245 by Scott Weckerly, on Flickr

20220522_080257 by Scott Weckerly, on Flickr

[cu4whln]

Hmm - Just a thought....

Is the original "Resistance" wire still in place?

Stock ign runs on 9 volts on purpose.

Only get 12v during crank starts

[devildog80]

There is a resistance wire on the battery side of the solenoid, and it checks as good, and wired to coil.

We picked up a new OEM coil, and it is one that does not clarify to use a resistor or not, so we wired one in. Getting 9V to resistor input, but only 3V on output to the coil.

Have the 1984 schematic (V8) and printed ECM wiring directions, Mongo228's CJ7 he just went through the same thing, where he tore out the HEI and went back to ECM.

We have this wired the same as that, but still working with 1 or 2 splices the PO had in the path (so might need to do something there), but connections confirmed correct per schematic print.

Another point, we have 12.7V engine side of ECM plugs, but thinking we might have a **battery issue. Pulled from another truck, and battery only a year old, but the other truck would bleed the battery down with all the electronic crap in it.

Going to take the battery to store and have it tested. Voltage is 12.7, but cranking it struggles. Could be our weak link we are overlooking?

**Battery from 2007 Blazer that tags are expired and never gets driven. My dad had to leave it here when he flew back to ND a couple years ago, and said he was coming down last year to get it, so I bought a new battery for it. He was unable to make the trip, but still no tags. It sits!

Next step.....drop A/C vent under column, and clean up start switch.

Saw a note on another thread to look for ampmeter wiring when under there, as it could be a problem later.

[rang-a-stang]

Dang! That's a killer! tough one for sure. Are you getting a pickup signal from the dizzy? the connecters and wires at the distributor are known to fail, too.

[devildog80]

Come to think of it......we did not check that.

PO left all the OEM wiring in, so we plugged ECM and distributor in, then focused on PS fender connections etc.

Will check that to be sure it works.

Thanks

[devildog80]

Thoughts from "jaber" from another thread

The drivers side air duct comes off separate from the rest of the unit. Sometimes loosening the 2 bolts that hold column bracket to dash helps. While under the dash look up at the back of the instrument panel, your 84 will have an Amp meter. Check to see if the 2 large main feed wires are on the SAME lug. If they are on separate lugs then the Amp meter might be part of the problem. There have been stories about them burning Jeeps down.

[rang-a-stang]

Good call! I replaced the ammeter in my Cherk a while ago with a Volt meter. Used this write up and it went dramafree:
http://ifsja.org/forums/vb/showthread.php?t=150396

[devildog80]

Good to have additional info, as gauge cluster needs to drop out for cleaning/repair, and would be a good time for that work.

Thanks

[devildog80]

Here is an "81 Grand Wagoneer, the same color as my '84, with the Rhino Grill.

I want to do this to mine.

a9e4331d73bfc6223d351531f1a63e91 by Scott Weckerly, on Flickr

[rang-a-stang]

I just watched a Rhino grill sell for $753 on Fleabay last week.
This one
It's more work than you think to swap to a rhino; when you remove your grill, you should remove all the brackets that are spot welded. There will also probably be a ton of creases in the sheet metal at the bottom, the hood arch around the top is not quite the same either (the arch is much more graceful on our later rigs than the older rigs) and when you put a Rhino in there it leaves some gaps.

I have to be honest, I like Rhino's but think they are a little over rated. I think a clean Pignose like yours is unique and one of my Favs.
Here is where I rebuilt by pignose... twice.
http://www.ifsja.org/forums/vb/showthread.php?t=181892

[devildog80]

Yes, thoughts to be mulled around in the gray matter.....

As far as I know, without micro inspecting my current grill, it is only peeling off the top of the nose with no other damage noted.

Will check it better, to see if it is in as good of shape as I suspect, and really not opposed to keeping the original grill, but the Rhino does look nice too.

Definitely want a couple of the 401 emblems, and like the mount along the hood.

[devildog80]

Another option I am thinking about, for the hood that is.

I live in the desert, with summer temps 110*+ at times, so cooling is priority above most other functions, when enjoying our builds here at that time of year.

Thinking of adding a low profile reversed hood vent, for hot air flow out of the engine compartment.

As trail speeds vary from a crawl to what....20-30 mph tops for very short distance, I want something to allow gravity venting of heat from the engine bay.

Most trail drives with my CJ5, I never get out of 4 low, but the Wagoneer has a lot more engine and congestion in the engine bay to limit air flow.

Not concerned at higher speeds, just slow trail speeds to allow better cooling.

Prefer metal over ABS or plastic.