1985 J20 Project Restore/Build

[lunchbox1671]

You can buy universal cab lights.

I really like the big 3 automakers and their pickups. I think they are great. However, they are nothing special. Every time someone mentions classic car, people will say "57 Chevy?"

Jeep helped form this country just like any other automaker here, and the older models are becoming more and more rare. True hot-rodders/restoration enthusiasts/etc who have been doing it a long time will LOVE your jeep.

Hang out with the older guys/instructor and don't let your classmates get the best of you. Keep an open mind about their stuff, too, so you will come across as a mature person. It sounds like your classmates have a LOOONNG way to go before they mature into good mechanics...

[GrCherokeeL]

Keep up the good work! Pretty soon your buddy with the chevy will lose admiration as your J-truck transforms into a much more unique and intriguing vehicle...

He will hear "nice chevy" and you will hear "wow, what is that?!" or "holy cow, you never see those around anymore!!"

I know too many Chevy guys, the ones in my class just say bad things about Jeeps because they know it upsets me pretty fast.

But the guy with the classic Chevy...oh yeah. He knows my J20 is a lot better then his truck.

Not once has he ever stepped up close to my truck to take a peek at it, but mine is a 3/4 ton 4wd while his is a stepside 2wd that is being restored just for a show truck/daily driver. Not a work truck.


Out of any Chevy, I really admired a good friend of mines truck. He has a 2002 Chevy Silverado 1500HD, that was the one truck that could stop me for a moment while I worked on my Jeep.

But lately that truck is seeing its fourth transmission, it has a huge surround sound system you see in little cars, GPS, and a new air filter that isn't stock.

My love for that truck is starting to go down, I liked it because it was original and because its a work horse. But after seeing it be transformed into a truck of "High Performance", loud and noisy with music...

I'm looking more at my J20 and appreciating it for at least still being original for how old it is.

Although...the thought of Chevy cab lights does seem to catch my interest. If I put those on my truck, I'd stop staring at the Chevy all together haha

I'll be working on the truck some more tomorrow.

[lunchbox1671]

Keep up the good work! Pretty soon your buddy with the chevy will lose admiration as your J-truck transforms into a much more unique and intriguing vehicle...

He will hear "nice chevy" and you will hear "wow, what is that?!" or "holy cow, you never see those around anymore!!"

[GrCherokeeL]

First day back at college, and of course while my automotive teacher was looking up information on a Jeep in front of the whole class, just to make me happy since I'm the only girl in class. One of the guys of course said the only reason the teacher brought a Jeep up, was because I was the one asking the most questions because I have a bad vehicle.

I didn't snap like I usually do, because the guy thinks he's awesome just because he owns a classic chevy truck that needs work.

Instead I kept quiet and thought to myself, "He may have a classic, but I have a Legend."

So after class I went to work on my truck and got the front fenders on.

[GrCherokeeL]

Today I took good pictures of my 3 Jeeps...









Perfectly good roof rack





Front seats



Rear seats





All the tires that were in the back of the Waggy



Emblems, I was pretty upset over the one that was on the hood. That along with the driver's side fender, grille and the piece behind the grille got smashed and bent up



Another set of headlights..



Some light pieces, two are still on the waggy. Bolts were stripped so not sure how to get them off without breaking them.



I took this off even though it was broken, because it looked cool



Rear floor mats, and sun visors




Otherwise, I've looked over the towing package, found a spare tire underneath. And the gas tank is new, that's a plus since the one on my truck needs to be replaced anyways. Still trying to get the mud flaps off the Waggy as well.

[GrCherokeeL]

Picked up the Grand Wagoneer today, it took a little work to get it exactly where I wanted, but tomorrow morning I will begin the process of taking off as many parts that I can

Here are a few pictures



Final Edition FSJ Grille, outer piece was broken so I'll check to see if the one on my truck will work since I'm buying a different outer piece for my truck that says "Jeep" on it



One piece of the rear wheels, it needs cleaning. All I have is the two rear wheels, I'll check in the morning to see if the front ones are in the back of the Waggy.



Found this on the passenger side



And now I've got 3

[lunchbox1671]

It's a lot of work, but it will be good practice for you!

[GrCherokeeL]

Buying the Grand Wagoneer next Wednesday or Thursday, then I'll start taking every single part out I think is good and usable and try posting them in the "For sale parts" section. After I take the pieces I need for my J20 of course

[GrCherokeeL]

Decided to chance it and make my Grand Cherokee go off the trail and up the hill that was falling apart so I could take more pictures of the Grand Wagoneer.

I was so excited by seeing how many parts that could be used on my truck or that I could sell, that I didn't see that the front differential is already gone.

Trying to figure out where the Wheels would be at though, all mud flaps are in tact.

I guess one of the things I liked most about this FSJ is that the wood paneling really isn't that bad.

I didn't see it before, but I saw it this time. I think there's an owner's manual for the Wagoneer, I didn't look at it too closely though. Although I did see the Jeep's last registration. I thought the last time it moved was in 04, but it was actually in 08....just like my J20.

No idea if this would work on my truck, I know mine needs a whole new exhaust because mine was cut up, welded, cut up and welded back on too many times (not by me).



It's official though...this Grand Wagoneer is going to be the donor for my J-truck.






Still trying to figure out how I'm going to move this...if both differentials are going to be taken off, its going to take some more thinking on how it'll be moved next to my truck. Although...maybe if I ask nicely the guy selling it to me can have one of his semi trucks with a crane lift it, put it on the trailer and bring it to my grandma's house...which is literally about 2-3 miles away from him if you take the long way, the short cut is about 1.5 miles.

The sooner I get this Waggy, the sooner I can put the front end of my J-truck back together and get everything set up and running.

[Stammer]

Seems like the money and time spent pulling pieces and parts off that ragged Grand would be better spent turning wrenches on your truck.

If it were me, I'd be trying to get my junk running, so I'd know what I HAD to have versus what I'd LIKE to have.

Just sayin

[GrCherokeeL]

The Waggy doors look pretty rusty. I would just swap everything over to your current doors and keep the waggy doors as spares. You could make them into half-doors as well...

Is it possible to get the interior door panels off the Waggy doors and put them on the J-truck?

Trying to figure out how to put maroon color interior to replace tan interior. It's not so bad if its all done for the whole cab. But then the steering wheel would have to stay because I prefer the little AMC Jeep finger horn. The Wagoneer has a bigger horn...but...the J-truck's horn is a lot better

I prefer the bucket seats and arm rest...but the original truck seat isn't so bad either...

Guess I'll figure it out as soon as I get that Waggy and start tearing it down piece by piece and see what I have. There will be lots of pictures, and probably a big post in the parts section for sale.

[lunchbox1671]

The Waggy doors look pretty rusty. I would just swap everything over to your current doors and keep the waggy doors as spares. You could make them into half-doors as well...

[GrCherokeeL]

You got yourself a good plan!

Yes, it'd be more awesome if I could get it up and running before my next semester in college. The guys in my class and my auto teacher told me it would take YEARS to get the truck running, but with a spare FSJ...I just wanna drive that Jeep truck in and watch their mouths drop!

Trying to figure out a license plate for it though, I figured "JP MCANC" (Jeep Mechanic) would fit it pretty well, just so whenever someone sees me driving with it, they'll know I mean business!

What do you think about the Wagoneer doors though? The interior door panel is in mint condition, I'm sure it'll fit on my truck no problem...but do I stick with my truck's original doors....or go for the Waggy doors and mirrors?

[lunchbox1671]

You got yourself a good plan!

[GrCherokeeL]

I would just strip the paneling if you are going to save the fenders/doors.

In my worthless opinion, I would save a J-truck over a Wagoneer. They seem to be much harder to find and more useful for my needs, being a pickup instead of a SUV.

If you really want a Waggy, there are many other ones out there in better shape with all the running gear. You just have to look really hard for the right one. The Waggy you are showing looks like a parts rig. I wouldn't restore it knowing there are better options out there. I'm not saying you can't do it, because you could if you wanted to. It just seems like an awfully long road to get it in better shape compared to other candidates.

Strip what you need and junk/sell the rest. It's what MANY people do with older rigs. You can sell a lot of the parts that won't fit on your j-truck on ebay or this website.

Also, if you really wanted to, you could save the leftover frame/body and build an FSJ based mudder/crawler/buggy/whatever...

Your opinion isn't worthless , its helping this Jeeper out.

I'm continuously looking at the pros and cons, the J-truck has a bit more rust but the wagoneer has so many good parts that will go right to the truck no problem.

I love how its even the exact color as my truck. Because the spare fenders I have for my truck now are green and red, these wagoneer fenders would save me a lot of time from having to go through going through the whole process of painting and such.

If I could strip that whole wagoneer of all its good parts, I wouldn't feel so bad...but if it went to the scrap yard as a whole...I probably wouldn't sleep for a long time.

The J-truck is going to be a Keeper, I have a feeling its going to be spoiled with all the new parts coming to it.

The engine on my truck runs great, and its got everything there already. The Wagoneer would just help me get the project done 75% faster.

I'll most likely sell a lot of its parts here, and hope it'll get me enough money to buy the roll bar and brush guard for the J20 Along with its $840 tires (yeah right!). My goal is to get this truck rolling before the Summer comes along.

Bring it through a parade and shock everyone. Bring it to a car show as is just to see what someone would say.