Inspected and a tune up

Took the Jeep for an inspection today. I'm not going to go into details, but it passed. Cost $10 for the inspection. I gave the guy $40 as a tip. He informed me of a woman that lives in his town that can get me a lot of Jeep parts really cheap. Just don't ask why they are so cheap. All is well that ends well.

Today I also decided to give the Jeep a tune up total cost $100 for parts.

I also added a new shifter for $20. I'll put up a pic tomorrow so you can see its a metallic grenade.

Have noticed a problem with the transfer case though. It keeps popping out of 2wd into neutral when I start moving. I'm hoping that it is just the shifter fork which costs $5. This will have to wait a few weeks for further investigation.

No dice

Drove to the place where I was told my jeep would pass this morning. His wife told me he was out of town for the weekend. Gonna have to wait until monday i guess.

Lights, check

Well the Garage rewired and fixed all of my lights. $70 in total for the work and a tip. The tip was for some information he gave me about a place that is lenient on the vehicle inspection. Tomorrow I have to try to get ahold of this guy so I can get an inspection sticker and drive it on the road legally. We will have to see how well it goes.

New Brakes

Today, I installed new brake pads in the front for$25. A simple 30 minute job turned into 3 hours. The spring was so filled with dirt and debris I could not unwedge it. But they are done and work very well. I installed the new dimmer switch for the headlights which solved my problem instantly for $5. I also dropped the jeep off at the repair shop, for them to do an inspection and to fix my lights . X your fingers that it is something cheap that they can fix on the spot at $40 an hour plus parts. If not I might have to suck it up and do a complete rewiring job of all the lights myself. My wife is going to buy me a new Ranchero steering stabilizer and 4 new Ranchero shocks for a 4'' lift for fathers day $250. Should help to stabilize the body going off road and on the street. I told her to hold off until I get the bill from the repair shop tomorrow when I pick the Jeep up after work.

Tires

Today I bought my new tires. Walmart of course because they are the only place around that has the size I needed in stock. 31x10.50 15R. Funny thing online they are priced at $135, in the store they are priced at 180 each. Of course they won't honor their online price because it says online only. I needed tires so whats a guy supposed to do. So I wait the 3 hours to have them placed on the rims, and go to check out. The guy tells me $58. Instantly I ask him how much did you say? And again he repeats $58. Now for some they would take the tires and run. But I pride myself on my integrity and inform him that he did not charge me for the tires. He looked stunned and says I could have walked out with free tires. I tell him I pride myself on my integrity. So the total for the tires cost me, $520. The sales person at the counter knocked off a tire and droped the price on them to the $135. So the morale of my story I guess would be to pay it forward. I scheduled an appointment to have my Jeep inspected for anything I might have missed, that is going to cost me $40 but when I took the rims off today I noticed I need new brakes. I am fully knowledgeable on changing them but have neglected my family working on the Jeep so I am opting to let him do them while he has the Jeep. Estimated cost for the brakes $580 for parts and labor including the rewiring of the back-up light. So we shall see how well that goes tomorrow when I drop the Jeep off.

Here is some pics of the Jeep

Theme

This picture was the inspiration for my vision of the Jeep when I am done. Try to picture it being olive drab in color with black trim and hardware. A single white star on both doors and this image painted on the hood. I found the perfect shifting knobs as well. Both hand grenades. One a pineapple grenade from WWII and for the transfer case one from Afghanistan.

I hate wiring

So I bought new headlights at $25 each and installed them. Turns out I also had to replace the dimmer switch which cost me $6. But the headlights work great now! On to the tail lights. Not so good. Brake lights work, turn signals work, but the back up lights don't. So I use my Haynes and Chilton manuals to troubleshoot the problem. Nothing listed. SOB. My father and I started tracing the wiring and have found that the wire is cracked in several places leaving exposed wire as well as several breaks in it as well. So what does this mean... I have to replace the wire. Well part of it hopefully. Simple sounding enough but a pain in the ass because I have to trace it starting with the switch on the transmission. But I might as well check that while I'm there right. So i'm slowly working my way towards passing the inspection so I can drive it legally on the road. It will get there.

1980 Jeep CJ7 Restoration

Today I am begining my new project. To rebuild and restore a 1980 Jeep CJ7.
I bought it off a farmer for $1500. It has 49674 original miles on its original 6 cyl engine. It needs major body work but the engine, transmission and transfer case are all in excellent condition. The frame needs to be cleaned and some new paint but it is pretty solid otherwise. The body needs some major work. The front fenders and hood are in great condition but the tub is the exact opposite. The wheel wells and 70 percent of the floor are mostly rusted through. No big deal right just buy a new tub for $1700 to $3900. Depending on the material... Fiberglass, steel or aluminum. aluminum would be the best bet for strength but fiberglass is the cheapest. I can't afford to have either done. So what is a Jeepster to do... Buy a plate of steel and repair it myself. As for the interioir the driver's seat needs to be replaced but the other seats are fine. As for the seat belts the only one that works is the drivers. The windshild is in good condition as is the drivers side door. The tailgate is rusted as are the hinges to drop it. Actually all of the hinges are all rusted but some work. lol. Now with all of the things I just wrote one might ask why would I buy this Jeep. Well the engine and transmission alone are worth the money I paid for it. And I forgot to mention the plow. It has an angle plow that works flawlessly. Besides these thing is the motto any true Jeeper knows, a good jeep is built not bought. I will put pictures of the jeep on this when I get a chance to take them.