Cheap Truck Challenge - Reviving A CJ-7, Part 1

Bodywork didn't seem too important yet, but a day with a torch and a big hammer got most of the side panels somewhat straight. I offed the twisted rollbar, which made the body a little straighter, but knew much more was ahead of me. Three body-mount nuts were rusted away, so taking off the body was not a choice. Nor did I have the beer or energy to accomplish said task, so I figure it will happen eventually. I concentrated my energy on fixing the brakes by using more JB-80 and a bigger hammer, which finally worked. The original fuel pump was fine, and even after 15 years the Holley works without being rebuilt. Who needs bodywork?

The maiden voyage was back to the neighbor's, where the frame-straightening escapade ensued. I found a wrinkle in the framerail just forward of the rear tire, just behind the leaf-spring pivot. We figure that if we put a block under the frame just forward of this point and tractored down the rear, it would straighten out. Too bad the front of the Jeep went skyward when we did that.

With the front of the heavy M715 over the front bumper, we tried again and lifted the M715 and the Jeep off the ground, but did make the frame somewhat straighter. Our next step is to cut the frame at the bend, repeat this operation, and then weld it back with some plates. Check in next month and see how cheap the Cheap Truck Challenge can be!

In any project like this, rust is a big factor. Fortunately I had a box of Justice Brothers chemical products from a previous project, and decided to use them all. JB-80 is billed as "twice as good," and is probably the best penetrant we know of. Let the stuff set on a frozen bolt, then come back later and it can be spun off by hand, almost. I used a case of that stuff just to disassemble the Jeep. I also used every conditioner and cleaner JB makes, from the engine oil treatment to the transmission and power-steering fluid stuff. In each case the product worked as expected--cleaning, sealing, and making everything work. Even the brake calipers broke free from the brackets after a liberal dousing of JB-80. Brakes are a good thing. The tire beads got a coating of Safety Seal bead sealer, which worked incredibly well. Too bad the air still escapes through the sidewalls.

The only open orifice, other than the carb, was the master cylinder. After filling the old unit and beating on it for a few weeks, I decided to swap it out. Being the cheap bastard I am, I went scrounging in my neighbor's yard and came up with one off a 1978 Jeep Cherokee carcass. While the ports were reversed, the inside was clean and the chrome cover was in the same dilapidated shape as the valve cover and air cleaner. I was happy.

So were the brakes, and they eventually self-gravity bled as the front calipers were persuaded to break free with a five-pound sledge. Before I started to spend real money or do anything serious, I decided that if the engine wouldn't fire, the whole deal would be too expensive. I salvaged a coil and coil wire from an abandoned 1976 Thunderbird, and made sure the engine and tranny, as well as this cool power-steering reservoir, were topped off with some strange mixture of various half-full bottles of fluids from the storage cabinet. With a used radiator from a J truck ratcheted on the front and the smashed front sheetmetal removed, I filled up the carb with gas and turned the keyless ignition switch...and the engine fired! After the tranny converter filled up, the Jeep also idled over my foot, so I knew the tranny was fine.

Part 1
Part 2