Wagoneer, Diesel, 4x4, Manual trans, AC...I mean, ya know

So I dont need more projects, but couldnt turn this down.  I do automotive electrical work.  I was the EE at Icon 4x4 for 5 years, nuff said.  I do it now on my own, my own company etc etc...Guy contacted me to rewire this beast and ended up selling it to me.

1972 Wagoneer.  Cummins/Onan 6AT with an added intercooler, Muncie SN465 4 speed, Dana 20 Xfercase, Dana 44 axles, 4 wheel disc, hydroboost, A/C, etc etc.  And yes its been converted to the older front end.  

Plans?  First off I cleaned it haha.  The interior was already out as was the harness.  I have a harness that came with it, a Kwikwire, not my first choice but it will be fine.  So ill wire it, and then go down the list of things that need attention, like the leaky fuel tank.  Which is completely full lol.  Got it out already, have a replacement but I dont know how its supposed to go back in.  There is a front and rear bracket that just slides a few inches underneath the bottom of the tank, and a stupid strap that I honestly cant figure out the attachment points on, body or frame.  The tank i pulled out is the same tank, but had a crappy aluminum tray holding it, with a few brackets that has 1 or 2 pop rivets in it.  Im honestly not sure how it hadn't fallen out yet.  So if anyone has insight on the strap or mounting for an early wagoneer coffin tank, info and pics!  I know the later tanks attach to the skid plate, then go in the truck, this one does not.  The skid plate is separate, and well i dont have one.  Worst case ill add proper straps to the trey that was made and put it back in, but I still wanna know how its supposed to be held in there.  Originally it had a metal tank with holes so it was secure to the frame.

Next will be the parking brake, for which is has none.  GM brake kits have been done all the way around.  So I got a place to call for the Eldorado style parking brake caliper.  Should be an easy swap.  Not sure which brakes are on the back of this truck.  Rotors are 11.75" and 1.1" (28mm) thick.  Front brakes are 31mm thick.  I know that GM had 2 size calipers with the parking brake, so not sure which one this is.  Then I need to figure out the cable situation.  I have the factory pedal still, but no cables at all.  And since early parking brake cables are non existent, I need to figure out what generation is available and is mostly easily installable with minimal bracket welding etc etc.  I know some of the bits are standard GM.  Yes I know the wheel spacers are not great, but it actually had proper lug nuts so it had a good 8 thread engagement.  I sure hope these wheels are fine nut being hub centric, still has steelies.  And its been this way for quite a while lol.

Its had the front seats changed to buckets from an Acura MDX which actually work well, and a chevy center console.  But the B-pillar mount fo the seat belt is a nut that was welded to the pillar, not great.  So ill end up drilling the nut out but leaving it there as a spacer.  Then cutting a small slice lower on the pillar and making a plate with a nut welded to it, and a long piece of something attached to it so I can slide it up the pillar in place.  That way there is proper reinforcement behind it and I dont have to worry about a welded nut ripping the sheet metal off from the front side.

Then the glow plugs.  There is no relay or control.  I can so a simple button, hold X seconds to start, but eh.  So Im lookin for a glow plug timer thats simple.  This should have a 7 second timer on it.  I dont know if it was a temp controlled unit, but I dont think so.  This engine was really an Onan diesel sold under cummins.  Used in UPS trucks to replace the chevy 292, in its automotive form.  I think it found its way into other commercial vehicles too.  There are 2 cables on the injection pump, one for the throttle and another which I assume is for cold start advance?? I have no idea so I need to figure that out as well.

Also there were 3 aftermarket gauges added.  Not sure where they lived, maybe on the steering column.  Tach, EGT and boost.  They look totally out of place so not sure what Im gonna do with em.  I wouldnt midn replacing em with something that looks more correct.  I thought about a top of dash simple gauge pod where the old speaker was.

If anyone has any info on these motors id love to hear it, I know they are not common anymore, but the install was descent and i wont be changing it.  I really need to know what that second control cable is for, and if someone has insight on a simple glow plug timer solution that would be sweet.  Also the fuel tank info/pics would be good as well.  Im waiting for admin approval on full size jeep forum, but thought you guys would get a kick outa this beast.

Where the fuel tank lives, and Im prety sure that is an attachment point for part of the strap??

Looks like a clean start to a nice project!

In reply to autocomman :

I don't think I've ever seen one of these with the body still intact. 

I am dying to do a J20 with a 12v. Subbing.

Oh I love these. Looking forward to the end result.

Classic Wagoneer, manual, diesel and sexy gold mesh wheels in the background. And a 6AT!? Neat. I'm so down with this build.

These are pretty cool looking and gutting everything besides the body is probably for the best from my experience.

The interior was already out, dunno why other than there were probably a lot of wires under the carpet for the seats and what not.  So this is pretty much how I picked it up.  And the gold mesh wheels are on a 245 Volvo.  I was a Volvo nut back in the day, still love em but don't have one any more.  This is at my buddy's shop, he's got a few of em.

Parts already being ordered.  The usual bits for the electrical system, bulbs and socket repair bits.  Parking brake calipers ordered from lugnut4x4.  This thing has the big heavy duty calipers on the rear.  Over kill, and now the rest bias valve under the hood makes sense.  These big calipers would easily lock up first.  Gotta still order parking brake cables though.  The fuel tank mounting is kind of a joke.  I'll be reusing the homemade Trey that came with it as it fits nice and snug.  Buy making new brackets to attach to the trey and to the frame mount points.  Prolly gonna do a little sound deadening, but only the basics.  Some be quiet sheets on the floorpan, maybe 60 % coverage.  And I will need to Inslate the firewall/tunnel with something.  For heat and noise.  Not pulling the headliner, it's ok, not great not bad.

Body isn't too bad.  Some rust on the butt cheeks where they usually rust.  1 small hole in the floor on the driver's side.  I'm sure there is more under the trim somewhere, and just a little on the top of these pillar.  But honestly, nothing I'd even bother touching.  It seems suprisingly good as it sits now.  But I'm not gonna poke around too much.

Dunno about the glow plug control yet either.  I'm gonna but in a manual button for now.  Not much in the states for universal glow control either which is annoying.  I found a universal box in Australia with an adjustable timer and an after start glow options which is nice.  And I still need to verify the second control cable on the injection pump.  I think it's a cold start advance but even with the service manuals it's kinda vauge.  I can't even figure out from the manual what the boost pressure is supposed to be.

Cool project. 

As for your seat belt mount, I'd recommend looking at the upper mounts from a Pontiac G6 (or likely any similar era GM vehicle). It bolts into the vehicle and the upper belt mount bolts into the slider. Part number 22704418 for reference.

- Sean

So cool. Can't wait to see this thing progress.

I like that idea on the seat belt, but i have no way to hide it.  And yeah, im not a truck guy, but i always loved the gladiator/early wagoneer front end frekin amazing.  Hits that mid century vibe I love so much.  The whole stying of the truck just feel mid century modern.  Im pretty stoked.  Gonna start slingin wires tomarrow.

Love these old full size Jeeps, I'll definitely be following along with this one

Doing as much as I can around work, but some good progress.  Most of the wiring is done.  Pretty obvious by the melty bits why this truck was parked.  Tailgate window regulator cleaned and lubed.  Motor looked good inside so just a clean up there.  New lift track installed on the glass.  Unfortunately with most new parts nothing is like the original.  This is all that available and it doesn't have the brackets for the OG stainless trim around the glass.  Works fine without it, but Id like to get it back on.  Not sure what Im gonna do there yet.  But it works well.  I need to get some new cupped washers for the track though, and a new felt for the glass around the opening.  Hence the pop when it rolls up.  Also got the wiper motor cleaned up, and the washer mech cleaned up.  Only question is how good the piston seal is, as I cant get just the lip seal for the washer pump.  

Fuel tank is in.  Not impressed with the quality.  Had to trim plastic inside the level sender hole to make it fit.  Also the hold down, its just 6 screws into the plastic with sheet metal bits that look like they were cut out by a 6 year old and pair of huge worn out tin snips.  They work, but oiy, hokey.  This truck should have a steel tank that bolts to the frame brackets, but well thats long gone.  Someone had made this aluminum trey which holds the tank decently, but has 1/8 pop rivets in it to keep it together, and to keep the brackets attached.  Its amazing the tank hadn't fallen out.  So new brackets and bolts, many bolts.  Its totally solid now.

Filled the tank (transferred the 1.5 year old fuel from the old tank)  Drained the Rancor filter housing and put in a few 2 micron element.  Key on, let the E-pump prime the system, hit the glow plug button for 8 seconds and I swear it didn't spin around 2 times before it lit right up.  Sounded frekin awesome.   Then it started to stumble just a little and the idle dipped a bit, then smoothed out after a minute.  Probably a little air/old fuel that was still in the injection pump and lines.  The video is the second start, engine still cold, no glow plugs.  I couldnt be happier.  No smoke either.

We wont talk about the turn signal switch that I wasted 3 hours on, the holes that the screws dont fit in, the wire that broke, the threads that are wrong for the lever, and the cam section that has bent pins in it, so it hangs up the circuit and keeps one corner of the turn signals on all the time.  Shee-mar is the brand.  So no name I couldn't even tell you where its made.  I found another supplier that has one thats supposed to be way better.  Its just like a ford switch but not quite.  And if this does work I can, but would have to heavily modify a ford switch to work.

Also got new rear calipers with a parking brake lever from Lugnut4x4.  Looks like really nice stuff.  The brakes on this thing have F150 slide on rotors, and Chevy front calipers, all the way around.  There is a bias valve in there which it needs cause the rear calipers are waaay too big lol.  And hopefully the grand wagoneer brake cable kit I got works.  I think the older gen truck has a longer wheel base, so we will see what happens.

https://youtu.be/DpkBLxXWc3U

https://youtu.be/L3fLO_hyz_o

preach (fs) said:

I am dying to do a J20 with a 12v. Subbing.

I have a local friend with a 6BT powered J20. It's a snug fit.

Subbing. OP, I'll take a look later and see if there's a pending request for you at IFSJA.

Heh I appreciate it, im sure there is.  I think i tried getting on IFSJA years ago when Icon 4x4 was doing their Wagoneer as I had a few questions and was trying to track down a few parts.  And yeah, the 6AT fits pretty frekin well honestly.  That small displacement really lends to a nice fit.  This would be a mess with a 12v in it im sure.   Also at 650 or so lbs its only 100lbs more than the 360 it could have come with.  So its not really any more nose heavy either.  Found a date code on the motor sticker too, 1987.  So the engine isnt even that old really.

Well, I tried, and I failed.  I don't have access to all the big boy tools.  But I put in a request so hopefully somebody cooler than me can let you in.

I also took a peek at your YT page.  Looks like you have had your hands in quite a few different and interesting projects.

Very cool project. 

Yeah, I'm definitely not a fan boy.  I was into Volvo stuff for years.  Had 700s and 200s, an 855 turbo was my daily for like 7 years.  Then I got into the small British stuff as the 'toys'. A Benz w124 wagon that I AMG 3.6 and 5 speed swapped with some other goodies.  There is an 82 olds wagon, wood grain, 3rd seat, wire hubcaps that I LS swapped, a fiat X1/9, a classic mini, 59 bugeye sprite with a turbo on a 1275 a series, that's all in the fleet.  Most of em belong to family members, I really only have my daily and the sprite.  This Jeep will be for sale at some point.  The MGBeast Im building as well, that build thread is here.  And previous to the MGB I did a corvair rampside.

And that jeep forum, I mean it's active which is great, but if your gonna require admin approval, it should be within a day...not how you run a forum.  Honestly I don't really care if I'm in or not at this point, I got my questions answered elsewhere.

autocomman said:

Yeah, I'm definitely not a fan boy.  I was into Volvo stuff for years.  Had 700s and 200s, an 855 turbo was my daily for like 7 years.  Then I got into the small British stuff as the 'toys'. A Benz w124 wagon that I AMG 3.6 and 5 speed swapped with some other goodies.  There is an 82 olds wagon, wood grain, 3rd seat, wire hubcaps that I LS swapped, a fiat X1/9, a classic mini, 59 bugeye sprite with a turbo on a 1275 a series, that's all in the fleet.  Most of em belong to family members, I really only have my daily and the sprite.  This Jeep will be for sale at some point.  The MGBeast Im building as well, that build thread is here.  And previous to the MGB I did a corvair rampside.

 

And that jeep forum, I mean it's active which is great, but if your gonna require admin approval, it should be within a day...not how you run a forum.  Honestly I don't really care if I'm in or not at this point, I got my questions answered elsewhere.

Sounds like we have some reading to do on your other projects.

The forum thing is goofy. My understanding is that the owner really doesn't have any interest in participating or keeping it current, but also refuses to relinquish ownership or control to anyone who does. It's been frustrating.

I hear ya.  Only other project on grassroots is the MGB, I'll start one on the mini when I get back to it.  The sprite was on MGexp,  And I think I did a thread on LS forums on the olds.  Been a while.

Excellent work on a worthy project.

Well so far so good.  New tank installed, filled it with the old fuel cause diesel doesn't really go bad.  Changed the Racor fuel filter, let the electric lift pump run for 20 seconds, pushed the glow plug button for 8 seconds and turned the key, and I sware it didnt spin over 2 revolutions before firing up.  Way easier than I thought it would be, holy crap.  Sounds good too.  Most of the interior is in.  The front seats are Acura MDX and well, they are kinda off to the side slightly.  The way the rails are they do not lend well to the super wide tunnel so they mounted the seats as best as they could for position.  Little too high for me as well.  But these are personal choices, the next guy may love em, so Im not gonna mess with it.  They work and once I fix the bracket on one, they are secure.  Seat belts are another story...there is a chance there is a factory seat belt mount under the headliner above the B pillar  If there is then I can mount the belt up there, if its not long enough I can get one of the strap extenders they use in cargo vans.  I dont want to deal with the B pillar and making that safe/cutting into it/welding it.  The previous builder welded a nut to the sheet metal, and well, not too great.  Ill put lap belts back in it before I deal with that.

The rear brakes are a bit of an issue.  Dana 44 rear end, ford F150 4x4 rotors and GM JB7 calipers (C10 front calipers)  No parking brake.  So I got calipers from lugnut4x4.  Dont know if its the way the caliper is designed, but the inner pad moves around, a lot.  I need to get the anti rattle clips to hold the pad in place, but then there is about 3/16 of the pad off the end of the rotor.  Honestly its got way too much pad for the rear anyway, its got front brakes on the back basically.  So ill chamfer the edge of the pad and it should be good.  There is already a bias valve in there for the rear I can adjust.  Then I had to bite the bullet and get Lokar brake cables, $$$.  So still dealing with the brakes.  But I did drive it around the block a few times.  Brakes feel like garbage.  Either there is air in the front, or the master isnt right, or its bad, or the push rod gap between the hydroboost and the master is not right.  So I gotta deal with that.  Then the clutch, holy crap is it rock hard...like Eff this hard.  Its a stock chevy truck 11" clutch.  Shouldnt be like this.  So I gotta check the bore size on the master and the slave, and be sure the hole in the pedal is in the right place, then fix the linkage on the clutch pedal to the master cause its all twisted and borked.

Steering was loose, trunk kinda wandery (steering)/wallowly(shocks).  The uppper GM style slip coupler is loose on the steering shaft, and while the rag joint isnt bad, its completely soaked in oil, so I have a 2 ujoint collapsible shaft coming that "should" be bolt in.  Then I have to tighten the loose steering box bolts, and go over every bolt on the truck.  Half of em are loose.  Like the one on the rear ujoint to the yoke.  Loose to the point where the ujoint hammered out the yoke.  So I got a new 1310 Dana 44 yoke, and well its not a 1310 Ujoint...its a Dodge 7260 Ujoint.  So i had to get a conversion ujoint.  Oh, and when I changed the yoke I noticed the pinion preload felt way too tight.  So it was pull the axles and the carrier, and reshim the pinion bearings so they didnt self destruct.  Ya know, the mushroom factor.

On the plus side the trans shifts great, no crunching no weird noises.  Motor has decent power, running about 14lbs boost.  Dunno if anyone has messed with the Inj pump but it smokes a but under heavy load, not really worried about it.  I also have to fix the thermostat housing leak, change the oil, and make a tube to go from the valve cover breather to the ground, cause that how it should be, and I hate the smell coming in the truck.

The finish the audio system, swap the fuel gauge, replace the pins on the rear window regulator cause they are so worn out the clip wont stay on, replace the upper front door hinge pins, readjust the gaps for all the doors, replace the junk turn signal switch I have with one thats a much better quality, figure out why the steering wheel honks the horn when i push on one corner of the wheel...wash the truck

So yeah, just a few things

But here is a sweet video!  This was the second start, engine still cold, no glow plug button

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DpkBLxXWc3U

Well not sure whats going on with the brakes.  It will stop if i get on the pedal, but it doesnt feel like I have enough rear brakes.  i need to measure the piston diameter and see whats going on there.  Im pretty sure the calipers are identical front and rear, from a C10 pickup.  Coupled with a C3 corvette master, 1-1/8" on a hydroboost from a C30.  Im not sure if the pedal ratio is correct, but for now it stops.  And there is no air in anything.  Even replaced the master, no difference.  The rear circuit seems to pump up with 1 to 2 pedal pumps.  I cant get any more air outa this thing, no where I can see air should be trapped.  I removed the line lock that was used as a parking brake on the front wheels, and i removed the rear bias valve.  Its a straight shot to the front and rear, and a tee to each wheel.  Port closest to the booster is hooked to the rear.  So far as I can tell this is all correct,  And every C3 is a disc disc car.  So what the hell am i missing?  Unless I have a caliper with a different piston diameter.  Which is very possible haha.  Any thoughts on the brakes Im all ears

It drives like crap lol.  Every bolt in this truck is loose.  Missing nuts on the fenders, so going over that should make it sound less crappy going over bumps.  Got a steering bell coupler ordered, a new steering damper too.  Not doin shocks yet, I need to get it going straight down the road without being wandery.  Might have to check the alignment too.  Leaf spring bushings are tired, that doesnt help, but there are other issues to deal with first.  Leaky thermostat housing for one.

Engine runs frekin great though, no complains there.  Good power, 3 usable gears sucks, not gonna lie.  1 is granny stump puller, so its pretty much 2-4.  2-3 is good, 3-4 is pretty far apart.  Gotta weld the nub on the bottom of the shifter, common in an SM465 to need to do that.  And the clutch pedal pressure is nutso.  Great if its leg day, but youll only have one jacked leg.  Finally figured out the bell housing is from a 60-62 chevy truck.  Slave on the passengers side.  Clutch master is a 1-1/8, which is correct for a 60-62 truck.  So again, i gotta check the pedal ratio.  Im pretty sure its off, its also loose, and all kindsa falling off.  Im hopin its off so I can redrill and call that done.  Im pretty sure that will take car of it  cause there isnt a lot of pedal throw.  God I dont wanna put a clutch in this thing.  Not expensive, should be a standard 11" clutch, but I still dont wanna do it lol.  Im trying to wrap this bastard up!  

Well got a few things done, and its made the 40 mile journey back home under its own power.  I effin like this thing, heh.  Got the clutch sorted.  The ratio was like 3:1 on the pedal to master, thats why it was hard as a rock.  Redrilled the pedal for a closer to 6.5:1 and its perfect.  Little heavy, but truck heavy, not like bad clutch or i cant drive this thing heavy.  I could probably go even higher on the pedal honestly and make it lighter.

Brakes on the other hand, eff this crap.  The corvette C3 master cylinder is apparently notorious for being hard/impossible to bleed.  The outlet on the pressure side of the rear port is at 10 o'clock.  Air gets trapped in there, and there is air trapped in there.  Ive spent countless hours trying to bleed it.  Ive done all different matter of suggestions for trying to bleed it, and I give up.  I have sh*t to do, I dumped $200 and picked up a Wilwood master cylinder.  So this weekend the brakes will be fixed.  Then I have to see if the e-brake calipers I have fit in the 15" wheels.  If they do I can get a working parking brake done.

Steering.  Holy crap what a joke.  Driving the truck it felt, well crappy.  Going straight something was trying to move the wheel in my hands when going over bumps or un even road.  Around a curve no issues.  Well one look at the tie rods and its obvious the issue.  But the fix, maybe not so obvious.  Thing about jeep in the 70s it went from Kaiser to AMC and it was a parts bin of who knows what.  Especially with all the models and variations offered.  I also know this particular truck has had a few things changed from original.  The front axle should have been a closed knuckle Dana 30.  Well, its not, its an open knuckle Dana 44, common swap actually I found out, typically a factory change from 74 on.  That moves the steering link, or drag link if you will.  The one from the pitman arm.  On the Dana30 it would have gone to the knuckle, and then there was a center tie rod to both knuckles.  This one has a tie rod to both knuckles, and the drag link form the pitman arm to the tie rod.  Depending on whose part catalog you look at the RH tie rod is either straight or has a squiggle in it, a hump in it to avoid kissing the pitman arm drag link.  Soon as I steer off center, they do not kiss.  I already ordered a replacement, which did not match the picture.  So im ordering another today hopefully to get a part that looks like the pic with the squiggle.  That should fix the steering.  I also had to reposition the steering shock bracket, everything had been rubbing.  I dont know how anyone every drove this with any confidence before.

A/C works!  Something I dont have to deal with, woot!!  Had to replace the pins on the rear window regulator, kinda saw that coming.  Worked great after I got it back together, then next day the clip popped right off.  Not hard to do, grind the back off, pull them out, screw the replacements in.   A repair/replacement part that works as advertised!  And slowly putting the rest of the interior back together.  Tightening all the bolts, replacing nuts that have fallen off, etc etc.  But driving this thing around, its pretty awesome.  Im not a fan of only have 3 usable gears.  It smokes when you get on the throttle, or accelerate, typical of a truck diesel of the era, especially one with a turbo.  Im not a rolling coal kinda guy, i feel bad about it.  But if someone is on your ass, all you gotta do is punch ir for a few sec and they back right off.  The ride is excellent as wagoneers always were.  This hasnt been lifted, stock springs, which I prefer honestly.  I like the stance, the look, the patina.  i hate the seats, they dont fit the truck for crap, and Id toss em in a minute if I was keeping it.  Otherwise, its effin rad!

It looks perfect at that ride height with the slightly chunkier-than-stock tire. My favorite look for Jeeps.