nugilo
Sharpest Tool
Well, I've been wanting to start this thread for a while and I am finally going to give it a go. It may come together slowly but wanted to share my 61's rebirth.
The acquisition story. I found this thing sitting on the side of the road in Petosky Michigan with a sad looking for sale sign in the window. I was with my dad and my uncle, who was driving. I sked my uncle to stop so I could look at it...my dad begged him not too. In all my 40 years, I've never known my dad to do something just for the hell of it and he knew I would want this thing and he thought it was stupid. Fortunately, my uncle likes to torment my dad so he naturally screeched to a halt and turned around to go back. This is how it looked when I first saw it.
The for sale sign said "$500, runs and drives". Turns out that wasn't entirely true since the seller couldn't start it. Instant price drop. He said that it would run but that the starter needed to be rebuilt. I turned the fan and it seemed to have good compression so I took his word for it. It seemed to be pretty original with an original 226, 4x4 drivetrain (minus front driveshaft) and everything there, although I really had no knowledge of these vehicles despite being a Jeep fan all my life. I came back the next day and got the price down to $350 and started arranging for pickup. First problem was where to take it. I live in Ann Arbor and had to have it flat-bedded to a friend's house in Petoskey where I could work on it on the summer weekends until I could get it to Ann Arbor.
Once at my buddy's house, I pulled the starter and brought it back to a place near Detroit called Don Duff starters and they rebuilt it for $75. A few weeks later, back up north. Put in rebuilt starter, new battery, changed some fluids, put on some new radiator hoses (in stock in an auto parts store in Petoskey) and turned the key....and it started right up.
Some major issues were immediately apparent but it did run. First problem was that the PO had rigged up an electric fuel pump that was 'professionally' duct taped to a 1 gallon plastic gas can which was wedged between the motor and inner fender, not quite right. It also had an essentially non-existent exhaust as there was a large crack in the exhaust manifold. That and the completely gone floor made it a rolling gas chamber. Did that stop me from driving it down my buddy's private road...hell no. With no brakes, fuel spraying wildly everywhere, gasping for air and no exhaust it was a very short and scary ride, but it did move and shift.
About a month later, I was able to finally transport it back to Ann Arbor. The SD would spend the next 6 months languishing in a half-falling down old sheep barn where I tried, in the worst working conditions, to get the thing in somewhat driving condition. I did manage to remove and rebuild the axles (actually found the ones on it were wrong, got replacements, but out of a truck) and brakes, put in a new poly gas tank, new mechanical fuel pump and new fuel lines, new brake lines, and a pitiful DIY exhaust and drove it out of the barn about 2 days pror to it being bulldozed. I then brought it to my house and stuck it in the garage...much to my wife's horror. Here, I gave it a rattle can paint job which actualy really did look much better.
Now it was time to move it to another garage until I could work on it some more....that was three years ago.
The acquisition story. I found this thing sitting on the side of the road in Petosky Michigan with a sad looking for sale sign in the window. I was with my dad and my uncle, who was driving. I sked my uncle to stop so I could look at it...my dad begged him not too. In all my 40 years, I've never known my dad to do something just for the hell of it and he knew I would want this thing and he thought it was stupid. Fortunately, my uncle likes to torment my dad so he naturally screeched to a halt and turned around to go back. This is how it looked when I first saw it.
The for sale sign said "$500, runs and drives". Turns out that wasn't entirely true since the seller couldn't start it. Instant price drop. He said that it would run but that the starter needed to be rebuilt. I turned the fan and it seemed to have good compression so I took his word for it. It seemed to be pretty original with an original 226, 4x4 drivetrain (minus front driveshaft) and everything there, although I really had no knowledge of these vehicles despite being a Jeep fan all my life. I came back the next day and got the price down to $350 and started arranging for pickup. First problem was where to take it. I live in Ann Arbor and had to have it flat-bedded to a friend's house in Petoskey where I could work on it on the summer weekends until I could get it to Ann Arbor.
Once at my buddy's house, I pulled the starter and brought it back to a place near Detroit called Don Duff starters and they rebuilt it for $75. A few weeks later, back up north. Put in rebuilt starter, new battery, changed some fluids, put on some new radiator hoses (in stock in an auto parts store in Petoskey) and turned the key....and it started right up.
Some major issues were immediately apparent but it did run. First problem was that the PO had rigged up an electric fuel pump that was 'professionally' duct taped to a 1 gallon plastic gas can which was wedged between the motor and inner fender, not quite right. It also had an essentially non-existent exhaust as there was a large crack in the exhaust manifold. That and the completely gone floor made it a rolling gas chamber. Did that stop me from driving it down my buddy's private road...hell no. With no brakes, fuel spraying wildly everywhere, gasping for air and no exhaust it was a very short and scary ride, but it did move and shift.
About a month later, I was able to finally transport it back to Ann Arbor. The SD would spend the next 6 months languishing in a half-falling down old sheep barn where I tried, in the worst working conditions, to get the thing in somewhat driving condition. I did manage to remove and rebuild the axles (actually found the ones on it were wrong, got replacements, but out of a truck) and brakes, put in a new poly gas tank, new mechanical fuel pump and new fuel lines, new brake lines, and a pitiful DIY exhaust and drove it out of the barn about 2 days pror to it being bulldozed. I then brought it to my house and stuck it in the garage...much to my wife's horror. Here, I gave it a rattle can paint job which actualy really did look much better.
Now it was time to move it to another garage until I could work on it some more....that was three years ago.
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