My 82 build, slow (but hopefully) progress

[Mr_Roboto]

Okay, so I just picked this up a week or two back and have made some scattered progress on it. This isn't gonna be a beauty queen by any means but the goal this year is to get it running decently then start putting parts into it. I got it off a guy who put a ton of work into it then parked it for 20 years. Not perfect by any means, but I'd like to go somewhere in the spirit of say a GMC Syclone e.g. turbo 6, AWD etc.

The start isn't terrible, he said he rebuilt the engine and stuffed a Comp Cam in there. What that is needs to be determined.

The first couple pics are me trailering it. Thankfully I've found all of the marker lights, the bumper end caps are long gone. Maybe 3D print something? I have a front bumper, debating on it going on or not at some point. The door handles need to be re-attached and the lock cylinder on the driver's side needs work. Thankfully this is a single key car and the only key I'm misisng is for the glove box.

The carb is gonna be a bit of a trip. This is where he gave up on it. The Carter (not Edelbrock Branded) AFB looks basically unused. The linkage was heavily improvised including a homebrew adapter to turn the carb 90 degrees. I stripped that off and after consultation here I'm almost certainly going to cables and a home made bracket.

The intake is a "C" Series Offy (anyone got docs on this, it seems to be almost impossible to find) along with a 500 CFM carb. I hope this cam is pretty darn big, this seems like a lot of carb for this engine. I'd much rather have had a QJ or a VS Holley in that case and may well yet dig one up and stick it on or heck even a 390 CFM double pumper. With the cam unknown this is a real question mark IMO. The gearing is definitely wrong for this intake being I checked and validated I have the tall gears. Thankfully the front has a disconnect which by what I'm reading means I should be able to grab a set of standard Cherokee Gears to replace the fronts (and an 8.25 Axle.) The goal will be something like 3.54s.

When I was rummaging through the stuff that came with this ride I found a broken off bolt head and shrugged it off. When I was working on the carb, I noticed a head bolt head gone. I found a socket that fit pretty well in the bolt hole then drilled. After that I tapped in a S2 bit and turned it out with a set of vise grips. I figured this would be a fighter and a miserly experience, thankfully it was fairly easy to zip out. All I need now is a 7/16 head bolt to replace it with.

Lastly, I got the front tires replaced with some used ones. Not great but enough to get me a few laps around wherever. I'm just grateful they hold air unlike the last ones. The rears are pending at the shop, can't wait to get em back and get em on so I have a legit roller.

On the shopping list is gonna be some gears, Grand Cherokee rear disk brakes, a Cherokee Axle, a Cherokee gas tank and probably a few other things I'm forgetting. I do need an alternator bracket and a head bolt now as well.

I have the TFI cap and rotor, I need the adapter for the Duraspark. There's a MSD Box in as well. Without the EGR I at least want to get an earlier distributor vacuum can because this one probably has too much timing advance in it. Not there yet though.

[Mr_Roboto]

Did some grunt work today, dismounted the old tires from wheels that didn't hold air. I just got this bead breaker tool it works well. I figured out it's easier if you stand on the wheel/tire to get it to work. Besides that the tires hadn't been off for decades.

I need to get some steel wool to clean up the beads then I want to put some sort of clear on them so they hopefully hold air. After that it's time for fresh valve stems and some carb cleaner to seat the new tires. 

[Mr_Roboto]

Few update posts to go over.

First off, I got a gasket and some carb studs. With a spacer 2" studs were required. Ordered and on the way.

Second, this "A/C Hose" is the fuel line. I think I'm going to replace that. Either AN line or hard line with rubber in between. The NHRA doesn't typically like people doing this sort of getup. I wish I knew what the deal was with the oddball 3 port fuel filter. Have not checked to see if that's OEM yet.

Lastly, I worked on the door handles. These don't seem to like to be "dry" at all.  A bit of ATF made a huge difference. I think it caused the arms to be bent out of shape, so I did some tweaking on this one and installed/removed it a few times until it seems to open correctly. I need to get a gasket for the lock cylinder as well and do the other side.

[Mr_Roboto]

The door to this lock cylinder was messed up and I couldn't use the key. Really frustrating, I want to be able to have full function of my doors. When I was messing with the mechanism to fix the outer handles I ended up pulling the cylinder too. Quite the headache with the sound deadening in the doors, but it's out.

I then ordered up some parts (PNs in pics) to replace what had broken. There's some not insignificant corrosion in the cylinder so I'm concerned I'll be having to think about replacing this eventually.

[Mr_Roboto]

Lastly, it rolls! After a bunch of blisters and forgetting what real work is like I got the tires mounted and on. This part excites me because I can start stripping out the old Bondo, putting on some primer and getting bare metal covered up without making a garage mess. The goal is to get stuff covered enough where driving may be a reality.

[atmafox]

The three port fuel filter is OEM.  Inlet, outlet, and tank return.  I actually had to replace mine with a two port because my 3.5psi fuel pressure regulator meant that all the fuel ended up going out the return instead.

But that's just because my aftermarket carb (Weber) requires 3.5psi.  Not sure what your carb wants.

[MIPS]

The three port fuel filter is OEM.  Inlet, outlet, and tank return.  I actually had to replace mine with a two port because my 3.5psi fuel pressure regulator meant that all the fuel ended up going out the return instead.

It's also a vapor separator. The return port has a restrictor in it to maintain fuel pressure and when installed must be the highest point on the filter. I made a video about this on Youtube to better explain it. I don't have the FRAM part number on me but new ones are still available. Also inspect the short length of rubber hose that goes from the return port to the steel line that goes back to the tank. If that hose is original, there is a little check valve installed inside the hose and because it's usually never looked for and thrown out when the hose is replaced it can cause issues. If you are keeping the vapor control system the tank will pressurize and if that check valve is missing the pressure will go back up the line and you will constantly vapor lock when its warm out.

[Mr_Roboto]

I'll have to check for the valve. It looks as if the line has been replaced, but I didn't find any thing in it squeezing it. Maybe I'll just have to make something like the old school MBCs the k-car guys used with a ball bearing, spring and a few brass fittings.

That is if the pressure is workable with the Carter/Edelbrock Carb

Just a few update pics, I got the TV cable mounted. Getting to that tail shaft bolt in these without dropping the cross member is interesting.

Besides that, I also got the new studs and second gasket in for the carb. It's mounted except the nut I left loose for the accessory bracket when it shows up. I also put in the throttle cable as well. Everything's in position for its final adjustment.

Lastly, I also pulled the plugs to just have a look. The plugs have almost zero run time on them. They're Splitfires as well so I'll probably yank em and go to Delcos, Autolites or Motorcrafts. Just basic copper plugs in the OE heat range for now. Cylinders 1-3 were way leaner than 4-6, but I strongly suspect that's because he had a custom adapter plate to rotate the 4bbl carb 90 degrees which means the idle circuits all would have been to the back cylinders. Betting it didn't run great, and based on the plug coloration at the tips I don't think it really ever made it to WOT although that's a guess.

[Mr_Roboto]

Just did a round of parts purchasing to Include:
-Lock cylinders for an Astro Van (they were $11, I can strip them for parts I think and more importantly the gaskets were about 8 by themselves.)
-A set of Autolite plugs (the ones in there were Splitfires. :rofl:)
-A set of plug wires for a 1981 Ford 300. These should let me use the TFI cap with the aftermarket MSD Blaster II Coil.
-A set of hatch struts. I hate having a 1X2 for holding the hatch up, as sketchy as this car is it's a bit too sketchy for me.
-A CS130 Alternator from a 1989 Pontiac Safari. This is a good application in order to use to replace a 10SI Alternator on a car. I hope I have a pigtail some where (I think I should, I'm pretty sure I have my Astro's old harness) In this case it's somewhat important as the smaller case diameter and fan diameter should let me help avoid hitting the intake and accessory bracket while giving me (nearly) full adjustment.

I still need the appropriate vbelts. I really don't like the way that this is set up currently, but want to change that. Eventually I may go Jeep Serpentine but not yet.

I also took a moment today to pop the battery in the trunk. The interior lights won't shut off. Not a clue why. Guess I have to figure that out. I strongly suspect the wiring is butchered. Besides that, I cranked it and threw a little fuel in the carb. The car cranked over for a few moments and sounded pretty good doing it. Not super noisy by any means. I set up a catch can on the line from the fuel pump to see if any gas came out and it didn't. I'm guessing the tank is either bone dry or nearly so because the car is on jack stands now. I need to pop the skid plate back up and set it down I guess, but I thought I'd rather wait for the TV cable and throttle cable to be in place first.

[Mr_Roboto]

Got the throttle and TV (I'm going to call it that) cables hooked up to the new knockoff bracket. Few things there:
-The stuff from 3 different vendors seems to work together pretty well considering it's all Lokar knockoffs. Almost surprising
-I need some red loctite for the nuts. I lost a trans when the TV cable line came loose from a "universal" cable. I'll pass doing that again.
-I need to get a nut to space the throttle cable some. It doesn't have enough tension now so it won't go to full WOT. At some level I doubt it matters since it's a 500 CFM carb. I lean towards wishing this was an AVS not an AFB, but we'll see how it goes.

The wiring in this car is a mess. The interior lights stay on and the dash lights come on when the headlights do but don't do anything. Also, the heater controls were carpeted over and the electronics for it are mounted on the dash. I also don't have functional signals but do have functional emergency flashers. I found a flasher module in a box of stuff with this car so I'm hoping that fixes it. There's also some Sunpro gauges installed including a tach that didn't seem to work. I suspect looking at it I'm going to be better off to rip this stuff (dash included) out and go from there. I'm also pretty sure that I'll be good to go to start it up in a couple weeks and drive it around the cul-de-sac once.

[Trooper]

Check all the ground wires you can find, especially the ground on the firewall in the engine bay between the back of the motor and the brake booster.

[Mr_Roboto]

Check all the ground wires you can find, especially the ground on the firewall in the engine bay between the back of the motor and the brake booster.

Haven't gotten there yet, went to Mexico for a week, got sick after.

The plus side though is I had a bunch of parts come in. There's a set of hatch struts I installed (that's gotta be worth what 80hp minimum) so I don't need to carry a piece of lumber with me. This is an Eagle, not a Home Depot!

I also got the ignition parts sorted out. I think this will work, it's the coil, cap, rotor and wires for a 1981 300. I have a Blaster II Coil and this setup looks compatible. If I went to the later style coil I'd obviously use a later set of plug wires.

Lastly, this is how the alternator's looking. I need to figure out a belt length, get the second bolt set up, maybe do a bit of cutting and welding on the bracket but I think it'd pretty much work as is. I don't have an alternator bracket so I figured I'd give relocation to the smog pump slot a go. The alternator its self if a CS130 which is a nice upgrade from a 10SI or even a 12SI.

I am still trying to figure out head bolts. Far as I can tell no one makes 7/16 head bolts any more for these engines that are the OE style with the 3/8 stud on top for accessories. This is probably gonna be annoying. Considering it came with one broken off, I don't really trust these bolts nor the person who torqued them.

[Illeagle1984]

Oh, about the interior lights!  Try and turn the headlight knob one way or another.  I just worked on a few old cars so forgive me if I misremember, but I'm almost positive this adjusts the dash light brightness.  Turning it all the way bright should turn on the interior lights.  Also there are little door switches in each door, you can look to see if one of them is broken or something.

Sounds like the Eagle rehab is coming along great.  It can be hard to find the time, even harder to find the parts! 

[Mr_Roboto]

Oh, about the interior lights!  Try and turn the headlight knob one way or another.  I just worked on a few old cars so forgive me if I misremember, but I'm almost positive this adjusts the dash light brightness.  Turning it all the way bright should turn on the interior lights.  Also there are little door switches in each door, you can look to see if one of them is broken or something.

Sounds like the Eagle rehab is coming along great.  It can be hard to find the time, even harder to find the parts! 

Yeah, I still haven't called the dealer to look for those head bolts yet. That's on the list for sure.

In terms of the interior lights, there seems to be a couple different lights for the doors even compared to the ones lit up. It's kind of odd honestly. I never found a ground hooked the the block or one disconnected. As I said, there's wiring missing at the firewall that's clearly been cut so I have questions. I'm not sure I'll like the answers though. Not only that but looking at the home added wiring I think it's going to have to get ripped out and redone. I also think the dash got removed at a point, so I'll probably have to follow that path as well truthfully.

[MIPS]

In case the Eaglepedia doesn't have the wiring diagrams for the '82 I've put them on imgur in several pieces.

https://imgur.com/a/zDo85KS