Starting and Charging Circuit Photos

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Brake lights

No new photos today, just an update.

Noticed last week when I stopped at a light that I couldn't see the glow of my brake lights in the chrome of the car behind me, so when I got home I checked; yep, no lights. Started looking around and quickly realized that the wires were brittle, connectors corroded and at least one of the splices (yikes there are a lot of splices in this old wiring loom) was together by a single strand.

Rear end lighting is the last bit of re-wiring I need to do to complete the re-wiring of all the electrical systems. So I'm not surprised the 50 year old wires are not working well. In my digging I realized only one of the brake light switches was even wired in (two hydraulic circuits, front and rear, if one fails you still have the other for braking, so important to have lights as well). That was first fix, followed by replacing the splices and wires all the way back.

Lights working again and with the cool spell this week I'm going out on a run.

Next light related job is replacing the trailer lights on the rear end with period correct lights, and reinstalling the backup lights. Would have done that at same time yesterday but need a much larger drill to open the holes for the wiring connectors on the lights.

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Bright eyes

Ever since I got her home the bezels around the headlights were an ugly blight on an otherwise beauty of a Jeep.

I looked around and tried the only "replacements" I could find online; but they were for the intermediate CJ-5 made from 71-75. They just didn't look right and didn't stay on either as it only slipped on -- the screws didn't align. One was lost while driving and after a "clink - crunch" sound I looked about and saw one gone. So removed the other and drove her for the last year while I looked for options.

Of course the first option was to find someone who could re-chrome the originals. That would mean that I sandblast them and then prime/prep them for the chrome. Nobody local for less than $100 so I decided to keep looking. Let's face it, enough of her is not original that having the originals on there are not a priority. I just want the original look.

So after one of my eBay scans, daily you know, just for "1969 Jeep CJ5" to see what's there I spotted bezels. They were listed for CJ2/3/early 5 so that indicated these were likely the right ones. And only $20 each! Buy it now didn't work fast enough for me as I didn't want to lose them, but they were shipped later that day. 5 minutes installing and now her face looks like it should.

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Broken glass and baubles

One unique feature of the Jeep is its ability to fold the windscreen for transport. This feature led many GI's to simply drop the windscreen for ease of driving, and even modern Jeep drivers talk of being able to get through wooded areas inaccessible to vehicles which cannot drop their windscreens.

This feature is even on modern Jeeps, but rarely used. Since the Old Girl had these baubles on her for supporting and holding down the screen when folded, I searched around for correct ones. All the info I could find basically said they were added on after painting, and typically were black. Of course exceptions exist and most photos of Jeeps show them painted the body color, but then again period photos show a mix. Instead of trying to match the paint, I decided the black bits accent the orange body quite well.

Just two supports and the two footman loops to tie her down. The large on goes on the hood and the smaller on the inside of the windshield. I measured thrice and then measured three times more before committing the drill bit. It all went right and looks more "Jeep like" with the hardware. Plus once I get a correct strap made she'll be complete on her hood.

Legally I can't drive her this way, the law requires a shield to protect from rocks. But at a drive in I can drop the windshield for show.

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The girl goes topless

I've been trying to find the best means of removing the Meyer top all winter. I was resigned to needing a frame and winch (which I'd have to create) and renting a storage unit to keep the top in. Then one day I had an epiphany...what if I simply disassemble the top and store each piece inside my storage shed?

The weather finally broke (16 days straight of rain) so I was able to rearrange all the yard tools in my shed. I got rid of all the duplicates (who needs three shovels; how did I even get three shovels?) as well as some stuff I didn't know I had, which is another way of saying it's outta here!

By the time I was done I had a place where all the bits of the Meyer top would fit. Now I just needed to get the courage up to start removing it.

Sunday the weather was nice so I started removing bolts. 16 on the top, another 6 across the windshield, and another 8 along the base. Before I removed those, I took the doors off, including the rear lift door and its hardware.
Turns out the top piece is not as heavy as I had thought; while the whole top is about 350 pounds, the doors are the heaviest. The top was quite light but bulky. I had a neighbor give me a hand lifting it off, flipping it upside down and then getting it into the shed. The rest I easily did.

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Stepping up

Two typical mods by owners are first to remove the steps as they just get hung on rocks and logs out on the trail, and secondly put in split mufflers for the V-6; each side exhausting to just in front of the rear wheel. The Old Girl doesn't get much trail time anymore, and while I'm tall enough to step in and out of the Jeep not everyone can. So I decided to source some replacement steps (originals are as rare as hen's teeth) but realized I needed to revert the exhaust system back to original in order to be able to install the steps.

Off to my local muffler shop where they fabricated everything except the actual muffler; it turned out to be a bit cheaper than I'd expected, which is good, but they took their time. A week later she came home and after a great drive it was obvious that the original muffler system was quieter than the split system she had. Cool!

The next step (!) was to install the steps. Since the tub on the Old Girl is not original, this meant drilling new holes. So the thing I did was install the lower brace that fits between the frame and the step bottom. In order to sit straight I had to grind off one of the three step bolts that held it onto the bracket. Not sure why the 3 bolts were there, only two would be sufficient and allow a bit more flexibility in mounting. Next I fitted the steps with the vertical hangers and marked my holes. The original would have been mounted to bolts welded into the hat channels, but the existing hat channels were rusted or gone, so I mounted directly to the floor. This pushed the step rearward about an inch and raised it about 1/2 inch.

The passenger side was a breeze...then I realized I had to remove the fuel tank on the driver side, which means also removing the seat. Which also means draining enough gas out of the tank to allow me to remove it. Guess what? YES, the tank was full! So next nice day I take her out and drive around to burn gas. Still not enough so next nice day after that I finally run the tank down to near "E". Meanwhile we've had the 2016 Blizzard ("Snow-Zilla" or was it "Snow-Nino"?) followed by epic cold (-5*F) followed by another snow storm. So 6 weeks later I'm able to finally take that seat and tank out, neither of which are difficult. The driver side step went in just as easy as the passenger side.

She looks more balanced, and looks just a bit more like her old self when young. Next projects: heater, backup lights, body mounts, front differential leak.

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Show your spirit!

Suzanne found a nice spare cover on the web:

Not the best photo, but it shows my support for Navy! I love it!

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What's that noise?

So any drive in a vehicle this, ahem, mature can lead to apprehension when a funny noise crops up. I was out on a recent nice day and just enjoying the drive when I noticed a "thunk" sometimes I shifted. Not every time, just occasionally. Everything was working, so I had no idea what it could be.

After she cooled off I slid underneath to look around.  Can't find a thing.  Nothing is loose around the transmission, or the drive train.  So of course I start worrying that my problem is internal to either the transmission, transfer case or rear differential/axle.

First things first, I decided to drain and fill the fluids in the transmission, transfer case and rear differential.  No metal flakes, so all looks nice there, although the transmission fluid level was low.  Very low.  A quick drive and good news is the transmission is very quiet.  I just assumed that continuous hum was normal for a Jeep...

The bad news was the "thunk" was still present on some of my shifting.

A few weeks later I was looking hard at the springs and used the drive shaft to pull myself further under the Jeep...the drive shaft moved laterally about 2 inches!  Not supposed to move laterally at all, just rotate.  This was NOT a good thing.

So I rotated the shaft and tried to recreate that lateral shift; no luck but if I turned it just right I could get a little lateral movement.  That meant to me the u-joint possibly was damaged.

So I removed the bolts and pulled the shaft.  Yep, u-joint had disintegrated.

Top of photo is the original u-joint.  All the needle bearings are gone, and the metal on the one end is so worn it wasn't held on by much.  A quick run to my local parts store and they had the replacement.  An easy install.

After torquing it all down I went for a test drive, and yes the "thunk" was gone.  Also gone was a vibration I hadn't noticed before, but noticed it wasn't there anymore.  She's starting to feel like a reliable and fun driver.

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Don't light a match!

What happens when you take a 45 year old gas tank, get a pin-hole, and then fill it up with gasoline?

Answer: a gasoline leak.

For months I was trying to understand why the Old Girl always had a gasoline fragrance to her.  Was it because her age, uses an old carburetor, so the fuel mixture is kind of "open" to the air all the time?  I lived with it, figuring this must be "normal" for car of her age.  Then the pin-hole became a real hole...

Did I mention the gas tank is under the driver's seat -- INSIDE THE CAB?

So one day I get in and there is gas sloshing about my feet.  YIKES!  I immediately get it all cleaned up and then start trying to find the leak.  You know, a full tank leaking into the car is just going to keep leaking, so I decided to drain it and start troubleshooting with an empty tank instead of a full one.  Only took a few minutes to figure that one out...



After draining it and a good inspection I realized there were a couple of holes where the drain plug is, which is accessible via a hole in the bottom of the tub.  Obviously some salt and moisture got up through that hole onto the tank, and it was around the drain plug that the gas was leaking from.

Choices:

1. Fix the tank.  Requires a bit of welding, have to get ALL THE GASOLINE out of the tank for safety.  Not expensive, but not cheap either.
2. Replace the tank.  Not expensive; can replace with either a steel or plastic tank.
3. Move the tank and replace it at the same time.  This gets expensive as it requires getting a later CJ tank that fits between the rear wheels under the bed.  Also have to remove some draw bar structure from the frame and need to cut some new holes either on the side or on the rear of the tub.  Lots of new tubing, hoses and other things to make it all work. 

I chose #2 and decided on a plastic tank.  Why?  I don't have to worry about rust and it looks original.

Only took an afternoon and works a treat.  As seen below, I've since added a double grounding; one to the body and one back to a grounding strap on the firewall.  More about that later...

I still have a bit of a gasoline smell, but it's nowhere near as bad.  Given it's a pressurized system I suspect it's not sealing perfectly around the gauge sender.  I've got a double seal there now, but may try something better in the future.  For now it works and I feel safe...with the window open of course.

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Nothing like a good charge

Sometimes it the little things...sometimes it the big ones.  

Let's talk the battery.  Actually, not wrong with the battery at all; lots of charge and turns over every time.  But sometimes you have to wonder if it is secured properly.  Well, the Old Girl has her original battery tray, but it's held together with not enough bolts.  Actually, only the one...and a bungee.

Yeah, I'm thinking that's not right.

So I find a replacement tray and some stainless bolts.  Very solid.  Looks sharper, too.

Best part: one less rattle when I drive.  Turned out the original was banging against the firewall at any speed above 20 mph.  It wasn't loud, but a "tic, tic, tic, tic..." with a squeak to go with it.  Now it's much much quieter.

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