First day back on the Jeep

     After being on the road for most of the year I finally got to spend a day working on the Jeep.  Since the clutch was destroyed last time out... this is the major repair slated for the week.  I had ordered a new MSD pro billet distributor for the little v8 and chose to install it this morning.  While running the new spark plug wires and setting the engine timing I decided to clean up the engine bay wireing harness.  Just so everyone knows...If a 9 year old boy receives a degree from UOP in tv vcr repair...The mess would be the same!!!    

     I enjoyed the first day of work on the jeep in a few months, so look for for more pics and commentary this week.

Good news and bad news

I was so pumped about the arrival of the fed ex package yesterday!!  It was like getting a bb gun for your 7th birthday...off the chart.   I worked for about 2 1/2 hours installing the new carburetor an ignition.  Super Excited !!!!!  is all I can say.
     The Jeep had a classic Quadrajet...probably stolen from a nice 1980 Buick Skylark or some other junkyard jewel.  Needless to say the jeep is much happier and runs perfect with the new Barry Grant 625 road demon.  I was amazed how well this little carb proforms out of the box.  It surpassed all my expectations and was a snap to tune and adjust.
     The MSD Igniton was also a snap to install with great instructions in the kit.  The MSD and the new carb make an old jeep crank and run like a modern fuel injected car.
     The bad news,  the factory hp rating for a v8 304 Jeep is 150 hp.  The leaky jeep now has long tube headers an Edelbrock intake a 625 Demon carb and MSD ignition.  The little jeep should now be around 250 hp and sounds like a drag car...I like this...off to test drive.      Down the street running great...time to mash the gas......HOLY ^%*&%$ this thing is fast!!!!
It was so exciting, I had to do it again.......and the clutch fell out in pieces in the road...lol

     So I orderd a new Centerforce clutch that I'll Install when I get back from Boston.

Home for a few days!!!

     After being on the road for a month and a half, it was good to see my jeep again.  I had thought about all the possible paths of things to repair.  I decided to order a new 625 road demon by Barry Grant, by all accounts and research this is the best carburetor on the market.  I was always a fan of holleys but due an excessive ammount of praise for the road demon I'm going to give it a try.
     The jeep got a new set of spark plugs and u joints this week thanks to the NC Black gang for letting me take up a little floor space at the plant.

     I also have orderd a MSD 6AL ignition system for the jeep, so look for pics and reviews of the products after install...Peace out

Nashville

We arrived last night around 10:00  In Nashville Tn.   The weather was great, in the 60s with a big moon on the horizon.  Our friends Lisa and Rich were kind enough to let us stay with them for a few days till our next gig.  I started the day out on craigslist in the area looking for Jeeps and parts.  The area has lots of Jeeps and spare parts, to pick from.

     Lisa took us to a local hot spot for up and comming Nashville musicans    imogene + willie  is a local clothing designer who makes hand tailored jeans on site in the U.S.A.  The best part of this studio is its in an old gas station with a bad ass 1948 Willys parked out front!!!   
     Thanks for the tour Lisa and a great day in Nashville.

On the road

I have been on the road for about a week.  The frst leg of the trip was from NC to AZ, I taught a class for the ASU metals dept. and it was a lot of fun.  I tried to find a good hood for the jeep while on the trip, no luck with that yet.  I landed for the night in Wichita falls Tx.  On the trip today I saw one beat to death cj-5 on Hwy 287 for sale....Of course I turned around, the old jeep had a 6  a  3spd and dana 30s  for a whooping 2500 cash firm.  I thought this was very high for a 1973 model  in poor conditon.  After a check of the local craigslist It seemed to be normal for the aera of pan handle Texas jeeps of any kind are in demand for hunting and ranch vehicles.

     When I stoped for coffee in Amarillo Tx I ran across one of Americas most bizzare art projects it was fun to see these old Cadillacs telling the world to kiss their...

Brake Issues

I drove the Jeep out today for lunch, it was a nice Carolina day.   After the near flood conditions we had had the two previous days the sun was a welcome site.  I had just crossed main st when I heard a noise from the rear brake on the right side.  Now this was no ordinary squeak, it was a loud clang.  I only had a mile left so I limped on back to the shop making weird clanks and bangs.  I decided to wait till work was over before checking on the problem.  I wouldnt want my co workers at NC BLACK to think im just a Jeep bum...lol
     At 9:00 p.m. I finished the tasks of the day and pulled the wheel off, to my supprise the adjuster and return spring had fallen out of place.  I was so grateful this was an easy 20 min fix. 
     The most exciteing news of the day came after the brake repair.  I got a new 14 inch air cleaner in my favorite color...chrome!!!!!!!!!!!  While in that area I decided to check the timing and fix a couple of vacuum leaks.  I know the last owner of the Jeep was a little bit slow... BUT EVEN THIRD GRADERS IN WEST VIRGINA KNOW THAT IGNITION TIMING SHOULD BE 10 TO 5 DEGREES (btdc)  NOT 12 DEGREES (atdc)...Just sayin

     The Jeep is running and stoping much better now.  This blog is mostly for my friend John in CT who would love to be helping me with all the wrenching...but school is the most important thing in a young mans life.

Sleepy Sunday

Today was a rainy windy day, Im sure it was designed for sleeping late.  I worked on the electrical in our new factory space. The Jeep seemed to be happy just to sit and watch me work in the rafters.  After a tweleve hour day of work and problems trying to order new wipers on the Quadratec website I deciced to take the old wiper arms off.   The previous owner of the Leaky Jeep decided to spray bomb the Jeep white.  He must have drank a six pack to many because he forgot to mask the wipers.  So tommorow I will strip the paint off of these and see if they can be cleaned up and buffed to a nice shine.