Well, the Goodie blog has returned to its neglected state since a flurry of activity with the past year in review. I had thought that after finishing with grad school, I might actually utilize this creative medium once again, but I was mistaken. Or perhaps the lack of activity is simply a testament to an uneventful 2013. Or it may be that 2013 has largely been characterized by (far too) copious amounts of work. Whatever the case, I've ascertained a topic that promotes suggested chronicling while cultivating consistent creative and cultural communication for the collective. In short, and lacking much alliteration, I am fixing to start working on the Jeep. A friend and coworker of mine is big on chronicling projects with photographs and tells me I should do the same. Thinking that is a pretty good idea, I figured I could just put it on the blog as a record of the work I'm doing. Unfortunately, I've done a host of other improvements with the Jeep that I never captured, but that was then and this is now. Before diving right into the improvements I am planning to make, I thought I might start by describing the Jeep as it was and where it is today. Plus, it was an excuse to go look at nostalgic old pictures.
To begin, I have a 1983 Jeep CJ5 with about 115,000 miles on it. While most vehicles are feminine, the Jeep is known around the Goodrum household as "Hank" and I think that's probably because it rhymes with tank and because back when I was encouraged by Jennifer to come up with a name, something masculine seemed appropriate. I acquired Hank at 63,000 miles in 1997, the summer after my sophomore year of high school back in Amarillo, TX. My family is a Jeep family. My dad had an old Willys when he was younger and except for a brief stint with a Ford truck, as long as I can remember we have had a Jeep of some form in our family. When I was in high school, my dad had progressed to a Grand Cherokee but always thought it would be neat to have another old CJ. I afforded him that opportunity for the small sum of approximately $4500. We made a deal; my dad paid for the Jeep (and my insurance which undoubtedly cost more), and he would pay for half of any improvements (this was a pretty good deal). I wish I had a picture of Hank at the time of purchase, with the poorly fitted aftermarket hard top, the original halfback seats, and the Jeep wheel covers that I've never seen on any other. Unfortunately, I don't seem to have any from that early on, so the best I can do is this picture from the web (picture a poorly fitting black hard top, silver wheel covers with the Jeep logo, and light tan colored seats):
A couple of items to note about the CJ5.
1983 was the last production year for the CJ5. The CJ7, which began production in 1976, had a slightly longer wheelbase (and therefore was considered less prone for rollovers) and continued until 1986, when it was replaced with the Jeep Wrangler (square headlights), which had a squatter stance to help with stability since the CJs had gotten a bad rap for rolling over. I still think that if you know how to drive one responsibly, you can avoid most rollovers, plus a Jeep CJ is far cooler than an Isuzu Trooper. CJ5s were also never made with hard tops from the factory. The only hard tops that exist are aftermarket, and some are made better than others. 1983 Jeep CJs were also made with AMC 20 rear axle housings that had two-piece axles which was later thought to be a less than stellar design. A common engine for the Jeep CJs in this time period was the 4.2L in-line six, which had good torque, decent horsepower, and relatively good gas mileage (all in the late 70s and early 80s). This engine was later replaced with the 4.0L in-line six found in Jeeps until the redesign of the Wrangler in 2006. The change to the 4.0L in 1991 brought fuel injection to the in-line six, which was a very good thing.
So, in high school and college, I made several improvements to Hank, many of which are still around. Rather than getting into details, I'll just list the more major ones here:
Replaced hard top* with Bestop Supertop (tan)
Replaced AM/FM radio with tape deck**
Replaced halfback seats with standard bucket seats and fold 'n tumble rear seat (tan)
Installed Rancho 2 1/2" suspension lift kit (and later learned about driveshaft angles and u-joint failure)Replaced wheels with Cragar chrome wheels and 31" BFG All-Terrains, then eventually 33" BFG Mud-Terrains
Replaced original carburetor with throttle body injection kit (never quite pleased with this kit)
Repaired*** rear axles with Moser one piece axle kits
Replaced 2.73 gears with 3.73 gears and Auburn Gear limited-slip rear differential
Repaired engine with new 4.0L cylinder head from 1993 Wrangler (more horsepower than 4.2L), new pistons, and most internals
Installed new camshaft for better mid-range torque
Installed Clifford headers and intake manifold
Replaced throttle body kit (never liked it) with Edelbrock 4-barrel carburetor****
Here is a picture of Hank when we lived in Jackson, MS after these improvements had been made (and some remade...) as well as after a good washing and waxing.
Unfortunately, Hank has not seen much action outside of the garage since we moved to Colorado, which is terribly ironic. Much of this was due to failing the state emissions test. Five times. BUT, this did provide me with the opportunity (read "justification") to get rid of the carburetor and go with a modern fuel injection system. MOPAR sells a multi-point fuel injection kit like was found on a 1993 Jeep Wrangler that brings old CJs into the more modern era. This kit and some of the required accessories only runs about $3500, which was almost what Hank cost back in 1997. All I can say is that so far, it has been worth the cost. And a fuel injection kit and new catalytic converter later, Hank passed the CO emissions test, and has since passed again. In the process of installing the fuel injection kit, I also had an excuse to complete another of the rebuilding items on my list for many years and rewired Hank from headlights to tail lights with a Painless wiring harness. I am not an electrician, but I can tell you that duct tape is not the appropriate medium for securing electrical connections in any type of system. Needless to say, rewiring was worth the $350 and couple of days invested. Here are a few pictures from the fuel injection/rewiring foray.
And the finished product:
So this is the starting point for the next big improvement project for Hank. A new set of axles, complete with locking differentials, and an improved suspension system.
*sold the hard top and purchased Jacobs electronic ignition module which later burned up
**I've been through about a half dozen stereos because rain and dust are not a stereo's friend; and I have a CD/MP3 player now
***I "spun" a hub at the Canadian River with my dad and we learned about the weak link in the AMC 20 rear axle design
****I later learned that this setup was not technically street legal; fortunately that did not matter in rural Texas counties (Brazos) or the entire state of Mississippi
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