BJ74 in Los Angeles (1 Viewer)

[Collin80]

Finally have this beauty in hand.

So far the only upgrade has been the 2.5" OME that Steve at LCD put in for me. Will be getting a rear bumper from Jason in the next few weeks. Spent Saturday putting in 12V DC, a 12V radio from a 40-series that I got, and a separate aux input -- will post photos of that adventure soon.

First question: is it just mine or are the door locks kind of strange? My passenger side only locks properly when the door is closed (but I think the whole mechanism just needs replacing since my key won't lock or unlock the door from the outside) and the driver's side seems to only fully lock when you close the door, hold it shut, and then pull the handle out once. I have no problem with little quirks but curious if this is a normal thing or if I should think about replacing both lock mechanisms.

 

[Gun Runner 5]

If your BJ74 is titled in the U.S. , please register it here..... https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/u-s-70s-registration.804314/

 

[hoser]

To lock the door, you have to pull the handle up while closing the door. Keeps you from locking your keys inside. Popular safety feature in the 80's. @fireball did a nice write-up on defeating this 'feature'.

 

[Collin80]

Thanks for the info about fireball's writeup. Will be glad to get around that "feature."

 

[Collin80]

I needed to replace the AM radio (works, but AM radio isn't terribly exciting) but I wanted to retain a stock look and don't need bluetooth, CD, etc. Just need an aux input. So decided to put in an AM/FM OEM radio that I found, plus a secondary amp for the aux. A little crazy but was an interesting challenge.

Ran the 12V converter off the lighter, since I don't need a constant source, and didn't want to worry about any trickle charges, but otherwise basically copied Mr Tibbs' method.

Old AM radio taken out:

New old radio (which lucky for me came with its original harness):

New amp hidden behind the radio:

The other thing I wanted to avoid was having to add a switch for the aux input. I found this product, which manages two amp inputs and switches automatically when it senses a signal from the secondary amp.

A/B selector hidden up behind the glovebox:

 

[Collin80]

Finished install, with aux cord and aux volume knob hidden inside the storage pocket

The automatic switchover to the aux signal works better than I expected, and doesn't create any noise or kill the sound quality. It's a cool trick to have the radio playing, plug in your phone and start a song, and it starts playing without you having to do anything.