My 1979 CJ-7

[MoGas]

I sold this CJ-7 back in 2001. I ran into the last owner at a gas station in Flagstaff, AZ around 2008, got to talking about the old Jeep.
It had changed hands a few times since I had sold it. I gave him my card and told him "If you ever want to sell it, let me know."

October 2016, I got a call from a number I didn't recognize but I answered anyhow. It was the guy that owned my old Jeep. He had hurt his back pretty bad and was now close to 70, so he said, "It's time."

I now live in Houston, and he now lives in Waco, but the title was in Flag and the Jeep was parked under a tree behind his Flagstaff house. He really tried to just give it back to me, but I made him take some money for it. He knew I had a lot of history with it and he felt I should have it. It also had been sitting a while, so the true condition was unknown. Anyhow, he had the title mailed to Texas, we met up and did the exchange, and I waited until my scheduled trip in December to roll around.

In the meanwhile, I had my buddy Jamie go over to have a look and get me some pictures. Most of my modifications were still in place. Rust had advanced due to sitting out under that tree in the winter. The freeze/thaw/freeze cycles are really rough if a little water gets in the seams, which it had. Jamie told me the radiator was full and green, the engine was up to full on the oil and looked pretty clean, tires were in good shape and holding air, brake master was full, power steering was full, overall OK “as parked” condition.

These are some of the photos Jamie sent me:

1979 CJ-7
304 V8
T-150 3 speed
Tilt Wheel
Clock
Padded dash
Power steering
Sway bar
Power brakes

The V8 emblems were still on there. I was really stoked about that as these were off of my dad's 1972 CJ5. He pulled them off before he sold it when I went into the Navy. He passed away between the time I sold it and bought it back.

 

[MoGas]

The Dana 44 that I put in it years ago was still there. 3.73 Trac-Loc. I had also regeared the front at that time. I think it had 3.08 when I first bought it.

The rear bumper that I had built was still there, too!!

Sadly, one of the owners had removed the full roll cage that I had built and installed a sport bar from a TJ. It was a hack job and it really didn't fit right, but there it was anyhow......

 

[murf]

That's a cool story. She's back home!

 

[yotadude520]

Any updates on this one?

 

[MoGas]

Any updates on this one?

Actually, yes... I'll update the post.

 

[MoGas]

I'm way behind on this...

So, December of 2016, I fly back to AZ and take the shuttle up to Flagstaff. I borrowed a car from a buddy and went to find my Jeep. I have some videos of that day, I'll get them loaded up.

 

[MoGas]

Here is how I found it

 

[Dizzy]

Nice, I'll be looking for episode two.

 

[MoGas]

There is much to update...

 

[Greek Cruiserhead]

What a touching story mate! Nice that you got her back!

PS. Twenty-two years ago my brother and I bought a red 1985 CJ7, which his owner, a US Air Force officer, abandoned it in Greece, due to a gearbox (T5) breakdown.
Since then we mess only with our Cruisers, so no time and love for the old girl sitting in the garage...

 

[MoGas]

So much to update:

In May, I got laid off from my job as a Subsea Engineer with Covid and oil tanking, my company cut 25% and I was one of them. Anyhow, I was straightening up the garage, and going through some parts bins, and my wife asked what were all the parts for. I told her they were for the Jeep and I was just waiting for some time to get to work on it. She said, “looks like you got the time now” so I started tearing into the engine. It was just kind of seeping oil here and there, so I had all the gaskets to do a re- seal job on it. I got it down to the long block and the engine was really sludged up. So I thought if I’m gonna rebuild, I might as well go up a notch. So I found a good 360 on FB marketplace pretty cheap. I tore it down, had it machined 0.030 over, crank ground 0.010 under, all the rest of a basic rebuild. I put an Iskenderian cam, moly rings, silvo lite pistons, blah blah blah. I had my TBI computer flashed for the changes along with bigger injectors, and a bunch of other stuff I’m sure I forgot. I started a new job in January as parts started to come back from machining, etc. so I’ve been weekend warrior rebuilding it. It’s a long block now, all painted. I’m going to install the intake manifold and button it up hopefully next weekend. Then, I’ll finish up the engine compartment, pull the tranny and transfer case out and rebuild those. Here is my progress up to today when I painted it.

 

[MoGas]

This is up to today

 

[cruiserinsanity]

Any updates?

 

[MoGas]

Not really. I got a job, so no more free time… Plus, it’s gross here in Houston. The upshot is that my wife wants to be able to park in the garage again, so she has green lit a split air system for me. It’s on order.

 

[murf]

Love it! When I had my '79 CJ7, I remember the challenges with the clutch linkage by the firewall - wasn't the best design. Does the V8 change dictate a linkage change/modification?

 

[MoGas]

Love it! When I had my '79 CJ7, I remember the challenges with the clutch linkage by the firewall - wasn't the best design. Does the V8 change dictate a linkage change/modification?

It's a factory V8. I'm just replacing it with a larger displacement. The beauty of the AMC V8 is that the exterior dimensions are all identical from 304-401.

 

[MoGas]

I forgot to mention the trip from Flagstaff to Houston:

I worked out getting the title and keys from the PO, and now I start thinking about the logistics of bringing it to Houston, where I currently live.

I figured that when I went out to AZ to see my family at Christmas, I'd get the Jeep registered and start working my way back to Texas. Sounds simple enough, right?

My wife (At the time my girlfriend) thought it would be fun to fly out and ride back with me. Now, she's kind of bougie, so this was WAY outside her wheelhouse. Flying to Arizona, driving a 47-year-old vehicle that I hadn't owned for several years, that had been sitting outside, untouched, for 3 years or so, almost 1500 miles, is not something that she had ever considered.

I flew in on the 26th, spent a couple days with family, then on the 28th, I went to Flagstaff to get the Jeep. My lady was flying in on 12/31 and we were planning on New Year's in Sedona, then start driving back on the 1st.

I get to the Jeep on the 28th, and as you see in the video, we got it running and driving.

I had put a few gallons of gas in it and drove it around the block a few times. Things are going well. I go to my buddy's shop on the 29th and put on new belts, change the oil, grease everything, look at the brakes, check all the gear oils, filters, that type of thing. I vacuumed it out and cleaned the interior as best I could to get ready for the trip. I also was bringing a bunch of stuff back that I was storing in Flagstaff, so I loaded all that up in and on the Jeep. It's running really well, and I feel confident that this is going to work out.

Let's recap: 47-year-old vehicle, that for all intents and purposes, was acquired sight unseen. It hadn't been run since it was parked under a tree in Flagstaff for over 3 years. I'm going to drive this thing 1500 miles or so just a couple days after resurrecting it. My lady is coming out to ride back with me for a fun road trip. What could go wrong?

30 December 2016. The Jeep is packed full and has stuff on the roof rack. I did a bunch of maintenance to prepare for the trip the day before. I have lunch with my buddy I was staying with and prepare to drive to Phoenix since my lady was arriving at 8 AM on the 31st, then we are to drive immediately back up to Sedona for New Year's Eve.

Around 3 PM, I’m finally heading out of town. I stopped at a gas station to fill up. This is the first time I've put gas in it other than the few gallons that I put in to get it running, never really allowing it to dawn on me that there was either very little or no gas in it when I got to it. As the pump is filling, I notice fuel dripping on the ground. The seam of the 15-gallon tank is leaking... Now, since that's at the halfway point of the tank, it's only going to leak until it gets to half tank. I know my best bet to find a tank is to get to Phoenix, so I fill it up and start heading south for the 150-mile trip to the valley.

Before I left Flag, I called a place called AMC 4X4 Salvage that was in Glendale just NW of Phoenix. This place was always a great business to deal with over the 30 or so years that I have had Jeeps in Phoenix. They happened to have a completely new tank kit in stock. Tank, straps, sender. The problem was that it was after 3pm on a holiday Friday. They wouldn’t be open by the time I got there. I asked them if I could pay with a card over the phone, and I’d take a chance if they left it out where I could find it. It was decided that they would put it in the recycle dumpster and they gave me the combo to the lock on it. Perfect!!

I headed down I-17, with fuel dripping until it gets to ½ tank, fortunately, the fuel gauge works, and I know the route well enough to know where the fuel stops are. I had my little 2.5-gallon fuel jug full just in case, also. I stopped in the Verde Valley to fill up. Yup, still leaking over ½ tank. No change for the worse, so away I went.

I pulled into the salvage parking lot around 5:30. Went to the dumpster, unlocked it, and there was my new tank kit right on top. I put it on the passenger seat and made my way to the big, 24-hour Autozone in Phoenix in case I needed anything else. I changed the tank in the parking lot with the help of a local hanging out at the store. I went down the street to fill her up, and presto!! No more leak!!!

I went to a cheapo hotel so I could get a few hours sleep and shower up. Got up in the morning, drove over to the airport, and at 8AM, my future bride had her first look at her chariot for the adventure of the next few days and couple thousand miles. We went and had a nice breakfast at Matt’s, and wound our way up to Sedona.

After celebrating on New Year’s Eve, we got up in the morning and hit the road. The Jeep was getting pretty good mileage. It really was only comfortable up to 65-70 mph. After that, it took a bit more activity to drive, and the fuel consumption would raise exponentially.



The drive to Houston was honestly, uneventful. Got around 13 mpg, didn’t use any oil, everything worked. Our first night was in Las Cruces, NM. The next day we started heading to our next hotel in Fredericksburg. We stopped on the way in Van Horne, had some great Mexican food, and got a couple photos. The last leg into Katy went just as smooth.

That’s pretty much the trip getting my CJ out to Houston.



I’ll get back to updating the project.

 

[MoGas]

After we got the Jeep to Texas in January 2017, I pretty much just drove it around here and there.

I added a GM based TBI system. It was a great upgrade all around. Better starting, better economy, I spec'd it out to handle modern ethanol fuel so I wouldn't need the additional expense of using Ethanol Free fuel. I also went with a computer controlled HEI distributor.
Really no downside other than the cost and my time to install.

 

[MoGas]

One of the things I brought back from my Arizona storage was this 8274 that had been sitting in the corner of my shop for years. I had picked it up as a backup for the one on my LC80, but it is a natural fit on an old CJ.

 

[MoGas]

Timeline, July 2017:

I was planning on replacing my ball joints. I popped the cover on the Dana 30 to drain the oil and found this...