YODA 88 62
SILVER Star
***Added helpful electrical how to and supplier links
This thread is for members thinking about how far they want to go into a build whether there are brand new members or slightly seasoned. I am not a expert. The thread will read straight though the process of a couple pages instead of a lot pages with conversations in the middle of progress.
So, the rebuild process begans. Cleanup dirt, live grass, and trash first. I like patina. Freshly painted isn’t as appealing as something with character. I drove it around to see looking for major issues. None major issues were found. It ran ok, needed a carb rebuild. It shifted fine, until it got stuck in neutral several times. The brakes had been redone recently. The radiator was relatively new. 4wd worked. Some things leaked. There were some holes in the floor boards where the floor mats didn’t allow the moisture out. But overall the tub was was solid. I determined it was feasible to do a build focused on the wearable items.
This rig will be a cruise around town rig and maybe a trip or two to the local rock crawling park. It’ll be fun to drive with open diffs vs fully locked on 36’s. Everything will be challenging. There will a wife and kids in this cruiser as well. Safety was a high priority in the build.
I’ve decided to do the whole build first and post all the info/pics in consecutive posts. This can hopefully be useful to those considering a similar route of restoration. It will cost at least several thousand dollars in parts and months worth of eight hour days spent wrenching and researching. Google is the best way to search the forum. Break the project up into different jobs. Pick the job you want to do that day and more interesting. Bounce around projects when necessary. Many jobs will take three times as long as the wishful part of the brain thinks. There are so many unknowns that will pop up.
This thread should also give an idea as to what your dollar is doing if you restoration work done at good shop. Not saying I’m good or a shop. They charge a lot for jobs that appear easy in an owners mind but are actually quite time consuming because of all the little things that DO pop up and slow the process of an “easy” job. From broken bolts to wrong parts to shipping delays to labor issues.
Electrical is not that hard. If you say it’s hard, it will be. You are basically teaching your brain a new language, or new way of thinking. The factory manuals are free online. They are the best source by far to troubleshoot electrical problems. I think about the electrical system as the land’s water system trying to flow to the ocean. Switches divert the water flow. A bad ground is a dam blocking the water flow to the frame (ocean).
Buy nice tools, GXL wire, and 3M quality heat shrink connectors. Or use a good soldering gun with GOOD glue filled heat shrink. There are a lot of good vendors that sell connectors, wire and other products. It feels so much better knowing the work is done to higher standard. Consider the tools you buy vs the labor cost of a shop.
Most important, have fun doing this. Don’t rush any projects. Do the projects right so you don’t have to come back to redo them.
Day one pics... time to learn wiring basics.
This thread is for members thinking about how far they want to go into a build whether there are brand new members or slightly seasoned. I am not a expert. The thread will read straight though the process of a couple pages instead of a lot pages with conversations in the middle of progress.
So, the rebuild process begans. Cleanup dirt, live grass, and trash first. I like patina. Freshly painted isn’t as appealing as something with character. I drove it around to see looking for major issues. None major issues were found. It ran ok, needed a carb rebuild. It shifted fine, until it got stuck in neutral several times. The brakes had been redone recently. The radiator was relatively new. 4wd worked. Some things leaked. There were some holes in the floor boards where the floor mats didn’t allow the moisture out. But overall the tub was was solid. I determined it was feasible to do a build focused on the wearable items.
This rig will be a cruise around town rig and maybe a trip or two to the local rock crawling park. It’ll be fun to drive with open diffs vs fully locked on 36’s. Everything will be challenging. There will a wife and kids in this cruiser as well. Safety was a high priority in the build.
I’ve decided to do the whole build first and post all the info/pics in consecutive posts. This can hopefully be useful to those considering a similar route of restoration. It will cost at least several thousand dollars in parts and months worth of eight hour days spent wrenching and researching. Google is the best way to search the forum. Break the project up into different jobs. Pick the job you want to do that day and more interesting. Bounce around projects when necessary. Many jobs will take three times as long as the wishful part of the brain thinks. There are so many unknowns that will pop up.
This thread should also give an idea as to what your dollar is doing if you restoration work done at good shop. Not saying I’m good or a shop. They charge a lot for jobs that appear easy in an owners mind but are actually quite time consuming because of all the little things that DO pop up and slow the process of an “easy” job. From broken bolts to wrong parts to shipping delays to labor issues.
Electrical is not that hard. If you say it’s hard, it will be. You are basically teaching your brain a new language, or new way of thinking. The factory manuals are free online. They are the best source by far to troubleshoot electrical problems. I think about the electrical system as the land’s water system trying to flow to the ocean. Switches divert the water flow. A bad ground is a dam blocking the water flow to the frame (ocean).
Buy nice tools, GXL wire, and 3M quality heat shrink connectors. Or use a good soldering gun with GOOD glue filled heat shrink. There are a lot of good vendors that sell connectors, wire and other products. It feels so much better knowing the work is done to higher standard. Consider the tools you buy vs the labor cost of a shop.
Most important, have fun doing this. Don’t rush any projects. Do the projects right so you don’t have to come back to redo them.
Day one pics... time to learn wiring basics.
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