Dismantled

September 2, 2011

Day one of the rejuvination prep is taking everything apart for painting. A trick I learned in modelmaking at Humber is to paint in pieces, instead of masking and painting the unit as a whole. this leads to a better, more complete paint job that looks closer to what a factory finish would look like; and since I was painting with tremclad, this would be paramount in helping me get the most bang for my buck.

Step 1 of the tear down was taking the doors apart. I pulled off the interior hardware and panel, unplugged all the electrical gubbins, and unbolted the outer door handles, which on a Grand Wag, require some very aerobic tool action and a lot of close quarters wreching around sharp steel edges. my tip would be to undo the door latch and let it swing out of the way slightly to make room for a universal joint ratchet.

Also, i had removed the rear bench and left it at home, so out came the mounts and seat belts. Shortly thereafter I removed the front seats for total floor access; but not before I'd taken the new lightweight Wagon Supperleggera for a spin up the road.

I must admit, the truck felt so much livlier with all this weight off. It sat higher and the backend was very frisky for a 6000lb truck. One of these on a strick bush-truck diet of no doors, glass, or uneeded bodywork would be very capable indeed.

I also took the time that night to mix up a pot of older tremclad gloss black with a bit of thinner and painted the entire floor with a brush. Since it tack-dried quickly I could redo a second coat as soon as I had finished the first, so I got 2 good coats on the floor to make it all even and dark. this really transformed the patchwork floor into a nicer uniform colour. The thinning was not so much for the rapid drying, but so the paint would self level better since it would be thinner and not so oily.

Northbound

September 1, 2011

Ah, the smell of the open road. Cargo packed to the ceiling, spare tire riding shotgun on the roof, and the whistle of wind over poorly-fit chrome trim. This is what Wagoneers were built for; taking you, and everything you require, anywhere you need to go. There is something to be said for the evocative rumble of a V8 as it stares down miles of open highway under a cloudless sky, drumming the tune of an era that has long since forgotten it. September 1st was one of those days.

Naturally, having only driven the Wagon on short trips close to home, I was trepidatious in light of the myriad of ways that long distance and heat can bring down an old V8 with ease. To counter this doubt, i opted to throw several jugs of rad fluid, oil, and tranny fluid in the back for the seemingly inevitable hiccups.

The Wagon was loaded with all the necessary equipment required to complete the bodywork, strip the paint, build the rest of the booth, and paint the entire truck twice over. Needless to say the back sat considerably closer to the road when I set out.

Having planned to spend 10 days up north, my family flanked me with our other 2 vehicles so that if anything happened I wouldnt end up taking out someone elses car. They would also play a critical role in helping finalize the booth, and run the air evacuation system while I sprayed the truck.

My sister managed to shoot a number of good "en route" pics; but the above proved to be my favourite of the bunch. Not only is the image sharp while taken from a car, the composition of the shot with the two generations of Jeep and the two generations of drivers is well laid out as well. If ever there was a shot that made the final edition grille look alright, this would have to be it (paired with that bumper as well).

I did stop about 3/4 of my way into the drive to grab dinner at the Subway in Marmora (another plug, they make the best subs of any Subway I've ever been to) and to gas up for the remainder of the drive. Here I was reminded of how picky a hot carburetor can be, taking a good 10 seconds of rolling before it finally atomized the right mixture to catch the spark.

I arrived at the farm with no mechanical troubles of any real nature. I knew my radiator was running sub par so I did have to run the heat to keep it normal, but it pulled as cleanly as possible for 40hp per ton, and never felt like it was about to fly apart when I hit 100 on the highway. I did enjoy the retro-stereo that pumped Led Zeppelin 4 through a single 1990's speaker, with all the clarity of a tax return form.

Custom Bumper

August 30, 2011



Given that I had been running bumper free since some time in 2008, I had finally come up with a complete design for a front bumper that would replace the tired and faded aluminum one. This bumper used new formed brackets that bolt to the frame (they almost fit; I will revise the design so the holes sit further back… I had to ream out my frame holes). The body of the bumper is of unitized construction, all built into one piece, making it stronger. The tow hook tabs are mounted as high on the bumper as possible to allow for a more aggressive approach angle, and are directly in line with the frame rails for added strength when pulling (as opposed to being pulled, which should never happen).


I had completed the CAD work for this design 3 weeks prior, and had sent it off to the fabricating shop for a quote. In order to build it to my design the front middle section (with the tow hooks, and the wrap under below it) would have to be built separately and welded in, with the weld running along the leading edge of the bumper. This wasn’t a big deal, except the edge wouldn’t be that nice rolled form it would have been from a machine. All said and done this bumper cost me $350 (unpainted), which when compared to the $600-$800 price tag of bumpers from other aftermarket manufacturers, seemed like a pretty good deal.

I was able to mount it with relative ease, with the help of my parents to hold it in place while I fastened the brackets and the bumper to the frame. The fit was good, with a bit of filing to get the frame holes in the right spot. I had planned to paint this at the same time as the rest of the truck so mounting it meant I wouldn’t have to carry it up in the back.

This bumper certainly gives the truck a more aggressive appearance, and makes it look like it belongs to a 23 year old as opposed to a 63 year old (who would suit the woodgrain and rubber bumperettes). I’m not as opposed to that plastic grille, but would still prefer something off an older rig, with round headlights. I plan to paint it satin black, so at least it looks like powder coating (though hopefully it doesn’t behave like powder coating).

Giving it the Once Over

August 23, 2011
 Sit Rep: There are a few faults it must be said; the engine leaks oil, the tranny leaks fluid, the radiator is on borrowed time, the clock disappeared, the AC is disconnected, the rear view mirror has fallen off 4 times, and my left rear door lock is sticky. That being said I can live without AC, I can manually unlock 1 door, and I can look at my watch. The leaks I will have to fix before they turn my driveway into a tar sands. With winter coming on, my radiator will last me until the spring so I have shopping time (replacements are $800, re-core’s are $300).


I took the truck for a bit of a spin up into the countryside north of where I live, to test out the systems on some quieter backroad routes. It’s a fun drive; being in something much older than other cars on the road. There is a sense of nostalgia as you look past your non-airbag steering wheel out over the large hood with a chrome ornament perched atop it; very non-Kia.

I snapped a few Camera Phone pics of it parked at an old school house. I realize the patchwork of paint, primer, bondo, and steel make for an interesting look, but that will soon be gone, along with that out of place bumper which I took off when I got home.

Becoming Legit

August 23/2011

It's like walking into the hall full of students waiting to write their passing exams, knowing that everything you have spent so much time on will be judged in a quick, thourough proving session. I felt the same kind of anxiety that I'm sure artists feel when they release an album, or a designer pitching a product on Dragon's Den.

This anxiety was justified for a few reasons. If the wagon failed the safety it meant I would have a list of yet more things to fix - to spend money on; not to mention the cost of another safety test. I had never tested the emmissions systems, only fixed what I had found to be dysfunctional. on top of these things was compounded the pressure of getting it certified so I could drive it up north to the waiting paint booth so I could paint it before the weather got too cold. I had booked a week of holidays months in advance so I was locked in; whether I spent them painting or I spent them fixing stuff I missed.

Lets just say the vehicle found it's way to the dealership in an undisclosed, yet fully legal manner. This provided a good test to see how it felt hitting 80 for the first time in nearly 4 years, and allowed the cat to heat up enough for the etest. upon arrival I hopped out, and my brother in law wheeled the big beast into the shop and onto the dyno for it's etest. While I wasnt allowed in the shop for thie following procedures, My brother in law had my camera-phone for some shots during the safety test. much to my surprise it passed the test by the skin of its teeth on the first round. I can probably attribute this near miss to its lack of use over the past few years (as i write this in November, it runs much better)



Looking to design a "Back From the Brink" sticker for the window to signify just how close this thing was to the crusher.

Sitting in the showroom with all the brand new baby Subaru's while my Senior Citizen Jeep towered on a hoist in the shop felt very numb, almost clinical; the way a father waits at the hospital for their child to be born. I was yet again surprised when after maybe 25 minutes my bro in law came out to tell me it was all finished, passed and certified. I was then able to go into the shop and snap a few pictures. I then settled up all the legal stuff and bills and set off in search of a licensing beurau to get some plates (another anxiety inducing task).



This thing weeps for paint, though the patchwork effect lets you know this vehicle has seen some pretty significant battles.



Note the orange Brakes for added stopping power



Apart from the lineup, the MOT deal was pretty uneventful, and I got the industry's only friendly and helpful assistant. I wont say any more about that since it's so boring, but I got a set of plates, Returned to the dealership, and popped them onto my newly legal beast.

Continued Next Post...

Frantic Prep

August 18-22, 2011

Certification Loomed on the horizon the way a cold front plows up a bank of thunderheads in the distance; no escape but to push headlong into it. With the Safety and E-test check booked for the 23^rd, I gave the beast a pretty thorough inspection and whipped up a short list of things I would need to complete over the next couple of days.

I street legalized all the Bondo work and got most of the bare steel painted for the trip north (should I get that far), as well as reinstalling any trim that needed to go back on. I pillaged the old TJ bumper from storage and welded up a few quick mounts to hold it in place as a temporary bumper while my real one was being fabricated.

An electrical check revealed my rear side marker signals didn’t work; with the multimeter reading about 2 volts instead of the required 12. Without the time to do proper continuity tests to find where 10 volts either escaped or couldn’t pass through a bad connection, I rigged up a splice to piggyback the power off the more robust tail light signal circuit. It meant they didn’t alternate blinking but it meant they now were legal.

 

On the evening of the 22^nd, about 16 hours before my test was booked, I took the vehicle for a quick spin to warm it up past driveway idle; with the intent of finding any weak points that otherwise wouldn’t appear until a road test.

The test worked.

When the power steering fluid began warming up, the pressure in the steering system increased to reach its normal operating temp/pressure. This caused a small pinhole leak in the low pressure line to begin dripping in a fairly constant 1 drip per second pattern. I reached in and gave the steel line (where it exits the box) a slight wiggle and it ruptured; bleeding itself out all over the garage floor like a mortally wounded Buck. Seeing as how it was passed closing time of Canadian Tire, I proceeded to dismantle the low pressure side of the system and took stock of what I needed.

 

In the morning, I slipped over to CT early to get the best start on my day. At T-6:00 I was told they didn’t stock parts for the Saginaw Steering system, the box that lived under just about every 4wd truck pre-1994 (and possibly after). Since I had the piece with me the Desk-Guy and I went to their fuel and brake fitting section and paired up a nearly identical match to the old fitting. I didn’t care that the line was intended for a GM sending unit, it bolted right up and I had steering in under an hour after purchase. I refit with new hose, clamps, and o-rings and then topped up the fluid. A few last minute dustings made it look semi-presentable before my brother in law came to pick it up for its appointment.

 

Big Booth

August 13, 2011

Manhandling a driver door into a small paint shop is easy; manhandling 4 doors, a hood, fenders, and a grille into a paint booth requires more space (still not hard), but fitting a 16' long truck into the same booth can be a sizeable task. Throwing a 19'x10' airtight structure together in a couple days requires that most of the work already be done for you.

Enter the Barn, Circa 1900. This building has an extended threshing floor for extra space, and solid 2.5" thick floors on Hemlock Beams. Bracing, Posts, and Swing Beams make for perfect backing components; just build the booth indoors. I began with a full bundle of assorted wood left over from church production props (Adventure to Bethlehem no less)

In Brief, the structure used a rib-like design that can later be collapsed and stored in pieces so i can use it again. It has a peaked roof, Garage style flip front door, and proper ventilation. The floor is sealed with large layered lumber tarps, and the walls are medium (about 8mil) vapour barrier. the man door is sealed by leaving a flange of vapour barrier around the perimeter that is trapped when it closes. a rear evacuation system uses an auxiliary fan from a 1990 Ford Taurus, sucking through 3 furnace filters (medium duty) the intake vents at the front are up higher than the rear exhaust, this causes the vapours and overspray to be sucked downwards.

Update from Early September. I left the vapour barrier until i needed it, this way it was dust free.

 Sneak peek