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I bought this 94 2 door stick 2 years ago for $1200 as a weekend toy
Mechanically it was very sound and ran like a champ but had really bad rot. I mean really bad rot. No floor board at all except the hump in the middle. I guess the hole on the roof should have been a clue. I did what I could on the body work knowing it wouldn't last and enjoyed it for a little less than a year and then crashed it.
The damage was fixable so I went looking for a donor.
My objective was to get the body parts I needed and change the gearing because all manual trans came with 3.08 gears and with just going up to 235/75's I couldn't get into 5th gear until almost 75mph.
I was looking for something with auto (i.e. 3.55 gears) under $500 that I could part out but then I came across this.
It was $900 and also a 2 door but I couldn't pass on the snow plow.
Then I must have lost my mind because when I started stripping it down. Although it was an 89, the body was in great shape, floor pans, rocker panels, dog legs and quarters were all in tact. There was one rust hole about 6 inches in diameter under the passengers rear seat floor board. Other than that it was all solid metal. Being a renix with 290k and barely functional, I didn't want to get into the mechanicals of it when the 94 had only 180k andran so well. So I decided to completely strip the 89 down to the bare cage and move all the electrical, controls and mechanicals from the 94 into the 89 making some planned improvments along the way.
Here's pic of 89 after sandblasting and the hole repaired in floor board.
This jig allowed me to roll it from one side to the other without a scratch and I could do it with the help of just one other guy.
This wasn't rot here but the frame was crumpled a bit. Looked like it had got hit in the hitch bending up on the frame without any damage to the body. Wanted to put my own hitch so I plated it.
Under-carraige painted
Ready to put it down and get started on the top.
Epoxy primer
and now paint.
A gas tank explosion working on another car burned everything. Fortunately the Jeep was outside. Took 6 months to repair garage but Jeep Back in and I'm back to where I left off.
The full instrument cluster is from a 91. I was surprised to find that adding the clutch pedal from the 94 into the 89 which was an auto was a simple bolt up job. The lose wires are accessories I haven't installed yet.
The carpet looks like crap and I only put it in to make sure I mounted the console correctly but I debating replacement. I'm already over budget and have a way to go.
Found your thread, heart sank when you said your garage burnt. Was/is it attached to the house?
Garage is WAY TOO CLEAN! I have a 30x50 shop and have to work outside, and house is basically a 2.5 car and wifey still parks outside.
I try and keep the flammable stuff in/near shop though.
Saw even your brake/fuel lines.. NEW or sanded and painted silver? AND your harness looks like you re-wrapped it with new connections.
Just like Crabmushrooms said, It's like a brand new Jeep. (i think you're WELL in your mind, and good at it)
Are you using POR-15 or the like?
Happy thanksgiving.
E
Last edited by rockosocko; 11-22-2015 at 10:33 PM.
Yeah, been a while sorry about the gap in updates. I had planned a lot more but stuff happened. The garage is 22x24 and until I got on this Jeep project it was just storage until I cleaned it out. My project Jeep was sitting alongside the garage covered with a tarp about 8 feet away when the fire happened. Had the fire not gotten under control as quick as it was it would've taken the Jeep. As it is the paint on the top of the roof shows impressions from the heated plastic tarp but no ones ever going to see it. As for the wiring there is a lot of new wiring with new connections and loom I got from CE Electric. The rest is stock that I pulled out of the 94 and laid into the 89 body. Had some electrical issues early on that I pretty much expected trying to retrofit 94 electronics into a 89 but worked thru them. The real delay came when I had to take about 7 months rebuilding the garage and then as soon as I got traction again I got put on a project at work that was one of those all consuming around the clock deals from August until now but I should be able to move along now. Here's some updated pics. The last one is a bumper I fabricated from steel I get from my buddy who makes steel for buildings. It's just tacked up but I'll weld, grind and paint this weekend. More to come.
Wow, quite the adventure so far! Glad no one was hurt and there was minimal loss with the fire. The jeep looks incredible. Any plans to stiffen it up for plowing? Unibodies and plows aren't the best of buddies.
07-17-2014, 07:15 PM
project: I Must be Out of My Mind
