1Litre Jeep Eater

I

Injunfarian

Member
So I might as well start my project post since I am starting on my rig already.
I just picked up a 1982 LJ80v that is almost street worthy. I am going to break my build up into stages.

First I started out with a pretty much stock LJ80v with a light bar and some lights, RPM gauge, and battery relocated under passenger seat. From my knowledge that is about all that has changed. The body has had work done to it(bondo, floor patches etc) seems pretty solid right now as does the frame but we will see later on when I attempt to do some body work to it.

What I am looking for is mostly just a weekend wheeler to go wheeling with both 4wd vehicles and ATVs/Side By Sides, I am also considering using it as a 2ndary vehicle if need be... I live in the country but my work is about 5km away(50km/h speed limit) and the closest town is 15km away(80km/h speed limit) as well the closest trail head is about 5km away as well. Likely will not use it regularly(only when the wife needs the DD or the DD is in for repairs).

So here are the stages of my build:

Stage 1: Street Queen
Swap Disc Brakes in All 4 Corners
Upgrade the Master Cylinder
Swap out the distributor for a SJ413 distributor as well as coil.
Relocate the seats to push back to the rear wheel well.
Give it some TLC(oil change, spark plugs/wires, replace 1 headlight and 1 turn signal bulb, drop in a yellow top battery, relocate the battery to just behind the passengers seat since I am sure its current spot might get a bit wet later on.)
Remove rear tire carrier and add License plate holder to the rear door.

Stage 2: Weekend Wheeler
Do a spring over on it with either stock leafs or other depending on what options are available.
31-32" mudders
Drop in a 1000cc big block out of a SJ410
Front and Rear HD Bumpers(2" receiver on each for a portable winch setup)
Add tube sliders to the rockers

Stage 3: Lock her up
Get some manual locking hubs from a SJ413 up front
Locker front and rear
Add a bit of trussing to the axle housings
Maybe upgrade to recentered hummer 2pc 8bolt rims with ABS beadlocks.
Build some tube fenders for it
Exocage it? Not a fan of the look but might be needed to protect myself and the LJ. May consider other options as well.


As you can see there is alot of plans for it, whether they get accomplished will be one thing however I hope to be able to complete Stage 1 over the next couple of months. Possibly start on Stage 2 this year as well.. If all goes well anyways.

Here are some pics of the day I picked it up... one picture is of my son happily sitting in the drivers seat... he asked me if I bought it for him lol.

I welcome all feedback good or bad would love to hear from everyone.





 
So after spending the afternoon I ended up getting her running via fuel IV... The fuel tank is shot.. does anyone know if there is NOS fuel tanks for these? or if a fuel tank from another vehicle will work in it? or will I need a custom one built?

Once I hooked it up to the fuel IV she started up with some choke then idled smooth when I dropped the throttle she sputter a bit at first but after that ran GREAT. Initially there was some smoke but after she warmed up the smoke went away... I did let her cool off then started her up again and dropped the throttle without any sputtering at all.

I also believe it is the battery that is shot on her so I need to drop in a new battery, new fuel tank and she should be close to ready to hit the road.

Here is the initial video of her running with the initial sputter:
https://youtu.be/R_41K2Ecegw

Also attached is the IV setup.



 
So I got her out on the trails for the first time, she did surprisingly well with stock ride height and street tires I must say... Also brakes work pretty good and no issues with the tcase or tranny. Speedo and Temp gauges work.. also found the issue with loosing all power that I referred to before.

There is a loose wire underneath the dash on passenger side.. I did not trace it yet but will be replacing it next weekend.. I found out the hard way when I was in a mud hole and hit a root which bounced the truck up. Lost complete power and stalled right in the pit.. She fired right up once i found it and crawled right outta the hole.

Here is a video and pictures
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-vPicX60058
http://youtu.be/tIm7rjIZElw















 
So had a somewhat successful day... first had to change brake pads/rotors on my DD... then I was able to swap out what the previous owner put on this thing as a fan belt with an actual one.. the one that was on there was like 4mm wide when the real one should be 9.5mm wide. That got the alternator working a bit but still just not quiet there.. so yeah will need an alternator but atleast i got a good battery in it now.

After that I had the itch so got my friend to dolly me to the local sand dunes(next road over) and we had some fun.. finally got it into 3rd and 4th gear in 2wd and she runs good no noises or issues from any gear but a bit sloppy steering I will need to address..

Here are some pictures for now... videos to come shortly.







 
Swapped out the 30AMP LJ alternator that requires a separate voltage regulator with a 45AMP Samurai alternator

First you need to get yourself a SJ413 Alternator, I picked up a fresh one from the local part store for $139CDN. She will bolt right up just need to do some wiring.



You also need a plug from a donor vehicle as well, this was not something I could find at a part store but luckily for myself I had a complete wiring harness from a 1991 Suzuki Sidekick 1.6L 8V from a earlier project.



I then separated the plug and wires from the harness all the way to the connector


You end up with about 5-6feet of wire maybe more, note the SJ413 alternator plug only has 2 wires(Black with White Tracer and White with Red Tracer).

I then decided to bypass the voltage regulator completely for these 2 wires since the new alternator has an internal voltage regulator.

So I unplugged the voltage regulator from the harness(behind the drivers dash on my LJ80V, I then used a small screw driver(like the ones used for eye glasses) and popped out the White with Red Tracer and Black with White Tracer from the voltage regulator plug.


I then went back to my donor harness and pulled a 4 way connector from that luckily for myself the blade connectors from the LJ harness that I just popped off fit nicely in it.


I then cut and stripped the wires from the alternator and crimped on male blades that also went into the other side of the 4way connector(I only used 2 wire slots)

I made sure to match White with Red tracer from the donor plug to the white and red tracer from the voltage regulator as well as the black with white tracer the black and white tracer.

I then bolted the alternator up and attached the white charge cord to the proper location, started up my LJ and got a perfect read of 14.4V at the battery terminals while running... I then put some load on it(turned on my light bar, Head lights running lights, interior fan etc and getting around 13.5V at the battery terminals so not bad... Especially since I want to eventually replace all my lights with LEDs including a curved 40" LED light bar.



So now my LJ is a whopping 45AMP generator! And everything works including the Charge Indicator. Just like it came from factory with a SJ413 Alternator. I did leave the old plug and wires in the harness just incase for whatever reason I or any new owners would want to revert it back to the LJ80 Alternator but I couldn't see why they would... Likely will get tossed when I redo the entire wire harness and eliminate any and all splices and bad wires.
 
And up up she goes...

I had a set of lift shackles laying around from my old samurai:


So I installed them:



They opened up the wheel wells decently:






So I installed a set of 31's that came with my parts machine:










I got a bent bumper mount up front so turning I have some rubbing issues:


Going to try to bend that back to solve that issue...

The rear of the tire in the front wheel well is a bit tight as well turning:


but thankfully no rubbing on turning alone.

Flexing however is a different story:


Some big rubbage:


However there is about 1/4-1/2" of material i can bend/cut off that will hopefully solve it.

The rear wheel well is just perfect with the 31's even when fully stuffed:
 
So time for an update.

Ended up purchasing some used 31x10.50x15 Super Swamper Irok ND's to last me this year. 2 of them are about 20-30% one is about 40-50% and the last one is about 60%.:
IMG_0701_zpst2nc4y0r.jpg


I also ended up purchasing a new yellow top battery for my truck since the battery it came with was shot:
IMG_0733_zpsjjkju5mi.jpg


Last but not least I ended up purchasing a locker for the rear end:
IMG_0730_zpslg20kmk1.jpg



Also ended up taking my LJ to its first event, a local Mud Run she did pretty good made it through 4 out of the 6 pits with ease the last 2 I didn't even attempt due to the depth of the water...
IMG_0716_zps2fablxrf.jpg


Only need to be rescued twice all day both due to driver error... both errors were due to speed... first one i went through the pits too quick and ended up sideways with my front and rear tires stuck in rutts. second error was hitting the water too hard drowning out the carb starving the engine of error.. wouldnt start back up till we cleaned, dried and fixed it up... we eneded up using a 2L coke bottle as a filter canister for my K&N.
IMG_0709_zps6vtatgrt.jpg



And what good is this post without some video of the mud bog:

https://youtu.be/TSkPQzM0H_I

https://youtu.be/yzJ-Fxu4_70

The video from outside of the truck was at the end of the day(camera man didnt want to leave the passenger seat) so the pits were dried up but you could see how wet they were from the in cab video...
 
got the locker installed....

here is the third all taken apart and cleaned up:

11149476_10207377169728536_1497365157636976142_n_zpslvfwgyuo.jpg


and here is it all put back together:

12047206_10207377753303125_8187011168382013603_n_zpsyufkc5ve.jpg



Now I just need to source out a sammy front diff for its manual locking hubs and knuckle etc. to go disc brakes in all 4 corners and that should satisfy the mods until next year.

Now I can't forget some clickity click video:
https://youtu.be/sH3XYzYtseM
 
Finally got my fuel tank fresh from japan with a brand new sending unit and gasket! can't wait to install it and get rid of my hack job fuel system:

IMG_7398_zpswjod7z5g.jpg


Current setup(see the jerry can in the old battery tray?):

IMG_0709_zps6vtatgrt.jpg
 
So I picked up a Samurai(SJ413) axle today complete with manual locking hubs, so now I just need tp find another pair of calipers to use as cores as well as a sj413 brake master cylinder to complete my 4wheel disc brake conversion.

IMG_2313_zps4fdmrsu8.jpg


IMG_2315_zpscqgcfxwg.jpg
 
Thanks, I will definitely keep this post updated. Been awhile since I was able to work on the lil guy hoping to be able to clean out my garage enough to move it into there and tie up all the loose ends so its ready to go for spring.

What I hope to get completed before spring is:
Samurai Rad
Reinstall Tcase(currently out since I broke 3 out of the 4 mounts)
Install new Gas Tank
Install rear disk brake conversion
Swap knuckle out for Samurai system with manual locking hubs and disc brakes up front
Install Samurai Master Cylinder
Install my new 3500lb winch
Install CB Radio

Should keep me busy over the winter.
 

https://www.helpavetshine.us/help-a-vet-shine
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