Her asking price is $15,000. Looks and sounds like a great start on a nicely done Scrambler.
1982 Jeep Scrambler CJ8
1. New frame by Throttle Down Custom Frames. I had Tim Board from Ztech rust proof the inside of the frame. I had the frame painted by a shop in Kewanee.
2. SS brake lines and gas line from Classic Tubes and one gas line from Inline Tubes. The kit from Classic Tubes was supposed to be an entire kit but I needed a gas return line to the gas tank and just found Inline Tube shipped faster.
3. New brake drums and shoes on rear and new rotors and pads on front. Extended brake lines on both differentials for a 3” lift.
4. Front differential is original Dana 30 with new 4.10 or 4.11 gears, I don’t remember. Differential was totally rebuilt, bearings, u-joints, and seals, when new gears were installed. Front axle has a Yukon air OX locker in it and controlled by air pressure. It has Valvoline 75-90 full synthetic gear oil. The OX locker has fewer fewer parts internally when I did the research. I used MOOG parts for rebuilding.
5. Rear differential is the original AMC 20 with the new 4.10 or 4:11 gears, bearings, and seals. A Detroit True Track is in the rear differential It has Valvoline 75-90 petroleum base with a friction enhancer in it that is recommended by Detroit. The rear differential has a truss I built for it and then took it too Bessler Welding in East Peoria and had them weld it to the gear housing and had the axle tubes welded to the gear housing or pumpkin as I have heard it referred to.
6. I painted all bare metal after cleaning it with an epoxy primer spray I found at Born Paint in Peoria, on the tub. The tub metal has been totally rebuilt with new sheet metal as needed. If I could find it locally, I tried to use paintable galvanized metal like I did for the bed on the rear of the tub. When I needed too, I would find an aftermarket body part and put it on and using only as much as needed to replace rusted parts on the tub to keep it as much OEM as possible.
7. It has a 2 1/2” leaf spring lift from Superlift that I purchased on eBay.
8. When Wyoming motors rebuilt the front differential they told me I needed a 3/4” shackle lift to increase the clearance for front axle steering components. So both front and rear differentials have 3/4” shackle lift with grease zirks.
9. When putting new leaf springs on I decided to replace the front ubolts and plate with ones in better shape.
10. The reason I used the OEM front and rear differentials is that I never intended to do full blown rock climbing, I built it for moderate trail use and as a daily driver. The research I did over years of reading, the AMC 20 rear is good for 35” tires in factory mode. The Dana 30 front is good for 33” tires in factory mode. An article in Jeep magazine years ago said there is nothing wrong with either one of them when used moderately. If an axle shaft is broken, there are a ton of OEM parts available for replacement. I just couldn’t see spending aver $5,000 for an axle, I spent about $1,000 each for parts and labor.
11. The front steering components are upgraded to heavier components. Borgesen rods, steering gear box is a rebuilt box with larger pistons to enhance the steering and make it easier to turn with oversized tires, steering gear box has a heavier duty steering gear box bracket, and sway bar disconnects.
12. The pitman arm is for a 4” lift, with a 21/2” spring lift and a 3/4” shackle lift I thought it would be needed.
13. The T-176 manual transmission has been totally rebuilt by a Peoria mechanic recommended to me. The transfer case was also rebuilt by him with new twin stick selector rods by Novak that separates the front and rear differentials enabling separate use of front and rear differentials. The mechanic that rebuilt the transfer case told me he did a little honing of some the components to make the transfer case a little easier to shift.
14. The engine is from a 2004 or 5 Chevy Tahoe with a little under 59,000 miles n it. It is a 5.3 liter. Before they shipped it to me they put short headers on it they said they had for an extra charge that I thought was very reasonable. The hp out of that engine should be in the neighborhood of 325 hp. If an automatic transmission is used instead, the torque converter should be matched to that hp. I thought, that if I did use an automatic transmission it definitely come from Novak from Utah. They have an excellent review and build transmissions for jeeps.
15. With the v-8 swap it will need different length drive shafts.
16. The gas tank is from GenRight Off-road and is an aluminum 20 gallon tank with skid plate. Internal gas pump is for the 5.3 Chevy engine. I got all the specifics from GenRight on what to get. They texted to me the part numbers and manufacturers of those parts that I needed. He also recommended the part from Tank that enables the OEM fuel gauge to work properly with the in-tank fuel pump for the 5.3 liter.
17. I built the front and rear bumpers and had them powder coated. I have an ARB air compressor for the OX looker front differential. The rear bumper is set up for towing and both bumpers have tow hooks and shackles.
18. I used Metalcloak 4” fender flares for the rear. When I finish the front fenders I’m going to change the rear flares to 6”. To match the 6” I want to use on the front. I don’t like the flat fender look. Metalcloak front fender system is over $1,000 so I am looking at 6” paintable fender flares for the OEM fenders.
19. The tub has the OEM original front grille and hood. The front cowling has the original rounded part behind the hood but the part that the front window sets on is aftermarket. The reason the cowling was repaired this way is that the rounded part of the cowling from aftermarket had small flats on it and original was in good shape. I separated the aftermarket and original cowling. Used the original front part and put it together with the aftermarket rear part. Riveted the two pieces together and used automotive caulk from Eastwood before riveting the two parts together. The front window frame is OEM. I made rocker guard’s myself from metal that I had purchased from a metal shop that put the bend on the bottom and I cut the ends to fit. The corner guards on the back corners are from Warrior Products. The original tailgate was pretty rusty, I found an OEM replacement, put some body armor on it and installed it. The back of the tub around the rear tires was pretty bad so there is new sheet metal around wheels using the original shaped parts on the top. The fender wells and the bed itself is all new meal from a metal shop. They bent the fender wells for me and I installed them on new sheet metal at the flat of the bed. That metal is made of paintable galvanized sheet metal and is a heavier gauge then OEM metal. I used metal flat stock on the flat of the bed to make it look like the original but I should have used a thinner piece of bar stock to do it. The caulk on the edge of the bar stock is paintable butyl urethane. After I bolted the flat stock I tack welded all the nuts under it, ground all the bolt heads on the top and filled all imperfections from grinding and installation with paintable caulk. This is all in preparation bed liner to be put on the bed and on the floor of the cab. The bulkhead between the cab and bed is repaired OEM. The floor of the cab has been repaired. The part over the transmission is original but I found aftermarket replacements that come in 4 pieces. One each under the seats and one each behind the seats. All welded and sealed. I did all the tub work and removed it from the chassis, flipped it upside down, the sprayed it all with a rust preventer from Eastwood and stored the tub inside while I switched everything from the OEM frame to the new TDK frame. The two seat fiberglass cab and roll bar are OEM. I added extra support under the bed of the tub as I thought would give some extra strength.
20. All the glass in the cab is new from Collins Brothers of Tyler, Texas. All rubber seals are new for Jeep CJ’s.
21. The roll bar has a new third brake light at the bottom center of it, I thought it to be a smart add on.
22. I tried to use torx screws everywhere. I used OEM when they were in good shape, but if the threads were missing a little thread from rust I replaced them. I used hex head screws when I couldn’t find a torx screw replacement.
23. The Warn winch is a 10,000 lb winch with a steel cable.
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