71 Wheeling Rig

I was just dinking around doing some triage tonight.

Got the over flow hose on the coolant catch tank lengthened so it will spray on the ground and not in the engine compartment if things go very wrong.

Did some troubleshooting on the windshield washers. The bag still seems to hold water. Yay! It had been converted to an electric pump somewhere along way and the pump had seized. Probably due to lack of water in the bag. No big deal I thought. I'll convert back to the manual pump I fixed way back in this thread: Windshield Washer Pump Repair

Well after I fixed it, I threw it in a box with a bunch of other Jeep parts and it got crushed. The new pump housing was broken into three pieces. ...so I ordered a universal electric pump from Amazon.

Then I did some trouble shooting on the speedometer. When I bought the Jeep, the PO said the speedometer was bouncing around and he replaced the cable. When that didn't fix it so he unscrewed the cable to protect the speedometer. I pull the cable out of the Jeep and the cable core is a good 2" too long. There is no way it was ever screwed to the speedometer and the transfer case at the same time. I ordered a universal replacement core and then realized I have the cable from the flatfender. It's in good enough shape to use and tested OK on an extra speedometer with a drill.

I hooked the cable to the speedometer in the Jeep and tried to turn it with the drill as a test. It's seized and will not turn. Looks like I'll be using the NOS speedometer mechanism/face I bought from another member.

I'll tackle that swap when I pull the dash off for wiring cleanup.

Then I thought about locations for the handle throttle and how to hook it to the carburetor. I think I'm going to mount it where the factory cigarette lighter is just above and to the right of the ignition switch. It's within easy reach and I'm putting a cigarette lighter in a different location anyway.

 

Spare tire showed up today. The Discoverer STT changed a lot when they added "Pro" to the name, but it's as close as I can get. Still waiting on the wheel:


Then I started prepping to work on the wiring behind the dash. Since I'm old, a bit chubby, and not that flexible, I'm pulling the dash for access.

Seats out top unhooked:


Dash almost out. I need to mark/unplug the wiper wires and cut wires for the added turn indicators. They pass through holes the cowl:

 

I got some automotive waterproof plugs to use behind my dash on Amazon. They have 2-3-4 wire plugs, will make removal easier. If you have to replace a switch, unplug it, put plug on new switch, install it, plug it in and you are done. Since the plugs look the same, I take some model paint , different colors and paint the plugs so wiring is not crossed.

 

I'm just doing a quick cleanup this time, but I plan on doing exactly that when I replace all the wiring in the next year or so. It's a great idea.

 

Probably obvious, but I would decide on the type of wiring connectors from the get-go and do the whole Jeep with them. My B is completely wired with Weather Pack with the exception of some of the EFI sensors, most of which are Metri Pack. I purchase all those connectors from Waytek these days. Way cheaper than Summit or Speedway.

 

Agreed. I'm leaning towards Weather Packs. I've dealt with them in the past, have the crimper, and they are readily available from several places (Waytek being my preferred supplier too). The one exception will probably be some sort of bulkhead connector(s) for the firewall.

 

I eliminated that on the 3B. Just another place for problems to occur.

 

How did you eliminate the bulkhead connector? I'm at this point in my wiring journey and have been looking for a good way to route the ignition and headlight harness. I would love a solution that allows for the fenders or tub to be pulled without unclipping a million wires.

 

Dash out far enough for access:


First order of business was getting the speedometer out to see if I could get it to work or swap in the NOS guts if not:


Everything was free except the main input shaft. I scraped a bunch of the dirt off the oil hole and adde some Tri-Flow lube there and at both ends of the shaft:


After freeing it up turning by hand, I did more cleaning, more lubrication, and turned it with the drill. It started working smoothly with the cable attached:


You can see the grime coming out of the bearings on the brass part. I turned it with the drill quite a while longer to get as much out as I could:


After all that, it was turning very easily and showing speed smoothly with no bouncing. As a result, I decided to use the original speedometer for now and save the NOS one for later.

Back together. I'm not painting the bezelback to black. I'm leaving it bare aluminum because I like the patina:

 

I do unclip a million wires. As seen with a bit of the harness draped over the radiator here. For decades I was using a Packard 56 series bulkhead connector and it just turned into a pain in the posterior. Bad contacts were a common occurance even with cleaning and dielectric grease. I run the wires through a large "grommeted" hole in the firewall that has an aluminum/foam cover. I made it large enough to pass the ECM through.
The Square Deal

 

When I rewired my 71' I left the fuse block under the dash. Looking back and since I am not getting any younger I would mount the fuse block somewhere more easily accessible.

 

I'm trying to figure out where that could be as well, without reinventing the wheel or making it look terrible and in the way.

 

I'm thinking screwed to the top of the heater box is a good location:


...of course that doesn't work if you've switched to swinging pedals. Then maybe a bracket bolted to the inner fender.

 

Would high on the firewall next to the battery work?

 

Not much photo worthy today. Just cleaning up Bubba'd wiring behind the dash. Got the instrument cluster back in, the stereo rewired, removed several of unused wires, cleaned up a bunch of wire routing, replaced a bunch of questionable connectors, added some fuses for the accessories, and removed all these wire nuts:


I still need to clean up the turn signal wires, the washer pump feed, and the horn wire. Then I'll be happy with the under dash wiring. There's some more to do underneath after that.

The wheel for my spare tire showed up today. I like it! I probably get 4 more of these. It's interesting the valve stem is behind the face. That could be really nice for off-road use. Need to get it mounted and balanced this week:

 

Now you only need to get the silver magic marker out and get it over with. Pre rock rash--------

Those do look nice.

 

Finished up my quick behind the dash wiring cleanup.

Such a tidy work area:


Got the dash bolted back in:


In general, the factory wiring is in good shape. It's all the added stuff that was garbage. It's not amazingly tidy even now but it should be pretty solid and reliable until I rewire it some day.

Before:


After:


Before:


After:


Next is getting the windshield back on, hooking up the speedo cable, tightening the steering column, putting the seats back in and hooking the top back in place so it's drivable again.

 

you know every time I see a dash post
I always remember . how easy it would be to work behind dash
with the transmission and floor plate missing . but it's always not the reason
I am sitting in that hole looking under there

 

Ran into town and got the spare mounted and balanced:



Got the Jeep back into drivable condition this evening.

The horn looked like this and hadn't worked since I got the Jeep:


In addition to the missing horn button parts, they had just cut and wire-nutted the horn wire when they pulled the Ross box out. I ran that inside and hooked it up to the steering column wiring. The horn button parts showed up today and now the Jeep has a working horn:


Got the windshield back on, the seats back in, and the top hooked up:


Bolted the glove box in, reattached the steering column, made a new proper length speedometer cable core, and reinstalled the cable:


All the electrical stuff seems to be working. I've still got more wire nuts to eradicate under the Jeep, but I can drive it tomorrow to test the speedometer.

I've been thinking how to strap stuff down for the Tillamook trip. I'll need spare tire, water, fuel, other spares, tools, jack, a cooler, and space for a dog. Eventually I'll have a rear rack for the spare tire and fuel. In the meanwhile, it's all going in the back. I've got 8 of these anchors for the cargo area. I'll do 4 on top the fender wells and 4 on the floor:


I think I'll end up strapping the tire in like this so I still have some floor space for the toolbox, water jug, and cooler:

 

I would throw a jack in your truck..... and leave it. There will be plenty of highlifts at Tillamook....... and your furry friends need to be comfortable too.