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Posted: Tue Jul 31, 2007 7:35 am Post subject: New Project: 68 Jeep

My dad has had this truck for about twenty years now. This is actually the vehicle that I learned how to drive on. Dad hasn't really used the truck in a few years, and they are thinking of selling their acreage, so he wanted it gone. I was more than happy to comply.

It's a 1968 Jeep J-3000 4x4 with an AMC 327 V8 and four on the floor, or rather what's left of the floor. It has 57,000 miles on it.

I'm not entirely certain what I'm going to do with it. There are few problems with the truck:

no brakes (both front cylinders are shot, I have new ones, I just have to put them on)
the hubs are shot. The driver side has two bolts snapped off inside the hub. The other bolts loosen while you drive as a result. The passenger hub is seized in the locked position.
the power steering leaks faster than I can pour it in, which is pretty normal for '60s vehicles in my experience.
needs some carb work. It idles too high, and sputters if you step on the gas too hard. I have a carb kit for it.
The entire electric system is a mess. I remember when I was a kid "helping" my dad try and get the turn signals and break lights to work. There is a short somewhere between the ignition switch and solenoid. Sometimes it turns over, sometimes it doesn't.
There isn't really that much rust considering it's a 39 year old truck that has spent the last 20 years being a farm truck. Some rust on the passenger side of the box, and a little on both rear fender flares. The worst rust is the floor boards. The gas pedal is bolted to the floor, or is supposed to be bolted to the floor, except there is no floor left there. As a result the gas pedal doesn't really work. There is some damage under the grill as well.
The tires are shot. They are old bias-ply tube tires. It is a good thing the tubes are there though, because otherwise the air would just pour out the massive cracks in the sidewalls.
The springs are pretty well shot. The front end currently has about 2" of suspension travel. The rear is a little bit better. Luckily the conventional leaf spring/solid front axle makes new suspension pretty inexpensive. It will probably get a bit of a lift.
The interior is less than nice. It has had a few hundred mice living in it for the last decade.

All in all, it runs better than I expected. If the starter actually engages, it fires right up almost instantly. It idles pretty high, but really smooth, which is good, because the AMC 327 is a little rare, and parts can be hard to find. There are almost no aftermarket upgrades available for it.

The rest of the drivetrain is pretty solid. Dana 44 axles front and rear with a 4.09:1 gear ratio, a Borg-Warner T18A four speed transmission, and a Dana Spicer Model 20 transfer case.

And check out the stylin' desert scene etched in the back window:

And the front end:

For the price I couldn't say no. Total investment so far is about $100 in extra fuel dragging it home. It is damn heavy, and not very aerodynamic.

Posted: Tue Jul 31, 2007 8:27 am Post subject:

That's a nice looking project Smile

Posted: Tue Jul 31, 2007 9:43 am Post subject:

Nice find. There's a guy that has an 80's model Jeep pickup around here that looks sharp, those things are getting harder and harder to find. Come to think of it, the last one I saw before that one was one my uncle had. And that was 15 years ago!

Give her some love and make her right. Personally I'd strip her down and rebuild her from the ground up, but you may not have that option.

I have to ask, what exactly are the circular objects to the inside of each headlight that appear to be painted over?

Posted: Wed Aug 01, 2007 5:20 am Post subject:

Looks like an interesting project. I love cars and trucks that are unique, especially if they've been around the block a few times. That front end is classic AMC/Jeep. I hope you're able to get that floor fixed.. Rust Sucks!

Toilet Drinker Joined: 22 May 2003 Posts: 296 Location: ND

Other than perhaps the floor, it looks to be in beautiful shape and would be a great project vehicle.

Posted: Thu Aug 02, 2007 6:53 am Post subject:

Dypheron wrote:
I have to ask, what exactly are the circular objects to the inside of each headlight that appear to be painted over?

That's a really good question, and one that I couldn't answer until I went and looked at it. They are nothing. I'm guessing some other model that used the same front clip had lights or something mounted in there. They are little vents of sorts, but there is sheet metal behind them and the engine bay.

Posted: Thu Aug 02, 2007 7:03 am Post subject:

crewsr wrote:
Looks like an interesting project. I love cars and trucks that are unique, especially if they've been around the block a few times. That front end is classic AMC/Jeep. I hope you're able to get that floor fixed.. Rust Sucks!

It's classic Jeep, but the design predates AMC's ownership of Jeep by 7 years. This truck was built by the Kaiser-Jeep corporation, which was formed by a merger between Willys-Overland and Kaiser-Frazer in 1953. In 1962 the Jeep Wagoneer was introduced as a 1963 model. It used the same frame, engines, front clip, hood, fenders, doors, and dash as this truck. Later in 1963 the Gladiator line of trucks was released. This is one of those Gladiators. The Wagoneer was available until 1991 using much of the same body parts as the 1963 version making it one of the longest running vehicle designs ever.

AMC bought Jeep From Kaiser in 1970. The Kaiser Corporation continued on without Jeeps, and AMC formed the Jeep Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary.

The 327 in this truck was bought from AMC by Kaiser. AMC actually stopped making the 327 in 1966, but Kaiser had enough of them to last through to 1968. This is the last year the 327 was offered in the J-trucks.

(I knew none of this before I got the truck. My dad had a couple of books on the history of Jeep, and a Service Manual that he gave me with the truck.)

Posted: Thu Aug 02, 2007 7:12 am Post subject:

Here are some more pictures:

The interior is rough.

I like the look of the dash, it just needs a bit of a clean-up, and maybe some fresh paint.

Here is the data plate, showing VIN number and Kaiser Jeep logo

The engine needs a bit of a clean-up.

On the drivers side of the engine you can see all the power steering fluid, and the Vigilante sticker on the valve cover.

The vigilante sticker is in much better shape on the passenger side. I've discovered I've got a cracked exhaust manifold on the passenger side though. That's the source of most of the crap around the spark plugs there. The black shiny stuff between the carb and the intake manifold appears to be some sort of gasket sealer.

After a bit more research, I've discovered that this is actually a "heavy half-ton" with a 6,000 lbs GVW. This means it actually has a Dana 53 rear axle instead of a Dana 44 like I thought.

I think I've figured out the best solution to my shot hubs, and blown front brakes. I'm going to try and find an axle from a mid-70s Wagoneer or J-Truck. Hopefully the hubs are better than this, and it will have disc brakes. The only problem will be that the spring perches will be in a different place, so I'll have to get some welding done. (In 1973 AMC changed from the post mounting the springs on the side of the frame to mounting the springs under the frame. The springs on my truck are wider apart than they are on the 74 and later ones.

Posted: Thu Aug 02, 2007 7:15 am Post subject:

Thats one nice find Exclamation

Keep us posted

you have a lot of jealous motorheads watching your progress.

DSTG_II wrote:

Dypheron wrote:

crewsr wrote: