Third time's a charm...but it will be slow going

I haven't been on here in a while. Since I sold my second truck I have been busy doing other projects. I needed a break from the military trucks for a while.

I am currently in the middle of a project restoring/converting a rusted out 1998 Wrangler TJ to look like a 1977 CJ-7. I am also putting a Chevy LS engine in it along with a long arm suspension lift. I haven't been making any progress on it lately because so many more important things keep coming up. I'd like to give a link to that build thread but am not sure if that's appropriate.

Anyway I'm into that project pretty deep but I am starting to get the itch to get going on my next M715. I don't really have enough parts to make a complete m715 right now anyway but I couldn't pass up a truck that may become the donor for the drivetrain. Last Saturday I dragged home a 2001 RAM 2500 Cummins 4x4 truck. It has a coil sprung front axle though so I don't know if I'll use that on this build.

I'm also not certain I want to do my third M715 as a diesel. I have a couple Chevy LS engines that run good and would give the truck plenty of power to cruise around town in. I don't really need the M715 to be a tow vehicle.

If I do end up using the diesel I'm also toying with the idea of attempting to put the M715 body on the Dodge frame. That would allow me to retain many of the attributes of a more modern truck. (Like the front axle/suspension.) I can modify the frame but am not sure if I can make it look like it's supposed to fit.

I thought I'd get the thread started even though it's going to be a while (possibly a long while) before I get the build under way. I'm hoping that starting this build thread will keep me motivated to finish the CJ-7/Wrangler build sooner.

I think you're fine to put a link to your build. I would love to see it- gonz

Here is my current project on wranglerforum.com.

I was making good progress until summer hit. Now it looks like fall will be when I get back into it and hopefully wrap it up this coming winter. I hope I don't jinx myself be putting a timeline on things...

I still haven't finished my "CJ from a TJ" project yet. Life keeps getting in the way of progress on my toys. I will say that so far I am happy with the direction it is heading but not the speed at which it is going. At least it will have mostly new parts on it so it should last a long time. Probably the rest of my life anyway.

I've been working a lot of overtime and part time at a second job when I can and that has really helped the budget but at the same time taken away time that I could have otherwise been moving that project forward. Kind of a catch 22.

What it has allowed though was the purchase of yet another donor truck. This time I brought home a 1994 12 valve 5 speed 4x4 regular cab. I think it will make for a better donor than the 24 valve. I have also been able to purchase some new wheels and tires to run on it. I've been driving it for a couple weeks now and "almost" hate to pull it apart. It seems to be a pretty good truck that isn't rusted out or dented up.

I'm really itching to get started on the M715 now but still have to wait until I get the Jeep done.

Today I decided to use some paint that was manufactured in 1985. I wanted to make my donor truck all one color. It has been rattle can painted several times in its long (probably hard) life. I have 4 quarts of this paint in green and even more in black and white.

I opened one can that was stored outside during the winter. The paint in the can was very dark. Darker than I expected. I had shaken the can and could tell the paint inside may not be usable. I took a stir stick and started stirring it to feel something rather firm at the bottom of the can. I assume it was yellow tint because when I pulled it up to the top of the can it was yellow. I put a stir propeller in my cordless drill and proceeded to stir violently for several minutes and added some MEK to help soften and blend the goo back together. The paint did lighten up quite a bit to what I was expecting it may have been. I thought it may have been CARC based on the manufacture date.

Anyway. since I want to drive this truck for a while. I thought it may be fitting to paint it a military color since it will be donating its organs to the cause eventually.

The paint was in pretty poor condition after stirring it. It was pretty lumpy. It took a long time to strain it into the gun. But with persistence I was able to use almost the whole quart. I think the other three quarts that were stored in the basement are in better condition to start with. I'll find out soon I guess.

Anyway that one quart covered most of both sides of the truck a first coat. It seemed to dry fine and look better than I expected considering the almost non existent prep work and ancient paint. I didn't mask anything off. I did at least scuff the paint in most areas. The bottom body line with the mud splattered on it is bed liner. That bed liner was sprayed along that entire body line. I didn't prep that because I expect I will be painting that with the black paint eventually. Also the rockers didn't get prepped or painted.

The tires are 37x13.5x17 and don't rub after a little fender trimming up front.


http://www.m715zone.com/vb/picture.p...&pictureid=865

So even the paint that was stored inside since 1985 suffered from the yellow tint hardening in the can. I'm sure I could have spent some time to mix it and strain it but I thought I'd use it as is. I was not too concerned about how it turned out. I just wanted it all one color.

I think it looks pretty close to Marine Corps Green in lusterless.

http://www.m715zone.com/vb/picture.p...&pictureid=878

It should be fine the way it is until I can get started in earnest on this project. And I'm getting anxious to start.

I thought I'd chime in again to give another update.

I haven't had time to work on anything for quite a while. I seem to have fallen behind on everything. I haven't worked on my CJ project much at all since posting the last update here. And it keeps getting worse.

I was made an offer I couldn't refuse on the 12 valve Cummins truck so I sold it. I figured I still had the 24 valve.

After I sold the 12 valve I bought a Wrangler as a daily driver/summer toy. It was pretty far gone but ran great and I got it cheap. I patched the rusty frame and drove it all summer. It didn't make it through the winter. A piston broke on it so I yanked the engine and started swapping a Vortec engine in. That still needs wiring and an exhaust.

In the mean time my son sends me a link to an ad for a 2006 Duramax engine/transmission. The price seemed pretty good so I swooped it up. It is a complete LBZ engine with an Allison 6 speed automatic transmission and a floor shift transfer case. the truck it was in was totalled at ~130,000 miles.

Since I already have the EFI Live V2 tuner and software I decided I would be putting a Duramax into my third M715 instead of the Cummins. I have not seen any M715's with a Duramax in it yet and even if there are they are much less common so I'm going for it.

My son has a 2007 LBZ powered Chevy truck so we installed the ECU that came with my engine into his truck and have already written a tune for it. He wants to get his truck on the dyno now to see how much horsepower he gained from our first tune. He can roast his tires pretty easily now and it makes us both grin. We are estimating somewhere around an 80 horsepower gain from stock. I think we can get to 100 horse gain without changing any hardware on the engine. His truck pulls pretty hard now.

I can only imagine how it will feel in an M715. I need to finish my Wrangler v8 swap first at this point but this Duramax build has me so excited it will get built before I finish my CJ project.

Today I pulled the Cummins 24 valve engine and sold it. It almost covered the cost of the Duramax/Allison too. I'm committed at this point.

I'll update again once I finally get started on it.

Amazing how projects "evolve"....Keep at it...

Thanks.

I'm putting the cart before the horse a bit because I still have a project ahead of this one but I couldn't resist.

I've been looking on and off for a tailgate for the truck since I got it. Nothing is popping up that seems reasonably priced or isn't across the country.

After looking at the Canadian Project M715 thread I decided I'd just build one myself and see how it turns out. He used 2x2 and 2x4 tubing for his. It looks pretty stout but I took a slightly different path.

I measured the walls of the bed and came to the conclusion that the steel is actually 13 gauge by my measurement.

http://m715zone.com/vb/picture.php?a...pictureid=1013

My local supplier doesn't carry 13 gauge and since their suppliers are locked down due to Covid-19 can't order it right now. They had either 14 gauge or 1/8" to chose from. I decided I'd go for the 14 gauge. It's only a few thousandths thinner and a little bit lighter than stock.

I gave them some dimensions and they bent a couple flanges. I also purchased some 2x4 tubing and some 2" angle iron. I'll post up pics when I get it assembled. I think I should have given them a different number for the width. It's a bit close. It would work as is but I think I'm going to cut it down about 1/4".

http://m715zone.com/vb/picture.php?a...pictureid=1014

Pics?? Would love to see them.

Not much progress but I thought I'd post up where I'm at so far.

I wish I'd have searched a little more before I jumped into this. I may have made this a little different. Water under the bridge now though. Here is where this is going so far:

https://www.wranglerforum.com/media/...jpg.16686/full

I'm actually building two of these. One for the truck and one for the trailer that will be built after the truck.

Cool. Looks clean!