Project Swiss Cheese, Project Slow Devil, Project Redwood, Project POStal — they are four legends that, against all odds, went from hopeless rustbuckets to road tripping kings and then beasts on the off-road trails of Moab, Utah. If I could pull those off, and if I could fix the unfixable Willys FC in Washington and Chrysler Valiant Ute in Australia and if I could get the $600 Chrysler minivan through Germany’s inspection, then surely this stripped-down Jeep Grand Cherokee ZJ that has sat abandoned in a Van Nuys, California parking lot for a year (and that sat abandoned for many years before that) should be no problem, right? Wrong. Here’s why my 2024 Moab Easter Jeep Safari build could be my hardest one yet.
I realize I’m the Boy Who Cried Wolf at this point when it comes to fixing cheap, dilapidated junkers given my history:
But trust me when I say: This time really is different.
Times Have Changed, And Wrenching Just Doesn’t Come Easy Anymore
It’s not about the project being the very hardest of any I’ve ever undertaken — I think that belongs to either the 1948 Willys Jeep (which needed significant engine and transmission work), the Postal Jeep (which needed a huge length of the frame welded back up, and also engine work), or Project Cactus (that Valiant Ute that needed pretty much everything). Still, this Jeep has never run under my ownership, it’s a complete mess inside, it has no driveshaft or exhaust, and frankly I know nothing about it, so it really is going to be tough even if I had time. But nowadays things have changed for me. I’m working hard to make this website, The Autopian, sustainable, and the precious time that I do have off I’m devoting to my girlfriend, whom I’ve somehow avoided scaring off for over 13 months now. I also find myself constantly sick — it’s a cold, it’s COVID, it’s the flu, it’s a sinus infection. It’s just a never ending illness shitstorm that really started when I got to California.
There just is no time for this Jeep project. And beyond that, my wrenching circumstances are far from ideal. No, I’m not living in a Toyota Land Cruiser down by the river and getting literal Trenchfoot, but I also don’t have a garage to work in, and that’s gonna be a first for any of my projects. Mind you, the arrangement isn’t bad: I’ve recently been granted this little space at the back of a parking lot — a space for which I am deeply grateful:
It’s covered, and reasonably flat, and I should be able to do some high-quality wrenching out there. I need to figure out how to store my tools in a secure way, and I’ll need to figure out what to do about lighting, but this is a solid arrangement — a little tougher than my usual setup, but solid. I’ve done tons of driveway wrenching in my day (often at below-zero temperatures) so I’m not too worried about this.
I’ll be able to make the space work, but whether I’ll have the time to fix this Jeep, especially given that I don’t have the Jeep contacts / friends I used to have in Michigan, I’m unsure. This project is one I’ll likely have to do entirely on my own. The last project I did the vast majority of work on was Project POStal, and that was nearly the death of me. And that was when I was single and didn’t have a site to keep afloat.
So this is going to be impossible even if it were a medium-difficulty build, but I suspect this will be more than that.
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The video above shows when I bought this Jeep back in 2021 for $350 out of a lumberyard in Virginia. The previous owner had snatched the manual transmission out of it, the exhaust was missing, the headliner was gone, and frankly — it had been stripped for parts. But the body looked decent, the rare manual transmission-ECU was there, and it was a factory-original manual ZJ that deserved to be saved from the crusher, especially since I knew of a second factory-original five-speed ZJ that had a transmission but was completely rotted out. Here you can see my friend Dustin and I wrenching on that rusty Jeep, removing parts:
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So I paid $350 for the 100% complete-but-rusty Jeep, and after Dustin and I pulled a bunch of parts off of it and jammed those parts into this red ZJ, I hauled the dead red machine from Michigan to California when I moved last year.
The more I look at the ZJ, the more I love it. Good size, reasonable weight, solid axles are flexy and durable, nice comfortable interior, decent ride, reliable, good visibility, and more handsome each day. (Also the fully loaded U-Haul is somehow doing 11 MPG @ 65mph!) pic.twitter.com/PFVl6GRuPl
— David Tracy (@davidntracy) February 13, 2023
It’s been sitting in my work parking lot ever since. Here are some pictures from earlier last year:
Here’s how it sits today:
At least the body remains reasonably rust-free:
So, what all do I need to do to this thing? Well, everything. Here’s a basic list off the top of my head.
PHASE 1: Essential Repairs
- Install shifter
- Install custom brake pedal that my friend made. Install new (longer) brake hoses that can handle a lift kit when I install one; bleed brakes.
- Replace the radiator, shroud, and coolant overflow bottle (I have spares of each in the Jeep). While the rad is out:
- Do the water pump and thermostat for good measure
- Find a power steering pump (there may be one in the Jeep, if not, it’s junkyard time) and install that
- Install serpentine belt
- Replace engine mounts (they’re cracked; I have new ones in the back of the Jeep)
- Install airbox and air intake tubing (install new air filter)
- Install new header panel, grille, headlights
- Hook up starter motor
- Change engine oil
- Install new 12-volt battery and try to crank the motor over with the spark plugs out. Reinstall new spark plugs, along with distributor and rotor. Maybe coil.
- Drop fuel tank and clean it out (I’m told the fuel system is bad; the Jeep hasn’t run in years). Replace fuel filter/hoses as necessary
- Try to fire up the engine
- If the engine runs well, good. Install new exhaust.
- Now it’s time to rummage among my driveshafts and try to find two that fit. If I have none, I’ll have a shop modify my shafts. Install those.
- Replace fluids in drivetrain. Then I’ll start driving the Jeep around, checking various systems.
PHASE 2: Lift, Skids, And More Off-Road Mods
- Install custom junkyard lift kit (about 3.5″). Maybe it makes sense to make the driveshafts AFTER installing the lift. We’ll see.
- Install all-terrain tires (31×10.50)
- Strip interior, disinfect, get rid of cat feces smell.
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- Install new seats and carpet and headliner from rusty Jeep. This will require me to weld a nut to a broken seat bolt and extract it (damn rust).
- Install skid plates for fuel tank, transfer case. Install rare rear tire carrier as part of the fuel tank skidplate installation process.
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PHASE 3: Underwater Breathing & Axle Beef
- Install snorkel
- Install new 3.73 axles, replacing the weak Dana 35 rear axle with a Dana 44 and swapping the Dana 30 up front for one with the right gears. (I have the Dana 44 (see above); I need to find a 3.73 Dana 30 at a junkyard)
- Find steel Jeep Liberty KJ steel 16″ wheels. Install 265 75R16 tires (these are 32s; they look better than 31s on the ZJ).
- Bolt up sway bar disconnects for improved articulation
There are probably a million things I’ve forgotten about. All I know is: This is daunting, and the only way to get through it is to follow a plan. Phase one is to just get the thing on the road. From there, I can worry about making it off-road worthy.
But the Easter Jeep Safari is at the end of March. Is three months enough time? I fear not. Especially since I’m doing this alone. Gulp.
You got a massive list. Rome wasn’t built in a day.
I say just get it moved into the building and get started. Clean it out. And tackle the most essential things one thing at a time. Shoot for a good running stock rig, at least with 235 75 15 tires. Once you get to that point, you might just love it. As you said before it’s a damn rare Jeep. I’d choose some run of the mill Jeep to lift and cobble. But that’s just me.
I just went through a major floor and uniframe reconstruction on my Jeep because of rust. I see all these other guys do the same thing and that powers me to do it too. I can wrench and fab and weld so why not save it instead of spending a fortune on unknown problems. Took me a year due to a full time job and Michigan weather. And there were even good days when I felt unmotivated, but the thing was to just get my clothes changed and get my ass out there. Once I got going, I didn’t want to stop, because I really do enjoy it. Sometimes I’d feel overwhelmed, but I would just concentrate on one spot per night, or week, as a mini goal.
BTW even though Michigan weather sucks compared to the holy grail of So Cal, I think it contributes to cleaner air back here. Between smog and maybe wildfire smoke too, that’s a big adjustment. No surprise you’re sick all the time.
So true. Suit up, do one thing, next thing you know it’s 11pm, you’re filthy, tired, and sorta giddy at what actually got done. I miss Garage Zen
Pro tip: Install the lift kit and axles THEN worry about the driveshafts. Two reasons: As you mentioned elsewhere, you may find non-stock axles that change the yoke locations. Second, in my experience, the published lift height may not match reality. The “six-inch” lift I installed on my TJ was actually eight inches when all was said and done. I have before and after pictures to prove it.
Fortunately and completely by accident, the rear driveshaft was the last thing I bought when completing the lift install. I recommend Tom Wood’s Driveshafts, FWIW.
As for tool storage in an unsecured location, I recommend a Ridgid jobsite box and maybe signage indicating the area is under video surveillance.
I think you can do it but the 2025 Easter event is a better timeline. It would let you return in triumph.
“the 2025 Easter event is a better timeline. It would let you return in triumph.”
Given we’re talking about resurrecting a dead Jeep I’m inclined to agree.
Return of the Living Jeep
Yep. You’re screwed. Do it anyway and enjoy the process.
I’m not sure how “remove cat-related stench from the interior” isn’t the absolute first thing to tackle, but we know you can do it. Get the girlfriend involved, get LA’s finest Autopians involved … hey, come to think of it, didn’t you do a solid for Matt Farah a few months ago? Time to call it in!
https://www.wurthusa.com/Chemical-Product/Air-Fresheners/Quick-Fresh-New-Car-Scent/p/8857000452
Although I love the idea of better living through chemistry, IMHO the only actions that will remove urine smell is to ditch any fabric peed on, scrub the underlying metal with lots of water followed by a liberal application of an enzymatic cleaner, and then seal an ozone generator inside the vehicle for several hours.
I guess the last two actions are chemical. My point is, you can’t mask urine smell with perfume for long.
I would suggest remove the stench when the HVAC / fan is working.. Stick in a Ozone generation and seal the car for a hour or so with the systems running.
And importantly while you’re NOT inside the car.
> Get the girlfriend involved
So he can have an ex girlfriend?
Why the hell not? My SO helps me with my rust bucket. She even enjoyed the process enough to get her own project motorcycle.
• This is a prime example of burying the lede
• This is also proof that angels and saints do walk among us
• As others have noted David, get this woman involved in this project. Not via an all-night wrenching session in extreme conditions, but start with simply soliciting her input and showing her your mad wrenching skills. Then, appreciate and encourage every iota of interest she shows in helping you!
Good luck, sir. I look forward to following along!
David, I suspect part of why you keep getting sick is you’re not exposed to enough rust anymore. Also, not to wade into the depths of your romantic life, buuut, it might be nice to involve her if possible. Y’know, quality time together. Who knows, she might enjoy learning a thing or two or just spending time with you. Also, helps build her immunity through rust exposure as well! That’s how that works, right?
Yes! I’ve been worried we might not get a nearly insane DT wrench-a-thon with all your new responsibilities, I can now lay those fears to rest. Also, I’ll second the calls for cleaning the cat feces out much earlier in the process.
Well, it is not rusty and ooohhhh, cat piss!
Godspeed.
Jay Leno is one city over. He’s a good wrencher and might be glad to assist.
Hell yeah! A Jay Leno’s Garage / Autopian colab would be a fantastic thing to see, in any capacity. Hell, unless Hagerty or one of the other places he occasionally writes articles for has an exclusivity clause in their contract, it’d be awesome to see Jay as an occasional contributor here. I obviously don’t know him personally, but based on what he’s said and done in his car videos and articles, I suspect the ‘car positive’ ethos of this place would resonate with him.
Agree that a group build needs to be arranged, if not to complete the thing then just to get it underway and give DT a shot of motivation.
I would help except I live a 14 hour international flight away from LA and don’t have a valid passport.
You just need a good montage mixtape!!
It’ll all work out after that.
Genius!
But what song? Pee of the Tiger? Don’t Stop Relievin’?
Nature’s Miracle, it’s an enzymatic cleaner specially formulated for Cat urine. It will help with the cat smell, but you’re probably gonna want to replace anything fabric or foam.
Nah. If the components are in otherwise good shape just rinse it a few times with detergent and hot water, sucking as much of it out as possible with a wet/dry vacuum, rinse and vacuum some straight water through and finish with enzyme cleaner and let dry in the sun.
Everything will come out smelling better than new.
If you feel the need you can use vinegar too if as long as you neutralize with baking soda but don’t use bleach.
Source – my decades of cats and carpets.
My understanding is that using hot water can set the smell into the carpet.
That’s a good point. I am not convinced that’s actually the case as I haven’t had that happen but it’s possible YMMV. Uric acid does dissolve (reluctantly) in hot water but other stinky compounds might not.
To be on the safe side I’ll temper my advice to start with cold water and work up through warm and use hot if necessary. Let it cool though before dumping on the enzyme cleaner.
This is correct, soak, like really soak/saturate and let enzymes dry on their own. if this fails then kerosene and a match, wait; pay insurance, kerosene and a match, I always forget a step.
Why kerosene? Gasoline, Diesel or whatever fuel the car runs on is a lot more plausible.
sir, your moniker lead me to believe you’d know kerosene is generally cheaper, home heating oil or off road diesel will suffice of course 😉
Oh sure. Its just a matter of setting up the story to minimize any awkward questions.
Has cats but needs help wrenching? Teach the cats to read and let them hand you sockets for crying out loud.
Cats are actually very intelligent and obviously could be easily taught to help with wrenching.
I mean they won’t, but they could.
My cat is the worst shop cat EVAR. He’s darn cute, but freaking USELESS.
Me: Hand me the 9/16″
Cat: *snore*
Who do you think is responsible for the disappearance of millions of 10mm sockets?
Oh that little shit!
Cats are smart enough not to get involved with this project.
Classic David ‘trenchfoot’ Tracy that ‘remove cat feces’ is halfway through Phase 2.
David, getting started is the key. Delegate whatever the next thing you were going to do this afternoon to Matt and go drag the Jeep under that shelter, then pull all the loose parts out of the interior and *clean it*. Do that first, and it will make the whole rest of the process dramatically easier. It’ll also reignite your passion for the car. Once you see it sitting there, empty and clean, ready for parts, you’ll get that shot of dopamine when your brain goes “hell yeah, this is going to be awesome when its done!”
Once you solve the motivation portion of the wrenching equation, the mechanical bits will fall into place.
Good luck, we’re pulling for you.
You’re totally right about this!
Interns. You need interns. You’re in California. Just entice them from wealthy homes and tell them it’s how to get into motor journalism. Because, honestly, it kind of IS.
Get some interns…
I’m surprised to hear that you’ve had sinus problems since moving to Cali. Being from the Midwest, whenever I go to the west coast my sinuses magically clear up, like my body’s trying to tell me something.
Of course, I go to Eureka, not LA. It’s way cooler and a whole lot more humid.
I’m in the same boat as David – heading to CA from MI just sets off my sinuses (although not as badly as him). Fortunately I don’t go very often.
One of my favorite bands is from Eureka and not LA 😉
Which band?
Mr Bungle
Their old sax player was just arrested for murdering his gf :/
Yeah all the MB and FNM groups are going crazy with that story right now. It’s sad.
I’m thinking his immune system is discovering LA to be a whole new Petri dish of pathogens.
I live down the street. My brain doesn’t know anything about SAE though.
Ugh, yeah. I feel this so hard. There are a lot of reasons why I’d like to move out of Texas, including the grass being WAY greener somewhere else. Not just this time of year, but like, year-round. Like, you can exist outside in August without feeling whole-body pain from just stepping outside. That’s mind-blowing. I want that. I probably need that, given how depressed I was from being inside for too much of the summer. This summer in Texas made winter in Finland sound like an absolute joy in comparison. Get me the opposite of this. Bring on the cold and dark—and without knocking my power out for a change. You can always bundle up more, but running into the hard wall of you-can’t-take-more-off last summer combined with the constant warnings about our janky power grid and yeah—willing as hell to relocate, man. I’m so over all of it at this point.
That being said, the whole part about being settled in hits home. I know places here to stash cars and people who want to wrench on them with me here. The garbage car sons live next to a garage with HVAC, so I can at least keep wrenching when it’s oppressively hot outside. I know which parts sites can get me stuff in 1-2 days in a pitch, and which folks nearby have or had a 944 or an even more obscure car. I know where I can go hoon these things, and what you can and can’t get away with on a hooptie. I’ve figured out how to afford to be able to wrench on project cars in a place where extra space is usually unaffordable, and that’s hard (and takes time!) to figure out in a new city. There’s a lot of regional knowledge that you lose when you move somewhere else. This is the longest I’ve lived in any one city in my life, and “wait, I already know how to get around here and can wrench on hoopties” weighs a lot on all of that.
That being said, I have faith that you’ll figure it out in CA. Hell, the sheer number of Lemons teams I know out that way wouldn’t exist if it were impossible. There’s probably a lot of folks reading this who might be down to help thrash on the Jeep. There will no doubt be people you meet, if not through work, then through other stuff you do. Hell, my hooptie-est cars sit at a friend’s house who I met through spicy food/tech people. Give it time, and give yourself time to settle in. If this Jeep misses the deadline this year, that’s understandable. Normal, even. Maybe just show up in something else and send it, or tag along in someone else’s ride. There will be another year to try again.
Thank you Stef!
The flip side of it all was “wait, I’ve been on the internet forever, and I already know buttloads of people off of said internet in [area I was looking at jobs in].” I’d have to imagine that’s the same on your end. Give yourself the time to settle in and some grace if you miss the deadline this year, but maybe reach out to us Highly Online types on how to navigate the local Jeepiverse, too. (Hell, that’s how I found most of the stuff I do in central Texas.)
Oh, and related to the whole “be kind to yourself” bit—the sick all the time thing? IANADoctor, but that happens to me a lot when I’m stressed as hell. This week, I’ve been a hot migrainey mess with sniffles threatening to blow up into a cold, but I’ve also been starting a new job, trying to wrap up existing freelance work and subsisting primarily off of energy drinks, cheese eaten in front of the fridge and spite. Big cities are a petri dish and it’s easier to catch everyone’s kids’ sniffles in an office setting, but sometimes it’s also your body telling you to back off a bit and rest.
Maybe stand a bit further from Typhoid Larry, too. Too many people down here claim “it’s just allergies,” and then I get sick. Frickin’ a. Big fan of keeping my distance regardless of whether there’s a major pandemic or not.
I went through relocation recently and feel you. I’m further from a race track than before and my good wrenching friends are gone, but I know I’ll adapt.
The Datsun’s body is back with me so losing my body shop is a non issue now. I’ve made friends with guys and gals from a classic car garage. The race track is more than 2 hours away but this month I’ll try my hand at snow racing instead. I’m not 100% satisfied with the situation yet but it’s getting there.
My point is: you will readjust. If you wanna move, you can. If you cross the pond and end up in my neck of the woods, you can use my garage to fix your hoopties (storage not included though!)
The number of times I’ve threatened to move to a cheese farm in the Alps is a non-insignificant number. Also, I really, really wanna try ice/snow racing, so I’m jealous of that. I keep threatening to fly out to do it, haha.
01/14, 8AM (French time), if you can be there, I’ll get you a spot 😉
Gosh, if only. I should probably get paid before I run off and play with ice racing cars, though. Haha.
It might not be offered anymore, but just buy a “The Autopian Wrenching/Road Tripping Experience”. As the buyer, for $6k you will have to wrench for 3 days on the project you designate. Plus you get all the benefits of a RCL membership. You help build the site with a nice contribution, while being forced to give yourself your money’s worth of work for 3 days of wrenching. Repeat until the job is done. Plus then it’s a work commitment instead of your free time.
It sounds expensive, but if you use Autopian funds for the purchase it costs the Autopian nothing because they get the money right back into their account.
I get the feeling DT hasn’t spent $6k on one thing his entire life…and this project sounds like it will take a LOT more than 3 days…
That’s why he needs to buy his own services repeatedly, until it’s finished.
You miss my point – it would probably kill him to spend $6k on *anything*.
But it doesn’t cost David anything. The Autopian pays The Autopian $6,000 and then David is required to wrench for 3 days on the project that David (as the buyer) chooses. Repeat to get extra days.
Genius.
I don’t think he’s spent $6k on all his jeeps combined.
Again, figure out how to get Torch a company lease car, and then this can be your only wrenching project (or you could take the 250k mile Sienna to Moab…it is AWD after all…)
At least you are not doing this in a cold Michigan winter. Skip the cosmetic stuff and just get it running.
You could also go full Hollywood(also Youtube) and fake it until you break it and then let the thing hit your credit when it is repossessed from the trail after.
https://losangeles.craigslist.org/wst/ctd/d/north-hollywood-2018-jeep-wrangler/7697855163.html