McCloudsZJ

I have about 8 different build threads floating around the internet for cars I've owned or worked on. This will be my first non-Mopar endeavor. Sold my race Jeep because 400 ft/lbs of torque on a locked rear end with slicks just wasn't cutting it in the rain and snow we get in the Virginia mountains.

This is Bertha:



The good: it runs. Tires are brand new. Came with a complete extra interior. Has XM radio with lifetime subscription, and all of the suspension bushings have been replaced with poly bushings in the last two months. Some sort of aftermarket exhaust

The bad: it runs rich as hell. Idle wanders, holes in the seats, stains on the carpets, at least one major vacuum leak, 0.5A parasitic drain somewhere, and the fellow that owned it before me was a heavy smoker. My wife is a pretty serious asthmatic, so the interior has to get stripped, shampooed, and re-upholstered.

Plans:
-First of all CLEAN IT! Going to spend some quality time with the clay bar and buffer this coming weekend.
-Strip it. This has been a ritual with just about every car I've ever owned. Everything comes out, gets cleaned, greased, oiled, shampooed, painted, prettied up, and re installed.
-Lower it... Duh...

That's about all I have. I've only had it for about 12 hours, so I'm sure I'll have more later.

Tommy150

iTrader: (2)

excited to see what becomes of this sc!

McCloudsZJ

After owning it for almost 20 hours now, the "To Do" list is growing

-Wires, plugs, caps, rotors
-Tail lights need replaced (I'm liking the 96-97??? look)
-Dual batteries in the trunk
-6 or 7 little trim pieces on the inside are cracked or missing
-Gauge cluster has at least one bulb out, and none of the needles light up
-Oil change
-Fix the mis-matched badges. I have one silver badge and the rest are gold.
-Find an FSM somewhere...

Also need to decide on a color scheme for the engine bay. I've ALWAYS done black and red (and sometimes some white thrown in) but I've always had dark cars. Mopar blue and white would be pretty neat on a white car...

McCloudsZJ

New car means new cleaning supplies. Dropped $100 on clay, wax, polish, wash, buffing compound, towels, shine, leather cleaner, leather protectant, metal polish and wheel wash. She's going be pretty. Pics when she's worthy.

McCloudsZJ

After about 15 0-60 runs, the fastest one so far is a 6.90. Launching just under 3,000 RPM with the ECT turned on seemed to be the fastest, most consistent launch. 3,500 RPM does a one-wheel-peel for half a block.

From reading on other threads on here, that's about par for the course. I was really hoping for something a little more peppy, but that's OK.

Need some go-fast parts something awful.

McCloudsZJ

Day I brought her home. In all of her dirty, grimy glory.



5 year old Walmart special. Less than 400CCA fully charged. Terminals look like wild animals chewed on them.



First official purchase... No more vacuum hose stuck in the valve cover.



Ran her through the drive through car wash to get some of the filth from sitting under a tree for three months off.



Put on my Alma Mater license plate frame and a little bit of tire shine to hold her over until the weekend. From 20 feet away, she's almost presentable.

McCloudsZJ

So it begins... Hit her with the clay bar during lunch this afternoon. She cleaned up OK. Still need to buff/polish and wax her for real.



Also hit the headlights with some gritty toothpaste as a temporary improvement.



It's getting there...






Once it is clean and has a clear bill of health, I'll start actually building it.

Porter92

Looks like its going to be a great build! I like how you're keeping it updated. Goodluck!

McCloudsZJ

Put her through her inaugural road trip this weekend. Almost 700 miles through snow, slush, and bad traffic. Averaged just over 21 MPG, which was nice considering 50% of the travel time was spent sitting in traffic. I am so glad I got a coat of wax on her before this trip. All of the dirt, grime, slush, mud, and filth came off almost effortlessly.

http://www.fuelly.com/driver/mccloudszj/sc400

Definitely have a problem with the fuel system somewhere, though. After driving for extended periods, the car will start shuddering. Within three or four minutes, it'll stutter and die. I know what the problem is... I'm just not sure what the correct fix is.

lilSCsteve

iTrader: (71)

Welcome, and congrats on your pick up. She looks pretty good...enjoy her!

steve

akora12

iTrader: (5)

Looks great, and kudos for getting everything fixed and up to speed before modding! Got any interior pics?

McCloudsZJ

Thanks guys. I don't see any point in spending money on something that's going to grenade in a month... And even once she's good and healthy, I'm not planning a whole lot for it. Drop it a little, wheel spacers, some exhaust improvements, and cosmetic stuff in the engine bay.

My grand plan is fixing this up and enjoying it for the winter, then selling it come spring time for a fairly hefty profit, then buying another Jeep. As counter intuitive as it sounds, my Jeeps are totally useless in the snow.

I do have interior pics, but I was going to save those for a Before/After shoot once I have new seats and carpet put in. It's not bad, but it's a little rough around the edges. There's a hole in the drivers seat and the carpet is a little iffy. I'm going to replace the seats and re-dye the carpet. I've dyed carpet before, but never this light of a color. Going from light to dark is real easy, trying to keep this close to the factory color could just turn into a mess.

McCloudsZJ

Had a nice long chat with the PO this weekend. Also cleaned out his garage of all of the left over SC400 parts. Came back with a remote start, another steering column, two front seats (without holes in 'em!), another set of factory floor mats, the front lip/air dam/splitter that's missing in all of my pictures, and a couple other little things.

Bertha also got introduced to Plastidipped. Now all of the badges black. I like it better than the peeling gold/chrome.

McCloudsZJ

Neighbor backed into my passenger door this morning. I don't think it's that bad, but the last time I did this dance, they wanted $1,800 for a scuffed bumper and tried to total my Jeep that I had dumped almost $5,000 into. She's at the shop getting an estimate. If it's more to repair than the car is worth, they're going to total it out.

1JZPWRD

iTrader: (59)

Good gosh, how does someone not see a full size car? Lets hope they don't totally it out.

Any pictures of the damage?