Jeep Cherokee Widetrack Revival - with questions for the experts - Stoffregen Motorsports

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

Figured it was time for an update on the Cherokee. Not much really, just a great daily driver.

There have been a few tweaks and upgrades made and a couple epic winter wheeling adventures too. Our winter here in the NorCal Sierra Nevada range was pretty spectacular, with a couple massive storms dumping feet of snow. I had just installed a pair of Hella headlamps with H4 bulbs and was really itching to try this rig out in thew snow, so one morning, when it was blowing hard, I told my wife where I was going and said if I'm not back by dark, call out the dogs. Everything worked flawlessly, but I didn't air down the tires, which made a for a couple "this is gonna hurt" moments. One thing to remember when you loose traction while breaking in the snow is to let off the brake pedal, so the wheels start turning again. I had to remember this a couple times that day. Inside the cabin, the heater was adequate and the glass never really fogged up, but outside, the headlights did get frosted with snow. Overall, I am very happy with how the Cherokee drives in the snow.

 

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

Original razor grilles on these Cherokees are very hard to come by, and literally every single one at the wreckers bends and cracks in it. Mine wasn't in great shape and I tried not to let it bother me, but I did want to replace it with something nicer. There are a couple specialty shops who will restore the originals, but the cost is astronomical. I did find an older J truck grille at the wreckers that wasn't in horrible shape, and it had the round Jeep logo badge too, so that's what I ended up going with. A couple hours of cleaning and polishing and installing, I think it loos ok. I'd still like a new one...

I still need to find good headlight trim rings for the grille.

New vs Old

 

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

One issue that was bothering me was the fuel vapor pressure inside the fuel tank. Whenever I removed the cap, I would get a blast of explosive fuel vapor. I went through the fuel tank plumbing diagrams over and over again to make sure that I had this one installed correctly. It seemed to be correct, but none of the diagrams I found in the parts books that @SkiWill gave me were identical to the setup on this particular Jeep. Some had more lines, some less, some had gadgets in the fender well that I did not have. I did end up going with one diagram that looked the closest to what I have, and applied logic to decide the remainder. And then when I tested that system, I found one clogged line.

There is a hard line inside the fuel tank that runs from the filler neck area to the opposite corner of the tank, presumably to be able to vent at all angles while the fuel is sloshing around inside the tank. It was clogged. I decided to remove the tank to give it everything I had. Removing the fuel tank in this rig is not easy, with the transfer case taking up valuable wiggle room needed to wrestle the tank out from between the frame rails and driveshaft and axle. Once I got it out, it took nearly an hour to clean out that plugged line. This really bothered me because I had sent the tank out for cleaning when I first got the Cherokee, so presumably, the inside of the tank was all good. Nope. Anyway, while I was in there, I decided to replace the worn fuel level sending unit. Just the tip of the wiper was worn on the original unit, which meant that the empty reading was off, while all other readings were pretty accurate. The new unit, supplied by BJ's, did not fit the tank without trimming the outer flange and cutting a notch to get it to seat inside the soldered-in boss. I did realize that maybe I was sent to wrong unit, but no. I chalked it up to variances in manufacturing and went ahead with the install. Once installed and the fuel tank replaced, I took readings at various levels. 5 gallons, 10 gallons, 15 gallons, etc. Without going into a tiraid over the quality of aftermarket parts, let's just say I should have left the original unit in the tank. I did talk with Ryan at BJ's about it, and he fiercely defended the quality of the units he sells, so I either got a bad one, or there's a problem with the wiring in the truck, whatever. I'll figure it out some other time.

 

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

The center console...you guys saw my redneck console a while back, right? The cardboard box with a Starbucks 4-pot cardboard cup holder, right? As much as I liked that one, I figured I should spend a few hours and build something nicer. I knew I did not want to re-use the bulky original center arm rest setup. It's ugly and offers no storage and I never intend to have a third person sitting up front. What I envisioned was simple and clean, with a storage compartment, and arm rest and a spot for gadgets and switches (for future stuff not yet determined). I like building out of steel. It's easy to form, weld and grind yet stronger and thinner than what an upholstery shop would build out of wood. So starting with a half sheet of 18ga steel, this is what I came up with.







I also wanted it to be easily removable if the need arises, so a little bracket was made for the front portion, to bolt to the trans tunnel cover, while the rear of it gets secured to the floor with the original arm rest bolt holes.



Matching the same angles as the dash, I built up a little bump on the front. Big enough to store a pack of switches or a possible A/C vent. And in the span between the little bump an the arm rest section, I cut out a big rectangle and lowered the floor of it to hold things like a wallet or cell phone.













I ran out of time, with paying work stacking up, but it will eventually get the storage area, with cup holders and an arm rest.

That's it for now. Thanks for watching.

 

[SkiWill]

One issue that was bothering me was the fuel vapor pressure inside the fuel tank. Whenever I removed the cap, I would get a blast of explosive fuel vapor. I went through the fuel tank plumbing diagrams over and over again to make sure that I had this one installed correctly. It seemed to be correct, but none of the diagrams I found in the parts books that @SkiWill gave me were identical to the setup on this particular Jeep. Some had more lines, some less, some had gadgets in the fender well that I did not have. I did end up going with one diagram that looked the closest to what I have, and applied logic to decide the remainder. And then when I tested that system, I found one clogged line.

Without going into a tiraid over the quality of aftermarket parts, let's just say I should have left the original unit in the tank. I did talk with Ryan at BJ's about it, and he fiercely defended the quality of the units he sells, so I either got a bad one, or there's a problem with the wiring in the truck, whatever. I'll figure it out some other time.

Sorry the parts diagram was not of more use, but I'm not terribly surprised. I swear in the 1970s Jeep literally assembled these things coming down the line with whatever they had within arms reach. I'm not sure how anyone could tell what was "original" on any given vehicle 45 years later.

I was on a flight back from Michigan recently and watched the Blues Brothers and I have determined that music in the 70s and early 80s was vastly superior to today while manufacturing quality today is light years better than the 70s. I just wish we didn't have to trade the music to get decent manufacturing quality.

Your experience with aftermarket parts is one of the main reasons why I stopped driving older vehicles myself. If my wife would allow it, I'd love to have an old Cherokee again, but the thought of parts hunting these days gives me nightmares.

Thanks for keeping this one alive and sharing it with us.

 

[toddz69]

Thanks for the updates! Glad to see you went with some quality H4s - they are still my favorite in the LED-saturated market these days. We in the Bronco world really struggle with the quality of aftermarket/replacement parts too. Just recently put my old OEM window regulator back in my driver's door because the Chinese repop bound up after a few years. Thankful that I don't just reflexively throw everything away these days....

Todd Z.

 

[Todd n Natalie]

Great update! Can't wait to see the finished console.

 

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

Thanks for the updates! Glad to see you went with some quality H4s - they are still my favorite in the LED-saturated market these days. We in the Bronco world really struggle with the quality of aftermarket/replacement parts too. Just recently put my old OEM window regulator back in my driver's door because the Chinese repop bound up after a few years. Thankful that I don't just reflexively throw everything away these days....

Todd Z.

Reflexively keeping parts = pallets and crates full of stuff I may never need. Or maybe crates and pallets of gold. Who knows? I do keep most stuff...

I may install HD relays for the lights, but for now, they are brighter than stock, and the stock wiring seems to be holding up fine.

 

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

Great update! Can't wait to see the finished console.

Part of the reason I left in unfinished is because where the driver side seat belt comes up along side the console is very tight and I wanted to see if it was a problem before I built the arm rest/ storage compartment. It's proven to be tight, but still functions fine and only gets caught up occasionally. I may massage that area a bit before I finish the console.

Thanks.

 

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

Sorry the parts diagram was not of more use, but I'm not terribly surprised. I swear in the 1970s Jeep literally assembled these things coming down the line with whatever they had within arms reach. I'm not sure how anyone could tell what was "original" on any given vehicle 45 years later.

I was on a flight back from Michigan recently and watched the Blues Brothers and I have determined that music in the 70s and early 80s was vastly superior to today while manufacturing quality today is light years better than the 70s. I just wish we didn't have to trade the music to get decent manufacturing quality.

Your experience with aftermarket parts is one of the main reasons why I stopped driving older vehicles myself. If my wife would allow it, I'd love to have an old Cherokee again, but the thought of parts hunting these days gives me nightmares.

Thanks for keeping this one alive and sharing it with us.

Blues Brothers - so many good movie quotes there.

 

[Todd n Natalie]

Blues Brothers - so many good movie quotes there.

I have determined that music in the 70s and early 80s was vastly superior to today while manufacturing quality today is light years better than the 70s.

Oh for sure build quality is better today vs the 70's. There was an example of this in that very movie:



That being said I've looked for a 74 Monaco or Fury for years to turn into a replica.
There's just none left. I wonder what happened to them all?

Oh. Right.....