The Plan(s)

My main goal with Mona is getting her running so I can take her on adventures. Right now, that includes work on the carb, electrical system, seats, tires, and the tailgate. Some of these tasks are ones I have some comfort in doing, and the others, I’ll need to call in help. More on the lifelines as I go through the plans. I’m going to go through them in reverse order.

Problem: The tailgate. Right now, the window crank is gone and the crank mechanism is kaput. I put a socket on the stud the handle connects to and turned it and nothing happened. Not only that, but the latch to open the tailgate is currently rusted shut.
—Plan of action: After searching for a week, I found a replacement crank mechanism on the Team Grand Wrangler website — and it arrived today. Depending on the weather tomorrow, I’ll pull the tailgate access panel which will get me to both the crank and latch. I’m pretty sure I’ll have to juice all the fasteners up and let them sit for a bit. Hopefully I can get the latch to come back because I haven’t been able to find a replacement for that yet.
–I also need to get in there with the vacuum because holy hell was it a mess! (See the pictures below). Thankfully I didn’t find anything scandalous, like, you know, desiccated body parts. But, yeah — it’s a big, big mess. Anyone have a wet/dry vac I can borrow?

Problem: Tires. The tires are okay, but they’re old and have a few flat spots. I also want something with a bit more of an aggressive tread — nothing too violent as I still want to take her on the highway, but something to get through the mud and snow.
—Plan of action: I’m searching through different websites right now and think I have a few options. But, until I can drive her, I really don’t want to jack her up and pull the wheels in the driveway as the driveway slopes enough to make me a bit nervous. Not really worried about this problem right now.

Problem: Seats. The front seats are done worn out. The backs are also a bit short so I’d like a new style. The back seat, a fold and tumble seat, has rotted covering and the foam is mouse eaten.
—Plan of action: The front seats have me a bit nervous when it comes to figuring out what to get — fitment, what brackets are needed, etc. Thankfully, I know a body guy who I’ll be getting in contact with soon.
— The backseat is an easier fix. The frame and springs are in good shape, though, so I’m going to get a few quotes to get it redone.

Problem: Electrical system. As she currently sits, Mona only has high beams. Wipers work, but the windshield washer pump doesn’t. Blower motor doesn’t work. Cigarette lighter is out as well.
—Plan of action: I’m going to run some jumpers to the blower and washer pump and see if they go when they’re hotwired. If I need to, I’ll swap them out. Same with the cigarette lighter. Before I do anything, though, I’m going to check the fuses and the body grounds to make sure they’re all in good shape. From there, trace the wires to look for rodent damage.
–With the blower, I’ll also test the resistor, switch, and relay. Thank you, Chilton’s manual.

Problem: The carburetor. Right now, to get her to run, I have to feed her all of the onions, at which point, she surges and dies. Now, part of that might be the accelerator pump, but, in chatting with Mr. Mechanical,* he said it might also be the power valve. Oh, and when I pulled the accelerator pump, I disconnected the cam from the linkage, and now, I gotta figure out how to get those two mated back up.
—Plan of action: This is the part that makes me nervous. I mean, I’ve already messed up twice with the accelerator pump in that I initially got the incorrect part and then disconnected the damn linkage. *grumble grumble* However, Mr. Mechanical reassures me that with a little patience, perhaps a few profanities, and finding the correct position to hold my tongue, I should be able to get things reconnected.
–The power valve is a little more intimidating as it involves pulling the carb off the manifold. I mean, Kevin from Junkyard Digs and Luke from Thunderhead 289 both make it look easy — but they have been doing it for a long, long time, and Mr. Mechanical doesn’t make house calls to Grand Forks. So…I might wait for a weekend when The Mechanic* can come over and lead me through the steps. Then again — I might just jump in with both feet…
–I will be replacing the fuel filter and possible the lines soon.

So, the plans are in place. And I’m going to take it slow and steady. I’m good with that.

*Mr. Mechanical and The Mechanic are two different people — Mr. Mechanical is a friend dating back to the late 70’s, and The Mechanic is my nephew-by-choice. I might just have to change the name of one of them…

And as promised — the last round of pictures …