The Tipping Point

I think at this point, I've gotten carried away. Suddenly, there's a big pile of parts where a Jeep used to be. Bonnie is not quite herself these days.

However, we are making progress! I had a local specialist, (as the guy on "Wheeler Dealers" would say) Mike Deaderick at  Auto Electric on W. Market in JC rebuild the original starter and generator. He has 27 years experience and did an absolutely amazing job. Better than new bushings and bearings in both of them. The manual oilers on the generator won't even be necessary any more! He bench tested everything with the voltage regulator to make sure everything worked. He repainted everything back to the original, factory look. Bill was barely over $90 for everything. That is an AMAZING deal.

Generator at top, starter at bottom. All cleaned up and brand-new again! 

Since everything on Bonnie is in such great shape, I just keep taking more and more apart. I'm pretty much diving in head first and stripping her down to the frame. Thank goodness we have a large garage/basement and an understanding landlord. Yes, landlord. I'm doing this whole restoration in an apartment! 

Front axle and frame rail. This is as bad as any age/corrosion gets on Bonnie. No reason to not strip it down, clean it up and rebuild it while I'm here. 

The only problem is... I'm starting to end up with a big pile of parts in baggies, piles of big parts, crates of big parts. What do I do with those? Hmmm... does anyone remember the episode of M*A*S*H where Radar tries to mail home a Jeep one part at a time? How much is postage these days...

2 of the bigger parts I have to get out of the floor: the fenders. They don't need any work done, just a good cleanup. 

At this point, I have to figure out how to sneak a paint-booth and sandblaster in the apartment. Maybe this has gone too far. Eh, resistance is futile... prepare to be restored! 

Also, tonight, the wife had me stop and look at a 1986 Grand Wagoneer for sale. $3900 or best offer. I swear, we are in danger of starting a herd. You know you're a Jeep fanatic when someone ask you how many head of Jeep you have. 

Would it be a herd? A pod? A gaggle? A murder? 

A friend says they are pack animals. They recognize your own. You park yours in a parking lot, and almost always, when you come back out, another one has parked near you. I guess they keep each other company whilst their owners are gone.

Bonnie Blue: 51 years of crud.

So Bonnie will run, but it's been a few years since she was on the road. While thinking about this I get an idea (this is where Emily usually says Uh-Oh!). Anyway, I decide to strip down the engine and pull it out for a really good cleanup, while reworking as much of the original equipment as I can.

Here's what it looks like so far.

About 50 years of oil, grease, and grime have built up a huge mess! Some places it's almost an inch thick! The good news is that anywhere there's grease, there's no rust or corrosion. Yay! Here's what the starter and generator look like. Yep, I said generator!

Lots and lots of gunk! 

Well, at this point I get a little carried away and decide that it will be a lot easier to work if a few things are out of the way. By this point there are zip top bags and boxes of parts accumulating at an astonishing rate!

Lots of photos and notes might help me put all this back together!

Lets hope!

The motor is ready to come out now, and the best news is that the front section of frame and firewall are solid as can be! I think at this point I need to decide just how far I want to go with this. Just a few more bolts and the tub would come off. Hmmmmm........