1988 Jeep Wagoneer

SUV

360 V8

Automatic

1JCNJ15U3JT062186

Clear

Gasoline

Here's one great Jeep Grand Wagoneer......it's been a project and hobby of mine for the last three years, but now it needs a new home. This has been a "Ground Up" personal restoration project for me. While always clean, unwrecked and road-worthy, I decided for old-times sake to begin working from the tire rubber on up rebuilding and improving on it. When I say "Ground Up", I mean it... beginning with new wheel bearing/hub bearings all the way around, new brake setups front and rear, new Rancho leaf springs on the rear, new Superlift leaf springs on front w/ both adding about 2" on the ride height and fresh Pro Comp nitrogen shocks. Stock front hubs were replaced with Warner-built lockouts for added off-road versatility. I scraped and ground the frame down to remove lots of old Pennsylvania road salts rust that had built up on the undercarriage, then coated with a proprietary rust conversion sealant before re-setting the chassis on new Pro Comp red urethane body-mount bushings. The engine, transmission and transfer case were pulled and rebuilt from scratch. The block was hot tanked, bored 0.030" over, honed and polished and the crank was trued and balanced. Then new motor bearings were installed throughout for the crank and rods. Heads were planed and polished, with valve seats trued and beveled for new valves and springs. Comp Cam moly pushrods, performance hydraulic lifters and roller rocker arms top out the valve train. Jegs and Summit Racing salesmen became known on a first-name basis with all the new parts put into this jeep. New performance pistons, wrist pins and moly rings. I topped everything out with an Edelbrock Performer Series intake manifold and Edelbrock Performer 600 4-barrel carb. New Davis Unified HEI Ignition Performance distributor provides plenty of fire while Headman Headers with a custom exhaust give the motor plenty of breathing room. The transmission was stripped, cleaned and tightened up with new torque converter and pressure plates throughout. New high capacity radiator with dual electronic fans. Inside, the seat leather is in fantastic shape with hardly any visible wear front or back. All power windows work correctly. Floor carpet is in better than average condition and there's a new headliner too. I'm not all that happy with the headliner's neatness of work, but it looks good overall. That's lots of new and good, but there's still some work to be done to make it a perfect ride. It's former life in PA made for some bad salt exposure, which led to some rust-through in the lower body panels. I have new rocker panels and rear quarters ready for a good body shop to change out, but I haven't taken the time to get this work done. Everything is to the point now where the next owner could get the body work and paint finished for a real head-turning show ride, or simply take it as it sits for a fun 4x4 customizing project. All the stock body trim parts are intact and stored in the back of the wagon, including the rear fixed windows. The photos show them removed and replaced with plastic, because I was prepping it for painting before deciding to just sell it as is. I'm a good engine builder, but lousy with fine-tuning carburetors. While the motor runs very strong, someone with good tuning skills and know-how for jetting vacuum work should be able to pull the most performance out of the setup. The transmission was rebuilt at a local shop and they did do a good job with the work, but it sat on a pallet for about a year while the motor work was being done and then I let it slip on the jack when re-installing it. I think the bounce on the jack may have broken the pan seal because it seems to be leaking slightly and needs to be replaced. Mechanically, everything else is very sound and solid. The 4WD setup on these GW's are vacuum switch activated. A new vacuum canister will be needed so that the 4WD stays engaged. Several 4x4 runners swap the stock transfer out for a mechanical shift drive, but I didn't want to cut the hole in the floor at this time. Instead, I recommend considering a 12V vacuum auxiliary pump installed in place of the stock canister system if a more positive full-time lock is desired with the current transfer case setup.