Spent the afternoon working on the Mountain Man Express. I started off by removing the fiberglass top that was absolutely not designed for it. Then I started it up and actually drove it around the block, which is kind of tough with a gas pedal that isn’t attached to its hinge anymore btw. Once I got it into the garage I removed the still working plow and all of its controls/wiring. Then my buddy Phil came over and rebuilt the carb for me as I kept tinkering on things. I replaced the broken hood latch, removed the extra battery box, cleaned up some of the creative wiring, and replumbed the carb with actual barbed fittings and a fuel filter. I need to get a new voltage regulator and choke cable, plus fix the gas pedal at a minimum to get it driving.
The XJ looking in on Great Grandpa, actually I needed a bit of juice as the old battery from the XJ wasn't happy running a non-charging Willy's.
Awesome wiring setup with a second voltage regulator for the extra battery to power the plow
Legit plow switch
No more plow
Meyers Model T 12V plow, still functions and has mounting for an early CJ. For Sale, buyer must pick up.
New hinge from Bestop, I got a pair for $8 on Amazon but only replaced the one that was broken. I just had to leave the old one on the other side, I also couldn't bring myself to use the shiny new hardware. It just wouldn't have looked right.
Rebuilt carb and a remade fuel line. The PO replaced the Solex with a Rochester B-1 from a 6cyl Chevy truck at some point. His method for adapting the fuel line to it from the pump was to just cut the hard lines and use them as fittings for the hose. I got some actual barb fittings from ACE Hardware along with some fuel safe pipe dope to do it a bit better. I also added an inline fuel filter to help catch any sludge from the tank.
And that's basically it for now. It runs really well but is a bit hard to get started as that carb is so oversized. It also smoke like a chimney, although not as bad as it did at first. I think some fresh valve seals will make a big difference with that. I'm still impressed that it got running again so easily. It hasn't been registered since 1985, so its very possible it was parked around that same time.