1964 Kaiser Willys Jeep Gladiator J300 Pickup Truck "Cindy" Resto Mod Thread
Good Day Friends!
Welcome to my build thread.
Thank you forum leaders and members for all your help!
And thank you for reading. I'm writing this for you because this thread would have helped me during this build, and I didn't have it like it is presented here. We've got the "Resto Rules", Photo Albums for background, items related to Acquisitions, Builds, and the infamous, "Ole Fiver's Driving Skills Academy for People who Drive Kaiser Willy's Jeeps - Don't Fence Me In!!".
Hope you enjoy the ride. Let's get started!
This is a thread about "Cindy" - a completed truck build that is everything I aimed at, and done as done can be. Clocked me today at 64-67 mph on the freeway and dug out of a hole in 2Lo today too; has new air conditioning, heater, new roof carpet, new window tint, new alternator, new paint, new radiator, etc. See them pics!! So excited to be done, as much as is possible.
How's that? Cindy you say? Yep. She's got that name because I was in a carwash rinsing five years of filth off of a mountain jeep being gifted to a city grand daughter when suddenly I was in a jeep dealership checking out the new Jeep interiors. Why? Cause I wanted to see all the jeep offered packages, in case maybe I was gonna buy the new 2020 Jeep Gladiator pick up truck.
So they had a line of jeep about a mile long, all different trims, all open. I climbed through every color combination, every leather, cloth, two door four door, soft top, hardtop jeep variant I could see. Took hours.
Oh yeah, check in with the Mrs. I've been MIA for hours. Only went to the carwashes. Be right back honey. 4 hours later I text her 'hey Cindy, having fun in the Jeep, so many different ways we can do this!' okay. except my wife's name is not Cindy. Auto text, bruh. Not good. And she is none to pleased to hear of my fun times jeeps in any variety of ways not involving herself. So that gets sorted out with several efforts, phone calls, emogis, texts, pictures of jeeps, me with the jeeps, of the saleslady (not named Cindy).
Wife named whatever new Jeep I got "Cindy". I agree wholeheartedly.
1. We turn one bolt at a time. (Pelago, RIP)
2. We like ice cream, going for ice cream, taking people to ice cream. It's all about the sweet stuff - enjoy the ride!
3. Whatever Resto we do, it'll be what we aimed for, so it's ok to be satisfied.
4. Whomever we do it for, they never react like we expect, especially if it's yourself. Do it anyway.
5. We customize to our taste, regardless of what others tell you that you must do.
6. About midnight oil, we all burn as much as our Willy's Jeep burns. Keep on chugging.
7. Buckets. We all got one. Turn it upside down. Sit down. Think awhile. Our way of saying measure twice, cut once.
8. Rule #7 is BS. Your gonna cut 50 times if you cut once. Use bucket & Improvise. Adapt. Overcome..
9. We post pictures of our builds, the good the bad, and the ugly.
10. Though the Internet is forever, sometimes it's not. Download, backup, and print what you love.
11. Give your Jeep 5 minutes, road time before deciding anything. Gives the gunk time to ungunk itself.
12. What's on your Jeep is on your Jeep.
13. We simply can't cheat the build.
14. Buy good parts once.
15. Gotta love "Made in USA". They are high quality.
16. Time well spent on a sunny day. Making hay while the sun is shinning so to speak.
Az please post pictures of the "Fence" and "Gravel pit". I think you should create a go to post on how your brakes came to fruition, and your AC install went, and your throttle control came about, and the oil clean ups, and the "pipe laying" bed liner and cap, and what an RPM is, and why you don't care, and why we need oil... I have a few more, I don't want to overwhelm you you may "Choke" the motor.
Enter Cindy #1. I found a fully restored, everything on it, 1966 Jeep Gladiator pickup truck for $5,900.00. sure the guy was shifty, but me, I could outsmart him. See where this is going? Perfect truck? Fully restored? Cheapest one ever? Shifty dude? Confident dumb *** like me? Doesn't twerk wrench? Wants to buy the solution. Damn fool. I am one. Paid the man the money. No truck. I didn't even get bait and switched. I got straight street hustled. I even called the bank aforehand, yep, he's a real customer - sure you can transfer the money direct to his account. I even talked to the feds or bank investigatory after. Yep, that's the man who stole my money. Here's all the websites he's ripped people off from. end of day? No money, no jeep truck! (Took three months)
Moral of the story: if you don't exercise your morals, if you ignore what your momma taught ya, no self respecting Jeep Truck will have you either. You simply can't cheat the build.
Please do not mention this to my better half. Of course she told me not to. I had to. No, I don't actually own that truck. It's just the one I paid for at one time, three years ago when I was a much younger man!
Cindy #2 Neighborhood truck. Neighbor said guy wouldn't sell. Told him $3500. Met the family. Told em 4 grand. Guy wouldn't sell. Talked to the guy. Offered 6 grand. Guy wouldn't sell. (Took three months).
Widening search. All the search engines. Virtually looked over maybe a thousand vehicles, maybe 100 jeep j series trucks, offered on some, all the difficulties. Wrong engine, wrong transmission, wrong rust, no tailgate, etc. Right truck, wrong price, wrong timing etc. This took so long I watched one truck go from craigslist to a specialty site (I chatted the guy up and his price was above my available cash - would have bought a completed truck, 84 J Series, sweet complete truck, for under ten grand and been done, but) he sold it to a specialty dealer where I saw it listed the next six months +5K at the price I offered. So much time spent looking!!! No jeep truck.
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