1972 Commando Halfcab build...

Stats:

225 V6
T18
D20
D44
D30

We picked this up for my son; he gets his license in Feb. '09 so we've got time. It's in pretty good shape but needs a repaint. It's been sitting for a very long time so I'm not sure if the engine will even turn over. I would prefer a V8 anyways so I'll be looking for a 360 or Buick 350 in the future. The only parts I'm concerned with are the top (you can see where someone welded up some cracks around the top of the B pillar) and the tail gate. It just doesn't look right to me but I'll be researching it soon.

It essentially needs everything done do it at this point. I plan on upgrading to disc's up front, power steering, new wiring harness, etc.

I think the Jeepsterpartsdude (and many other vendors here) are going to become my close frineds in the future. I'm really looking forward to working on this with my son; however; we probably won't get too much done in the next few months because 1) I've got an '84 XJ I'm trying to finish up and 2) I promised my wife I'd get some things done around the house before I spent a lot of money on the Commando...we'll probably poke around for the summer and then in the fall really start working on it.

Here's some pics - let me know what you think...

 

Wow, I take it the underside is as clean as the rest? Looks like a good solid project. Up here in the rust belt that would be considered pretty much rust free R). So somebody actually put a 225 in there?

 

It has a swap of some kind. Look at the shifter stem, and those floor pans look, uh, improvised.

Original engine would have been a straight 6 or a V8, as Dan mentioned. If it has a V6 now, take your pick of which V8 you want... Chevy is probably cheapest, and will swap for a Buick with a bellhousing change. Nothing wrong with an AMC V8, but if it's already gone...

 

Ya, that's quite the shifter isn't it?

 

Yeah, I meant to ask about the 225, I've doing a ton of research over the last 3-4 months (I was supposed to pick it up in November!) but I forgot about the engine...

I'm going to post up the VIN in the VIN thread...

And yes, that shifter has been seriously hacked, the welds look like crap - just like their attempt at fixing the cracks in the top. I'll get more detailed pics of the top soon.


EDIT: You can see all the pics, along with the full size versions here - Clicky

EDIT EDIT: And yes the underside is pretty solid also; I've yet to see any rust that's not just surface rust (besides the top). I'm not sure what you mean about the floor pans; overal they're in great shape and appear to be original. In the pics above the factory rubber flooring was in place but underneath it they looked good. I'll try to get some more pics later today!

 

I'd be interested in some pics of under the hood.

 

Here's some more pics of the inside; as you can see the floor looks like it's original and intact. The bubbling on the passenger side floor has me a little worried but it's not all the way through and I can't see anything on the bottom side.

As usual you can see all the pics here - Clicky





Here you can see the manual choke and that spring was used to hold the TC shifter in place - not real sure what the green wire is for but it won't be there long...

 

And here are the pics of the top. You can see the crappy job the PO did on "trying" to fix the cracks. It probably won't be too hard to fix though.

EDIT: If you haven't noticed I'm a picture whore...









I noticed there's a big gap between the top and the cab; does the factory seal fill that gap or is something not fitting up right?

 

As requested...

I only posted a few but there's about 10 more in my gallery here - Clicky!

Nice battery box...:?


Here's some more of those awesome welds...






The wiring on the inside looks about the same; I'll be pulling all the wiring out and throwing in a new harness with fuse box.

 

That's quite, what's the word I'm looking for, interesting. Never seen a 225 in a Bullnose before, except of course for the AMT model kits .It's definitely a BN frame. Must have had a 225 drivetrain out of a Jeepster or an old CJ sitting around. Now I'm really wondering what that cover on the tranny cover is all about. The plot thickens, stay tuned for more. :lurk:.

 

I thought it was just an improvised doghouse for the T-18 shift tower. You think it might be something more? Strange that it's not centered over the shifter.

 

The best part is I'm headed out of town tomorrow, I get back Friday night and leave again on Sunday until the following Saturday so we're all (inlcuding me...) going to have to wait...I'll definitely keep you posted.

Of course I could always go tear that cover off tonight...

 

I'm pretty sure the body is original; my thought is they just swapped the motor; now you all have me curious...

 

You ever hear how wall paneling covers a multitude of sins? Maybe that's how sheet metal works on Jeeps R). Seems like the engine is sitting real close to the firewall, maybe it's got something to do with that or maybe the drive train is in there crooked?

 

Ok, here's the best I can do with the time I had...

From what I've gathered here it looks like a T18...:?

Here's a couple of pics from the top...







And a few from the bottom...it's definitely a D20 but I'm not real familiar with older tranny's. If you guy's can't identify it with these pics I'll dig into it later...







On a side note: It looks like there was a different clutch assembly mounted before. You can see there's some type of bracket that's still attached to the firewall right next to the one that's there now.



For the full size pics go here...

 

From what I found at this site it apparently had the 232 to begin with, I'm guessing the PO blew it up and tried to transplant a V6...

I was also poking around some more and found that it could be a T98 (vs. T18 8) tranny - the T98 came with the V6 and that might explain the different clutch arrangement...

 

The 72 / 73 had the "bubble" on the tail gate so the spare tire could fit behind the seat.

They look better with the flat tail gate anyway.

 

Looks to be an SM420 which explains the added cover on the tranny cover . 4 speed, granny low, very good tranny.