Marla Hooch - a CJ-V35/U

[Marla.the.V35]

Various small fixes/projects/repairs

Frame horn fix
There was a crack from the inner edge to one of the ram's horn bolt holes on the driver's front frame horn. A channel was ground following it, then welded up and cleaned and painted.

Brake line replacement
If you recall, we accidentally punched a small hole in the long rear brake hard line while doing suspension replacement work. I ordered a new one from QTM (ebay) that came with a front and rear. My brake light also isn't working, so I purchased a replacement NOS switch and a repop (I figured a spare doesn't hurt). Boy, that master cylinder is hard to get to! We went in through the top, since the fender was already off, and detached the steering box (since I'd rebuilt the box last year, I was very comfortable with this). In hindsight, had I realized the splash plate came off so easily with two bolts (one through the steering box and one through the master itself that mounts it to the frame), we'd have gone that way instead, and in the end, we did anyway. We pulled the brass fittings off the front of the master to clean them and replaced the brake light switch with a NOS switch for the MB. Not sure that's stock to the V-35, but the connectors from the wiring loom were female to the switch's males. I was pleased that the long rear line seemed to fit together fairly easily. The kit came with the front line too, and I figured, might as well replace it now. However, the front line just wouldn't mate. Since there wasn't anything wrong with the old line, we just put it back together then filled and bled the system. Previous Owner installed a reservoir up near the hood using the V-35's original vent tubing, so thankfully, this was pretty easy to fill. Brake light still doesn't work (d'oh!), so a multimeter is en route...

Windshield vent
I'd bought a windshield vent latch stop (the hoop part) from a gentleman named Terry Bistrovich I'd come across in Facebook groups. Mine was missing when I bought the jeep, and he makes replacements on a jig in small batches. I got a vent latch handle from Walcks and we finally got around to welding the bracket on and buttoning it all up. I ground the handle some so that it "locks" from the inside and can't be opened from the outside.

Battery Bracket
My brother in law took one look at the deteriorating rubber that was holding down the battery and crafted a new battery strap from some scrap metal to match the rubber (which we ground down to fit between the battery and the new metal strap.) Looks pretty good!

[Marla.the.V35]

As I'm sure you are all aware, the jeep sort of has a way of telling you what the next project will be....

I guess we had a little too much fun bouncing around in the desert and now I'll need to replace the windshield lol. Woops...I suspect the hoodblocks aren't correct. They're not quite tall enough for the wipers to clear, and I think they don't allow the strap to fully arrest the windshield frame, allowing some jostling. I'll be looking around for a correct set, or might try to convince my brother to make a set....If you know the correct measurements for 3A blocks (I'm assuming the V-35 used the same and there's not a difference between these and the M-38?), I'm all ears!

[squidtone]

Oh darn, bummer with the windshield glass. Though not correct, I used small lengths of hood welting on top of the blocks to add some padding. It helps too when leaning the opened hood against the top of the windshield edge. To hold the welting down, I used small screws in the depressed center of the welting into the wood.

Despite the damage, I'm jealous of you guys who have all kinds of terrain to putter through.

[Marla.the.V35]

I hadn't considered welting! perhaps I'll try that. I think I need to definitely find correct blocks tho. What's there is clearly not correct. Won't hurt to check the surface between the blocks and the hood too. I'm sure there's some water getting trapped in there.

The desert has been fun!  Eventually (soon?), I will be returning to Southern California, and open nature to putter around in will become much less accessible.

[Bob W]

Do you have a photo of the hood block from the side showing how the windshield frame sits on it?

Anyone else with a stock CJ-3A please post a photo of yours so we can compare them.

[PercyUK]

To be honest I simply lowered the windshield as far as I could without anything hitting anything else. I then took a measurement from the hood to the frame where the blocks sat and made a set up. I spent a few too many hours myself looking at images online for the correct block and came to the conclusion that there were more than one style or size used and decided that whatever I made would be OK.

[Bob W]

I wasn't really concerned with the exact shape of the hood block, but rather with which part of the windshield frame contacts it. From the break it seems like perhaps the rubber retainer is resting on the hood block instead of the soft top channel.

[Marla.the.V35]

I wasn't really concerned with the exact shape of the hood block, but rather with which part of the windshield frame contacts it. From the break it seems like perhaps the rubber retainer is resting on the hood block instead of the soft top channel.

Oooh, here is the issue.  Previous owner removed it to mount a hard top.  A replacement was on my list.  Looks like I'd better accelerate that and add it to the windshield order :/

EDIT: As promised, photos

Looks like kaiserwillys has a NOS channel available.  How would this normally be attached? Welded? Rivets? Bolts?

[PercyUK]

I think that might be your problem. I have that channel and it is that that sits on the block.

[Marla.the.V35]

Looks about right.   P.O. strikes again :/. Looks like I've got my next project lol

[SteveKfl]

In the mean time, you could always 'notch the blocks', or add a 'pad' onto them, to lay on the windshield frame and to miss the rubber seal and glass area to be able to ride the trails and desert until the new "replacement windshield channel and/or frame" and glass come in.

[Marla.the.V35]

Moving day back to California (for a while?) is fast approaching, so I've put Marla projects on hold in lieu of enjoying some drive time. I've been doing a fair bit of bumping and bouncing around in the nearby desert and generally having a blast.

I've done probably the nerdiest thing I can think of; I created a youtube channel for Marla. You can check it out here if you're interested in seeing a (mostly) stock V-35 tackling some small obstacles.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqN6tmhXfZ-W0s4HdckDeqQ/videos
We've put a little over 100miles on since replacing the speedo/odometer! Not sure how much was put on before the new unit, but I'd wager +40?

While we're on the subject of driving Marla, I did encounter some death wobble/shimmy today on the road back at around 45 or 50 mph. It was pretty terrifying, and since it didn't do this before the suspension swap, I'm concerned we've introduced some changes to the geometry. In any case, I'll step through the checklist to see if it's anything else that can be more easily solved first. Since 45-50mph isn't a foreseeable thing in the near term, I don't think I'll be getting to it right away. Needless to say...the event has left me shook up (yup, puns)

Happy driving!

[Marla.the.V35]

Wow.

What a few years it's been, huh? A lot has happened between when I last posted and now. We had some life changes in our family, followed on by a serious health issue. But everything is much better now, and we're back to 100%! The events of the last few years put a small hitch in the plans with Marla. The original plan had her moving to the Los Angeles area much, much sooner. But hey, what's life without a few good challenges?

I'll do my best to catch this thread up to speed on all things Marla!

• I flipped over the bumperettes to the stock position
• grabbed some reproduction data plates from Dataplates4U (can't sing their praises enough!) I made a youtube video for the unboxing (https://youtu.be/OXmfrfKd-KA?si=y4Hbz91uHzV_wYyP). Really impressed with the quality and happy I could find rare plates for Marla. I installed them using rivets (instead of screws. Hey, I don't need them walking off )
• I had a carb rebuilt by Vintage Jeeper and got that installed, bent a new fuel line to get farther away from the manifold too
• Marla got a new internally regulated Delco 10si 3-wire alternator (was an externally reg'd motorcraft). This got a correct 5/8ths pulley zipped on, and a new correct 5/8ths belt was installed.  I decided on 3-wire so that I could be charging at startup, and not have to hit an RPM threshold to excite the alt.  At this time, I figured it was time to switch over to a volt meter and do away with the ammeter. While I dislike removing NOS and stock parts, for safety and clutter reduction, it just made sense. To make the 3wire alt work, I removed the old on/off style keyed switch and push button combo in favor of a 4post/3position ignition switch. This afforded me a setup without diodes and less complicated wiring runs. I also installed an internally resisted coil from Vintage Jeeper and new plugs and wires from same. All of this allowed netted me considerable reductions in the amount and complexity of wiring in the jeep. The entire load is no longer running through the dash, and the jeep just feels "strong" now when it runs! I'm pretty proud of myself for getting it going again. The last time I attempted to wire a jeep, it never ran again!
• I scored a bunch of gas cans, and a bracket, but installing them is a project still in the works. I'll keep you all updated
• I grabbed an M38A1 style rear tire bracket from a very nice gentleman down South of me. So Marla's spare has been moved around to the stock position. I also broke apart a repop M38 style reflector, cut a hole in the backing, and snuck a nice flat LED light from a Harley in there. As part of the wiring effort, I added this as a brake light in the tire bracket!
• Recently I was cruising marketplace and came across something that seemed too good to be true. Front and rear axles out of an M38A1 (I'm noticing a trend here lol) D25/D44 both with a traction device in the diffs! I also grabbed a rear seat from the same seller! I have plans for the '44 that might mean I won't get to use much of what's in there. Time will tell...
• Finally, the biggest news, is that we bought a house in the Los Angeles area, and we were able to move Marla down finally! I've got a ton of work to get her more mechanically solid, and registered (I misplaced the title!) but once those hurdles are behind me, I'm looking forward to exploring some of the fun trails around here.

Thanks for reading along! I know it's been a while, so if you've been patient with me, bless you!

[Marla.the.V35]

More images that wouldn't upload from previous lol.

[BrJeeper]

Nice seeing some progress! I remember finding and following you on Instagram years back, but I guess Instagram's algorithm didn't want me to see the newer posts...

My Dad and I did something similar for the taillights of my 3A, Stock taillight on one side, LED under a reflector in the other....