1979 Jimmy High Sierra for parts/restore

[Michael Farich]

1979 Jimmy High-Sierra 350-4bbl, A/C, TH350, 3.08 open diffs, full-time case. Owned 14 years. For parts or restoration.

Vehicle was a nice looking high-mileage daily driver (yearly underbody oiling slowed the rust) until wife accidentally rolled it 1.5 times in Oct 2002. Did not hit anything in the accident (and no more than cuts and bruises) but the rollover beat up every body panel except for the hood and gate which are virtually untouched. If I needed another 4x4 I'd restore it myself but I have more than enough vehicles already so I'll sell to someone who wants it for parts or to restore. $300 for whole vehicle, $50 if you don't want the drivetrain. Have PA title.

Have original 350-4 engine out of vehicle. Runs but needs rebuilt bad.
Trans is good running TH-350 upgraded with Trans-Go shift improver. Was built out of used parts and a rebuild kit some years ago when original case failed.

Transfer case is original, unmodified full-time unit.

Diffs are 3.08 ratio open units from a '77 pickup. Original owner did this to get rid of the original 3.73 gears. The existing diffs are complete with good working brakes and no leaks at axle ends. Leak a small amount in middle area of housing somewhere. (Replaced rear axle seals to stop leaks there two years ago and has been fine since.)

Suspension was rebuilt two years ago with: new 5-leaf rear springs, original front 2-leafs, new rubber bushings at all pivot points front and rear, new shocks, ... The rollover probably did not touch the frame at all, but the spring shackles are "sprung" a little and would need replaced.

Frame and braces are very sound thanks to yearly underbody oiling for many years. Floor has small amount of rust under driver feet area due to snow and water being tracked in by drivers. Rest of floor is fine.

Wheels were the ralley type for that year but those have been removed and replaced with plain steel wheels.

Interior is red with red/white patterned front buckets and center console. Seats are original and drivers one is starting to tear from normal wear. Had just installed new charcoal gray front carpeting before the wreck. Column shift automatic. A/C still worked. Paint is a dark brown/gray looking 1990 Jeep color. Original was red and black.

Have good used replacement fiberglass top and glass obtained and placed on vehicle already. (Was going to restore it for myself but then decided I don't need another one just for myself - wife didn't want to have this one restored for herself any more so she picked out a '99 Durango to replace it with.)

There is a junkyard 2 miles from me that has a really nice used '79 Blazer roof I was going to cut out and use to replace the one on the Jimmy here. Did not cut and retrieve that one yet, but I'll help a buyer get that roof if he/she wants it to restore this Jimmy.

This vehicle was used in filming of "The Dark Half" Stephen King movie in and around Pittsburgh and Washington PA in 1990. It was the sheriff's vehicle in that movie.

Picture attached was taken shortly after being hauled home and parked here after the wreck. Ralley wheels are gone and good used factory fiberglass top is now sitting in place of damaged one.

This vehicle would be a good parts vehicle for someone, or a good frame and drivetrain starting point for a custom cause everything is relatively rust-free for this age (preserved by yearly underbody oiling.)

Mike (in SW PA near I-70 marker #55)
farichms@westol.com

[old Rusty C10]

welcome to the board thats some wreck!!

['89Z71]

welcome to the board!

[Michael Farich]

Thanks. The girl was fortunate she missed the trees and didn't slide upside down through the farmers fence on the side of the road during the roll. I think she got distracted with the kids, ran off road on one side, over corrected and ran off other side even worse, got sliding sideways in mud off side of road, piled up enough dirt to tip it sideways and rolled back across road to come to rest upside down on first side of road again. Her and kids only got cuts and bruises from climbing out through broken glass. There was another case a month ago around here where a girl did this and hit a tree during the roll and that killed her. Mike

[chevy_fatman]

Where exactly are you located at? I have a friend that might interested on it.

BTW, Welcome to the board.

[Michael Farich]

Turnpike brings you almost here from York county. Exit #8 (New Stanton) then a few miles west on I-70 then a couple miles of back roads and you'd be here. About 4.5 hours taking it easy.
Mike
farichms@westol.com

[benscool1]

Still got it? How much for motor and tranny? Any idea how hard it would be to take this motor and tranny, and put it in a 2wd, 250 6 cyl. w/3 speed? Let me know.

[benscool1]

Do you still have it? And this may be a stupid question, but I don't know much about 4 x 4s, and I would most likely take the drivetrain out of this and put it in a 2wd truck, would that work? I mean would the tranny be a problem or..? Let me know.

Thanks,
- Ben

[Michael Farich]

Ben,

I still have everything.

Engine probably would fit - maybe you'd have to change the brackets that bolt to frame and accept the part of the mount that bolts to the engine. Make sure you get all the accessory brackets for the front of the engine too. My engine needs rebuilt though. It runs, but I think it has a cracked piston because it burns oil visibly and lopes at idle as if it has poor compression in one or two cylinders. Would be a good core for a rebuild. Crate engines might be less money overall, though. I hear GM sells a nice 350 crate engine for $1300 or so. Hard to beat that deal unless you have some reason to want a particular 350 engine in your truck rather than a newer one.

4WD automatic transmission is mostly the same as a rear wheel drive but the important differences are enough work to change over that you'd be better off getting a complete rear wheel drive trans to use. The difference is that 4WD automatics did not have a tail housing and the output shaft of the transmission is too short to just put a tail shaft housing on it and use it that way. Plus, the spline pitch on the end of output shaft is probably different. On 4WD, the bolts that would normally bolt to a tail housing bolt directly to a thick steel separator plate that separates the transmission from the transfer case. If you really wanted to use a 4WD transmission in a 2WD, you would need to disassemble most of the transmission to get the output shaft out, replace it with one from a RWD trans, find and install a tailshaft housing and reinstall all the guts of the transmission again. That being said, there are some benefits of a 4WD transmission. They usually put the maximum number of friction and steel layers in the various clutches inside the transmissions to handle a little more torque from the engine. Also, the cases might be a little bit stronger at the front end toward the engine because 4WD automatics had a thick cast aluminum flywheel/converter dust cover that bolts to the front of the transmission. This corresponds to the more familiar thin, steel or plastic dust cover used on cars and 2WD trucks.

Mike