Nellers CJ5 Build

Well here we go. I'm just a puppet in this adventure, my wife (affectionately known as Nellers) is the boss in the build of her '68 CJ5. We both love to get out of town and hit the open road to go explore the back country that most can't or don't wan't to spend the time or energy to get to. So how do I build her a CJ5 that will comfortably get us around the country safely and keep her happy with her Jeep. I would like to go crazy on it but she wants to keep it looking as stock as possible yet be easy and fun to drive. These are my thoughts or plan so please feel free to comment or criticize.

Our plans:
68 CJ5
GM 4.3 (PO threw in for $100)
thm350 (wife want an auto)
Spicer 18
33" 10.5 with minimal lift
Dana 44 front and rear. gear ratio 3:73 to 4:27 (have, Waggie Narrow Track)
Move the engine 4" forward to create a longer driveline
Move the front shackles forward 3"
Saginaw steering
4 wheel power disk brakes (have from previous build)

This is our canvas:


Nellers camera 074 by Sparky Powers, on Flickr


Nellers camera 075 by Sparky Powers, on Flickr


Nellers camera 073 by Sparky Powers, on Flickr

 

Welcome to the forum. Looks like a fun build and a nice Jeep. Moving the engine 4" forward might be tricky.

 

Looking forward to the build. Good luck.

 

Sounds interesting. Resto-mod. Right on. You'll need a 2.5 - 4 lift to fit 33's. I run 33's and used a 2.5 lift, 1/2" shackle lift and aftermarket urethane body bushings that probably lifted the body 1/2 to 3/4 inch higher than it was. As for moving the engine forward, a grill from a 72-75 cj5 may help as, I believe, those years pushed the radiator further forward (almost flat against the grill slats), and replacing the mechanical fan with an electric one may or may not gain you some room.

Do some more checking around before deciding how far to move the engine around. I'm sure others have installed autos in their short JEEPs. See what they've done to make them fit.

Looking forward to the 4 wheel discs.

Good luck and welcome aboard.

 

.

In early on this one...looking forward to following along!

Nice looking 'canvas' you have to start with!


.

 

Not much room forward for a decent sized Radiator with the headlight buckets in your way? The 4.3 although a great motor has a rear distributor, and the Auto's are just long......... for any CJ-5.........going back to a Manual Transmission would help. Good Luck!

 

Thanks everyone for your responses and input.

The tub is nearly perfect minus the dash and toolbox floor. There's not a dent to be found on the body and you will have to work pretty hard to even find a ding. There is one spot of rust in the bottom of the tool box but that is all that I can find. Hopefully there isn't any rust hiding. The frame is another story . I have found six tears in the frame all near the spring anchors and the front cross member. The PO tried to fix some of the tears and also attempted to box in the front frame horns. Unfortunately he was either just beginning to learn to weld or probably shouldn't be allowed near a welder. I'm not a very good welder either and I know we all need to start somewhere but DAMN!!! I'm leaning towards building a new frame from scratch.

Wow, I didn't think that I would have to do so much to stuff 33's under the tub. I thought running 33's would be a good idea because my Willys has 33's with the same lug pattern. Right now the CJ has 31's under it now so I didn't think that it would take much to swap it out to 33's. Maybe the PO already put lift springs on.

I'm not sure if I will be moving the engine forward yet that is one of the reasons that I started this build thread. I would like to hear from people who have similar setups and to get there opinions.

I will be removing the stock motor mounts and will be using Advance Adapter GM 4.3 motor mounts so I will be able to place the engine where I like. Running an electric fan can give me an extra inch or to. I'm not sure that I will even have to move the engine forward yet.

I would much rather use my T18 (wide ratio), Dana 20 that I already have but my wife want's an automatic. We all know what a "happy wife" equals. lol. You may be thinking "Why don't you teach her how to drive a manual transmission". The answer is "I would if I could drive a manual myself". I was involved in an accident 4 years ago where I broke my back in multiple places and crushed my left leg. The doc's have tried to cut my left leg off twice and I told them to kiss my A** I'm not done with it yet. The T18, Dana 20 came out of my Willys Wagon because I had to put a 4L60e in it just so I could drive it.

Again I appreciate all of your input and criticism.

Steve

 

you got yourself a decent base for you’re project. I’ll check you,re evelolution for sure!!!

Also about the th350 you can swap it but a lot of modification will be needed. For the radiator you will need a electric fan if you want enough room. On intermediate cj5 I’ve seem a lot of people doing this swap with a gm 350 and a th350. I know that the length of the front on you’re jeep is 4 inch smaller but having a V6 instead of a v8 and bringing the engine 4 inch forward should do the trick!!!

 

Sorry about the delay in my response, I do appreciate everyone's input. I got caught up with school finals, writing a Theseus for my degree and life in general. School has been wearing on me so I have been slacking at school lately and have been working on my Willys Wagon getting it ready to take it to Moab in May for the Willys Overland Rally. I have gone for the last 2 years and this is a great event that is still small enough that you feel like a part of a family. I think there was 30 plus Willys Wagons, Pickups and CJ's last year. I can't wait!!! If anyone is interested her is the website, willysrally.com First, we are headed to Death Valley in the Willys Wagon to put a lot more miles on it and to put it through the paces some more before Moab. jeep toss

My wife told me that when I get back from the Moab Rally that there are no more excuses and I need to get back to work on her CJ so that she "WILL be able to take her CJ to Moab next year." That is music to my ears. That's permission to Play!!!

After looking the stock frame over and finding multiple tears, poor repairs and plating from the PO and the wife being firm about having an automatic transmission the plan is to start building a new frame out of 2x4 tubing. I think I can make a new frame from scratch in less time than it will take cutting out the PO's handiwork and straightening the frame.

 

A new frame would be nice. Have you seen the frame JP magazine made?
Here is a link, could help you with some fabrication ideas
http://www.jpmagazine.com/projectbuild/154_1108_building_a_jeep_cj5_frame_from_scratch/

 

Thanks, I actually read that article before and that's why I decided to to build my own frame. I was googling custom CJ frames and ran across that article. I didn't realize how simple the CJ frame was until I read thru that and then crawled under my own CJ and sure enough... it is that simple. What I haven't decided on is which leaf springs to use. They use YJ leaf springs and from everything that I have read is that YJ leaf springs go soft in a year or two. A friend of mine says that he has had good luck with XJ leaf springs on his CJ before. I know that XJ leafs are long so I will have to play around and see if they will even sit right on the frame in the spring under configuration.

I'm not sure which route to go, YJ or Xj leaf springs or even build it with a 3 or 4 link suspension. I would rather build a leaf sprung rig which I have plenty of experience at building and I know how to get plenty of articulation (for my needs) out of a leaf sprung rig.

What are your thoughts on this dilemma?

Steve

 

Now that I'm back from the Willys Overland Moab Rally and have caught up with school work it's time to make the wife happy and start the build on her CJ. I read thru the article in JP magazine "CJ frame up" that PieLut suggested and talked to a couple friends that have experience in building Jeep frames. It seems that the frame build in the article is a popular and capable design choice. I decided to go that route with the frame but with some minor changes, the biggest one being to stretch the frame to approx. 96".

I am doing the stretch mainly because my wife wants an automatic transmission and I don't want a 12" driveline. So I will be moving the rear axle backwards 2" and the remaining (approx.) 13" will be in the front axle. I drew a full scale mockup of the frame with the axle placement on the garage floor next to the stock frame to see if I liked the overall layout. Fifteen inches of stretch doesn't seem like a lot til you see it in black and white. I don't want it to look like a stretched rig and I don't want to comp cut the rear of the tub so I need to get creative. I don't have a problem opening the rear wheel opening to give extra clearance for the wheels. In the front I am hoping that I can use a late model CJ5 hood or CJ7 hood to help hide the front stretch and then fab up some tube fenders.

I will be ordering a set of RE YJ 2.5" leaf springs later this week and then I double check my mockup. Fingers crossed.

Steve

 

Check out Posi's Do Over. He started with an older CJ like yours then added a later model front fenders and hood. I believe they are 3 or 4 inches longer. Since you're building a custom frame anyway. I think one of the reasons that automatic transmissions aren't very popular is because of the need for extra cooling. The longer front wrap would give you more room for a stack of coolers and radiators in there.

 

Thanks tymbom,

I read thru Posi's build thread and found a lot of good info. I feel better about stretching the frame that much while still keeping looking mostly stock instead of making it look a sand rail. I can totally understand the need for extra cooling especially living here in Vegas. In my Willys wagon I have a 4l60e transmission and I put in a remote cooler with a thermostat and it's own fan. I located it under the front skid plate and it has been working great. I may want to do the same on the CJ since real estate is always at a premium.

I hope to find some time this weekend to get the frame mocked up to include the axles, engine, transmission and transfer case. At the same time I need to decide what to do with the gas tank. Leave it under the seat or put it under the frame.

Steve

 

I've slowly been working a a full scale mockup of the frame based on JP magazines CJ frame build. I made a few changes from their idea mainly I wanted to stretch the frame to about 94"-96" wheelbase for a better ride and so my wife could have an automatic transmission.

[/url] 20130708_160815 by Sparky Powers, on Flickr[/IMG]

Got the axles under the frame and checking for wheel base length and how far the center line of the rear wheels will need to be moved back, if they need. Both front and rear axles are Dana 44's out of a FSJ. The rear axle I will convert to disc brakes soon. Still waiting on shackles.

[/url] 20130711_183934 by Sparky Powers, on Flickr[/IMG]

Setting in the engine, transmission and transfer case in to the frame. The combination that I decided on is a GM 4.3 V6, TH350, and Dana 18.

[/url] 20130711_192549 by Sparky Powers, on Flickr[/IMG]

[/url] 20130711_192607 by Sparky Powers, on Flickr[/IMG]

Got the tub sitting on the frame, well 2x4's for now until I make the new body mounts.

[/url] 20130712_190825 by Sparky Powers, on Flickr[/IMG]

Moved the engine around til I like the firewall clearance, transfer case shifter location and driveline lenght. I'm waiting on finding a late model CJ5 or CJ7 hood to I can verify the clearance between the engine fan and the radiator.

[/url] 20130716_185039 by Sparky Powers, on Flickr[/IMG]

 

http://chico.craigslist.org/pts/3913992243.html
Hood and grill I think.

Build is looking good.

 

Thanks, it's always fun building a new rig. I checked out the CL post and it sounds like a great deal but I wish it wasn't 10+ hours each way.

 

So the tub has reared it's ugly head. It's not as pristine as I would hope or previously thought. Now that I have crawled over ever inch of it I have found that there is a lot of bondo on the tub. I poked away at the rust spot that is in the toolbox I found Pandora's box. Crap! It was to good to be true. :evil: The rust spot ended up being about 6" in diameter and had multiple crazy long cracks radiating off of it. Then I found that there are many holes along the length of the upper edge with bondo oozing out of them. I also found a S*** load of holes in both door hinge sides of the tub with bondo oozing out of them too. I was planning on stripping the tub but now I might stay in the illusion that all is good.

Just another hurdle and so far still worth the $400.

Steve

EDIT: I'm sure that the amount of rust and body damage isn't much compared to others especially those in the salt belt.

 

How thick is the tube you're using for you're custom made frame?