1973 CJ-5 Project in Northern Cal

Ok, so this isn't the typical rusted-Jeep-to-beauty story. I bought this a couple months ago in "okay" condition, let's call it a 20 footer.

Recently rebuilt 304 V8, headers, T-18 4-speed with the granny gear, 4.88 climbing gears, 35" tires, full roll cage, winch, etc. I jotted down a list of problems I'd need to fix right away, but it looked like it had good bones so I made an offer on it. Oh, and I'll admit I was overly attracted to it because it looked *very* much like the 1978 CJ-5 I owned for a few years around the time I graduated from college.

Here's the glamour shot of how it was when I bought it.



Here's the "short list" I jotted down when I bought it:
- replace super sloppy tilt-wheel GM steering column (and turn signals don't work, obviously related) and broken cadillac steering wheel
- replace oil pressure gauge since it's been leaking oil all over for years
- back seat is in terrible condition and needs reupholstering/covered and remounted
- rocker panels have rust to cut out. left side has quarter-sized spot, right side has substantial blistering (more on this later!)
- paint job is coming off in front of windshield in huge pieces, original color was obviously green,will need painting down the road
- I'd like to replace the 4.88 gears with 4.27 or similar, I won't be rock climbing and it revs high at highway speeds of course
- air controls panel in bad shape, looks like several of the cables will need replacing
- driver seat is fixed, and too high (head up in roll cage) and too far foward (hard to keep foot off throttle when shifting)

That's pretty much it at first, I thought I had bought a decent CJ-5 and perhaps paid a little too much for what it was worth, but it was a sunny warm fall season and what could go wrong? HA!

 

That manual download? Anyways nice Jeep. I like the blue color.

 

I just inserted the img link to photobucket, should I do differently?

 

I think inserting the image link is the only way to post photos.

 

Okay, here's the result of the first month or so of owning / driving this CJ-5. Let's just say the honeymoon was short, and I'm sober now:

- good gawd this is a smelly beast. Runs rich, but even just sitting in the garage it *reeks* of raw gas. I notice a "weeping" around the filler neck, so clearly there is a hairline fracture or something there. And it looks like the filler neck is resting on the frame, that can't be good! No tank straps, the tank is held in by the protection panel / skid plate with maybe some foam underneath it. Hmmm, that will need help later.

- also noticed fuel filler hose and vent hose were shot and probably contributing to the gas smell. Replaced those. *Still* smells nasty when fuel tank is > 1/2, so still need to tackle the tank filler fracture later.

- it's very torque-y driving and doesn't feel great driving. My '78 had 36" tires on a V8 with a 2" body lift and 2" suspension lift if I recall correctly, but I drove that across the country twice without thinking about handling once. This '73 has a 4" shackle lift and I'm not happy with the driving feel. Something to address later for sure. Spring over axle conversion? 2+2 like the last one? dunno.

- wouldn't start one morning. Traced it to a rotor that had physically broken near the tip, not sure how it was running before. Replaced rotor, back in business

- wouldn't start one morning a week later. grrrr. Found burnt points, cleaned those up, no start. Replaced coil, during which found PO had jumped 12v around the coil resistor so removed that, back in business

- the bikini top had a strap that was broken off, and too short to buckle in well enough so that snapped me in the head twice on the highway as it came off both attempts. noticed the top was ripped enough on the front corner it wasn't worth repairing so had to replace the top.

- during a tuneup, noticed the intake manifold was silly loose, I still need to go over everything because so many bolts are loose around the engine, exhaust, and axles/transmission. PO said "no leaks" but this thing leaks out of every possible place: transmission, heater core, engine. anger making.

- exhaust will need some changes, it currently comes straight out the sides before the rear tires. I can't drive for 10 minutes without my hair and clothes smelling like gassy exhaust, not acceptable. I'm thinking of trying to rotate the final 90' angles down at a 45 to see if that helps, and have even run across people running them in toward the center. Something's gotta change!

 

So sorry to hear the Honeymoon is over!.................Gas smells in Jeeps with under seat tanks are fairly normal........yours being in the rear should be easier to manage..........track everything down that shows a stain or sign of a leak and fix it..........Whatever carb is on it you should be able to fix..................Ditch the 4 inch shackle lift............it will never handle worth a darn.

 

I hear you on the shackle lift! It's on my list. Recommendations" SOA? I'm not planning on rock climbing (in fact I need to take out the Detroit lockers) but need to clear the 35" tires.

Any good way to fix a hairline crack in a fuel tank at the filler neck? Obviously I need to get the tank supported better so the filler neck isn't resting on the frame. I'm guessing I'll drain the tank, scrub it down real well with degreaser/sandpaper in that area, and use Seal-All on the area or JB Weld?

 

If that ignition system gives you any more trouble, I had good luck with pertronixs.

Most avoid the spring over axle, just cause it messes with the steering geometry. If it's not for rock crawling, a good quality lift might do you better good.

 

Yep, what Piffey said. I could go on for a few paragraphs but then everybody would know how much of a grumpy old fart I really am.
Pertonics works well, even a stock Delco with the standard point system has worked fine for me as long as you don't an issue with wear in the system.
Don't do a SOA. Do a search here. A few of the members here have done it and figured out that it was a mistake.
But, some people have thrown enough time and money at the conversion to get it to work.

 

X2 on what Piffey an Uncamonkey stated..............spring over is an easy 4-5 inch lift but does come with a host of other issues one being steering that needs correction..........not impossible to do but probably not a weekend project either..........
Wide 35's on any early CJ without a combination of body lift , 3-4" spring lift and trimming sheet metal is probably where your headed. All of which will also require some correction in steering, castor , pinion angles and body parts that get effected by the new increased distance between the chassis & body..............no easy fix for 35" except for going to 10.50x33"..............What does the back look like? Tall Shackles also?

 

It's your jeep so do what you want. I said that I'm an old fart and other than the V6 in my 3B, both of my Jeeps are stock, either one will get me to where I need to be.
I suppose I must ask, why do you think you need 35"?

 

uncamonkey, I don't think I *need* 35" tires. I like them. I like big boobs too, but can't make an argument for *needing* them . Don't need the 304 V8 either with it's awesome rumble, the 258 would have gotten me to the grocery store. I like the way the CJ5 looks and sounds.

I'll take your advice on avoiding SOA though, and switching to Pertronix electronic ignition is on my list for "stage II", along with switching to an electric fan, repaint, etc.

 

I like the electric fans, be sure to get one with solid mounting points. I got one with the clip on mounting point, and is supposed to attach through the radiator rather than on. The clip on mounts are a bad idea for jeeps; they rattle too much.

 

I certainly can't argue with you about the boob referance.
My brother didn't need the 3A with the bored, balanced, blueprinted 327 either. It was fun to go out and play in, It certainly put a big grin on my face. I only had to rebuild the transmisson twice and the rear axle once.
The "20 something" guy across the street just sold his 33" tires so he can go to 35's. Changing his Jeep to a 14 bolt rear and a D44 front, 4 link suspension front and rear. I will be over there helping him set up the new ring and pinion gears and doing some welding.
"Er, Scott, you only have a 4 cyl in this thing.
I'm not trying to bust your rear about your decisions, It's more like fatherly advice.

 

Ok, back to my saga.

I knew I had to remove the steering column since it was a super sloppy ugly GM tilt-wheel with a broken cadillac steering wheel. So I pulled that out, it's got a drilled double D column end, so it should be easy to replace it. I bought a new steering column from Summit Racing, a simple clean natural finish with just turn signal, hazard, and tilt wheel, it's a much smaller diameter than that old POS. I'm moving the ignition switch back to the panel, because it feels more "Jeep like". I'm not aiming for stock but clean and simple.

The dashboard needs a lot of work too, it's got some aftermarket gauges I don't care about and was hacked badly. The lower area left of the steer wheel had two gauges, one of which was an oil pressure gauge that has leaked for years, what a mess. And it was so badly hacked one of the PO's had to put a metal overlay over that area. I also removed large dummy light that was no longer hooked up, and an after-market fuel gauge they stuck in instead of fixing the integrated gauge. All told, I patched and filled about 5 holes, and that area on the left needed a patch so large I had to rivet the patch in for strength. Just epoxy primed the dashboard, now I'm waiting for paint to arrive. I ordered a gallon of it from TCS since I'll be repainting the whole Jeep in spring. I chose Dahlia Blue Metallic, which is either what's on there now, or dang close.

Oh, and then it gets interesting. When I pulled the dash off, not only did I find the usual rat's nest of wiring (urf), but the fresh air box and been hacked so it no longer had a drain! No place for rain to go, I guess it filled up to the point it would slosh into the heater exchange box and then onto the passenger floor, which was the only place I found any serious rust on the floor and rocker panel. Oh, and every one of the three control cables was broken, and the large hoses were broke, etc. A total mess. Turns out one of the PO's must have put in a new stereo which was too long, and they chopped the air box to make it fit! So they decided the stereo was more important than being able to drive in the rain or when you might need a defroster, or heat, etc. I've been rebuilding and replacing the whole air/heater/defrost system and got new cables.

I replaced the stereo anyway since the old one was junk, and found an awesome little stereo that you guys might be interested in: Pioneer MVH-X370BT. There is no CD player, so it's *really* less deep than normal, and has aux inputs, bluetooth, and a front USB port for music on thumb drives. I've got the smallest USB drive that barely sticks out that will be perfect. Anyway, this stereo is cheap ($85) and has a removeable face, and like I said will fit into areas you couldn't get a normal stereo into.

I printed the wiring diagram for the '73 and tiled it over six pages and taped them together into a big poster, and hung that next to the Jeep. Now I'm tracing wires, ripped out unneeded wiring, labeling wires (heat shrink printer), and re-working everything. The old voltmeter was inaccurate (tested with a lab power supply) so replaced with a beautiful VDO gauge. New ignition switch, new Speedometer cluster, etc. I'll attach some pictures after I pull them off my phone.

 

If your looking to tune up that dash check out Double D's website...........nice products..................https://sites.google.com/site/doubledfab/

 

Thanks, dig their logo ;P However, non-welding metal work and electrical are some of the few already-existing skills I bring to this project. For the rest of this I'm in sponge learning mode. Luckily my friend across the street is a *long* time hot rodder and classic car restorer here in Norther California ('64 convertible Galaxy 500 frame-up restoration) so if I need welding help or engine help he's there to bail me out.

 

You were tlaking about handling, frame from 1972-1975 and 1976-86 are different, the pre 75 are open "C" channel and the 76 and up are close tubing, that cause de 75- to flex more so handling can be harder with big tire. Just ask a friend to turn the front tire at stop you will notice what i tell you.

Also an Soa would be for off-road and even there i won't suggest it for a narrow trac axle. Sua are the way jeep were built so stay with it.


You may want to check caster on you're front axle. Often when adding lift you loose the 6 deg you need for a good handling.

 

Good info, thanks.

I'm waiting for some color chips for MonstaLiner, it looks like a good product. I've seen a couple people talk negatively about using a bedliner in Jeeps, one guy implied it must have been used to hide rust problems, another didn't like the look of it. I did have a little surface rust on the floor pans, so I did a light grind on them, and then brushed on Rust Bullet conversion coating to prevent any more surface rust. I'm planning on putting MonstaLiner on top of that to prevent any future rust or corrosion. Why would that be a bad thing? I think it's my best option, some PO sprayed a light colored (white/gray speckle) Zolatone on the inside of the tub and wheel houses. I'll sand most of it off but don't want to take it all the way down to bare metal and prep/prime/urethane, rolling on a new textured bedliner sounds WAY better!