new to jeeps need hlp

im relitavly new to jeeps. i recently purchased my first jeep a 1970 cj5.
this is going to be a trail dedicated rig runnin 38 + tires. i plan on lenthing the wheel base to ocmidate thies massive tires. my real problke is i dont no wut parts work with wut and wut will hold up to the beating that will be coming at it. any sugestions would help me alot. as well as parts tht work well together. i also need to no where the best place to start would be. becuase thiers no way i can do all of this at once.

parts i plan to put inso far:
upgarded dana 60's front and rear
small block v8
new tranny(need hlp with this one)
new t-case(need hlp with this one)
custom drive shafts
full coil overs possibley
hydorlik steering

 

If the jeep you just bought is driveable I say just take it out and drive it. And start upgrading as you see needed after that. You will be very suprised as to what it will do in stock/near stock form. Then if you want to be running harder stuff then do the necessary swaps.

 

mostly rocks and trails we have a vast asrotment of this where i live. im actully thinking about getting a sm420 soon to replace the stock trany do to the fact tht the stock clutch is shot and the tranny need s to be removed to replace it so why not put a better one back in. plus an old chevy wont be hard to find in the junk yards around hear.

 

In a '70 CJ, the Buick or Chevy V6 fits better in the engine compartment than a V8. Lots of SBCs were put into early CJs in the past, but today most conversions are V6s. They are widely available now, they are lighter than V8s, they have plenty of power, and it's just easier - fewer interference issues.

 

How far are you planning to lengthen the wheelbase? If you are going to stretch the frame, that's where I'd start. Everything else will need to work within the new specs of the frame.

 

Before you can plan what you want to do with the jeep, the very first question to ask is---

How much money do you have to spend?

Money spent on doing the modifications you are talking about is from 70% to 100% consumed. By consumed I mean that, once spent, it is unlikely that you will ever be able to recover that cost when you sell it.

That is not a problem in and of itself, this is a hobby. I have several jeeps that I would never be able to sell for what I have spent on them.

You ought to lay out a plan with estimated costs.

What will narrowed dana 60's cost?
What will a rebuilt V8 cost?
What will a SM420 cost?
What will a new TC cost?
What will coil springs cost?
What will new clutch hardware cost?
What will a new brake system cost?
What will new steering cost?
What will lockers cost?
What will the roll cage cost?
What will the body work cost?
What will the tires cost?

Now for the fun part - what will it cost for adapters, mounts, welding, and other installation costs for all the above stuff?

My guess is you probably need around 10 -12K for a decent installation of all the above.

OR --

Use the 10 grand to pay down the mortgage on the house, install some basic safety devices, and simply drive the jeep.

 

Kamel's point is well taken. Many projects get started and the owner runs out of money, loses interest, the domestic situation changes (very common!), or has no time to finish the project. Make sure that, if you start a big project, you can finish it - if you don't finish, you'll not only lose a lot of money, but you won't have the fun and satisfaction of actually driving the Jeep on the trail

You say you're new to Jeeps - it's awfully hard to settle on a big project like this when you haven't wheeled enough to know what your preferences are. You need the wheeling experience to figure out what is best for you. I'd suggest you fix up your CJ-5 and drive it for a while first.

Not meaning to be preachy here, but you asked a lot of questions that would require many pages to answer individually.

The usual approach on this board is "resto-mod," where you restore most of the vehicle to original appearance, and then add upgrades to the outdated or inadequate systems. Most here feel that the fun:cost ratio is maximized with this approach. This approach keeps you on the trail most of the time, keeping the interest up and helping you to learn what you need to make your Jeep better.

hth!

 

well im only 18 and dont plan on getting this done any time soon. i just plan on relly abusing it till parts break thn replacing them with better ones. im relly just getting an idea of wut im gonna need where to start costs and other such things. i acttuly thought the jeep would end up costing me about 20-30k but i never priced any thing just asummed. but like i said it probley wont be finished for about 4-5 years so 10k streched out over tht period of time isnt tht much. hell my truck payment is more thn tht.

 

whos to say i havent wheeled i said this is my first jeep so i do need to exprice thigs with it yes but defintly not a rookie wheeler. my other vhicel is an 05 f150 with a 5 inch lift 35" bfg mudterrains. i cant say it has been abused becuase it is pretty buch brand new. but it goes mud bogging regurly and it has concerd every dune at the beach. now tht said its relly to big and has indepent in the front so its totally not a trail rig.

 

Best of luck to you.

kamel

 

I think your budget of 20-30k is more reasonable for the parts you are wanting to run.....just a rough guess here for well built parts

front 60--5k
rear 60--2k
FI small block and associated stuff (radiator/wiring.....--7-10k
Tranny--1k
Tcase--2-3k for an atlas
Coilovers--2-3k

So there is at least 20k and you havnt done any tube work, built the suspension links, any of the steering not to mention fuel system/brakes and all the other little stuff. Just giving you an idea of what its gonna run into.. Now all this can be found much cheaper if you dont mind buying used parts and have the time to collect parts as they come up for sale. Or another option is to find someone elses project that they have become tired of and are ready to get rid of. Doing this you can find all these expensive parts for MUCH cheaper most of the time.

 

Seems to me that there won't be much of the CJ-5 left when this is done. You may be better off to buy a custom tube frame, set up for coils and 4-links, and then look for a body to go on the chassis. You could stretch any CJ or Wrangler body to fit - that's no more metal work than what you're proposing now.

Or, you could buy a new Rubicon for the money you'd invest in your buggy. You could drive it right off the lot and onto the trail. That's what I did when I was 18. And, you could use it for a daily driver if you didn't destroy it. If you sold it, you'd get a lot more for it than you'll ever get for the trail buggy you plan to build.

It's your choice though - hth!

 

this was just getting a rough idea like i said im new to jeeps and wasnt even shure how far i would have to go to achive my goal but looking at it now like u said i think the only thing i would have left tht was jeep would be a tub and steering wheel. so i probley wont go as extrem as i wanted and wait for a more sutible vehicel to come my way. so now i think im just gonna do wut sparky has sugestd and upgarde the front end and invets in some lockers defintly new tires and get rid of all the rust. thn go from thier. thnxs for all the hlp im shure ill be on here more to find out more info like where can i find a dana 30 and wut type of lockers should i invest in? also where can i get engine upgardes(carb, intake, headers,etc)

thnx agin for the hlp looks like my tires arnt gonna be so big

 

ok im gonna be lookin for those parts thnx

 

would start small (ie 31-33" tires, 2-3" lift) and go from there. can always sell the old parts to help fund the new ones. as far as lockers go, would 'wheel awhile before you buy them as you might need to regear 1st.

 

If you are running a Dana 18 offset axle in the rear, I would suggest looking into getting axles from a mid to late 70's wagoneer or cherokee. The axles are 30 spline dana 44's. The front is disc brakes and the rear is offset already. This with a SM420 and an overdrive makes for a good setup. You can easily run 35 and possibly 38's. I picked mine up for about $200.00. Look for the fronts with flat top knuckles. This allows for crossover steering.

Good Luck.