Newb w/'66 CJ5

Hi all, JD is the name, located in Huntsville, AL, new to the forum. Have had a few Jeeps over the years, '77 CJ7, '88 YJ, '90 XJ, '81 CJ8, '96 XJ (still got the last one, needs a new engine) & recently aquired a '66 CJ5. Been looking around here for ideas and gotten quite a few already.
The '66 CJ5 has F134, T98/18 trans, Dana 18 transfer case, Dana 44 rear & 27 front. Jeep looks pretty good (outside, inside & underside), any body rot was taken care of by a previous owner & frame rust seems to be only surface stuff.
My plans are to pull the body off over the winter, reverb the frame & drivetrain cleaning everything up, repainting & adding a 2.5" lift, convert to power steering & disc brakes up front (would love to have four wheel disc brake but need more info on converting the rear to disc setup) and possibly ditching the F134 for a GM 4.3L. Also want to relocate the fuel tank (might make a custom tank w/skid plate for under the jeep or mount a fuel cell in the rear cargo area).
As for the body I'd like to install a later model windshield frame (if it is possible), new seats & frames, custom fabbed half doors and a new paint job/scheme. Jeep will also get new wiring as almost nothing electrical other than the engine electrics & the headlights are working (no turn signals, tail lights, brake lights, gauges, etc.).
Open to ideas and of course any helpful tips on making upgrades & mods on the cheap (I'm all about saving a buck or two while getting the job done) or parts I can use.

 

Welcome from Va. That is a nice looking Jeep! I would fix what needed fixing and then drive it.

 

Nice CJ, it's in great sha[e for a Jeep born the same year I was. Congrats on the great find.

 

Well the Jeep looks good and appears not to really need a lot and probably doesn't need much, but truth is it runs like a sick puppy. The Carter single barrel carb has such poor throttle response you get the feeling is going to die at any moment. I changed the points, condenser, cap, rotor & plug wires when I changed the oil & filter, but it didn't improve things much. That's why I was thinking of swapping in a GM 4.3L V-6. I have heard others mention adapting a 2-barrel carb on the F134 but I'm not sure what type/make they used or whether they adapted it to the stock intake or used an aftermarket one. I also thought that maybe a electronic ignition system/distributor might help (located them on ebay for just under $150). If anyone has had these problems, has ideas on this or made these mods let me know. I want to use this as a daily driver (during the warmer months) so I need it to be more reliable.

 

If you aren't happy with the 134 don't spend any more money on it. There is really nothing you can do to it (nitrous?) to get any real power out of it. They're fine for offroad but are dogs for a daily driver. Put in the 4.3 and never look back.

 

/\/\ I agree but make sure you send me the 134 I need a jeep family engine for my postal.
*Oh and make sure you get new seats, when you do that make sure you send me your old ones
*And just for the record I wish i could find jeeps like that in my neck of the woods. (either rooted away or F.O.reso)

 

The F134 has plenty of power for me it just doesn't run as well as I'd like (as I said I believe the problem lays with the carb and/or points system), but if I do opt for an engine swap I'll offer up the F134 here first. As for the seats "iagmc" gets dibbs on them (passenger seat is fair, has one ripped seam, easily recovered, but the driver's seat is not only ripped but the springs aren't loose). I'll be offering up any parts I pull off the jeep to the folks here first.

 

Welcome from Michigan! Nice yellow Jeep!

 

Fine looking ride!
Check the timing and you might
find lots more power is there.
Not a race horse but a great low end
work horse.

 

Like that yellow Commando, would love to find a decent Commando around here to build. Years ago i worked with a guy who had a '69 or '70 Commando, knowing this guy he probably still has it, he never sold anything. Whenever something stopped running he just rolled it off to the side or the house and started driving something else (his property looked like an auto junk yard). He even had an old FC150 I tried to buy off him several times, but he never could come up with a firm price (too caught up in trying calculate each & every penny he had in the thing, he had no idea what the term "fair market value" meant).

 

Fine looking Jeep! All I would do it go topless and fold the windshield down.

 

I like everything about that Jeep just as it is. The nicer they are the less I'm inclined to want to modify them. Is the color Daisy Yellow? I have a Daisy Yellow SuperJeep so I'm biased.

If I had that Jeep I'd find a narrow track D30 front end and do the disc brake swap so I could roll out the old and roll in the new. I've never had Ross steering so not sure if I could live with it. But it looks like a Saginaw swap is the kind of thing best done with it torn down to a rolling chassis. So I'd probably not do it until I had a good reason to pull the tub. Some surface rust on the frame is not a good enough reason for me to pull off the body.

 

Hi, from MI that sure is a solid looking Jeep.

 

Not sure what the original color was (looks like a medium-dark blue (from what I have seen under the dash). Whoever painted it did a good job hiding the original color, not the best job on the paint itself (in spots it looks like it was brushed on), kinda what I call a "ten footer" paint job (looks okay from 10 feet away).
I'm with you on the D30 swap, but all the narrow D30's I have found have drums not disc. Until I can locate one at a decent price I am going to convert the D27 to disc. Also I hate the manual steering and will definately be changing that. As for pulling the body off, I figure it is the best way to get to everything for sanding, repainting, changing out some suspension components and setting the jeep up with a under body frame mounted fuel tank. I have access to a 2 post lift which will help make pulling the body tub off a lot easier.

 

Well I haven't really got anything done on the jeep, no time and too much rain. I did pull it into the shop at work and put it up on the lift to take some shots of the underside so if I decide to sell it the potential buyer will have a good idea of what they will be getting (some recent unexpected expenses may cause the jeep project to be put on long term hold, and I'd rather sell it than let it sit too long). Here are some of the photos:











Yeah I know it looks pretty rusty but the body has had panels put in over the rust throughs and looks like it has some anti-rust coating (at least around the edges) and seems really rock solid.

Here is the narrow track D30 disc brake front end I picked up a few weeks ago, getting ready to start tearing it down for cleaning, rebuilding & re-gearing.




The F134 runs okay (needs the timing set or a electronic ignition distributor installed) and a new alternator (appears a PO swapped out the generator for an alternator, and eventhough it is charging it's just barely putting out 12V). Like I said I may have to put the project on the back shelf or sell the jeep (hate to do either) but if I could at least get a decent set of seats in it and do the power steeing conversion all on the cheap the I might actually sell one of my bikes or just tough things out to try and keep the jeep. What do you guys think?

 

I HAVE THE SAME JEEP BUT IT'S A 63.
all i am going to do is install a pertronix and an overdrive.
i drive mine almost every day.
p.s. i wish my dash looked like that!

 

Enjoy it the way it is and drive it......make changes as you can afford:smash:

 

I would drive and fix all that needs attention. Pick up an extra body for restoring when the time is right it should be an easy swap and back on the road in minimal time.
just my .02 cents