Pink Picnic JEEP

Here is the first photo I took after swapping tires, cleaning it up and cutting the sides out. It is a '69 LHD DJ-5A that was originally a Postal Carrier and then used for many years as an ice cream truck in Lincoln NE.


Top off.



Rear tub gone.


Here is the tub of a cobb job '69 CJ-5 that was supposed to be my first JEEP.


After clipping off the rusty cowl and floor.


Marriage made in Heaven.





Hauling home a parts heap for the wheels & 3.73 Trac-loc Dana 44.


Magenta stripped down for transmission swap.


Replaced the slip-n-slide with a NP542 5-speed out of a 1985 C60 School Bus backing the 153 Chevy II engine that Kaiser bought from GM. Had to buy manifolds from a forklift as the PO did some "repairs".


Tiny terror trying it on for size. Manual drum brakes, manual transmission, factory manual saginaw steering. Starting to look like a 70's tee-shirt yet?


Not shown is five inches of front leg room spliced into the frame. Have also moved the swinging pedals outboard of the frame for true three across comfort. Using a modified dash from a '73. Using the hood and fenders from the '65 Tux that the 60/40 seat came from. Going to use the rear bow sockets off it as well, just for the Jeepness. Left the windshield connected to the hard roof which will be held up by the roll bar. Also have a regular windscreen for open air fun & sunburn.


Plan to paint it the two tone of the pink Surrey.

 

I like, way to go and make something out of a bunch of nothings....Cheers

 

Real Jeeps are built not bought

 

what he said!!

 

That's an interesting tow rig.

 

You have talent, for sure. I look forward to the finished product photos.

I agree, that Dodge made me look a few times.

 

I like it. Will you be replacing the DJ/A1 grille with a CJ grille?

Here is a '66 DJ that I had hoped to pickup last year (durn planets!):







I look forward to reading through your progress.

 

Thank youse for the encouraging words, wasn't sure how well received our project would be since it lacks that 4wd go-anywhere aspect of the JEEP mystic.
Regarding the Dodge flatbed, it started out as a 2wd 1979 Ramcharger that was years of good summer fun.

Almost as much fun as the Softtop Safari Scout II that my wife drove when we were dating ; { )

However a teenage girl on a cell phone ran a stop sign right in front of me and made a mess of it.

I purchased a 3/4 ton 4x4 extended cab with a bad engine and no bed, for the front clip. Turns out the Ramcharger's frame was bent so I chopped the rusty rear wheelhouses out, swapped it and the 360 over to the long bed chassis and built a flatbed.

It was a good truck for several years until Dodge's poorly designed full-time front Dana 44 started making noises.

I had already gone thru the expense of upgrading the crewcab to a front Dana 60 and could not afford to do it again. Found a cheap 4x4 Ramcharger that had been hit in the rear and swapped the black parts over to it, which is still my daily driver. Like most things, a little worse for wear in my presence.


However even with the doors, tailgate, & hard roof off, it is still not the JEEP I pined for. A desire stretching back to a young punk who was caught trying to override the governor on a local theme park ride back in the early 70's,

(picture borrowed without permission from Matterhorn1959) or the Renegades on the cover of CW McCall's second album "Black Bear Road".

Looking to build something fun, somewhere between a Meyer's Manx Dune buggy and a '32 Ford Hiboy. Something my daughter can remember as a fond memory of her childhood, not another of Daddy's rusty projects in the corner under a tarp.
I am torn on the grille choice, do like the bug eye look of the CJ with the early small park lamps. Also like the semi military look of the inset DJ lights with the flat ring. Might boil down to which works better as a bench to sit on and watch girl's softball or soccer.

 

Are the rear springs outboard of the frame rails typical of the DJ model (4th photo down from the top)?
I have the Black Bear Road album, too. Only mine has seen more use than the one pictured.

 

Regarding the rear springs, not sure what year the DJ's started with the outboard springs mounted on a bayonet, but they are typical on the few I have seen. Probably the only chucklehead in the country that has swapped narrow SUA springs in for the factory wide SOA version. Just doesn't look right to me with the front and rear mismatched, with the rear floating in space. Speaking of the front, the spring eyes are curled different directions on the DJs. The CJ springs both wrap up and the DJ is opposed. Suppose it is to get more castor in the front, since there is not a pinion angle to worry about. When I first got this, it was the worst driving vehicle I had ever had. Which is saying a lot for a guy that had a worn out '62 Corvair, which was the previous recordholder. Hopefully it will be changed for the better.

 

As usual I have got in over the level of my knowledge base. Seems there are several differences in the DJ-5 and DJ-5A. The cool '66 DJ-5 pictures that JohnnyCommando posted show standard narrow SUA rear springs. Perhaps the SOA started with the Postal style JEEP of '67 with the fixed hard roof & sliding doors.

 

Thanks for the insight to the DJs. I've never researched them...just figured they were the same without the front drive components.

 

Thank youse for the encouraging words, wasn't sure how well received our project would be since it lacks that 4wd go-anywhere aspect of the JEEP mystic.





not to worry.

i dont know if mine has any go-anywhere mystic or not.
but it has plenty of
go to the ice cream shop capability!

:stout: < rootbeer float

 

I have read several different posts about front tire/spring clearance issues and thought little about them because our short tires don't even come close. Turns out the PO swapped out the original king pin type beam straight front axle for a later model tubular style that appears to be the same width as a Dana 30 front end. The front track measures 3 inches wider than the rear.
I have read about spacers and am considering them. Does anyone have a set off their vehicle that they could measure how large the stud bases are, and how deep in the hole. A picture of the reverse side would be great. The reason? I would like the rear center to look like the stock two piece axle and would like to cut down some spacers using Chrysler front disc brake studs instead of the aftermarket supplied studs to make that happen. As always thanks for any thought or comments.

 

Sorry, wasn't clear on that. I have the old tapered axle flanges off the cobb job CJ5. One was cracked at the keyway and brazed up, the other keyway looked like a W as in wollered. Both had seal grooves that would hold a pencil on a sloped desktop. I cut off the back to just leave the flanged area with dust-cap and enough of the back to have turned down to be hubcentric inside a spacer. The disc brake studs have the same knurl as the tapered flanges, with an additional 3/4 of an inch length to the base. If I get .250 faced off the outside of an 1-1/4 spacer and add the .500 previously tapered flange with the deeper studs, then the front and rear tracks will be equal. And the rear won't have a big hole in the center. The front axle is usually wider than the rear by a small amount. Why is that other than tire turning clearance?

 

On the spacers, could a fellow chuck up some Nylock(sp) lock nuts and cut a standard taper on them to use instead of lugnuts and loctite? Will have to see if they make them in 1/2" x 20. I certainly don't expect anyone to take off a spacer. Hopefully somebody has one that is not installed yet. I do like the alloys on your JEEP. What did you do with your KH's?