'55 CJ5 Build

I got my CJ5 at the end of last summer, and have just now started to take it all apart.

Here are some pics before the tear down.





I power washed it to get the 55 years worth of dirt/grease off the car.





The gas tank didn't work, so to get it running it was connected to a boat gas tank for the time being.



Ahh, Nice and clean...err...yeah.



I then got the fenders, hood, grill, windshield, roll bar, etc.. removed.









With the radiator removed...



The next task was removing the firewall, and man is there a lot of wiring behind there. The previous owner had put in the metal in the back of this. You can see the sides that I bent inwards when i was getting the roll bar off. That is some heavy duty metal. I thought my cheap HF grinder was going to die instantly.





And that's it for now. The next project will be getting the tub off. For the most part it is ready, I just need to find the man power to actually do it. I did actually manage to get the metal on the back off of the CJ, so that should make it a LOT lighter.

I want to run 31x9.5 or 32x9.5 tires. I like the skinny look, but they have to have some meat on them. Any ideas as to how much lift I will need to accomplish this?

 

Looking like good progress. Most JEEPs get heavier, yours may end up weighing less without all the extra plate steel.
No idea on the lift/tire ratio. If you stay skinny, it shouldn't take much.
What is your intent for driving conditions?

 

Thanks! It was quite a bit of extra metal attached to the body. Just laid on top of what had originally rusted away. I wont be doing any trails in this vehicle, it mostly just for driving around town. With the F-head it wont be seeing any highways any time soon either.

I made some good progress tonight. Me and my dad managed to lift the body off of the frame, and started getting some of the parts cleaned up on the inside. The frame looks to be pretty solid, but the body is going to need some tlc.



The back end of the body is in rough shape.


It's a T-90

 

If you go with bigger rims and tires, I would be interested in buying your original wheels (if they are 16's). No big hurry for them, though. dc.johanson@sbcglobal.net

 

Very nice work, not many 55's around. what are your planes for it i would suggest a restore but that is just me, got alot of work ahead of you either way.

Good luck.

 

It has been a lot of work thus far, and I know there is so much more ahead of me. Good thing I love working on it. I've planned on keeping it mostly stock, so I will be keeping the original wheels. Thanks for the offer though! Right now the tires are 6.5 wide, and I'm wondering if I can fit a little wider. Tonight I'm pulling the engine and trans, I'll update pics after it's done.

 

One thing I am really happy I did was POR-15 the frame. That stuff is great and hopefully it give my project a long lasting foundation.
Good luck and I look forward to more pics!

 

Thanks! Yes I do plan on using por 15 for the frame as soon as I have everything completely disassembled. I have heard good things about it. Tonight I was able to
remove the engine and trans.

 

What are your plans for the PTO?

 

I'm not sure what I'll do with the PTO. I haven't figured out how to get it off yet. Anyone have experience taking one of them off? I feel like I've got all of the bolts off for it to come off, however it's stuck on there pretty good. The good news is I'm down to the bare frame! I just have to clean it up and start rebuilding. Easier said than done.

 

So I got the frame cleaned and painted with POR 15 the other day. I'll post pictures later. But I noticed that my spring shackle mounts on the frame have no thread left to them. Does anyone see any problem with having spring shackles that aren't threaded into the frame? I don't know if this is a big issue that I need to fix, or if I can go ahead and not worry about it.

 

I replaced my stock shackles with Daystar greasable. I also did a 3 inch black diamond lift. The went in without any problem.

 

The frame painted with POR 15.

 

I see some new looking leaf springs. Who did you decide to go with for replacements? Frame looks nice. Are you going to keep most of it stock or modify (ie bigger brakes, etc..)? Curious, as I did the same to my 57 (body off frame) and modified it for mostly safe street driving.

 

I'm digging the leopard print!

That frame cleaned up well, that'll be a nince foundation.

 

I got the new leaf springs from jcwhitney.com. I wasn't sure about the quality I was going to receive, but they fit, and so far I'm really happy with them. I'll be keeping everything pretty much stock since this wont be my daily driver. I'll leave the 9 inch brake drums, manual steering, etc..

I got a little more work done. Popped open the rear diff and was surprised at how clean it was inside. I sealed it with a new gasket, cleaned it up and painted it.



I ordered some new U-bolts and shock plates and was able to mount it as well. Though these are stock springs, I could not get stock shocks to fit... I'm now waiting for shocks for a 1-3 inch lift to come in the mail.




I was not as lucky with the front diff. I opened it up and it was sludge.



There were no metal shavings though, so I just cleaned it up, changed the oil and resealed the cover with a new gasket. I'll be painting and mounting it as soon as parts arrive. So here's where I'm at so far. Waiting for new front leaf springs, shocks, wheels, tires, and other miscellaneous parts to come in the mail.

 

Okay, so I'm back from school for the summer, and progress has been made. Last summer I had the wheels sandblasted and powdercoated. I got new tires, front leaf springs, shocks, and a whole lot more.

Progress from the past few weeks consists of cleaning up the engine, painting it, cleaning out all the miscellaneous parts, dropping it back in the frame, and wiring it up. Hopefully I can get this thing started in the next couple weeks to come.

Here is the start to my engine project.


A close up. To clean the engine I scrubbed every part with a wire brush, carefully wiped it down with a light coat of gasoline, then again with a laquer thinner. Then finally sprayed a couple of coats of engine paint.


I originally was going to do hemi-orange for the engine, but quickly decided against that. The results still were nice though. Oh, and you can see the rims and tires in the background.


My final decision was red, just like the rest of the car. I'm happy with the way it turned out.



I have the engine parts all put back on and the engine dropped into the frame. I'll upload those pics when I get a chance.

 

Nice and shiny!

 

It's been a long time coming, but I haven't given up.

I'm starting the body work. Most of the insides are going to be scrapped, and a lot of the shell will have to be patched. The first task will be getting the new support beam in. Ordered from Classicent... and it looks to be of very high quality.


As she sits on the side of the house awaiting the body work to be completed.


Quick shot of the set-up.


Before I can put the new support beam in, I have to clean up the metal it's supposed to be welded to. My plan is to cut out the rust, mock up a shape with cardboard, cut out the new piece, and weld in the new. Easier said than done. What a puzzle!


More progress to come, as I'm gaining steam once again on this long overdue project.

 

Keep up the good work ,............And Yes they can be a puzzle........I'm sure you know floors and wheel tubs are available for those or perhaps even finding a wrecked Jeep tub donor somewhere that still has some of the parts you still need. Keep the pictures coming!