57 CJ5 rebuild (not stock)

My rebuild is almost complete. I had someone do most of the work. The process has been long, over 2 1/2 years. With the end in sight, it looks worth it. I have many pictures posted on photobucket.

http://s991.photobucket.com/home/85md/index

I will post a few. I acquired the 57 CJ5 from my sister who got it from my dad, who got it from someone he worked for many years ago (almost 30 years)when he got it, it had the 283 in it with the western wheels (15 inch). Also it had a steering box (? type that was mounted to the front frame) and a GMS broken steering column. I acquired it almost 8 years agao and now it is almost complete. It is a complete body off frame rebuild. Everything is either new or rebuilt. I am going to post a few pics but there are more to look at on photobucket. I am kn the process of compiling a list of all the mods and accessories I added but it is currently incomplete.
A few are:
a rebuilt stock 283 with 305 heads
edelbrock performer carb and intake manifold
Power steering conversion Ford reverse steering (Herm's)
ididit steering column
12" front disc brake and 11" rear drum upgrade from Herm
dual reserv. MC upgrade from Herm
heavy duty tie rods from Herm
front and rear power locks from Herm (dana 25 and 44)
rebuilt Dana 18 T case, warn OD, T90A tranny by Herm
new stainless steel brake lines
black diamond 3 inch lift with new daystar greasable 1 1/2 inch shackles
new exhaust with flowmasters routes exhaust out back
corbeau baja RS front seats and Baja bench in back
Cross enterprise spare tire carrier Trailmate I.
many others......

Before..
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During...

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Almost complete.. Viper red..

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Comments welcome.....

Paul

 

That is one sweet looking rig. I think it has a nice look to it and sounds like you chose some good mods to go with. I bet you are looking forward to getting it out on the road and behind the wheel.
Greg

 

looks great. kinda of what my jeep has, 350 sbc, power-lock, 4" lift, power steering, and so on and so on, there really great jeeps.

 

my jeeps red, love red, looks good

 

Looking very very good. Why did you stay with the T-90A behind a V8? As many will say "stay off the skinny pedal" as that's your weak point.

 

Walt, I just kept the T90A because I did not know what else to do. I figured if I had it rebuilt right and took it easy then the tranny would last. If this one blows then I will look into another, maybe automatic. I heard a V8 might be too much for a T90A. However, I found several people wih them and there were no problems.

 

Nice Jeep, good pieces and like the color.

 

i replaced my t90 because advance adapters said that was the weak link. put a saginaw 4 speed out of a camero, side by side they didnt look one was more heavy duty than the other. then it was pointed out to me that the t90 has straight cut gears and the saginaw has angle cut, that makes the saginaw stronger. besides i got the power steering and trans from my sister-in-law for $100.00 so it was worth it. i have a SM465 and when money allows ill put it in. still youve done a great job on your jeep. should be a lot of fun to drive.

 

Looks great! Reminds me of when I did mine.

 

Thanks. I have decided when it is time and needed to upgrade the tranny and not rebuild. I just have to figure out what would be the best tranny to fit and perform well on the street and off.

 

kinda of what ever you can get the best deal on. i got a camero 4 speed. the sm465 would be great, really low first gear, great for rock crawling, but i wouldnt pay to much extra just for that feature because the camero one i have works great. nice thing is either will bolt right up to you bell housing, and both are about the same length. just keep your eyes open for a deal on one.

 

I got my jeep home a couple of days ago. Only thing left is powerlocks in the Dana 25 and Dana 44, fix caster, floor mats, get my wheel center caps back on (at a shop getting painted), and now that I think of it, maybe a larger steering wheel. I have power steering but it just feels kin of funny as the steering wheel is not as big (diameter) as I thought it would be. What size steering wheels are others running?

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Wow, I'd be afraid to scratch that Jeep.

 

Some daylight pics of the 57.. BY the way, how much gas does the underseat (driver's side) gas tank hold (stock)? Seems to go through it fast.

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I have been up for a long time and I KNOW this will probably sound stupid to most of you, but what is the 4th shifter for? You have your trans shifter, twin sticks for t-case and whats the other one for? Oh and before I forget, that is a gooooood lookin rig you got there.

 

the first is for the transmission, then the overdrive, the Tcase in/out, and then finally the high/neutral/low for the tcase. Thanks. Took over 2 and 1/2 years and a lot of dough. This pic is what it looked like when I started (well I had most of the work done by a local retired Porsche mechanic). Still, I did all the work of tracking down parts, finding specs, etc..

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She came a long way from the pictures. Thanks for clearifying that for me. Oh and for your question earlier about the fuel tank, I do beleive it is a 15 gallon. Not 100% but purdy purdy sure.

 

10-1/2 gallon for under seat. 16 gal for frame rail.

 

im running a 12" steering wheel, which is what your looks like. feels fine to me.