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The Blue Lemon: musings and hopeful progress of my '75 CJ-5

Discussion in 'Builds and Fabricators Forum' started by Leftlane, Jun 2, 2013.

  1. Nov 29, 2013
    Leftlane

    Leftlane Member

    Joined:
    Apr 12, 2013
    Messages:
    73
    Got the bumper mocked up today. Old crossmember on the left compared to the three new pieces I had made on the right:
    [​IMG]

    Mounted and viewing the driver's "wing" support member:
    [​IMG]

    From the rear:
    [​IMG]

    From passenger's side:
    [​IMG]

    Bumper mounted on brackets:
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]

    I had to "massage" the brackets with a 1/2" drill bit and grinder, but for the most part things went together as hoped. I'll tear it back down and send it out for powdercoating next. Both rear taillights got in the way. I'm thinking I'll wrap the rear corners with armor of some sort and mount the lights higher.

    Meanwhile, I've got to figure out a better way to mount the factory gas tank. These intermediate Jeeps are hell IMHO when it comes to taking the gas tank in and out. Now with all these bolts and nuts I need to access from inside the frame rails, the tank simply isn't going to go in the way it used to. If anybody's simplified their gas tank situation, I'd be keen on knowing what you did.
     
  2. Nov 30, 2013
    OleBlue

    OleBlue Sponsor

    Tennessee
    Joined:
    Feb 14, 2010
    Messages:
    1,001
  3. Dec 1, 2013
    Leftlane

    Leftlane Member

    Joined:
    Apr 12, 2013
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    Thanks. Good stuff. Exactly what I had in mind.

    Question for everybody. Thinking about my skid plate and gas tank, the assembly job with all these new brackets I'm installing would be much easier if I could use fasteners that assume a "blind side" (aka inaccessible side). I was thinking carriage bolts with those rectangular washers with square centers (to accept the carriage bolt square shank under the button head). Like this:
    [​IMG]
    So... what is that called or where I can get some? I see they're called "spacer blocks" on etrailer.com. Does anybody know of a place sells them in a variety of sizes online?
     
    Last edited: Dec 1, 2013
  4. Dec 9, 2013
    Leftlane

    Leftlane Member

    Joined:
    Apr 12, 2013
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    73
    fuelishness

    Brought the bumper pieces to the powder coating shop today. They're estimating a week. Barring that, the Blue Lemon project is on hold until after the holidays and all the time and money that represents has been spent and paid for.

    So it's a perfect time to plan. One of the issues I'm tussling with is fuel delivery. The plans call for a 350 GM motor rated at 260hp. I've not settled on how I'm going to put ignitable material in the cylinders yet. Here are my current thoughts in order of cost, low to high:

    - Motorcraft 2100 2bbl
    - Quadrajet
    - Propane injected from gotpropane.com
    - Holley Avenger EFI Throttle Body Fuel Injection

    My requirements in order of importance (most to least):
    - my CJ-5 has to have room for four people (two adults, two children)
    - be dead nuts reliable
    - has to handle extreme angles: yaw, pitch, roll (well, hopefully not too much roll)
    - has to be able to make a Rubicon trail trip (3-4 days?); not with the 4 people from above. That would be hard in a '5 without a trailer.
    - reasonable cost
    - mileage (It would be nice to maximize, if possible)
    - simplicity of total solution

    As cool as propane would be, I'm thinking the loss of the back seat area to a couple tanks would keep it from being a contender for my needs. It certainly has the fewest moving parts. Hands down the Holley EFI kit is all around winner except for the price and possibly the simplicity. There's the issue of complexity of electrical components out on the trail. It further removes one from the duct-tape-and-bailing-wire solutions to get you back home in an emergency. The Quadrajet is a great carb. I'm putting in a Chevy, so there's reason to believe I should choose the carb that was engineered for it. But then again, I'm putting a Chevy in a Jeep, so who gives a rip if it's a mismash of parts. Not me. The carb doesn't truly know what it's bolted to. The smaller primaries would mean decent mileage, as long I don't open those gargantuan secondaries too often. That leaves the 2100. Great simple carb that, as long as I get the venturi numbers aligned with the CFM rating I need, should do just fine for my lower RPM needs. It wins the cost contest by a good margin. If interwebs lore is to be believed, it's _the_ off road carb to use, followed by the quadrajet. I've ruled out aftermarket carbs. I prefer stock type carbs for this application.
     
    Last edited: Dec 9, 2013
  5. Dec 21, 2013
    Leftlane

    Leftlane Member

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    Apr 12, 2013
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    73
    Got the pieces back:
    [​IMG]

    ...and installed:
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
     
  6. Dec 21, 2013
    CJ Ollie

    CJ Ollie Member

    Lincoln, NE
    Joined:
    Nov 24, 2012
    Messages:
    90
    Great work. I really like the way your cj looks.

    Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk
     
  7. Dec 24, 2013
    Leftlane

    Leftlane Member

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    Apr 12, 2013
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    Thanks, CJ Ollie.

    Installed the Warrior Products S902 smooth steel corner guards which come already powder coated black. Had to trim off a 1.5" vertical strip from the inner-most rear sections to avoid the tailgate hardware on this intermediate. Still have to orient the tail lights and backup lights, so they'll come off and on a few more times. Decided to go with 3/8" button head allen bolts to hold them in place.
    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: Jan 1, 2014
  8. Jan 25, 2014
    Leftlane

    Leftlane Member

    Joined:
    Apr 12, 2013
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    73
    taillights and gas filler installed

    After a lot of drilling and cutting, I've finally got the corner guards done:
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]

    Meanwhile, work has begun on the engine phase:
    [​IMG]
     
  9. Jan 26, 2014
    GeoffreyL

    GeoffreyL Well-Known Member

    moorestown, nj
    Joined:
    Aug 1, 2012
    Messages:
    1,521
    Loving the build, keep the pictures coming!
     
  10. Jan 27, 2014
    Leftlane

    Leftlane Member

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    Apr 12, 2013
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    Thank you for saying so. Ask and ye shall receive.

    Here's my silly "union truck" I built so that the uniting of the SBC and Jeep T18 could be done with relative ease. The whole thing moves around on casters and should serve nicely as a spot to pick up the assembly from, measure for the weld-in motor mounts in the Jeep, and then take the assembly back out of the CJ to rest on this again for final welding on the frame rails.
    [​IMG]

    Here's the Novak Jeep T-18 to GM bellhousing adapter in place:
    [​IMG]

    I've never attempted to install a pilot bushing before. It gave me fits, so that's where I'm stuck now until I can get some more time. The bearing is currently soaking in oil in my freezer. I'll likely heat the crankshaft with something (unknown what yet) for another attempt at getting the bearing installed this coming weekend.
     
    Last edited: Jan 27, 2014
  11. Jan 30, 2014
    73 cj5

    73 cj5 Not ready for the junkyard yet

    Clinton, Mississippi
    Joined:
    Jan 10, 2014
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    2,137
    Nice8)
     
  12. Feb 17, 2014
    Leftlane

    Leftlane Member

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    Apr 12, 2013
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    milestone: Jeep trans united to Chevy V8

    Got the pilot bushing installed as well as the clutch and pressure plate. The alignment tool that came with the kit was the correct diameter and tooth count, but its pilot diameter was off. It was the Chevy ~0.5" where I needed the Jeep T18 pilot diameter of ~0.75". So I wound some tape around the tool to make up the difference. That seemed to work.
    [​IMG]

    Then got the bellhousing bolted on.

    Here they are coming together for the first time:
    [​IMG]

    And finally united:
    [​IMG]

    It was handy to have the ability to roll each component and tilt as needed. I changed the gear lube in the trans while it sat here. Still need to change the transfer case oil, but my Haynes manual said the D20 takes 80w90 and all I've got lying around is 75w90.

    I think I got the throwout bearing distance near right, but I suppose I won't know for sure until I get the assembly into the chassis and attempt to operate the clutch.

    Then I prepped the patient for surgery by tearing down the frontend to aide the assembly installation. This is where I left off:
    [​IMG]

    I'm happy that I'm entering a new phase - time to get that sucker poked in there.
     
    Last edited: Feb 18, 2014
  13. Mar 2, 2014
    Leftlane

    Leftlane Member

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    Apr 12, 2013
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    Got the engine/trans mounted today.
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]

    Because I wanted the trans in the same spot it sat when the 258 was in there, that brought the HEI distributor too close to the firewall. The firewall butchery has begun. I'm boxing out a 3" deep section. This of course mandates losing the heating assembly behind the dash. I'm going to go with one of those aftermarket heater cores like the Mojave heater or the one from Summit. That'll allow me to simplify the under-dash goings-on.

    I welded the Trans-Dapt mounts myself. Then, since each mount overlapped the original bolt holes for the 258 mounts, I drilled through a couple holes in each and inserted bolts for good measure. Figured a fail safe might be warranted considering my welding skills.
     
  14. Mar 26, 2014
    Leftlane

    Leftlane Member

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    Guess I'm overdue for a status report. I've been working the firewall issue and everything that fell from that. I think, however, I'm finally done with that phase and can turn my attention back to the engine... well, sort of. Getting into the dash has me now reconfiguring the gauges. Hardly any worked, so it seems like the time to get that sorted too. This is how these projects go. I'm just peeling the onion.

    Anyway, here's the firewall finale. Disclaimer: remember I said at the beginning of this thread I do not endorse or condone anything I'm going to show you or say? This is where you'll want to keep that in mind. Hair-brainery at its finest.

    I made two boxes and welded them into place after cutting out the firewall to accomodate the HEI:
    [​IMG]

    Of course that interfered with the factory heater unit, so it had to go. Unfortunately, it also interfered with the cowl fresh-air intake. I did not want to let that go. So I hacked it:
    [​IMG]

    And fiber-glassed it back together:
    [​IMG]

    While I was in there I Gorilla-glued the original defrost vent cardboard register and painted it (yes, I'll spend $1500 on an engine and not $20 on a new plastic replacement register. A man's got to have priorities). Here are the two assemblies back in place:
    [​IMG]

    The engine side:
    [​IMG]

    Any Roadkill fans out there? Here's my Roadkill-mandated to-do list. This one just covers just the tasks required before I can put my fenders back on:
    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: Mar 27, 2014
  15. Mar 27, 2014
    jowwo

    jowwo Member

    Colorado
    Joined:
    Mar 11, 2012
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    73
    Looks like it's coming together nicely!
    I'm a big fan of roadkill too.
     
  16. Mar 27, 2014
    Alan28

    Alan28 Well-Known Member 2022 Sponsor

    Châtillon en...
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    Very surprising how much work you are doing on this Jeep; For sure you like it. The problem is that we buy "old" Jeeps, so we don't really know what inside; lot of work and time. I spent 2 days last week on my fuel gauge, but not enough. Next week I'll again disassemble and try a better solution. I wish you lot of patience, and money too (because I spent a lot), to have the pleasure to drive 10 km around my place in the small ways between fields, farms, attentive cows and goats, + some wild animals not too afraid by the beautiful noise of my Hurricane engine.
    And pleasure, when back home, to open the hood to check if all is well in position.

    By the way, I decided to put the spare tyre on the side, it is easier to open the tailgate. And it is safe, I didn't touch anything since I did it.
    Also, it is cheaper! I tried to build something at the rear, too difficult.

    [​IMG]
     
  17. Mar 29, 2014
    Leftlane

    Leftlane Member

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    Thanks for the comments.

    Today I wanted to work on the Jeep. It was a promising day - I was going to work on some tasks that I already had the parts for. In other words, $0 jobs. I want to get to the point where I've installed everything sitting around before I start buying the things I'm currently missing (like steering shaft, various gauges, etc.). That means I can currently work on:

    - installing the alternator (already had a Moroso #63825 psngr side, short water pump alternator bracket previously purchased)
    - installing the shorty headers (got a set of Hedman #69670 shorty headers waiting to go in)
    - finding TDC on #1 for the compression stroke so I can think about stabbing in the HEI distributor

    Sadly, the alternator bracket fought me. Turns out, to use this bracket you also need their pump and crank pulleys. I didn't have those and didn't feel like spending the money to get them. I've got the cheapo single V ones I picked up. I spend most of the morning positioning the alternator all around the motor trying to find a place where it didn't bang into something, still lined up with the pulleys, and allowed for some adjustment. Nothing worked.

    I was about to resign myself to defeat and make a note to purchase one of those fancy high mount brackets. That would have to happen at some future date when I felt like I could spend the money and of course the schedule would again slip to the right. Plus, this ain't a "fancy Jeep." Feeling miserable about that proposition, I took it upon myself to really start playing around with what I had. I realized that I'd gone past my return window for the bracket from Amazon (Jegs has a much better return policy - 1 year), so figured 'what the heck' and started hacking on my non-returnable Moroso brackets.

    I slowly got something put together and built to my satisfaction by the end of the day using the original Jeep 258 alternator bracket and the new (now cut-up) Moroso piece.

    I cut down the spacer to fit inside the Jeep bracket using a chop saw and then cleaned the edges on the grinder:
    [​IMG]

    Then with an assortment of the Moroso bolts and some 3/8x16 bolts I picked up at Lowes got to this middle state:
    [​IMG]

    ...which allows for passenger side mounting so it should not be necessary to modify the factory wiring harness and has nice clearance to the valve cover:
    [​IMG]

    But I needed to get a firmer grip on the factory Jeep bracket, so I cut down the Moroso top bracket and drilled a hole for the top water pump bolt to pass through:
    [​IMG]

    view from behind showing the shortened bracket and spacer:
    [​IMG]

    In all I cut down three spacers and used washers and slightly larger nuts for additional spacers. While it looks hokey, it's solidly mounted and allows for minute adjustments fore and aft so when I get a belt on there things should align up nicely. That's the theory, anyway.
     
    Last edited: Mar 30, 2014
  18. Mar 30, 2014
    tymbom

    tymbom Member

    Siskiyou Co.
    Joined:
    Jun 13, 2012
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    814
    Thats good to hear about those brackets, I was planning to use the same ones....

    Sent from my SCH-I500 using Tapatalk 2
     
  19. Apr 5, 2014
    Leftlane

    Leftlane Member

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    engine candy

    Got a few small issues sorted and checked. It's starting to look like a motor. So many more things to go, but these are the sorts of visual things that make me feel like there's hope.

    Alternator bracket cleaned and painted. Measured for a V-belt and got it installed. Thermostat and housing installed. Carb installed (but not plumbed or connected in any way). I went with the 2100 replete with manual choke. Also, I'm using the original Jeep 258 air cleaner (I like using the 4.2liter parts whenever I can). Did a neat little trick where I used an Edelbrock 10" air cleaner base so it would go over the Autolite carb (the factory 1bbl carter base wasn't going to cut it), and then used the original top assembly.

    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
     
  20. May 11, 2014
    Leftlane

    Leftlane Member

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    Apr 12, 2013
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    mileston: It's Alive!

    Frankenjeep lives!

    [video=youtube;PYou75TC1tk]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PYou75TC1tk[/video]

    Had the distributor one tooth off. Once we figured that out, it fired right up. I'm on cloud 9 today :D Been working a long time to get to this point - far more to go, but tonight it's Miller time.
     
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