66 cj5 body on a 73 cj5 frame?

i have a chance to get a good running 73 cj5 with a rusty tub. fenders and hood are good. i have a 66 cj5 with a really nice tub. as i understand it in 1972, amc added 3" to the frame and about 4-5" to the front fenders and hood to fit their 6 cylinder engines. and both of those changes happened in front of the fire wall. everything in back of the fire wall remained unchanged. beyond swapping sides with the heater and switching to hanging pedals, everything else should match up, right? am i missing anything? did i get the wrong info?

 

I have a jeep that is reverse what your talking about. The tub is 76+ and it was sitting on an early M38A1 frame. Which is basically the same, with the old shorter fenders and hood attached to it. So for size i think the are the same , but body mounts, im not sure if they changed in 72 or 76.

 

thanks. i'm hoping they changed for the 1976 model year. i know tops and doors were different starting in1976.

 

the 76 of my wife's is definitely different than my 74

 

It's the same body ... for the most part. The panel stampings are the same. The driver's seating position and the location of the steering column changes. There is a big hole for the heater where the swinging pedals go, IIRC. Location of the gas tank changes. I'm sure you'll find other differences. Having the two tubs side by side should make the changeover easy. I would expect to do some light sheet-metal fab and welding to make it work - you won't be able to bolt it up and go without making some new holes, closing some old holes, etc.

 

Yes, that's correct. The big change was for 1976. Very few parts are shared pre and post 1976, though the exterior panels of the body are mostly unchanged. The '72-75 models are updated versions of the '55-71 design, which includes room for AMC's engines, updated drive train components, better brakes and steering... mostly the changes included stuff that Jeepers were already doing to mod their earlier CJs, including a V8 engine. The V8 was a big marketing issue at the time. The 1976 model was a complete makeover by AMC though, with a new frame design that changes all the attachment dimensions for the body. However, the big news for 1976 was the CJ-7... I suppose the CJ-5 changes came along with the all-new CJ-7 design simply for conformity within AMC.

 

thanks for all the help, guys. from my research, the frame was changed for the cj5 when they introduced the cj7 in 1976. it was widened as well as lengthened. i just wasn't sure about the early cj to the first gen amc cj's for the tubs. i can get the extra holes patched. what i'll miss is my d18 with the saturn od in my 66. maybe eventually, i'll just swap over the rear axle for the pass offset and put in the d18 and saturn. the 73 has a t18 4 speed that would be sweet with an od.

 

The '76 frame is wider at the rear, but no longer than a '75 frame ... unless you're talking CJ-7, not CJ-5. It's also boxed more (and more prone to rust-out), and has different springs.

A '73 will have either 3.73 std or 4.27 opt axles. Axle ratios may not match your '66, and the '66 axle is a lot weaker than the '73 axle. No need for an overdrive with the factory ratios in '73, IMO. The factory 258/T-18 is a great combination - customers liked theirs a lot. If you can do the swap, go for it and don't look back. Sell the remaining '66 parts.

I'd check the frame and the rest of the '73 Jeep for rust before I made big plans.

 

Just a comment -

Are you sure this is a practical idea? There are still a lot of the '72-75 Jeeps around, in good condition. You'd save a lot of time and effort by just buying the intermediate CJ that you want, rather than building it. Look south and west, and check out the prices for a complete rust-free or low-rust CJ. That's how I got my CJ-6 from Tennessee... had it shipped here. And it seems a shame to turn your running and driving '66 into a body donor, if nothing else is seriously wrong with it.

 

the 66 was a cj5a i had shipped from Ca. was in the middle of an engine swap and ran into problems. that's why the body is really nice: no rust! this 73 would give me the power i want and if the 66 tub will swap easily i'll still be able to use the 66 safari windshield, aluminum top, etc. i know the d27 in the 66 is weaker than the d30 in the 73, but the rear 44's should be the same. my 66 has 4.27 gears. not sure about the 73 gears, but i did check the frame in all the right places. the frame at the springs and steering gear box is good. the rear most cross member i all rust, which i expected. i'll be able to use the under seat tank in my 66 in the 73 and plumb it in with the rear tank for dual gas tank set up, about 30 gallons ttl. there are a few other things i'll be able to swap over such as the new shocks, detroit rear locker, etc.
what i'll miss is the 3-on-the-tree shifter on the 66. it's just plain fun.

 

A '66 will have a tapered (nutted) 44 with 19 (?) splines. The '73 has a flanged (one-piece) 44 with 30 (?) splines. The flanged 44 is a much better axle, although centered. You'd need a different locker (or different side gears for the locker?) because of the different spline count.

4.27s in a '73 would be unusual. Most are 3.73s.

My '73 CJ-5 (my first Jeep) had 4.27s and a V8, and I drove it all over southern California at highway speeds. This Jeep also had the under-seat tank conversion - it does give you lots of fuel capacity, though the under seat tank is always stinky IME.