1964 CJ5 New to me, Dad and my boy

Hello. I am new to the site, a new early cj5 owner.

Dad retired for the 3rd time a few months back. We talked about starting a project we could enjoy. Dad wanted a 1958 chevy impala sport but with a meager budget we switched to a jeep. We wanted an early jeep such as a flatfender or a military M38 or m38a1. We want something simpler with little if any electronic controls.

We plan to putter around town; play in the fields and old fire roads. I am more concerned with reliability and ease of maintenance rather than period correct.

I ran across the 64 CJ5 with the f134 engine and came to an agreement of $1600. Our Jeep ran and drove. My son and I selected to name our Jeep "Eugene".

I was hoping the group could help me with some questions?

The body is a little rougher than originally thought. There seems to be alot of bondo on the tub. Currently the body is off the frame. hood and grill are in decent shape. The fenders are ok except 1 is fiberglass and 1 is steel. The tailgate has no script and the hinges are welded on. I wonder if this is an aftermarket piece?

The wiper motor is at the bottom of the frame. I understand that the window frame may be from a 68-69? The heater system is missing several components such as the ducting, controls and cables and did not work at all. I wonder if it is worth the hassle to fix it right rather than install a under dash aftermarket heater.

The seats are ok but require skins and install of new foam. Are the grey and red a factory color scheme?

I noticed the floor is flat, doesn't have the "toolbox" and the underbody C channel is missing. Does the lack of ribs and toolbox indicate a floor pan replacement in the past? The PO used conveyor belting and wood for body mount.

Is a rear tank stock on a 64? I expected a underseat tank?

The trans grinds in 1st and 2nd. The transfer case was notchy. The clutch slipped when we were loading it on the dolly. The engine showed 60-70-90-65 psi compression and increased to ~90 when oil is added to the cylinders. So I opted to pull the lot. The engine; trans and transfer case are out of the chassis. The oil filter moves around; no air filter assembly and everything is grimy. The park brake locked up on me. Whe I pulled the brake apart gear lube started pouring all over the place.

As expected of a vehicle 50 years old nearly all rubber is rough.

The fender wells show evidence of larger tires rubbing on them. The wheels appear to be chromed steel and are pretty heavy... Does anyone know what make/model? What is supposed to be on Eugene?

My fist items were to order a Pertronix ignition and remove the front down tubes so we could remove the roll bar.

Please feel free to comment and give your opinions.

Thanks

Rich

 

Looks like a good start. Good luck

 

Do I see a flanged 44 in the back? Hard to really tell from the pic provided.

Rear tank is indicative of like 69 1/2 to '71 model. Lower wipers as well. Tool box missing is odd. Floor worked on by a PO maybe as you suspect. Looks like it's been gone over by someone so, anything is possible.

Looks a correct grill but, the left fender is of a later vintage (marker light indentation).

Lots of good people here. A huge wealth of knowledge and, there is tons of info to be found using the search function.

 

Moved for better exposure and not really Restoration.
Welcome!

 

Thanks guys.

 

Looks like you've got some hard top hardware there! Don't happen to have a top with it do you?

Welcome to the forum!

 

welcome from va . and yes do do have a project jeep there ,but most are , curious that VIN is screwed on . when you get tub off . check frame number

 

Today I used the propane torch technique to remove the bondo on the body. It is MUCH worse than I imagined. We will attempt to work out the other side in the next few days. I think I need a better tub...

The good news is I think I have the flanged axle. How can I tell which front axle I have?

paint 177 trim 339 I think... where can i find the details on the codes?



Frame 20387 or 29387 I think

















Looks like the PO installed a patch panel to use the later rear tank.



The side passenger side is full od patch panels and overlays. All the work is old school brazed in. At various points the bondo was a 1/4"+ thick. I counted at least 4 patch panels in the side. Looks like they are all overlays with brazing stitching them in.

 

Left fender is glass.

No hardtop. The jeep only came with a bikini top.

I got a call from the radiator shop and found out the radiator is trashed. May be able to be re-cored but it was not recommended due to the condition.

I have a line on a older 4wd glass tub for $500? I am nervous about the mounting and the "flex" I have read about in other threads.

 

With what your plans are for the Jeep I say just get some aftermarket full side panels and put them on it. Even the cheapo ones will be way better than what you have and a quick easy fix. Well....a lot quicker and easier than the steel you have to work with. They are marketed for 76-83 but those will fit on your cj5 and any year from 55-83. They have no bow pocket indent above the wheel arch in the back. The repo tailgates are cheap enough as well without the logos so you can swap that out pretty cheap as well.

The early frames seem to flex a lot and put a bunch of stress on glass tubs. My Buddys 74 had a kentrol body on it and I donno how many times we had to fix cracks on it. We ended up finding a wore out tub with a floor pan and put a set of Cobra King side panels on it. They weren't great quality but again...Way better than the panels that were on it.


For what you want to do.. Non Full restoration, get in and have fun with the family I think the full panels are the way to go. Later on if you decide to do a full restore you still have your tub and you can work with the panels . Cut your Jeep side logo out and bow pockets and save them for the future though incase you want to incorporate them into the side panels

 

Heres a old article showing how easy it is to replace the side panel. It really isn't that bad and your jeep will dang near be the same procedure with very few minor differences. . Good time to replace and patch floor pans as well.

If yours are bad........The rear tail light panels and floor patch panels can be had at classic enterprises .

Walcks has a real nice set of tail light panels for CHEAP and USA made.

http://www.fourwheeler.com/how-to/60298/


Walcks panels.
http://walcks4wd.com/tail-light-panel-right.html

 

It is your choice, I rebuilt about 30% of my 3B body. I hand bent several of the pieces to fit. The welder (me) learned a lot during the process. At least at this time, I know I'm the person that has kept it on the road.
I suppose what I am saying is get the tools and education and do it yourself.

 

I rebuilt my first two by hand as well and used sheet stock both times. If you have the time and patience by all means go for it. always said if I was to do it again I would be getting the full panels if the jeep was bad enough. I wheeled my cj5 for 10 years. Moab , Colorado all over, New Mexico and every fire trail in Mo. It's hashed and the only semi straight panels on it are the windshield frame and the cowl for the most part.In my case I already cut my teeth cutting and patching here and there a few times over. This time....a set of full omix panels are being zapped in.For what I want and do...fun driver not really concerned with originality... It's fine by me .We did my buddies side panels in a day each with 2 guys on it. The second one went faster since we knew what we were doing and most importantly, we kept his original Tub.

 

I've found a new 4wd brand uncut tub for 500. I looked at a few places for side panels. All were in the range of 3-500..

I would need to drive 400 miles for it. With gas at $2 the glass one is very attractive.

 

Better factor in boxing the frame. Because the frame flex will crack the tub in short order during offroad frolicking.

I like fiberglass for tubs.. just have to make sure the frame isn't twisting underneath them.

 

The $500 tub is fiberglass correct?