The Blues, The 67 Cj Saga

This thread is not really going to be a build tread but more just resuscitation of the two 1967 CJ 5's, Old Blue, the one I purchased from Fireball a year back, and New Blue, the one I purchased new. These CJ's left Toledo as identical twins and were built in October and November, 1967. Both were the 225's, T86AA, large index D18's, with the optional 4.88 gears. Subsequently, both acquired Warn overdrives. A brief summary of Old Blue modifications include replacement of the T86AA with a T90, lift springs and shackles, 11" Bendix brakes, roll cage, off brand winch, and Kayline tire/jerry can carrier. Fireball documented those further here:
http://www.earlycj5.com/xf_cj5/index.php?threads/152475/

My initial effort on Old Blue was just to get it road worthy and that included replacing the leaking shocks with Rancho RS5000's, new bumpstops, and a service. About a month back the spark died which was almost certainly the demise of the MSD 6A box but when I dug into the distributor, it also had problems, problems I am just now getting corrected with the installation of a regular GM odd fire HEI.

I purchased New Blue new in 1969 and it was titled as a 69. It also has a few modifications: an added intermediate rear tank, Hedman headers with Walker "turbo" mufflers, Offenhauser 360 manifold, Holley 450 cfm 4150 carb (from a 1960 Rambler 250 V8) and my home built rear tire carrier. Other than those minor engine modifications the rest of the drivetrain remains completely stock and it still rides on the stock springs. All that said, it hasn't moved for 22 years.

There are no plans for any big modifications to either of these but there are quite a pile of parts that have accumulated over the past 50 years, some of which will find homes in these two Jeeps. The brakes on New Blue will undoubtedly need rebuilt and for that there is the 11x2" Bendix brakes that were on my 3B for a couple of years. Those may need new cylinders, but the drums/shoes should be fine. Another brake option would be front discs, also discarded 3B items. There is also the 11 gallon Con-Ferr rear tank that was in the 3B that Old Blue will inherit, two different versions of the one piece tie rods that were also on the 3B (one for the "Y" TRE and one for the 2 hole knuckle), and the full float/PowerLoc rear axle. I think New Blue will get the axle.

Stay tuned.

 

X /2

 

x3

 

X4

 

May we please see some current (before) photos?

 

x5

 

Yesterday's Old Blue manifold blues were finally solved. The actual grinder whittling on that boss was no doubt done by the person that installed the DUI distributor. The sleeve I made for the boring bar pilot worked perfectly. The stud was a CAT stud. I still had to rotate the distributor another tooth counterclockwise to give some room for adjusting the timing, which is going to take a 1" fan spacer but there appears to be enough room for that to still adequately clear the radiator. Those manifold holes turned out to be 1/2" diameter.











Roy was supposed to paint the fan when he installed the new radiator but I guess I get to clean that up and paint it. Just can't find good help these days

For those that haven't followed the purchase, this was the first photo of it I took last August.


Not long after that, Roy returned with his TJ and we did a Flathead Pass trip with Fino and my friend Dene.




And New Blue.
This is the first photo of that I took but it dates to almost a year after I bought it. It came with the Meyers top and I ran that two years, just removing it in the summer. It was replaced with a Whitco. Some summer skiing on North Meadow Creek 1970.


1972 Noble Fork out of Sheridan, Montana. The blue tarp was the initial summer Meyers replacement.


1972 at the ranch.


August 1988 at Cliff Lake, Tobacco Root Mountains-a place you can't drive to anymore.


1993 Revenue Flats


And I would be in remiss if there wasn't a few of its current state.

 

Having seen New Blue in person, it really is an amazing time capsule. I pulled on the fan while I was there and the engine still turns over.

It'll be really cool to see it on the road again.

 

New blue looks very much like my dad's 69, the Jeep I learned to drive in. Same color and back then it had a white top too.

 

Perhaps this should be a PSA. Fireball cleaned up some of Old Blue's wiring but most of the original engine harness was intact. The Bubbization was pretty much confined to the MSD 6A box and the DUI distributor. Sometime prior to Fireball's ownership, the Motorola alternator was swapped out for a rebuilt 10SI from NAPA (still had the NAPA part tag). That turned out to be the 63 amp version and the output was just wired to the stock alternator output wire to the starter. That wire obviously had some problems that were evident at both ends.




While that damage could have been from exhaust manifold and under hood heat, it was certainly suspect so this morning I removed the entire harness and disassembled it.


Clearly, that output wire got hot enough to damage the insulation its entire length and also melted into adjacent wires. No doubt a bottle of Lucas smoke in a relabeled container and a fire just waiting to happen. Moral of the story: don't put 63 amps into a 12 gauge wire, no matter how short a run.


I have just about everything needed to make a new harness and have most of that done. The new output wire is 6 gauge and will go "directly" to the battery via a 125 amp circuit breaker. The new harness will also have several more circuits.

 

What terminals and connectors are you planning to use? If using the Delphi / Packard 56 Series connectors, I would be curious to know which crimping tool you use.

 

I use the same tool I use for the Weather Pack/Metri Pack crimps. Maybe not perfect on 56 series but I solder all terminals anyway. I think I bought that from Waytek a number of years back. It does work really well with the "Packs".