1959 Cj-5 302 Swap. Help Me To Help Myself......

well, the new starter arrived today, and its AMAZING how it cranks better with the correct part.... (sarcasm intended).... next step is to get it to bark... Pulled the carb off, and removed the paper towels from the intake, so thats clear, put the carb back on, and dribbled a bit of chainsaw gas in the intake... and it made a couple of pops and that was about it... Ill check the timing this weekend, and see if I can get an actual bark out of it... ran out of light and time to mess with it tonite..... But I needed a bit of a pick-me-up after a bit of a rough day at work....

 

well, the parts gathering continues....

Ordered today:
Clutch master cylinder and pull type slave cylinder (hopefully I can make this work, shouldnt be too difficult)
Ignition, headlights, dimmer and multi purpose switches
exhaust flange stubs

Coming in today:
Electrical wire, crimpers and heat sealed terminal ends.....

Arriving sometime next week:
Sheet metal brake..... Just a little cheapie 30" piece, but should be enough to get this job done....


Tomorrow Ill start on the brakes, probably with getting the master cylinder properly mounted, which will entail removing the cobbled together piece of steel, filling a few holes with new steel, installing a doubler plate (so it doesnt flex and crack out) and then remounting the master.. then I can finally start bending some lines. Thankfully all the rubbers are "new" (oldest dates to 2004, but has never been used) so I can just bend up some Nickel-Copper lines, and let it rip....

after that, it'll be electrical.... its a full electrical gut job, not that there is anything but a couple of pigtails on the lights as it is.....

 

This is as much for me to document as anything, but ran down the application of the master cylinder that was on the Jeep, in case I need it later. Cast into the bottom is a part number of 5470819, with “Delco” markings on the lid. Google-fu crosses this to an Acme MC1498 which fits a 1971 Vega. Well, at least the Vega was good for something, I guess…….

 

well, it figures.... I get a good weekend to work with parts to throw at the Jeep, and it RAINS....

started today off by finishing the refurb of the Sparton turn signal switch.... Cleaned about 50 years of dust and dirt out of the housing, cleaned and lubed the contact points, and reassembled... Put new connectors on the "attaching end" as the wires were mostly just cut, and I prefer to have a disconnect if I need to troubleshoot or replace. Amazon Chinesium connectors it is....





Next order of business since its too wet to work outside is to fabricate a battery tray.... I figure some 1" angle iron and some 1/2" strapping should do the trick... It'll be mounted on the passengers side firewall when done. Off to Ace for some materials.....

 

kinda slow going this morning.... trying to find inverted flare tee fittings in this day and age at an actual parts store is a fools errand it seems.... got stupid looks everywhere I went.... so Ill have to get them online likely.... Back in the day, No Problem... we gotcha... now its all chrome stick on **** for aisles and aisles....

fired up the Boogerwelder 9000, and got the battery tray made. Good strong steel, (but dont laugh at the welds... Im no pro, and its been a minute... Grinder and paint, you see....) and will cut a plywood bottom for it. Will make a hold down for the battery later. Its sized for a Group 24 marine battery (which I just so happened to steal out of the boat.... dont tell the wife). once the rain abates a bit, ill drill it and get it mounted to the firewall with a good doubler on the other side.

 

any particular reason for using those specific connectors? I'm a big fan of using the old Delphi type 56 connectors in older stuff like this that doesn't explicitly need sealing. they're fairly cheap, simple, and have an incredible range of pin configurations for about any application (due to the longevity of their use). I get them through https://www.customconnectorkits.com/, they offer kits like you have there or if you know more specifically what you need you can order individual parts. they're heavy duty(30 amp rating), and a lot of components you will find from other cars use them.

 

they were cheap and available on Amazon with the rest of the order..... Until everything is "done" and fully tested, "cheap" is the rule of the day. Get it running, then make it beautiful... Ill have enough extra wire in the new harness that if I need to redo something a bit different, or something takes a dump on me, it can be done without adding a bunch of splices... With these "cheap" connectors, if I dont like the pinout, or decide to gang more wires together, I can cut it out, bin the connector and not be out anything $$$ wise really.

 

well, shipment for today arrived. Headers and the Clutch Slave Cylinder. Good news is that the passengers side header and the clutch slave will work great, bad news is that the drivers side header runs right into the Ross box.... Its the passengers side that was going to be the problem with the stock manifolds, as the outlet came straight out the back, now it dumps beside the starter (and will probably roast it in short order....). I can make the stock drivers manifold work in the short term, while I explore options for the steering. I need to at least rebuild the Ross box, but with this, I may push up a crossover to Saginaw steering..... What the hell, its only money, right....

Heres a few pics.



a new bracket going from the slave to the crossmember will solve this problem right quick. Its a pull type slave, so it will work GREAT. Line fitting is the same as the brake hoses, so I will get one of them to go between the Master/hardline and keep some flex in the system. Readily available parts is a GOOD THING....



pass side header, will clear everything, and dump right beside the starter, just above the frame rail... a couple bends, and its past everything that matters. Easy Peasy on this one....



these headers have a ball type connector for the collector, so NO LEAKS as long as you dont gorilla the bolts on..... major points here from me..... I hate doing collector gaskets constantly....

 

busy morning so far...

Fabricated the firewall patch panels out of some 22 gauge steel (hardware store has the choice between 16 ga, then 22 ga, so for filler, I went thinner....). welded those in, and then made a doubler from 16 ga steel welded over the whole area, with "spot" welds in the middle to secure the two together... In the interests of being "overdone", I then put the original 1/4' plate back on the studs before punching the hole for the master through the doubler plate. Needless to say, its STRONG.... since I was in a welding mood, I adjusted the brake pedal to be a better fit... pie cut the pedal to get more travel before it hits the floor, and also to add some side clearance for the column.... It isnt perfect, and I need to see if I have enough throw with the master bled out, but for now it looks good. Time for a break...


first patch panel cut and fit



Its ugly, and probably full of a$$holes to fill, but I was still getting the settings on the welder good.... turns out all the way down on amps, and all the way up on wire speed is as close to good as it was gonna get... still burned holes everywhere, but the speed filled them in good.....



second panel getting fitted and ready to weld in.



its uglier than hammered sin, but it is getting covered anyway.... get it smooth (ish) and get on to the next panel



doubler, plate and master are installed... I wish I had longer studs, I may change the plate out for a bit thinner one.. .we will see when the clutch master gets here, and I see if I have enough room to mount it the same way.. Its UGLY, but if it keeps the firewall from flexing with braking and clutching, Im willing to forgive it a little....



pedal has been pie cut, and vee notched for welding



its still a bit close, but miles better than it was.. If I attach the column at the top, it will clear just fine until the pedal pad fouls the column... either way, its good for now.... If I go with Saginaw steering, it will be a non-starter, as ill lower the angle on the column a bit to clear better.... Ill probably have to pie cut the clutch pedal as well, but I wont mess with that until I have the master installed and able to see where it sits....

 

56 Series were nice



a half century back---- When I did the frame off on my 3B in the 70's, it emerged with all 56 Series connectors. Those have almost all been replaced, along with all my original custom harness. I think the only 56 Series remaining today are the two on the turn signal/flasher units.

I'm using Weather Pack and Metri Pack these days. Widely available, easy to work with, and completely waterproof-the downfall of the 56 Series. I purchase almost all my vehicle wiring supplies from Waytek Wire. Better prices than FLAPS or Summit, top quality products, and just excellent service.

 

Since I still had a small piece of 16ga, I decided to start in on closing in the firewall... Its been crudely torch-cut to make room for the tail end of the 302, so its never going to be "pretty" (and will be bedlinered on the interior anyway). Used a smallish deadblow hammer and the "English Pipe" mounted in the vice to put a couple of gentle curves that vaguely match the OE firewall setback fairly decent. Added a bit of a flange to the top, and its ready to make its "opposite number" for the other side. I currently have about 3/4 of an inch from the new firewall to the tightest part, the drivers valve cover. If I go with stock covers over the rusty chrome ones, Ill likely gain a bit of clearance as well.... Once I get the other side bashed out, Ill cut a section for the middle, weld the three together, and then weld the whole mess to the firewall. I dont need this section "removable", so it'll get lap welded into place. The lower section over the trans will cover the bellhousing, so that will be removable for access to do any/all work thats needed there.... some riv-nuts and some butyl weatherstripping will make that seal nicely.

 

ok, went and got another two sheets of 16ga to finish the section off. Got the passengers side done, both sides held in with some self tappers, and ready to make the center section. Ill overlap that about 1/2 inch on either side to give essentially a strengthening rib on either side of the new piece, which I hope compensates for some of the structure that was cut out by the previous moron. (I have a few choice locations he can store his torch in....). I'm done for today. Its Sunday, and I have one more week before Spring Break starts. I dont want to be all shot to hell tomorrow morning, 0400 comes awful early when driving the School Bus....

heres a few pics of the sausage being made....



passengers side (ill massage the top flange a bit once its all screwed together. )



drivers side. It needed a bit more finessing on the English Stump for a bit more curve to clear the valve cover. I dont care about the elephant tracks in it.. its gonna get bedlinered when done.



I have about 3/4 inch clearance between the cover and the new section of firewall. should be more than plenty



This side has much more clearance. Ford engines have the forward head on the passengers side, so that accounts for most of it. Chevy is the opposite, so if I ever change to a bowtie engine, it would have more than enough clearance already.

 

Mine has a 289 and the DS head sits a little further back. The PO had to cut a very small section to get to the rear spark splug and clear the valve cover. Other than that, no additional upper firewall mods were needed to clear engine. A small section of the floorboard was removed to clear the Toploader shift mechanism. A section of the DS firewall was removed towards the bottom so the header would clear.

 

Yeah, mine were cut out overly aggressively. I now need to reconstruct them. I wish they had just massaged a little

 

Well, it’s now spring break, so I should be able to get a good bit done on this. Weather is supposed to SUCK today and tomorrow, but I’ll get done what I can.

started today fabricating a rear mount for the slave cylinder. A little 1/4” plate. A little imagination, and it’s ready to attach. Torn as to whether to bolt it on, or weld it. Gotta run to MVD, and do a few other errands, so I’ll mull it over and figure it out.

 

You need to mount the slave onto the driveline otherwise it will be a hydraulic stay cable attached to your clutch... worst case scenario for chatter in reverse and grabby going forward.

 

BUGGER.... I was going with the crossmember, as there is nothing in the area close that is mounted to the trans... looks like Ill have to re-engineer it to go to the beefy shifter bracket, which is about 4" further back than the slave would mount... Looks like Ill need some angle stock to make that work and have it stout enough to not be flexible.

 

What's the bolt on the transmission between the shift arms? You could have something go from that to the front most and rear most transmission cover bolts.

 

Drain/fill plug.... its a Ford toploader, so the only bolts on the side are for the shift arms... everything else is either holding the trans in, or needs to be "flexible" for shifting....

 

ok, Re-engineered the bracket at the urging of Jw60. Made a couple of arms that go back to the bracket that holds the shifter. Again, its 1/4" plate, so will be plenty strong (or it should be). There isnt much else in the area to bolt to, so options are limited



its just lightly in there at the moment for fitment, I need to pull it back out for a little cleanup and some paint.