1974 CJ6 - "Slowly but...well, slowly"

1974 CJ6 Project - "Slowly but...well, slowly"

This project isn't new, just haven't gotten around to starting a thread about it. Have posted pics in the past with questions, but no "build thread." Quite frankly, my progress is so slow, that I probably shouldn't even post yet, but oh well, here it goes....

1974 CJ-6, 304, PS, PB, D30/D44, 3.73's, 33x12.50 BFG's on 15x10 AR Outlaw II's, ~36k+ original miles - all of them hard ones! Purchased from original owners.

Changes from stock: Swapped in T-18, Swapped in 4 barrel and intake from FSJ, Rubicon Express 4.5" springs (YJ width) w/shackle reversal. Tom Woods driveshaft for shackle reversal. Front portion of frame beefed up during suspension buildup.

What's next/future:

1) Paint/Body (may stick with red, although my son wants "bumblebee yellow." (Transformers movie anyone?). If I go the scratch and shoot route, then red will be it...if I go body off, then color will likely change. Can't decide if I should take the body off or not, as I'm not that handy, and don't know if I would ever put Humpty Dumpty back together again. Oh, but the quality would be so much better.....
2) Roll Cage
3) Soft Top
4) Bumpers - stout enough for a winch in front, spare tire carrier style in back. Going to have to modify/reinforce rear frame to handle and mount the rear tire carrier bumper.
5) Eventually - 360 w/Howell EFI, (Or SBC - Please let me have the strength to stay away from that one!
6) Fresh wiring harness (aftermarket with modern fuse blocks, etc.), especially if I take the body off for paint.
7) Interior - Swap out bench for buckets, maybe suspension seats, Mastercraft or a knockoff. Don't want too high of a back, so that my visibility is still very good. Can't hardly see a damn thing out the back of my '05 rubicon due to the high backs and the Currie tire carrier!
8) Beefier axles, HP44 or Currie HP 9 in front, and Currie 9 in back. I know, overkill....I think of it as an insurance policy to keep my nerves and confidence intact. Besides, I don't ever plan on selling, so I've got time to save up my $.

Here are a few pics - The Red one is mine, the Yellow one is my goal...I know, I've got a long ways to go. Unfortunately I blew all of this year's $ allotment on driveshafts, suspension, etc. The pretty stuff will have to wait until likely next summer.

Quick question: Other's seem to be able to post larger pics, but it takes me ten tries resizing over and over before it lets me upload. Any advice?

Here's as it sits now:

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Here's my goal, generally speaking:

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I like the looks of the red one better...I really dig that old school look

Good luck with your project - Glenn

 

looks good

Try using photo bucket

 

Great looking 6, Good luck.

 

Thanks! That makes me feel good!

The Yellow one is running 35's on 4" springs + 1" of body lift. Actually, though, when I said the yellow one was my goal, I was mostly talking about condition....that thing looks better than the day it rolled off the assembly line in '75. The sheetmetal is perfect, and it's been used, he doesn't baby it at all. This photo was taken at EJS in 2007, and the prior year he put it on its side on the Moab Rim Trail. The only thing he had to do as a result was replace his soft top. His jeep looks better in person than in pictures. Another thing I like about his setup is he is using a '76 and up rear tire carrier that I want to use. He is using the one from Durango 4x4, which he says took quite a bit of modification to get it to work. He's also running a fuel injected 401. When I asked him about the 401, he said "I figured that I better use a Jeep engine, seeing as how I own a Jeep dealership."

 

I hadn't looked into the Cross Enterprises bumper - Nice! Don't see much that pretty much bolts on a pre-'76 much these days. That one is definitely on my list.

LOL - Very true about having the resources and shop to get the work done! He actually does most of the wrenching himself believe it or not, although I'm sure, just as I would, he takes full advantages of the resources abailable to him. I've only spoken to him a few times, as his dealership is 4 hours away from my home town (his dealership has the best deals on Chrysler products in the southwest, so it was worth the 4 hour drive.) He's a really nice guy, and I look forward to wheeling with him some day. He's a member of the "Cliff Hangers" Jeep club in the Farmington, NM area.

To make a short story long, funny thing about this particular yellow Jeep:

About 15 years ago, I was flipping through some magazines at the local grocery store when I picked up a 4Wheel Drive & Sport Utility. There on the cover was Rick Russell from Sidekick Offroad (www.sidekickoffroad.com in case you were wondering) with his bright yellow 1956 CJ-6 on the cover. I had never seen a CJ-6 before, and I thought to myself "that has got to be the fugliest thing I've ever seen....I just gotta get me one!" So, I bought the magazine (and subscribed the next day) and lo and behold, there is an article titled "the long and the short of it" in the body of the magazine, which covered two Jeeps from Farmington, NM built by friends. One of them (obviously the "long" portion of the article) was this 1975 CJ-6 from the pictures I posted above. The same magazine covered two CJ-6's, and they both are what ended up becoming my inspiration for seeking out a CJ-6. It took until 2007, but I finally got to see the 1975 pictured above in person, and it's awesome. I like the way it still looks like CJ. No buggy aspects at all, just a simple old school buildup, and it goes wherever he points it. I've yet to see Rick Russell's 1956 in person, as he now wheels a bobbed Scrambler he built all out of catalogs with new frame, tub, etc.

Well, I was right in the middle of my college education, so my funds were very limited, and a project Jeep was the last thing I needed in my life at that time. Fast forward over the years...a couple of CJ's and other miscellaneous 4x4's later, I was still casually searching for a suitable CJ-6. The dream of building a '6 was actually #2 on my list - my grandfather's '46 CJ-2A with a mild resto-mod buildup has been my #1 Jeep dream since I was about 3 or 4 years old - you can see the grille of that CJ-2A in the background of one the pics I posted above.

Over the years, I learned a little bit about Jeep's (unfortunately, not so much mechanically, mostly specs and production changes), and I eventually determined that I wanted my '6 to be an intermediate, due to the upgrades made; swinging pedals, saginaw, more room in the engine compartment, etc. Well, to finally close up my long winded story, this CJ-6 that I ended buying was less than a mile from my house. I had searched online for years, and this one was dropped off at my house!

 

Update - Time to pull the engine - Having some issues, and I am moments away from pulling the trigger on a Howell EFI setup, so I want to install it on something fresh. I am now in search of either a suitable donor 360, or maybe just bite the bullet and get a long block.

Also, I got my cousin to agree to do the paint and body work, so I am tempted to tackle both at once:

1) Remove body for paint/body work.
2) Do engine swap while body is off...freshen up frame in the process.
3) Put body back on, and rewire with updated harness while I'm in there!

Hope to start this summer, as that is when finances should allow me to start (assuming my job plans work out). Will keep you guys posted and will make sure and take plenty of photos!

 

Looks Great!!! I need a mew project!!
Sam

 

Update - Ok...last year was a bust, had to use the $ to re do the backyard for the kids, so no progress, but worth it! Nice to have grass again. This year, got the funds to swap the engine and install the EFI. That will happen in the next month or so. Now I just gotta decide whether or not to take the body while the front clip is off and do some body work at the same time.

** The new engine will be an AMC 360 (figured it's easier to stay AMC since it already has a V8).

** EFI - Still undecided, but am leaning toward the Howell. Had my mind made up, but then the AFI and Powerjection setups showed up and got me wondering.

 

Ok, the body is off, and the engine is on its way....

The body being dropped off at body shop.

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The Jeep right before we pulled the body.

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Don't have any photos of the chassis, but will get some soon! I'm not disassembling the chassis, but I do plan to clean and freshen it up as best I can....

Anybody know why the earlier pictures no longer show up?

 

Do you know the paint color code for your 6? I have been trying to find a 74 renegade orange and yours might be it.

 

Not off the top of my head....it has the original paint, and looking under the tool box lid shows that it is more red than orange. I'm not sure, but "trans-am red" is the name of the color I think.

 

Update - Body's been blasted, so now body work can begin. Also, the new 360 has arrived. Will hopefully be able to take some photos today....

 

I have a BASF code for that year orange.. was going to do mine that color

 

Couple shots of things to come....

Note: Don't ask questions you're afraid to know the answers to. After the guidecoat was sprayed, the truth came out!!

Also, I will be switching out the valve covers for the Edelbrock black crinkle ones.

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Nice project. You otta' just put the Modified body on it.

You still run the car? Aztec? When I had my Modified, I kept wanting to pull it up there and run but never got around to it.

 

LOL! The car's not mine....the picture of the frame is at the shop where the work's being done. Yeah, I'm cheating....having a shop do the work for me! Trust me, it's better this way!