Engine choice

Yep I'm in the middle of that project right now

While I do have to say when I was climbing the rocky section heading up to guardrail the L head was huffing a puffin prudy hard to get up that section. Now that is a fairly extreme example but it did make the hill climb :twisted:

 

To swap drivetrain parts, you must have a goal in mind,( trail jeep, race jeep, streetable jeep, etc. ) and you must have a budget. remember the rear axle must be replaced if you swap the transfer case. Also most stock transfer case/ transmission combos are too long for short cj-5's. If I were going to put in a v8, I would put in a ford 302 with a t-18 wide ratio onto the stock spicer 18 t-case. That has got to be one of the shortest v-8 drive trains including adapters available. and the 302 can come with or with-out EFI and there are alot of cool aftermarket parts for the 302. you may have to do some shopping to get the right t-18, or do some work to a t-18 to get it right. If you like chevy better, you can do what this ebayer did. Item # 4596922783. SBC with sm-420, but a sm-465 ot t-18 might be better. My last Jeep was a 79 cj-5 with a t-18 and chevy 355. Had to cut the firewall for the distributer, and change drive shafts, and shortly after the rear end. A powerful v8 in a cj-5 ( not amc 304 ) is a testosterone rush that will surley almost get you killed. You cannot steer with front tires off ground and your rear hitch hits the asphalt throwing you into the neighbors yard. Also you will want to race every rice burner around. If you are serious about a v8 in your jeep, get one built right with proper drivetrain upgrades and upgrade your life insurance policy, because there is no use to put a v8 in a jeep unless you are going to go f-ing nuts with it. Otherwise go with a gm v6 and an adequate tranny, or stay stock. I sold the 79 jeep before I killed myself, then bought a '69 with a v6 that I am fixing up.

 

OK. I'm going to keep the drivetrain it has for now. More money for lift and tires! I have a 3 inch body lift to put in. I want a 4 inch suspension lift. I want wider springs. What do I do? Is there a kit for that? I also want to add power steering and power brakes. How hard is that?

Oh, I forgot to mention, I was also told to junk the front solid axle because the dana 25/27 is to weak. And get bigger driveshafts.

Questiosn, Questions, Questions!

 

I learned that lesson a long time ago. Everyone who does not have an early Jeep seems to think everything must go, which is not true. The front axle will survive some serious punishment. I know a guy with an F-head dana 25 front detroit with 35s who plays with the hardcore rock crawlers, they break dana 60s before he breaks his 25. Basicly they are plenty for what you are going to put it through.

 

No offense but you need to stick around here awhile and stay off the other boards like pirate and such.
"You are leaning towards the dark side young Skywalker" and you are being corrupted by every Tom, Dick and Harry that thinks a stock jeep is useless.

The 25 is a decent axle and can handle quite abit of abuse providing you don't go ape with the skinny pedal and the tires aren't to large.
Your Jeep probably has at least 4.27 gears and more than likely has 5.38 gears, good slow speed grunt. The body lift especailly 3" is not a good idea in an old cj with Ross steering. The steering column is physically attached to the steering box and the box is bolted to the frame. A good 2½" lift and 33"-34" is alll you need, no body lift needed and for the most part they are useless anyway. The driveshafts stock are fine if they are in good shape. Your transfercase should have 2 levers. Do you have an overdrive on the transfercase or do you even know. To be truthfully honest the worst thing about a stock Jeep of your vintage is the puny 9" brakes. These are upgradeable. You can even put disk brakes on the front. There are plenty of guys that wheel on this board with stock dana 25/27 axles with little or no problems and do it with an old F-head 4 cylinder. Stick around and we will steer you straight and not completely empty your wallet on mods you don't really need. Now the Jeep is yours and you can do what you want but if you have a budget and want to wheel it and have fun without tearing stuff up you have come to the right place. This board is probably one of the best places on the net to find info on Jeeps and the best on the older cj5's.
Oh just out of curiousity how old are you and how much experience do yuou have 4 wheelin?

 

I hate to futher rain on your parade but that 3" body lift is a nightmare. The steering column is bolted to frame and the pedals come through the floor. Raising the body 3" will cause grief.

JB

 

Oops forgot about the pedals, yea what he said, basically not doable!!!!

 

Ok. I got the body lift for free. I mostly wanted to raise the body so it's easy to keep the frame clean.

I also kinda wanted to swap in wide track axles too. Since I have 79 CJ-7 D30 and D44. I would have trouble because the 79 D44 is not offset right?

I only have one lever and I do believe I have a Dana 300 T-case.

I wanted to upgrade to power steerrng and power brakes, is this a good idea and is it hard? What parts do I need?

Where do I get a good lift with wider springs? How big do I need so I need NO trimming with a 33" tire?

As for wheeling experience, check out picture #66 in the link below.

http://www.imagestation.com/album/pictures.html?id=2119811900

I've been in plenty of good stuff in my Cherokee. I wheel it a lot.

 

The F-head motor is basically a tractor motor. I have been quite satisfied with mine. It is not the gonna run down the highway very fast, but it is home on the trail.

 

Hey, mice to see someone local. If your ever in the Freddy area we should hook up for a coffee. Where is the members location map?

 

Sell the 3" body lift on ebay and buy a 1" if you really want a body lift. 2.5" spring lift and 1" body would clear 33's. Mine has basically 32 x 9.5 (235/85R16) tires and I haven't rubbed the fenders yet.

 

Yeah, the centered axle will be a problem if you have an offset transfer case.

If you have a Dana 300, it will already have a centered rear output. The 300 is most easily identified by the centered output, iron case and an aluminum rear output housing. A 20 is centered, and all iron. An 18 is offset, all iron, and some have a single lever.

Power steering is harder on an F134 than a V6 or whatever, since the F134 never had PS and you have to fabricate everything. Plus, the parasitic load has a bigger impact on performance with an F134 than with a more powerful engine. Still, can and has been done.

Making the brakes larger rather than power brakes is the usual path. 11x2" Bendix drum brakes can be sourced from several vehicles and are an easy and effective upgrade. The through-the-floor pedals makes adding a booster difficult. The conventional way to get power brakes is to convert to swinging pedals and use a vacuum booster.

Check the tech pages http://www.earlycj5.com/TechIndex.shtml for Saginaw steering conversion and brake conversions.

 

I was wondering how hard it would be to turn a 33" tire off-road without power steering. I have a fibreglass tub and I'm not sure how strong they are. I was wondering if I was heaving on the steering wheel hard enough if I might crack the spot where the column comes through the tub?

Will I be at risk of cracking the tub during flexing?

Thanks everyone for your help so far!!

 

Thanks for the info. I think I would go late model CJ or YJ springs. Dakota springs would be to stiff. My D30 is a complete set-up, it has everything and it all works.

 

I have no problem turning my 33's with a manual saginaw box. They're pretty narrow tho. (Just a data point)