Off Road Mods

hello
it's been a little while since i've been
on this forum.
i've been on the G503.com (wwii jeeps)
and the Cessna 170 forums lately.
BUT, i'm back.
i usually am by history a purist,
restoring back to original,
but now am inclined,
or at least considering making some off road mods.
what is the best book or source
that i can read
to view the options open to me
for my 75' cj5?
reading mag's like 4WD
shows many things for 76' or newer
but doesn't even list the parts
for my T-14 trannie
thanks
iowa

 

What kind of offroad mods? When I got the '73 I found practically nothing about it and hardly anyone who even knew anything about the CJ5 until I found this website. Sometimes www.jeeperz.com has good stuff. I bought the Moses Lundel rebuildng manual but have found it of little use. Its like a chronology of his build-up, and sometimes he'll give specifics of how, but generally its a "notice the neat wiring, some builders like wiring, some don't, consider farming out"...ie, basically stuff I could figure out. Chilton's has been okay with exploded diagrams of the heating system, etc.

 

What kind of mods are you intersted in doing?? Lift? bigger tires? Lockers?

 

It all depends on how far you are willing to go. If you are serious about building an offroad capable rig, and never want to redo the work, then you might want to think about some of the things I have done to my 61 wagon. Check my sig for the parts I used and let me know if I can help you think through this

Bill

 

You're looking at the best source in the world for '75 and older Jeeps (not me personally, the webpage). No kidding.

Ask away.

 

well,
if i stayed w/my stock engine 258,
and drive train,
how large of tire could i go to?
would i need to change the drive train at all?
it seems that most of the things listed in 4WD magazine
are always for later jeeps.
it still irks me that stock seats,
or even replacement seats are
unavailable for 75' on back.
i guess what i need is a list of options
that i could do to my '75.
thanks
dave

 

which 4wd catalogue??? go for the bottom left one.
http://www.4wd.com/request-a-catalog.aspx vintage

 

I'll tell you a good start. A 4 inch suspension lift. 33" tires. A rear locker. A winch and a tow strap. tow hooks front and rear. Now you are off and off-roading.

 

as others have mentioned, without knowing your objectives, it's hard to give practical/pertinent advice.

that being said, the best "mod" that i've made to my '75, in terms of enhancing its offroad ability, was to install a 4 speed transmission with a low (numerically high) 1st gear. i happened to choose an NP435 from an early 70's ford. that is easily the most beneficial mod to my jeep, but there are others, too.

wally

 

The '73 i put on a 3 inch black diamond lift, 1/2" shackles, wheel spacers and clear 35" BFG Mud terrains just fine. Not the best pic, but maybe it'll give you an idea... the Avatar pic was stock condition (stock when I got it anyway, original leafsprings though i think), 31" tires and worn out body mounts.

 

thanks guys
could a few more tell me what they did to
their jeeps and maybe post a few pics
so i can get an idea of what looks good to me
dave

 

Realize that a '75 already has a lot of the popular mods that '71 and earlier Jeeps "need" - bigger engines, better brakes, better steering.

Power steering is a good upgrade, if you don't have it already (it was available stock).

If you have the T-14 3-speed and 3.73 gears, you might consider a different transmission ... the truck 4-speeds are popular now, but you can easily spend $1000 and a lot of labor on that conversion if you use a commercial adapter kit.

If you're new to this, I'd say 8x15 wheels, maybe 30s or 31s, and a mild lift would be a good start. Jeeps in totally stock form will do amazing things, and go lots of places. If your Jeep runs reliably, you don't have to do anything to it before you hit the trails. Driving skill makes a much bigger difference in where you can go than many of the popular mods.

Good tires do help a lot, but no need to go overboard at this stage.

 

well here is a bad shot of my rig as it is in progress....



40" Iroks of TR beadlocks



Atlass II 4.3:1 Tcase



Dana 60 front

 

Personally speaking, the best mods I made were power steering and a T18 wide ratio 4 speed. Many mods followed and many more are still on the list. To me, these had the biggest bang for the buck.

 

I am somewhat suprised that this question hasn't been answered. As with any mod, the more we know what you want to do, the better we can point you in the right direction. Many mods are application specific. The only general rule is a mild lift and traction tires. Even the tires are a point of debate. Heavy cleated tires are great in mud but won't wear nearly as well as a set of all terrrain's, which might be all you need. We can talk about the merits of a T18, but if all you want to do is fire roading and some hunting, then that is a lot of time and money spent on a componant you probably didn't need as much as a traction diff.