Little help please

I am going to be starting on a project I just picked up recently, it is a M38a1 body on a 1961 or 2 CJ5 frame.

I am looking to make a on/off driver, no extreme stuff, just a reliable vehicle that can be driven to the playground, and back again after a day of fun.

I am definitely looking to keep this project on a tight budget.

At this time I am leaning toward a Buick 231, or a Chevy 4.3 V6, using a Jeep trans and transfer case.

The chassis is pretty much stock as far as I can tell, small drum brakes, narrow leaf springs, closed knuckle front end. Brake/clutch pedals up through the floor, and master cyl under floor board.

I am thinking that front disc and 11" rear drums with a power booster M/C is going to be a cost effective upgrade, and deliver brakes that will be reliable and safe.

One issue of the brake upgrade is whether fitting a power booster under the floor board is worth the effort, or should I switch to hanging pedals. Or, to put another way, is the benefit of hanging pedals worth the cost, effort and complexity of of making the change.

There were no seats in the deal, is it worth the effort to track down Jeep seats?? Should I just look for the seat base frame, and put other seats on them, go totally aftermarket, or completely fabricate something?? How about rear seating for two??

Here is a link to a photo album of the jeep just the way I hauled it home.

I would appreciate any input as to the engine/drive train, brakes, seats, and any other thing you folks can suggest.

Thanks in advance for the input.

 

Power brakes are not even encessary. I have my factory 10" rear drums and a dana 30 up front with factory disk brakes and dual chamber MC. I can stop on a dime with no power booster and have perfect control and it stops nice and straight. The booster under the floor is a lot of unnecessary work, hanging pedals while nice are not necessary. Power saginaw steering is a good upgrade especially if you are using a v6 that has brackets and a pump available.
Mine can and is driven on the interstate at 70mph with the factory v6 , power steering and manual disk and drum brakes.
Seat frames are iffy in my opinion. If you can find the factory ones for sale, fine but if you have the skills you can build them for a little coin and tailer them to fit any seats you want.

 

Jim, I have no idea if it runs, havent gotten that far. I do plan on looking into it however, and will run it if all checks out. I do know it has been sitting for years, who knows, may be frozen tight, or may be fresh rebuild and ready to run??

When I get the time, --(I have an airplane to finish first, otherwise my wife may kill me)-- I plan on borescopeing it, that will tell me a lot right off the bat.

Anyone know what a good compression number for this motor is??

 

nice RV-10!

 

Thanks, mine is the one in back.

 

Good info, thanks.