1955 CJ5, it runs finally!

FYI JC Whitney can really suck for getting parts! You may get lucky but I'd cancel your order and get one threw Krage or Walcks if you want them in less then 4 weeks or more.

Krage http://www.jeepdoc.com/

or Carl Walck. http://walcks4wd.com/




or there's others but JCW would be my very last choice.

 

it's a secret.
blevisay couldnt tell you even if he killed you afterwards...

 

LOL well its not my choice to make but I think of brake master cyl comparisons as tech..bunny with a pancake

 

Works for me, afterall, it is going to be in the build stage for a while.

 

"It runs" was a short lived condition. It ran fine the other day when I pulled it into the garage. Then I pulled the leaking gas tank and dropped it off to be repaired. I got that back yesterday and today I re-installed the tank. Before I fired the motor up, I installed a thermostat and refilled the anti-freeze. When I tried to restart it, it just wouldn't start. It backfired through the carb and when it did start it only ran on one cylinder. After checking for spark and checking for gas I pulled the plugs to see what was going on and noticed there didn't seem to be any compression in three of the cylinders. I did a compress test and found three dead cylinders. I pulled the valve cover and that's when I saw the big "oh no", milky looking oil. I checked the dip stick and the same thing in the oil pan. Two instake valves were way out of adjustment, so I adjusted them, but it didn't improve the compression. How could it go from running so nice five days ago to this? Maybe the valve adjustment was already this bad, I did hear a little tappet noise but I didn't think it was this bad. I'm hoping it's just a bad head gasket and not a crack somewhere.
Any thoughts you want to share with me?

 

Here's some other thoughts about this motor and jeep overall. I noticed a week or so ago that there were exhaust brackets for dual exhaust pipes. You don't see dual exhaust for four cylinder motors, least not in these older jeeps.
I also noticed the head painted a different color than the block, which didn't mean much to me then like it does now.
I think it's possible that this jeep had a V6 in it and some previous owner pulled the V6 and slapped together this four banger to sell it. Maybe they didn't bother to put a new head gasket in when putting the head back on. Also notice only two out four bolts in the water pump a week ago.
If luck is with me, maybe I can fix this without having to do a complete rebuild.

 

I have started a new thread about this in the tech section, because I have some tech questions concerning the cause and fix for what's happened.

 

I installed the new master brake cylinder today. My wife helped me bleed the brakes by pushing on the brake pedal for me. I plugged in the wires to the brake light switch and found the lights were on without pedal pressure. After closer inspection I found one of the bail wires that hold the wire end in the switch was making contact with the opposite post. So far, all looks good. Next I hope to receive the new intake valves and guides Monday and deliver them to the shop that has my head. I hope to have this thing running again by late next week.

 

I should update my progress. The motor runs very nice now days. Rebuilt the head with new valves and guides.
I was having trouble with the rough running motor until I pulled the carb off the 60 CJ6 and stuck it on the 55 and now it runs smooth as glass. Today, after setting for a week, I turned the key to start and it started up instantly, no choke.
The next task I want to do is order a new speedomter and install it so I we have the other important gauges like water temp and the fuel leve. There is a hole cut in the dash for a oil pressure gauge and I found one with the extras that came with the jeep, but it looks like it needs to be replaced. I would like to see oil pressure, so I porbably with pick up a new one.
The throw out bearing is making noise and I would like to check out the transmission and transfer case, so I plan to drop those and see what I have. They are making a lot of noise and I have read that, that is rather common, but it will be nice to get a chance to clean things up while I've got them out.
This jeep had two heaters, one on each side. The one on the passenger side leaked, so I disconnected and plan to remove it. The one on the driver side seems to be ok and does a nice job of putting out heat, so I will leave it in place.

That's it for now.

 

Retirement and a Jeep go well together. It's been years since I was in Burney, but used to go camp there at the Falls and Hat Creek. Have enjoyed reading your posts on this project.

 

Posi,
Thanks, I really like living in this area. There is so much to explore, one of the reasons I became attracted to jeeps. I have been following your build thread, which I have enjoyed very much. I like your work. You set a high bar of standard.

 

I'm at the cross roads of what to do with this jeep. On one hand I think I should restore it and keep it as stock as possible, on the other, I would like to change out the running gear to the 231 V6 I have in the garage and possibly stick the YJ frame I have under it. If I go with the YJ frame, I will have to cut down the length of the frame and replace the front fenders and hood with the longer versions from the 197? models. I have my CJ6 that I have thought about doing the frame transplant to, but for some reason I like the CJ5 much better.