Ewan's 79 CJ-5 restoration project

Earlier this year I sold a 52 M38A1 project I was working on and ended up with another Jeep. I initially located this gem on Craigslist however I ended up working at the same place as the seller. I think it was meant to be. Anyways I used to own an 85 CJ-7 that I restored before I married my wife and had kids. I had to part ways with the CJ-7 in 2008, but life has slowed down to where I can afford to restore another Jeep.

1979 CJ-5
4.2L inline six
T-150 3 spd
Dana 20 t-case
Dana 30 front / AMC 20 rear , 3.54's

I haven't opened up the diffs but the jeep drives like it has lockers, PO was pretty sure it had lockers as well. Mechanically the Jeep is sound, runs very strong. 2nd owner before me rebuilt the engine and it has approx 1,000 mi on the rebuild. The plan is to restore this jeep to stock condition minus the bright orange color. Not my cup of tea, thought I haven't decided on a color yet. Probably something in the blue, brown, green range.

 

Spent over four hours removing the top, seats and fenders due to rust. I keep finding more rust as I take parts off, a lot of it is going to be needed to cut out. If this keeps up, I may just look at buying a new tub.

 

Look good, what's you're plan about that? Off-roading?

You have a good base for the jeep, i will follow this. i never see somebody working on a late Cj5!!!

 

Welcome from Clarksville! Looks like fun....

 

Welcome and keep plugging away at it! Ironically, I have a '52 M38A1 and just purchased a '79 CJ-5 about a month ago, so I know your projects. I didn't even drive mine before I bought it. I was more concerned with any damage that may have been hidden underneath paint and body filler than mechanics. I am very happy with the jeep but did wind up having to put a clutch in it which I would have probably realized if I had spent any time behind the wheel. But clutch is down and dirty easy compared to paint and body!

 

Not going to be an "off-road" rig, going to restore it close to stock. Will keep the 31's on it and have a very mild lift. Doesn't mean that I'm not going to take it off-road.

 

I had planned on getting the tub off today but I encountered rusty body bolts, had to drill/hammer/cut them out. Lost a lot of steam so I'm throwing in the towel until next weekend. I did manage to get quite a bit of the interior taken out along with misc engine stuff.

 

Dropped the gas tank tonight and pulled some other small tidbits, wiring, etc...

 

Removed the tub today and found out I've got one badly rusted tub. The firewall, cowl. and cargo area are the only pieces worth salvaging. Rough estimate of over $2300 in body parts not to mention a lot of labor. At this point, I'm going to seriously consider a Repli-tub.

 

Getting another jeep for parts could be a good alternative, you can pull other good parts from it for your restoration and sell the rest after you're done.

 

I've been watching craigslist, nothing yet. Cleaning up the frame and rebuilding the driveline will keep me busy for a couple months.

Semper Fi

 

How bad is the body, you could always go the patch panel route for a lot less then a reproduction tub. Even if you have to buy a small mig and associated equipment.

 

I have a brand new Lincoln MIG welder which I've yet to use. I had originally planned on patching the few bad spots, but the "few" spots ended up being most of the tub. I'll snap some photos later this evening once I clear up the mess I made this weekend.

The only parts of the tub which are untouched is the firewall, cowl, transmission hump and cargo area. Whole front end (hood, grill, fenders) complete loss due to heavy damage. Tree? Offroad?

Side panels rusted through in both sides, rear quarter panels beat to hell from loose chains? Lots of large dimples, holes, etc.. Tailgate rusted through on bottom corners. Rear fender well rusted through on the corners. Every body mount on the tub is completely rusty and flaky. Most of the supports, hat channels, etc..are all rusted.

 

Hey Ewan,

I like your thread. You interested in making it look like the 1979 CJ5 Renegade Silver Anniversary Edition? If so, I still have the badge for it. I will be stretching my CJ7 Jamboree to make it a four door so I may be purchasing your assistance with a welder.

 

You know how to reach me, shoot me an email when you get to that point. I like the look of the anniversary edition except for the decals on the hood, not a big fan of those.

Was planning on pulling the engine tonight but I'm not feeling well. Did some poking around and pulled the valve cover to inspect the engine. Supposedly only a few thousand miles on a rebuild, top end looks really clean.

 

What about the engine you bought from me? Rebuilt? Holding on strong? I'm going with a Chevy 350 in my 82 Jambo with an auto tranny because I can't work the clutch anymore with my bum leg. Thank you Army. I will be following your thread as an instructional guide as soon as I start my rebuild. Ever thought of extending your CJ5 to fit the kids easier? The best time to do it would be now and you can buy frame extensions, weld on some body extensions, and with a CJ5 you just need a CJ8 fuel line and drive shaft. Awesome work so far man.

 

I'm using the rods and crankshaft for my 4.7L stroker motor. I'm going to keep the block and head as a spare for the CJ-5. No plans on stretching the Jeep, the kids are small enough they fit just fine. When they get bigger, that will just give me a reason to buy another Jeep. The boys will need their own Jeep too

 

Im searching for another 82 Jambo for my boy to give to him. He will have the coolest ride in school.

 

Spent about an hour this evening removing driveshafts, small engine parts, bolts, etc..Transfer case comes off tomorrow, maybe the rest if I have time. Still running into stubborn rusty bolts :evil:

 

I agree except my garage is now full, two different projects going at once. Pulled the engine and the rest of the drivetrain today.