the rebuilding of a 66 cj5

I have purchased a 66 cj-5 225.

The good:
non-smoking 225, very little rust in tub, good steel hard top, saginaw power steering conversion, new seats, New wiring harness and new dash gauges and speed-o-meter.

the sorta:
PTO winch, above windshield electric wiper motors, no other modification

The bad:
a thrashed t-86 trans, a crack in the frame at the rear leaf spring shackle mount, leaky gas tank, some minior stress fractures around body mount bolt holes. headers broke and goes thur wheelwells and bad radiator

Planned modificaitons to do (so far)

change brake drums
put on new headers
new gas tank in back
mount reciever hitch
redo transmission
get rid of pto winch, mount a lighter one.
new raditor and heater
insulate hard top
replace the windshield with a new version, wipers on the bottom.
reinforce the body mounts and fix the rust as well as the stress fractures.
change the leaf spring size from 1 3/4" to 2" ( if it will improve the overall ride)

Any ideas, sugestions, or comments on what to do or what not to do.

I am planning on keeping a running log on what I am doing.

I just pulled the body off and I am prepping to go completely thur the CJ.

 

I did a very similar project to what you have. I must say tho my favorite modification was a brake power booster. Used one from a YJ.

And I had a hard time finding a 225 radiator but a Mustang 3 core V6 radiator was basically a direct bolt in.

At $800, its expensive, but I bolted on BDS 2.5" leaf springs and shocks and am very pleased with the ride. And they will be the last set you ever buy.

 

A PTO winch will out-pull a dozen electrics. I would keep it.

 

^^ x2. another reason being that the heavier pto winch will help balance things our front to rear. cj's tend to drag the back end anyway with the light wt. engines in the front. add to that your relocating the gas tank to the back and a little more weight up front would probably be a good thing... imho.

 

Light weight engines? Maybe the V6. Most assuredly not the F134 or the flat-head four cylinders.

 

I know all the pro's and con's on PTO winch and I am going to dump it. with the 66 cj-5 as light as it is. i am not needing something that heavy hanging off the front of the jeep. I am planning on making it 90% street to 10% dirt/gravel/fire roads/ fishing rig. I am 59 and this is my last cj. I want it comfortable to do fishing and light camping. maybe run to the snow to gather a xmass tree or drag out a deer when one pops up.

I have been told that with the v-6 and the trans and diff's ratio (3.73) and 31 or 32 inch tires I should be getting something like 25 mpg. Just something for an ole man to drive around in. and take the grandkids and the old black lab for a ride in during the summer months. See where I am coming from.

 

You'll be lucky to get 17 mpg, 25 is just not possible. I run an OD and 4.88s which gives me a comparable ratio at speed and the absolute best I've ever got was 20 mpg with a very strong tailwind on the highway. Around town stop and go driving is generally less than 15 mpg. Don't throw that PTO winch away, worth bucks to other early owners. If you plan on doing a lot of on road driving a disk brake swap up front and a saginaw steering upgrade will serve you well.

What boat did you serve on? I was a Nuc Mechanic on the Daniel Boone SSBN 629B back in the 80s.

 

you're probably correct. they just seem so much lighter than the 4cyl scout engines i'm more familiar with. my old 196 was over 500# easily.

 

I am not sure what the V-6 weight out but the flywheel for it weights in about 75 Lbs. which gives it some low rpm operation and smooths out the odd fire of the engine. I was surprised to see a mount/cable to keep the engine from turning around inside the engine compartment. that is not over but around inside the compartment due to so much torq. the mount was from the back of the bell housine/engine bolts to the cross member.

I have had to remove part of the rear crossmember of the frame also due to rust and frame cracking at the rear spring mount. I am adding in a 2X4 1/4" wall rear bumper to add strenght to the back end as well as give me a place to mount at trailer hitch and spare tire mount. I will add pictures when I get it done.