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67 Cj5 Build Thread By A Rookie

Fresbone

Fresbone

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As you guys can tell from my past posts, I know very, very little about Jeeps or even cars in general. This has been an empty part of my soul, and every time I go to the Pismo Beach car show, I think to myself that I need to solve that problem. So I finally made the jump and bought a perfectly operational 1967 CJ5, drove it for a few weeks, and then started taking it apart. I just started rebuilding it.

I am trying to be as respectful of your collective time and knowledge, and I read the rules and guidelines and forum descriptions. I try to do a thorough search and refer to the FSM and parts books before I post anything.

Am I better off starting a build thread on the builds and fabricators forum so I can post updates and questions as I go along or posting intermittent questions on the early cj5 and cj6 tech forum? On one hand, I can't see where I would post anything new or insightful on the builds forum, but on the other hand, I don't want to bombard you guys with another post from that blockhead Fresbone on the tech forum.

I appreciate all your tips and techniques over the past several months.

-Fritz
 
Fritz,
I think this forum (and your build thread) are for you to keep a kind of running record and to give us lots of pics!
Then when you just can’t figure it out, post it up in the tech section.

Looking forward to your build!
 
It's fun to read all the builds, very few are not interesting. Jeeps are great projects for beginners.
My own "build" is about 10 years old at this point, and it's gone years without posts then I was posting daily recently to keep motivated and record the details as i work throughsome major changes. Now I'm working harder and faster than I can take pictures and write about.
 
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BTW This is in the builds and fabrication forum. So this is the build thread. Let's summarize the intro and catch up on where it started and where you are now.
 
Ok, so here is the project. FD218728-2E56-4A0C-A1C4-E099A1557210.jpeg
A perfectly good old jeep. A 67, like me. It’s got a dauntless V6, SM-420, T-18, d27 up front, tapered axle d44 in back, headers, some degree of lift, bigger black wheels with 33” tires, and greasy 11” drums all around. No e brake. Mildly janky shifting, but it drove fine for a 56 year old rig.

As I said earlier, one of the main reasons I got it was because it felt kind of lame that I knew nothing about cars. I had put in radios, changed air filters, replaced damaged bumpers, but nothing really specific to cars. I drove it for a few weeks and decided to change the fluids to see what condition its condition was in. I even got a few jeep waves before I knew what that was. The fluids generally looked ok. Motor oil was a little black, front diff fluid was a little brown, but nothing was pasty and no metal anywhere when I dredged with a magnet.

My cousin has done a pretty good amount of work on cars. Nothing like most of you guys, but way more than me. He told me to do a compression test and each valve was around 140. Definitely within 10%, so I figured the engine was at least ok and put in new plugs. I took out the carb and got the refurb kit from Mike’s. At the end, I didn’t have any leftover parts except the duplicates from Mike’s, so I was pretty happy about that. It’s a Rochester G2. The choke was zip tied open and when I cut the zip tie… nothing happened!
0132342B-1534-4458-A044-9CF6BE52F4EE.jpeg

For some reason, the next logical thing to do was take out the t case. I don’t really remember why that made sense at the time. Then the tranny, then clutch, then engine. My cousin made me promise to take the t case and tranny to a shop so I didn’t screw them up.
 
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After that, if kind of became like picking a scab, and by the time I realized it, it was down to the frame. Based on what I read and was advised on the forum, I had it sandblaster and acid etch primed.
E210EF95-5668-442C-BB4A-5A02F7437079.jpeg

I built a paint booth and primed and painted the frame hot rod black. Another one of my goals is to learn to be more patient, so learning to paint is a big part of that. 81154EC3-AB29-471E-B3E7-60D0332B657E.jpeg
Everything is getting taken apart and cleaned. I bought a sand blaster and a blasting cabinet. Started working on the axle housings. I wanted a color that looked like cast iron. The folks at WeCo in Fresno have been a great resource helping me pick out paint and giving me tips. This is how they turned out.
81098BB5-437E-4C86-8468-0FB9A2594636.jpeg
 
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Next up was more cleaning, painting the springs (they were ok looking, but I wanted some lipstick on the pig since I really liked the way the axles were looking. I reinstalled the springs and axle housings and have been replacing their seals. Axle shafts were reinserted last weekend. I’m hoping to finish the rear hubs, rear drums, front knuckles, and front disks this weekend. 47BC2C1B-83B2-408A-BE56-7AD5364D95C3.jpeg

Other things to come:
Take t case and tranny to shop for servicing. I am not confident that I can tell what good gears look like and using my chest to help drop the t care out of the jeep was a poor decision!
Cut out the pintle supports and remove bolted in hitch receiver to make room for a rear 15 gallon tank.
Lots of reading about what an engine actually does then replace seals.
Upgrade 10si alternator to 12si.
New wiring harness from painless performance.
Replace previous janky GM tilt column with a new one from flaming river.
New steering wheel that has a working horn button and looks like an intermediate year CJ steering wheel.
Rationalize dashboard, stitch weld in newly designed dash to look more like the original but adding temp and pressure gauges.
3 point seat belts.
Seat warmers so my wife will ride with me!
Reverse lights.
Blast off old paint and bedliner, learn how to fix dents and dings (I already took off the diamond plate on the rear corners and plastic fenders), and paint spruce tip green.
 
Today was like the game dance revolution. One step forward, one step backwards, one step sideways, and two steps forward. That is still net two steps forward!
I set the torque on the front and rear pinion nuts. The rear axle locked up because 150 ft-pounds was too tight, and you guys helped out with that on the tech forum. I installed the front knuckles, which I already studded. Still need to check the preload. I need to break out my tackle box. There was a lot of contact between the 3 and 9 o clock bolts and the axle housing limiting the arc of motion. I took down red lock tite for the first time - some heat and slow, steady tension, and then faced the knuckle a little more. Still some contact, so I did something very uncomfortable for a new guy and ground away what was previously perfectly fine jeep metal. A full pucker and fino’s knuckle thread helped me get through it.
797A7EF5-90FD-429A-A954-887CA903B6AB.jpeg 7D4BCFEF-969C-43F1-9655-06A27E2FC2BD.jpeg

Tomorrow, hopefully do the front disc conversion and rebuild/install rear drums.
 
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timsresort said:
What's the difference?
Click to expand...

Fresbone said:
I think it is like 60 vs 80-100 amps. Same footprint. It is still sitting in a box! I figured that would give me room for fuel injection, seat warmers, etc.
Click to expand...

Yes, the 12SI has more OEM amperage and much better cooling to support it. Bolts into the same place as a 10si. Here's some good info: http://www.madelectrical.com/electricaltech/delcoremy.shtml

To use a 12si, you need to make sure your wiring can handle 93 amps without letting the smoke out.
 
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Fresbone said:
Today was like the game dance revolution. One step forward, one step backwards, one step sideways, and two steps forward. That is still net two steps forward!
I set the torque on the front and rear pinion nuts. The rear axle locked up because 150 ft-pounds was too tight, and you guys helped out with that on the tech forum. I installed the front knuckles, which I already studded. Still need to check the preload. I need to break out my tackle box. There was a lot of contact between the 3 and 9 o clock bolts and the axle housing limiting the arc of motion. I took down red lock tite for the first time - some heat and slow, steady tension, and then faced the knuckle a little more. Still some contact, so I did something very uncomfortable for a new guy and ground away what was previously perfectly fine jeep metal. I full pucker and fino’s knuckle thread helped me get through it.
View attachment 83962 View attachment 83963

Tomorrow, hopefully do the front disc conversion and rebuild/install rear drums.
Click to expand...
The 2 bolt heads will most likely not hit before your steering stop hits the knuckle or your tires are hitting the springs. I did the 12SI alternator. The CS-144 puts out more amps at idle and can be had
with higher amperage. This would be more advantages if winching and is easily adapted.
 
For mine I ground the button heads to the base of the hex recess then smoothed the knuckle a bit, I wouldn't grind any more on the knuckle for concern of the seals at full swing.
 
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The knuckle still doesn’t hit the steering stop, but before I took everything apart, there were some big dings in the shocks. I assumed that were related to getting into freaky positions while rock climbing. They looked like they were coming from the steering stop. I did not think about the potential for leaks. I was more worried about weakening the knuckles. :banghead:8F71C625-CB28-4E2B-B985-3E96AAA9BEA0.jpeg
 
Fresbone said:
The knuckle still doesn’t hit the steering stop, but before I took everything apart, there were some big dings in the shocks. I assumed that were related to getting into freaky positions while rock climbing. They looked like they were coming from the steering stop. I did not think about the potential for leaks. I was more worried about weakening the knuckles. :banghead:View attachment 83976
Click to expand...
I think that is from drooping the other side and turning. Used to happen to me, and I'd look at it and think, how'd that happen?
 
timsresort said:
I think that is from drooping the other side and turning. Used to happen to me, and I'd look at it and think, how'd that happen?
Click to expand...
No idea. I bought it last September and started taking it apart. It was like that in both front shocks. No doubt that someone was having a lot of fun.
 
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