• Registration trouble? Please use the "Contact Us" link at the bottom right corner of the page and your issue will be resolved.

1959 Cj-5 302 Swap. Help Me To Help Myself......

Well, the saga here continues…. Changed out the distributor and my timing is still all over the place everywhere…. So, pulled it out, and the cam DID get pretty worn with the old gear…. So new cam time…. Yay. Ordered that this morning, so that will be a treat when it arrives…..other than that, progress has been like the board here…. Not much happening to the outside, but a lot of behind the scenes work being done…..
 
ScottInAZ said:
back at it with the floorboards and firewall today. Got the final piece of the pie fitted. but not before the spool ran out, and I needed to get more wire... right when you get in a groove, the damn thing runs out. turns out I was using Forney wire before... Not real impressed with it. Got a spool of Lincoln this time, along with new contact tips, and it made a huge difference. Welds are a bit smoother, the arc was more stable, and I didnt blow through quite as much in the thin spots....

I need to final grind the fixed piece, then get the holes drilled for plug welds, and then I can screw it in for the last time... FINALLY... Im about as sick of working on that as y'all are of watching me do it.... This must have udders, cause Ive been milking the hell out of this job.... the rest should be easier, hopefully....

WBqUg7e.jpg


s9BhCrr.jpg


ZxmmEeX.jpg
Click to expand...
Looks good. Thanks for documenting your process with all the photos. I’m in the process of doing the same thing now.
 
back onto it this morning by starting the cam swap.... Have it mostly buttoned back up, but its time for a break.... the cam was FUBAR.... distributor drive gear nearly worn knife edged like the distributor gear... Im sticking a truck roller in it, as I couldnt find a Mustang one at a price I was willing to pay.... Will probably be better at "jeepin" speeds anyway.... Ill take some pics of the carnage later... its pretty bad. Im also taking this chance to get rid of the gear drive timing set... a good double roller will be a hell of a lot quieter....
 
ok, well, I never did finish it up today.... I did button up the engine to keep crap out of it, but Ill get it done tomorrow....

The cam was stamped with a couple of different numbers. the 4062YF came back as a flat tappet boat cam... which this isnt.... the E-1835-P howevercomes back as an Elgin Mustang HO roller camshaft with a usable range from 2000-4800 rpm with .499/.510 lift... which should need better valve springs... I dont know that this has them, so that was my reasoning for NOT getting a HiPo grind in the first place. Either way, I think the "TE" grind truck cam may be a better match for the Jeep.....

image0 - 2025-12-28T170536.709.jpeg

image1 (93).jpeg

it kinda sucks, because this cam doesnt have hardly any wear on it.... kinda like it was, I dunno, NEARLY BRAND NEW.... and the wrong distributor gears ate each other....
 
well, its mostly back together and running great. I still need to put the grille in and burp the radiator, but initial fireup went awesomely. Runs great with the new cam... You can tell its milder than the one that came out, but a side benefit is, it idles better now as well... Im gonna have to throw a timing light at it for final adjustment, but just seat of the pants and tuning by ear, its running a lot smoother without the timing bouncing all over hell and back....
 
alright, stick a fork in this job..... its done... Test drive went great. Runs all over "better" not being overcammed... timing is rock solid at 18 degrees initial. not bouncing around on the worn out cam gear. Idles smooth enough to balance a penny on the air cleaner now.... Quieter is nice as well... since I leave for work at 0430, the neighbors should appreciate that.... I probably lost some horsepower and torque, but where it was in the powerband would be useless in the Jeep... getting off the line is still as easy as it was before....
 
ahhh... yeah thats a lot better. Put some miles on the Jeep in traffic today, and having some power at idle is great... the other cam didnt start making anything til 2000, and it was all done at 5000.... pretty useless in the Jeep... you just start hitting the top of the gear, and when you shift, its below the powerband.... not anymore... Some of the previous owners choices were suspect, and we will add the cam choice to it..... If it had been an idle-5000 cam, that would have been ideal, but you you dont rock crawl or offroad at 2k unless you hate your clutch...
 
Back to work on this project. After getting side tracked through the winter, the wife finally had enough, and put her foot down.... get the Jeep going, or no more guns.... Its been running great since the cam swap, but with only one seat, its pretty useless unless its just me... So, being the smartass I am, I bought seats for it on the spot, and then went and picked up a new gun the next morning... New seats arrived today.... so I pulled the old one out, and the mount will need some doctoring to fit again... the new mount pattern is wider in all dimensions, so I need to cut the mount apart and redo the main straps to pick up the seat. Once mine is done, which should take about an hour (and will actually take the rest of the weekend, the way my luck goes), I will start on her seat, which should be a near mirror image of mine. again, something that should take about an hour to make, will probably end up being next weekend, when the 3rd seat for my son should be here, and that one WILL take a bit longer, as its gonna be an offroad style bucket mounted centrally in the bed on a swivel so I can lift him in and out easily through the tailgate. His seat belts will be welded to the seat mounting frame, which will be semi-easily removeable so I can still use the back area when he isnt riding with me. There isnt enough room for "stuff" otherwise.... Ill post up some pics tomorrow when I get my seat redone, and there is more light for working....
 
ok, some progress made, but of course, its been a bit more involved than it first seems.... Got my seat frame modified, but I still have to rigid mount my seat... Height wise, if I dont, Im taller than the rollbar, and I cant see out the windshield. Rigid mounting puts the seat where the old one was, which while not ideal, was pretty good.... short people need not apply.... Wifes seat is still on blocks, but I have the height where it needs to be, and she has actually sat in it for testing.... Had to section her rear fenderwell to get about another 2" of clearance backwards for her knees.... she isnt tall, but these Jeeps musta been designed for midgets, or at least not for the seats we are using.... Off to Ace to get some steel, and a roll of wire so I can start putting it all together for good.....

heres a few of the mockups... Its looking pretty good to me

https://imgur.com/ToyqPs3


https://imgur.com/U4NVajz
 
I love the old CJs, but at 6’4” (and shrinking as I age), I do not fit well in them. This was one of my motivations for converting my CJ2a into a truck and building the cab to fit my frame (I added 5” for enough seat room in the new cab). It was a pretty radical approach to solving this issue, but I now have an old jeep I can enjoy.

The struggle is real for tall folks in old CJs…
 
cj2atruck said:
I love the old CJs, but at 6’4” (and shrinking as I age), I do not fit well in them. This was one of my motivations for converting my CJ2a into a truck and building the cab to fit my frame (I added 5” for enough seat room in the new cab). It was a pretty radical approach to solving this issue, but I now have an old jeep I can enjoy.

The struggle is real for tall folks in old CJs…
Click to expand...

Yeah, Im not gonna say I regret getting the CJ-5, but I wish I would have gotten a CJ-7 instead..... that extra room is much needed, honestly.... I have enough to be "functional", but I wouldnt call it "comfortable'.... with anything approaching modern seats, its a challenge to get everything to fit in such a short wheelbase.

at least the seats are in. I will install the seatbelt for the wife next week... I need to get nuts for the mounting bolts, and frankly, today I cant be bothered.... I got everything else done, so installing the belts shouldnt take too long..... hopefully... worst part will be drilling and welding in the nut in the roll bar for the shoulder belt mount.... and that aint too bad.
 
and finally, I put a hitch on the back.... I was anticipating this being a huge PITA, but it wasnt bad really. I thought it hung lower than it does, and was ready to weld some supports back to the frame to limit the bending moment from the drop... I dont think I will need them at this point, but will add them in the future if it looks sketchy(er). Just waiting on the hardware store to open in a couple hours to get some 7/16 grade 8 bolts to make it permanent. I have 1/4" steel plates made for the back of the frame bracket to keep that from bending all to hell, and the inner bolts are about 3/4: outboard of the frame itself. Should be plenty strong, I hope... its only gotta tow around the yard, and then my firewood/trash trailer around town.

also finally got around to ordering a tailgate for it, that should be here this week sometime... then I can see how far forward the rear seat is gonna have to sit for clearance. My luck I would bolt it down, then get a tailgate and find out nothing fits.....

https://imgur.com/igncX0l
 
well, tailgate and hinges are ordered... got the tailgate on scAmazon, so it should be here this week, the hinges I got off Ebay.... and ended up being from India... we will see if they ever arrive... I may have to come up with a backup plan on those... I can see them taking a good while to show up, if they ever do....
 
tailgate hinges are fabricated, and the tailgate is ON. I am still waiting for the hinges I ordered off Ebay to arrive, but I didnt want to not have the tailgate on.... so I made some hinges... they arent true reproductions, but they are functional. Just a bit of 1/2" pipe welded to a 1/4" steel strap... I missed the width of the strap a bit, so I just drilled new holes for mounting... oh well... stuff happens. Ill make the chains up for it later today when I get some 1/8" link stuff (hopefully the fleet/farm store has some....) I got 1/4" link yesterday, and its just visibly too "heavy" for the application... I also need to fix the left side latch point... its all bent to hell, and slightly too far inboard for the tailgate to be free moving... its nearly torn off anyway, so no biggie...

https://imgur.com/yTFbzLg

Its held with one 5/16 stud, its what I had, so its what I used.... :D

https://imgur.com/hTQKG3Y

I painted the "Willys" logo with a paint marker... I wanted it to stand out as a REAL "Willys" and not the Dildo model trim package on new Jeeps.....
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom