Earlycj5.com

“Splicing got contagious”

Sparky — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 20:58:02 +0000

Forum member Long&Low had an extra cowl sitting around and a “normal” CJ-5 hood sitting around.

A little bit of creativity, and perhaps some inspiration from the flat fenders with “Willys” in the hoods and you get this.

Long&Low spliced the "JEEP" lettering from a spare cowl into his hood.

Looks like a really nice touch! Discuss project this in our forums.

Unbeatable! New ‘Jeep’ Overlander

Sparky — Sat, 14 Aug 2010 21:54:24 +0000

Chris Waters of Brisbane, Australia sent this brochure to me for the Jeep “Overlander”, a model that we never had here in the states. It’s an interesting mix of CJ and Willys utility vehicle looking items.

Thanks for the interesting bit of history, Chris.

Unbeatable! The new 'Jeep' Overlander, the cover of a sales brochure for the Jeep Overlander, sold in Australia.

More pictures of the brochure after the break.

Jeep Overlander Specifications

Jeep Overlander Description

Discuss this post in our forums in this thread.

The more things change

Sparky — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 16:10:59 +0000

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Yesterday I posted about some vintage photos taken of a CJ-5 camper from 1969. Today Mopar has announced that they are selling off-road camper trailers. Funny how things come back around.

Jeep and Mopar are the first in the industry to offer off-road camper trailers. For hard-core off-road enthusiasts, the Jeep Extreme Trail Edition camper ups the ante with a heavier frame, 35-inch BF Goodrich Mud Terrain tires, 15 inches of ground clearance, full underbody skid plate, high mounted fenders, and available 360-degree axis pintle hitch. The MSRP for the Jeep Extreme Trail Edition camper is $11,995.

From the Mopar Press release.

Jeep® and Mopar® Are First in Industry to Offer Off-road Camper Trailers Go Anywhere, Sleep Anywhere in Jeep® Camper Trailers from Mopar®

Campers accommodate four adults and feature a queen-size bed, sofa with stowable table, built-in aluminum cabinet, 110-volt power supply and a premium canvas enclosure
Camper trailers feature innovative engineering, capability and are designed and tested for Jeep off-road capability
For casual campers, the Jeep Trail Edition camper is designed to endure trails with its lightweight all-aluminum construction, 32-inch BF Goodrich Mud Terrain tires, 12 inches of ground clearance, trailing-arm suspension, diamond-plated aluminum covering, and available 360-degree axis pintle hitch
For hard-core off-road enthusiasts, the Jeep Extreme Trail Edition camper ups the ante with a heavier frame, 35-inch BF Goodrich Mud Terrain tires, 15 inches of ground clearance, full-underbody skid plate, high-mounted fenders, and available 360-degree axis pintle hitch
The all-new Jeep Trail Edition camper (MSRP: $9,995) and Extreme Trail Edition camper (MSRP: $11,995) may be ordered as Mopar accessories at local Jeep dealerships

July 20, 2010 , Auburn Hills, Mich.
Jeep® and Mopar® are setting up camp for off-road enthusiasts. They will be the first in the industry to offer customers off-road camper trailers.

“The Jeep brand is widely known for providing its customers with a sense of freedom and adventure, with a mix of vehicles to take them wherever they want to go,” said Mike Manley, President and Chief Executive Officer – Jeep Brand, Chrysler Group LLC. “Thanks to our friends at Mopar, the Jeep experience may now be taken to a new level. Families may hook up an off-road Jeep camper to their capable Jeep vehicle and enjoy an ultimate outdoor adventure that no other manufacturer can offer.”

Read the full press release from Mopar.

Barn Find, 1973 Super Jeep

Sparky — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 18:57:11 +0000

From the Great Lakes 4×4 website, via @weskibble, and the revho here in our own forums.

1973 Super Jeep RARE BARN FIND 1 OWNER

Worth a peek. Neat piece of history.

Photos of Swedish CJ-5s

Sparky — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 16:03:52 +0000

A Flickr contact, Razer1953 sent me a message that he’d found some photos I might be interested in. He was right.

731132 has some very interesting photos of CJ-5s in Sweden with some unique cabs. Head over to Flickr and check them out.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/32687125@N05/tags/cj5/

Let’s Go – Dedicated to all Earlycj5.com Members

Sparky — Mon, 24 May 2010 05:21:35 +0000

I think this is a first, we’ve had a forum member, Smokinidahoin (Matt DuCharme) write a song dedicated to us.

Forum member Uncle Bill is mentioned specifically, along with his Jeep “The Slug”.

Enjoy!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/32687125@N05/tags/cj5/

Now that’s how you fix a Jeep!

Sparky — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 21:39:39 +0000

http://jalopnik.com/5523289/now-thats-how-you-fix-a-jeep – Via Jalopnik.com

blevisay’s CJ-5 “Animal”

blevisay — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 15:02:55 +0000

Here is what I started with a 1960 CJ5 with a 134 F head , T90, Dana 18 ,25 upfront and a 44 in the rear.
The Jeep was given to me by my friend Jim, as well as the name.

Seems he got the jeep for his uncle to drive. I was told he found it in a tire store in Black Mountain NC and brought it back to Lorida Florida to fix up. Once he got it running it had no brakes and no clutch and somehow managed to hit the side of his new truck and his wife’s car in 2 separate incidents. The last straw is when he drove it into a lake. Having wanted a Willys Jeep I saw the opportunity to take this rouge Jeep off his hands.

He gave it to me and said “here take it away, this thing is an Animal“.

I towed my new prize home to Hollywood Florida on a borrowed lawn trailer from “Crazy Al”. Once home I had to learn how to start it and “dump” the x fer case in to get it off the trailer. It took a few tries and I soon had it down…or so I thought. I then parked it in the backyard for months having promised I would do a few things around the house before I got to play with my new toy. While waiting to begin work a hurricane was forecasted to hit South Florida, and my Jeep was in the danger zone.

grannyscj CJ-5 “Pete”

grannyscj — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 03:22:34 +0000

Pete started life as my Grandmother’s gift to herself (probably for putting up w/ Gpa for so many years). He was purchased from Arnold Wiebes in Visalia, CA. If I remember correctly when we first went and looked at them, all they had was the 4 bangers and my Dad talked her into the V6. They had a V6 coming in the next week and it just so happened to be in the Spruce Tip Green that she wanted. The purchase was made and we returned a week later to see the jeep sitting on the trailer. That part I remember only too well because I decided I had to see it before they took it off which resulted in me getting my tail busted by my Dad. He did relent and allowed me to ride home w/ Gma which was a huge thrill for a 8 yo boy who had never ridden in a new car. The trip home I begged Gma to give it to me when she was done driving. She was in her mid 40s then and I figured it couldn’t be more than 10-15 years.

Well I was wrong about that, she was still driving it up to about 2000. He sat out by the barn for a few years and she finally gave me the keys in February of ’06. Having driven Pete a lot over the years (what I learned to drive in), I decided to do a complete frame up restomod. My intent was to make him the off road vehicle I always dreamed about. My dreams weren’t too grandiose. I just wanted him to be stronger, safer, better looking, you know what I wanted for myself that never happened.

I am a graduate of Oklahoma State University so when it came to picking a theme it was a no brainer. Pete was donning new colors, orange and black. At first I had planned to paint him Omaha Orange, but was quickly vetoed by my wife Karla. She demanded black, and since I’m partial to sleeping in the house, black it was.

The build took about 2 years and every piece was sandblasted and painted, all gearboxes were rebuilt, engine resealed blasted and painted w/ Buick green from POR. Upgrades included 3″ Black Diamond lift, front disk brakes and eventually a D30, rear 15 gallon gas tank, rectangular tube bumpers front and back tied into the frame, swing out rear spare tire holder, u-bolt skids, and suspension seating in, you guessed it, orange and black. The paint is black metallic urethane base/clear coat, wheels are American Racing Outlaw IIs skinned w/ 33X10.50 BFG MT KMs, a Smittybilt 8K winch mounted on 1/4″ steel plate tied into the frame and recovery points, drivetrain is T14/D18/OD w/ a flanged D44 w/ Tracloc in back and the aforementioned D30 w/ Aussie locker up front w/ 4.88 gears and power steering. For creature comforts there is carpet backed w/ both jute and peel and stick sound deadener/heat shield, a Kenwood stereo, carpeted console w/ cup holders and CB, and of late a 26K BTU Heatercraft heater. In back we have either a matching orange and black seat or a Tuffy lock box depending on the trip requirements and covered w/ a Bestop soft top.

It’s a labor of love for me and, even though Karla claimed it as hers as soon as it was running, I am so glad I took the time to do it. We’ve been all over the border states wheelin’ and just cruisin’ and at least here in OK it gets a lot of looks. Last fall we took it up to Idaho and Washington for a short trip to Karla’s old stomping grounds and we continue to have a blast every chance we get. Here’s some pics. Enjoy.

Pete's home

Seen better days

Stripping down

Time to get to work

Progress

Smooth as a baby's butt

Frame done

Engine cleanup

Shiny

Engine paint

Ain't it purty

Tub, you're next

Engine back in frame

Not this clean ever again

Pete gets upgrades

Black Diamond lift

D27 w/ Chevy discs

Pete gets new shoes

Body prep

Bumpers

Rear front side

Rear back side

Tied into frame

Power steering

Winch

Front view

Rear view

Interior

Beverage holders

Muffler clamp jacbrac

Old farm jack

Kenwood stereo

Dana 30 and solid axle cover

Yukon gears and Aussie locker

Solid Axle cover on Dana 44

Say Hi to Pete

New disk brake conversion kit for tapered and flanged Early Jeep D44 Axles

Sparky — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 22:02:03 +0000

Finally a rear disc brake conversion for tapered and flanged CJ rear axles. These fit rear Dana 44′s and 41′s and some Willys PU and Wagon axles with Dana 44 rear axles. Available as complete kits or components only. The only machining needed is if you supply your own rotors, then only the outside diameter of the rotor needs machining about 1/8″. Anyone with a brake lathe should be able to do this. These kits use all off-the-shelf parts except the brackets. The first order of brackets should be in by next week, the week of Feb. 15, so these would make ideal Valentine’s Day Presents!

Contact R&P at 503-557-8911 or on their website, http://www.r-p4wd.com/.