Second Chance: Texas 1965 CJ5

It's been a long time since I've come around these parts, I've been learning in my short 25 years of life that life has a funny way of taking you around in circles. My first attempt at restoring a 1972 CJ5 ended abruptly after finishing my time in the Marine Corps, getting divorced, bouncing around (bar hopping) from North Carolina to South Carolina, and from SC back home to Texas. Somewhere in the midst of the chaos I had to lighten my load by letting go of my project, along with thousands of dollars that I had invested in it. I was really bummed about letting it go; not only because I never even go to drive it or the money that I lost, but more so because I failed to finish a goal I had set for myself.

I sold the CJ back in November of last year in preparation for the move to Texas. Fast forward to August 1st of this year. I was scrolling through craigslist looking at CJ's as I periodically do, and came across an ad for a 1965 CJ5 which was apparently in amazing condition. It had been in the same family since the late 70's and had been put up in a barn since 1992. I took the remarks about its condition for a grain of salt since *everybody's* vehicle for sale is in amazing condition, but I was still compelled to call on it. The PO and I face timed each other and he gave me a video tour of the JEEP. Knowing enough about what to look for when scouting out a new project this time around, I had him show me through all the common problem areas and everything. To my surprise, the CJ was the epitome of a barn find. The tires are even still good on the thing. Everything original is still there and in tact, no extra holes in the dash, and most importantly, NO RUST! The bottoms of the seats even have the original burlap under the springs. Ok I've typed way to much. Here's the pictures.















So the run-down is a completely unmolested 1965 JEEP CJ5, original f-head, t-90, d18, d27/d44 and a factory installed Koenig PTO winch. Guess I need to update my signature now 8)

 

"I failed to finish a goal I had set for myself."

Now that's the old Marine Corps Spirit , Welcome back!....Carry on Soldier!

 

Very Nice Jeep.

 

Welcome back !! About time Best of luck on the new Jeep, looks like a nice one.

 

Sweet. Looks like a great place to jump back in!

 

Do you even do anything to a JEEP that nice? That's amazing! :drool:

 

To be honest, that's the question I've been asking myself as well. Taking the tub off an early CJ is much less invasive than a later model which would allow me to clean and paint the frame and all the components, run new brake lines easier etc., but I'm afraid if I go down that road I'll get lost in the weeds and I'm DEFINITELY not trying to do that again. :mehh:

On top of that, I honestly have never seen an early CJ in such amazing condition. I mean, look.




I'm assuming the reason the passenger seat isn't pleated is because it was dealer installed? ::?:


original burlap still in tact under passenger seat


There's not even rust in the toolbox




you can still make out the "4 Wheel Drive" stencil in the right light




I think these are the only things that aren't original

Aside from that, the only thing that appears to have ever been touched is where someone (poorly) wired in a trailer light harness.





As far as body damage goes, Here's the worst of it (in the usual places)





Before I get any further into this thread, let me tell you where I'm working on this at. When I moved back to Texas I stumbled across a job at a classic auto restoration shop, specializing in frame-off restorations. I took the owner a small portfolio of some pictures I had from the last JEEP along with an f-100 I did and some other smaller things and he hired me on the spot. Now my workday consists of restoring amazing vehicles such as these:







Back to the JEEP. I pulled the engine out last week because it is frozen. hard. It has been soaking in Marvel mystery oil for almost 3 weeks now and still won't budge. I threw it on a stand and removed the head and oil pan to see what was going on. The oil pan was clean with no metal and all the rods look to be in one piece so I'm assuming it is just stuck from sitting in a barn since 1992. Either that or that's why it has been sitting in a barn since 1992.



All I'm really doing with the JEEP for now is writing a list of required things to repair/replace to get this pig back up and running. Once it is driving I'll start working on details. I'm also letting the engine soak a little longer to see if it breaks loose. If so, I'll probably just clean and paint it and throw it back in. Buuut it's never quite that simple. I noticed the water pump had a chunk missing off of it when I pulled it off so I need to track that down as well.




I work on my Jeep for an hour or two after work most days so I'm taking the relaxed approach this time with no deadlines or time crunches to stress me out. Not to mention the access I have to every specialty tool I would possibly need to add to the ease of this project, which at some point last time I forgot was supposed to be fun.

 

Sounds like a great job to me; all the tools you'll ever need. Yep that Jeep looked like a great deal besides the engine problem.

 

Wow, congrats on a great find!

Mike

 

Got the engine broken loose last week. The cylinder walls looks great after cleaning them up with a scotch pad and some 1500 grit.



I just pulled out all the brake lines to replace today while I'm waiting to order a new gasket set for the engine and a water pump repair kit. I'm going to try just cleaning up the fuel pump assembly because even the rebuild kits for them are $80.

 

the further I get inside of this JEEP the more amazed I am at the condition of this thing. I spent a few hours today knocking off all the years of mud and grease off the transmission/transfer case/ PTO. It still has a lot of the black paint on it all.



Its not clean enough to eat off of, but its clean enough to handle now.

I also got to thinking about possible ways to remove the rattle can red off of the original paint. The PO just sprayed right over the clear coat without any prep work so I scrubbed some acetone and soapy water on the hood with a scotch pad and the red just melted off, revealing an awesome patina on the original paint.




Depending on how it turns out on the rest of the body I'm planning on leaving the original paint on it. I've decided that this JEEP is just too original and still in too good of condition to do a full restoration on at the moment, so my plan is to clean it up, fix only what is necessary, and get this pig back up and running. I'm still waiting on some engine parts (gaskets, water pump rebuild kit, motor mounts) so when those get in the drivetrain will go back in. In the mean time I'm bending some new brake lines and freshening up the brake components, as well as cleaning up the wiring.