50buck5

Finally started to build my 50 dollar cj so figured I’d make a thread if anyone is interested in following.

current plan for everything:
All aluminum 5.3/sm465/Dana300
Dana 44 out of a 70s wagoneer in the front
Dana 44 out of a isuzu in the rear
Cj5 2.5” rear lift spring for the rear and Cj2A 2.5” rear lift string in the front (found these incredibly hard to find since all the aftermarket companies are starting to stop supporting the early jeeps)
No shocks yet
35x12.5r15 tires for now but building for 37s
Shooting for 90”+ wheelbase but also want it to look visually good.

 

Sounds like a neat build. Way to go reviving an old CJ. I’m just wondering about your suspension choice of front CJ2a springs? They’re really short…like only 36”…especially for 35’s or 37’s. Just curious really.

 

Im using rear spring for a 2a up front, I see I left that part out. Theyre 40"s long so a bit longer then a cj5 front spring and should run about 10 inches of travel, theres a could flat fender guys running the same combo and work really well. I didnt want to go with to long of a front spring so I can push the front foward a couple inches

 

Where are you Located?

 

Sounds cool. If you are building for 37's, the rear 44 might be a little light, especially if you go in the rocks at all. I'm curious to see your 5.3-465-300 combo. What do you use for a bellhousing on a 5.3?

 

Depends on how the D44 is put together. I went through this decision a couple years back, tossing around 9"/D44 merits and demerits about before finally deciding to stick with a D44. I haven't seen too many D44 busted ring and pinions due to inadequate strength. It is usually the axle shafts or side gears that give and both of those can be addressed with good aftermarket parts/lockers. Part of this most definitely hinges on the vehicle weight and an aluminum block is a great way to go.

 

I am in Michigan

Sbc bell housings are the same except for the top bolt. I had this motor in my tj but with a th350 and beat on it for years without any issues. I used a fly wheel out out of a newer 1500 Chevy and clutch is from the same year truck as the trans. The 44s should hold up fine to 37s with proper strategy and throttle control. Bouncing and binding are the biggest things. That being said there’s not to many rocks here in Michigan

 

I just relocated to the tawas/Oscoda area

 

What year CJ5? It's much easier to swap an LS into a 72 and later then an early one. But both are certainly possible. It took me two years to build my 65 from the ground up.

Mike

 

This one is a 69. V8 is definitely tight but I cut the grill apart and shoved the motor back. With the rear axles pushed back still have plenty of drive shaft

 

Small update rolled the old girl out of the garage to clean and stand back to look at everything. Most of the suspension is final welded, added some heavy duty rock sliders that are connected to the frame for future roll cage attach points, seat are mounted to the sliders as well and now working of redoing the floors, trans cover, and filling in the holes I cut the wheel wells out to move the seats back. Also we got the YJ swing Pedals for the brakes and clutch hung but can’t find the pictures. Finally decided to see how the suspension traveled to make sure we’ll have room for the steering and anything else that might be in the way.

 

Steering and cooling systems were the trickiest parts of mine. The LS motor mounts and the shorty headers don't leave much room for a steering shaft. I had to add u-joints and carrier bearings and go under the motor mount. The cooling system fitment will depend on how far back you managed to push the motor. I can still get my hand between the back of the engine and the firewall. One nice trick is to use a Corvette or CTS damper pulley and and a single wide water pump. it saved almost 2 inches off the overall engine length compared to using the truck damper and pulleys. Then I used two smaller fans so they fan motors wouldn't interfere with the water pump.

Mike

 

As of right now the radiator I have will fit in the gap with about an inch to spare. But that’s with the big bulky headlights out going to get some cheap leds for now to see if it will still fit then switch to Holley retro brights in the future. For steering I was planing to use my tj Saginaw box and tj steering column, it looks like it should fit but thinking about switching to a Toyota box that will mount the outside of the frame rail. I’m also cutting out the old inner fenders and making new ones with will give me a bit more room to work with. The yj booster and master sticks out to far with the raised fenders. Also debating about switching to a Astro van hydro boost brake set up to save some space but we will see. Need to get the suspension and bump stops done and see how much room is left. Hard to make progress when the jeep is a 3 hour drive away.

 

I ended up shaving the the back of the headlight buckets in addition to the grill shroud. Then I used a set of cheap super thin LED headlights from Amazon that are about 1 1/2 inch thick in total. They aren't the best headlights, but they work fine for now. I have room for something a little bigger, but most LEDs won't fit. One of the things I wish I'd done is to use a hydraulic throw out bearing instead of the stock type GM slave cylinder for the clutch. The slave cylinder forced me to use the Advance Adapters center dump headers. I had planned to use a set of Hooker cast headers, but the driver side dumped directly into the slave cylinder. The Hooker headers would likely have made the steering routing easier.

I used a Jeep ZJ steering box and moved it as far forward as it would fit on the frame. I also did a shackle reversal, and the whole thing works really well. I kept the GM power steering pump and converted all the hoses to AN-6 fittings and made my own power steering lines to fit where I needed them too. I did the same with the clutch line, just using AN-4 instead of -6. I also relocated the power steering reservoir higher and back, as it was the most forward point on the motor with the vette style accessories.

The next clearance issue might be the intake routing. I had to source a cobra head intake elbow from intakehoses.com to clear the radiator from the throttle body. I have a TBSS intake and FiTech 92mm throttle body and this was just the right size.

Putting the drive train in was the easy part. Most people don't realize how much time all this other stuff takes. Keep up the good work. You will love it when it's done.
Mike

 

Just realized I watched all your videos before going with the ls power plant. I never thought about using AN lines for power steering and clutch, going to look into that now. But Im using block hugger headers and the novak hydro clutch set up for simplicity. Trying to find homes for everything is on of the hardest parts about building these little jeeps.

Ive been debating if we want to flip the intake and run it through the fire wall. This will put the air filter up behind the dash and out of the way. With this jeep being so low and my brother living where theres some deeper water crossings I think its the best idea

I have a extended weekend coming up so Ill be tinkering away and get some more pictures to share.

 

You can put the intake behind the dash, lots of hardcore trail rigs do this. However, it is very noisy. I need to do an update video on the Jeep. Nothing much has changed since the last video, other than moving from the VI to Virginia and driving it and adding a heater. But I never did a driving impressions video. I'm glad they were of some use to you.

Mike

 

Got to fiddle some more this weekend. Got almost all the front suspension final welded, cut out the old crossmember that’s in the engine bay and put a new one it farther forward to make room for my giant radiator.