Making My CJ5 Into A CJ6/II

He isnt.....

 

c'mon Steve, no flip-flops on the job site.

 

A few more pictures:




Bet you have not seen these for a while................Armstrong Tru-Tracs





My old Bantam trailer that made many trips was also stored at my buddies place.

Hey who put the junk in it?

After a short trailer ride...........a stop at the quarter car wash.....my old friend is finally back Home!

 

Your story is incredible. Your Jeep seems to have survived the test of time in grand fashion. If it were me, I could not make any major mods to it. I think it is beautiful just as it sits!

Congrats on being reunited with an old friend!

 

cant wait to see it cut up and laying all over the garage

ps nice stamped conc

 

I just notice the reg. holder on the steering column. Boy, does that bring back some memories...

 

Well , It's been a long trip for my old 65 CJ5.............and I'm glad you have come along for the ride so far..........but the rest of the story really starts right now.

After putting that Jeep into storage around 1980 and then finally getting it back home in 2012 ............thirty-two long years had gone by. Even though I was busy elsewhere with Life , Family, Business, some Hunting and Drag Racing , every time I seen an old Jeep or picked up a 4-wheel drive Magazine my eye's would glass over with emotion and the reality that someday I would get my old friend back home. The real reality check may have come one day when I stopped by my old friends the Archer Brothers Jeep business in my home town but found only a vacant lot!

During that period there were vivid memories of things that I liked about how it performed and also things that I disliked. I continued to daydream about things that would make this Jeep even more capable than it ever was before.........but not taking anything away from it's past performance and the obstacles and rough terrain that I though at it on many trips , which brought us all home safely each time with minimal issues. In fact If it wasn't for my desire to make it into something more capable............the story could have just ended the day I brought it home with a little freshening up of the motor and gear boxes.....but that simplicity is just not part of my DNA.

And before I go any further I have to first say Thanks to a site like Early CJ5.......lets face it..... in the Jeep World time has passed me by. All the people that I knew that Jeeped years back are doing something different , so for all of the great folks on this site and all of the great builds and subjects that are hashed out on here my reconstruction of my old friend will have a little bit of everyone's input and Ideas.

Improvements like: Steering, Better Brakes, Suspension, axle's, Transmission, maybe fuel Injection , maybe a motor change and now that I'm older a real heater that works.

First on my list is to attack the old Saginaw Manual gear box that I installed years back when I put the Buick V6 in there about 1973 or so............And in my humble opinion If someone is thinking about doing a Saginaw Upgrade which is a great improvement go to power first and forget the stop at the manual box..........the difference between the old Ross and the Manual Saginaw going down the road is an Improvement. But slow speed turning , off road , larger tires , parking and soft surfaces there is hardly a difference between the two.


Not allot of space here between the old Warn Winch and the manual Saginaw box.........so putting the Power gear box in here now, which is larger in size will test my skills.

 

Thanks again Tarry. Great story. I too would have some very mixed emotions cutting that up and probably would leave it as a 5. A person actually needs at least two old Jeeps. One to keep more or less stock and another to do whatever the hell you want to do to it. That is assuredly the only reason my 5 is sort of unmolested. Were the seats originally black?

Oh, you can save that nightstand with a little work.

 

John, look at #4 .................Stock Blue Vinyl 60/40 seats............color matched to the exterior! Who said Willys did not have any taste or class?..................I did change seats a few times and ended up with a stock like low back seat as you now see.

 

Yep, this is a great story. I love this type of thing. I'm diggin' those old coil over shocks. It will be interesting to watch this project progress.

 

cut it up ,,,,,,cut it up!!!!!

 

I get so excited when i see this thread pop up. Can't wait to see it cut in half!

 

I've already seen it ,,,,and it's spectacular haha

 

Cheater!

 

I get special privileges,,,since we are in the same club

 

Before I could get at the steering I had to first establish a new ride height which means I need to get the suspension underneath it first. Lift springs? No , never seen any I really liked or that had a decent ride.
Lets face it if you want lift you first have to increase the spring rate and arch to hold the vehicle up higher ....and what do you get? Will of course a higher Jeep but also a much harsher ride. Or you can go to the stock 9 or 10 leaf spring packs and that ride is also terrible. There is a better solution and that is a lifted longer spring......the length slows the frequency of the rebound down which produces a much nicer ride and greater articulation. There is a slight trade off when using a spring of that type but I'll get into that a little later..........
Ed & Gary Holbrook of Holbrook Specialties have been at the Jeep Business since 1969 in Gladstone , Oregon about 20 minutes South of Portland. There Jeeps and the improvements they have made to them are certainly legendary. Years back they developed a Long Leaf spring system for the early and later CJ's that consist of a Military wrapped spring pack with teflon buttons between the leaves & offset center pins on a spring that is about 8 inches longer than the stock spring. They do this by relocating the inside spring hangers at both ends towards the middle. I know many people that swear by the smooth ride and increased articulation and that is the springs that I will be using..............they do give you about a 3" net lift and are pretty easy to install that will require welding of the new inner perch. Although Holbrook has done the math on where to place the inside hangers I like to load the suspension with weight and in this case Sand Bags so there is no guessing.

OLD REAR

OLD FRONT

NEW LONG LEAVES FRONT WITH SUSPENSION HANGING

NEW SPRINGS WITH WEIGHT APPLIED.........THE SHACKLE SHOULD BE EITHER SLIGHTLY LEANING TOWARDS THE SPRING OR NEAR VERTICAL. ONCE THE SPRING SETTLES THE SPRING LENGTH WILL INCREASE AND THE SHACKLE WILL LEAN FORWARD IN THE FRONT OR TOWARDS THE REAR ON THE REAR SET..........THIS SYSTEM ALSO COMES WITH STEEL WEDGES FOR THE REAR TO CORRECT PINION ANGLE. NOTHING IS NEEDED UP FRONT AS THE CENTER PIN IS OFFSET ON THE ARCH.


IN THIS NEXT PHOTO IF YOU LOOK CLOSELY YOU CAN SEE THE OLD STOCK REAR SPRING HANGER AND BEHIND IT THE NEW ONE FOR THE LONGER SPRING.

 

Hey Tarry I can take that soft top off your hands for you

 

Hey Kyle, I'm sure we can work something out..............call me when you have a chance.

 

Same story here. Traded my 67' 340 V-8 Buick Skylark (same color) for a truck.

 

Well back to the build.........suspension in......... but just temporary for right now. Weight in the vehicle looks to have everything in the correct position , but I only have one bolt in each new spring hanger plus they still have to be welded. I'll wait till everything else is done, then maybe take it for a ride around the corner , add a little bit of flex and movement , take one more look at the shackle angles , square everything up, drill the second hole then weld them up for good.

Next I need to get a D-30 front Narrow Track open knuckle axle up under that Jeep before attacking the steering...........found a 1978 "large brake" 6 bolt version which came as a factory option in 1977 & 1978 with the Warn Premium hubs and the 6 bolt HD bearing hubs and 6 bolt caliper bracket. These also had the 1.125" thick vented rotors all factory with a single 3.00" bore piston. Most people that have these rave about the extra stopping power along with the vented rotors that do not fade as the solid disc's rotors will. Notwithstanding the D-30 narrow track will bolt right in any CJ model as the spring perch width remained unchanged at 27.5" C/C width , which covers just about all of the CJ's and adds another 3 inches in overall width up front which is another great benefit! The D-30 will work fine for a tire up to 35"-36" with a powr-lok and a little finesse on the go pedal.
All of the tubing used and the brackets are all 4130 Chrome moly.

LOOKING AT THIS AXLE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT AN AXLE BRACE FOR THE HOUSING........THIS MIGHT WORK IF I WAS DOING COILS BUT NOT FOR LEAVES.

THIS WILL WORK JUST FINE SINCE THE SHORT SIDE REALLY DOESN'T NEED MUCH HELP.


A LITTLE TIG WELDING

AND ON THE HOUSING..........HERE YOU HAVE TO PRE AND POST HEAT THE HOUSING TO ABOUT 500 DEGREES & WELD WITH 309 STAINLESS ROD AND THEN SLOW COOL IT FOR ABOUT 4 HOURS DOING SO WITH A WELDING BLANKET COVERING THE HOUSING ALONG WITH SOME MOVING BLANKETS ON TOP OF IT PLUS A SMALL HEATER PIPING IN HOT AIR .....ONCE ITS DOWN TO 100 DEGREES THEN YOU CAN CUT THE HEATER OFF AND LEAVE IT THERE OVERNIGHT.