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1983 DJ-5M I just acquired

Discussion in 'Intermediate CJ-5/6/7/8' started by faultymechanics, Apr 4, 2014.

  1. Apr 8, 2014
    faultymechanics

    faultymechanics New Member

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    Question, you put a cj5 windshield on your dj, was the seam on the bottom of your dj as close to the cowl as it is in mine?
     
  2. Apr 8, 2014
    Mr. Gangrene Jeans

    Mr. Gangrene Jeans I See Voices&Hear Visions

    Kansas City
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    I believe so, if you look at the first few pictures you can see the line on the cowl where I popped the spot welds loose to free the top.
    Thinking back it was a bit more work than I first remembered. Don't recall the inside being spot welded to the dash. The dash board was just flat, not rolled over, I changed to a later model ('73) seen as blue in one of the pictures. CJ hinges will fit up into the DJ windshield posts, the wiper/defog area is not closed off when you remove it like I did.
    As stated, it can become a lot of work and expense. Can hardly believe how much I have tied up in such a simple little project.
    The long standing word to the wise is fix the brakes first, then the steering, make it run, then work on it while you can still enjoy driving it.
    Best of luck in your pursuit.
     
  3. Apr 22, 2014
    faultymechanics

    faultymechanics New Member

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    Finally got home to check the Jeep out. From the front of the tub, right after the pedals back to the step up into the rear is basically rotted on the floors. PO, rivetted and welded and bondo'd new metal over the old rotting metal so it made things worse. There are also spots around the jeep that he smeared bondo over that are now nice big holes. The frame from about halfway up looks brand new, the back however is flakey and needs sanding. Spring bump stops (I think) rotted off the back so that needs replacing. Also the very end of the passenger side frame is rotted completely away.

    Now I don't know if it is worth trying to save the tub or just putting a CJ-5 tub on it. Found a fiberglass tub for 150 that has two cracks that need repair. I was wondering what goes into that tub swap and if it is pretty straight forward. Maybe cut my mail jeep tub a bit forward from the firewall so I can keep the RHD firewall and not have to do fab work on that. Then just patch on the new CJ-5 Tub, with idk, metal? Or would I use fiberglass? I want to keep the dj-5 grill.


    Problem is I fell in love with the little death cubes looks and the sliding doors, but I just don't know if it is worth saving. I'd like to say yes, but I also think a cj-5 could be cool to make with the DJ-5 front, and RHD.
     
  4. Apr 24, 2014
    Daryl

    Daryl Sponsor

    Bonney Lake, WA
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    A rusted out DJ body should just be put out of it's misery. What does it have for a rear axle? If titled as a 1983 it could go two ways. If the bolt pattern is 5 on 5 1/2 it should be a Dana 44. If it is 5 on 4 1/2 it is a Dana 35. If it is a Dana 35 just walk away from the whole thing, get whatever pennies you can for it and get another project.
     
  5. Apr 24, 2014
    gunner

    gunner Member

    Washington state...
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    100% correct advice.

    I think the 83s were the Dana 35.

    See, that's the problem with the postals- they have terrible rust problems that are not noticeable till you start tearing into it. They are purpose-built vehicles that don't easily bend to your will. They are generally beat up.

    My DJ has a great frame and repairable body, but so much else has been rebuilt or replaced or modified. Outside of the rebuild for the 153 Chevy 4 banger, I've kept the costs low by frequenting the picknpull and craigslist. But it's a lot of work.

    Doesn't sound like yours is worth the effort or expense. Sounds like you are at that point where you might want to consider pulling useable parts off it (fenders, 11" brakes, steering column, etc) and junking the rest.

    These things are like women and buses- there'll be another one along....
     
    Last edited: Apr 24, 2014
  6. Apr 24, 2014
    faultymechanics

    faultymechanics New Member

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    Sorry if I gave the wrong impression. The body is very salvageable. It hasbad front floors which I can easily get pans for and just one spot on the frame to repair. Rest of the frame looks brand new. Motor runs and looks good front clip looks brand new. Everything mechanically is nice. I am just not sure if I should through a cj5 tub on it. This is solely a super cheap project. I'm gonna use it to cruise around with high gearing and red...then sell it for whatever when I can.
     
  7. Apr 24, 2014
    faultymechanics

    faultymechanics New Member

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    Rwd not red
     
  8. Apr 24, 2014
    gunner

    gunner Member

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    OK. As a suggestion, based on personal experience, look closely at the area where the sliding doors attach to the steel top. The sheet metal in there is layered several deep and if the rain gutter caulking is bad, the moisture will start to rot it out badly. Also look at the area just below the windshield and above the cowl. These are fixable (I did them on mine) but really increase the work load.

    Daryl and I both live on the we(s)t side of the mountains here in WA state and postals here suffer some real bad rot. The way you described it sounded like what we see here all the time.
     
  9. Apr 24, 2014
    faultymechanics

    faultymechanics New Member

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    Yeah mine is just worked over on the floors and bottom corners and part of the rear passenger frame. I mean body is rough but nothing super rotted other than floors. As far as I can tell. I'll check the slides but the top of the jeep and windshield all looked really good. I'm just wondering if I should just cj5 it. Though I really like the mail jeep look.
     
  10. Apr 24, 2014
    faultymechanics

    faultymechanics New Member

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    The gutter part of the jeep all had a rubber seal. Should I peel that baby back?
     
  11. Apr 24, 2014
    Alan28

    Alan28 Well-Known Member 2022 Sponsor

    Châtillon en...
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    According to what you discover, maybe better to do nothing on it and drive it like it is. In some weeks, months, you will be able to decide if good to spend money on your DJ or not.
     
  12. Apr 24, 2014
    jeepermc

    jeepermc Active Member

    Western WA
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    My .02-

    The postal roof looks to provide a good overall structure to keeping the rest of the cube intact. I think if you cut the roof off it may just splay out 3 ways. In other words, the roof is likely integral to the basic structure of the body and if cut off, you may end up with a very flimsy tub left over that is even less safe than the death cube you currently have.
     
  13. Apr 25, 2014
    gunner

    gunner Member

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    Death cube:twisted:

    Here is what I did with the top on my DJ: I kept it but removed the sliding doors and repaired the rain gutters (I built and welded in new gutters on the sides. The rear gutter was fine). I removed the rear door but welded in a tailgate and used the part of the rear door where the window glass is. It will not swing out, but be bolted in and removable. I reinforced the windshield in two places (tough to explain; a pic would easily show it)

    The steel top is ruggedly built on the DJs (at least partially due, IMO, to the stresses put on the top by the sliding doors, which are hung from the rain gutter area and weigh a ton). The sides and back of it are well supported near the forward part of the wheel well and also at the back corners. The sheet metal used is one continuous piece on each of the sides, corners and around to the back door area. The windshield is supported by the top, the wind/rain gutters running vertically just forward of the doors and the panel just below the glass. The weak point is the roof itself as it is welded on but not much reinforced (it's also thinner sheet metal than the sides). I think that once the sliding doors are removed and CJ-style door sills are fabricated and welded in, the top is quite strong- vastly stronger than any aftermarket metal top on a CJ.

    My thinking went something like this: I'm ditching the side and back doors but want to keep a weather tight top; what can I do to make that happen? Took mere minutes to figure that part out. Substantially looooonger to make it happen....

    If the top was removed, I don't think the jeep body would "splay" out, especially with a tailgate. There are enough similarities with a CJ body to say with some confidence that a DJ body would hold up fine if the top was removed. But once removed, you still need to form the edges somehow so you don't have raw sheet metal there, you need a tailgate and you need to build up some CJ door sills (unless you don't mind the "step-thru" look). By the time you do all that, might as well get a CJ body (and that's not taking into account the work required of moving to a LHD with pedals, building seat mounts, getting a soft top to fit, etc.)

    I think the rubber seal on the rain gutter is just a cosmetic thing to hide the sliding door mechanism. If you intend to keep the sliding doors, you should preserve that seal.
     
    Last edited: Apr 25, 2014
  14. Apr 25, 2014
    Daryl

    Daryl Sponsor

    Bonney Lake, WA
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    I just sold a totally rust free CJ tub for $300. Unless you are really bored and need something about as exciting as watching paint dry, there really is no benefit of any kind working on a DJ tub.
     
  15. Apr 26, 2014
    gunner

    gunner Member

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    At that price, it's not worth saving a rusty CJ tub much less a DJ.

    The work done on my DJ tub didn't cost much in $ terms but a lot in terms of time. The time spent on it increased my metal working skills tremendously. Better than any shop class far as I'm concerned. I can now visualize solutions to problems and challenges in the build in a way I never had a clue about before. No doubt others have found the same thing.

    The OP should guard against thinking he's going to get out of it without spending money or lots of time. But that describes the jeep hobby, doesn't it?
     
  16. Apr 28, 2014
    faultymechanics

    faultymechanics New Member

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    Time is what I have, and of course money will go into it but it is going to be a low budget build. Already have a CJ-7 I am building and that takes a ton of money and time as well.
     
  17. Apr 28, 2014
    jeepermc

    jeepermc Active Member

    Western WA
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    Without any kind of door sill fabricated to keep the front cowl area and the rear bed area together there is zero strength in the tub once you remove the roof.
     
  18. Apr 29, 2014
    gunner

    gunner Member

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    You might be right about that. The postal body is like much construction where the integrity of the overall structure depends on every part remaining intact. But I have seen pics of postals where guys have severed the top and never put in door sills. Looks funky, but I never heard one indicate structural problems.

    The body lines of a CJ are impossible to beat, whether you are a flat fender or round fender fan. A chopped DJ won't fit in- it's just never going to have that look. That's why if I hadn't wanted to keep my steel top I would have just put a CJ body on the DJ frame.
     
  19. Apr 29, 2014
    gunner

    gunner Member

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  20. Apr 29, 2014
    gunner

    gunner Member

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    Here is my effort at fabricating door sills for a DJ. It's been since primered. The filler is only as much as it is because the DJ body needed a little help and it required that much to get it to blend in; the sill was straight.

    Notice the lower left corner- it's a 90 degree instead of a curve- did that because the inside area of the aluminum doors I bought at the swap meet are angled down there and not rounded like you'd expect. The exterior of the doors is rounded. It's not noticeable if the doors are on it. I'll fabricate some thin gauge metal half doors later and they won't show that angle either. Also added an under seat gas tank to double the range.
     
    Last edited: Apr 29, 2014
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