Howdy Early CJ5 Folks!

True that disk brakes have advantages. However, a lot of these Jeeps have been converted to 11" Bendix drum brakes, which work very well for a vehicle of this size and weight. With finned drums, you likely have 11" drums already. The 100% certain way to tell is to take the drum off and measure the ID, where the brake shoes ride. The 11" Bendix drum brakes are a major upgrade, not only in braking effectiveness but in parts availability and prices. Disks are self-wiping and work better than drums when wet, and are easier to service and have a longer service life than drums. But if you have 11" drums now, it would be hard to justify the conversion costs, which would include the front axle parts, re-plumbing some of the lines, and a different master cylinder.

I'd suggest you put off the disk conversion until you swap the front axle for an open-knuckle Dana 30.

Looking at Glenn's dissenting vote, I kinda think you should be cautious at first, since you haven't owned a Jeep before. Look it over, post up your pictures, and give some thought to what you want to do. Many car projects start off with big plans, everything gets taken apart, and then something happens. Life interferes somehow - new job, baby, divorce, illness, or whatever. I suspect that often a novice picks a project and does not realize how much time and expense it will cost, it drags on and on, they get discouraged, and decides to quit. Realize that unfinished projects typically sell for deep, deep discounts - maybe a few percent of your total investment. If your project is not running and driving, it's parts. You can sell parts piece by piece and make some money back, but it's a slow process that requires a lot of time and effort.

However, if you really want to tear it down and restore it, I'd suggest you think about the logistics a lot in advance, have all of your subs lined up for the frame blasting body painting, etc. and plan plan plan. Do the mechanical stuff first, so when you get to the tear-down and build-up you are doing nothing but disassembling, cleaning, patching, painting, and assembling. Yanking the drive train components of a Jeep is easy, compared to passenger cars - you can do all the mechanical stuff before you take the body off. At least, that's what I would do - I would try to plan it for minimal, intermittent down time. JMO.

Also, regarding pics, I'd suggest you line up a place to put the pics and just shoot dozens of them from every angle. They will be a valuable resource. Just give us a link to the album at Photobucket or whatever, and we will look through them. We like to look at Jeep pics.

 

Yeah....What Tim said.^^^^^^^

 

Good input guys, and thanks for the warm reception. I've joined the right forum.

The plan (always subject to change, like all good plans...)

1. Pressure wash the &$@# out of the underside... Lots of mud and grease. Any areas that don't like water?
2. Drop transmission? and transfer case.
3. Rebuild transmission? and transfer case. I'm thinking full tear down, Novak rebuild kits (unless there are better you can recommend.) At least if/when complete tear down I'll have a fresh trans and transfer with no leaks. Been looking at this:
http://thisoldjeep.fr.yuku.com/topic/248/D18-Transfer-Case-Assembly#.VoMTcq9OKrV
And this...
http://www.willystech.com/wt/Model18TCase/Model18TransferCase.html
Nothing I saw scared me so I'm gonna go for it.
4. Before I complete wiring I might pull tub and metal, sand and paint/have painted? Undecided on this one. Don't yell at me, but Wife will have input on color as well to keep her happy (she wanted me to get this as much as I did, even if she won't admit it.)
5. Put back together, enjoy until something breaks or I decide I want to go full crazy and reduce her to a pile of parts.

Will post again (hopefully within a day or so) of pics/link.

 

welcome from va . like the others have said . if possible drive it first . before tearing it apart

 

Welcome from Pittsburgh,
Ask Wheelie ...Jeep work is good work! Plan on knowing everything about your Jeep as you Will get questions about it when you take it anywhere.

 

I'd change all the fluids in everything and drive it for a bit (at least a month) as long as brakes are good. That way you can get a better idea on what to start with and what specific problems that would need addressed while your working on that part.

The leak in transfer case could also be a plugged vent causing pressure to build and force past seals. Or it could be the plugs in the t90 shift tower are leaking or missing. Or it could be speedo gear or the rear companion flange has a groove in the metal making the seal not work. Or a combination of the above.

Complete frame offs take time and another thing I would consider is pull the body and prep and paint chassis and body then reassemble and drive and enjoy and tackle things later like tackle front axle this week drive for a bit then tackle rear axle etc for example

 

If you decide to drive it instead of doing a complete disassembly and restoration, I think you should:

Job 1: rebuild the steering, including, steering box, pitman, drag link, king pin bearings, wheel bearings, tie rods, knuckle seals and bell crank.

Job 2: rebuild the brakes, shoes and wheel cylinders at the very least, probably a master cylinder, and maybe new lines.

THEN, drive it.

When done properly, the stock steering and brakes are adequate for your intended use. Doing those two tasks will give you a safer vehicle to drive and you'll gain some good experience working on old Jeeps.

Enjoy!

P.S. With one helper, you can remove the front fenders and grill as a unit in about an hour. Makes doing those two jobs much easier.

 

Excellent... I knew no plan could survive first contact!
Plan updated:
1. Pressure wash the &$@# out of the underside
2. Drop transmission? and transfer case.
3. Rebuild transmission? and transfer case.
4. Rebuild steering
5. Service/Rebuild brakes
6. Drain/Refill all fluids
7. Figure out air cleaner
8. Everything else???
9. Pull all body parts and paint?
10. Wiring and everything else.
11. Put back together, enjoy until something breaks or I decide I want to go full crazy and reduce her to a pile of parts.

Hopefully this link will work for photo bucket:
http://s1028.photobucket.com/user/Edison_the_Grey/library/1967 CJ5
Please check it out... Over 100 pictures to satisfy your old Jeep porn habit! I'd be interested to know if anything stands out or doesn't look quite right.

 

Interesting pics! Looks like a very solid Jeep. Minimal rust.

To me, it looks like you have a dual reservoir master cylinder conversion, 11" front brakes, and 9" (original) rear brakes. The sizes not matching front to back is not such a big deal, since the rear wheels don't do much braking anyway. I'd take a few more pics with a wheel off and of the master cylinder. A dual reservoir MC is an excellent upgrade. Another possibility would be to convert the fronts to disks and move the 11" drums to the rear. Something to consider.

What do you want to do with the electrical system? Looks like installation of a hot rod harness is incomplete. Something you were doing or the PO?

 

Thanks. That's why I bought her... She does look fairly solid and I was amazed at the lack of rust. In my 2 years of looking for the perfect Jeep, I saw so many rust buckets... Even turned down a 1970 w/hardtop for... Well, the guy wanted to give it to me after I saw it and we got done talking about it... Might have been a dumb move on my part but the poor thing was a solid block of rust that was sitting in the rain for years.
What you guys see is the condition I got her in... I haven't done anything but look around, inspect, drool and dream (FSM should be on my doorstep tomorrow - and that'll be when the fun begins!).

I also discovered I'll need to get a new gasket for the exhaust... Maybe that is why... To quote another member of this forum... My Solex "sucks air like a 300lb woman who just got done running a marathon." I about lost it when I read that.

timgr - before/if I convert to disc I need to make sure I can keep my rims... I love those rims and don't want to get rid of them! Electrical: I was told this was one of those EZ harnesses... I'll be removing that to inspect and put back in when I'm ready for final electrical. She still needs voltage regulator (converted to 12v system). I'm not happy with some of the runs of the wiring... No grommets and some wires pulled way too tight.

Howard - I concur... I do want to be able to run, stop, and steer... Safely and reliably. As far as fixing components in vehicle, I guess I was thinking I would drop them and rebuild completely, so at least I'd know if/when I do a complete rebuild, I'd already have a completely refinished transfer and trans ready to go? If that makes sense. Plus it would really satisfy my urge to tear something apart and make it new again. I'll look at the recommended repairs you mentioned.

 

That's exactly why I was originally contemplating reducing her to a pile of parts... To blast, repair and paint that frame before it gets any worse.

Downtime would be extended. Would it be a sin to rebuild a frame and then mount all the old dirty stuff back on?

 

http://www.earlycj5.com/xf_forum/index.php?threads/r-ps-disk-brake-conversion-s10-based.112809/

 

So the Jeep runs, steers and stops now? How much have you driven it?

Looking at the wheels, I'd say they are 70s-era factory Jeep. They have been painted, originally being creme-white on the front and gray e-coat on the back. Pretty sure if they will work with the finned 11" drums, they will be ok with disks.

It's been converted to an alternator. If you don't have a matching regulator, I'd suggest you buy a Delco 10SI alternator, which has the regulator internal to the alternator case. These are really easy to wire in, inexpensive, reliable, and available everywhere. http://www.madelectrical.com/electricaltech/delcoremy.shtml

Transmission and transfer case rebuild on these Jeeps is pretty easy, as such things go. The D18 leaks persistently. If you look through the old posts, there is a lot about making them leak less or maybe not at all. https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=site:earlycj5.com+leaking+dana+18+transfer+case If I were keen to get started, I would put that second after straightening out the electrical system.

If you are going to park in a dry garage, I would not worry about the rust progressing for now. Even under a cover, if you keep the Jeep dry, it should be ok. I'd likely wait to pressure wash until I were ready for tear-down, or until it were a hot day where everything will dry before further rusting.

 

Interesting thread on disc conversion.

BLUF is the Jeep runs, steers and stops. How well is a good question. For a 50 year old vehicle I'd say pretty darn good but I have no experience with Jeeps to know what is right.

Runs: Starts right up with a few pumps of the gas pedal and enricher on. After a few minutes of warm up I can turn the enricher off. Engine sounds pretty smooth but I do have a slight leak at fitting of exhaust manifold to pipe. Solex really does suck a heck of a lot of air (no air breather on). Gas pedal is responsive. Seems I have to let off the clutch a lot to get moving at first. Took me a minute to get used to shift pattern but didn't slip at all. I was pretty surprised how quiet the engine is. Nice roar when I give her some gas but overall pretty quiet.

Steers: Steering wheel will turn a bit before wheels start turning (not drastic, maybe 1/8 turn or more). At 25 mph there's no noticeable wobble, straying or pulling in any direction - at 25mph of course, expect noticeable change at higher speeds. Turning radius not as tight as modern vehicles but I attribute that to it being a 1967.

Stops: Took me a minute to get used to drums... I feel like I'm pushing down hard to get her to stop but again, I'm used to the brakes on my Tacoma. She will stop though, and once I learned the time needed to stop I would just anticipate and start braking earlier.

I haven't driven her a whole lot... For about 15 minutes at 25 max throughout the neighborhood before I sealed the deal. Other than that, I've run around the backyard a bit. I'd like to get her faster but with this nice puddle under the transfer case I'm hesitant to do that.

She is and will continue to be parked in a garage.

Glenn - I appreciate the vote of confidence. I'm worried about getting discouraged too... That's why I haven't done any tinkering until I get the FSM and learn as much as I can first.

Should be any minute that FSM gets here! Oh yeah, and a Willys hat too... I couldn't resist.

Doorbell just rang! Gotta go!

 

After doing some reading and poking around my Jeep, I’ve decided to tear her apart. I can be patient and persistent so this will be a good gut check.

I appreciate all of your advice and feedback.

I’ll be bagging/labeling/photographing everything as it comes off.

I’ve decided to rebuild/replace the entire brake system, fuel system, cooling system, and exhaust. Lots of leaks and drips too associated with drivetrain. Since taking the body off would make all this easier I figured what’s a few more bolts? I know all of you are probably chuckling now, saying: Sure, just a few more bolts…

I’ll post as I run into trouble and will share photo logs as I can post them. Won’t start for a month or so… going to pick up some tools and supplies and get the garage ready for storing the boxes of parts I anticipate collecting. Going to invest in a bench-top soda/media blaster for small parts. Should be ok with my 2HP compressor. I have most of the major tools except some of the more specialized like hub pullers or hydraulic press. I don’t have an air impact wrench. Should I get one? I’m going to replace seals or rebuild everything except the engine.

What are your recommendations on MUST NEED tools?

Been reading the FSM… money well spent IMO. Have the Jeep Rebuilders Guide on order as well. Contemplating picking up the Master Parts Manual. Worth it or not necessary? I’m hoping it will show more details of wire routing, grommet location, exact brake/fuel line routing, stuff like that.