New Member, just bought a 74

Hi,

Just joined this forum recently. The other day I bought a 74 CJ-5 w/ a 304 and a T15. It needs some work of course, but I'm pretty excited to own it. Probably paid too much ($3500), but it didnt have much rust which it seems like every Jeep here in NY does. Supposedly came from CA. It does run but needs some carb work. The clutch didnt release fully when I got it but I adjusted the linkage and it seems to be ok now, goes into gear easily. Looks like the frame has had some questionable repairs at the front and back but overall it seems pretty serviceable. Looks like someone made their own transmission cross member, not sure why. The body seems to be all steel except for the rocker on the driver side. The floors are solid although you can see evidence of repairs. The gas tank was also relocated under the drivers seat. The transfer case doesn't seem to go into low range but I havent had alot of time to mess with it so it may just be user error. I have my work cut out for me but thats what I was looking for. Should be a fun project.

Anyway, here are some pictures. Do you guys think I did ok on this?

Picasa Web Albums - John B - March 2, 2016

 

Looks ok. I am wondering if it really is a 74. I do believe the 74 had the fuel tank in the rear. Just guessing but the shift pattern on the T case doesn't look right. I see someone has fabbed a new tranny cross member as well.. The steering box looks to be a swapped in Saginaw unit too. Not a bad thing as the old Ross boxes were horrible. $3500 is a good price.. Still a good lookin Jeep. Below is a pic of what should be your shift pattern on the transfer case.

 

Thanks for the input. I think the knob on the TCase was replaced. What you posted feels like the shift pattern based on my testing. As for the gas tank, it looks like something that was done by a previous owner. Doesn't look factory to me although it was done well. The metal where the gas filler goes through the body is riveted on, for example.

 

Welcome. Everything looks to be a 74 with a added under seat fuel tank. I have always felt that a v8 intermediate CJ5 (72-75) in stock form is probably the most capable universal that Jeep ever built. Looks like it may have had a plow on it at one time after looking at the pictures of the frame. The floors look great for anything in New York. Looks like you did pretty good on this one. I always suggest that everyone buying a new to them Jeep checks all the brakes and changes out all the fluids to give you a baseline level of condition. Drive it and enjoy.

 

Yeah, I agree - it's an intermediate. The only other possibility is a '76 or newer, and the frame and rear axle are wrong for that.

I'm not a fan of the frame repairs and mods. These Jeeps often have frame cracks around the front cross member, and behind the rear front spring mounts (below the clutch bellcrank) - typically from owners that abused them (air, ie Rat Patrol action). The steering gear mount is a home-made replacement for the original mount, which is originally a big iron casting that bolts to the frame. The front cross-member has been cut in half for some reason. I think you need to look more closely at this area. The transmission cross-member has been replaced with something home-made. If it drives ok and you are happy with it, you can leave it alone. If it were mine, I'd put it back to original.

Sorry if this seems overly negative - this Jeep has a lot of good attributes, but the frame issues would concern me.

Welcome from Boston!

 

Welcome from California.

Not sure that is a 1974 CJ...........looks to me like a conglomeration of parts from different years............First off the pedal set looks to be added.......Yes it has a firewall mounted MC which is correct for the year but then why does it have the early 4-bolt hole in the drivers side floor to check the MC as if it was an early body or maybe a replacement? Fuel tank should have been in the back and not inside.......Saginaw steering was already in the 74's.........that's not factory mounts , looks like a poor conversion there..........the frame has some interesting adds especially on the drivers side........Dropped transfer case mount?.........what is that all about? Sorry , To many things that don't add up in my eyes for that year......................

 

Well, the frame is the wrong length for '71 or earlier. And a '76 or later would splay out at the back and have an AMC 20 axle. And all the brackets and mounts look right for an intermediate frame. Pedals look right to me - why do you think they were added? It could be an older tub, but the "Jeep" logo is the right style, and the triangular gussets look right for a '74. Floors look right.

The steering gear brackets do break - BTDT - and this is clearly a home-made replacement, that's been integrated with the frame repairs.

There are some issues. It's a much older windshield than '74. Wrong taillights. Wrong fuel tank. The frame has been repaired a lot. Rear cross-member has been replaced with a piece of channel. Lots of history...

 

Thanks for the input guys - this is all great information. I appreciate the honesty about it.

Its always hard when you're not an expert on these things. When I used to be into VW's I could easily tell what was right and what wasnt, but I dont have that skill yet on these older Jeeps. I bought this knowing this would take some work and that some of the frame welds were questionable. But this one is going to be a good learning experience too. I'm going to go through all of the mechanical systems to make sure they are safe to operate, then just drive it a bit and see how I like it. If it jives well with me then I'll dig in deeper and try to recitfy many of the issues that are being pointed out.

 

You might be right...........They just looked funny the way there splayed apart.............did this year still have the 4-bolt inspection cover on the floor as the early ones did?

As you said "Lots of History" here.

 

Yes - never owned a '74, but I believe my '73 had the MC access hole that was bolted on, even though it served no purpose. With '75, Jeep started spot welding all the floor panels except the shifter cover, but I think all the pieces were still there. I'll have to look at my '75 to see if the access cover is still present.

 

I believe in one of the photos the ser # is visible on the fire wall tag.. I don't have a source but maybe some one can run it down.. The tranny looks like the shifter isn't quite centered in the hole. I am wondering if the 304 was swapped in by a PO.

 

I had decoded the VIN and it was an original 304 Jeep. The vin decoded as 1974, 304, T15. You're right about the transmission not being centered, not sure why that is. May have something to do with the fabbed up transfer case mount. Apparently it painted in its original color as well based on the tag.

 

Hi - tag says Fairway Green Poly ... that's not Fairway Green. Nice color though.

It's clearly been repainted. The firewall would have been body color, and the underside is typically in the gray (or tan?) e-coat primer, not body color.

This is Fairway Green - Jeep : Cj Steel Body 1973 Jeep Cj5 For Sale $15000.00

Another example -


and here - 1973 Jeep Wagoneer - Silodrome

 

Oh yes it has definitely been repainted. But whoever did it tried to get close to Fairway Green. It doesnt look that much different to my eyes anyway.

 

Welcome from France.
It is a Jeep, at a good price; I hope that you can drive it in safety. Sometimes it is better to ahve a well repaired Jeep that a bad exhausted old one!

 

decent find, not a horrible price.

as noted by others, take a close look at the frame and its repairs, and try to determine whether the repairs are sufficient, or could be improved.

the frame looks to me to be an intermediate frame (i've got three, one on the jeep, and two spares) and the mounts appear to be in the correct locations. the pedals appear to be correct, as does the floor/body. the under-seat gas tank is clearly added. windshield frame (and thus wipers/motor) is not '74. wiper motor should be mounted to the outside of the frame, on the driver's side, low. and the wiper pivots should be on the bottom of the frame, not the top. but this isn't uncommon in jeeps (to have a changed windshield - my '75 has a later windshield/wiper/motor arrangement). the grille is intermediate, with "3 screw" turn-signal/parking light covers.

the brake master cylinder is the correct style for intermediates, having "equal" chambers. i'd guess that the transfer case shift lever was a replacement for whatever reason, but the transfer case looks to be a d-20, and should have the pattern pointed out by member "zila".

 

Thank you for the information wally. I've spent a lot of time looking at the welds and materials used in the repairs, and while it doesnt look pretty, it seems sufficiently strong enough. I will get some other opinions on that though from some people I know. Long term I would like to redo the repairs but for now I'm looking to just make this a driver. I do plan to learn to weld but I dont think a frame repair would be a proper first job, I need to get some more experience first. There are welding classes available locally which I plan to take, its been on my bucket list for a while but this is good motivation to go ahead with it. Although for a frame repair farming it out to someone with experience is probably the best bet and most likely what I would do.

I'm going to have some time tomorrow and I plan to go through all of the fliuds and hopefully get it running well enough to take it for a ride in the neighborhood and see where I stand. Hopefully I will report back with some good news.

 

Spent some time on it this past week. I changed the spark plugs, oil and coolant, also rebuilt the carb. Got her running and tuned the carb to the point where its running decently and was able to go for a drive. Tested the 4WD in high and low range in a dirt parking lot, everything is working. It appears to have either a trac-lok or some kind of locker in the rear based on my testing. Will know more when I change the gear oil. Its definitely not a one wheel wonder.

I will need to adjust the timing, and I also found some small coolant leaks but I plan to flush it again and change all of the rubber hoses and t stat soon so I will address at that time.

I also found an exhaust leak at the manifold to downpipe joint because it cant be tightened all the way do to how the PO rigged it up in the past. Luckily the bolts came right out with some freeze off and an impact gun. I will replace the rigged up stud and install new donuts on both sides, which should resolve any leaks.

I also have most of the parts now to put in an ebrake so once I have everything I will go through all of the brakes and make sure everything is good. At that point it will be a driver and I plan to just drive it around through the summer while I decide whether to do a real restoration on it.

 

Welcome from Tennessee!