1971 Cj-5 Dauntless Rebuild

I have began the tear down of my 1971 CJ-5 Dauntless. Believe it is all original. Buick V-6, T14A-1 Transmission, Dana 18 Transfer Case, Dana 27A Front Axle and a Dana 44 Rear. Bought it from the original owner who was a friend of the family.
My question for you Jeep experts are, Should I upgrade the Dana 27A with a 30? All drivetrain components are going to be rebuilt anyway. What about upgrades in steering? Adding power steering?, Any modifications you would do to the Buick engine? Any other ideas or suggestions?

 

welcome from va . now pictures would be nice . as to the Dana 30 swap . been covered here many times . need to find narrow track axle . steering upgrade is always a good upgrade .

 

Welcome from D.C.

Before tearing into it, what is broken that actually needs repairing? You might want to drive it around for a while to see what you would like to upgrade and why. There are all sorts of things you might want to do and can be done, but stock ones are fine too.

 

Hi Robert -

If this were my Jeep, I would stage the projects so I could do some driving in between. Like Chris wrote, if I had not driven this Jeep for a while, I would hold off until I knew what the Jeep really needed. Is this your first Jeep? These Jeeps are very, very capable in stock form, and a '71 with the 225 can be driven on the street and trail without any significant upgrades.

If it were mine, I'd repair anything that needed repairing and enjoy driving it for a while. The 30 upgrade is a great upgrade, but you need to find an axle and match it to your gear ratio. Regearing is likely the most challenging task an amateur mechanic can take on, and aside from the parts, the labor is expensive to have it done by a pro. I assume you have the flanged Dana 44 rear axle - that's what a '71 should have. If you have 3.73s, you may want to change your ratios front and rear when you do the swap ... or not. 3.73 30s are out there, and you may be happy with the present ratio.

Steering is a great upgrade, but you need welding skills and some engineering savvy. Again, I'd hold off until I had some seat time so I could prioritize my efforts.

Brakes and transmission are also popular upgrades, which may take priority over a 30 swap. Typically brakes are highest on the priority list ...

Tires? Wheels? Springs?

You might want to post up here with details of your plans and lots of pictures of your Jeep.

 

Welcome from Ga. Where you located and pic's are very welcomed also.

 

The Jeep was pretty rough mechanically. Drove it home, engine ran great. Tranny- Shot. Makes tons of noise and drain plug magnet covered with a 1/2 inch of metal flakes. Brakes were horrible, pulled very bad. Found master cylinder leaking. Lights, well nothing worked but the headlights. 4WD did engage and hubs locked well. Rear end looked clean under the cover. Front had some metal in the gear lube. Transfer case shifted a little hard, though so have most of my Jeeps.

Brought it home and didn't drive it much in its current condition. Got it in the shop now stripping it down to the frame. Pulling engine off frame tomorrow. Biggest negative so far is that I found some rot in the frame so I may be looking down south for a rust free frame! Leaf springs are all shot. Since tranny is shot, rather than rebuilding the T-14A that is in it I was thinking of putting a T-18 4 speed in. I'd like to find a Dana 30 front end and get disc brakes put on it for the front. Plan on keeping the flanged Dana 44 in the rear. Since I have the old Buick V-6 out and on a stand I'll probably spend the winter this year rebuilding the engine and getting it painted and looking pretty again. Probably put a 2 in. suspension lift on it when I replace the rotted leafs that are on it.

Still on the fence about saginaw steering, not sure yet what all you need to do to convert it. Also, trying to find out if its possible to upgrade the throttle pedal, clutch and brake pedals to a '72 style hanging pedals and relocating the master cylinder to the firewall. More research needed on that though.

I'll post some before pictures soon, once I figure out how! As far as first Jeep, no. Started off with a '79 CJ-5 then a '48 CJ-3A, then restored a '75 CJ-5 which I had restored, x-wife still has it parked in her garage covered with dust (hopefully, she will give it to my son when he decides to buy a garage and a house to sleep in). So, now I get to rebuild another one for me. Went though the old machine shed in my spare parts pile and I did find a T90A mounted to a Spicer 18 (both need a full rebuild also and I am not sure if I would stay with a 3 speed if I need to rebuild them).

Nice having a clean slate at this stage so I can plan out pretty much anything. Probably end up with a brand new Jeep when its done!

 

Oh, I am in Wisconsin. Capital of the rust belt!!

 

What's your final drive ratio now? Did it come with an overdrive? How do you plan to use this Jeep? Trail riding? Street use mostly? Daily driving? Rocks snow mud?

 

With purchase of a commercial adapter, you can go with pretty much any of the truck 4-speeds for this Jeep; T-18, T-19, SM420, SM465, NP435. Novak has a good discussion for each of them. Novak Conversions :: Manual

Any of these transmissions are big and heavy compared to the T-14 - they won't fit under the factory floors.

If you insist on a junkyard swap, the Jeep T-18 (or IHC T-18 combined with a Ford T-18) is your only option. We have discussed this a lot in other posts.

Thinking of an axle swap and a fall-back to the T-90 in the same discussion seems a little contradictory. The T-90 won't bolt up in place of the T-14 - you'd need a different bell and adapter, or to modify (?) your existing bell. It's not as strong as the T-14, it's a really old sliding gear (non-synchro-1st) design, and it is possible to grenade the stronger T-14 with the 225 ... If you had a F134 Jeep and needed to keep swap costs down, the T-90 might make sense.

If you were in a hurry to get on the road, rebuilt T-14s are available from Herm and likely other places. Rebuilt T-14 for V-6, $700 | Herm The Overdrive Guy An upgrade to the stronger T-15 is also possible T-15 Transmissions | Herm The Overdrive Guy You'd also need the 29 tooth 6-spline drive gear, and a transmission adapter and bell. Adapting the Chevrolet & GM Standard Shift Bellhousings to the Jeep CJ & FSJ Borg-Warner T14, T15 & T18 Transmissions The T-15 is a little longer than the T-14, which may require some minor propeller shaft, floor, and mount mods.

 

OK, Use of the Jeep will be mostly road use, not daily commuter. Off road use will be mild-moderate off road, mostly national forest roads, trails. No severe off road, rock climbing, racing, or anything like that. And yes, plenty of snow! Final drive ratio, I'll be pulling the covers off front/rear ends again tomorrow and confirm ratio's. Just finished today with the tear down.

Once the frame was completely stripped of all parts I did take a good look at it. Rear shackle areas on both sides and front drivers side just forward of brake master cylinder rotted through. Many more areas are very thin. I am thinking the cost of repair and time is going to be more than searching for a southern or western rust free frame. So the search for a frame is on!

I think I am going to go with a SM420 or T18.

 

I would go with an SM465 because its a lot easier to get parts for. The SM 420 has been out of production since 1967 or so. Its a large slow shifting transmission. Most have no provision for back up switch and pre 53 models have no seal for the input shaft. Either way, the real cost is an adapter that runs about 500 bucks for the D18. The sm420 or sm 456 should be able to be purchased in usable shape for under 200 bucks. You will also need to modify the tub to fit it in there. Possible relocation of the crossmember and the driveshafts is also probably.

Might be cheaper to rebuild the t14 completely.

 

Yep, I think you could go with a T-15 for minor upcharge if you had a junk T-14, including the adapter. Unlikely you'll save any money with the 4-speed (unless you are happy with the T-18 and are really good and persistent at time-consuming scrounging), but it's a lot more work. The 4-speed is guaranteed to enhance the value and capability of your Jeep, if you do the swap right. Also, if you have 3.73s, those gears are highway friendly with tall tires and no overdrive, 3.73 D30s are out there and not terribly scarce (all 11" drum though), and a truck 4-speed low gear will make the 3.73s sufficiently trail capable for most owners.

One advantage of any of the 3-speeds is easy shifting. None of the truck 4-speeds are going to shift like a passenger car. Shifting them gets old rowing through stop-and-go traffic.

 

So, I pulled the covers and looked the rearend over. It has the optional 4.88 ratio rear end in it. Gears looked to be in good shape.

 

4.88s are the more desirable ratio, because they are less common and better for the trail... I see an overdrive in your future. You won't find any D30s with factory 4.88s, so you'd need to buy gears and change the ratio - see www.ringpinion.com

Which differential, open or Dana TracLock?

 

Tim- I got a 3.73 D30 out of a 79 CJ 7 that had discs.

 

Interesting ... I thought the 3.73 went away for CJs in 1976. The '76s and '77s (and '78s?) have 3.54 std and 4.10 optional ... unfortunately the standard ratio is not legible in the '79 book I have access to. Optional is 3.07 (!) and maybe 3.73 is standard. My '82 book shows 3.54/4.09 for the 151 and 2.73/3.31 (yikes) for the 258. Looks like there were some 3.73s in 1979, and by then disks were standard.

 

The rear is Dana 44 TracLock 4.88. Been working on the front end. Don't think it has been apart since Nov. 1970. Lot of play in the axles, bolt heads rusted, oh the fun!

 

So, looking for a rust free / damage free frame for a 1971 Jeep CJ-5 w/ Buick 225 motor mounts and a NT CJ Dana 30 front end w/ any gearing so I can regear it! Who's cleaning out their shop???

 

Now that I'm home, my parts book has a complete listing 1974 through 1980.
Model 80/90 Dana 30s, 1974-1980:
1974 and 1975: 3.73 and 4.27 (1972 and 1973 are the same, all 11" drum brakes).
1976: 3.54 and 4.09.
1977 and 1978: 3.54 and 4.10
1979: 3.07, 3.54 and 4.10.
1980: 3.07, 3.54 and 4.09.

Usually 4.09 and 4.10 are considered the same ratio for 4WD purposes, so I would go 1972-75, 1976-78 and 1979-80 are the same.
No disk brake 3.73 axles listed in the parts book, other than FSJ 44s. So I'd say it's either a special from Jeep or a swap.

<note> Looking at the parts book, the same model 30 ring and pinion is used for 4.09 and 4.10 ratios. So this is a "distinction without a difference," as they say.

 

Off the wall question. I found a frame out west. The guy said it is on a 1971 CJ-5 with a V-6. But, he then said it was on a Special Edition "Rocky Mountain" Package that came from the dealer new with a T-98, Warn O.D. already installed. Has anyone ever heard of a Jeep being built from the factory that way?