New to forum and Jeeps!

Well first off I would like to say how impressed I am with this website, an outstanding job is being done here by the admins as well as the members, there is so much good info on here for a Jeep Noob.
That being said the more I read on here the more im thinking about tearing my new jeep apart and putting it back together! well actually the jeep that I have recently aquired is far from new it is a 67 cj5 (im guessing at this based on what I have read and seen thus far on this forum) That I traded a couple (2 to be exact) non running 80's moto cross bikes for. From what I can tell other that the rims and tires this jeep is bone stock, has never been lifted does not look to have been abused at all, other that a crinkled pass side front fender, it has the 134 inline 4 in it (agian im guessing cause I really have no idea what I have) with the 3 speed tranny and it runs like a top, smokes a bit and lacks power but im not expecting to much from an old tired 4 cylinder. (this thing sat in a garage for the last 13 years and everytime I get in it I pull the choke pump the gas a couple times and it fires right up)
So I do have a few questions that I would like to throw out here to all of you and ask for some opinions on what to do with this thing, My first question to all of you is about the rear leaf springs, this jeep is built like a brick **** house the rear leafs have 12 leafs in the leaf pack and it rides so horribly stiff that I am thinking about updating/upgrading the rear suspension to make it a little softer, my question is was this a stock set of springs with this many leafs?? it does not appear to be add a leafs they do appear to be stock but it certainly appears to me to be a bit of overkill.
2nd I have been reading about spring over axle conversions..... good or bad? and if not so bad because it seems to be fairly in expensive would it work with these monster rear leafs? im actually thinking if I did it the rear would sit much higher than the front because of the size of the leaf pack? and what is the deal with the lifted shackles... good or bad??
3rd.... Tire size I know that this is discussed through out the forums but im trying to get everything in here, and I am also taking into consideration that I have what seems to be a descent running but going on 40 year old 4 cylinder that I will use primarily for trails but would love to use as a dd in the not to distant future. Which leads me to my next question....
4th..... Engine, re-build or not to re-build this is the question that I keep asking myself, we have a junkyard down here that is full of buick 231's and I can buy a complete engine w/o all accesories for 75 bucks or with all accesories for 150 and it comes with a 30 day garuntee on the engine it would seem to me that if I am going to turn this into what I would like to turn it into I am going to need more that a 4 banger to get the job done so any opinions on this would be greatly appreciated.

Heres the botom line, it may say jeep noob but I am far from a noob mechanic, I have been working on cars as far back as I can remember (better part of the last 20 years) I am seriously considering going all out with this jeep (frame off) and I am trying to find some general concensous on which direction to go with it. We (my kids and I) have already been having fun in the jeep in my back yard (15+acres) and we have even had it burried to the frame on the 3rd time out while crossing the stream (had to get out the come a long wanted to take pics but it was too dark) so its a blast but If I dont adress my ground clearance problems and get some better mudders on it we are just going to be spinning the wheels.... literally!

So just hit me up and tell me what you all think is the best course of action with our new jeep any and all input will be greatly appreciated and I would like to thank all of you ahead of time.

Chilli

 

Welcome Chilli from Ohio.

No easy answers to those questions; much will come down to personal preference. If you snag a 231 from a junkyard, it too might need attention so perhaps consider sticking with the 4-banger (again, personal preference).

Not sure what you are asking specifically regarding the tires. :?
-Alan

 

The spring packs are more than likely original. They did have 11-13 springs in the packs back then. The F134 is a good motor and rebuilt with a better carb (solex) and electronic ignition is much better than stock, unless money is no object rebuild what you have. The v6 can be put in but it will cost more than rebuilding the 4 cylinder especially if you have to rebuild the v6 or take a chance on it being a good motor. The spring over is doable but it is actually more expensive and time consuming than just adding moden lifted or softer replacement springs. As far as tires it would help to know what you have for axle gearing and if you have an overdrive unit on your transfercase. If you have 5.38 gears you will definatley need the overdrive to drive it on the highway at any decent speed. There are several guys on the board running 34" tires with 5.38 gears that do very well in the woods and still drive them on the highway lightly and all around town.
Check out w3srl yellow flattie, it has the 4 cylinder flat head. blevisay has "Animal" and this is a great jeep that runs very, very well and was totally rebuilt about a year ago.

Whatever you decide, good luck and stick around!!!!!!
Oh and fill out your profile so we know where your at, there may be a bunch of members near you that can help..

 

I guess my question about tire size is two fold .... what is too much, and what i have right now is not enough, like I said in the original post this jeep looks to have had absolutly nothing done to it mod's wise in 40 years, there is no overdrive installed but I am very interested in that as this thing seems to top out about 45 mph give or take and like I said I would love to use this as a dd sometime in the not to distant future.

As far as the 134 re build are parts readily available for these? what type of mods/ work can be done to the head to improve performance? as we all know the power is made in the head and im just curious what I can do to improve that aspect of the 134, money is always an object so needless to say there is no unlimited budget here but I would like to build a streetable trail machine out of this jeep that is not going to break the bank and in the mean time would teach my 12 year old son a little about building something that you can call your own.

Thanks for the quik responses guys I really do appreciate it.
Chilli

 

Hey another guy from VA. Welcome from Chesapeake.

 

Great thread on the soa conversion, made my mind up just that quik that I will wait till I can afford new springs and leave it sua. But I also have some of the same concerns about driving at highway speeds, I am not even sure that my jeep can get out of its own way let alone a big truck doing 65+ miles per hour on the roads. I have looked at the o/d's and they are very expensive is there not a 4 sp or 5sp trans out there that I can bolt in with an adapter from advance adapters of a similair co.? I am getting stoked about this jeep now reading all of this and researching the net, god the net..... what a wonderful world we live in these days heheh. but first and foremost I want to make my jeep safe to drive on the highway and still have fun in the woods with it, as far as what I will do with it I would say moderate wheelin not rock crawlin or anything like that just wanna take the kids out in the woods and have some fun in it, hell im havin more fun in the jeep than riding my quad!

By the way thanks for the welcome eddy

 

Well I would hate to think that an o/d is the only way to go as the one's that I have looked at tonight are in the 1000 price range, this jeep in the condition it is sitting in right now cant possibly be worth a grand now maybe im just lookin in the wrong place so if you all know of a good parts source please share the wealth as I think I am oging to go ahead and re build the 134 try to find a solex carb and an electronic ignition, any recomendations on the ignition is there a drop in swap out there that I can get out of a junkyard donor or just an after market replacement? And while im asking all of these questions were would I find a sloex carb? is there a donor or are these redily available from a auto parts retailer?

Agian guys I realy appreciate the responses, this has already helped me make a few quik decisions that I think are going to be the right decisions.

Chilli

 

You can put a pertronixs ignitor in the body of your old pointed distributor that will make it electronic. You can get a remanufactured OD from http://www.hermtheoverdriveguy.com/id21.htm for $840 plus $50 for the shifter and shipping. The solex is availabe from Krage motorsports or Walcks.

 

Thanks a bunch mcruff, still kinda bummed that the o/d's are so expensive working with a limited budget right now, guess if I wouldnt have bought the 18000 dollar harley at the same time that this jeep fell in my lap I woulda had a descent budget to work with !!

I am seeing a lot of solex carbs used on vw's is this the same carb that would be used on the 134? just curious more than a few on ebay and would be nice to get one if they are the same.

 

A new Solex is only around $125 on the high end, I've seen them listed for $115 someplace, but avoid JC Whitney from what I hear. Get your stuff from someone that knows what you're working on and what you really need, someone really familiar with the older Jeeps...that would be Walcks 4wd or Krage, but there's other good vendors too.

Oh, and Welcome from Colorado! Got any photos?

 

Welcome from Washingtion. Pics?

 

Thanks for all the welcomes, I will try to get some pics up today.

 

after adapters and such for a new tranny that $1K for an OD looks cheap. Anyway a 4speed is not going to give you an overdrive top gear, all most of them are going to do is give you a granny 1st so then if you want to lower RPMs you then have to shell out for new R&P gears.

 

Welcome from down the road in Newport News.

Since you are new at jeeping, I'd take it slow for a while and enjoy tinkering and driving your new toy while you learn about each other.

The old 4 banger might be tired but I'd guess with a decent tune up it will run fairly good. As far as tires, I can't imagine the jeep that you describe with good 31" ATs not being able to go anywhere in Virginia that you might want to take your 12 year old son. I run 31s on my '66 and did on both of my '73s. Surprising where you can go with them, even with stock suspension.

As far as modifying your jeep, The decision is always yours. You paid your money and you own the beast. Personally, I like the old jeeps to be as near stock as possible. Much as I wouldn't think of modifying a knucklehead or panhead, I feel the same about old jeeps. If power is really important, an intermediate with a V8 might be a cheaper alternative.

By the way...YOU WILL LOVE YOUR JEEP.