Got my CJ-6 home.

Just a quick update. After asking some of you fellas about the what you thought about buying this jeep I finally made it over to pick it up last week. Between deer hunting and end of year business I've not had a whole lot of time to get things going.

Anyway, I'm about to start with changing the fluids and the various things to just get her running, I'm not sure how long it's going to take, I have another hunt lined up next weekend and after that I should have some time to get to tinkering.

I figured I'd share a few with you guys, and I did find out that this little CJ-6 only has 37,000 original miles on it. It's had a life of ranch use and the last 10 years of sitting in the barn. I feel pretty good about the low miles despite the rust and dings in her. I hope to keep you guys updated as we go. I'm currently going thru the forum trying to figure out the gear oils to use for each component. Got a few books ordered and research as it sits waiting for some elbow grease.

First time this barn door as been open in about 10 years is what I was told.



Put the Tundra in low-loc 4 wheel drive and had my 12 year old slowly ease us out.



Looks like the wear on my trailer matches the jeep. Thank God for WD-40 on a rusty hand winch!

 

Go catch on the 6

Not many around

Andrew

 

im still impressed as to how goo it looks.....it its all original, you need to keep that thing nice.....original Cj6's are rare and getting rarer

mine has bee messed with and needs a ton of work....i'm jelous

 

Nice find. Keep it stock. We are all jealous. Barn find. Nice.........

 

Nothing cooler than a stock CJ....

Great find!

 

looks great

 

Very Nice.

 

Yep Good find

 

keep us updated on progress and, yep, a few more pictures would be nice!!

 

Woohoo!

I'd buff it out, and drive it. :AMC: :driving:
Original paint is exceptionally cool, even if it's not perfect.

 

She's running again. I'll have some pics here shortly, I forgot my camera today. I bought a carb kit last week and a gallon of carb cleaner with the screen in it. I've never done a carb overhaul so if someone has any warnings about this task, I'd appreciate hollering at me now before I start tearing it apart. Looks like I've got the Carter YF carb which is a one barrel. Looks pretty simple and straight forward. The jeep runs good after it warms up, but stutters abit when cranking up.

I got fresh oil in the gearbox and transfer, but I only added oil to the diffs. I wanted to ask you guys if you replace your gasket on the differentials or just use the silicon seal when you replace the covers? I'd really prefer a gasket but not sure what is best?

The motor sounds pretty good. I was abit nervous when I first cranked her up with allot of smoke and some tapping, but I guess the majority of the smoke was from the pb spray I sprayed into the cylinders the week before and the tapping was from sitting for so long. With the fresh oil, it didn't take but about a minute for the tapping to stop.


I'm not sure of how original I'm going to keep it. There are a few things that I would like to do but I fully understand about the keeping it original.

• upgrade to the electronic ignition.
• possibly a 2" lift kit, but pretty much only because I want fresh springs and shocks under her. She hits the potholes hard and it actually sounds like the hatari sound effects of the rhino hitting the jeep. lol. I'm keeping stock wheels and looking for a good mud grip now. Where are the 7.00x15 inch tires these days? Chinese tires are all I can find?
• maybe someday the disc brake conversion.
• new seat brackets. I'm 6'4" and the kids are 5'. We need something that is adjustable.

 

WOW! nice find

 

So, sounds like this is a 258 with a T-14 3-speed transmission. What's your axle ratio? 3.73:1 was standard, and 4.27:1 optional. My first CJ-6 (a '75) had the 258-T-14-3.73 setup.

You can do some drivetrain mods without offending the Jeep gods. That style of build-up is typically called 'restification' - leaving the original appearance while upgrading the mechanical aspects. The 11" drum brakes work well, though disks would be better. Disk brakes probably would not be at the top of my list for this vehicle.

Electronic ignition and a mild lift would be good - leaf springs sag with age, and nobody would fault you for replacing the springs.

I'm not a big fan of the T-14 ... if it were mine, I'd be looking at a transmission swap soonest. With the longer wheelbase in the CJ-6, you have a wider range of choices than with a CJ-5, including modern overdrive automatics and HD 5-speeds (I'd swap in power disk brakes with an automatic though).

The 258 is a very durable and reliable engine, and will respond to some inexpensive hopups very well, including electronic ignition.

 

Regarding the seat brackets, it appears that you have the factory 2/3-1/3 split front bench seat. The passenger sides were never adjustable, since they were designed to "fold and tumble" for access to the toolbox. The drivers seat should have sliders under it with some adjustment. However, this is the same seat that went in the CJ-5, where backward movement was limited by the wheel well. In a CJ-6, there's more room behind, so you should be able to move the driver's seat back a few inches on the sliders and get more leg room without modifying the brackets. It may be as simple as drilling new holes in the seat brackets for the sliders - take the seat off of the brackets and this should be clear.

Note that you can't move the seat back more than a few inches if you plan to add a CJ-6 roll bar. The CJ-6 never came with a roll bar from the factory. However, the hoop for the dealer-installed roll bars (Smittybilt, NLA) mounts on the floor behind the seats and the braces extend back to the top of the wheel wells. Here's my first CJ-6; this shows the roll bar placement:


You'd have to have someone make a roll bar like this if you want one today. I suppose you could instead use a regular CJ-5 roll bar, and add a front bar to make a full cage. Without the front bar, the CJ-5 bar won't be adequate though.

 

timgr, I'll take your word on the roll bar since it appears you've done some extensive testing on it. Dude, I hope everyone came out okay on the tumble there!

As far as the seat, it's non adjustable, and the springs are sprung in the seat as well. I'll get a pic of it tonight. No adjustment other than 3 holes to adjust it by unbolting it, moving and bolting it back down. I'd prefer bucket seats anyway so I can get a gun rack in between.

This little jeep is going to be involved in some wild hog hunting ventures real soon!

I'm not totally sure about the transmission yet. Judging by the pics I have a dana 300 tranfer with warn front lockers. I need to identify the gearbox though. Still educating myself as I go. I need to figure out where to read the identification on the gearbox.

I should have my Jeep Cj Rebuilder's Manual in today.

 

Not so lucky in the rollover - the Jeep flipped over on its nose into a ditch. I spent a week in the hospital in Flagstaff, unconscious. Long ago though - January of 1976.

It's a Dana 20. The 300 wasn't used until 1980.

Unless this Jeep has been modified by the PO, it's a Borg-Warner T-14. That's the only transmission that was offered with the 258 in a CJ-6 from 1972-75. There'll be a tag under one of the top cover bolts with a Jeep PN, the transmission type, and a Borg-Warner PN. You'll have to take the floor panel off to see it. You can also look for a casting number in the side of the transmission case; it'll be T-14A or 1302.

You might be able to trade somebody your bench seat for buckets - the bucket seats were much more common (and way more comfortable IMO). Been a long time since I've sat in one of those bench seats. I'm surprised that the bench seat isn't adjustable - maybe the PO removed the adjusters to get a little more distance to the steering wheel.

I'd suggest you get the factory manual - it's the single most useful reference you can own. This is one source, there are others, and the originals sometimes come up on eBay.
http://thejeep.com/shop/TECH+MANUAL....html?osCsid=15cfafce5a1bc4d4843c61802b610662