'57 CJ5: Updating The Old School

I like your ideas...
Seabee M38a1 build
I've done some of the same things to my project... Watch out for project creep... It's a slippery slope. I've got 37s with 2.5in lift Rubicon Express YJ springs... A bit of trimming on the rear fenders, and custom front fenders...

 

35's are tough. I needed to do some custom stuff to make them fit right in the rear on my 2A. I real needed the section of the body right behind the riser for tire clearance. Under articulation the tires would rub the body on the back of the wheel wells. Up front I don't have a great turning radius even with the D30. I also have a 4" set of YJ lift springs that it rides on.
There is a small thread that has some info on what I did here. 2X4 frame for my CJ2A Other guys have added their 2 cents too.

 

Thanks! Sweet build, definitely like what you did/are doing. I'd like to see what you're going to do with the bronco. I have one of them as well sitting in storage waiting for a full frame off build. Do you have any up close photos of your fenders. The links don't seem to work on your thread. Your post on Freiburger's CJ8 with the fender attached to the hood is a brilliant idea. I didn't really look at that closely before. I've been considering high-lining the front fenders if the 35s don't fit with the springs I chose.

They won't be easy but I'm up for the challenge. Cool build, need some time to get through that one! Meiser's build on Pirate took a 42 MB and built a frame for it as well and he fits 35s with little lift. He did highline the front fenders and pushed the rear wells up. He doesn't have that much of a turning radius as well, but it works well enough he's been on the Ultimate Adventure the last two years. I wonder if the the 3/8" difference in the springs (he's using the 1.75" springs) makes a big difference in turning. I know that now with the CJ spring the 31s rub at full lock.

 

Meiser has a lot of good ideas... I guess I'll have to post a write up on how I built my fenders...

 

Some progress this past week/weekend. It's been so damn hot that it's tough to get the motivation some days to get out there. Regardless, finally got the time to get the floor out. Wasn't super easy, they built these things right. But it's out. Still need to clean the edges.



Thanks to ih8sprint (on Pirate4x4), I have a CJ Dana30 housing/axles to upgrade to. I'm considering making a hybrid Dana 30/44 axle, following this information.
BillaVista.com-Dana 30-Dana 44 Hybrid Front Axle Tech Article by BillaVista

If I understand correctly. I should be able to use the a Dana 44 stub shaft with the Dana 30 inner shaft. All I need to do is use the corresponding spindle for that outer shaft. I think this will be more likely in my area as there seems to be more Ford/Chevy axles than Jeep stuff. And bonus is that I can keep the 5x5.5 bolt pattern using the Ford hub!

With the floor cut out I can access the frame more easily. Everything but the driver side spring mount looked good. This mount had cracked at some point and had been welded back on. I'm going to cut this out and fix the frame (in addition to boxing the frame). I'm moving the spring mount back to shift the rear axle back and fit the 35s.

 

Thanks again. I think I'm going to totally do this. I'm considering remaking my inner fenders as well to give me more room for shock mounting and heat management by using some perforated sheet.

EDIT: Perforated sheet is expensive...maybe not.

 

Picked up my tires and wheels! Best part of my day.


Photos of the new welder. Need electricity, and a bottle of mix gas and I'm good to go!

 

Went out into the garage for a bit yesterday. I'm trying to figure out what to do with the rockers.

The right side is fairly rusty and trashed. Especially in the front brace area and in the tool box.




The outer side has a vertical crack that nearly goes all the way across. The old man probably had a lot of fun in this jeep.



The left side isn't as bad.




I've got two ideas to repair this area.

1. Cut out the rusted area, and then re-skin the exterior with 1/8" or 3/16" steel and add a piece of square stock at the bottom. Serving two purposes: repair the area, and as a rock/brush guard.

2. Cut out the rusted area, and use a 2"x3" piece of tubing to create rock sliders that attach to the body and frame. It would also allow me to tie the new roll cage into this area. Only problem is the fenderwell-exit headers/exhaust would get in the way of the frame tie-ins. What about body to frame isolation? Is that really a problem on these old jeeps?

Any other ideas? Any issues with either plan?

Also, just a look at the front. With the current springs, the 35s would fit no problem. But that would make the jeep too tall. Lower is better!

 

I can't say much other than to gird your loins and just do it. I started out to fix the rear cross member and three months later I had a pretty much new Jeep body and have the burned up socks and shoes to prove it.

 

I've been super busy with work and getting the garage wired up. Took way too long to do that and then two weeks vacation traveling to Wisconsin and back.

Got the shop wired for 220 and added some 20 amp circuits for the compressor and other things.



Going to go get gas today for the new welder.

All I've done to the jeep is cut the rear fenders to fit the tires.


Cutting out the suspension this week. Need to order ubolts and plates, bolts and bushings for the springs.

 

I just posted on your Pirate thread... Bahahahahaha... I was thinking this looks familiar... Keep it up

 

The crack is likely the result of the missing sructure in that area. It is common for these Jeeps to have a buckle in the door opening. Without the floor and side structure, that buckle became a crack.

The body is strong enough to support tubing sliders attached to the bottom edge of the body. Back in the day, a piece of angle iron bolted to the bottom edge of the body would suffice. Unless you make the frame stiffer, there is still going to be a bending force across the door opening when you stuff opposite corners. To me, it's not a problem, but if you start tying in to the frame while retaining a flexible frame, you may find you've created stresses on the body that you did not expect.

With 35s, you're going to snag the front end of the biscuit fenders when the wheel is stuffed.

 

Trying!

Thanks for the info. I'm definitely going to weld a piece of sheet (6"x.120") to the outside and add a 1.5" square tube to the inside lower edge. This will strengthen the body and provide a strong outer edge for the floor. I am currently in the process of stiffening the frame by boxing the belly rails. There are currently 3 cross members rear of that and the front rails were boxed already. Somehow, I will tie the roll cage into the frame as well.

Yes, I'm going to make some high line fenders to alleviate the issue. I will try to make them CJ5 esque instead of the standard flat fender job.

 

Lowering a stock CJ-5 is not only about getting fender well "Up" clearance it's also about getting room beyond that for the axles to follow that up motion Or Bump clearance...............Want a low CJ ?, you'll have to modify the chassis so there is more offset between the portion where the body mounts and where the axles reside both front and rear.................Obviously tire size will be your first challenge as bigger does mean you gain more ground clearance at the pumpkin , but opposite that you have to work much harder to gain clearance and a lower COG while you bring the body and drive train components down around the tires...........Nothing but trade offs.........as far as your leaf springs , if you want a lower COG you must run almost a flat leave spring keeping in mind again you still need at least a few inches of Bump Up Travel just to keep the ride decent.............Fact is , there is not allot of room to play with in a conventional CJ when it comes to lowering it with Big Tires.

 

You're not wrong. It is tricky and a lot of compromises, but I am going from 4 inches of lift to only 1", so not really lowering from stock. Also moving the axles out to stretch and move away from other components. It won't be easy but it can be done.

 

Normally takes a minimum of about 2.5 to 3 inches of lift in a CJ with 33 inch tires , and even then some light metal trimming would be necessary for clearance. With a D-30 axle being an inch wider per side vs the old #25 or #27 that does help to keep the tires off the metal and also off the springs when turning.............35's will make it a bunch tighter without getting into some wholesale trimming , stretching the front a little will help , but adds other issues to steering and extending the chassis for leaf spring mounts.........coils up front makes it easier to stretch.........I find the rear end to be more of an issue in getting clearance as you really have no where to go with the bed and tub fender wells in your way.............Nothing new here , same old game trying to fit a round plug into a square hole

 

Can anyone figure out what trans this is? And do you think it will bolt up to my Dauntless?

I think it's a T18 but i'm not sure.

 

I'd say yes it's a t-18 judging by the look of the d20 adapter and the top and PTO covers, but that would also make it a later t-18 that won't bolt right up to your v-6 AFAICT.

 

are there any casting markings left on the transmission case? On the top case? Or has rust obiliterated them?

from my T98 build thread, this was on the side of the transmission case from my a T-18 I originally started with:


and this was on the top cover:


this is the side of the T-98 case:


And the top of the T-98 case:


It looks like you might have a T-98 top cover, but from what I understand, they used those a lot on early T-18's.

As to the rest, you may have to pull the cover and count the teeth on the MDG (the gear on the rear of the input shaft) and on the first gear.

to help with your research, start here and there's a lot that timgr, jpc, tarry99, oldtime and others added to the information:
Vintage T98, D18 and Overdrive

I also have the pictures and part numbers (original jeep numbers) of the adapters...