1955 Cj5 Project

Seems like forever since the last update, but today we got some steps checked off the list... and i saw a scary big spider! (center, on the wires)



I forgot to take pictures this trip but i got the oil canister reinstalled after 4 attempts (the hose output was wrong a few times) and i got the coolant hoses reconnected with a new thermostat installed. I'm 90% sure i got it correct, with the spring side facing down into the block.
Heater control valve got installed and i finished the linkage for the carb. Got the loop disconnected from the trailer hitch with WD40 and a rubber hammer, just need to tie it up our of the way.
That pretty much takes care of most of the larger things and i think next trip will be towing it to the new spot in the shade.
We called it at 10:30am because it was already almost 90* and high humidity (for New Mexico) and next i need to try and get both oil lines connected which doesn't sound like much fun since i couldn't get my hand to the shorter ones connection point already. I hope it doesn't require i pull the whole radiator, but it might be needed anyways since i wanted to get it cleaned out and pressure tested as it's been sitting for a long time. The older neighbor stopped by (portable compressor is LOUD) and gave me warnings about thumbs inside the steering wheel and how it's going to be a rough ride but a lot of fun. He seems excited by the idea of seeing the CJ running as it's been parked in this spot since he built his house almost 20 years ago!

Unrelated to the build, but the weekends i'm not busy with other projects or the CJ i have been running USPSA matches and just earned my first National rank of D rating in Limited! With a few good matches i'll be moving up to C class and then it's a long road to B and eventually A but i keep improving with every match. One day i'll get some video to show off my John Wick-like skills

a pretty picture showing off the high desert flowers...

 

Happy (late) 4th of July to everyone! Checking my pictures, looks like today marks one year since i took the first pictures of the CJ5 and got excited about getting it running again.
We went up early this morning with a simple check list> 1) air up remaining tire. 2) Tow to new spot in the shade/under a cover (rain starts for Monsoon season tomorrow) ... but there was an issue. Neither my wife or i had ever towed anything like this before! Our strategy was to go slow and not get frustrated, i figured it would take half an hour and i could get it on jacks and possibly pull the fuel tank.



That tow bar is heavy! Last shot against the fence/down the hill in the clay, one day i'll have to figure out something to do with that trailer.
Pulling it forward and up the hill everything was going great until i thought i could steer the Jeep around stuff while being pulled forward... a learning experience since it made the Highlander tires start spinning and the Jeep's tires (only @25-30PSI) started making scary popping sounds. Backing up a bit i quickly figured out the wheels need to be straight for it to roll and not be dragged up a fairly steep hill.



Top of the hill and we took awhile to plan out how to get it under the car port. The idea seemed simple enough... back it in, don't hit the concrete planter (at the Highlander's rear quarter panel) and park in a way so we don't block all 3 spots. It took almost half an hour moving it 3' forward then 2' back until i felt i could get a decent straight shot. This is where things got really challenging. The initial plan was to park the CJ furthest from the cabin, facing the same direction it is now and we'd just have to not hit the tanks or a support pole.

With my lack of "trailer" reverse skills and considering we got the Jeep under the port, i decided to disconnect from the Highlander and pull around the loop for a straighter shot and just park it against the cabin. This still left plenty of room around it, lots of shade ... but there is a 2' drop on the other side of the bricks.



We tried to get it perfect for another half an hour and had to just call it after i did the exact same movement three different times. The issue was with the Highlander almost hitting a support (i had about 4" clearance) so we disconnected there and chocked the tires! I had to take all the tools i normally leave inside the CJ since there will be Electricians hooking up power next week. This means future me will be able to start working on wiring in the next few trips and one step closer to getting it started!

While it wasn't exactly the same as driving it... i felt like a little kid on Christmas getting to hold the wheel as i got towed up the hill. All the creaks and pops, so much movement in the suspension, watching the ground go by through the quarter sized rust holes in the floor. I seriously can't wait to drive it!!!

 

Thanks! That makes me feels so much better. I remember thinking "ok, it moved about 2' with this much input. I'll just add a little bit more and.. STOP TRYING TO JACKKNIFE!!!!" and starting again.

 

Another small update! We cleared out most of the spare parts from the back i don't see needing anything soon and found a few parts i couldn't identify. Hoping to get some help figuring out what they are so i can find them on the jeep and assess if they need to be replaced.



Middle-ish i'm fairly sure those are the U bolts used to hold the axle on the leaf springs, and on the bottom left i'm confident that's one of the "shackles" (not sure the official name) that attaches the frame to the leaf spring. The current ones on the CJ are just a "C", with the driver side one being crushed down a little, i think this was meant to go there.



Top middle; no clue what these are. There are two and they look like they mirror one another, i assume they go together. Same for bottom right; they mirror one another but not sure where they go on the CJ or if they belong to this Jeep at all. The two plates with posts look similar to the door hinge but i'm not sure on them either. The small metal bracket with two bolts is solo, no clue where it would go either...

Any help with identification is appreciated! If i'm totally wrong on something please let me know as well, i'm very welcome to feedback

 

The stuff on the lower left is obviously old / spare suspension parts. The other large items don't look like stock Jeep parts to me. You got a bin so stick it under a shelf and some of that medal will come in handy when you need to make a new transfer-case mount or other needed part.

 

It's been awhile since we had a free morning to do anything with the Jeep but today worked out perfectly! Cleaned out the rest of the stuff and my wife used a shop vac (while wearing dust mask and the HF "fork proof" gloves) to suck up 3+ gallons of mouse poo and dirt. I got it all the way jacked up with a little extra work using the basic jack, I've been checking local pawn shops for an "off-road" type but without any luck. I'll probably just get a Harbor Freight model and call it a day, especially for $70. It would have made for a much quicker lift i'm sure!



As clean as it's been in years! Looks like it's the rare wood floor model JK, i didn't move the plywood since i'm not prepared to deal with any of the body rust and it was notched perfectly so it doesn't move at all.



The seats will need to be replaced, the springs are rusted pretty badly and most of the padding was actually mouse/rat nest material. I thought i saw a post on here where someone used forklift seats? I'm mostly interested in function over being factory correct at this point, any suggestions are very welcomed.



The lower-left bundle of wires all have nice hand written tabs covered in packing tape, looks like it's all the lights and some after market stuff (CB radio, aux and reverse lighting) but running a trace on the thicker red wire (right of the steering column) it goes to the ignition coil. Based on my limited understanding, as long as this red wire has 12V of power there should be spark as long as the coil is still good... But this part totally confused me, enough to call it for the day.



Upon closer inspection, there is a spring/coil (resistor?) inside the block, and the gnarly looking black one with the exposed wire connects to the ignition switch (for the key) but there is another wire coming off it too! I didn't trace the second wire yet as i was hoping to get some help identifying this part and if i even need it anymore.



All three wires can be seen in this picture...



When i ordered a new coil from Kaiser Willy's, it says a resistor is not needed as it's built into the coil. >>

Replacement Ignition Coil 12 volt Fits 41-71 Jeep & Willys

Is this "block" the resistor and i need to just remove it? Or should i leave this thing in there and just replace those frayed/exposed wires? Thanks for any help!

 

great progress. keep going and you will be out enjoying your jeep before you know it. Yes, that appears to be the resistor that would go with the coil. You can remove it as it is no longer necessary, since your new coil has an internal resistor.

 

Thanks! I brought up some gas thinking i could try starting it if i fixed the wiring... and then i saw i need to connect the oil filter lines still, change the oil, tighten down the valve covers, fix that wiring and put on the coil i bought. Reinstall spark plugs after confirming they are doing their job and i think it's time to gravity feed some gas and see if she starts! It'll be a lot easier to work on it this fall when it's not 90* by 11am.

I had another question for anyone with experience; does the windshield need to be folded to remove the dash? I checked and the dash looks like a bit of sheet metal with a small lip, i'm wondering if i can pull the dash without having to remove the whole top and folding down the windshield. Thanks for everyone's help! Can't wait to get it started in a few months (if not sooner)

 

No. Once you unlatched the windshield you should be able to remove the dash. One step at a time to ensure you don't overlook anything is well worth it when you fire the jeep up the first time. When that day comes, your enthusiasm to continue will renew and before you know it your putting around the hills. Just in case you don't have a FSM, here is a diagram to assist in sorting out the wiring to some degree, since the jeep has been converted to use an alternator versus a generator.

 

Thanks! I couldn't get that PDF to load but i do have the service book. It seems simple enough to just get power to the essentials which is exactly my plan for now, i don't need anything else to drive around the property. Possibly next weekend i'll have some more progress!

 

Hello again! After a long two weeks of work (iPhone release, i work for a wireless carrier) and racking up some OT i wanted some relaxing time working on the Jeep. With that said, wiring and reconnecting the oil line were out of the question. But i found some seats on amazon that should work which i'm planning to order in the next week or so. On to today's accomplishments and discoveries.

First... these Jeeps were not really designed with passenger safety in mind. I guess i never realized the passenger seat is only held in by two little hinge points, because once i saw that it was just a matter of wiggling it a little and lifting for it to come right out. The wooden tool box is pretty neat, but makes me worry there is way worst rust than i had expected. I never really got under it until today, there are a few larger holes i might have to learn to weld or get welded up at my wife's work. Not really a priority at this point.



The driver seat was only held in with two very easy to reach bolts, so it came out too.



Hmmm... the whole floor from tail gate to the foot pan area is all plywood. Now i'm really getting worried, there isn't really a budget for too many new panels if i can help it and definitely not a who new tub. Not pictured but i also removed the gas tank after some wrestling with it, but made the mistake of spilling some of that bad varnish. Good news? Little to no rust under the tank. Crawling under to remove the fuel feed line i snapped a picture of the damage to the floor support thing I've seen a lot of people having to replace in their posts.



It's bad but i wouldn't feel unsafe just driving it around the property in that condition! Now how about the floor? I was honestly expecting to see 70% plywood from underneath, just Swiss cheese of holes and prepared my heart for the worst.





Well that wasn't as bad as i expected! Or at least it's all dirty enough to hide it for now lol.
I'll have to make sure to check the transmission oil level, it's looking like it lost a lot. If it's not too difficult i might try and replace the seals but i don't have anywhere to rebuild the transmission and if it's working i'd rather not mess with it!



Bonus! Under the fuel tank i found some of the coolest wrenches I've ever seen! not sure how long they've been down there but my guess is a long time. I'm planning to clean them up with a tooth brush/soapy water and some oil, maybe rust remover but i'm not sure.



For sure next trip will get something major done. Probably the oil lines so all i have to do is work out the basic wiring to try starting it up.

 

More or less typical rust you got there. Yes, you will need to learn to weld.

 

Agreed. That rust is about the norm but it doesn't look too bad in the footwells. Looks totally driveable and may have already been in that condition when parked.

If you find that the jack stands have settled into the earth on your next return trip, a good idea is to cut up some 3/4" plywood into squares/rectangles to make jack stand "feet", figure about 2" wider than the base of the jack in all directions. You can also use those on the trail or anywhere there is softer ground for emergencies... Also use one (or make one) to fit whatever jack you use for changing tires.

It was my idea to just put air in the tires.

 

Hello again, Jeep people!

The trip two weeks ago wasn't super productive, it took almost two hours to get the old oil lines off and replaced but it got completed and that's all that matters.
If anyone else has to replace this line, it looked like it would be accessible from the top but found coming at it from the bottom worked best once i discovered turning the steering wheel opened up room for the wrench.
PS, any idea what that coolant line on the front of the head would have gone to? The old head has a block off i tried to remove but it refused to move, I've got it covered for now with tape.


Looking inside the fuel tank with a light i didn't see any rust but there was some discoloration from varnish. Not really knowing what to do with that, i poured in about 1/4 gallon of new fuel and shook it up enough to get off some of the staining and replace the old varnish smell with new gas smell. An improvement for sure, then it was pretty straight forward getting the tank hooked back up and confirming no leaks or wet spots. Added about 3 gallons of fuel to prepare!



Only took a few minutes to get a new hose run from the carb and new filter, i decided for now i'll just hook it up to the existing line and see if any fuel gets through (it didn't)



With next weekend being my birthday, i wanted to get an early treat and see if i could at least get spark. Taking a step back to basics, i knew i should get voltage at certain points so i brought my multi-meter and tested a few spots. The burnt wire coming from the key switch was getting 4v,7v, 3v, 9v it was all over the place! Not wanting to fully dive into the wiring mess and likely having to pull the whole dash i got out the electrical tape and started wrapping all the clearly exposed wires.

I must have found most of the shorts because i got the voltage to read pretty steady and confirmed i'm getting spark!!!
Not knowing if this engine could be primed for oil, i pulled the valve cover and gave everything a good coating in oil (hopefully it helped) .... all back together and ready.



After prefacing there could be fire to my wife, the moment of truth...



Had to give it some throttle but did you see that?!?! Over a year working on this Jeep with the simple goal of being able to drive it around the property one day, and we've passed the first major step!!!

Yeah, i need to figure out if the fuel pump is working... and i've got to hook up the exhaust, finish the front seat, sort out the wiring, brakes... but it started!!!! I couldn't be happier, well, that's until i get to drive it around!

 

keep at it . someday you'll get that ride . you have been waiting for
all the metal work will take some time to complete
you can get whole replacement floors front to back now . just got to budget for them