Clutch Question.

Sorry to sound stupid or repetitive. First time jeep owner here with a million questions. I'm not ordering a clutch at this time but have to ask which one do I need based on configuration? I have a 1968
CJ5 with a 225. The part that confuses me is somewhere along the lines I got a muncie 4 speed swapped in. Advance adapter to original T case etc. Being new to jeeps and wanting one for a long time I finally settled on the one I recently purchased. I thought while looking at it when it was for sale this was a prime example of a great unmolested/ unmodified jeep. Exactly what I wanted to avoid was the list of previous owners modifications. Fast forward a a couple of months and I'm finding out this thing has more modifications that I realized. Most have been done decent enough it's not an issue other than trying to figure out what I need to make it keep going.

If mods are done safely/correctly I'm good with that. I was searching for a close to stock jeep as possible to avoid confusion on replacement parts. I guess my biggest mistake of this whole project was thinking it was going to be a simple quick job to get it to being a quality finished toy. I'm realizing everything I do is not as simple and straightforward as I originally thought. Everything requires modifications etc to fit because with all of the changes nothing stock fits anymore. Big cycle of never ending issues.

My simple minded way of thinking is very close to either selling this thing or going with my hot rod common ways of replacing everything with a 350/350 and lowering it and making a street legal go kart. I guess I'm just discouraged at this point.

 

Don’t give up!
These projects seem to take forever, but we’re here for you, and it’s totally worth it in the end!

It won’t matter in the clutch department, but when you say “Muncie 4-spd,” I’m guessing by your pic in your intro that it’s not an SM420 or 465, but the car-style aluminum bodied M20/21/22? I think I see a Hurst shifter by your knee. Those are fun on the street, but don’t plan on any real hardcore off-roading with it; the low gearing is awful.

Someone will correct me if I’m wrong, but the Chevy transmissions use the same 10-spline clutch disc that jeep used with the 225, so just order a clutch set for that jeep and you’ll be fine.

 

That is how I under stand it also.

 

You are correct it is a muncie car 4 speed. Being 6'5" the shifter being closer to the driver side sure doesn't help. I know it's an aluminum muncie with the Hurst shifter. I haven't crawled under it to look for identification numbers etc so as mentioned I'm 99% sure it's a M20,M1 or M22. Which ever one it is I will bet its the least desireable one because that's my luck lol. If a simple stock clutch kit bolts up I would probably lose my mind that something that simple would actually work out in my favor.

I don't really have any desire to go doing anything crazy off road. Somewhere else along the lines a previous over I am assuming did something to lock the front and rear differentials. Weather it be the right way or the wrong way. I assume Lincoln locker but I haven't removed the covers to inspect or change Fluids yet.

Lots of little weird quirks here and there so far. I wish the v6 was a little more parts friendly. I think the thing that threw me over the edge yesterday was the valve covers. I ordered a set of valve covers off of a jeep website that were listed as chrome valve covers for the 3.7. Very generic description I was thrilled I found something that was listed as fitting for under $500.

Yesterday the covers show up. (My factory valve covers are horrible rusty looking nasty pieces). The box says transdapt #4964. A quick Google search comes back with something about summit racing and someone answering a question saying that this part number will not fit the dauntless v6.
I haven't had time to really look. It literally took about 5 weeks to get a complete gasket kit.

Sorry to rant and rave I just didn't expect this project to be so complicated for such a simple vehicle but it seems even the smallest of projects have to be figured out and custom fabricated. Still trying to figure out why if take measurements at all 4 corners nothing matches upto either side. I will assume the worst.

 

You have the perfect name for a Jeep owner. That said aftermarket valve covers are limited these days as are new replacements.
It appears that Offenhauser 5881 is one of the few replacements. These can be used with a Felpro gasket for a 225.
There are stocks used ones at this time on e-bay. Welcome to the life of owning a Jeep.

 

I decided on my name based on the Just Empty Every Pocket joke. I have seen the offenhauser covers and intake. I would like to be the owner of both. Then while I'm at it might as well order the comp cams kit too then I will need a nice new holley 390 to go with all of that. It never ends and for the performance gain I would get out of it I would have been money ahead to swap in bone stock a small block chev. I have the sbc I just need all the stuff to make it fit.

 

To answer your question,
Yes, the standard replacement 10-1/2" muscle car clutch should work just fine. The Muncie trans, BOP bell housing and rear of the dauntless is basically the same as if you were working on a late 60's v8 powered GM product.

A v8 swap has been done many times in the past and is certainly something you could do.
I guarantee you that the v8 swap will cost you 2x more than you initially thought and take 2x the amount of time that you thought as well. Short nose jeeps require more custom fabrication and special parts to do the job correctly. Think, short water pump, short accessory brackets, custom fan shroud or e fan..... exhaust routing around pedals/drive shaft, distributor clearance..... ect...
Yes it has been done many times, but it takes allot to do it right.
FYI, A very mild low compression 307 isn't going to be much of a performance upgrade over a well loved dauntless. Yes the 307 might make 20-30 more hp/tq, but there is also more added weight from the v8 engine.
I would venture to say that 99% of v8 swapped early cj's were shipped from the factory with 4 cylinder engines. In that case, the common 283, 305, 307, 327, 350 variants were a big jump in performance. It is rare to see a dauntless v6 swapped out for a v8 unless the replacement v8 is of the high hp racing variety.

That said,
What do you want from this jeep?
Ice cream runs on Sunday afternoon?
Deer hunting?
Running the Chappie Shasta OHV trails behind Lake Shasta?
I would strongly suggest driving the jeep for a while before you tear into it. You may be surprised how your desires and expectations change once you really get to know it.
Lastly, there are a ton of members on this forum who have parts hoards that will blow your mind. Post a WTB before you go paying new prices for stuff.

 

For some reason I was thinking the 225 flywheel was drilled for a 9 1/2 inch clutch maybe that's what was throwing me off. I do have a 307 as well as .060 over 350 that came out of a friend's early 2000s sprint car(short block only) . I get what you are saying about time and money to do it right. I have done 2 different chevy LUV trucks with small blocks last one had a 406 cubic inch small chevy in it. Space was probably very similar to the cj5.

I actually bought this to hopefully get my 14 year old involved in doing something different. I don't and never intended to make it his daily driver or mine either. I did however think it would be a good learning experience and hopefully fun for him especially to learn how to drive a manual transmission.

I will admit I thought old jeep=simple project. Come to find out it's not exactly rocket science but it seems like with all the previous owners modifications it's not going quite as easy or as fast as I thought it would.

My intended use besides eating up my garage space is fair weather fun toy. 20 mile round trips to work and home. Easy roads/trails in Chappie. I do want to put a back seat in it as well to make a Saturday night family run to in and out or dudes or something fun. I sold my harley because the wife didn't like riding on the back and It would leave the kid out. I kind of figured this would help me have a toy that maybe if I'm lucky the wife and kid will enjoy being at least a small part of.

 

Until you pull you Jeep apart to get to the clutch, there’s no telling what is in there. Most likely, it it the same clutch that was used stock with the original transmission it came with (T86?).
Also, don’t assume you have a Muncie passenger car transmission in yours. It could also be a T10, another aluminum case passenger car 4 speed. I have Jeeps that have both Muncie and T10’s, both with aftermarket Hurst shifters. Actually, when properly set up, they are very quick/slick shifting for a Jeep. As long as you don’t have a close ratio version, the ratios are fine as long as you don’t rock crawl.
I would keep the Dauntless V6 if it is in decent condition. A SBC swap works well, but anything more than a 283 is overkill. Your transmission is plenty strong, but then you need to start upgrading to stronger axles. Keep the V6! They are very well suited for a CJ5.
-Donny

 

I have literally driven this thing 300 yards max. The V6 history is unknown. I will say it starts right up after sitting for a few weeks and idles good. The only down side I can see is it is leaking oil from somewhere in the front. The reason I bought complete gasket set. The drivers side exhaust manifold is wasted as is most of the exhaust system. I have a new set of headers and everything to do the exhaust in boxes.

The reason I haven't tried to drive it is because of the steering. It's sketchy at best. Previous owner did the saginaw conversion, the rag joint is toast and the the steering column is shot out. I have a new gm style tilt column, steering wheel, u joints DD shaft and splined u joint to shaft to connect to the box.

I need to get motivated redo the steering first and then do the exhaust. I finally got the new smittybilt seats bolted in. Once the steering is safe I look forward to taking it on a shakedown run.

 

You really should start a build thread and post some pictures of your jeep. That way we all can watch you discover your jeep and enjoy it together.

 

I will definitely start taking some pictures when I get to where I can work on it more. Beginning of summer I bought it brought it home sat down and thought up about everything I needed. I spent several thousand dollars in the course of about 3 days. The weather was very mellow for summer time and all I could do is sit here and wait. It was kind of weird I ordered multiple parts for different systems and then everything showed up except one or two parts I needed to start. Some parts were lost in shipping and held me up about a month or on back order etc. I get everything and we have record breaking heat. So I've been sitting on this thing and pile of parts. I just need to get some cooler weather and some free time.