Shaggy

I bought Shaggy (1956 CJ5 with Chevy 265 engine) in December, 1970. I used it for fishing and elk hunting in the Rockies until 1973, when I broke a ring land. I replaced the engine with the current one, a 283 Chevy that I got a good deal on from a buddy. In 1980, when my older boy turned 16, we both shared driving it until 1988, when he went off to college. It sat, partially disassembled, until 2005, when I decided to "fix it up a little" by patching a few rust spots and seal a few leaks. What it’s evolved into is patching ALL the rust holes, Straightening out ALL the body dents, relocating the motor mounts from the engine front to the side, making a complete new custom dashboard, replacing the firewall and cowl (that the PO had butchered) with ones from a 63 CJ5, changing the brakes from 9" to 11" all the way around, drilling water/heat escape holes in the drums, adding swinging pedals for the brakes and clutch, replacing the seats to hi back buckets, redoing the wiring, using a fuse block from a later model Jeep, replacing the taillight panels in the tub to accept the 58 impala taillights that were in it when I bought it, and sealing the underseat gas tank.

Here are some before pics, showing the work to be done on the tub, the old firewall, and the front of engine motor mount that the PO cobbled up.











Here’s the new firewall, the new side motor mounts I am building, and the new dashboard I built.





Drilling the drums and the new front backing plates.






The rear corner patch panels and the taillights installed in the rear panel.





At present, I am trying to moving the engine forward and to the right so that I won’t have to butcher the firewall. I’m also working on making new hat sections for under the floor and replacing floor panels as I fabricate them. Once I get the engine set, the big job will be to marry the 63 cowl and firewall to the 56 body and get everything lined up. More pics to follow as I move forward.

tommy b

 

Looking great Tom! You're making good progress, I'm soooo jealous.

 

Looking great. I wish my body work was as far along as yours. That is going to be a nice looking jeep when you finish.

 

dude! 58 impala lights, sweet! very cool, very different. i like the drilled brake drums too. you'll have to keep me posted if it helps alot. this is for you.R)

 

Do a search here for drilled brake drums, seems to be a pretty popular and successful mod.

 

Finally, a little bodywork progress. I fabbed up some body mount brackets that go on the floor riser panel behind the gas tank and front seat. The riser was rusted out, as were the brackets. Boy, that Miller 135 MIG welder sure is sweet. Here's some pics.









tommy b

 

nice!