1970 Cj5 Build

well, i have had many projects but not one has made it to a forum. so this will be my first build where more than just my friends will get join. i bought this jeep 2 years ago from another jeeper. it came basically stock except that he stuffed a chevy 283 in it and put some 32x11.50's for some extra rubbing .



pardon the quality i am taking all these photos with my phone.

 

when i got my hands on it i bolted shackles on, new exhaust, stereo, custom rack, and went through all the brakes. got to play with it in town for a bit. did very well out at salton sea. i was impressed on how well it performed through the badlands. so i decided to drive it up to Parker,AZ which is 3 1/2 hours from me. (this took a while since i had only a 10 gal tank getting 10 miles a gallon!) this is where she would be kept for the time being. i was going to use her to put my boat in the water, hunting, and some mild 4x4ing. this lasted about 1 year before i broke something up front and i lost 4 wheel drive. i towed it home and ripped it apart.

 

Looks good.

What are your plans?

 

once i made room in the garage, i was able to really get dirty. i managed to sell all the stuff i didn't need (especially to members here, THANK YOU!) to fund this project. this was supposed to be a mild build. i acquired a new 96 305 vortec from my godfather who had no use for it. the only caveat was that he could drive it whenever i got it back to the river. so i gladly agreed to the deal. i started to do some research on the cj's and found this forum. (which has been a huge help) my mild build went to a wild build. i was hooked.



NEW ENGINE!

 

my goal is to build a streetable crawler prerunner! haha

 

i got the frame cleaned up with a wire wheel attached to a 4" grinder! messy, i had black ish all over the place. took it to my buddy to use his plasma cutter and cut off the shock mounts and rear brace for my 15 gal tank. i also cut some pieces out to box my frame in.

 

i bought an SM465 and Dana 30 for $200. just need to get an adapter for the d18 and get my axles built. i was completely relieved to find out that my dana 44 was flanged! i was worried that i would have to buy axles. picked up a detriot locker and 4.10 gears. found a true trac for the dana 30 and 4wheel parts had a sale where you could get gears, master install kit and diff cover for $300. so i took it. i bought new calipers, rotors and ball joints for the d30. i just dropped the axles off today! to have everything installed.

 

over the weekend i painted the frame and put the new engine in. installed rear leafs. still waiting on fronts (back-ordered since march!) should be here mid September though. i found some revolver shackles front and rear on craigslist! going to install the rear tonight. i have saved so much money by using this site and craigslist. this has been a budget build for sure.

 

i have done a lot of google"ing". its seems most people like the way they perform. i do see why some people are concerned. i'm still trying to find more info on the streetability. i don't do a lot of hill climbs so i guess i can give them a try and see what happens. i'm just a little concerned about a "oh ****" maneuver on the street.

 

Chris:
I did drive my jeep maybe 30 miles with those shackles and didnt think anything bad was going on, i did notice that the locker make my rear tires chirp around corners but i guess that is normal,still not sure if i am going to exchange it for a limited slip i have in a postal jeep Dana 44.I decided since i found a patched up frame i would put the suspension back to stock except with the 2.5' lift into a new frame.
Keep us informed how it goes.

Best regards
Terry

 

just got my diffs back from the shop. they turned out great. just need to bolt them up and add oil. i need to rebuild the d30 though. the u-joints are wasted, the spindles are rusty and need a good cleaning and i have new ball joints to install. at least the gears and true trac are in.

 

I would just use some stock style shackles, they work fine and have way better manners that the revolvers. Revolver shackles are for RTI scores and that's it.

 

i have ordered up some 1/2 inch lift shackles to give me a total of 3.5". the revolvers are for sale at the moment. i figured for my use of the jeep the revolvers wouldnt be the best match.

 

i just got done ordering my Novak adapter for my SM465 to D18. i also ordered a rear tire carrier and tube fenders from jeeptubes.com. it's like christmas in september!

 

Don't forget hydrolic clutch

 

Is that a marine engine?

 

yes it is. i got it for free from my godfather. he had no use for it. i just ordered an edelbrock performer manifold so i can rip that 2bbl carb off. that will be for sale shortly.

 

Those engines have nice high torque cams in them.

You may also want to change the distributor out to a automotive unit, they have different advance curves and a vacuum advance. If you sell that marine dizzy on ebay you will recoup your investment and then some.

 

i have an HEI from the old 283 motor that i was going to use. i figured this motor would produce more torque than normal. this is why i went with the SM465 trans. the poor old T14 barely made it with the tired 283 before.