Back at it Again -- '72 CJ5

Bet y'all thought I gave up, huh.
So I started back in October 2010 by picking up this CJ5 just south of Raleigh NC.







Total stock setup, 304/t15/d20, 30 front 44 rear.

Tub wasn't in very good condition at all but the frame was good. The tub did, however, have some sweet astro turf for carpet. Anyways, I sold the tub for $200 and picked up a 2nd cj for parts.



This tub is actually in good condition. But it has an AMC 20 in the rear so thats about useless.

I got the first Jeep completely disassembled but soon after that I went on a deployment in March of 2011. I came back in late February 2012 and got back to it.

So I went to the junk yard and pulled a t176/d300 combo which have already been rebuilt and painted, the d44 is finished and the d30 is almost done (just waiting on some seals to come in).




(the springs and axles were just outside while I was painting the frame)

Next to be done were some frame improvements







Looking at these pictures, I can see how my MIG skills have improved, especially compared to this first attempt:


There was a pretty good crack in the front passenger side of the frame right up to the front crossmember. That was my first time stick welding. I was under the impression that it was the other side where the steering box resides that cracks like that?


I was also surprised by some of the shoddy welds done at the factory after sandblasting the frame. I know back then it was all manually done and I'm not expecting perfect robotic welds, but still, some of these welds just suck. Here's an example:


I ground down and re-welded several porous welds as well.

Next was to sandblast the frame


Sandblasting took me about 3 weeks to get completely finished between problems with my sandblaster and the weather, which prompted me to put in copper lines in my garage to help with my condensation problems.




By the way, the copper line setup 100% eliminated my condensation problems. I can now sandblast till the tank is empty.

And finally, I just finished painting the frame today. I used Transtar epoxy primer and Valspar Restoration Series Tractor and Implement paint with a new pair of Vaper HVLP guns. They actually worked much better than what I was expecting. The paint came out very smooth. Not a single run.



And that pretty much catches me up with what I've done so far. Next I finish the d30 and get both axles under the frame, then I pull the 304 out of the parts Jeep and rebuild that, and THEN things will really start going back together. Hope there's enough pictures in here.

 

looking good!

welcome home, and thanks for your service fellow veteran...

nice flag on the front porch too!

i see your neighbor has a JEEP in their driveway too... could get interesting!

:easy rider: keep the pix coming!

 

Nice work so far. Keep up the good work!

 

You have a great project going there! Thank you for your service to our country, you are a hero in my book.

As far as the factory welds, the operators had to make a quota. Remember the jeeps weren't special, just another work vehicle. Quality meant just meeting engineering spec.

 

interesting about the copper pipes, looks allot safer than pvc
Frame is looking good

 

Frame, transmission and trans case looking great. Glad you are back at it! Looking forward to continued discussion - keep the pics coming, lots and lots of pics. Really puts me to shame, you can deploy for a year and still make more progress than me!

 

did you put drops in the copper to drain em? if you plumb air like a water line thats what you get ...

 

yea, two drops right before and right after the hose reel connects. Thats what the line next to my toolbox in the last picture is. And I put in the loop at the highest point so moisture has a harder time going up

 

I finished up the D30 today (minus the hubs), all I had left to do was assemble and install the spindles and diff cover. Let me know if you see something that doesn't look right.

Bearings installed just deep enough to clear the seal (in the next picture)


Seals installed


Oil seals installed


Packed with grease


Spindle and backing plate bolted on




Does anybody know what these two parts are for? I saw them on the 4wd.com diagram when I was ordering parts so I got them too, but I can't find them in the CJ Rebuilder's Guide or the FSM. Maybe they're 76+?



Again let me know if something's amiss.

 

Looks great man. I wanted to ask, what brand of bearings did you use as I am facing this same job in a few weeks.

 

Thanks. I got the spindle bearings from napa, all the ones I found online were omix-ada.

 

The top seals look like the the inner seals I put in my Dana 30. You'd have to take out the gears to see them.



Take a look at http://www.earlycj5.net/forums/showthread.php?78780-1972-CJ-5-Almost-Restoration/page4 post #34


4wd.com part # D/S46470


No idea about the snap rings. My Dana 30 didn't have them.

 

ok thanks. Thats the part number. I didn't go into the differential so thats probably why I didn't see them. At least I have them if I need them later..

 

I pulled the 304 out of the parts Jeep yesterday, I was planning on rebuilding that one because the other 304 I have is a '79 and I wanted matching years, or something. I forget why. Either way the reasoning behind it was totally arbitrary. So anyways, I pull the motor and the first indication that this one might not be the best candidate for rebuild was the steady flow of water that poured out as I drained the oil pan. For 2 straight minutes. I timed it. I figured it might just have been stagnant water for sitting in the open for so long and kept disassembling. Here are the pictures as I was going through it:



So far so good. Little bit of water but nothing abnormal (comparatively)



all the pushrods were straight and the tappets didn't look incredibly disfigured. Next is where it started going south...




And as for the block...




I popped open the oil pan...



So at that point I was going through the list of everything that would need to be machined, replaced, bored, etc. And that's about where I forgot why I even wanted to rebuild this one in the first place since I had a perfectly good 304 that I half-way assembled before I deployed sitting in the shed. So today I pulled it out of the shed, tore it back apart and now I'm rebuilding it again. I didn't trust it sitting for a year, which at some point got uncovered and was looking pretty dirty in and out. But on the bright side, no machine shop waiting times or anything for me. All I am waiting on now is a set of head gaskets and I'll be good. I already ordered everything else about a year ago and its just been collecting dust waiting to go in. So after the engine is finished, I'm going to wait another few days or so for the paint on the frame to fully cure, finish the hubs for the D30, paint the engine brackets and it'll all start going in.

 

That looks gnarly!(not in a good way either). Is the 304 your building now just being built back to OEM specs?

 

I won't pretend to be an engine expert - but that can't be good.


I guess the '73 AMC 304 added the rocker bridges? I don't have them on my '72 304.

 

Yea it looks like it was hydrolocked, I couldn't even get two of the pistons out. The '79 that I'm using had clean bores so I just had them hone it a little. Other than that, I bought an Edelbrock Performer Intake, Performer cam, and performer timing set. And I bought a Holley TBI for it. All that will be going on throughout this week. My head gaskets aren't coming in till Friday so I'm about to go out in the garage and put the bottom end of it back in.

Yea. '73 was a transition year for the bridged rockers. I actually don't know why I titled this as a '72 build because by the time I'm done it will be mostly a '73.

 

Alright, I would have got around to this a couple days sooner but I ran into my old gunny at Autozone and we got a little distracted


So when I did get around to it, I got the good '79 motor stripped down to the block and I used Easy Off oven cleaner to strip the paint off the block and heads.


Then I decided to test it on my tub


That stuff works. I got it to bare metal with just one coat and then pressure washed it off. I'm going to strip my whole tub with it. It's dangerous and burns your skin on contact so be careful with it. And DEFINITELY wear eye pro. Goggles for that matter. It has lye in it (like that scene in Fight Club haha). Every post that brings up Easy Off has a disclaimer so I felt obligated to throw one in there as well.:stout:

Then that night when it got cooler I got both axles under the frame.


That Riddler Diff cover looks mean.


What a great feeling to actually start putting things together. I've been pulling parts out of my Parts Shed out back that I bought a year and a half ago. It's like finding all this cool stuff still in the box for free because I'm so detached from the money by now.

Then today , when the humidity was around 80%, I decided to test my air lines that I built by sandblasting. I didn't get a single clog and I drained it twice.



The front wheels aren't on it yet because I'm waiting on wheel bearings to rebuild the axle flanges and install my hubs. So as soon as I get those in I'll have it on all four tires and I'll move on to the brake lines while simultaneously finishing up the engine so I can mount the drivetrain.

Speaking of the engine, I stopped by a local paint & body shop last month to ask one of the painters for some tips and pointers. Real cool dude, he talked to me, a total stranger who just basically walked up to him, for about half an hour. I went in there a couple days ago and asked if we could work something out where he could bake my engine once I paint it. He said he'd do it for free. See? It pays to be friendly.

So after I get that done I'll have a complete rolling chassis.:AMC:

 

Well done on the progress. Looks like everything is coming along nicely!!! I will have to give that Easy Off stuff a try...

 

Its starting to look like a Jeep again!