JB's 1970 CJ5 Intro and Hopefully Future Build thread

Hello all! This is my Introduction to the forum, my first post here on this forum, and hopefully my build thread for my Kaiser :JEEP:1970 CJ5 (yet to be named). I have been hovering here for a week before joining. I actually will be buying a 1970 CJ5 in a week or 2. I actually drove 2 1/2 hours on Friday to look at it, but did not pick it up(YET). It is in decent condition. It was in a barn for years when the owner bought it. He got it running when he bought it about 3 years ago, but lost interest and it has been sitting in his garage for 3 years. The body is in Good condition. The main thing it will need are new drivers side and passenger floor pans welded in(not really any big holes in the floor, but it feels brittle -mainly the drivers side). The rest of the body is in good shape as far as rust. The Frame is solid - just surface rust. Steering will have to be upgraded - I have been reading up on the saginaw conversion which will likely be one of my first issues to address. Brakes will need to be completely gone thru and possibly upgraded. It has a buick v6 engine that will need some tender loving care to get it running. Owner said it was running, but may need a new distributor. It has the 27 up front and Dana 44 Flanged rear. Fuel tank and everything will need to be gone thru before starting and getting it running again. Tires are dry rotted. He does have a clean title for it that shows 57,000 miles(which for all I know actually has 257,000 miles on it). Here are the few pics I have of it that the owner sent me. Of course I forgot to take better pics of it when I went and looked at it on Friday. Is this roll bar original style for this year or was this custom or added later? I have not seen a roll bar in this shape very often. It is just mounted to the wheel wells like I assume they all were in those years(and I know not all of them came with roll bars then and that they were optional).







You guys think she is worth $850? Not running and will probably have to be completely gone thru to get it close to the road.


Also, a tad bit more about myself. I live in TN and also have a AMC 84 CJ7 that will hopefully be "finished" by the end of the summer! - 258, 4 speed, Dana 30, AMC 20, 4" suspension lift, 35's

Thanks!

 

dude the rear end is worth 5 by itself...get it home before somebody else does

 

Thanks for the reply napaguy. I knew the Dana 44 was a great find, but didn't know it was worth that much by itself . I have all but picked it up from the owner. I would have picked it up on Friday, but the owners best friend and next door neighbor dropped dead the day before, which I was unaware of until I got there to look at the Jeep, so I told him I would come back and pick it up this week or the next. I knew he had other things on his mind and better things to do than to load up his Jeep on my trailer. He did not have it advertized for sale anywhere and told me it would be there for me whenever I could come back to get it. No worries. He is about a 2 1/2 hr drive from me and I plan on picking it up hopefully a week from monday.:stout:

 

Nice find. Looking forward to your progress on it .

 

shoot yes its worth it! The parts alone are worth more than that and she looks to be a decently solid jeep and with a litle lipstick and rouge, she will be good to go. Great find and look forward to seeing your progress if you ger her! Oh, and welcome!

 

Thanks! I'm excited to start tearing into it!

Awesome! Thanks and look forward to starting work on her! I know I will have plenty of questions for all you guys. It will be my first CJ5 - The thing just oozes character and coolness:tea:..... Oh yeah, and all that other stuff called oil

 

haha good luck! i think that i am one of the few cj owners that dont have any leaks...besides some water from a bad hose. Original motor with almost 130k and she is still goin strong.

 

Yes, you must be one of the few and the proud to not having your CJ mark it's territory. BTW, you have a very nice build thread. Haven't made it thru all the way yet, but very nice work!

 

So I am hoping to pick it up the first of next week. I work 6 days a week, so I am trying to coordinate a time to go pick it up.

My first question(I'm sure there will be many more to come) for you guys. Where would you begin??? Engine, Brakes, Steering, Floor pans/body, Transmission, Axles, Transfer case, or the Radio first? The radio part is a joke.... ha... ha. I want to tackle one item at a time.

A little about me and my plans for this CJ5

#1 I am going into this build with every intention of rebuilding.
#2 I am also going into this thinking if I get in over my head, I will just part the SOBiscuit out and maybe make some cash or break even.
#3 I have limited skills as far mechanics go. I've never torn into an engine, transmission, etc. Yes, I've done basic things like fuel pump etc on my CJ7 but nothing major.
#4 I have never welded and will likely have to recruit a friend or acquaintance to help with the floor pans that will need to be replaced.
#5 I have a retail business that has some down time between customers showing up and plan on working little by little to get her fixed up and running. I want to avoid removing the tub if possible because I learned quickly with my CJ7 it can be a pain in the arse to get back on and you always find more problems the more you dig into it. I am not totally against removing everything from the frame, but if I can avoid it - I will try.
#6 I am thinking I want to restore this one close to stock. maybe a slight lift and 32 or 33" tires - nothing Ginormous. - I will have 35's on my CJ7 so may be nice to have more of a stock look on the 5.
#7 I plan on tackling one item at a time and hacking away at it little by little. I see this as a year/s project. I do not have plans or funds on this one to complete it in 6 months or less.

What would be your first item on the list to check off? And what would you add to this list?

Obviously, #1 is picking it up next week... what would you do next?

Thanks guys and look forward to getting this thing started!

 

IMO as long as the tub is securely bolted to the frame I would do things i this order. Engine (not necessarily rebuilding but get it running), brakes and steering, change fluids in the axles, tranny and transfer case. Then drive it for a while and what needs to be done next will be readily apparent.

 

i agree with 74Renegade...

i drove mine for about a year before i got the fever and ripped into it...

here i am a long time later and its STILL in pieces..

great find, welcome and keep the pix coming!!!

 

One of the first things is on the way home with it in tow, stop by a car wash and pressure wash the heck out of it. Kinda makes it better when it's home. As said , change all fluids, pull plugs and add a teaspoon of oil in the holes . let set a bit before turning motor over. Take a look at the wiring and make sure there are no bare wires that could short out once you power up . Drain old gas and see how bad the tank is. May not be as bad as you might think. Any questions you have can and will be answered here on this site. This site , in my opinion is the best. Good luck.

 

Thanks, that sounds like a great plan to start. I was planning on working on the them roughly in that order. The body seemed to be pretty secure, so I want to trfy to avoid removing it at the moment.
As far as the engine prep. I was thinking about getting a new distributor, wires, plugs, and fluid. Anything else you would recommend doing to the engine before testing her out?

 

Thanks TexasBlues. That story about your Jeep sounds strikingly similar to my 84 CJ7. I had it about 6 months and drove it around until I bought a replacement tub. Started taking it apart almost 2 years ago and I am finally getting close to getting it back on the road!
It's funny how projects always take twice as long as you originally expected!
I will hopefully be picking it up on Wednesday next week and will post a lot more pics when I haul her to her new home(my office). I know I love seeing other peoples pics, so I will be liberal with the pics.

 

Thanks rusty, I have to agree with you so far on this being a great forum! It's nice to know there is a place where all the Jeep nuts can get together and talk and trade ideas and information and help each other out. Unfortunately I am at the beginning stage and will need more help than I can give at the moment.

I like the idea of pressure washing it before unloading off trailer. I have a pressure washer at my office. I will be able to spray underneath the jeep a whole lot easier with it sitting up on the trailer and off the ground. Also, thanks for the tip on adding a little oil in the spark plug holes.

I may remove the gas tank completely to drain it and inspect it for holes and rust. #1 Good idea? #2 Is this necessary or should I just drain gas out? #3 if I do remove it and there is rust inside tank is there something that can be applied inside the gas tank to cover/remove rust?
Thanks guys

 

Sorry, don't mean to post a hundred times, but I was just thinking about the carb. I know it has been sitting for about 3 years, which is not good on the carb. What would you recommend doing on the carb to get it ready to fire up?
Thanks!

 

Picking her up Wednesday Morning! Will post some pics once I get her to her new home. I will be an official member of the early CJ5 club and own my first kaiser jeep :JEEP:

 

After you get it home and it is cleaned up, fluids already talked about, just walk, stand, crawl all over the Jeep. Look it over very well. You won't know about the carb until you get it running, unless it's a mess, leave it till then and see what it does.

 

Awesome, thanks for the help rusty. Can't wait to pick her up on Wednesday.

 

Congrates on pickin it up. And thanks for the build compliment. Its taken longer then I had planned but mainly due to lack of funds. Was a lot more expensive than i had originally thought also. Good luck with the jeep and like stated above, once you get the jeep home and go over the entire thing with a fine tooth comb, try to fire it up. Worse case scenerio, you get a rebuild kit for the carb.