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My 1971 Jeep CJ5 Build Thread

99K views 280 replies 75 participants last post by  fdny58 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
Hello everyone! I've been poking around here since I bought my CJ. Just now getting around to making a thread though...

I picked up my Jeep about six months ago and it's in the midst of a complete "restomod" restoration.

After getting everything sandblasted (the rednecks that I paid to do it for me gave me a headache when they decided that it would be a good idea to leave all of the bondo on it and tell me that I would just have to put it back in), I cleaned the frame and boxed it and applied rust inhibitor on the inside and out. I also mocked up the new bike chain style clutch linkage and changed the worm drive steering box to a modern Chevrolet box along with a modern Chevrolet tilt column.

The condition of the body is okay. There are plenty of dents and crappy welds to correct but the good news is that the rust is very minimal. The majority of the bondo is along the bottom of the rocker panels. My guess is that after years of driving through the woods, trees and rocks have dented them in and whoever "restored" this thing years ago decided it would be easier to just smear bondo over it and sand it straight....That's not good enough for me.

I'm going to keep the D44 in the rear and throw a locker in it after it's taken apart to replace the bearings and seals...The D27A in the front was a piece of junk, so it has been replaced with a Dana 30 from a newer CJ5...Gotta have disc brakes. I was thinking about using 33" tires, but after seeing the frame with the body, springs, and axles all put together on jack stands, I may go for 35's. Just have to do some more measuring to see if I'll have any issues.

As for the engine, my friend who operates an engine shop will be refreshing the 225 Buick Dauntless v6. I want to retain the factory engine, but definitely want to get more than the factory rated 150hp.I want to boring it out .030, install a aluminum 4bbl intake with a Holley, a small cam to move the torque and maybe adding aluminum heads to get over the 200hp mark.


This is the only picture I have of the Jeep before I tore it down. I snapped it when my dad and I went to go pick it up.


The suspension is only mocked up, but the pics show the 2" lift springs, and the 1 1/2' lift shackles...I added a 1" body lift just for hits and giggles...





Boxed rails





The Chevrolet steering conversion...It still needs to be welded in solid...







The tilt column mounted.



 
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#2 ·
The bike chain clutch linkage....This thing is pretty cool...I'm excited to see how well it works...



The bumpers that were on it when we got it were junk...All bent up and shit...So my dad and I made these...







I have the bulk of the bondo chipped off on the passenger side.





 
#3 ·
Wow,, great pics... Looks like it's coming along real nice.... I laughed at the amount of body filler on yours as my YJ had the same thing :mad:..... Keep the pics coming..
 
#5 ·
I spent most of the day in the garage today....

I tried to finish the welding on the steering, but I ran out of wire...I'll have to get another spool tomorrow.



My dad and I got the body off of the frame today....He got a cart from his work that they were throwing away or something...It works pretty good for moving the tub around the garage and as a base to do body work...I welded some square tube to the cart and the tub is bolted onto it using the body mounts...



I also got a picture of a drawing my dad did....He's an engineer, and likes to over-do things..lol



We have had issues getting the driver's side hub to engage....So I tore into both sides today to find the issue....It turns out that a seal is missing and the thickness of that seal is enough for gear inside of the switch to not engage the gear on the hub....So a rebuild kit is in order to update things and to correct that problem...

 
#11 ·
Thanks for the comments everyone! I may go with 35's....It's like an extra 100 bucks over the 33's I want....So I can't see any reason why not...



Thanks....Why spend $500 on bumpers when my dad and I can make our own? haha
 
#12 ·
Dude, your dad rocks...we're talking bout making one to put on my TJ. Gonna try and drop by late next week sometime to check the project out in person and talk bout bumpers and such. Looking good though man! Let me know when you're out there working on it again after 6pm and I may try to drop by and see it. Gotta start learning this crap now that I got a Jeep to work on too. LOL
 
#13 ·
Update time....Progress has been kinda' slow due to the holidays...

The frame is painted. Both the frame and the body are going to be the same color. We picked a GM color...Kind of a gunmetal...



The gas tank, sending unit, and skid plate are all in.





Here's the ridiculously large flywheel...It's like 50 something pounds...



A quick test fit of the wheels we're going to use. 15" aluminum and there will be 12.5" wide tires mounted on them...Still debating 33's or 35's....The clearance to the caliper is pretty close...We got lucky with that...haha











 
#16 ·
I had the pleasure of checking this out in person this evening...I can honestly say that the precision that went into the work so far is top notch. I can't wait to see the end result. This thing will be a top attraction if they choose to take it around to various shows/meets and show it off once it's finished.
 
#17 ·
Thanks a lot Josh!

Here are some more pictures from this past weekend and tonight.

My dad and I started the fuel lines and got the fuel filter mounted...The aluminum hard lines came in the mail and we'll get those bent up this week and mounted...



The rear brake lines are done along with the breather lines.





We completely disassembled the transmission over the weekend and checked everything for damage (luckily there wasn't any except for some light rust on the top edge of some pieces from sitting for a decade) and we replaced the syncros.



The case has been primed, painted, and cleared.





We had the opportunity to mount the wheels and put the chassis on the ground for the first time since we started. It's pretty exciting to see the progress that has been made and get an idea what the finished product will look like. :punk:






More pictures will be posted later this week as more progress is made. :cool:
 
#21 ·
I might have read over it but what kind of paint/clear are you guys using Is it some kinda under coating stuff? Thanks
 
#28 · (Edited by Moderator)
Pictures!

My dad and I put the body on the frame this morning so that we can finish the parking brake, start the wiring harness (we need to know the lengths because we're making it from scratch), figure out where we want to mount the seats and make a frame for them, and just to see how it sits...lol





My dad found his way into my picture...



And then just for ***** and giggles, we used the jack and tried to flex the suspension out a bit...







 
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