Build Thread 1959 CJ5 "One Piece at a Time..."

[Old Dog]

Get rr Done, hoping to see you all in Col.

 

[mtnwhlr]

I like the paint on the top you should paint the Jeep to match.

 

[oldjeeplady]

Alright now we have some pics. Time to gather up the Large popcorn and watch.:lpopcorn:

Those fenders have me interested. Im thinking they may be some old style Postal fenders. They have the lights on top of them like were on the top of Postals around here many years ago. Im going to lok into this and see what I can find. Id dump them for some classic Cj-5 fenders myself and it doesnt sound like youve fallen in love with them either.

Yeah I don't like them either - but we will go with functional for the trip...
I'm really hoping a lift will "force" us to at least "reshape" them....I told Curt to look at Dave's CJ and make the fenders look like that.....:drool:

 

[oldjeeplady]

I like the paint on the top you should paint the Jeep to match.

We just might....

 

[oldjeeplady]

Time for some more pictures...and there are more in the camera.....

We made a decision to use the 1960 frame based on the "extra" stuff welded to the 1959 frame and the front end damage on that one. Later we find we may have chosen the wrong frame, but it's too late then so we get the really big tools out...... Stay tuned....

1959 original frame - we robbed some parts off of it



1960 rusted cross member - to be removed



1959 "better" cross member



1960 frame after removing crossmember



1960 frame after lots of grinding



Me grinding on the frame....



blasted front cross member



blasted front cross member another view




More to come - better post this now.....

 

[oldjeeplady]

The blast cabinet was losing " media" ....there was a hole where the seam in the right glove came apart....



I do leatherworking, and lots of different sewing, so I fixed this by turning the glove inside out and saddle stitched it back (two needle hand sewing):

Starting the stitching:



When doing this kind of repair it's best to sew in the same holes and not make new ones



Now it's fixed:



more pictures to come....

 

[oldjeeplady]

Well the frame wouldn't fit in the blast cabinet...

So here are some pics of my husband blasting in the driveway....When we were done we swept up the sand, dried and filtered it and will be able to reuse a lot - the rest was great traction on all the ice that built up on the driveway....









more to come - but I better get to work....

 

[oldjeeplady]

Get rr Done, hoping to see you all in Col.

Thanks - we will be there one way one another....

We found some axles from a '74 CJ5 Dana 44 rear Dana 30 front 11'' brakes with finned or fanned drums (cannot remember what they are called...) - these things were complete - they have Warn manual locking hubs both front and rear...(rear...????) - will investigate - maybe we lucked into a rear locker or some kind of traction aid....

Anyway - we used our '91 Ranger to go get these and when we got home noticed a very bad squeaking noise coming from the suspension. The frost heave in the roads here is about the worst I have even seen.

So now we have something else to fix...

 

[Petescj]

they have Warn manual locking hubs both front and rear...(rear...????) - will investigate - maybe we lucked into a rear locker or some kind of traction aid....

Sounds like you have the Warn free floater kit in the rear Dana 44 . Good for flat towing but no locker advantage. Nice that you could add your sewing tech into a build thread.

 

[BusaDave9]

Good thread.

Are you going to have it ready for Colorado before August?

 

[oldjeeplady]

Sounds like you have the Warn free floater kit in the rear dana 44. Good for flat towing but no locker advantage. Nice that you could add your sewing tech into a build thread.

We pulled the cover off the Dana 44 and there was no locker... - There are little allen screws in the rear wheel lockers - you have to unscrew these a bit - and - there you go - almost like taking the rear driveshaft off. When these are unlocked - the wheels turn, but not the differential. Now I know what it's called...

My next question is:
Can I still install a rear locker with these rear locking hubs?

 

[oldjeeplady]

Good thread.

Are you going to have it ready for Colorado before August?

I know it looks hopeless at this point, but we are making progress...You just have to believe...

Honestly - I cannot tell you for sure what the future holds - but our plans are to be there with something 4x4....running, tested, and not raining rust all over CO!!

 

[Petescj]

We pulled the cover off the dana 44 and there was no locker... - There are little allen screws in the rear wheel lockers - you have to unscrew these a bit - and - there you go - almost like taking the rear driveshaft off. When these are unlocked - the wheels turn, but not the differential. Now I know what it's called...

My next question is:
Can I still install a rear locker with these rear locking hubs?

Yes. Id talk with someone here that has the full floater kit. I believe the hubs will be your axles weak point then. Pretty sure Sasquatch was someone who had one. I never have.

 

[oldjeeplady]

Here are some pics of the axles we bought. These were from a '74 CJ5 Dana 44 Rear Dana 30 front with 11 inch drum brakes, and what I now know is called a "Warn full floater kit for flat towing" in the rear Dana 44 . (Thanks Pete!)



A close up of the hubs:



A close up of the rear locking hub. You can see the little allen screws here . Notice what great shape these are in by the reflection of the red frame pulling tool in the finish.....



Next pics show the use of that big red tool...Yeah the frame was not straight.... Stay tuned.....

 

[Torxhead]

Oldjeeplady, I have had the Warn Jeep Front Wheel Hub Conversion Kit and the Full Floating Axle Conversion Kit for many years and will try to help you if you need any.

 

[oldjeeplady]

Oldjeeplady, I have had the Warn Jeep Front Wheel Hub Conversion Kit and the Full Floating Axle Conversion Kit for many years and will try to help you if you need any.

Thank you very much for your offer! I certainly need all the help I can get. Do you have a rear locker, and if so, what kind and possible problems?

I think we already established that putting in a rear locker would then make the rear hubs the weak link...at least I think that's what I understand.

We didn't know we were getting this exact setup when we got these axles until we actually saw them. We didn't even know the brakes and steering parts were included...such a deal...

 

[Torxhead]

I have the old style Detroit Locker, which is probably pretty had on those hubs. I can say just to go easy on tightning that rear set screw, since it can push thru, and I have replaced them with stainless for rust issues. A little dab of locktite would be good also. I believe those hubs are the type used in the Dana 60 axle and have never had a strength issue even with a 103 to 1 low gear. I once hardness tested the axles and got a 55 on a Rockwell C scale which is quite hard. I did hear that the older style kits only used the original 4 bolt setup on the rear brake backing plates and mine is converted to a 5 bolt, if that even makes a difference.

 

[oldjeeplady]

We were making templates to box the frame and I noticed the the frame was not straight - at least by my eyesight - but a straightedge proved that to be true...

Here are some pics of how bad it was off:





So we set up the frame pulling tool. We have this tool because, well, let's not talk about that, but it wasn't my accidents...





Now we are using the puller - these things can be dangerous so a safe distance is a good idea...



Another view:



After the frame was pulled straight, the original front crossmember was tack welded back in place. (and some other work done...)



We also have a tram gauge tool. This is another of those "must have" tools if you are doing any kind of serious frame alignments. (again - why we have this - don't go there, but it sure has come in handy on these vintage vehicles!!!!)

 

[mtnwhlr]

 

[oldjeeplady]

I wanted to post some pics of "why" we have some of the cool frame tools, but it took a while to find them.

This is an 02 Elantra that I inherited in June 09 when my Mom passed away. It only had about 35K on it, and being from West Virginia didn't see the road salt we get in Wisconsin so it was in very good condition. Except for our "project" CJ's, most of our other vehicles are 4x4 trucks and much larger. Somehow this little car got named the "Peanut." I really didn't drive it much the first 4 years - neither of these "oops" was me at the wheel....

Peanut "oops 1" before and after:





Peanut "oops 2" before and after:





My husband fixed this car twice and a couple others for our sons' friends. No it isn't perfect, but you have to look pretty hard to tell. He really has some skills I can only write about.....