77 j10.....79 cj5

[Made in America]

I am a fairly new jeep owner I bought my 79 CJ5 about a year ago and have had a little fun with it offroad, but there is so much to be done to it that I enjoy being in my garage building things for it. "The Plans" are taking shape..haha

anyway, I bought a 77 J10 Today! I dont know much about them other than what ive read today. The PRICE, I could not have passed up $500 I figured it was worth that just to see If I could swap the axles to my narrow track Cj. It has some other nice things on it too and the body isnt in that bad of shape, im wondering what the cooler project is now... I want to build a affordable (under $15,000) Rock Crawler.. Do

I rebuild the J10.......the interior is pretty toast! gut and cage? the (360 i think) motor was left open in dust for 8 years the body isnt bad but needs some rust repair.

Put those parts on the CJ5 ......Ita has stock axles, 3 speed manual, AMC 304 nothing special

I like the old CJ crawlers alot, they class up offroading!!!!
This J10 seems to be a hard find...... might be kinda cool to own one!!!
sell the J10 to some one who will give me more than I bought it for and use that money towards the CJ???



Any advice... I was on a good path with my CJ "The Honeybadger"...then this Temptress wearing nothing but J10 badges is staring at me from my driveway......and my wife is at work late tonight :drool: ............

Jeeps are cool!!

 

[IOPort51]

I have found it best to stay focused, if you don't you don't get anything accomplished.

I have an 81 J-10 that I parked because I did not have time to work on it and the CJ both. Or maybe I just gave in to the urge to have that shiny Toyota PU with the soft seats and Killer A/C.

Wished you were closer, I have a bunch of J-10 interior stuff that I wish belonged to some body else. Seats and such.

 

[rr41mag]

Well first of all we like pictures dont' we guys? Take one thing at a time. Post some pictures and we will go from there

 

[Incommando]

If your J10 still has the original engine it should be a 360. Is it an auto? if so it is an AMC-specific GM Turbo 400 with a QuadraTrac Transfer Case . If a stick it could be a T-150 3-sdp and a Dana 20 ( the same as your CJ) or a T18a 4-spd that is really a 3-spd with a granny gear and a Dana 20 Transfer Case . Both axles are Dana 44 's. Dana 44 axles are not what most would consider "hard core" but generally work well under a CJ as a CJ is much lighter than most of the vehicles originally equipped with front & rear Dana 44 's.

The axles are a fairly easy swap into a CJ if you know how to do it. The easiest way is to make your front spring mounts wider ( google "outboarding cj springs") and just welding on new perches in the rear. At 63" WMS-WMS the J10 axles are noticeably wider than your 53" WMS-WMS cj axles. J10's used FSJ "wide -track" axles where wagoneers used FSJ narrow-track axles which at 59" are closer to your CJ narrow track. CJ wide-track are 56".

Although people use bigger vehicles and pick-ups off road there is a very solid reason that CJ's and the like are the best off-road: They are narrower overall and lack the long over-hangs front and rear. You have to lift pick-ups and most larger vehicles more and/or run taller tires to get the same approach/departure angle as a CJ. This contributes to instability for one thing. Trucks also have a longer wheelbase. While this can be an aid, especially climbing hills, it increases the area between the front and rear axles where an obstacle can get back up under your jeep and mess you up. Everything has some pros & cons.

J10's are cool as heck but they lack the aftermarket support of a CJ. That can make restoring or modifying one a bit more of a challenge. The J10 guru's are at International Full Size Jeep Association