Build Thread Bi-Centennial CJ-5
Niedhogg
Old Time Jeeper
- Posts
- 1,317
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- Location
- Thor, Iowa
- Vehicle(s)
- '79 Jeep CJ7 Renegade with 304ci V8, TH400 auto, Quadratrac T-case, Stock 20 and 30 rears with no mods yet, not sure of the gear ratio.. 4" Softride Superlift, w/widetrac shock towers and 35x12.50x15 BFG Mud-Terrains
'76 CJ5, 232 ci, T-150 3-speed, D20 T-case, Corp. 20 rear w/full float axles and lockout hubs and Detroit auto locker, D30 front w/lockout hubs, gear ratio is unknown..
I figured I'd get a build thread started for my newly aquired CJ5 ..
The goal for this CJ, is a back to original stock, although I might go up a tire size from stock, just to fill the wheel wells a bit.. every stock CJ I see always seems to be needing just a little more tire..
A little history, I bought this from a friend of mine who has had it in his posession for 12-15 yrs.. he wheeled it a little bit early on around here, which in Iowa, is not a big deal, we have some gypsum quarries around here that are more than a hundred yrs old and are really no challenge for any offroad vehicle. He never really drove it much at all in the last 10 yrs I have known him, and when I asked him why he bluntly said "It's scary as hell on the street"... as you look at the following pics, you can begin to understand why.. He has never personally modified this Jeep, it is as it has been since the day he bought it, so unfortunately I can't ask him what the heck he was thinking, lol!
I still need to determine the engine size, he thinks it's a AMC 258 i6 / 4.2l , but the core support says AMC 232 i6 with the basic timing and tune up specs for '76, so if anyone can tell me how I can tell the difference aside from pulling apart and measuring the internal parts, please let me know!
View attachment 10759View attachment 10760
It has the T-18 four speed, and I believe the Dana 20 Transfer Case but that's still to be determined as well..
It has the corporate 20 rear, but it has been modified with an auto-locking Detroit Locker and it also has manual hub locks, so could this have been converted to the full floating axles?? Still to be determined, and the front is a Dana 30 with manual hub locks, and I have no idea yet what the gear ratio is..
View attachment 10761
Which brings us to the suspension.. a jumbled, homemade mess of parts including 3" body mounts from round tubing and square stock.. and 10" spring shackles!
View attachment 10762
Body wise, it's fairly rust free, but someone had decided to enlarge the rear wheel wells anyway, so what little rust I did find will be gone when I replace the tub sides.. the seats don't match and are high backs, and the carpet was hand cut and glued and riveted down, and should be a joy to remove... you can also see the fenders are from an earlier model year, and now have some home made spacers between them and the body.. It also has some brackets that attach the core support to the frame on each side that I don't believe are factory installed, take a look and let me know what you guys think!
View attachment 10763
The goal for this CJ, is a back to original stock, although I might go up a tire size from stock, just to fill the wheel wells a bit.. every stock CJ I see always seems to be needing just a little more tire..
A little history, I bought this from a friend of mine who has had it in his posession for 12-15 yrs.. he wheeled it a little bit early on around here, which in Iowa, is not a big deal, we have some gypsum quarries around here that are more than a hundred yrs old and are really no challenge for any offroad vehicle. He never really drove it much at all in the last 10 yrs I have known him, and when I asked him why he bluntly said "It's scary as hell on the street"... as you look at the following pics, you can begin to understand why.. He has never personally modified this Jeep, it is as it has been since the day he bought it, so unfortunately I can't ask him what the heck he was thinking, lol!
I still need to determine the engine size, he thinks it's a AMC 258 i6 / 4.2l , but the core support says AMC 232 i6 with the basic timing and tune up specs for '76, so if anyone can tell me how I can tell the difference aside from pulling apart and measuring the internal parts, please let me know!
View attachment 10759View attachment 10760
It has the T-18 four speed, and I believe the Dana 20 Transfer Case but that's still to be determined as well..
It has the corporate 20 rear, but it has been modified with an auto-locking Detroit Locker and it also has manual hub locks, so could this have been converted to the full floating axles?? Still to be determined, and the front is a Dana 30 with manual hub locks, and I have no idea yet what the gear ratio is..
View attachment 10761
Which brings us to the suspension.. a jumbled, homemade mess of parts including 3" body mounts from round tubing and square stock.. and 10" spring shackles!
View attachment 10762
Body wise, it's fairly rust free, but someone had decided to enlarge the rear wheel wells anyway, so what little rust I did find will be gone when I replace the tub sides.. the seats don't match and are high backs, and the carpet was hand cut and glued and riveted down, and should be a joy to remove... you can also see the fenders are from an earlier model year, and now have some home made spacers between them and the body.. It also has some brackets that attach the core support to the frame on each side that I don't believe are factory installed, take a look and let me know what you guys think!
View attachment 10763