Bought a 1975 CJ5

[1930u]

This is my first post on the forum.

A couple of weekends ago I bought a 1975, CJ5 . It was one of those happened upon it impulse buys. I really didn't need it but I think the price was fair at $1,200, so I bought it.

It has the base 232ci, base drive train with open diff's and the 3:73 gears. Looks to have had suspension lift work and runs on 33/12.50/15 tires. Its runs but needs to have the fly wheel turned.

It has a salvage title from an accident back in 2010. It was hit in what I will call the drivers, A pillar by and S-10. The majority of the impact energy hit the left rub rail and pushed it down and tweaked the left frame rail about a 1/4" from it's normal vertical position. The rub rail saved the body...it's a full fiberglass tub and fiberglass one piece dog house.

When I got it home, I looked it over really well and the frame is very clean with no repairs or rust holes anywhere. I was really surprised and after looking it over, I was sure I could put it back on the road. I do want to make sure the frame issues are corrected so I contacted a frame shop. They looked it over and said the frame is a very minor issue and they could repair it and restore the proper geometry and align the front end. Their estimate was $300 not to exceed $500. All I have to do is make sure the body bolts are not seized and that will save them time on the frame rack.

I haven't had a Jeep in years... so I hope this all works out. Does the frame work seem like a reasonable approach to saving this thing? I can buy another frame for about the same money as the frame repair but I would have all my time in swapping it out. I plan to use the Jeep to plow my driveway and make it my daily driver work car.

 

[Torxhead]

If you do buy another frame, there might be issues getting it to fit correctly. There might be mods done to the frame to get that glass body to fit. If you disassemble that thing, you are going to find lots of stuff wrong, meaning more replacement stuff to buy. If you have the work done correctly it sounds like the best bet, especially the getting the frame straightened part. Those are just my thoughts, of course, good luck with your project.

 

[Saddle Tramp]

You want to have the body on the frame when the frame is moved back into place as the body will move with it.

 

[1930u]

I do understand the body will move with the frame...the frame shop guys just wanted me to make sure all the bolts are free should they have to loosen them for what ever reason.

I'm going out today to figure out what else is wrong with the old thing. Another thing I noticed is the angle of the steering arm. Looks a little steep I will post a pic later.

 

[Hedgehog]

For the amount of work you are asking them to do along with the experience and machinery involved $300 doesn't seem like a lot of money. The heart of your Jeep is in the frame. One thing to consider, they changed the body for a reason. Probably rust. as you look at the jeep keep that in mind.

 

[HackFabrication]

On the plus side, if it's got a newish 'glass body, the body mount bolts should be easy to loosen. Not so much fun if they were OEM after forty years of exposure to the elements.