Early vs Late model CJ5's???

[TX74cj5]

I have a '74 CJ5 that I'm working on and I keep running into the same issue... every bumper that I have come across is for a 76 and newer CJ5 . Does anyone know what changed to where these bumpers will not work on a 74? Other than the possible frame/body changes does anyone know of other notable changes in these CJs? Thanks.

 

[steve1973]

The original front bumper on my 1973 has the large hole on the driver side for a pto shaft, but unless the frames got wider on 76 up they should fit. The back is completely different.

 

[TX74cj5]

Thanks, Steve.

If anyone here knows of a good shop or member in the San Marcos/Austin/San Antonio region that would be willing to shoot the spit* and whatnot it would be much appreciated.

 

[TX74cj5]

Does anyone know of company that manufactures after market bumpers and bumper/tire carries for a pre-76 CJ5 ?

 

[johnnyreb]

the intermediates 72-75 I think usually had a body mounted tire carrier. You can find them on craigslist, but you gotta make sure they fit the low mount tail lights.

 

[steve1973]

I found this one, a swing down, on e-bay a few years back. It was a rusted mess and needed some welding, but was also $20.

I have n oidea who the manufacture was and have never seen another. It was sized to use the existing holes in the factory rear bumper and might be easy to replicate.

 

[Hedgehog]

Its not difficult to modify carriers to the intermediates. I have one on my '75 that mounts on the rear sub frame, not exactly a bumper, but the bearing is a bit sloppy for me. Works just fine, the movement is bothersome.

I like the flip up ones like Steve1973 has, but have been warned that they are hard on the tailgate. I also like the side mount that swings out of the way like you find on a Bronco, but again they say those are hard on the unreinforced side. Sometimes there seems like there isn't a good answer.

 

[TX74cj5]

I have the original tire/jerry can tire carrier, but I want to update things a bit and be able to hold a a matching size spare tire. I guess it's time to head to the local welding shop...

 

[johnnyreb]

im planning box tubing rear bumper/ tire for mine.

 

[tarry99]

im planning box tubing rear bumper/ tire for mine.

As you go larger in tire size even in the case of a 33 inch tire they become real heavy , real fast so a 4"x2"x1/4" wall tube like this works best for a swing away style rear bumper that gets mounted directly to the rear frame. As you can see I also added places for towing and a standard hitch........ I use a spindle bearing and shaft shown here that gets mounted inside a bored hole in the tube on the right side. It holds the weight of the swing away portion which the tire swings on which has not yet been built , but I'm sure you get the Idea!

 

[johnnyreb]

looks just like the one i'm working on. I plan to extend my recovery loops to make them part of the bumper mounts.