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First, greetings to all. New member here.
I have a Jeep CJ5 ( I think) that has been on the property for over 10 years. No one knows anything about it and I can not locate any numbers on it. I would like to restore it, but I need to identify it so I can get the right manual. It seems I am currently unable to upload images. Let me figure out how to and I will post some.
I have added photos as attachments.
Thanks in advance for any help.
I have a Jeep CJ5 ( I think) that has been on the property for over 10 years. No one knows anything about it and I can not locate any numbers on it. I would like to restore it, but I need to identify it so I can get the right manual. It seems I am currently unable to upload images. Let me figure out how to and I will post some.
Greetings, and welcome aboard from Va! Glad you’re here.
There should be a VIN plate on the firewall above and right of the steering column - near the main wiring harness connector.
As for the pics - I’ve had very good luck with the Tapatalk app. Pic uploading is pretty easy. No need for a hosting site. Or, check your inbox........
First, greetings to all. New member here.
I have a Jeep CJ5 ( I think) that has been on the property for over 10 years. No one knows anything about it and I can not locate any numbers on it. I would like to restore it, but I need to identify it so I can get the right manual. It seems I am currently unable to upload images. Let me figure out how to and I will post some.
I have added photos as attachments.
Thanks in advance for any help.
'79 CJ5, 258 I6, T150 w/Dana20, Dana30 front and AMC20 rear. My first Jeep! I'm looking forward to doing some minor upgrades and restoration while enjoying the ride.
Well, I also can't see how to reply to individual messages, but I will say Thank you to those who replied now. Early 50's feels somehow right. It still has the original generator and regulator, neither of which work.
Right now, the only electrical is the ignition,which consists of a switch, starter button, resistor, coil and points.
The engine was frozen up when I started messing with it. I put a little Marvel Mystery oil in each of the four cylinders and left that to sit overnight. Next day, I put a pipe wrench on the flywheel and gave a little tug and it freed up. I pulled the carb and gave it a good cleaning and some new gaskets and a float needle. Replaced the plugs and plug wires. The plug wires looked like some mouse had confused them with corn on the cob. There are no lights at all, just empty shells.
The fuel tank had been removed, so I mounted a 1 gal. lawn mower tank above the carb for testing purposes. The fuel pump is there, but I did not know if it would work or not, that's why I mounted the tank above the carb.
Gravity works well instead of a fuel pump ,for the moment . I ducted the intake to the firewall mounted oil bath air filter with a manifold heater duct and some duct tape.
Flicked the switch and hit the starter button and it fired right off and ran pretty smooth. A bit smokey at first but cleared out quickly.
Changed out the oil, found the line to the firewall mounted oil filter was leaking badly. Replaced it with, believe it or not, a brake line from a Honda motorcycle using the Banjo fittings. Works perfect, no leaks.
The thermostat housing was completely clogged with sediment and residue and thermostat was frozen. Replaced the thermostat , cleaned out the housing and found it was corroded through, so I welded a sleeve over it and it is not leaking, seems to work no problem.
It was parked in a place that was not real convenient to work on, down a pretty steep rutted road that goes to what I call the lower east side. I live on AMC 150 acres and that spot is sort of a walk for me to get to. It had 2 flats on the right side. I had one tire lying around that I used, but did not have another handy, so I locked in the hubs and drove it up the hill closer to the house on 3 tires. Surprised me how willing it was.
Forgot to mention, someone somewhere along the way removed the entire brake system. Only thing left are the hacked off hydraulic lines, a foot short of where they should go. Emergency brake handle is there but nothing else. Drums are on the wheels but nothing inside them. No master cylinder.
So I will have to deal with that.
I plan on doing a compression and leak down test, but I suspect they will not be anything bad. The thing really runs well, considering.
For some reason, the cooling fan shroud is not positioned properly and the fan blade just nicks it at the bottom of the shroud. Not sure what is up there, but I bent the shroud down a little for clearance and it seems okay.
The storage compartment on the hood is coming in handy for holding tools and misc. pieces.
There were no seats, so right now it has a couple of bucket seats from a Toyota MR2.
Vacuum operated windshield wipers, no radio or heater. I think I may have seen a couple of the removable doors for a jeep somewhere around here, I will look for them soon. The passenger side windshield is missing also.
There is no kind of tag anywhere I can see. Checked the places they are supposed to be, no luck. There is a number on the passenger side frame rail below the engine. I think it is a 6 digit number, but I will have to squirt some degreaser on there to be able to get enough crud off to read it. I bought a new set of tires for it, so it now sits on 4 good 15 inch 10.5's.
I really like this vehicle, all the way down to the built in tow bar with the wooden bumper. It will be perfect for going to the well, which is 1/4 mile from the house, and just bombing around the property in general. I think it will be way, way better than the Dodge Ram boat I been using. That thing is crew cab with a full sized bed and an electric lift gate. Must be over 20 feet long. Not exactly nimble,.
Anyway, that is where it is for now. I will post here as I do things to it for anyone who is interested.
Thanks again for the help.
'79 CJ5, 258 I6, T150 w/Dana20, Dana30 front and AMC20 rear. My first Jeep! I'm looking forward to doing some minor upgrades and restoration while enjoying the ride.
Yes, it does! If it were mine, ide be stressing big time..... put it back like it was for nostalgia’s sake, or upgrade to more modern equipment.......... I’m glad I get to watch what he does and be glad either way
I do plan on eventually restoring it to as new condition as I am able to find parts for it. Meanwhile, I am hoping to be able to use it around the property just to go to the well and haul the trash trailer.
I had considered that it might be 6 volt, but the starter seems to sound normal, though it did have a resistor in line with the coil, I know that was also common on 12 volt systems.
