Rescued Grandfathers Scrapyard 79 CJ Rebuild - Steering/Suspension/Drivetrain

[PHFarm]

Good morning everyone. Since this is my first post and I am very new to all things jeep please don’t flame me too bad.

I recently rescued a 79 CJ5 from the scrap yard. This was my wife’s grandfathers jeep. About 25 years ago my father in law blew the jeep apart planning on doing a restoration/refresh of the Jeep. Life got in the way and it has sat as a pile of parts since then. A lot of things are really unknown about it as he cannot remember what has and has not been done to it.

I have cleaned most of the frame up and done a budget rebuild on an AMC 304 , T-150 and Dana 20 that were from a doner 75 CJ5 .

I have gone through the front end, Dana 30 , and am planning on doing the rear end, AMC20 , a little later. It has obviously had some suspension work done to it as it has been converted to an SOA and appears to have a high steer on it. It did have some very faded stickers on the high steer kit (SRJ? CRC? CRJ? Somewhere, CA) the leaf springs look to be aftermarket or at least not factory. I’m looking for a little info on the steering/suspension as I’m getting very close to start looking at drive shafts and shocks. Obviously the stacked washers on the heim joints don’t seem correct. I believe they were done in order to clear the leaf springs. However, as I’m adding weight to the front end and they are flattening out the need for the “spacers” appears to be needed less.

The Transmission /transfer crossmember appears to have 1” spacers, I’m assuming to drop the transfer to help with pinion angle. I’m very close to starting to work on the tub and mounting it to the frame. I’m definitely concerned about the pinion angle as it looks pretty extreme and was wondering if anyone knows what the tolerances wound be for that angle. I do plan on using a Tom Woods double carden unit, but if the rear end needs to be moved I’d rather do that now before measuring for driveshafts.

As I said before I am very ignorant when it comes to jeeps. I have a heavy equipment and diesel background. The overall goal was just to save this from going to the scrap yard. The tub, hood, and window frame are in amazing shape with no rot at all. The fenders are both new in boxes as well as a ton of new, 20+ year ago, parts for the rest of the Jeep.

Any info or recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks, Steven

 

[CJ]

Sounds like you have a great start.
I'm going to address the elephant in the room. How set are you on SOA? They were the rage years ago because of the cool factor but have proven so unsafe and unnecessary on CJ5s.

 

[PHFarm]

Sounds like you have a great start.
I'm going to address the elephant in the room. How set are you on SOA? They were the rage years ago because of the cool factor but have proven so unsafe and unnecessary on CJ5s.

I won’t say I’m dead set on it, but for the time being it may be what I stick with. Trying to keep the project moving so it doesn’t stall. I’ve read a ton of bad things about the SOA and agree that they seemed to be very popular 20 or so years ago, fits with the timeline. Sourcing different axles and suspension really isn’t what I’m looking at doing right now. I understand that if I stick with the SOA and change it later some new parts, drivelines, shocks etc, will likely not be compatible. Right now I think moving forward it will probably stay. Maybe later I’ll do something else. So that being said. How do I make it safer? Obviously stacked washers on the heim joints probably aren’t correct. I have read some people having well performing SOAs if done correctly. I am completely unsure of when or how the work was done, but it appears to be done well. The welds on the spring perches seem very well done. I don’t know that I have a plan for what I’ll be using the jeep for at all. My wife asked me to save it so it didn’t go to scrap. Most likely it will be used on a hot day to drive up some of the logging roads around here or maybe put it in our county parade every now and then. Probably less than 2000 miles a year and seldomly above 45-50mph. If the SOA is an absolute death trap then I will do something else, but for now I’m really looking at making it work and getting the Jeep put back together.

 

[CJ]

Sounds like a plan and I understand why it is the way your going now.
So, because I only have access by phone right now, when I get home and can really look at your images you will see another post. I want to really look at your images.

 

[PHFarm]

Sounds like a plan and I understand why it is the way your going now.
So, because I only have access by phone right now, when I get home and can really look at your images you will see another post. I want to really look at your images.

Thank you very much, I cross posted this on a few other forums and appears I need misalignment spacers that are readily available. And this makes sense to me as I’ve worked on things with heim joints in the past.

 

[CJ]

Thank you very much, I cross posted this on a few other forums and appears I need misalignment spacers that are readily available. And this makes sense to me as I’ve worked on things with heim joints in the past.

You are correct, washers out. The spacing should be corrected by pieces made for the job or if you have access to a lathe, make your own. Safety first!

 

[CJ]

It looks pretty good for a start. From the front end safety point - not bad. But, definitely look at.

LH & RH Lower ball joint
    no boot
    Too short
    No nut cotter or is it locking?
LH & RH steering heim
    Lock nut or cotter?
    Correct spacer
LH & RH hub
    locking tabs on bolts?

Even though heim joints are not prohibited on street vehicles in Washington if they do not meet OEM strength then they are illegal.
As far as the AMC20 , one piece axles are a must.
As for the pinion angle. Mostly you have two choices. As close to parallel (zero) to the ground or as close to pointed to Transfer Case . Because the CJ5 is so short, the latter can cause pinion bearing oiling issues. The length of the shaft won't be real bad. Its a factory setup.

Choosing Between Single and Double Cardan Drive Shafts for Your Jeep or Truck

Upgrading to a Double-Cardan Drive Shaft: A Solution for Angle-Related Vibrations If you're upgrading or replacing the drive shaft in your Jeep, Toyota, or other truck or SUV, you may be wondering what type of drive shaft is best for your vehicle. One decision you'll need to make is whether to...

4xshaft.com

 

[PHFarm]

It looks pretty good for a start. From the front end safety point - not bad. But, definitely look at.

LH & RH Lower ball joint
    no boot
    Too short
    No nut cotter or is it locking?
LH & RH steering heim
    Lock nut or cotter?
    Correct spacer
LH & RH hub
    locking tabs on bolts?

Even though heim joints are not prohibited on street vehicles in Washington if they do not meet OEM strength then they are illegal.
As far as the AMC20 , one piece axles are a must.
As for the pinion angle. Mostly you have two choices. As close to parallel (zero) to the ground or as close to pointed to Transfer Case . Because the CJ5 is so short, the latter can cause pinion bearing oiling issues. The length of the shaft won't be real bad. Its a factory setup.

Choosing Between Single and Double Cardan Drive Shafts for Your Jeep or Truck

Upgrading to a Double-Cardan Drive Shaft: A Solution for Angle-Related Vibrations If you're upgrading or replacing the drive shaft in your Jeep, Toyota, or other truck or SUV, you may be wondering what type of drive shaft is best for your vehicle. One decision you'll need to make is whether to...

4xshaft.com

Thank you so much the ball joints are actually new, I installed them and the top has a cotterpin the bottom was a lock nut. They both have boots, but are the non serviceable type. I did pack them with grease when I installed. I think the picture may be deceptive on how they look. I questioned the length of the lowers myself so tried two different sets, the lock nut does engage the first thread after the taper of the threads. Maybe I’ll come up with an extra measure of locking. Tack weld maybe. Don’t want to bubba it, but if that’s a concern a little zip may help. I forgot to mention that the rear already has the moser one-piece as well as the ratchet style locker. I haven’t been into it yet, but with a plumbbob and a straight edge the current pinion angle is less than 2 degrees of parallel with the ground. It does not appear to have any shims in the rear leaf packs. I plan on replacing the heim joints with new as well as the correct spacers. I plan on doing this at the very end of assembly so it is at as close to ride height as possible. Am I correct in understanding that the drag link and tiered should be as close to parallel with the ground as possible? They are quite close to that now. As far as the legality, I guess the only thing I can do is use the largest heim that will fit and good quality hardware. ARP or the likes. I will definitely address the locking tabs for the hub bolts. I didn’t know they had them. Thank you again for your advice.

 

[CJ]

Man! Sounds like you are definitely on your way.

I'm with, no welding on those new ball joints.
Your drag link is about perfect. With a stabilizer I bet you no bumb steer.
Two degrees is good for the angle. Tom Woods will like you. Just need to put in those four dimensions to be sure the calculator agrees with you.
Do you mind if I move this thread to our build forum? I think it's where it belongs so we can all stay updated and you don't have to ask or create multiple threads.

 

[PHFarm]

Man! Sounds like you are definitely on your way.

I'm with, no welding on those new ball joints.
Your drag link is about perfect. With a stabilizer I bet you no bumb steer.
Two degrees is good for the angle. Tom Woods will like you. Just need to put in those four dimensions to be sure the calculator agrees with you.
Do you mind if I move this thread to our build forum? I think it's where it belongs so we can all stay updated and you don't have to ask or create multiple threads.

I don’t mind at all. I’m having quite a bit of fun with it so far. I’ve got a few neat things I’m trying as I’ve never done a jeep before.

 

[PHFarm]

Thank you for moving this. So here are the current plans. I’m replacing everything that I can think of as far as wear items. The jeep was blown apart 20+ years ago and is now being refreshed, I’d say restored, but I am on a relatively cheap budget, 5-8k max. I’m sure that will turn into 10k but that’s how things go.

The AMC 304 that I found from a doner 75 with T-150 and Dana 20 was from another forgotten project that was supposedly a newer long block, but ate the distributor gear shortly after it was installed. Much to my surprise, this very well may have been true. The internals looked new to near new. The timing cover, water pump and accessory drive was missing, but whatever oil filter was on there did its job. No visible scaring on the crank journals or bearings, however the #3-5 mains didn’t look pretty worn, almost wondering if it was oil starved. I forgot to take pictures, but I did take some of the valley. Looks clean.

The heads looked to be clean and the springs and seals looked brand new as did the piston skirts and rings. The cylinder walls had some ring ridge as well as some very light vertical marks. So what to do. I measured it out and it was in spec for the 60 thousand pistons that were in it. It probably should have got to the machine shop to be really measured, but again, budget. I dingle ball honed it and it cleaned up nicely. New 010 under mains and rods and together it went. I will get better about taking pictures, I promise. I didn’t figure anyone would care, so I’ve been bad about it, but hey, I’ll try this thread and see if anyone follows.

I’ve decided that I want to try TBI on this, I found a used 2 barrel Holley sniper on marketplace for a steal so I picked that up. I’ve opted to use Holleys full sniper set up as I got the TBI and install kit so cheap. I’m going to use the Holley hyperspark distributor and their ignition box when the time comes.

My father in law had an Edelbrock intake for the AMC 304 as well as very mild cam. Like very mild. I measured for pushrod length and the stock pushrods will indeed work so that’s exciting. He also had a set of unknown brand in frame headers that were in decent shape. I’ve read a lot on people having problems with heat control with in frames before, but they were free and I had no manifolds from the doner. I cleaned and wrapped them with DEI wrap as well as some stage 8 fasteners. I’ve had great luck with them on other builds.

From the initial start of this thread I’ve decided that I’m going to keep the SOA for now. The plan is for 33s until maybe a re-gear and possibly re-power, but for now CJ and others have helped me making the SOA safer.

The last two things before I start the tub work are the last of the brake lines, exhaust and a twin stick. For no other reason than I think it looks cool. I do plan on doing power brakes and steering as the build goes on, possibly a hydro clutch. If anyone has any insight on that, that would be cool. For exhaust I’m thinking very simple duals off the collectors to something cheap, flow monster 2 chamber?, over the axle leaving at a 45ish out the rear corners.

The pile of parts that came with the jeep was huge. New gauges, a painless harness, new aftermarket seats, soft top/doors and half doors. A complete totally stainless bolt kit, and a ton of receipts for all the parts, all bought from 99-01.

So I get off fairly lucky and have a ton of very nice parts. For the tub I plan on doing the original Ensign blue color with a bedlined floor and underside. If anyone has any experience with that, pics or tips would be neat. Anyways I guess that’s it for now.