The get my CJ5 back on the road thread.

[Kane]

i have been building a Scrambler for what seems like an eternity at this point. It is in the 5th year of the build and due to the family needs, it usually take a back seat to everything else. I have a CJ5 that I have owned since 1990 but it has been heavily neglected in the past ten years. I took it off the road last winter to focus on the Scrambler and maybe motivate me to work harder. Plus the 5 needed some money put into it and I just didn't feel like spending it. Now after being 1 year Jeepless for the first time in my adult life I decided to get some work done to her and get it back on the road.

Last summer I took the Black Diamond lift off of it for the CJ8 and put stock springs on. I also put some old factory 5 slots along with horrible tires just to have a roller. In the shed she went and never came out since.


My goal is to not dump alot of money into her but make a good driver until the Scrambler is finished. I do not want it lifted anymore and i want a 31 inch tire max. Here is the list of work to be done.

1. Get 5 new or good used 30 or 31 inch tires.
2. New shocks for the lack of lift
3. Replace the large diameter headers with my new smaller diameter headers. 350 small block engine.
4. Fix some wiring issues with the headlights and stop lights.
5. Remove the 1 piece front end and go back to a standard set up that I already own. 20 years of lifting that big front end gets old.
6. Fix the loose hardware inside the tilt steering column.
7. Replace the old beat up Stereo.
8. Either polish the rims or not waste the time and do the Plasti Dip in Anthracite or black for now.

Here are pictures before the lift removal and how it currently sits.





How she sits today. TINY!!






Here is how the Scrambler sits.

 

[Hedgehog]

Every bit of what you've listed sounds good to me. Many CJ's are lifted that really don't need to be lifted at all.

You could probably sell the Fiberglass front end to compensate for some of the costs involved with your project.

With the tilt front end how did you run your winch? Did you have to remove it every time you looked at your engine?

 

[Kane]

My clip is hinged off the hood hinges so I lifted it up everytime. After 20 years I am done with the bad ride from a 5 being lifted. It will not see much off road anymore and 31s look good on the small jeep.

 

[Torxhead]

With the tilt front end how did you run your winch? Did you have to remove it every time you looked at your engine?

I have seen this done by extending the hinge points out to the front bumper, This allows the complete front clip to clear the winch as it is rotated forward.

 

[Kane]

Back when i put the front clip on I had one of those old school double tube bumper with the top hoop so it would work. This was the easy way out and I didn't have a lot of fab skills then either. i actually want to cut the face of the clip off about 6 inches back from the font and make it into something that i can hang from the garage wall with working 120v lights and maybe a small clock behind the grill.

 

[Hedgehog]

Now that right there is CJ art at its best.

 

[raser13]

love the rims that you have on it now. just a little bit of light polish and a good clear coat and those could really shine. if you know some one with one of those cheap motorized car buffers it wouldn't take long at all. no waste of time there at all. as for the front clip you could probably sell the fiber one and buy a stock metal one with the money.

 

[Kane]

I found those 5 slots near my house. $125 for all 5 original jeep rims. I love them.

 

[raser13]

i have an almost identical set on my javelin that i'm working on bringing back from the junk yard. you want to talk about a project.... ..... you have no idea! but she'll be amazing once i get her done. :drool: i'll see if i have any pics laying around with the mags polished up so you can see the potential of them.

 

[Kane]

I know how sweet they can look. I have quote a few original stock pictures of the old Jeep CJ Renegades. They never go out of style in mt book. Plus they are forged and strong as hell. I just cannot wait to feel how the 5 drives with stock height and smaller/lighter rims and tires. I have never driven this jeep with anything smaller than 33 inch on 15x10 rims. I have never driven any CJ5 in stock height. My old CJ7 with 31's drove fantastic so I hope it is close. I ordered some gas charged velocity sensitive shocks and they should be here by the weekend. I hope the snow melts enough so I can clear a path and gt the Jeep out of the side shed this weekend.

 

[Kane]

SO I have been able to get some good work done to the CJ5 and the 8. This is a major feet in itself with two kids. I put some new shocks on her and was blown away by how wrecked the old Rancho RS9000's were. They would move three inches before they did any damping what so ever. Last week I charged up the battery and got her fired up. I took my daughter around the block and she loved it. It was her first time in the 5. I was surprised it ran so well with 1.5 year old gas in the tank. I have to fixed some shackle issues yesterday and ripped out my old storage container to make room for the new back seat. This week I hope to get the tune up done before we head to Florida for vacation. I want to get it registered after we get back.

 

[Kane]

Between working in the CJ8 and kids I finally got some work done to the CJ5 . I had a 1 piece front end on the Jeep since 1992 and quite frankly just cannot take having it anymore. I had a spare Kentrol fiberglass front end with a new metal grill in the shed so I decided to install it. I also tried out Plasti-dip for the first time on the grill and am surprised at how well it came out. I plan to use it on the 5 slots for now so I do not have to be bothered with all the polishing needed. I really want to use most of my free time on the CJ8 . The next thing is a classic Renegade decal for the hood that is in the mail from Pixel-hut.com. I hope to find some 31 inch tires at the swap meet coming up this weekend and the next thing is to install the older power brake booster from my CJ8 to help with stopping. The 8 is getting a brand new booster set up.

Here are some pics.

 

[Kane]

I spent the last few days finishing up the front end mounting and fixing some wiring. I went to a car swap meet on sunday and scored 4 nice bfg at 31x10.50s for a great deal. I snagged some very nice bestop trailmax seats as well because i want to use the ones in my 5 for yhe CJ8 . I got my pixel Hut graphics in the mail. Here they are mocked up. I think they will look good.

 

[Kane]

I got the Renegade decals in installed this morning. I really like the way they look and for $39 you cannot go wrong. The next thing is to finish mounting the tires on the the 5 slots and then get the rocker guards installed.


Decals.


Here is the first tire mounted. They look great with this rim.

 

[Posi]

Looks good!

 

[Petescj]

$39? Wow. Have to find out if they'll do Scrambler decals for the hood. And the CJ5 looks great by the way.

 

[Woolyworm]

Very sharp


Wooly

 

[Kane]

$39? Wow. Have to find out if they'll do Scrambler decals for the hood. And the CJ5 looks great by the way.

They do make them in the same format. I am getting them for the Scrambler.

Jeep Scrambler Graphics Retro Hood Vinyl Decals Stickers for Wrangler JK | The Pixel Hut

 

[Lumpy Grits]

Dang nice job Kane
LG

 

[Kane]

The Jeep is pretty much ready for the road. New tires are on. Wiring is set. I had some old diamond plate rockers from when the jeep had a metal body so I plasti dipped them for a change in the look. My Jeep has basically looked exactly the same since 1993. I so badly needed to see it in a new light. I think this changed it just enough. The last thing I have to do is put a back seat in for the kids. Right now the battery is getting a fresh charge. I hope to have it plated this week. I know Jeeps aren't meant to be speed demons but the motor has a lot of power. I can't waite to feel the difference with the smaller and lighter wheels. Plus the lower height should keep it planted. This thing was a handful when on the gas before.