My slower than crap CJ5 build.

daddyusmaximus

New member
People like photos, so I'll start out with one.





Got my new (to me) 1979 Jeep CJ5 today. This is my 3rd CJ5, but the last one I had was when Regan was in office. I decided to start my build thread on the same day I took delivery, but please do not expect a complete build in a short time. You see I'm poor. Well, OK, maybe not poor poor, but I'm living off my VA disability, so there's not a lot of cash raining down on me.


My starting point is rough not only due to the 38 year old vehicle, but the jurry rigged stuff done by others. Oh, I'll jurry rig stuff too, but there are some things I need to address. This thing was modified into a sand toy a couple of owners ago. She has a strong 360 under the hood with a 4 barrel, headers, a mild cam, and MSD ignition. Trans is a Torqueflite 727. Transfer case is supposed to be a Dana 20. Axles are from a full size Dodge truck, 4.88 geared and mounted SOA on 33x12.50s. They are Dana 44 in front, with lockouts, and 9.25 rear with a Detroit locker. They have 4 wheel discs brakes, but not power brakes. No top, no doors, no heater or defrost, rusty spots to fix, and the aforementioned jurry rigged stuff.


She will not be a daily driver. I will use her as a weekend wheeling vehicle, but I do want to make enough changes to her to be able to take her on longer trips. I have visions of Black Bear Pass, MOAB, Drummond Island MI, and even Alaska... in 2019. Most of the time she ventures off the beaten path will be right here in good old Indiana at the Badlands Off Road Park an hr south of me. I'm going to do her up as a copy of an M38A1, but in desert colors like the vehicles I drove in Iraq. She'll probably get a soft top one of these days, but the plastic racing seats are going away by spring. My spine is too mangled up for anything other than good suspension seats. She is not intended to be anything other than a fun vehicle to go exploring in, and I'm not a good welder or fabricator, so don't expect to see top notch workmanship.
 
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Great looking Jeep! Badlands is only a couple hours from me. Haven't been yet, but plan on checking it out this summer. Post up when your planning a trip
 
Noticed some things...

It may have the YJ springs on the rear. They are 2.5" wide, yet the front springs are only 2" wide.





One more plus is the torque arms added to control axle wrap, and the rear end rotated to keep driveline angles down.

 
Then there is stuff life the fact that the builder put new spring pads on the rear axle to match up with the width of the CJ frame, but doesn't cut the factory Dodge truck pads off, and runs a brake line under a u-bolt.



The front has the springs mounted on the Dodge truck's factory spring pads, but this was done by building a homemade bracket to widen the frame front. It's welded to the frame and front bumper. At least it looks strong enough.



 
Had to go for a cruise with 60 degree weather in January. Love the roar of a big American V-8. Had to tighten up the bolt on the steering arm where the heim joint goes on the knuckle. Didn't care for that 60 degrees I had to saw the wheel back and forth to go in a straight line. Anyway, listen to this beast.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6cZtpnLOYIU
 
Start a trip thread if you make plans to go to Drummond island, I want to go there too


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Won't be soon, but I'll get there. One thing is almost every video I see of the place shows flooded trails. Unless everybody's driving down streams, that place floods easy. As she sits now I can only go through maybe 30" of water before it starts bubbling up through all the holes in the floor.
 
Man this jeep sounds awesome!! Looks like you have some silliness from previous owners to get sorted out. The brake line under the U-bolt, classy... Looks like a fun project!! [emoji106][emoji3]
 
I have a question I'm hoping y'all can help me with, I have a 79 cj5, I just got a set of j10 Dana 44s for 200 bucks. This might sound dumb, but is there any reason I can't just move the spring perches instead of doing the full width axle conversion?


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You can weld new leaf sprig perches on. Not ideal, but a lot easier than fabricating new spring mounts to fit the existing perches.

I would think as long as you aren't cruising at highway speeds on sharp corners should be fine


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You can weld new leaf sprig perches on. Not ideal, but a lot easier than fabricating new spring mounts to fit the existing perches.

I would think as long as you aren't cruising at highway speeds on sharp corners should be fine


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Thanks for the reply! That is what I was thinking I just thought I would ask because this is my first build and wasn't sure if there was some big reason that just moving the perches was a no no haha it's only going to be used locally on trails. Next will be to figure out what to do about stretching the rear haha thanks again!


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Looking for ideas for my first major project. I need to get the t-case in my CJ5 back up where it belongs. The builder lowered the ass end of the engine, and now the t-case too low. It may have worked for him on the sand dunes, but it won't work for me on trails through the woods. Looking for ideas to fix this mess. T-case is a Dana 20 behind a Chrysler 360 and Torqueflite 727. I also have to figure out a new place for the forward mounts to the axle wrap bars to mount, if I keep them.


This is the mess I need to fix. The t-case looks to be about 7 or 8 inches too low. Help please.




















 
Looking for ideas for my first major project. I need to get the t-case in my CJ5 back up where it belongs. The builder lowered the ass end of the engine, and now the t-case too low. It may have worked for him on the sand dunes, but it won't work for me on trails through the woods. Looking for ideas to fix this mess. T-case is a Dana 20 behind a Chrysler 360 and Torqueflite 727. I also have to figure out a new place for the forward mounts to the axle wrap bars to mount, if I keep them.


This is the mess I need to fix. The t-case looks to be about 7 or 8 inches too low. Help please.




Here are a few cj5 builds I've been referencing.


IMG_3860.jpg


IMG_3903.jpg


IMG_3940.JPG

I just picked up a set of dana44s from a j10 that I'm using. I have a 79 cj5 with the 304 v8. I'm stretching the rear end 10", setting it up leaf over on yj springs up front (shackle reversal gains like 1-2" stretch to the front), and 82 Toyota pickup springs in the rear, which I have to move the shackle hangers back about 6", and add new rear hangers to the bumper I'm building. And then a trans swap which I haven't found yet lol
These builds I sent ya we're pretty helpful, the tank killer build has a massive amount of detail in that thread. Hope they help a bit







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Here are a few cj5 builds I've been referencing.


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I just picked up a set of dana44s from a j10 that I'm using. I have a 79 cj5 with the 304 v8. I'm stretching the rear end 10", setting it up leaf over on yj springs up front (shackle reversal gains like 1-2" stretch to the front), and 82 Toyota pickup springs in the rear, which I have to move the shackle hangers back about 6", and add new rear hangers to the bumper I'm building. And then a trans swap which I haven't found yet lol
These builds I sent ya we're pretty helpful, the tank killer build has a massive amount of detail in that thread. Hope they help a bit







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Just an FYI, I edited out your links. The rules here prohibit directing traffic to other forums.
 
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