CJ-5 Project Old School

Body paint color, just for fun.

  • Mojito Green, JL color

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Chestnut Brown Metallic, Classic 70's

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    2
  • Poll closed .

AZ Explorer

Caught the Bug
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Well, this is happening way faster than I thought. I figured I would wait a couple of years and look for a project CJ and hope for a decent deal. Turns out, a great deal was sitting in a barn just southeast of me. I normally don't do much looking on Craigslist, but when I searched for Jeeps near me in AZ just to see what kind of prices I might need to save for, I found this gem. A 1979 CJ-5
Most of the prices were pretty high and I kind of expected that, based on what I was seeing nationwide on Autotrader classics and such. When I saw this one in Queen Creek, Listed at $5500, I called and set up an appt. to check it out. When I got there the guy was really nice and accommodating. His barn had a concrete floor and he gave me a creeper and a flashlight and told me to take all the time I needed. After hearing it run and doing the inspections etc. I was sure it was exactly what I'd had in mind. We settled on 5K even and did the deal on the spot after a quick run to the bank.

The frame and suspension looked like a 8-10 year old Jeep rather than a 38 year old one. Milage was original at 46,000 two days ago and is mostly original parts wise with the biggest thing missing being a top which is now on order (should be here sometime next week). The engine is a V8 304 2bbl with a 3 speed. Actually runs pretty darn good but I suspect it needs a carb rebuild or replacement along with some missing emissions stuff. It was originally a Prescott vehicle and exempt from emissions so they opted for power over emissions standards. As a side note, they did recently change the law for collector cars to be exempt requiring low miles driven, classic car insurance, and a storage unit or garage. I am currently investigating doing this for now but will probably bring it up to code in time anyhow.

I wasn't sure how I was going to get it home though because my wife was at work and trying to get where I was once she did get out would have been a heavy traffic venture. The good news was the Jeep had a tow bar set up. The guy threw in a draw bar he had extra since I hadn't bought one yet, and so we hooked it up the the Ram. The trailer wiring didn't reach, so I ran the marker lights on the Jeep down to Tractor Supply which was about 2 or 3 miles away and got an extension 4 way flat. I hooked it up and everything worked so I was good to go for the hour drive home. The only snafu there was the old bikini top was so old and dry rotted, the straps broke and caused a flapping situation. Thank goodness for the snaps on each side. I pulled over and took it off then the rest of the trip went smoothly. (Picked up a new Bikini top today because it's still hot here during the day)

I don't think I've had this much fun driving a car in a while. There is just something special about the classic stuff. This will be a much slower build than Maggie was in part because it needs much more work body-wise (Think Jane here) to get it where I want it to be plus mods. The body is mostly straight with a couple of minor dings and scratches pretty much on the rear driver side quarter panel. Keeping from doing 35's will be an ordeal in itself because, big tires. I think some 33's would be more practical for this Jeep plus it would allow for paddles at the dunes from time to time.

My wife's response when I got it home was hysterical. She just crossed her arms and said "Huh, I'm not used to you buying vehicles that look this shitty." She apologized later thinking she hurt my feelings but really, I thought it was funny. To be fair, she is really used to newer cars since we've been together and hasn't gone through a restoration/rebuild. It will be a whole new experience for her, with luck she'll keep me around afterwards. :D

I will keep most of the updates here as they happen and a few things I think will interest others with CJ's in the classic Jeep section along the way.
Everyone I knew especially my wife was not at all surprised by this purchase. I think I was the only one that was skeptical.
 
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sipafz

Caught the Bug
Well, this is happening way faster than I thought. I figured I would wait a couple of years.......

Great barn find for sure! I love seeing some of these old and forgotten Jeeps get a second chance to be the Rock Stars that they are. I hope to someday have a project like this of my own. Now show that Jeep the love and respect it deserves and bring us along for the ride! Congratulations AZ E!
 

wjtstudios

Hooked
Congrats! The 304 is a great engine! I agree, it is a great feeling driving the old CJs. It’s something that has been lost in modern vehicles. There’s nothing like going down the road analyzing every sound making sure she’s still running just right!


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AZ Explorer

Caught the Bug
Thanks everyone for the comments!
I've secured a good deal on a storage unit for the CJ until we get into a house. Have that set up starting Saturday. Good place to store parts I accumulate too, hoping to score a significant discount on a suspension lift during the black friday sales. I'm looking at the Rubicon express 4-1/2 inch lift. For now, I have just done a new Bestop and I like that the uppers separate from the lower doors. I need at least lowers for my wife to ride much in it, and that's how I ended up with tube doors on the last one. I also picked up a B&M T-handle for the transfer case but I ordered a regular ball for the transmission. They didn't have any in stock and I have to wait for them to make it. The estimate is 4-5 weeks. Good thing I'm not in a hurry! The old T-handle was a small piece of pipe with a nut welded on and the other one is kind of an old brass doorknob with a set screw barely holding it on. They both have to go.

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Here is a pic of the transmission knob. It's going to be a black ball with white lettering to mimic a more factory look.

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So... not really anything too big but at least I got something done.
 
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AZ Explorer

Caught the Bug
Got a couple of projects to do to keep me busy through the new year. A couple of small things still on the way. The hard part now is keeping it to making this thing drivable rather than built up. That stuff can come a little later. This is the first "restoration" that I've done in a very long time. I really want to take my time not only to do it right, but to enjoy the process. I don't want to set a time frame or schedule to get it done in.

One of the conclusions I've come to, is that at least in the short term I'm going to use the fascination with original patina to my advantage. I get so many compliments on that it boggles my mind. I actually prefer a clean shiny paint job. However, while the fad is still hot I can drag out the build and just concentrate on the mechanicals. Since I have no rust to deal with, I am able to put the body repair and paint off for a few years. This is a good thing since I can't decide which direction to go with that right now anyhow.

The first obstacle I am trying to overcome is fitting my ass behind the steering wheel comfortably. I really prefer the CJ5 over the CJ7 so this was something I was prepared to deal with. My old 77 CJ5 had to be dealt with as well and I am a little lighter in the gut and butt than I was in those days, so I know I can make it happen.

I ordered and received in a surprisingly fast turn around, a pair of Mastercraft Rubicon seats. One of the local off road shops had some seats to try out in the showroom, so that was good. The Rubicons actually fit better in the butt and hips than the Baja RS that I had in the Wrangler. This is not just my memory, they had both there. I like the Rubicon seats better for a CJ anyhow since they are a slightly more classic look. The Baja RS more so in the JK because you can actually use the reclining feature which is pretty much useless in a CJ.

Tried to install the new seats but as expected from both memory and recent research, the "bolt in" sales pitch was somewhat exaggerated. Sure, they bolted in but are way too high, seeming to be about where they were before. Still, much improved in the distance to the steering wheel and pedals at least IMO. I now have a pair of Corbeau seat brackets on the way which are supposed to be 2 inches lower than stock. I will probably do a write up on this when they arrive as I couldn't find any good pics or info on install. All I found was a couple of places where it had been done but no real info otherwise. Sometimes you gotta be the one who ponies up and takes the chance. I'm really confident with some slight modifications it'll work fine.

I'm also going to a smaller steering wheel. Right now, with the cover on my factory wheel, it measures right about 16 inches. The new Grant wheel I have on the way is a 14 inch. The wheel I chose and the Jeep logo horn button are about two weeks out so we'll get to that later.

Another thing that I'll get to later but have already is the cure to a really worn out and horrible wiring system. There are literally more than 2 dozen quick splice connectors in the rats nest under the dash. I got all the lights to work except the brakes and none of the gauges function. Well, the speedo hops around a lot but inaccurate. At least the milage correlates to the gps, so there's that. Despite some people shouting out cheaper options, I went with the best offering Painless wiring had available . Not cheap but not settling at all and not being a wiring whiz, I didn't want to compromise here. I will be taking several weeks to read the almost 150 page manual before I even think of starting on it. And it might even be Feb or March when hopefully I will be in a house instead of an apartment with a rented garage without power.

Had to go out of budget on the speedo cluster as well. Everything I read has run me off of the import copies. Almost everyone is dissatisfied with them and nowhere can I find more than one or two stars in a review. What I did find was a company who makes new clusters in the USA that uses new tech for everything and builds to order. The Speedo is actually run off of GPS which is cool because change of tires or gears has no effect. It's always accurate. Down side is it will be up to 6 weeks at least before I see that. Upside is I keep the big factory looking cluster instead of changing out the dash panel and running something like Autometer stuff, which is cool but not as cool as the factory dash setup.

A couple of pics to go with the story...

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DeJkUnlimited

Caught the Bug
Hmmm interesting on the speedometer cluster. I’ve been wondering what route I’m gonna go (unless I’m missing something terribly obvious) since I’ll most likely be installing the 4L60e and how to get that to “adapt” to the speedo cable. I’m also looking at the Painless wiring harness, so definitely be watching that. Please keep posting on this project, I anticipate referencing it quite a bit as I get the ball rolling on our CJ7.
 
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