Build Thread '66 CJ5 project

[peep6543]

A whole 2 days I ago I became the proud owner of a 1966 CJ5 with a Buick 231 and 3 spd (not sure trans). After previously owning a WJ and a custom XJ I have always wanted a wrangler-type rig. Less than a year removed from college and making more $ than I have ever in my life, the opportunity finally presented itself. So without further ado, here is my work in progress....


Around Thanksgiving my Dad and I took a vacation to Kauai and rented an 08 wrangler for 4 days. Great decision. Upon returning to the rain of the Pac NW I instantly began putting a few hundred per paycheck away and searched Ebay, Nickel Ads and Craigslist until I found it. brought the guy down from 1700 after listening to it run and test driving it. Its tough for any 16 year old to turn down 15 benjamins. Parked it in a family warehouse with space, lights, and tools and assessed the damage of my purchase.

Body is pretty decently straight, large dent in hood cowel but popped out not too tough to pound back. a few surface rust spots but look easily repairable. No rear bumper, no top, ripped up canvas doors not mounted, not backseat, aftermarket buckets up front in great shape just wet. The roll cage had been modified with a few extra bars. Also there was a spiderweb of wires in every direction. Dude had 4 pairs of different fogs everywhere and remnants of an old stereo connecting to no speakers. Took the opportunity and began stripping all that garbage out, cut the electrical tape over foam pad job he had on the roll cage, self-rhinolined the tub and took off all the fogs except on the hood which look sweet and work fine. Also a 5000 lb warn winch mounted up, not wired, but still worth a decent amount so it will stay. Suspension is up about 5 inches on 33"x14x15 Super Swampers with a little tread left, good enough to keep on while I figure out the mechanical situation.

Engine runs, tranny shifts, brand new battery so has plenty of juice, leaking a little coolant so that needs to be addressed soon. aftermarket headers (not sure what kind) flowing into a gnarly dual side-exit exhaust close to the look of a shelby AC Cobra or 70's Stingray effect. Definitely liked that aspect. brakes are virtually non existent so a full brake bleed and drum inspection happens this coming weekend when I have time. Until then, thanks for everyone who decides to follow, I looked forward to your comments, tips, questions, concerns and general input. I will post pics when I get home from work!

 

[peep6543]

well turns out I left my digi-cam back with the jeep so no pic updates until the weekend..sorry to anyone who had interest. but the good news is after I spend a couple more days on it I will have more pics to go with it.

stay tuned!

 

[Rust Bucket]

Congrats on the buy! Sounds like you go quite a bit for your money. I'm looking forward to the pictures!

 

[peep6543]

For all those interested: I tracked down the one pic the P.O. sent me when I first showed interest. The pic is a little rough, but what you see is what you get. What looks to be a busted bracket setup for a soft top in the back is actually broken canvas doors. The fifth tire leaning to it did not come with it. So far the only real changes I have made are as follows:
- fresh oil/filter
- strip padding and tape from roll cage
- strip wiring from stereo and most fogs
- removed wood paneling bolted onto rear fender (whatrear passengers would use as an arm rest)
- bought new battery
- painted the exhaust black with high temp engine paint

And the fun part, almost as exciting as a 6 year old on Xmas, what I found still in the tub after I bought it....
- about $2.50 in change
- an unopened Vault soda/energy drink
- roughly 30 feet of misc. pieces of wire
- 2 wrenches (score!)
- the hand controls to the winch that is not yet wired up
- what I think is a dead rat, maybe a small opossum, but I didn't do a full autopsy

Once all that was removed I found the tub floor to be relatively in tact. A few surface rust spots but still retaining its structural inegrity. So with a shopvac, bit of scotch-brite, elbow grease, and a few hrs I got all the gunk out, dried the tub and sprayed a few cans of bedliner. Not a pro job, but it will seal and protect it better than I found it.

*Now, to all those who are thinking there could be a thousand times more prep that what I am doing, I am a weekend builder with a Limited budget so this will not be a frame-off job. I'm looking to replace anything that neeeds to be and use my pocket cash and a few hard labor hours here and there to turn this thing into a more respectable and reliable summer wheeler and lake cruiiser.

This weekend I hope to take care of:
- coolant flush
- brake blead w/ drum clean
- tranny/diff fluid change
- straighten the hood so it sits more flush on the driver side fender
- new weather stripping on hood/grill meet point
- rewire winch
- anything else that pops up

Cheers

 

[IOPort51]

Rat or Opossum? we really need to know . It makes a big difference which grilling sauce you use.:laugh:
congratulations on the wrenches!!
Looks like a pretty good ride all in all.

 

[elwood blues]

:grinjeep:

Just
Empty
Every
Pocket

Seriously though, it looks like you got what could be a nice CJ with a little TLC. Let us know if you run in to any snags along the way.





EDIT: You know what I just realized, all of the big Jeep smilies are freaking TJ's, what the is that all about CJ?

 

[peep6543]

HAHA yeah I know right? Maybe a rat kabob or opossum quesadilla. Either way it was nasty.

And yes, my pockets are beeing emptied!! but its for love of the rig. Half the fun to me as actually doing it. Sure its a good feeling to have it movin down the road and turning heads and sparking convos at the local burger joint but I enjoy showing creativity and physically changing it. Spending time in the garage with the radio on. That feeling to me is priceless.

I saw a few threads on here about paint already, like the guy who did his in that sparkling orange or the build with black and yellow accents (thanks to his daughter) but I was hoping to get some input from everyone before I lay color down. I'm a ways away, plenty of body work and prep to be done, not to mention mechanical upgrades, but its always fun to think about.

Right now I'm estimating 300-500 for the body paint (including prep). That said, I'm envisioning either flat black with jeep logos in white, fire engine red, or a nice royal blue. with the blue or red I see the hood cowel being painted black just for some contrast. The roll cage is black and so is the side exhaust. I'm not going for show quality here, just something that looks good and will be durable. What are your thoughts?

 

[Petescj]

Congrats on the new purchase. Looks pretty solid. Did you fire up the barbacue yet or am I too late for opossum? :drool: :laugh:

 

[peep6543]

So this weekend went a little differently than I had originally planned. I found out late Friday that my dad was not coming home until Monday so I spent a few hours alone in the garage with her. My mechanical skills are Limited at best so instead of doing something I would later regret I focused on cleaning and cosmetic stuff. Plus this let me get my build jollies for the day and feel like I accomplished something.

I glance under the CJ told me before it was parked it had been ran pretty tough in mud and grass, which was still caked on. I gave all that a good spray and knocked most of loose. I also sprayed in the fender wells to dislodge the same gunk. I found this will make it much easier to reach nuts and bolts. I also used a good cleaner to take down any mold or mildew that had accumulated on the body. Not only did this make the thing look better from a distance, it brought back to life the white rattle-can job that someone had done years ago. I did find a spot where the white has worn and I believe the original color was a darker blue... I 120 sanded and cleaned the diamond plate spots to prep them for a quick black coat next weekend. Last I replaced the battery clamps to ensure a quality connection from here on out.

The engine runs fine once its started but has a bit of trouble getting going for a while. The symptoms are as follows:
- takes a few seconds first start to fire
- backfires a couple times if not warm
- will not idle unless the throttle is open a bit, sometimes did after running a long time
- carburetor is missing air cleaner assembly (carb is Rochester DualJet 210)
- I bought a new fuel filter but couldn't locate where it goes along the fuel line, only found the fuel pump (which was kinda odd)
- put in a couple gallons fresh gas with fuel stabilizer to try and regulate the fuel system itself from now on

The interesting thing is the week before when I bought it, the guy and I let it idle for like 15 minutes while we stood there and talked. The next week it just seemed to not want to idle.

I talked with my dad ove the phone and he said an air cleaner obviously needs to be put on to avoid particulate matter in the engine (duh) but the problem could also be from bad fuel, or a timiing issue if its backfiring. At this point I'm a little stumped.

Overall I realized this second weekend just what I had gotten myself into with this thing and that it needs ALOT of work. But I'm proud to share with everyone on this thread and appreciate all your comments to help this process move along in a positive direction.

Cheers

 

[peep6543]

Update:

Spent a few hours yesterday and today with my dad. bled the brakes at all four wheels and topped the master with fluid so I officially have breaks now! next we replaced the distributor, coil, and cap along with new plugs all the way around. First time we tried firing it it sounded like someone fired a .45 next to my ear and a fireball came out the side, turns out we switched plugs 2 and 3! switched them back and it purrs. Spent a little time prepping, priming, and black-coating the diamond plate corners and rockers so it looks a bit better. Finally we started addressing the coolant leak coming from the belt area. Confirmed it was the water pump so started tearing down the front of the engine. Dad snapped the last two bolts on the bottom off but we had to see if we could still seal it with the new. Got one at Napa and put it on. put everything back on, pour coolant in the reservoir and she started peeing her pants again.... time ran out and its in worse shape than we found it this morning. Anyway, dad's brother is a mechanic so the phone calls begin to try and figure out the next move. Frustrating end to a very fun weekend, looking forward to next!

 

[BajaEdition]

Washington, wow with a 66, you need to get to the Herm the overdrive guy website, he is in brush prarie, will be a very invaluable resource for that jeep.

 

[peep6543]

Will do Baja, thanks for the tip. Seems like your turning into my biggest resource on here! I will track it down

 

[BajaEdition]

that is why they call me the shamen of old jeeps, I really dig the older ones and read everything I can about them. However, I can be wrong

 

[peep6543]

Update:

took the water pump back off and spent a good hour cleaning any old gasket residue off the pump and the engine surface. After talking with my uncle he suggested the broken stud should not be the problem with that much fluid leaking. he suggested to focus on the gaskets. we put a fresh paper gasket on with new self-adhesive gasket and put the thing back on. fired it up and noticed some coolant coming out... looked closer and realized the plastic reservoir has a crack so that will need replacing. drove it around the block and after a few mins it began steaming..... We checked under the hood and found coolant EVERYWHERE. we were stumped for a whole 5 seconds until I saw the feed hose out of the pump back to the radiator was off . reconnected it and tightened the hose clamp this time around and it was good to go. thats all for this week, but glad to say the engine is in fine working order for good. thanks for following!

 

[BajaEdition]

wow Peep, you are becoming quite the mechanic, you havce learned a good thing also, one project at a time, that way you can find out how it is affects stuff, doing to much at one time and thngs can get hidden or confused.
I am sure you will have a great jeep, seeing how you are paying attention to the detail.

 

[peep6543]

thanks baja! I wouldn't consider myself a master by any means, I've done a few projects here and there on different vehicles but this is my first real overhaul. Jeeps, aside from being fun and cool, are so bare-bones and wide open that they allow a basic mechanic to understand the workings more simply. For example, it's much easier to fix a problem on this than say, my 330. I'ts also alot easier when it isn't your driver, and this is a secondary vehicle for me. I agree one project at a time keeps things attainable and realistic. Also, I have a goal of being more or less finished by summertime so it can be me summer ride. that gives me plenty of weekend time to chip away. I have made a rough priority list of things to be fixed and that also helps me stay focused on what NEEDS to be done over what I would like to do. For instance, this water pump needed to be addressed. Along those lines I still need to tackle the steering and dash, and some wiring to make it street legal. A few months down the road when I have a vehicle that is mechanically sound I cna begin looking at new wheel/tire combos, paint, cosmetics, etc. Until then, though, its been enough fun and work to occupy my Saturdays. Thanks for following, cant wait to get back to work!

 

[BajaEdition]

remember, brakes and steering first, then check all oils levels everywhere, make sure it is safe first

 

[peep6543]

good to know.

brakes were looked at first. when I got her at 20 mph it took probably 50 ft to stop completely. Working with dad and a buddy we bled them and built pressure back up in the system and topped the master cylinder. Now the same speed needs about 3 feet to stop. Better, but still needs some work. This was all done without taking a wheel off, by the way, so thinking new shoes will help, and dad mentioned possibly adjusting the cable to begin braking earlier the brake pedal depression (if that makes sense).

Steering has really yet to be worked with.. that one is scaring me but its day will come sooner than later....

First maintenance I did overall was an oil change so the buick 231 has 4.5 new quarts of oil and a new filter. also new coolant after the water pump replacement, and fresh brake fluid in the system. I think we are on the same page mentally Baja!

 

[peep6543]

found this dash from a guy down the road for $100, guages included. If you look back at where my dash is at now, this is a pretty substantial improvement!

 

[CJ]

Great find! A great improvement (I think - can't find your old dash)!