1966 CJ-5: The Restoration of Roxanne

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[sweetguardian001]

for a couple of years now, i've driven around my all glass 66 cj5, which was restored as a project by a tech school in my area. the 231 v6, which i assume has a aftermarket cam in it, is strong and good, the t86 3 speed is a little loose, but doesnt grind at all, and the super 18 is still super. right now it has high back seats, an advanced adapters fiberglass dash, and a fold and tumble rear seat. I have a hardtop with doors for it, and a supertop. I bought a NEW suspension system for it a while back, and i will use that, as well as the dana 30 front axle that it already has in it. Factory rims, tires, and hubcaps will go on, as well as a spare tire mount. I am going to attempt to actually take pictures this time! and hopefully over the winter it should turn out to be a cool Jeep for the summer. PLus it beats my 9MPG 78 Q-Trac!

[sweetguardian001]

well this afternoon, i drove the Jeep into the garage and began my tear down. I started at 3:00PM and just went inside now, so 3-11, full days work haha. Anyways, teardown went well.

This is it after top had been removed.







Then I yanked the interior.





Out came the gas tank, which quickly thereafter revealed why I smelt so much gas fumes.......




Poly Tank on Order Tonight.......



Next I yanked the Fiberglass dash, which revealed a snake-nest of wires, run every which way, with no real rhyme or reason to them!





Nice thing about a glass front clip and an early CJ-5 windshield frame.....

NOTHING TO UNBOLT!



Dash is Out!




On the engine side, two redundant starting systems, as well as two horn systems came to the surface......gotta love semester breaks!



Did some trimming, a little nicer......not sure yet if i'm gonna keep this harness or start from scratch.



Took the battery box out next, and it was practically falling apart.






Well......decision made, I fired up the trimmer and went to town!





Yeah thats right, a Castrol Syntec box as a fiberglass backing.......

Well, took the wire brush to the battery box, its drying from paint now, so tomorrow i'll snap a few pics.




Aside from my camera putting a really weird pink tint on everything, the Jeep is solid. Basically after redesigning the dash board, re wiring it, and putting a new interior on, its good to go. I dont see any need to take the body off the frame, i already did the brakes and painted the frame a while back.

[Crown Automotive - Jeff]

shoulda called me on the tank! could have saved you some $$ and you'd have it next day! Hope the suspension is holding up!

Good luck with the rest of the build/resto/fun!

[Mitch]

Your braver than me. I'd want to cut out all the wires but I wouldn't have the balls. I take it this is no longer for sale

[Posimoto]

Window dressing tailgate = classic

Good progress!

[XJFever]

I like it.. definitely makes me like the cj's alittle more.

[sweetguardian001]

caught a bit of a break on the Jeep today, guy up the street has a DJ for sale, $350 and it'll be here monday. Goodnews is it has the column I need and the seat brackets, but it has a Dana 35 rear end!?!?! Anyways, it's got an iron duke and a powerglide, so hopefully I can take the column and steering linkage out, and sell the rest.......

Anyone know if their is a big market for these Jeeps, front grille, as well as the rear tailgate (stamped AM general) is in good shape, plus the key in the ignition says "US Postal Service" on it!

[sweetguardian001]

Well today went well, decided to was out the tub in the morning, allowing time to dry out and get all the wood in between the glass dry!

Checked out that DJ-5 a little more. It's got a narrow frame, 1.5" Wide springs, a manual steering box (Saginaw Style), Auto tranny (floor shifter), 2 seats brackets, dana 35 rear axle (5x5.5?) and an Iron Duke looking engine. It has a box of spare parts with it, so who knows what we'll end up with once i get it home. Has 44K on it, and the key in the dash says Postal Service!

Underdash nice and clean now....


Got the battery box cleaned and prepared to go back in.....


Started to strip the engine and clean up the valve covers.......The rockers seem clean, idk what this tells me about my 231, i was told its out of an 83 Riviera...







Got the air cleaner assembly out, wire brushed, and painted,





Engine enamel on the valve covers....




And painted the dis. cap to match...






Thats it all cleaned up and back on.....I see no other reason to mess with the engine seeing it ran so well.....

I also cut out the winch plate, and am preparing to box the frame for a Saginaw Swap......



Thats it for tonight......

[rich]

i thought that postal jeeps had a real narrow dana44 with 4:10's and a 2 wd 999 tranny

[jps4jeep]

Cool, are you re-using the dash pannel?

[sweetguardian001]

hell no haha, for some reason i HATE that dash. I'm reusing the autometer's, but i may go for an original dash I have, or i'll make one out of nice wood, like i wanted to do

[jps4jeep]

wanna sell that dash?   OR   Wanna trade for a 99.99996% rust free stock CJ dash, I think from a later 7?

[sweetguardian001]

little bit of an update. I've been waiting for parts to come in, so i've been in limbo. I've gotten the valve covers painted and on, and I am toying with the idea of going Saginaw or not, but i think i may leave it alone.

The DJ is a 1982, she's got a iron duke chevy 4 banger, and a 904 tranny. I got it running as soon as i got it home. EVERYTHING works in it. However my buddy Chuck (Posimoto) has shown interest in the Column and steering shaft thats on it for his own use, and I feel as if it would benefit him more then me, so therefore i think it'll be going to him.

I pulled the DJ home with my 48 Willys Pickup, and I had her floored going up the hills. all 62HP was being used and it was scary! I had to split shift it go get going, which in itself was a project considering I have a twin stick 18!

all loaded up:


As you can see, the DJ is mostly complete, and still had the mail tray and key locks all the doors.



The trailer is JUST big enough to fit a Early CJ-5 on it, but with bigger tires who knows....



Anyways, so the project has sat and will untill the wiring harness comes in, then its between a factory flat metal dash, and a nice wooden one that I'm debating making......

Last night was fun, in an off topic, we had a little antique show outside of Applebee's...... I'm a Dartmouth Fire Fighter, and we had my buddies old 1951 Maxim Engine next to my Willys....






Updates will continue.........

[Posimoto]

You weren't kidding when you said the pickup was clean. Nice find!

The steering setup on that mailtruck is too new for me I could use something from 75 down, but thanks for thinking of me.

[sweetguardian001]

Tonight came with a bit of a surprise, in the form of a Universal 21 Circuit wiring harness, and a Summit Racing Moab heater.

eBay: Gotta love it!


Now with this harness, I'll be able to safely fuse this Jeep, and thats always a good thing. Plus its pre-wired for the engine harness on a carb'd vehicle, so it should go in nice and easy!


The heater is a Summit Racing version of a Moab Heater by Flex-a-lite. But, at almost 28,000 BTU's no amount of leaking softtop will stop it.



Plus, the 3-speed switch will work nicely along with the dash parts.



That's all for now! This weekend I should be able to get her wired up, or at least the engine management stuff in.