77 CJ5 refurbish

[Spinalguy]

SPECS:
77 CJ5(80,000miles of which 30,000 were flat towed))
71 Chevy 350 4 bolt main with Edelbrock hi riser and Quadrajet E choke carb (50,000 miles)
T18 tranny
Dana 20 tcase
Dana 30/44
ARB lockers front/rear
4wheel disc brakes
shackle reversal
JKS quick disconnects
32x11.50 Maxxis Bighorns
2 gas tanks.
plus other stuff.


i bid on this CJ5 on Ebay. i won. i flew down to Washington State and drove it back 1000kms. Very smooth ride.

It has been garage stored and has never seen salt in 33 years.
It came with a  gray carpeted rear tub. It also had matching gray soft top.

The tires were showing the white lettering out and the spare was generic with a gray tire cover. The fog lights had yellow KC covers.
The interior had 3 tuffy boxes that were also gray in color.

Initial:




First job was to track down a matching spare and rim. Also, a black soft top was purchased and the tires were turned around to hide the white lettering. Black KC light covers were also aquired.






Next up was removing the interior. Stripping the seats, tuffy boxes, seatbelts and all the carpet. The previous owner had done the carpet 15 years prior. i was anxious to find out if the floors were as rustfree as the rest of the jeep. The prior owner was anal about everything he did (and that is a good thing when buying a used jeep) and the carpet was no exception. There was soooo much glue residue left on the foors after i removed the carpet. No water was going to penetrate that barrier. Clean floor...nice.

i asked a buddy in the business if he had anything to remove the glue. i tried a product that was environmentally friendly. i let it sit 36 hours. i scraped and i scraped. Not much progress. i than went and grabbed a wire wheel to hook up to my air tools. What a mess!!!
i called it quits.
The front floors were in fantastic shape. Mainly dirt, and very tiny surface rust showing.






i attached the tow bar and hauled it off to LINE X on 46th and Blackfoot. Craig has done a few things for me in the past and its the only truck bed liner shop i would use.
We decided we would spray the entire tub except the shifter plate area. The center console tuffy box was also sprayed. We also left the firewall but did the rollcage level with the line x on the sides of the tub.

[Spinalguy]

Got the jeep back from LINE X. They had to tow the jeep to a sandblaster as that was the easiest way to remove the glue residue. i also decided to get the wheelwells all sprayed as there was no rust there either.

[Spinalguy]

Future plans:

The cushion part of the center console has to be reupholstered in black vinyl with a much higher cushion so i can use it as an armrest.

The tirecarrier will be reworked to bring the tire much closer to the tub.

Homey G will be building me a stereo box and storage compartments that will fill the entire rear tub. The height of this unit will be level with the tub wheel well.
Than he will build a tonneau cover that will be hinged for access to the storage and also to the amplifier if it needs tuning.

The entire tonneau will go back to LINE X to be sprayed top and bottom. An old school bikini top will be fastened and stereo system  installed.
The entire back area will be lockable. There will be a gap between the storage/stereo and the tonneau that will allow me to store the doors/windows.

The compartments will be stained with a nice woodstain and there will be no floor to the compartments as we will let the LINE X floor shine as a feature.

More pics as it gets done.

[muffintop]

The CJ's lookin good! Not sure if this is on your list or not... but a Jeep that nice deserved some new seats. I got mine through Northshore Offroad but are made by SmittyBilt... if you are using original CJ seat frames... I am pretty sure they don't require adapters.

http://www.smittybilt.com/product/index/36.htm

From what I recall... they are about 1/2 the price of mastercraft seats and the comfort and quality seem to be there as well. Here are some pics:

[Spinalguy]

Those are nice Kevin. i would need to modify the driver side as it sits on a gas tank the prior owner Doug put in. An extra 7.5 gals comes in handy

[muffintop]

it sits on a gas tank the prior owner Doug put in

You are a brave man 

[Vinman]

You are a brave man 

The tank doubles as the ejection seat propulsion unit.

Looks good Tom

[Spinalguy]

**update**

The stereo/storage box has been built. It was made with the final product completely locked. It would take a lot of time and patience to steal the stereo. Props to Homey G.




The storage box is really nice. It has a build in for the amp. It also has a false floor for a two tier storage set up.




The floating floor covering the above pictured storage.



The rear is solid with the tailgate and will be lockable with the deck lid that is able to be lifted for access. Also the space below the lid was made to store the windows and doors.





The material used was waterproof MDF and a high grain waterproof plywood. It has been painted black with a waterproof latex. There is still more paint needed and the AMC Seafoam Green from 1976 on the jeep is needed to do some touch ups. Luckily Doug (previous owner) gave me some.



This is the only pic of the line-x tuffy middle console with the arm pad rest that was redone in black snowmobile material and much higher foam so my arm can actually rest on it. The old one was far too low.

[Spinalguy]

The first trip wheelin. The jeep performed flawlessly. Doug, you did a great build! Engine strong, tranny perfect and the ARB lockers are a treat. The jeep with lift springs flexes enough to wheel some tougher lines (i tried one). The front also has JKS quick disconnects. It made for a suprisingly smooth ride.

Jeep arriving at stage area...


Some poser shots through a rock garden. In 1st with lockers engaged, it crawls very well.





The day is done, time to tow it home for a bath...


Fresh from its bath...



***next up is reworking the tire carrier to bring it tighter to the rear end. Also, i am toying with blinging the variuos hinges, knobs, etc in stainless chromy. This rear jeep might just look good blinged out. Probably the last thing i would ever imagine doing but the idea is starting to grow on me.***

[nobody]

that is one sweet ride if I decide to keep my yj where would a guy get some of that checker plate aluminum corners and rocker stuff??

[Spinalguy]

that is one sweet ride if I decide to keep my yj where would a guy get some of that checker plate aluminum corners and rocker stuff??

Thanks.
i am not sure as it was on the jeep. Maybe Calgary Metal supermarket?