Well here we are again. When I was 15 my father bought me a 1972 CJ5. It was in what looked like good shape. Rebuilt the carb, rebuilt the floors, gave it a good scrubbing and it shined up pretty good. Well once I started digging into it I encountered just how bad the body really was. A long story short I spent the next 5 years going on and off again working on it.
In the spring of 2008 I came across a 1973 CJ5 on craigslist. It has a fiberglass body, a less than stellar frame, and the 304. So the demolishion of the two Jeeps began immediately. The body was peeled off the 72 and sold for $100. The 304 was sold from the 73, as well as some other parts. The 72 frame was stripped clean, brought down to bare metal, painted, as well as the axles. I plumbed the brakes with all new stainless steel lines, and dropped in a new gas tank.
So to recap. These two Jeeps are w
hat I began with.
Here is the fr ame cleaned and painted. Still waitin g on some new front shackles. And what it looked like to start with.
I bought a T-176/d300 from a friend and cleaned it up a bit. I then cleaned up the motor and gave it a liberal coating of gray engine paint. Again before and after.
Next up is the body swap. More to come.
12/08/08
Engine and transmission are mounted. Just finished mounting the tub the other night. Sitting on roughly 4-5" of lift and 31's.
UPDATE 12/21/08
Grill is hooked up, all lights working except back ups. Engine turns over, original dash swapped back in, steering hooked up, new front shackles installed, and more little things.
UPDATE 01/03/08
Drove under its own power today. Its nearing completion
UPDATE 03/21/09
Jeep is completely encased in High Build Primer. Seats are installed. New lengthened front driveshaft has been picked up and is ready to go in. Currently getting the steering shaft lengthened due to the body lift. Finally just bought a set of axles for it. D44 rear with 4.56 gears and an ARB locker and a D30 front with matching gears and a lockrite locker.
