My 1980 CJ5 Project - As it sits today...

Vehicle Summary:

- Original 'Renegade' feature set
- Freshened 304 V8
- Optional Heavy Duty Cooling features
- Power Steering
- Power Brakes
- Dana 30/44 with 3.73 LSD
- GM HEI ignition upgrade
- Stainless Steel Brakes Assisted Vacuum System for power brakes
- Steel braided brake lines all around
- Black Diamond 3.5" lift with 1.5" HD shackles and shocks
- Quick Disconnects
- T176 transmission with Dana 300 transfer
- Flowmaster D40 dual exhaust
- Jeep auxillary front lighting
- REW8000 winch with tow hooks front and back
- Warrior diamond plate on all contact edges
- Smittybuilt safari rack
- Or-fab tire carrier
- Or-fab front roll cage
- Outlaw II rims with
- Goodyear MT/R 33x12.5 tires

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My "find" during the first phase of my "fixup".

Bought it from a quy who bought it from a kid who crashed it. The kid took a nose dive into a ditch and bent the frame in the front, wiped out both fenders and pushed the front clip about 1" off center. The new owner scabbed a used fender onto one side and tried to bondo up the other. He also tried to straighten the bumper and frame but then lost interest in the vehicle.

When I got it, it was full of leaves and dirt from sitting outside all season, and had lots of rusty parts showing, It had a krylon paint on the hood and replaced fenders and the rest was primer. The chrome wheels were spray painted, and it ran poorly and leaked oil badly.

In general, just looking a bit tired and neglected... But it was all there, had no major rust isses, and a quick inventory told me that it was a 304-V8 with a T-176 4spd, Heavy Duty cooling option, Limited Slip rear-end , and had all the other normal Renegade options...!

Being a former mechanic, nothing here scared me and working on something this old is really a joy compared to most newer vehicle!

These first pics are after an inital cleanup - once all the dirt and debris was removed, it didn't look nearly as bad as it did when I first brought it home!

My lady (who thinks guys get way to worked up over cars...) wanted me to stop there but.... well, you all know the story.....

The results of a little badly needed TLC.... End of "Phase 1"

- Straightend front frame and removed dents from rear quarter panel.

- Replaced bent front fender with salvage yard fender

- Re-painted entire front end, buffed out remaining existing paint

- Added Warrior diamond plate armor on corners, rockers, nerf bars and front frame rails insert

- Added front and rear tubular bumpers, added front bumper offroad lights

- Undercoated entire body, frame and wheel wells, rust treated entire under carriage

- Installed Rancho 2.5" Lift Kit

"Phase 2", Time to get things right ...

- Converted manual brakes to power by installing salvage yard power brake assembly and new booster, master cylinder, added new front rotors and calipers and new rear wheel cylinders w/new pads and mounting hardware.

- Added Rancho shocks all around, new tie-rods and steering stabalizer

- Adapted a factory CJ7 front sway bar to the vehicle with quick disconntects

- Added to interior, factory replacment tachometer, courtesy lights, light switch, added center console, drivers side tilt seat mount, replaced van seats with stock cj5 seats. Added Kenwood stereo, 4 Pioneer speakers, cb, re-wired dash as needed. Added carpet kit, best top front and rear seat covers, replace damaged Super-Top soft top windows

- Replaced Motorcraft 2100 carb with remanufactured 215OHA

- Upgraded to cast aluminum finned valve covers

- Replaced water pump, belts, timing gears and chain, timing cover, fuel pump, oil pump, alternator

- Replaced rear main seals to stop annoying habbit of it "Marking it's territory" every time it was parked.

- Cleaned and painted motor,

- Converted single out exhaust to flowmaster D40 dual outlet exhaust system

- Converted from stock ignition to a GM HEI distributor

- Rebuilt radiator and added fan shroud and HD cooling components

- Added aftermarket "Renegade" decal kit (I know, wrong year, but it looks cool.... )

- Found and intstalled original AMC V8 emblems

"Phase 3" ...

- Added new hood hardware kit and reverse air scoop.

- Added REW8000 Winch, HD mounting plate with re-enforced tow points

- Added stock JEEP bumper mounted driving lights

- Replaced chrome spoke rims with aluminum Outlaw II rims

- Added 2" billet wheel spacers to equal Wide-track axel stance

- Added rear tire rack mounted cargo carrier (Custom Fabbed from a Wrangler rack)

- Replaced stock AMC 20 axel with 3.07 gears with Dana 44 with LSD and 3.73 gears

- Replaced Rancho 2.5" Kit with 3.5" Black Diamond lift kit

- Added 1.5" HD shackels front and rear

- Installed 33x12.5 Goodyear MT/R tires

- Added Rear black denim cargo trunk with 8" pyle driver speaker system

- Added Sirius Satalite Radio System

- Added OR-FAB front roll cage kit for full cage coverage

The "Never Ending Phase" .....Just being nit-picky now... :)

- Re-upholstered original worn out vinyl seats with original Jeep 'black denim' factory cloth (wow, hard to find!)

                                                                            

- Replaced power steering gear box to remove excess 'Play'

- Added steering gearbox to frame brace

   

- Replaced all drive line U-Joints with HD lube for life units

- Added Original CJ Clock and Tach to Dash.... Wow, was I nervous about cutting holes into the dash! And finding an orignal AMC clock instead of an Ebay aftermarket one was a real challenge!

 

                                     

- Replaced all the old heater and vent controls with new cables and knobs

- Added roll bar cup holders, roll-bar grap staps and glove box storage bag

- Added/replaced orginal interior shift pattern and 4wd instructional decals

- Further Detailed the Motor, added OEM fan shroud, yellowtop battery, new motor mounts, decals, and added some more "Bling Bling"...

Not quite the same jeep that rolled into my garage ...!

Had an apprasial done on the jeep for my insurance company, and the antique/hot-rod/specialized car appraisers put the California FMV (fair market value) at $13,500

And it gets used too - both as a weekend getaway toy as well as a dependable trail rig!

Can you tell I really like my CJ? :)

Please feel free to add a comment to my Guestbook, I like hearing from others that share the passion for Jeeps and can relate to the effort involved in owning and maintaining such a great piece of Americana!