My 1958 Cj5 "work In Progress" - Updated 10/11/2024 With More Reassembly On Pg.3

I gotta thank YouTube and all the folks who post up their videos. This project would have been years in the making without. Just being able to see other folks applications helped a lot.

Been trying to take as many pics as possible for my own sanity during reassembly. This is the first time I’ve ever gone this deep into any car. Was always intimidated with the inside of axles and drivetrain. Brakes and top end… no problem. Stuff that needs torque specs and presses. Nope.

 

Guarantee, I’ll have a tote full of “extra” parts when I’m done. HAHAHA

 

JULY 2023 UPDATE:


Got my new hub and knuckle studs installed toward the end of June. Almost wrapped up the front brakes then the heat came. Early July, my AC unit on the house decided to kick the bucket right when we were dealing with 113-degree weather. Had to sell a dang kid to get a new unit…Whatever…









Started disassembling the transfer case. Ordered up new e-brake parts, inspected all the gears, bearings, etc. To my amazement, everything was cherry condition inside. *whew*. Repainted the case and reassembled the following weekend.













Picked myself up a ProComp rim #1069-5185 (15x10) to test fit in hopes I can get away with not needing spacers. Looks like I’ll be okay. Planning to put 33”x12.5x15 on them. I had a heck of a time deciding between the 8” vs 10”. I had 10” on my old 2a. We all know this is a lengthy discussion where opinions vary. I think it’ll work out okay.









By mid-month, my e-brake parts showed up, so back to assembly and wrapping up the transmissions and transfer case. Painted up my old e-brake drum.. Even impressed myself how clean it turned out.















I lost a weekend in July due to my oldest son. He and his GF has been big on camping and went out and bought an older XJ. Had to pick this thing up and help him that weekend to get it back on the road.















While working on his XJ, he helped me mount the transmission and transfer case. Here’s a before and after as well. Many hours of cleaning and wire wheels.









The following few nights, I was able to find some more garage time. I started disassembling and inspecting the engine. Yet another order of parts submitted. So far, I think I’ll probably keep the cylinder head on. I was originally going to take the head off and ship it out to a machine shop to have it dipped and cleaned up. I’m getting tight on weekends, so going to just leave it on for now. If it turns out I have to replace the head gasket, I have one already and can always replace while mounted on the frame. The compression is fine, but still need to pin down exactly where I think I may have an oil leak. I flushed out all the gunk and have a new water pump, we’ll see…











Last weekend I went on a Craigslist shopping spree. Found myself a Dana 30, AMC 20, wheels and tires for a screaming deal. Not sure what I’ll do with that AMC 20. I really don’t need it. Probably sell, trash or give it away at some point. During the same trip, I picked up two Rochester 2GC carburetors for the odd-fire motors I have. These are the larger port carbs to match the intakes I have on each of mine. I have a smaller port 2GC that came with the motors but doesn’t fit the intakes. Getting more and more extra parts, so will probably throw them on the classified section when I want to thin up the garage.






I also started tinkering on the gauge cluster. I want to clean this up and hopefully see if the temp and fuel needles still respond to current. Ordered up some new gauge lights and vinyl replacement face. We’ll see how this turns out… That’s a wrap for JULY. Enjoy.








*edited 1/10/2024 to fix pictures

 

Those pro comps look nice. That said...I would probably go to an 8" rim for rock protection. As said , everyone has their own idea. A good video on tires.

 

Thanks for the link. I actually watched that not too long ago, although was after I ordered my rims. They’ve been on backorder for a few weeks, but should show up today. Largest reason I went with the 10s and 12.5” tires is to help widen the stance yet pull the tire away from the rear fender well. I’m hoping to avoid spacers as best as possible. More backspacing would have been preferred, but tough to find. I installed longer wheel studs just in case. If I end up using spacers to pull from the fender well, I’ll revert back to 8” rims to help the bead on low pressure. Time will tell what ends up.

 

Good work. Time for a snowball... heim joints for the clutch linkages.

 

HA! More stuff to research. Much appreciated.

 

AUGUST 2023 UPDATE:


First couple weekends of the month, I spent wire wheeling/scrubbing/cleaning the engine block. After removing all the tin components and inspecting all the visible internal components, I decided to keep the head intact. Everything looked very nice and clean, oil had no gunk in it, quite promising outside of evidence of a leak which might have been simply the filter cap. I can always replace the head gasket after it is mounted back on the frame. Went ahead and taped off a few parts and painted the block. Following couple days, I got the tins cleaned up and repainted. Also included a pic of all the repainted and replacement parts prior to me installing.











The following week, my rims and tires showed up. WOOT! Off to get these mounted. Once I got them back, I couldn’t resist seeing how they would look, so set on next to the frame.









Meanwhile, I kept plugging away at the motor. I really wanted to get this thing back on the frame before the weekend was up. Got most all the parts on it dry fitted and anything with a gasket was replaced,torqued, and set in place. Immediately got it on the lift to drop in place. WOOT! Was a late night, but finally showing some progress.












As I was snapping pics, I realized the date was almost exactly one year prior when I had originally removed the tub. Here’s a before/after shot. Of course, I couldn’t resist. I immediately threw on my rims/tires to see how it would look. I think I spent the next few nights just walking into the garage and admiring my progress. Still a long way to go, but happy I got some major milestones completed.









The following weekend I started teaching myself how to bend and flare brake/fuel lines. I had picked up the tools and been eager to practice for months. Quickly realized I needed more fittings, so ordered those.









Over the next couple garage sessions, I was able to get the new master cylinder mounted. I picked up a cool little plate to mount the proportioning valve beneath it, and went to town bending these stainless-steel lines. Brake lines now all bent and mounted. I quite enjoyed that. Only screwed up a few times. Decided to keep with stock routing, but haven’t ruled out splitting the front lines into two separate runs from the valve. I’m going to see how this works at first and decide then.












I also inspected and disassembled the gauge cluster. Prior to disassembly, I tested the fuel and temp gauges. As expected, my fuel gauge was non-responsive. By the end of last month, I was shopping for a replacement in hopes to find the OG stewart-warner “F” to “E” style with no luck. Cool little thing I found, seems at least this cluster or something was rebuilt back on 8/30/1993. Note the mileage: 47007 and odometer is 47030. This thing was practically parked for 30yrs.









Also picked up another Craigslist score. JD Squared model 32 bender with a few dies. I’m super stoked to have this in my arsenal of tools and can’t wait to practice. First on my list are some seat frame mounts, then I’ll give it a solid college try to bend myself a custom roll cage. Might be for this Jeep or the next project. Dunno yet. AUGUST in the books. Thanks!







*edited 1/10/2024 to fix pictures

 

Get an overdrive. I assure you, with that f head you’re REALLY going to want it.

 

Already have one ready to bolt on. Came with that orange parts Jeep shared in one of my updates (April I think). I wanted to make sure rest of drivetrain and gears are good before putting on. Also needs a good cleaning and once over.

 

SEPT/OCT/NOV/DEC 2023 UPDATE:


Been another minute since my last update, so I will quickly summarize it as best I can. The last months of 2023 had limited garage time. I feel no major milestones were met other than some loose ends and bolts getting tightened. I cleaned up and reconditioned my old Warn locking hubs. Was able to source the correct o-rings and gaskets. A little bit of elbow grease, wire wheel and degreaser and voila! Hubs finally are able to lock/unlock again.










I also picked up a few paint samples trying to find the color I was after, so decided to test shoot on this oil filter canister. I didn’t actually color sand it for months, but found the color I wanted.











Early October, I built myself a simple dolly for the tub. This will help me move it around while I begin to do body work and strip down all the old green paint. Turned out pretty nice and very convenient!








Last couple weeks of the month into early November, I began experimenting on best way to strip this paint. It wasn’t coming off with standard paint stripper or any other chemical. I guessed it was lacquer-based and being so old and oxidized it was such a PITA to remove. I found best and most effective was mechanical, so away I went.


















The rest of the year and into January 2024, it was all holiday and family events. I had been training for a half-marathon for mid-January and completed that. Wasn’t until mid-February when I got back up to the upper garage.

 

FEB/MAR/APR 2024 UPDATE:


In February, after a few months break I got back into the garage. Did some organizing and for fun set the grill onto the chassis for some pics. Also put the tub back on to do some mocking on my Saginaw conversion.









By March I was able to get a couple solid weekend days to keep going. After many YouTube and forum searches, I decided to set my steering up going straight through the crossmember. I’m not jazzed about how high the mount plate is, but I can always cut the excess down before I put a winch on. For now, this will be good enough for me.





















By the end of March and early April, I was deep into stripping the paint off. Below are some progress pics


















Mid-April, I bit the bullet and decided to cut out some of the pitted floorboard after cutting out the old toolbox. I have never done any type of sheet metal work and barely just got gas for my MIG welder, so this was a brand-new experience to me. After a handful of practice hits with hammer and dolly, I changed my approach and decided to graft one of the pieces in vs shrink/stretching. It turned out okay and again, good enough for me. Much better than the older swiss cheese flooring I had. Unfortunately, it took more garage sessions than I really wanted. Still pleased how it turned out.

 

MAY 2024 UPDATE:


By May, my garage time was maximized with weather cooperating and all “honey-dos” done. I wrapped up some last-minute trimming to fit the new sheet metal I bent and went full YOLO not knowing exactly what I was doing with my welder. I surprised myself how it turned out. I’ll call it amateur work, but again, good enough for me. I definitely learned a lot with the overall process. Following few days, I primed, topcoat, and undercoated the bottom of the tub.


















Memorial Day weekend, I got the full extended weekend to go back to prepping all the body panels. I was able to get most of the paint off everything, welded in some holes, and begin final prep sanding and cleaning. Before the week was out, I had my DIY paint booth set up, garage cleaned and did some final undercoating on the fenders.

 

JUNE 2024 UPDATE:


June resulted in a few major milestones. Weather was cooperating perfectly which allowed me to prime and fill coat everything. After fill coat was completed, I went ahead and decided to paint a few body parts, where I felt I didn’t need to do any body work. Was able to get the windshield, tailgate, dash and bottom of hood color coated.


















Mid-June, I took another stab at leveling out the body work I hammered out, plus leveled some patched holes I welded in. Yeah.. never done more than a single dent before. Learned a lot and mistakes were made. There were some parts that got me a little frustrated, but wasn’t looking at anything show quality by any means. Saturday before Father’s Day, I did a full 13hr garage session from block sanding to finish coat. Unfortunately, that wiped me out for the rest of the weekend.

































Took down my paint booth and reorganized the garage. Unmasked everything then snapped some more pics. While organizing my garage, I staged all the parts I need for reassembly. Had to get see what it looked like with the tub back on. More pics..

 

A whole lot of progress on that Jeep. I do like the paint booth set up in the shop. A whole lot of hours of sanding and body work, but it sure looks good.
Never easy, but sure is satisfying when it's all done.

Dave

 

Thanks Dave. Yes, very satisfying to see it come together. Learned a lot this round and looking forward to learning more.

 

Looks great, keep up the good work.

 

Got those master cylinders today, thanks for that. Someone had noted your build thread so I had to read through it. Looks great and hope eventually I can learn enough to really improve mine. Looking for tips on how you manage to get those parts so clean looking?

 

LOVE that color….

 

Glad they made it without issue. Thanks.

Most of the parts I found wire-wheel was my go-to after a degreaser and/or Evaporust depending on how small or detailed.
I’ve gone through about three or four cup wire wheels with my corded drill and other various ones using a smaller air tools.

Also gotta have some good tunes on and turn the brain off.