Are '79 CJ5s at least ok?

Wow! Talk about a change of events. As some of you know I won an Ebay auction for a '74 CJ5 that turned out to be a military body on a '79 chassis. Well, that dude tried extorting extra money from me stating his auction was ruined because of some bad press about the truck, which just happened to be true! Anyway, I rufused to pay extra based on principal (I'm VVEERRRYYY stubborn, ask my wife). He wanted at least $900 even though the electrical was boogered up, there was no hint of a gas tank or plumbing, the interior was shot and there was no exhaust system, all of which would probably have to be custom made because of the frame to body marriage. I decided to call on another Jeep that I had not been able to see. I bought it! It's a 1979 CJ5 with a rebuilt (purrs like a kitten) AMC 304 w/ a 3 speed (not sure which one yet). It runs and drives like a brand new truck! Now for the ugly part, the frame from the middle of the door rearward is pooh pooh. I don't even think I can repair it. The cab is in good shape other than the channel for the body mounts (strange that the rest of the floor is decent?). There is some bondo, but I bought this for a 'fun' vehicle and not a show vehice. Now here is the big question: How extensive of a frame repair can someone do? I will post pictures tomorrow or the next day to get everyone's opinion (I'm not very optimistic). Where is the best place to shop for a frame? Jeep Essentials has a complete frame for $1799. Good price? I would much prefer to find a 'fixer upper' for alot less.

 

X2 what Lynn said. I'd try and find a '78 to '83 frame if you can. '76 and '77 were not as strong around the front frame horns. Factory fixed it at the end of '77 early '78. The tranny if original would be a T-150 which is not bad for tooling around. Just don't try and drag race with it! The rear would be an AMC 20 which suffers from axles spinning in the hubs but there are tons of 1 piece axle conversions for it. The housings tend to bend if used real rough, but for tooling around and trail running you should be fine. Other than these issues, they are pretty good rigs. Nickmil

 

I'd say go south and west to look for a frame, away from road salt. The boxed frame Jeep used in these years was prone to rust-out. Road trip!

'76 was the first year for the complete redesign by AMC after they bought the company. All the 76-79 CJs are roughly the same - I'd be interested to hear why a 79 would be more desirable than a 76, 77 or 78. As Lynn mentioned, the transmissions changed in 1980 to lighter, weaker units.

 

Pretty sure there's no D300 until 1980 - came in with the SR-4 and T-176. All the T-150s had D20s.

 

I agree with pretty much all of the above. I found (but ended up not buying) a frame from a 78 a couple of years ago that was in pretty much new condition and already stripped that I could have gotten for $200. Some might not be as cheap, but you could find a good used on for a lot less than a new one if you looked around. The boxed frames that I have seen are mainly rusted out in the rear and can be fixed with a little fab knowledge, especially if it is not going to be a show Jeep. Post some pics when you get a chance to give us a better idea of what you have, then we might be able to steer you in the right direction.

Also, the Jeep we were all looking at is starting to sound like it wasn't even worth the $405. It might be good for some parts, but it isn't worth anywhere near $900 and I can't believe this guy is trying to pass it off as a "Rare 74 M38A1".

 

Timgr,
The reason a '76-'77 frame is not as desirable is because there was a lack of boxing at the front frame horns that led to cracking in this area. In late '77-early '78 the factory boxed this area and took care of the problem. It doesn't mean that the '76-'77 frame is a bad unit, it's just that the '78 newer is better in this area.

You guys are right, '80 first year of the Dana 300. There are two versions of this too, short and long rear output. CJ-5's had the short and stronger rear output, and CJ-7's had the longer and weaker rear output. Can tell the difference easily. If the speedo cable adapter screws into the housing it's a short output, if it is held in by a retainer, then it's a long output.

 

(Curly's voice) “I resemble that remark”

 

Hi
About your frame, look here for what I did to mine

http://www.earlycj5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=30038&highlight=frame+repair



Bob

 

Did you win the auction on eBay? I'd fry the guy if you were the "winner" of the auction, and he backed out.

 

Thanks for all the feedback. I've been a member on many various sites (fishing, hunting, etc) and I have never had the awesome feedback like I have on this one!! I'm glad to hear the '79 should be good to me. I'm driving her home tonight to begin my thorough investigation to see what needs to be done. I will take pics and post them tomorrow.

Bob, is that all that was left of your frame? Maybe there is hope for mine yet.....

And yes, I did win the auction........so stay tuned.......

 

No, the frame was still there, but this is the under side of the ``C`` that we removed. But I can say that the frame was about to crack in two pieces. The weakness was hidden behind the central body mount (I dont use them with my tub, so I removed them afterward)

Now I use my jeep without fear of breaking the frame, and the repair is not visible (except from a view from undre, and only my mechanics will see that.)


Bob in Sherbrooke, Province of Québec

 

I had a '79 CJ-7 for my first Jeep, and liked it very much. I fully agree with the earlier comments about the desirability of Jeeps of this vintage.

Even so, I had many problems with rusted body mounts on the frame. I assume it could be a problem for a CJ-5 also. The holes on the brackets which were originally the correct size to receive the mounting hardware had rusted to approximately the size of the rubber mounts themselves. Anyone with some welding knowledge could probably fix this problem, but knowing to look for it is important. I had some surprises because I didn't know what to look for under the Jeep when I bought it. Best of luck - you probably made a very good choice based on your intended use.

 

Ok here are the pics and about 100 questions.....

I'm happy to announce the ole bucket 'o rust made it home last nightR) . 45 miles in stop and go traffic and no problems! At least I'm happy with my purchase mechanically. I was concerned of a shabby I6 for the current V8 swap, but it appears (based on underhood stickers and such) that it is an original 304. All of the electrical works (heater fan, radio, lights, wipers, etc). The bottom of the floor is rough, but the tunnel, front floor pan from the pedals up and rear crossmemeber look solid. I should be able to install a couple patches and be good to go. Now for the ugly stuff . Here are a few pictures of the frame. The ugliest pic with white paper (don't mind my bunk bed plans!) is by the rear bumper. There are at least 2 solid sides (except by the rear bumper) to the frame in the rusted areas. The frame from the front mount on the rear springs forward is very solid with no holes at all. What I would like to do is do a temp patch for the summer and this fall and a full frame replacement over the winter. What do you think my options are? I will take a few better pics tonight. I perminantly cropped these pictures to meet the 488kb requirement before I realized all I need to do was resize them. I have a couple related questions: 1) when patching the floor, I would think 1 large piece would be better (am I right or wrong?). What thickness metal should I use and should I cut out the old first? 2) Is there a way to replace just the rear section of frame? This would save pulling most of the drivetrain to swap frames. 3) I know on many old odometers, the number is scratch when it flips 100K, is this true on Jeeps? I was told this Jeep sat for 10 years in a barn. It shows 36K miles. I wonder if it's true? 4) I'm missing all my seat belts. Where is the best place to get them? Would it be better to go original or stock? I kinda like not dealing with retractors! Thanks and there will be many, many, many, many more questions!

 

Holy Moley!!!!

The Jeep looks great, but it looks like you will probably need to replace the frame at some point if a lot of it looks like that. For now, you should be able to get away with cutting out most of what is rusted and add some angle iron or channel iron in place. Make sure your welds are good and if you question them, try to drill holes and put a few bolts in for extra support. As for the floor, I will have to check on what thickness I used last time. I can't remember because I usually just grab whatever sheetmetal I have.

Jeep still looks good though.

 

I've had my 79 CJ-5 since 1984 and I still love it. Everyone told me the 304 would trash the T-150 3 speed but it has held up really well. Who knows what the next 20 years will be like for my Jeep and I?