CJ5 Restore
- Thread starter Kyle_W
- Start date
VirtualRussel
TJ Enthusiast
I haven't "restored" it per-se but I've done quite a bit of work on my CJ-7 to maintain it as a very capable rock crawler that I daily drive in the summer when it isn't raining.
The best thread I ever read on a CJ restoration was on Jeep Forum and it was by Keith460. I just did a search for his build thread (and it was EXTREMELY detailed) but it appears he's taken it down somehow because I can't find it anymore.
The best thread I ever read on a CJ restoration was on Jeep Forum and it was by Keith460. I just did a search for his build thread (and it was EXTREMELY detailed) but it appears he's taken it down somehow because I can't find it anymore.
That would be amazing to own a nice CJ-5 (or CJ-7) like that.
I think those things are really expansive though unfortunately.
I think those things are really expansive though unfortunately.
OP
Ooooh nice! Do you love it?
And damn it. Those are the best threads. Thanks anyway!
@Chris near where I live, there is an old, beat up CJ just sitting in what seems to be a junkyard,!the perfect project Jeep. I want to offer whoever owns it $500 "take it or leave it"! However I need to research CJ's more before I consider it.
The only way I would do it is if there was no rust. There's nothing more I hate when it comes to cars than dealing with rust. It really, really, really sucks!
OP
That's a good point - I would HATE patching holes in the body. Unless it's like 1 or 2 small holes. But, thankfully this one has a soft top on it, so hopefully most of the water has stayed out!
OP
VirtualRussel
TJ Enthusiast
Absolutely! My first Jeep was an '81 CJ-5 and I still regret getting rid of it. This is my '85 CJ-7. Other than the engine block and body there's not a whole lot left that's stock on it. I've converted it to fuel injection, twin-sticked the Dana 300 and converted it to a 4:1 low ratio + clocked it for a flat tummy, put in a GM NV4500 with the 6.34:1 first gear ratio, ARB lockers front and rear with 4.56 gears and a Warn full float rear axle, added in a YJ family roll bar, and added OME 2 1/2" YJ springs. I run 35" tires on either a set of American Racing Outlaw IIs or Champion One beadlocks depending if I'm mall crawling or actually wheeling. Finally I put in a gear shift switched line lock for the brakes & a switched electric fan for the radiator. Thank goodness for good friends knowing what they were doing and helping me out with the build!
And this is what happens when you wheel out west with hyper-shackles :-(
But at least it got me on the cover of a 4WD Supplemental catalog
OP
VirtualRussel
TJ Enthusiast
Check out the 1:20 portion of the video at
Watch the back driver leaf springs and you'll see the shackles in action at full droop and how the collapse when the Jeep sets back down on the axle. I was talked into them long before I had a clue at all about what I was doing and it was a cheap way to get additional articulation. Other than Teraflex, I'm not sure if anyone even makes them anymore - https://teraflex.com/shop_items/528ffa7fead962f416e72d17
Watch the back driver leaf springs and you'll see the shackles in action at full droop and how the collapse when the Jeep sets back down on the axle. I was talked into them long before I had a clue at all about what I was doing and it was a cheap way to get additional articulation. Other than Teraflex, I'm not sure if anyone even makes them anymore - https://teraflex.com/shop_items/528ffa7fead962f416e72d17
Your CJ-7 looks so good, especially in red!
I'll bet that going from your CJ-7 to a TJ makes a huge difference off-road, mostly because of the coil springs versus shackles, am I wrong?
I'll bet that going from your CJ-7 to a TJ makes a huge difference off-road, mostly because of the coil springs versus shackles, am I wrong?
VirtualRussel
TJ Enthusiast
Thanks!
TBH, I wish I could say. I've never pushed my LJ as hard as my CJ and, every time I've had a point where I had to decide which vehicle I was taking on a trip I've gone with the CJ. There's just something about wheeling a vehicle that's 15+ years older than everyone else's rigs :-D It's seen me through two trips to Moab, one trip to the Rubicon Trail, and countless trips to Windrock, TN, Harlan, KY, & Rausch Creek, PA. Fortunately my LJ isn't jealous . . . yet.
OP
Ohh ok. So basically the shackle is just really really long, which yes allows for more spring travel.
Very nice CJ!
VirtualRussel
TJ Enthusiast
It's a collapsing shackle. When it's sitting with load (collapsed) it's really only acting like a 3" shackle. Same length as the rest of the shackles. When the axle droops, it opens up to an extended length of 6". The challenge on obstacles like the wall on Poison Spider Mesa is when I settled back down after making an attempt at getting up the shackles fully extend & invert like hyper-extending your knee and caused the axle to fully shift up under the driver seat.