My hammy down cj5 build

Keggerbombs

Keggerbombs

Member
Well to start off I'm relatively new to the world of jeeps. I have a 2001 tj on long arms and 35s, my wife's 95 Cherokee long arms as well. And then we have recently inherited my grandfathers 79 cj5. He loves seeing us do what he always wanted to do with it. So of course we want to build it! It's currently rolling on the Dana 30/amc 20 combo, with the 304 v8 and a 3speed trans that I'm brainfarting the model right now. So I just came across a set of Dana 44s out of a j10. The guy that is selling them offered me them for 200 bucks. Sounds good to me? Haha..I'll post progress pics of the jeep as I go, but will definitely have some questions along the way. Starting with, is that axle set a good start for this build?

Here's a few shots of the old cj

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Well I picked up the j10 Dana 44 axles today in Phoenix and they are WIDE. Definitely excited hahaha

It was dark when I got home but here's some shots sitting next to the jeep

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Gonna start cleaning them up tomorrow and measuring out everything to move the perches and set em up for SOA


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Very cool Jeep. I like the tailgate. Definitely gonna be wider with these axles. Hope it's not too much. Building to be a rock crawler or just a restored CJ5?
 
GraniteCrystal said:
Very cool Jeep. I like the tailgate. Definitely gonna be wider with these axles. Hope it's not too much. Building to be a rock crawler or just a restored CJ5?
Click to expand...

Definitely a rock crawler build! I do somewhat feel guilty about cutting into a old cj, but I don't plan on chopping her up so much that it's not a jeep anymore haha i want to build a crawler but I still want it to be very clear that it's a cj5 haha we'll see how it goes this is my first full build so I am going to take my time and ask a lot of questions hahaha


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So I'll start off with the questions right away. I'm trying to decide on which leaf spring setup to use. I believe the cj5 has a 83" wheelbase, and ide like to push it back to 91"-93". I don't want too much overhang on the shackles but I realize that can't be completely avoided.
So if this chart is correct, the cj5 springs are 44", and the center pin is dead center. If I used 47" Toyota springs they are about 20-1/2"x26-3/4", so it would be offset several inches to the rear with only several inches of overhang tacked on.
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Does anyone have some insight as to how I should go about this? I read so much about people doing yj leaf swaps on cjs, but they are still 44" with a center pin dead in the middle.


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Badass build. Looking forward to seeing it. You may have a valuable resource in your town if it's still around. American Spring. It's a leaf spring building shop over by the mall off 16th St. They may have all the parts and steel that you would need. They build springs. I worked there many years ago but it was sold to someone else. Not sure if it's even around anymore but it may be worthwhile to look into.
 
WJCO said:
Badass build. Looking forward to seeing it. You may have a valuable resource in your town if it's still around. American Spring. It's a leaf spring building shop over by the mall off 16th St. They may have all the parts and steel that you would need. They build springs. I worked there many years ago but it was sold to someone else. Not sure if it's even around anymore but it may be worthwhile to look into.
Click to expand...

I'll have to go take a look that would be a great help for sure, thanks for the info!


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Got the front axle cleaned up pretty well today. I'm not tearing it all apart quite yet but will get there haha

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Will be cutting off the old perches and setting up the soa perches throughout this week. The weekend is really the only time I have to make real progress unfortunately haha

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So here's another question..I need to figure out a high steer set up for this axle. It's out of a 70s model j10, passenger side drop. Are there kits available or something for another axle that will work for this? Ide rather not ghetto rig anything haha


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Didn't have much time today after work. Got the rear tire carrier and all the brackets off, tail lights, the filler neck, and started stenciling the comp cut.
Also found a set of yota rear springs I was looking for at a local junkyard, looking for yj fronts next. More pics tomorrow if I get the time


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Rear yota springs pulled from the junkyard today, cleaning em up and primer and paint, even though it's just gonna get beat on the rocks, they deserve some love haha
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Waiting for them to dry to flip and primer, then dry and semi gloss black


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