CJ5 Resto-Mod Project

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

These older AMC era Jeep bodies are pretty horribly put together. When comparing side to side measurements, they can vary quite a lot. The rear corners, before I installed the tailgate, were off almost 3/8 of an inch. Spending some time "blueprinting" the body will really show in the final results. It does take some time, patience and a lot of thinking and seems like a can of worms that only I will appreciate, but I guarantee it will show after it's all put back together.





Next up, rear corners, inner fender wells, rear floor and the whole driver's side floor. I ordered a floor pan from Classic Enterprises and it should have been here by now, but it got delayed. Hopefully Friday.

 

[CRolandLJ]

You mentioned only you will appreciate it but i think i speak for any other jeep enthusiasts wading through here saying "I appreciate it". That's a ton of great work you've done. You'll have one of the nicest CJ5's anywhere when you're done. Can't wait to see the rest of the build.

 

[Zeep]

^^^ Very nicely done indeed!

 

[shortbus4x4]

You do nice work.

 

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

You mentioned only you will appreciate it but i think i speak for any other jeep enthusiasts wading through here saying "I appreciate it". That's a ton of great work you've done. You'll have one of the nicest CJ5's anywhere when you're done. Can't wait to see the rest of the build.

Thank you. That's my hope, that it will be one of the nicest. I want clean, sharp lines in the body and flawless mechanical systems. I've driven it already and it drives nicer than most.

^^^ Very nicely done indeed!

You do nice work.

Thank you guys.

 

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

If anyone had told me at the beginning of December that I'd still be doing metalwork on the tub at the end of January, I'd have said no way. But here we are and I'm still going. I will say, this body is going to be ultra straight and all metal. Minimal body filler just to smooth everything out. We are using lead in the critical areas.

Working on the rear of the tub, the fender wells had some cracks and bashes, but were in overall good shape. I had quite a few holes to weld up and some areas to reinforce, making it better than stock, but not noticeable to the average person. The rear inner fender baffles/strengthening ribs had me scratching my head. I've had 3 different '74 tubs and all 3 had different inner fender structures. So instead of trying to keep it original, I decided to go with the strongest option.

Classic Enterprises sold me a pair of late model CJ/YJ baffles and I modified them to fit around the original ribs.



Once the rear fenders were supported, I worked the sheetmetal into shape. Even without body filler, these quarter panels came out very straight.

 

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

I had my dad come up to help for a day. Though he spent his life as a tax lawyer and accountant, he is a pretty accomplished auto restorer. His knowledge of lead body filler was required on a few key areas and I put him to work.



Here's one finished corner. The tops were filled with lead, to cover up the reconstruction effort made by me. I could have done it with weld, but that would have taken hours, and to what end? This is better.

 

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

Once the body had it's strength repaired, the floor panel on the driver's side was removed. It was pretty rusty and had a million holes in it from years of mods, roll cages, wiring, etc. God only knows what goes through the mind of a novice with a drill.

Here's the floor section before.



And with the floor removed. The ribs were in surprisingly good shape.



To make it easier, the floor was removed in sections. Kind of a mistake. I had to piece it back together on top of the new floor to get the cut lines I needed. I got lucky as it fit pretty good when I was done.

 

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

Another month of body work? I hope not. Maybe by the end of the week?

Now I've got to pick a color...

 

[Happy Joe]

Superb workmanship... Haven't heard of any one still using lead body filler this century...thought it was a lost art.
Keep up the good work!

Do you do/use any rust neutralization/inhibiter?

Enjoy!

 

[HARDTRAILZ]

I must say... Well Done

 

[unkamonkey]

Nice work guy and good for your father for knowing how to do lead work
A few years ago I spent a few months welding in new metal on my 3B and I was serious about wanting to do lead as it would be more in line for a '61 Jeep. Nobody knew how to do it around here anymore.
I made do with Bondo and it has held up for many years with no problems. Then again, I haven't bashed it against any trees lately.

Carry on.

 

[grnhornetcustoms]

I have an intermediate CJ 5 (72-75) also. I understand what you are experiencing with parts and have to pretty much fabricate everything because (55-71) and (76-83) are the normal range for OEM and after market support.
I see you upgraded to power steering. I'm assuming that the Saginaw power steering box is now a 4 bolt and that you are using the cast steel frame mount with 3 bolts? I just wanted to mention that the cast steel mount will fail and to keep a close eye on it for cracks. A steering box brace from the housing just above the pitman arm to the passenger side frame will probably help in buying time before you have to fabricate a safe box mount.
Watching this come together reminds of all the work involved. Good job especially the detail in body work. Who even does "tinning" any more. Guess I know now. Lol


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[Stoffregen Motorsports]

Superb workmanship... Haven't heard of any one still using lead body filler this century...thought it was a lost art.
Keep up the good work!

Do you do/use any rust neutralization/inhibiter?

Enjoy!

Thanks. For the internal compartments, like inside the box sections between the body ribs and the floor panels, I remove the rust mechanically, then metal etch it to neutralize the rust, then prime and paint. Both the inside of the ribs and the corresponding area on the panels have been done this way.

I must say... Well Done

Thanks.

Nice work guy and good for your father for knowing how to do lead work
A few years ago I spent a few months welding in new metal on my 3B and I was serious about wanting to do lead as it would be more in line for a '61 Jeep. Nobody knew how to do it around here anymore.
I made do with Bondo and it has held up for many years with no problems. Then again, I haven't bashed it against any trees lately.

Carry on.

Thank you. I wanted to use lead in all the areas, but we compromised and used it only in the high traffic areas. I have also used panel bond as filler for high traffic areas, but it hardens to the point of being a PITA to work with.

 

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

I have an intermediate CJ 5 (72-75) also. I understand what you are experiencing with parts and have to pretty much fabricate everything because (55-71) and (76-83) are the normal range for OEM and after market support.
I see you upgraded to power steering. I'm assuming that the Saginaw power steering box is now a 4 bolt and that you are using the cast steel frame mount with 3 bolts? I just wanted to mention that the cast steel mount will fail and to keep a close eye on it for cracks. A steering box brace from the housing just above the pitman arm to the passenger side frame will probably help in buying time before you have to fabricate a safe box mount.
Watching this come together reminds of all the work involved. Good job especially the detail in body work. Who even does "tinning" any more. Guess I know now. Lol

You are correct, it has the 4 bolt box with the 3 bolt frame. Do you think it will still need the brace in light of the fact that it's not a rock crawler and only running 31" tires?

I have had pretty good luck buying replacement panels from Classic Enterprises. Installing the parts...? It's like hanging a door casing on a crooked door jamb. Do you want it plumb and level or do you want it to look right? These transition era Jeep bodies were not very well built to begin with, having variances from side to side so that measurements taken on one side do not match the measurements taken on the other side. I'm doing as much as I can to fix these problems, but I have to draw the line somewhere.

It's going to look great when it's done, but the work to get there may not have been worth it.