Rebuild Advice Needed

Okay, so I need some sage advice from you Pros. I have totally rebuilt the F Head out of my '64 CJ5, and kept the Front and Rear ends, along with a lot of other parts, plus the T- Case and T90, seats, hood etc. The Body was so bad that I ended up trashing it, along with the frame (it was not in great shape because PO had used it for heavy snow plowing for 40+ years).

I bought a complete '69 CJ5 and the body is in great shape and the PO threw in a spare CJ6 F head engine, brand new BestTop (still in box) and New Mickey Thompson tires and wheels were also included. The '69 is a former USDA Forestry Service Jeep and has all the requisite Gov't decals, data plates, warranty info etc. It has a factory installed Koenig PTO front winch and Roll Bar which was mounted to the body on top of the rear fender boxes. I have removed the tub and am getting ready to send it out to the best body guy in the area. He is willing to sand blast all the body parts and frame, do a little cosmetic metal work (no rust throughs), paint it and do it up right on a pay as you go basis (The tub will be gone for about 6 months due to my budgetary constraints). While he is working on the body, I plan on going through the T98 and T-Case, rebuild the winch, and rebuild the axles and differentials etc.

Before I screw this up I need to know:

1. Should I stick with a rebuild for the T98, or should I rebuild the T90 due to the shortage of T98 parts? (I'll be adding an overdrive) I haven't opened either of them yet, but both PO's said that they were working fine (the '69 Jeep wasn't running when I picked it up, and the '64 was running very rough and the clutch was smoked on it so it was hard to get it to move). I plan on converting the '69 single stick T-Case to a Twin Stick. I should mention that the PO of the '69 played U Boat Commander with it, and I have found mud residue all the way up to the windshield, in the carb etc, so I don't know what the inside of the drive lines differentials, Tranny, T-Case and Axles looks like yet.

2. Should I reinstall the fender mounted Roll Bar (of questionable value in a roll over, or should I opt for a new fabricated full roll cage that I would mount through the body to the frame? I need to point out I won't be doing a lot of what anyone here would describe as serious rock crawling / off-roading, this will be used more on weekends, camping, hunting and fishing trips, maybe the occasional Mummers Day Parade etc.

3. The body guy said to replace the front fenders because he said that it would be more expensive to repair the originals than it would be to by some after market fenders. I am torn because I don't know whether the quality of after market fenders is the same as the originals.

4. I now have so many spare parts (I'll have two spare motors), that I think I can comfortably sell some of them to help offset some of the costs for the body work. Are there any parts that I should absolutely not part with? I have virtually every part off the '64 minus the tub, fenders and frame, all of which seem to be in good shape.

Sorry for the long winded post, but I am still new to this and want to learn from other's "lessons learned". Thanks for this great forum, I am learning a lot from everyone on here. My wife bought me a Military 416 Trailer for Easter and it is in great shape. I am dying to get the Jeep on the road along with the trailer but it won't happen until later this fall (okay so I may be a little too optimistic about that)

Happy Easter.

Ranger:hurrican:

 

hmmm.....

i would keep the t98. drain the oil from the tranny/transfer/diffs and see what it looks like. I would still pull the covers and inspect the gears for wear and tear.

 

If the T-98 is in good condition, it will be very durable. Only gears will be difficult to source, and its very unlikely you will need new gears. Wear items like bearings, blocking rings and thrust washers should be available for many years. The T-98 and T-18 were intended for large vehicles, like school buses and mid-sized trucks like dump trucks and flat beds, so the T-98 from your Jeep should run millions of miles before gear breakage.

If you're worried about the T-98, I'd suggest you rebuild it now. It should then be ready for a several decades of CJ use if you replace the bearings etc.

I'd get rid of the CJ-5 roll bar - the CJ-6 bar is a single hoop that goes behind the front seats and braces to the fender wells. No one makes one today, but it would be very easy to fabricate.

<edit> I'd go with some good OEM fenders. Everything I've heard about aftermarket fenders has been negative - poor fit and finish, and thinner metal. The aftermarket fenders are available, but so are OEM fenders. Scotty's in Duarte CA has lots of take-off fenders, and I'm sure J&W does too.

 

Thanks for the information.

Does anyone have any suggestions regarding what extra parts I could afford to sell and still have a sufficient supply of parts that I may need? I'd like to get some additional cash to offset the body work costs (or I should say, my lovely wife would like me to sell some spares so she'll be able to get her car back in the garage).

While I am thinking of it, I have a question about the lunette set up on the M416 Trailer. I like the lunette and the additional flex it gives when traveling off road (no the noise doesn't bother me and neither does the occasional bumping between the hitch and the lunette when you take off or slow down). When I was in the service, the vehicles used a type of pintle hitch that rotated (twisted) in the mount thereby giving additional amounts of movement offset between the trailer and the vehicle. Has anyone ever seen one of these available anywhere?

Ranger