don't know where to go

bought a project i thought. i dont know much about autos but am mechanically inclined. 1960 cj5. 4 cylinder f head?! it ran so i figured that was a plus. got it home and started investigating. brakes didn't work. missing mc cap. replaced and started trying to bleed brakes. been soaking bleeder valves for a week. no luck. i started to remove the tires to check the drums. one off okay. the next one has 3 tack welded nuts. the wheel has a boatload of play. back axle is missing a stud.
the tub is pretty much shot. should i drop back and punt. sell/ part out or remove all and start from frame and engine? i dont know. is a front axle swap that tough for someone who doesnt know squat.i guess i am more or less venting. thanks for hearing

 

Re: dont know where to go

Hey Shane,
I heard a guy once say that "I paid $1 for my Jeep and boy did I ever get ripped off". I got mine for "free" and have put about $3,000 into it so far. It still needs about $5,000 more before it ever sees the road again. These things are old and can get in REALLY bad shape and still keep on running. Then when you go to work on it, it's like opening a can of worms. How much did you pay for it? I'm sure that it could be restored to the point that you were happy with it, but it sounds like you need to go through everything. It does run so that is a plus. If you part it out you should be able to get $500 to $1000 depending on just how bad things are. My advice would be to do some more looking around. Try to sell it and get back what you paid for it. Then buy one that was more in line with what you had in mind. There are still some really good Jeeps out there and occasionally they are very well priced.

 

Re: dont know where to go

i paid 400 bucks for it. the body stuff doesn't bother me. i am looking for something to get out in the summer. is swapping axles really that tough? thanks

 

Re: dont know where to go

Well, if you want to learn about cars, this would be a good way to teach yourself. Sadly, in the long run, the cheapest project cars are the ones that are already in good condition when you start.

I would encourage you to keep at it. If you can afford the time and money, the experience you gain will be very valuable. Mechanically, these cars are pretty simple, though there are more mechanical components than a passenger car, because of the 4WD. If you want to keep at it, we can talk you through any difficulties you might encounter. You have to want to continue though...

Re the brakes, I would not spend a lot of time and money on the original 9" brakes, unless you are doing a faithful restoration. Search for articles about 11" brakes.

The broken stud is not a big deal. The tack welded nuts are surprising... you may have to cut off the nuts and press in new studs. Maybe you'll want to post on these problems one at a time, and you'll get some more specific advice.

Maybe this project is not for you, but if you think it is, this is the right place to get help.

 

Re: dont know where to go

i want to continue. i want to learn. time isnt an issue. money all at once isnt an issue. i just got frustrated and wondered if i am in over my head

 

Re: dont know where to go

swapping axles is easier and probably cheaper than rebuilding, if you can find a good set.

 

Re: dont know where to go

thanks guys for the ear and shoulder. you probably will continue to hear from me

 

Re: dont know where to go

I bought my '60 CJ5 about 15 years ago for $150 and have never driven it. It sat for a long time. I have really put a lot of time and money into in the last three years and it is finally very close to being done. Unfortunately it is also very close to, if not already exceeding (I'm afraid to add it up) 5 figures and it's not painted yet.

As mentioned, you have to want to continue. After all the time and money I am really chomping at the bit to finally drive this thing.

This is what it looked like when I brought it home.







Frame, suspension, and drivetrain.



MD Juan Body with original hood/grille.



I had it all mocked up but tore it back down to get ready for paint. I hope to be driving it come summer!

 

Re: dont know where to go

She's a beauty.

You see a Jeep like that, and you think it has worked hard all its life, and deserves to be brought back. They are cool, even in their battered, road-weary state.

 

Re: dont know where to go

I purchased the 1959 CJ5 my son walked past on his way to school and talked about almost daily for his sixteenth birthday. It came complete with a Koenig 550 hard top. He promptly took lots of it apart, lost lots of little irreplaceable widgets, and lost interest in it, occasionally purchasing a (that's right, a) spark plug. He left for the Army with a pile of parts in my back yard.

A couple of years later I paid off a credit card he was about to default on and told him I was keeping the pile of parts he now referred to, with great disgust, as a "Rust bucket"

I'm 100% disabled, got the helper dog and everything. I can walk, and tinker, but not for long, that little bit hurts and I need a nap. I can work a full day here and there, but it takes me a week or more to recover. I don't get out a lot so my friend list is mighty short. I asked one of my three or four friends in my AO for help. He runs a garage and I asked if he could help me by taking it on as a project to keep the mechanics employed during slow periods. He agreed, but said I'd have to wait until it was done to see it as he wanted me to get the whole effect. Another friend helped me rebuild the engine, I did all the work as he supervised (took me a month to do and three months to recover). Three and a half years (I saw it painted from a distance a few times) later his business goes belly-up and I manage to rescue it ahead of the creditors only to find out that he'd done nothing but farm out the body work and tell me he'd installed four thousand dollars in parts and labor (the body work was separate and turned out to be a death trap waiting to kill anyone who drove it).

After profound apologies and begging for the chance to make it right, his new (devoutly Christian) employer rolled it into his shop and they promised to finish it in weeks, not months. Ten months later I pulled the plug and said I was sending a tow truck for it when the guy comes at me with a hammer! Claimed none of it was his fault! His mother in law was the guilty party!! I unsnapped Jäger's leash (My service dog is also PPD trained and hits like a freight train with teeth) and he got back behind the car he'd been working on in a hurry. Jäger never moved, barked, or growled.

Down the street I went to a restoration place and dumped another five grand into my eight hundred dollar jeep. My neighbor repaired all the structural rust and all I needed to do was buy the materials.

I have her now, And we go somewhere daily although sometimes it's for less than a mile, I drive her. I theorized that the way a Jeep was layed out would hurt less to go over rough spots in roads (railroad tracks and gutters). I was right, the driver's seat is located so going over bumps is like being in a rocking chair. I had the driver's seat rebuilt similar to a D7's seat and have been hitting every rough spot (and a few fields) I can find and it doesn't hurt.

Having a classic Jeep and a trained GSD is just as cool and fun as you can imagine, and then a bit more. My bride has followed me on a couple of errands and said that everyone stops and watches us go by. Last week some guy in a newish Beemer sports convertible pulled up next to Jäger and I at a light and spent the entire time telling his big busted blond girl about how cool that old Jeep and dog was. (You can see Jäger by google searching "jagergsd") Do the Jeep, yes it'll be expensive, but make it what you want and enjoy it. I put as much as possible back to original because most of this country's infrastructure was laid out by guys in stock Jeeps.

 

If you want to learn old JEEPS are great. When I got my 62 the only thing I had to teach me was my Dad and the old man from down the street (I got my JEEP before I ever found this forum. these guys on here know everything) But all the time, money, and busted and bleeding knuckles, I wouldn't trade any of it. And now I have something I can be proud of and gets allot of looks from people when you drive by, And old JEEPS are just cool.

 

Re: dont know where to go

i thought i was taking a long time with mine. I bought it a year ago and paid 800$ for it. have spent...2000$ or so on it since, and countless hours of work.

But i have learned a lot (more than i wanted to know lol) and when its all said and done ill know every screw and bolt in it.

and you'll be one of the few people driving around in a vintage CJ
I see a whole lot of jeeps, but have yet to see one vintage this year.

 

i just went through what you are going through now.
with absolutely zero mechanical experience i jumped (stepped?)into it.
these guys here displayed the Patience of job and walked me through my project.
my build thread is 49 PAGES LONG!
IF YOU HAVE A DUMB QUESTION. JUST DO A SEARCH.
I ALREADY ASKED IT....

this is just some of what they taught me how to do.
complete rewire
replace 9" brakes
fabricate seat brackets/front bumper
adjust valves/timing /dwell etc.
clean/patch gas tank
replace fender
change all fluids differentials/tranny/ etc.
carb rebuild
fuel pump rebuild (failed bought replacement)
replace warn locking hubs with selectros
repack wheel bearings replace seals
replace rear inner seals
replace seats with originals
install choke cable
replace u-joint
replace steering wheel
wire wheel interior
degrease interior
treat interior for rust.
paint gas tank
turn signal switch(failed bought replacement)

install side spare carrier

wiper motors/arms
dash handle
rebuild steering box
replace/repair
tie rods
bell crank
sector shaft
drag link
broken lug stud
paint/install glass in 1/2 cab
replace tube for oil pressure gauge
patch holes in dash/ windshield/floorboards
treat rust on body
paint

 

P.S.
mine cost right around $5000 grand total and 500? hours labor
i payed $1650 for it in the first place.

 

Re: dont know where to go

yeah
i am the only guy i know around here with one.
old guys and young boys flip out over it!