71 CJ5 build

I bought this rig off of this forum about 3 years ago. I also had an XJ that I was wheeling. I wheeled this one time and decided I wanted to make it different. I didn't like the leaf springs up front (bent them first trip out), and realized a manual transmission wasn't what i wanted. I also couldn't comfortably drive it. The CJ5 body is tiny!

Specs when I got it:
5.3, SM420 trans, dana300
Dodge Dana 60 front 5.38 and rear 14 bolt with 5.38s spool front and back
4-link rear with air shocks and leaf springs up front
39.5x13.50x17 Iroks


Once I started tearing it down for the new build I realized I should just get a new frame and go on with a full build. Justin Dodd messaged me on Instagram and set me up with the pieces for a new frame. It's basically a TJ or YJ chassis and I'm making the CJ5 tub fit. I was going to do a WOD Jeep Chassis but didn't realize it was only for CJ7, TJ, and YJ. Long story short I went with what I had and it's finally starting to take shape.

The new drivetrain is still the 5.3 but backed with a RMVB TH400 trans and Atlas 3.0. I decided to four-link the rear and the front this time with 14" Radflo emulsion coilovers. I am also upgrading to Raceline wheels and 42" PBRs (i know, i know but they were half off so get off me!)

Frame pieces from Justin:


Drivetrain bolted up:



Rear 4-link tacked in place. I think I'll have to make my lowers 2" longer because right now they are 2" shorter than the uppers. I built the little subframe so that I can have a flat belly and engine skid.


Front 4-link mocked up and sliders added.


Body set back on for some more mocking up. Wheelbase is at 113".

I had to take a large portion of the floor out to clear the drivetrain. I may have gotten a little carried away but I cut the body at the door opening and will add about 4.5". That should make the body look more proportional to the wheel base and also allow more leg room for when I put the seats in withouth having to hack the rear fenderwell completely out. I would really like to dove tail it a little bit to clear the tires at full stuff. The 40s are right at the fender now so the 42 will rub if i don't bring it in a little.



I got the shock hoops bent up Tuesday night. I started on the fender bars last night but ran out of time before I had to leave for a Christmas party for work.


The hood fits perfectly on top of the hoops. I'll have to cut the grill shell up quite a bit to fit but that shouldn't be a problem. The radiator fits right in the shell so I'm hoping that won't change.

Glad to see a CJ5 build!

Stretched Cj5's are some of the coolest builds! Looks awesome man.

Started on the fender tubes. I just need to knock a degree or two out of the bend so it fits nice and snug. Then I can move on to the other side and tie them into the shock hoops.

Tonight's progress. I was notching the last fender bar and the hole saw got bound up. The drill spun around and knocked the wind out of me and jammed the **** out of my finger. So i'm not going to type much tonight.

Great looking progress going to look good what WB did you end up with

jp fan said:

Great looking progress going to look good what WB did you end up with

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Thanks, I still have a lot to screw up between now and finish. Lol.

Wheelbase is at 113" and this is full bump. I'm going to put 42s on so I think the packaging of everything should be pretty good.

Wheels came in today! I thought I ordered black rings but the polished looks killer! Just waiting on tires now. I still have plenty of work to do before I need them.

wayne86 said:

Wheels came in today! I thought I ordered black rings but the polished looks killer! Just waiting on tires now. I still have plenty of work to do before I need them.

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I bought a set with black rings once, thought they looked better polished myself. Diggin the build. Hatters wanna hat, but I dig a CJ5.

Not a jeep guy by any means but I love the old school cj5 build. Just glad its not a gheyK. Keep it up.

I like the ol jeep builds keep it kinda original :****:

I'm digging the old school too. I've not done too much body work in my life so I'm a little nervous about finishing floor panels and trying to dove the rear a little.

the_white_shadow I'm looking forward to your return back to the country to see how you finish out your build. It's looking really good! I really like full bodied rigs. That being said, I think if I ever build another rig it will be a buggy. The constraints of a body suck when trying to package everything!

wayne86 said:

I'm digging the old school too. I've not done too much body work in my life so I'm a little nervous about finishing floor panels and trying to dove the rear a little.

the_white_shadow I'm looking forward to your return back to the country to see how you finish out your build. It's looking really good! I really like full bodied rigs. That being said, I think if I ever build another rig it will be a buggy. The constraints of a body suck when trying to package everything!

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Thanks. I cant wait to get back too. Looks like towards the end of January probably. I feel you on making things fit inside the constraints of a full body. Its been tough somewhat but it will be worth it in the end. Next one will be a bent fab or M&M chassis.

I've been a little slow on progress lately. I did finally tack the front coilovers in place. I'm a little concerned with the angle of my tabs whether or not the shocks will bind up when the suspension cycles. I will give them a try before burning them in. A buddy has solidworks and helped me draw up some tabs and we got them buzzed out on his plasma table. I'm hoping to move the the rear this weekend.



I had some Artec truss tabs that wouldn't quite work with the angle that I had to set the shocks at. So we made a cardboard template to make this tab then drew on the program. Turned out to be a perfect fit the first time. That was kind of fun. I've never used Solid works before.

Starting welding up some of the stuff that I know is permanent (frame plates, sliders, link tabs). After going over the build in my head a thousand times and trying to figure out a good way to keep the tub I have decided I'm going to just keep the cowl and hood and build it as a buggy. I think in the end I will be more happy with it and it will definitely be safer since I won't have to work within the parameters of the body. I messaged a few guys on Instagram to get different opinions. One was building a Liquid Iron chassis with the Jimmy Smith cowl and hood. He said it was 58" wide and that's where I'm at. If I have a bad roll and destroy the hood and cowl I can order a new one and bolt it on. My original plan was to build something similar to the WOD JC chassis and make the tub removable. The more I think about it the tougher it seems to accomplish the concept of making the cage and tub removable.



Here's a few reinforcement pieces I'm going to have cut out this week.



I also drew up some frame caps that will bend 90* around the corner to tie in the two pieces of square tube but didn't snap a pic.

I threw a piece of tube in there to visualize where I want to go with this. If I get time this week I'll start laying everything out on Bend Tech and get a plan of action going for this thing. I need to make progress before Spring because that's my busy season with work.

I've been a little slow to get things done. Winter meetings, farms shows, and busy weekends have kept me from making much progress.

I decided to just keep the cowl and hood and make it a buggy. I'll skin it out when it's done. So I cleared the wiring off of the firewall and got busy with the cutoff wheel.




I had a buddy cut out some stuff on his plasma table for me. This is about the only welding I've done on it in a couple of weeks.

Hate to read it's losing the body, but I think you'll be much happier that way.

Can't wait to see the panel/skin work to keep it looking like a CJ though.

ridered3 said:

Hate to read it's losing the body, but I think you'll be much happier that way.

Can't wait to see the panel/skin work to keep it looking like a CJ though.

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Yeah, I didn't really want to ditch it either but I think it's going to be better this way. I would really like to find somebody that could stamp or bead roll "Jeep" in the panels.

I had a buddy come out and help me get the cowl and hood put in place and get started on the cage part of the build. This was last night's progress. We built the area for the cowl to set in. I'm notching the tube there for the A pillar that will go. We taked a temporary piece in to get some door bars bent up. I bent them wrong once and notched wrong the second time. I bent my last holesaw arbor so I decided to call it a day and just spend it inside ordering more parts. :



I also mounted up my PBRs on the Racelines. I need to get some lugnuts and I'll get them put on the buggy. The boxes on the work bench are my PSC parts for the single ended, full hydro set up that I'll run behind the axle. The other is full of driveshaft parts in the 1410 flavor. Thanks to Jake Burkey for the tech info and putting those orders together for me.