ATTN. Jeepers!! Need help!

CHOP SHOP · Aug 4, 2009

I have a jeep to build and Im torn at making a decision on the build.

First a few rig specs. Its a CJ5 and has a SBC350 and 33s on it. It needs to stay street legal and looking like a jeep (no comp cuts, tubed out, etc). It has to have two buckets and a small bench rear seat. It has an old muncie muscle car tranny nad an old adapter from AA, those are coming out in favor of a TH350/NP205 combo.

Now for my question. What are the PROs and CONs of stretching the door openings on a CJ5? An extra 3-6 inches in the middle would make things nice. The owner is a BIG guy too and wouldnt mind.

I would like a little exta wheelbase, solved=stretch. I would like to keep the origanal tank behind the rear axle while acheiving the extra wheelbase, solved=stretched. I would like a little more room to mount fat guy buckets without notching the wheelwells, solved=stretch.:awesomework:

Is this a major Jeep NoNo or good way to gay up a jeep? If done in moderation is it acceptable? They did make a CJ6, right?:corn:

tomsbrokeagain · Aug 4, 2009

That's a stretch that has been done before. If the work is done right it looks ok. Now the only bad part is doors and top have to be custom one offs. If the customer wants to be able to buy factory soft top doors and half doors then do a diagonal cut behind the door opening and only stretch there. You still won't have a factory fitting top but you could make it fit easier if stretched behind the door opening.

crash2 · Aug 4, 2009

You going to build yourself a jeep :eeek:

tomsbrokeagain · Aug 4, 2009

crash said:
You going to build yourself a jeep :eeek:

Now that would be funny:haha:

Kat · Aug 4, 2009

What about doing a CJ8??????

Bodaciouscj7 · Aug 4, 2009

Making the door opening longer just makes them look funny. Stretch it between the door and fender. Thats where the differnce is in the cj6 body. Do it that way and you can order a top and doors instead of having to get a custom set made up. Either that or start with a cj7, cj8, or yj, all of which are longer to start with and wont need to be stretched.

Ah what the hell, talk him into a 4 runner. Than you might enjoy working on it instead of feeling like a slut working on a jeep:fawkdancesmiley:

dukegnarley · Aug 4, 2009

It's doable. I made my yj unlimited length. do what was suggested, stretch it to cj6 length and get a cj6 top. problem solved.

ain'tstuckjustresting · Aug 5, 2009

Not often someones first post is useful and relevant! Big thumbs up Mr. Gnarly:awesomework: And w/ pics to boot................

Robinhood · Aug 5, 2009

I saw a cj 5 that the guy had put in cj7 door openings and it looked good. I don't know if a cj7 top would then fit it but I know he was running cj7 doors.

Blueleader · Aug 5, 2009

I agree with stretching it just behind the door openings. I'm still kicking myself for not doing it on mine. The tub got all new floors and I put it on a YJ frame so it would have been cake to do back then.

Isn't the CJ6 20" longer than a CJ5? I probably wouldn't stretch it that far but an extra 10" would probably be good.

TreeClimber · Aug 5, 2009

CHOP SHOP said:
I have a jeep to build and Im torn at making a decision on the build.

First a few rig specs. Its a CJ5 and has a SBC350 and 33s on it. It needs to stay street legal and looking like a jeep (no comp cuts, tubed out, etc). It has to have two buckets and a small bench rear seat. It has an old muncie muscle car tranny nad an old adapter from AA, those are coming out in favor of a TH350/NP205 combo.

Now for my question. What are the PROs and CONs of stretching the door openings on a CJ5? An extra 3-6 inches in the middle would make things nice. The owner is a BIG guy too and wouldnt mind.

I would like a little exta wheelbase, solved=stretch. I would like to keep the origanal tank behind the rear axle while acheiving the extra wheelbase, solved=stretched. I would like a little more room to mount fat guy buckets without notching the wheelwells, solved=stretch.:awesomework:

Is this a major Jeep NoNo or good way to gay up a jeep? If done in moderation is it acceptable? They did make a CJ6, right?:corn:

What year?

Early frames were junk
The boxed frames didn't come out till 76 or 77.

If it's a boxed frame, then maybe, but an early frame?

And for what it's worth, stretching a CJ5 is stoopid (just my opinion), because you can solve the stretch by just starting with a CJ7 (problem solved) or a YJ. YJ's can be found regularly for cheap. The cost of labor to do a decent frame stretch and a decent body stretch will excede the costs of buying a 'pre-stretched' CJ7/YJ and transplanting the engine over. Remember, the only reason to stretch is to get his fat ass in there right? Well a CJ7/YJ will fit a fat ass much better than a 5 ever did.

Also, there's a TJ wrecking yard in Portland that you can get a TJ tub cheap. If you wanna drop a TJ tub onto the frame it probably wouldn't be too hard either.

Tony

The dude with the Unlimited YJ: That's cool. You should post up a build thread or show more pics

Digger 5 · Aug 5, 2009

Is this rig going to be wheeled? If so, the NP 205 is a pig for this application. It's heavy, hangs really low and has a crap low range. If it's just going to be a street rig it should be fine.

BeatCJ · Aug 5, 2009

I think I would look into grafting in the YJ door openings, if they would fit. I have to agree with TreeClimber, though. Or YJ tub swap, make the frame fit, if he's wedded to it.

I wouldn't much worry about molesting a CJ-5, they really aren't that rare, yet. 205 is just wrong, though. Too wide, heavy, poor ratio. What's the T-case now?

CHOP SHOP · Aug 5, 2009

No body or frame swaps. Its just a fun toy for him. It has to stay the origanal color, tub and frame combo.

I can add 4-6 inches easily. The frame stretch is no problem either. The frame is going to the soda blaster tomorow and getting boxed when I get it back. I can add a section in the bottom of the door opening that can be spotted in or covered with grip tape/sandpaper easily. I might even just plate in the rockers with some thickwall stuff.

A 205 is a cheap way to get a strong easy to fix drivetrain. It has a muncie M21 coupled to a D20 transfer case. Not cool.

By the time I get a D300 and shafts and adapters to fit it on a th350 it will be damn near half the price of the an atlas.

What are my options? Other routes? It is going to be an auto.:beer:

CHOP SHOP · Aug 5, 2009

Said " Jeep"

Damnyankee · Aug 5, 2009

Th350 - D20 Adaptor is 399

just throwing it out there.

BeatCJ · Aug 5, 2009

Auto is damn tough to shoehorn into a CJ-5, you end up with no rear driveshaft. Nothing wrong with the D-20 for a fun toy. It's not quite as tough as the D-300 but close. Even with a 6" stretch. Adding an auto was the major reason Jeep created the 10" longer CJ-7. Really sounds like your customer has dictated what you'r going to do, may as well do what he wants the best you can, it will still work out OK.

Damnyankee · Aug 5, 2009

My buddy's ls1 powered cj5 with NP465 and D300 barely has any drive shaft, and no room for a good cooling fan, he has to run 3 10" electrcis and has about 1" from pully to rad.

BeatCJ · Aug 5, 2009

Damnyankee said:
My buddy's ls1 powered cj5 with NP465 and D300 barely has any drive shaft, and no room for a good cooling fan, he has to run 3 10" electrcis and has about 1" from pully to rad.

It depends on the year. The one in Chop Shop's photos is a later CJ-5, lengthened out to fit the I-6, which is actually longer than than a SBC. AMC did that when they bought the brand from Kaiser.

BeatCJ · Aug 5, 2009

Another choice is a Jeep auto. Still need a D-300, but the TF-999 is fairly short. It was the auto used in the CJ-7, and doesn't need an adapter. Hard to find the right one though, 4 cylinder CJ-7 '80-'81.