Fenix Motorsports
Member
Let me start off by saying that this thing has always been a pile and the body really isn't worth the time it would take to save it so I have no remorse as far as cutting it up.
This thing was my first vehicle, my dad bought it for me in my sophomore year of HS as a father/son project (along with his 66 GTO) and funded the rebuild of the drivetrain and other things needed to get it roadworthy (I use that term very loosely). It is an original v6 model with a t14 trans and a dana 18 t-case. It was completely and totally rotted out when we got it, there was no floor, just a stop sign someone hacked up to cover the hole where the floor should've been and that was just the start of it. Regardless, the first time we started the motor is was knocking to high hell, so it got pulled and sent off to get rebuilt. The entire thing ended up getting rewired, trans got rebuilt and the top cap put together backwards by novak adapters so it shifts backwards.......and a ton of other stuff, suffice it to say, more money was spent on parts than the thing was worth which I shouldn't be surprised with.
I drove the thing for a couple years until I got my C10, and them it was just my backup vehicle when the C10 decided it didn't want to start for whatever reason or when I wanted to go wheeling and my friends needed a recovery vehicle, but this thing always worked, it ran for years with little to no changes until the cheap chinese ignition coil exploded and ended up getting replaced with the original one from a 66 GTO.
Also yeah, the RZR seats weren't my first decision but good seats are pricey and this thing never warranted them.
The one gripe I always had with this thing was the suspension sucked, it was really bad, worse than it should've been, so in my head, I'm thinking why would I go buy new leaf springs and whatnot to rebuild it to stock when I can cut it up and turn it into a mini 4800 car. So that's what I did. I started to disassemble it and cut the rear of the body in a way that would allow me to push the wheelbase out in both directions (also taking most of the passenger quarter panel rust with it) and also run much larger tires.
I have one big issue with the way I have seen most of these CJ5s built and that is that they look like monster trucks, and for me that isn't going to fly, so while I will be retaining most of the stock frame (which wasn't the original plan) it will be getting plated and boxed, and the rear foot of the frame and possibly a chunk of the front will be going so I don't have to sacrifice too much up travel while still retaining a lower ride height, if worst comes to worst, I suppose I can just body drop it, but ultimately this will be a go fast type rig, not as much of a rock crawler, so having a lower ride height isn't the end of the world as long as it rides and handles correctly.
I still have a lot of deliberation and design work to do as the build comes along but hopefully it will pick up pace after my c10 gets done, ultimately my goal is to have this done by KOH 2025.
This thing was my first vehicle, my dad bought it for me in my sophomore year of HS as a father/son project (along with his 66 GTO) and funded the rebuild of the drivetrain and other things needed to get it roadworthy (I use that term very loosely). It is an original v6 model with a t14 trans and a dana 18 t-case. It was completely and totally rotted out when we got it, there was no floor, just a stop sign someone hacked up to cover the hole where the floor should've been and that was just the start of it. Regardless, the first time we started the motor is was knocking to high hell, so it got pulled and sent off to get rebuilt. The entire thing ended up getting rewired, trans got rebuilt and the top cap put together backwards by novak adapters so it shifts backwards.......and a ton of other stuff, suffice it to say, more money was spent on parts than the thing was worth which I shouldn't be surprised with.
I drove the thing for a couple years until I got my C10, and them it was just my backup vehicle when the C10 decided it didn't want to start for whatever reason or when I wanted to go wheeling and my friends needed a recovery vehicle, but this thing always worked, it ran for years with little to no changes until the cheap chinese ignition coil exploded and ended up getting replaced with the original one from a 66 GTO.
Also yeah, the RZR seats weren't my first decision but good seats are pricey and this thing never warranted them.
The one gripe I always had with this thing was the suspension sucked, it was really bad, worse than it should've been, so in my head, I'm thinking why would I go buy new leaf springs and whatnot to rebuild it to stock when I can cut it up and turn it into a mini 4800 car. So that's what I did. I started to disassemble it and cut the rear of the body in a way that would allow me to push the wheelbase out in both directions (also taking most of the passenger quarter panel rust with it) and also run much larger tires.
I have one big issue with the way I have seen most of these CJ5s built and that is that they look like monster trucks, and for me that isn't going to fly, so while I will be retaining most of the stock frame (which wasn't the original plan) it will be getting plated and boxed, and the rear foot of the frame and possibly a chunk of the front will be going so I don't have to sacrifice too much up travel while still retaining a lower ride height, if worst comes to worst, I suppose I can just body drop it, but ultimately this will be a go fast type rig, not as much of a rock crawler, so having a lower ride height isn't the end of the world as long as it rides and handles correctly.
I still have a lot of deliberation and design work to do as the build comes along but hopefully it will pick up pace after my c10 gets done, ultimately my goal is to have this done by KOH 2025.
