Welcome!
Welcome to RealJeep.com, where I will be posting updates as my `80 CJ-5 rebuild progresses. This will hopefully be a valuable resource to others who are looking for information on various modifications for their Jeep vehicle, or just want to learn from my mistakes.
The frame appeared in reasonably good shape once I had the Jeep stripped down to the point I could examine it. There was a little rust around the rear shackle hangers, and the brackets where the body mounts attach. After reading in magazines and in the usenet newsgroups about people having trouble with frames cracking I decided I was fairly well off. I used several cans of engine cleaner and several wire brushes cleaning all of the caked on grease, oil, and surface rust before welding metal plates over the rusted out body mounted points and the sides of the frame on either side of the rear shackle.
The stock suspension was almost totally replaced. I ordered a ProComp 4-inch lift kit from Four Wheel Drive Wholesalers, which came with 4 springs, a dropped pitman arm, and 4 ProComp Explorer shocks. I've heard from a couple people that this kit is too stiff and that I'll hate how it rides, and maybe they are right, I'll just have to wait and see. At least until everything else is done, these springs are holding the narrowed Ford 9" rear end and factory Dana 30 front axle in place. The rear is a Ford 9" out of a 1970 Ford F-150 pickup truck. It has been narrowed to the same width as the original AMC Model 20 that was originally in the Jeep. It houses 4.10:1 ratio gears and a Detroit Locker carrier and should live up to considerable abuse.
The day the body arrived was a pretty exciting day, since it was the first time in over a year that the Jeep actually looked like a Jeep! I found that it was cheaper to have a local 4x4 shop order the body and pick it up at their shop, about 2 miles from the garage I am working in, than to order it directly from the factory and have it shipped to me. The body I am using is from Four Wheel Drive Hardware in Columbiana, Ohio and seems to be well made. I visited their showroom and looked at their body compared to a couple competitors they also had on display. I thought it was cool that they displayed other manufacturers bodies so you could compare the quality, but they didn't have an AJ's body to look at, and they were the only other manufacturer I'd considered.
