At the age of 12, my father bought this fabulous, 1975, red CJ5 that had been rebuilt a few years earlier by Ido Cohen (to tell you the truth - not so brilliant work...)
Original specifications (not "factory" original ofcourse, rather the spec in the day of purchasing):
6 cylinders 3.8L engine
Dana 30 front axle and AMC 20 rear axle with a 4.1 ratio (quite powerful)
A Dana 20 transfer (transfer ratio is about 2.02)
A 3 gears transmission (I haven't tried to identify the tranny's model. I guess it's a Dana 15 or Dana 150).
29X10X15 Tires.
About 2.5" body lift.
Power steering.
A beautiful, tight, black soft top.
Immediately after buying the jeep, my father swaped the engine to a 4.2L.
Until the age of 16 or 17 we used to go on trips about twice a year (Sukot and Passover). The jeep always suffered from over heating, especially offroad, but besides that it was a heel of a vehicle.
At the age of 17 we swpaed the engine once again. This time we put in a 305 V8 engine. It had a tremendous power compared to the standard 6 cylinders, but after a year of driving it (and only one offroad trip), we could no longer afford driving it and until recently it just laid neglected in our neighbor's front yard.
After saving some money, I have decided to revive the jeep. And so, at April 22 2005, after 8 years of idleness, my father and I drove (!!!) it into our back yard and started what would be the most satisfying and expensive project of my life so far.
It really doesn't seem so complicated. All you need are resources (books, internet etc.), spacious place to work on it and a father who knows his way around (a good opportunity to pass the knowledge from one generation to another...)
The end of the project is due by October 2005 because I am planning on learing MBA.
Stay tuned and you'll witness the rebirth of a superior CJ5 - probably the best CJ5 in Israel (there aren't many pieces of this model and as a matter of fact, it can now be recognzed as a collecting piece).
