My 1976 Jeep CJ-5

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Technical Specifications

Here are the specs of "Bob" when I purchased it:

25,000 original miles! Yes, the original owner, a farmer in Michigan, used it for a bit, damaged the transfer case (apparently pulling stumps) and then parked it in a barn where it sat for 20 years! A complete frame-off restoration was completed in 1998.

The frame and other under-body components were sand/bead blasted. POR15 was used on the frame and the bottom of the tub.

Poly bushings used for the suspension, motor mounts, tranny mounts, body mounts, tie-rod ends, etc.

T-150 three-speed—2nd gear and Reverse replaced and Dana 20 transfer case. Rebuilt Dana 30 front axle (with disc brake conversion). Warn premium locking hubs. Original AMC 20 in the back. Front and rear sway bars (not stock and, not actually correct for the CJ—in fact, the CJ never had a rear sway bar—but they sure are effective). Reverse shackle kit (from the looks of it, it's a Trailmaster Shackle Inversion kit—there's also a Trailmaster steering stabilizer onboard).

A pair of fairly junky CarQuest XD shocks at the rear and, a bit of an oddity, a pair of shocks labeled as being from
Rhoads Lifters up front. This makes no sense to me since that company doesn't, as far as I know, make shocks. Someone may simply have put stickers on these two. They are painted black (doesn't look like their original color) for some reason and then someone had the strange idea to put these stickers on 'em. Go figure... (Update: mystery solved. The front shocks are Monroes that were painted over. I scraped off a bunch of paint and gunk and found the details on them. Still no idea why someone stuck those Rhoads stickers on them.)

Original Goodyear spare! Not that it's of any use... Nifty
American Racing AR-26 aluminum wheels. New BF Goodrich All-Terrain T/A KO 31 x 10.5 tires (only 3000 miles on 'em when I bought the Jeep). Unfortunately, no spare on an aluminum rim to match. (Someone, please! Tell me you've got a spare AR-26, 15 x 8, 5 x 5.5 you'd like to sell!) Here's an update as I've replaced the tires with new ones.

Only 500 miles on a remanufactured 258 in-line six cylinder engine from
S&S in Tacoma, Washington. According to the VIN under the hood, "Bob" came from the factory with a 232ci engine (see Decoding Jeep VIN Numbers—mine has an "E" for the seventh character).

An upgrade from the stock non-powered to power steering via a "76" type Saginaw model 800 steering box. Geared for larger tires which the PO planned to put on with a lift. Didn't happen and now I have very fast steering.

New alternator, regulator, battery and more. Since I bought it, I've replaced the battery with an Optima, and replaced the alternator/regulator with a reman'd Delta 10SI.

Low back seats (originals) with custom vinyl upholstery. Carpeted (later removed since it just collects dirt). Center console (
also later replaced with a Tuffy console), AM/FM cassette (and again…). Billet control knobs (lights, wipers, etc.) Auto Meter gauges, including in-dash tachometer, volt-meter, fuel and temperature gauges.

Bestop full top and doors. Bestop bikini with half doors. I mostly run with just the bikini and no doors.

Original, pristine Bicentennial year owner's manual (with 1976 spelled out in stars!)