[1x1_Speed_Craig]

I just had this beauty of a CJ-6 delivered to me in East Tennessee earlier this week...right before a bunch of rain. Perfect timing for a topless Jeep.

This 1971 (my birth year!) CJ-6 has less than 5,800 original miles. It was purchased new by the Charlestown Township Volunteer Fire Department in Portage County, Ohio. It's powered by a Dauntless V6/T14 3-speed/Dana 18, and has the rare offset flanged Dana 44 rear axle (3.73 gearing) matched with a Dana 27 front. Tires are 31" x 10.5" Kelly Safari, and they're in almost-new condition. This is at least a decade older than most of the CJs I've owned in the past, so the drivetrain stuff is newer to me. My understanding, though, is that the Dauntless is a great engine.

It does run, but needs a tune-up, some brake system TLC and exhaust work, as it has sat much of its 51-year life. The frame & underside are in great shape, and the paint is all original. The biggest issue is a fix of the rear floor pan that rusted under a big foam/water tank they had mounted in the rear. It's an adequate repair job for now, but I'll likely replace it with a rear pan from Classic Enterprises eventually. The vintage Ramsey electric winch works, too. The wiring system has had so many hacks for added lights/equipment that I plan to replace all wiring with a Painless Harness, but only after I finish the mechanical rehab work.

Since the Bestop Tigertop is the only remaining game in town for CJ-6 soft tops, I went ahead and bought one. Everything went decently with the install until we tried to stretch the new top over the newly-installed hardware. It was too cool out today, and it just wasn't pliable enough. My neighbor offered up his garage and propane heater to help us out, and we'll take him up on it...hopefully tomorrow.

This will be a "refresh and enhance" project, and will remain relatively stock. I plan to use it around town (mostly 30-55 mph driving), around our property, and to do some day exploration of East Tennessee once the mechanicals have been gone through. It will not see any crazy wheeling, and should have a fairly easy life. I'm still building our little house here and need to stay focused on that, but we did buy a 30' x 44' Quonset Hut that should be up by spring, and will keep this classic CJ-6 (along with my tractor, etc.) out of the weather in the near future.

Craig

 

[XXXJ]

Did you get that from an auction or a cash sale?

 

[1x1_Speed_Craig]

Cash sale. The guy I got it from lives close to the fire department. Here's a video he put together shortly before I bought it.

 

[capone]

Wow great find Craig, You don't see many CJ-6 's around.

 

[1x1_Speed_Craig]

My wonderful neighbor helped me get the soft top installed today. We used his propane heater inside the Jeep to warm it up, which did the trick...barely. It was still super tight! I still have a couple little details to finish up, and have to get a couple door channel pieces from Bestop, as my windshield didn't have them already.

We started a tune-up on the Dauntless, but Napa gave me the wrong points. More to come once I get it fired up & driving.

 

[tweak]

This forum must be coming back from the dead... I was super excited to see a jeep build thread by 1x1_Speed_Craig when I logged into GL4x4 this morning! This is going to be a fun thread to follow for sure.

 

[1x1_Speed_Craig]

This forum must be coming back from the dead... I was super excited to see a jeep build thread by 1x1_Speed_Craig when I logged into GL4x4 this morning! This is going to be a fun thread to follow for sure.

Good to see you here, tweak. I've been away with other priorities, the biggest of which was getting our youngest kids graduated & out of the house, moving to Tennessee, and building this small house (still in-process).

 

[1x1_Speed_Craig]

It's now running...rough, but running. I'm still waiting on some tune-up parts from RockAuto. The gearing feels tall with the 3.73s and 31" tires, but it's also jumpy just because it's running rough. A healthy-sized exhaust leak is also gassing me out in the now-enclosed Jeep. Add exhaust repair to the list (I knew it leaked).

 

[1x1_Speed_Craig]

Winch model is Ramsey DC9-1 (8,000-lb.)...haven't personally tried it out yet, but I will eventually.

Also, here's a close-up of the hood graphics.

 

[aber61]

My brother-in-law has had a few of these cj6"s.
He just finished up one that he did throughout covid. I'll get a few pics of it for you.
Great find.

 

[Dave Kerwin]

Hi Craig! Cool rig, and good to connect with you again.

 

[1x1_Speed_Craig]

Hi Craig! Cool rig, and good to connect with you again.

Likewise, Dave.

 

[tweak]

Winch model is Ramsey DC9-1 (8,000-lb.)...haven't personally tried it out yet, but I will eventually.

Also, here's a close-up of the hood graphics.

View attachment 282955

Are you planning on keeping the graphics and paint?

 

[1x1_Speed_Craig]

Are you planning on keeping the graphics and paint?

Yes, sir!

 

[aber61]

These are a few projects my brother-in-law did.

 

[aber61]

This was the green one before the transformation.

 

[1x1_Speed_Craig]

Minor update...

The Jeep has been sitting while I gathered a variety of tune-up parts, a 19-gallon RCI fuel cell & Motobilt mounting bracket to replace the old rear-mounted fuel tank. A local mechanic is installing the balance of the tune-up parts I hadn't yet installed, addressing the scary-unimpressive brakes (likely just new wheel cylinders required), and rebuilding the carb.

I also just ordered a BDS 2 1/2" suspension lift (P/N 401H), as the factory springs are sitting on the bump stops up front. I plan to lighten up the Jeep by "trimming the fat" from the bumpers before (or shortly after) I install the lift.

It's a slow roll with the Jeep, as I'm still working on my East Tennessee house build, which is (and will remain) my biggest priority.

Craig

 

[1x1_Speed_Craig]

So I received the Motobilt mounting bracket today, and while they used to be built to be compatible with the RCI 2191 fuel cells, they apparently changed their design when the started offering their own (more expensive) fuel cells. The one bracket interferes with the RCI filler bolts/nuts. I'll have to modify that end to work. If I were to do it again, I'd probably buy the more popular 15-gallon 2161 fuel cell (the same one I used on my old CJ-10a project), and a Barnes 4WD mounting bracket for that cell. The Motobilt one was $180 ($30 of that was shipping), and I'm just not seeing quite that much value in the spend. That's OK, though...I'll move forward regardless.

Craig

 

[green50gt]

Wait just a second - I thought you were leaving this thing alone?

 

[1x1_Speed_Craig]

Wait just a second - I thought you were leaving this thing alone?

I'm doing what needs to be done to make it road-worthy, Derek. It sat for a lot of years, and that definitely takes a toll on certain things, as I'm sure you know. I'm having a local mechanic finish the tune-up, and replace necessary wheel cylinders to get the brakes functional (they're very weak). The original gas tank also appears to have a rust hole that was patched with fiberglass (now a very soft spot), and had to go. I opted for a bigger fuel cell vs. a replacement tank for more range and an easy install. The CJ-6 has the necessary interior space for the fuel cell, so that wasn't an issue.

The OEM front leaf springs are sitting on the bump stops, even when the vehicle is parked, hence the BDS suspension purchase. I didn't plan on lifting it originally, but went with BDS based on the higher-than-stock spring rate, ride quality (the earlycj5.com guys rave about them), and the warranty. It'll also work better for the 31" tires, although I may eventually replace those with a closer to OEM diameter at some point in the future. For now, the Kelly 31s have a ton of tread, and are in great shape.

The exterior/body will remain as-is, aside from trimming the portly bumpers down.

I'll be ordering a Painless Wiring Harness in the near future, as the original harness has been cut & spliced a fair amount for all of the fire department lights/up-fitting.