1977 Jeep CJ5

The CJ-5 has the distinct honor of being a vehicle that was hard to kill off.  It came in 1954 and left in 1984, equaling the longest production run of note.  The push was that the Universal Jeep was truly universal--stick it in agriculture, public service, transportation, communications, industry, and it would do the job--from street sweeping to "acting as a public address vehicle" because it was "the world's most useful vehicle".  Hey, if it was good enough to rid the roads of trash and Bob's Big Boy wrappers, it was good enough for public consumption.  The CJ-5 was a bit bigger/longer than the CJ-3B and was based on the round-fendered '51 M38A1.  Willys gave its latest Jeep Universal model lots of newness at launch.  Completely new!  New ruggedness!  New dependability!  New comfort!  New versatility!  The CJ-5 was stepping it up in the brakes, suspension, seating, and even the glovebox, (now with cover!), departments.  A new instrument panel, larger windshield, and hand brake were selling points.  The CJ-5 graduated from Willys to Kaiser and then to AMC, saw itself get longer as a CJ-6 version, and even inspired the FC model--not a bad bio.  Because of the CJ-7's arrival in 1976, the CJ-6 was dumped in North America.  -Thx to Motortrend.com

For consignment, a CJ (Civilian's Jeep) version 5 from 1977.  This restoration goes through a painstakingly meticulous process down to every nut and bolt being weatherproof, and plenty of add ons to immerse yourself into this one.  Sporting a full fiberglass body, some new V8 power under the hood, a small suspension lift, and a trick touch screen lighting system, this CJ5 is ready to handle whatever hills, dunes, mudholes, or mountains you may encounter.  Hell, you could even drive this one to work daily...Here we go!

***Due to modifications of the emissions control devices installed by the manufacturer, please check your local, state, and federal laws to determine if this vehicle is applicable for use on public highways in your area.***  

Exterior
All straight, true and rust free all tricked out with a fiberglass body, black canvas soft top, and 15-inch chrome Cragar wheels wrapped in mudders in the form of 33x12.5R15LT, including the spare, announce you have arrived!  Fire engine red painted fiberglass is all good with no rust and just a few very small war scars, but they are minor.  The existing top is in black canvas and can easily be rolled back for an airer experience.  Glossy black paint covers the iconic Jeep grille, leading hood edge and it works its way back into rearward licking flames with yellow contrasting flames working their way from the peaks and valleys of the black.  From here a sea of red takes over for the remainder of the body and to keep the mud slinging to a minimum, some black plastic fender flares are on as well.  Watch your legs for the big climb in as the exhaust runs right along the body edge on either side.  More red fiberglass is seen for the rear of the tub and a chromed 350 emblem and white flamed bowtie give a clue to what lurks under the hood.  In back, a custom swing away spare tire mount is on along with the D-ring and trailer hitch equipped with a custom rear bumper in black.  And now we are hearing the call of the wild!  Climb every mountain!

Interior
A big long step puts us over the diamond plate equipped threshold and smack dab in the middle of a full on custom interior.  With our footing secure, we slip inside on the high back charcoal gray buckets which are in very nice condition and have integrated headrests.  All covered in stitched cloth with body hugging bolsters.  In the center is a large lockable storage box topped with a padded vinyl for the armrest along with some cup holders and a small storage area.  As we move forward from this box the floors are finished in deep pile black carpeting that are begging for my piggies to wriggle within.  The long arm transmission shifter and the factory 4x4 and transfer case shifter reside here just prior to the dash.  This dash is a mixture of fire engine red up top and a custom brushed aluminum face.  This aluminum is peppered with all the essential gauges and then some all courtesy of AutoMeter.  New Lanzar Heritage speakers reside here and tie into the AM/FM/CD stereo in front of the passenger.  This system cranks out tunes with the help of a subwoofer mounted under the rear seat.  Also within the dash front are LED lights making up arrows for the turn signals and a touchscreen controller for all of the exterior lighting.  You can also perform a light show through this controller, but more on that later.  A traditional chrome "Jesus bar" is in front of the passenger and fronting the dash is a chrome 4 spoke rally style steering wheel.  Note the front windshield can be lowered for extra versatility.  In back, the rear seat remains providing room for 2 and a roll bar encircles the rear roofline just in case you are a bit too ambitious on the vertical climb.

Drivetrain
Under the flip up hood is a gleaming black blocked Chevrolet 350ci V8.  It shines with its silver intake manifold and Edelbrock 4-barrel carburetor as well as chrome center bolt valve covers and a chrome air cleaner lid.  On the back is a Borg Warner T150 3-speed manual transmission and turning the tires out back is a AMC 20 axle with 3.54  The front axle remains intact, also with 3.54 gearing and an aluminum radiator is in to keep things cool.

Undercarriage
Clean black paint is everywhere for the floor pans and frame which is rust free and solid with only minor surface rusting appearing in a few frame locations.  4-wheel leaf spring suspension with a 3" lift kit installed is providing the ride, and disc braking up front works with drums on the rear.  A full on stainless steel exhaust with Flowmaster mufflers is climbing its way rearward from the headers and running along the side edges of the body.  We note the catalytic converters have been omitted during the build.

Drive-Ability
I just love the ingenuity that goes into some of the CJ mods and this one does not disappoint.  I climbed in over the door sill and was off to the test track.  Here it did very well as expected, great acceleration, solid bias free panic stopping and good handling.  I did go into 4x4 mode, and it worked well, but did not get to actually climb anything!  All functions were spot on including the touchscreen lighting which seemed to mesmerize my partner in crime and crack decoder more than a trip to the circus.

A well restored and sorted rig that is just as at home in the urban jungle as it is in the trails.  A combination of new and rebuilt components for the drivetrain make for a very reliable ride.  Now we have a comfy, beautiful social climber, and mountain climber that can go virtually anywhere.  Let's get a little mud on the tires!

J7F83AE118811

J-Jeep
7-1977
F-3 Speed Manual
83-CJ5
A-3750 GVWR
E-232ci I6
118811-Sequential Unit Number

Classic Auto Mall is a 336,000-square foot classic and special interest automobile showroom, featuring over 850 vehicles for sale with showroom space for up to 1,000 vehicles. Also, a 400 vehicle barn find collection is on display. This vehicle is located in our showroom in Morgantown, Pennsylvania, conveniently located just 1-hour west of Philadelphia on the I-76 Pennsylvania Turnpike. The website is www.classicautomall.com and our phone number is (888) 227-0914. Please contact us anytime for more information or to come see the vehicle in person.