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So my friend picked this unit from a auction years ago, the p/o cut the top or, were thinking to add a soft top like the military version. Its sat at his family farm for a few years but it needed to be out of there so i grabbed it restore it. He said it ran when they first got it but someone tried to start it in gear and blew up the starter. Looking forward to rebuilding it, i already found a cab from a junk yard that ive brought home.
Wheres a good place to figure out more info on these old relics, like year for starters, guessing 63-65 based on it having the torando engine. Also i will need to find a starter for the old girl. I want to keep it as a sunday driver and not change much on it other then adding a bigger tires.
The Jeeps in this era were not divided precisely by model year. Sequential serial numbers were part of the VIN, but a specific year was not. Often you can get an idea of the year of production by comparing the sequential part of the VIN to other Jeep VINs from the same era.
What do you want from this Jeep? The OHC 230 was produced '62-65 and was not popular in the era. Kaiser developed this engine, then abandoned it in 1965 when they went with more conventional AMC commodity engines. The 230 is a cool looking engine, and made good power for the era and displacement, though its terrible reputation with the public doomed it. Probably a better engine than thought of in the day. You could buy these trucks and wagons for cheap less than a decade old in the 70s.
The rest of the truck was also rather antiquated even in its day. Most systems were significantly upgraded within the next few years.
Could be a fun project though. Parts will be an issue, for the engine and the rest of the truck.
There is a factory service manual that's available in reprint and inexpensive. All the Jeep specialty retailers will have it. The '62-73 factory parts book is here: https://oljeep.com/edge_parts_man.html Several newer manuals are also here, but they will have little in common with this truck. These earliest trucks are their own thing mostly.
That's for the reads, I'm hoping just grabbing a starter once I find one is all I need just to have it drivable. I want the try and run the truck with 33-35 and just use it as a Sunday driver /drove to work the odd day. I have my sxs to beat off road and want to keep this as my midlife crisis truck ha
Prestolite starter? Suggest you check out the M715 zone http://m715.com/vb/index.php - these mil trucks came with the 230 and have a lot in common with the early Kaiser trucks. Might find some good advice there.
Maybe your local automotive electrical shop can help with starter repair. These trucks are oddballs compared to the popular big three trucks. Geared replacements are available for some Prestolite starters.
33-35 tires? These trucks were not built for large modern-sized tires (yes, 33-35 is large). Better to stick with something closer to factory sized IMO.
Tim Reese
Maine beekeeper's truck: '77 J10 LWB, 258/T15/D20/3.54 bone stock, low options (delete radio), PS/PDB, hubcaps.
Browless and proud: '82 J20 360/T18/NP208/3.73, Destination A/Ts, 7600 GVWR
Copper Polly: '75 CJ-6, 304/T15, PS, BFG KM2s, soft top
GTI without the badges: '95 VW Golf Sport 2000cc 2D
Dual Everything: '15 Chryco Jeep Cherokee KL Trailhawk, ECO Green
Blockchain the vote.
Those who know the J trucks better than I do, correct me if I'm wrong, but based on the taillights it looks like a later bed...And I'm noticing it has later side markers on the fenders too.
Still 5-lug so I suspect a '60s frame, esp. with the Tornado still in it. Also has the springs next to the frame still, so def. the '60s frame. Could go either way on the cab--it's painted to match the rest of the body, BUT it has the Kaiser interior in it. Based on the firewall and the bolt-on rearview mirror I'm inclined to think that it's the original cab, but I could be wrong on that.
I think you can clear 33"s at stock height if you do it right, but just keep in mind that Tornado only makes 210 lb ft of torque and barely over 100 hp on a good day. There're mods that can be done to fix that but it's not cheap. The nice thing about that 210 lb ft is it makes it clear from under 1000 to about 4000 rpms, so it does have a nice long torque curve.
There are 2 major differences between new Wranglers and FSJs. FSJs are meant to be both utilitarian and capable, not just capable. FSJs are also rarely initially recognized as Jeeps by the average American.
33s should be fine in terms of clearance, but they are large compared to the tires that were used in the day. These trucks did not have the more robust drivetrain components that Jeep went to just a few years later. In particular, they came with the T-90 3-speed transmission, and a Dana 44 rear axle with flanges that are held to tapered axles with a nut. The spline count is also low (19? 12? Something like that; the later flanged axle is 30?). Not strong. These components survive pretty well in a CJ, even with a modest power upgrade (say a Buick or Chevy V6).
The rear axle is more of a liability than the transmission in a CJ, but there are plenty of them out there running this combo with 31-32-33ish tires. Nonetheless, either the later offset rear axle with a 1-piece flanged shaft (scarce) or a full-float conversion (expensive) is a popular upgrade for these tapered 44 axles in the CJ... because the tapered shafts break.
But this is a truck; it's heavier, and meant to carry more of a load. Big tires pulling against a heavier load will make breakage more likely. Should not be an issue if the owner uses the truck with this in mind. Tire clearance is not a problem here.
Yes, it's a '73 or newer bed. Good beds are scarce; there are quite a lot fewer today than there are trucks with a good cab and chassis. I'd be happy with that bed. Only an enthusiast would notice the difference. The wheelbase changed from 120" to 119" in '73 with the new bed. Pretty sure about this, but I don't have a '73 TSM - it was 120" in '72 with the old-style bed (tailgate chains and round tail lights), and 119" in '74 with the new style bed. Dunno, an inch difference may not be noticeable. Something to be aware of.
Tim Reese
Maine beekeeper's truck: '77 J10 LWB, 258/T15/D20/3.54 bone stock, low options (delete radio), PS/PDB, hubcaps.
Browless and proud: '82 J20 360/T18/NP208/3.73, Destination A/Ts, 7600 GVWR
Copper Polly: '75 CJ-6, 304/T15, PS, BFG KM2s, soft top
GTI without the badges: '95 VW Golf Sport 2000cc 2D
Dual Everything: '15 Chryco Jeep Cherokee KL Trailhawk, ECO Green
Blockchain the vote.
I was kinda wondering why my bed had different tail lights than all the others I was searching for, with the introduction of the new Gladiator it is so hard to google much info on these trucks. I did notice the front of the box wasn't bolted down, ill have to crawl under there again and see if it's because the bolts don't line up or because they feel out.
Good to know that I may be pushing things a little much with trying to run 35s, the truck will strictly be an on-road truck but it is good to know that even that will be pushing it. I ended up finding a starter on eBay that's a rebuild so once that comes in will be interesting to see if the old girl fires up.
