This is a continuing series on Dan’s efforts to rebuild his Grandfather’s jeep. Here’s the previous post. [Editor’s note – that looks like a steal at $100. Running and complete!]
Dan writes, “Sometime in the 1960’s my grandfather’s friend purchased a new Jeep and immediately swapped out the little four banger for a V8. My grandfather bought the new (at the time) 134 F head from his friend and installed it in his own 1955 CJ5 replacing the tired original 134. Over the years this second engine was rebuilt three or four times.
At one point in time my grandfather had a V6 of some kind sitting in the garage that was supposed to go into the Jeep. Unfortunately when he made the move from Colorado to Washington State, the V6 was left behind.
Today I just came home with an engine for the old CJ5. It’s a Kaiser odd-fire Dauntless V6. I found it behind a barn in a Jeepster C101 sporting a Volkswagen Bug body. (It was the ugliest “Jeep” I have ever seen). But the engine was still in tact and was running when parked. I made the guy an offer for $100. He pulled the engine and had it sitting on a pallet for me the next week. I took home everything from the radiator to the bell housing. He wanted the transmission which is fine with me. Someone had painted the valve covers red but you can see the original paint underneath. There was a power steering pump scabbed on which I will remove since I have a manual Saginaw box. It will be nice to breath the life into the CJ5 that my grandfather had wanted.
Originally, I had responded to a Craigslist add for a set of fenders. As it turned out I came home with a set of front fenders, a nice Koenig steel hard top model 550, and a Dauntless V6. He still has a Koenig PTO winch that I’m drooling over, but they don’t fit too well next to a Saginaw box.
I have attached a few pictures of the V6. In one of them you can catch a glimpse of the old CJ5 in the garage.
