Maximilian

In 1982, Max was new. He was painted Maroon and had a GM designed 4 cylinder engine under his hood. He was a Base Jeep, that is to say, no frills, no Laredo or Limited or Levi. He was just a short little CJ-5 that no doubt made his owner very happy. As far as I can determine, he spent the bulk of his life in California. Eventually, as things go, his owners decided that Max needed a little something more. They accomplished that "more" with a 350 throttle-body injected (TBI) V8 sourced from a 1988 Chevrolet Blazer. Also harvested from the Blazer was a tilt steering column, ECU, and assorted wiring. Following the trail of More, he was fitted with a 4" Rancho lift and 4" body lift while new KC lights adorned the front, along with a heavy winch. A Dana 30 front axle was installed up front, with an AMC 20 axle at the rear. Finally, Interco TSL/Thornbird 35x12.5 tires were mounted at each corner and Bestop seats were placed inside as well as lockable boxes which housed amps and speakers. I'm forgetting some of it, but from then on, Max spent his time out at the beach, driving on the sand and parking up to supply lights and music to all.

He was discovered parked up in a shed by an electrical contractor from Tennessee. Max caught his eye, and so after a bit of conversation a deal was struck to make the Jeep part payment for his services. 

Over the next two years, the red CJ5 was driven sparely. The electrician worked out of town and only drove the Jeep a couple hundred miles in all the time he owned it. He amassed a few parts along the way, but never had the time to install them so finally it was clear to him that someone else should enjoy ownership.

I drove to his house with Big Red pulling the trailer and parked in front of an open shed. Max was clearly visible inside, but I waited for the owner to walk over from the house before I took a look. After hearing his story with the Jeep, I examined the vehicle carefully, noting signs of disuse. It wasn't in a bad way, Max had just spent a few years sitting around inside a building and needed a little love. 

I looked through his pile of parts which included a new bikini top, 4 shocks, a steering stabilizer, tie rod, steering link, new wheel spacers, a complete set of new lug nuts, and a set of LED taillights. That's a lot of things I wouldn't have to buy!

Max definitely was a California Jeep, evidenced by his clean, dry, rust and repair free underside. His parking brake didn't work, the manual brake master cylinder was leaking, the carpet was dirty, and the winch was missing off the front bumper. There were a few other things I noted, but overall he was solid. The Chevrolet 350 fired right up cold and sounded smooth. His 4-speed transmission shifted fine, though reverse ground a little unless I went to first gear and then to reverse. I drove him around the pasture and smiled. This little red CJ had character! You can't beat that V-8 power and sound. We talked a bit before settling on a price. I loaded him up while the owner printed out a bill of sale and signed the title, then I was on the road to Minnesota! I really like CJ's. It's fun to see that friendly front end looking at you through the rear view mirror.

I got him "home", which is currently my mother-in-laws two car garage. We sold our home to find more room for things like this and are staying at her house until we find one of our own. I have taken over her entire garage. She is a saint. 

After parking him next to Captain (the 1967 Oldsmobile 442), I immediately got to work and stayed busy in the following weeks. The underhood situation was unacceptable. I needed to do some rerouting of wires, clean up the look of things, make sure everything was grounded properly, and see about painting the firewall and inner fenders black. It looked like someone years ago had sprayed the firewall and inner fenders with undercoating, most of which had flaked off to reveal the original maroon-ish color. It looked like mange, especially where the leaking brake fluid had been running down. I needed to paint the chevy-orange air cleaner black as well to avoid the clashing of the colors. The Jeep had two batteries wired up so that one could be used for lights and speakers while the Jeep was parked, saving the other for engine duties. They were wired to a switch which could be activated to allow them both to charge while driving. The battery tray was kind of a homemade job and looked a little bulky and crusty, so I made the decision to mount a new tray with just one battery. I chose the Blue Top Optima marine battery for its ability to take a beating and the extra threaded posts for accessories such as lights and winch. While I was at it, I routed new battery cables to replace the corroded originals.

The wiring/painting project took me from under the hood to under the dash, and after some inspection I noticed the master cylinder had been leaking brake fluid down the inside of the firewall. It had gone under the carpet and eaten all the paint in its path. When I finished the wiring project, I took the seats and carpet out and treated the resulting surface rust under the footwell before painting it. I ordered new carpet and sun visors then got to work on the brakes.

I decided to replace the manual disc/drum bake system with power brakes. Brakes with a vacuum power booster require a lot less effort, especially with the bigger tires. I took out the old, leaky master cylinder and then removed the rear brake drums to discover a complete lack of pad material. That explained the absence of parking brakes! After installing the new power booster and complete rear brake kit, I bled the system and tested everything. What a huge difference! Pleased, I mounted the new wheel spacers, installed the shocks and steering components, and bolted the wheels back on with new lug nuts. 

Next came the winch. I decided on the Rough Country 9500 for a couple reasons. The price was reasonable, it's simple to install, and I've used the brand before with good results. I wired it to the new Blue Top Optima battery and tested it to make sure everything worked. I'll just say, a CJ with a winch just looks right.

The taillights came next, which were really just a plug-n-play situation. Not much to report there. The dashboard had a hole where a radio used to be, but it was empty. The last owners had installed an amp and radio in the center console with rear speakers in the side boxes, so they took the original radio out of the dash. I'm not a huge fan of boxes and consoles. The CJ5 is a small space, and all those things make it feel crowded to me, so I took it all out. I ordered a modern radio that looks vintage and wired it in to the two existing dash speakers. That's sufficient for me and looks a whole lot cleaner. 

Max had 4 KC lights. Two mounted on the front bumper and two mounted on the lower windshield bracket. The wires had been cut off, I was told because of a shorting or battery drain problem. I installed a couple new relays and rewired them through the ground wire to existing auxiliary switches to the left of the steering wheel. If you've got lights, they should work! There is a light mounting bar on the top of the windshield if the next owner wants to add even more lights. 

I had sent the hood and roll bar out for painting because I didn't like the roll bar padding but the maroon paint under it wasn't going to work with the bright red Max was currently wearing. The hood had a couple blemishes on it that were distracting, so I killed two birds with one stone and had them both done. The body shop called with the news that they were finished (in a week!). I got them home and mounted them up, then spent the day installing new carpet. I bolted the seats in that evening and stood back to admire my work. Max was really looking good!

There really isn't much else to do. He is a trail Jeep, not a show Jeep, but I think Max blends the two pretty well. He turns a lot of heads, but still shows signs of being enjoyed. Really a perfect blend. I hope the next owner actually drives him. It would be a shame if he sat in a shed for another couple years. No danger of that here! I take every opportunity to cruise him, and will hit the trail if my schedule permits. 

One of the last things I did was really unusual to my taste, but it ended up being fun. When I bought Max, he was sporting a yellow and black KC sticker on the side of the driver's front cowl. I don't like to see stickers on paint, even though I'll tolerate them on glass. Because of that, I decided to remove it, only to discover the reason it was there! It seems that at some point (probably in California when it was first modified) there was an antenna of some sort mounted there. All that was left was a hole in the cowl, so a KC sticker was employed to cover it. Now I was faced with the same problem - which admittedly I created for myself. It was clear to me that a new sticker must be found to replace the old, so I hit the old internet and went shopping. I was getting frustrated with the process when a theme jumped out at me and made me smile. I narrowed my search, and decided on an assortment of stickers which I ordered, intending to make a final decision once I could see them in person. They showed up in the mail one day, so I took them out to the garage to make my choice. I decided almost right away and applied the sticker carefully, making sure it was straight, and that's when I discovered the dark Secrets of Stickering. 

You can't stop at One. 

My eyes went longingly to the pile of new stickers on the workbench. I tried to walk away, but the temptation was too great. After all, I'm just a man. I reached for the unused stickers and began to shuffle through them, still trying to say no. I held them up to different parts of the Jeep, eyeing the effect and then trying another. It was difficult, no, it was a nearly physical effort to keep from peeling all the backings and going wild sticking stickers everywhere! 

Deep Breath.

Ok. Maybe just ONE more. I chose one out of the pile, walked to the rear bumper, peeled the backing, and placed it gently. There.

Quickly I worked to put the rest out of sight, proud of showing such immense restraint and terrified of getting sucked back into that dark world. It's the little things.

8/17/2021

As of today, I have added two more stickers. I promise these are the last until he is sold. I really mean it. Starting NOW.