CJ5 Dimensions

[HB Jeeper]

Hi Everyone....

looking to find out if a spare tire carrier/swing arm from a 76 CJ5 will fit on a 74. the same goes for a rear seat.
I can find plenty of things out there for 76, but not a lot for 70-74.

thanks!

[HB Jeeper]

so maybe i need to make this a bit easier....are the dimensions of the tubs for years 72-75 virtually the same for years 76-83?

[USMC 0369]

Q

[COLOR="sienna"]HB, I belong to another forum at www.earlycj5.com, which is where this comes from:[/COLOR]

[COLOR="blue"] Will a ’76+ tub fit my 55-75 Jeep and vice versa?

The answer is a definitive MAYBE. The frame rails on a 76 are wider apart in the rear, up to 75, they were parallel.

Therefore, the mounting points will be different. The floor of a 75 is mostly flat. 76 up are high and low in places. Your 75 seat brackets won’t work.

Will it be structurally sound? Will it be for your use only? I would never buy from ANYONE a vehicle that had the wrong year tub rigged onto it.

Is it a fiberglass tub or a steel tub that you are looking to buy? Steel would work better, IMHO. Fiberglass is reinforced in the areas that the tub bolts to the frame. Wrong frame beneath it might not bolt through the right spots.

So, yes, it is possible, but probably more expensive to make a frankenjeep. So what if the aftermarket only supports 76+? You really don’t need chrome windshield hinges. Revel in the fact that you own one of the last true Jeeps, and put a 72-75 tub on it.

Specifically, there are a lot of changes between 1975 and ’76. The external sheet metal of the two bodies is the same, but interior and floors changed. The dashes are different. The floors were changed to eliminate the tool box and to accomodate a new frame design. The seat mounts were changed.

You could make it work if you either change the floors to the pre-76 style, or if you move the mounts around and adopt the ’76-on interior style. If you need new exterior sheet metal, and the ’76 tub is cheap, it may be easier to replace the floors and dash in the ’76 tub (making it into a ’75 tub) than to repair a ’55-’75 tub. Otherwise repair your existing tub.[/COLOR]

[COLOR="sienna"]The comment about the exterior steel being the same makes me think you can mount the spare tire carrier, but the comment about having a wider frame in the 76+ makes me wonder.

There are a lot of guys on there with the year(s) of Jeeps you're discussing, and could probably give you better first hand knowledge. Hope this at least gives you a place to look, if it doesn't help at all.[/COLOR]

[HB Jeeper]

Yesterday I found a guy down the street with an 82 CJ5...I made the measurements I needed and the tubs are essentially identical. I need a few items for my CJ and since 72-75 is such a small span of time, it is really hard to find parts. Expanding that through 83 helps tremendously.

I need a rear seat and a tire carrier. Pre 72 had the tire mounted on the tailgate and swung down with the gate. At least now I know that I can search up to 83. And the same goes for the rear seat. The interior distance between the rear wheel wells is the same. So I am in better shape than I thought.

The only big change to the 72 model year and up is they added about 3 inches just after the wheel well on the front. This slight change gave you a longer hood and fenders to support the 304 V8. The tub itself was not really modified from a dimensions perspective. Body mount points moved a bit in 76, but that's it.

thanks for the help! Hopefully see you on the trail soon...

[USMC 0369]

[COLOR="sienna"]Glad that worked out for you! Good luck on the build and finding parts.[/COLOR]