One-Owner 1964 CJ-5 Barn Gives Us All the Feels: Throwback Thursday Presented by the All-New Nitto Recon Grappler™ A/T
YouTuber finds an early CJ-5, but after sitting for decades the engine has seized. Will it run again?
Everyone loves a good barn find story. It is hard to believe that with so many people looking for these hidden treasures that there are still some to be found. But they are still out there, and this time what is found is an early CJ-5 barn find. A tip is passed on to Matt Stetar from Diesel Creek. Stetar quickly hops into his truck, hooks up the trailer and heads for the barn. When you get information on a find like this, you want to move fast.
This week’s “Throwback Thursday” Presented by Nitto is all about this forgotten CJ-5 tucked away in a barn. The body looks to be in decent shape considering the time it has spent in less-than-ideal conditions. However, there is a significant issue, and that is the engine will not turn over. But, on the bright side this is a one-owner original Jeep CJ-5 with an unbelievably low 11,800 miles on it. This one is worth saving. Stetar posts a video on his Diesel Creek YouTube channel showing us his attempts to get this Jeep running again.
Retrieval
Stetar arrives at the barn where the Jeep is stored but getting to it will not be easy. The first order of business is removing the old tractor that is blocking access to the Jeep. With it out of the way, he can get a closer look at the CJ-5. What he finds is a well-patinaed and surprisingly straight Jeep. Some dents and a bit of rust but the overall condition is actually not too bad at all. The story is that this was a farm Jeep that was used to keep an eye on the cows and the fences on the property. It was never driven on the road. Hence, the extremely low miles indicated on the odometer. It reads only 11,800 miles currently. Sure, it could have flipped, but if this was used just for farm duty, that is actually a believable number.
The next order of business is checking to see if the tires hold air and rolling it out of the barn. A couple tires hold air, but the winch is needed to drag the Jeep from the barn and onto the waiting trailer. Once it is back on his property it is time for the biggest test of all. That is asking his wife for approval. Thankfully, she says she likes this one so the project can move forward. Once the boss approves anything is possible.
Revival
The engine won’t turn so Stetar begins the process of brining the CJ-5 barn find back to life by removing the spark plugs. Plug number two looks a little nasty but the others look like they were brand new and never run on. Perhaps someone made a go at getting this running recently and got in over their heads. It is not a great sign for Stetar. He squirts some Kroil penetrating oil into the cylinder head where the plugs were removed to hopefully loosen things up a bit. It might work but Stetar is already considering his options. “Worst come to worst, I do have a 4-cylinder VW diesel engine.” Says Stetar. Oh no! Please don’t do that!
The Kroil was allowed to sit for about a month and a half and do its job. However, the early reviews are not good. The engine still will not budge an inch. He even removes the starter and puts a prybar right on the flywheel, but the thing just will not turn. Next a borescope is inserted into the cylinders to get a closer look at what the issue might be. The results are not encouraging. “This number two cylinder looks bad. It’s so bad that after a month and a half of sitting with the Kroil in the cylinder, the Kroil is still around the rings. It hasn’t all dropped down into the oil pan.” Says Stetar. Before pulling the head, he tries one more trick. He pours some rust remover right into that problem cylinder in the hope that will free it up.
Reclamation
While he waits for the rust remover to do its job Stetar goes about cleaning up the old CJ-5 a bit. It turns out to be quite an interesting little treasure hunt. He finds several old-school pull tabs from beer cans scattered about the Jeep. However, there are bigger items than just those. He discovers an old beer can, a Tee Gee glass beverage bottle, a mason bottle and an 8-inch crescent wrench. There are a few other little odds and ends in there as well. Not a bad little score. But so much for intermission, time to get back to the main event.
Revival Continues
The rust remover has been soaking for about a day and a half. Stetar hooks a wrench up to the crank snout and gives it a tug. “It moved!” Shouts Stetar. That did the trick the engine is now able to turn over. It is not ready to take on the Rubicon Trail just yet, but this is a major milestone toward reviving this Jeep. Next up is trying to start the engine. The starter is reconnected, and the key is turned. Nothing. He puts the spark plugs back and cleans the points in the distributor. He then pours a bit of 2-cycle gas mixture directly into the carb and jumps it from the starter. After a couple attempts the old Jeep CJ-5 roars to life! Well, more like sputters to life, but still, after sitting so long that is great news.
Video
Checkout the video below for all the details of this Jeep CJ-5 barn find and the process of brining it back to life. The Jeep may be running now but the book is far from being closed on this project. A lot of work remains. Hopefully Stetar keeps us posted on the progress. This looks like a great find and should be a fantastic little Jeep CJ-5 once it is all sorted out.
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