56 CJ Shelley Raye Newbie!
Hey everybody! Name's Shelley. And yes, I'm an old cranky woman who acts like she's still 17, and lovin every minute of it!
Bought a 1956 CJ5 a couple weeks ago to get me up and down the mountian trails in the hills of good ole Western Virginia. I do believe I got a gem, but it's a diamond in the rough.
Never restored a vehicle before (can't really count my go cart when I was about 12 - bought from a kid down the street for $20, learned much about small engines, head gaskets, and no brakes!).
Then moved up to a '79 Chevy LUV 4x4, that I took out 3 days after buying new for a huge, muddy, hilly, water crossed construction site (now known as Newington here in VA). Big fun. Drove thru what I thought was a shallow creek...only to have water running over the hood to the windshield, into the vents and coming out thru the air vents on the floor....but we made it across! Barely.
Then watched a Ford 150 try and climb a mud hill, he'd make 1/2 way and slide back down...1/2 way, slide back etc etc etc. Me? 4 low, crawled right on up. Sat up on top for about 20 minutes til he finally made it, at a very uninspiring angle. Then I went and got hung on ..... well....it was a bump that took all 4 tires off the ground, so no traction. Navigator walked off and found a railroad tie, shoved it under the rr wheel to get enough traction to get off the .... uh.....bump. Got my first dent in the drivers side rocker panel, and from that day on I was stricken with the love of mud, water, hills, woods, and just about anything that could get me into those places.
So now I have this '56 CJ5, and I think it's in fair shape, for being two years older than me. However, it is definitely going to need some work. I am off on my grand adventure, that should last until I can't crawl in the drivers seat and turn the key. Then I'll sit on my front porch and yell at the kids to "get off my lawn!" Of course, by then my lawn will be about 76 acres back in the hills, and if any kids make it up there they'll have to call to be airlifted out.
I digress.
I'll have lots of questions, and need lots of suggestions regarding the enhancement of my '56 CJ5, so let's have some fun!!!
Shelley
