steve carr 1970 3 cj-5

We purchased this 1970 CJ-5, in March of 1998, from a friend that was heading to Ireland on a 2 year assignment for $1500. He said, “Just drive it and don’t restore it”. Well, our family fell in love with it right away and decided since it was in great condition coming from Colorado, that it needed to be restored.  

The plow and soft top with doors, were all sold for $1500 which helped fund the restoration. So we took it completely apart to the frame and rebuild everything. Using a wire wheel, the frame and underside of the tub was completely brushed to bear metal and then armor coated. The engine and transmission we too, cleaned off and painted. With all the pieces now removed from the Jeep (hood, fenders, tailgate, windshield, dash, etc., we had a local guy do the body and paint work in October of 1998 for $1400. (Ohhh, to have those days again)… 24 years later, the Jeep still stands out in the crowd showing very little wear.. (Except the small scratch from by belt buckle on the rear corner…. yes, one week after it was painted) I left it as a reminder to drive it and not use it for show.  

The color is original for that year, and was called Olive Mist. Seems very unique and gets many compliments. The engine is still the original Dauntless 225 V6 that purrs and runs strong with only 72K miles.   

The A1-Team collector plates were purchased in early 2000 when 2 colleagues gave me $100 for helping them on a specific work assignment call the A1 Project. I was instructed to spend the $100 on something for myself and a remembrance of our collective hard work. We decided on memorializing the gift as a Team effort and purchased the plates A1-Team so (Gail and Paula) will always remain in fond memories.

What makes this CJ-5 special is the fact that my Wife, Son and Daughter all learned to drive a manual from training in this Jeep and all prefer a manual over an automatic today. The non-syncromesh 1st to 2nd gear was a fun learning experience for all. The 3-speed, limited it’s full speed, thank goodness!

We added the American Racing rims and oversized tires to add to its looks and the addition of the long range CB now appears it ready for some serious apocalypse. “Yea right, we hate to even take it on gravel”. The 8000 pound winch is original to the Jeep and easily could pull it up a tree and works perfect.  

24 years later and we now have 6 grandkids approaching their teens. It’s a must they all learn to use a manual and this will be the the student driver with the old man as instructor. Once the crops are out, we plan to start training this fall.   

We have had many offers to purchase our Jeep, but have resisted it’s sale, as the family members object to it leaving the family. Funny we never gave the Jeep a name… Hmmm, Guess the grandkids now have an assignment!

“Do today what you want to do someday”.

Cheers.. The Carr crew.

Kaiser Willys Jeep Blog Story – The Carr Crew – Steve, Diane, Pete, Alicia, Katie, Richard, Max, Abigail, Adaline, Alison, Amelia and Cecilia.

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8 thoughts on “An A1 Restoration on the Family’s 1970 CJ-5 Jeep”
  1. Nice Jeep I have a couple of Questions. 1) What Type of Rim’s And size? 2) What color paint is that
    ? Thanks Greg Just purchased a 1965 CJ5 for 1500 also.

  2. Nice Jeep I have a couple of Questions. 1) What Type of Rim’s And size? 2) What color paint is that
    ? Thanks Greg Just purchased a 1965 CJ5 for 1500 also.

  3. It looks great and must have had great care since its restoration. I have the same Ramsey DC-9 winch as original equipment on my ’69 CJ5. The guys at Ramsey say that they only made that design for a few years, from the very late 1960s through the the very early 1970s. It is an 8,000 lb. rated winch, first wrap, and has an automatic brake system. The Ramsey crew were very helpful but unfortunately don’t have an owner’s or service manual. I have factory brochure but haven’t been able to locate a manual, anyone out there have one? Thanks for placing your ’70 on the site, I haven’t ever seen that winch installed on another Jeep but understand they were used on many pickups.

  4. It looks great and must have had great care since its restoration. I have the same Ramsey DC-9 winch as original equipment on my ’69 CJ5. The guys at Ramsey say that they only made that design for a few years, from the very late 1960s through the the very early 1970s. It is an 8,000 lb. rated winch, first wrap, and has an automatic brake system. The Ramsey crew were very helpful but unfortunately don’t have an owner’s or service manual. I have factory brochure but haven’t been able to locate a manual, anyone out there have one? Thanks for placing your ’70 on the site, I haven’t ever seen that winch installed on another Jeep but understand they were used on many pickups.

  5. Great CJ5 ! I had a “68 with the V6 too. Drove it from Pa to Oregon and back in 1976. If you have a T86 3 speed trans it should have a syncronized 2nd gear.

  6. Great CJ5 ! I had a “68 with the V6 too. Drove it from Pa to Oregon and back in 1976. If you have a T86 3 speed trans it should have a syncronized 2nd gear.

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