Bob Millen's 1976 CJ-5

Jeep enthusiasts are a special breed.   Many live, breath eat and sleep Jeep and those Jeeps they own are more than just another vehicle in the driveway or garage.  With Jeep ownership, comes all kinds of levels of pride and a love for the vehicles.  And then there is Bob Millen from Plymouth, Michigan.  Few people can attest to Jeep ownership with the kind of history Bob has with his 1976 Jeep CJ-5 Renegade “Levi’s Edition”.  Bob is the original Owner of his Jeep and he has a story.  When we first started looking over this Vintage 1976 Jeep CJ-5 Renegade on display at the at the All Breeds Jeep Show in York PA, we began to notice that there was more to this Jeep than a stock example of another Levi’s Edition CJ.  

We got to talking to Bob, who trailered his Jeep hundreds of miles from Plymouth, Michigan to York, PA to enter the Jeep Show for the weekend.  After a few minutes of chatting we quickly realized that he took great pride in his CJ and over the past 32 years he has evolved it into what it is today.  What impressed us about the Jeep most was how he had maintained the vintage look and quality of a previous generation of Jeep.  It wasn't a wild Jeep, nor was it a hacked and butchered version of what it used to be.  It is however a very tastefully built CJ-5 that has many, many well maintained original performance enhancements that date back through the past 3 decades.  It's a good cross between preservation of a classic and personal expression. 

We really liked this Jeep.  And Bob was a very interesting guy to talk to.  Bob promised to email us when he returned to Plymouth, Michigan with some details about his Jeep.  What he sent back was a wealth of details including his story about the Jeep.  We'll let Bob start with his Jeep story...

Bob's Story, in his own words...

Since the age of seven, I collected pictures of Jeeps from any magazine I could get my hands on. No other reason other than, Jeeps were cool! My collection of pictures was placed into a book cover I made, with the intention that “Some day” I too would own my own Jeep. I still have this scrapbook today.

To get this Jeep meant work. I began to cut grass, deliver newspapers, and work for my dad at his business to bank the required funds. After four years, (When I was 18), I had enough money for a down payment on my own Jeep (A CJ-5).

The nearest dealership our house at that time (in our north-west Detroit area), was Coon Brothers AMC/Jeep on Plymouth & Telegraph Roads, but they didn’t have the color CJ I was looking for. I wanted a dark blue model. Dad then suggested looking at the Greenfield AMC/Jeep dealership (Of course on Grand River Ave.). They too offered no blue CJ’s, but dad saw my particular vehicle through the glass on display in the showroom. After walking around it, I remember him saying that, since the sheet metal panels were spot welded together, white would be a better choice in color. This was to spot any rust “early on” in our salty winter roads in Michigan.

I have to admit, I was quite lucky that this truck was “There” at the time, it turned out to be a great choice. It was more costly than I was looking to purchase though. I can still hear my dad say, “You want me to co-sign on a loan for over five thousand dollars on a vehicle that doesn’t have a radio, carpet, A/C, or a hard top, are you sure about this?” I assured him I would take good care of it, and could be counted on for making good on the loan payments. My final cost was $5282.00 & change, and my payments were $111.22 a month for three years. True to my word, I often doubled my payments, and paid it off in just under two.

My new (Alpine) White CJ-5 came with a blue “Levi’s” Package, which consisted of a matching soft top, seats, & padded dash pad, & fender mounted Levi’s decals. The “Renegade” package included a hood decal, (shared by the 1975 model), rear mounted spare tire with lock, heavy duty cooling system, grab bar, fender flares, ash tray & lighter, rear bench seat, and slotted aluminum rims and Goodyear Town & Country snow tires. Also new for 1976 were the under dash courtesy lights, a sport steering wheel, instrument panel overlay, & aluminum rocker panels.

I have most every document given to me at my time of purchase today, with the exception of the original window sticker, which discarded once home. I’m on a personal quest for creating a duplicate copy, but have had little luck (to date). The powertrain was the “larger” 258 in-line six (not the 232), and I was told by both the salesman & dad, “Was better on gas” than the 304 V-8 I wanted to get. Dad said, “With gas at fifty eight cents a gallon”; it was a better choice anyway. The remaining options on the vehicle were the draw (Tow) bar, a T-18 four speed manual transmission & I believe the cigar lighter & ash tray.

The modifications seen on the Jeep today began after I paid the truck off, & after I moved back to Michigan (on my own) from a family relocation to Sarasota Florida following high school graduation. The move “To” Florida did put the jeep to work. I pulled a tandem axle U-Haul trailer full of family furnishings & gear. I drove straight through (over 20 hours), and stopped to fill up for gas many times! The records still exist in the back of my owner’s manual seen below.

The log book showing 13 fill ups moving down to Florida in October of 1976, & the 8 fill ups of my move back to Michigan in May of 1977. Check out those gas prices & the amounts!!! Cheapest gas was .45 cents a gallon!!

I began to work at General Motors, & on the modifications to the Jeep.
In Short the modifications were;

1979

• A set of five Armstrong “Tru-Trac” tires on a steel set of white Clement Wheels. (The original tire/wheels were sold).  - These were advertised in off road magazines of that era to be “THE” tires to have due to their flotation.
   
• Removed the charcoal emissions canister & remaining anti-smog plumbing.  - At that time, (with gas over sixty three cents a gallon), you saved money on high unleaded fuel prices, by removing the (body mounted) metal fuel filler neck & sawing off the restrictor portion of it. This allowed the larger diameter “Regular” fuel nozzle to fit into the neck. This “Sawed-Off” filler neck is still on the truck today.
   
• Front portion of the rollcage was added onto the original roll bar. (This was a kit purchased by smittybilt).
   
• Front push bar & Cibie lighting were added
   
• Frt/Rr Diff Covers (Advanced Adapters)
   
• 1977 Gremlin “X” front seats (Levi Blue Denim) (The original seats were sold).

1980

• The powertrain was blueprinted & balanced with all of the internal/external & Clutch upgrades (See powertrain portion of specs sheet below)
   
• Power steering. (Original was manual) from a wrecked CJ, & tilt steering column
   
• Body lift utilizing Cadillac Body mounts (1 ¼” lift over stock).
   
• Rough country suspension system with dual shocks (2 ½” inch lift)
   
• Steering stabilizer (Heco)
   
• Dodge van tail lights (1972-1977 eras).
  - Toughest job I ever did was to take a saber saw to the body of my truck to get them to fit correctly. (At that time, the majority of the tail light conversions in my area were using G.M. wrap-around tail lamps, & I wanted to be different). This is the reason why the original paint was re-shot in this area.
   
• Interior gauges

The Jeep remained in this condition for over 25 years.
The remaining or additional changes have occurred in the past five years.

Most notably, these include:

• All of the MSD ignition components
• The Excide Drycell battery
• The 12” Oval air cleaner & 4” K&N air filter
• The NOS “Whitco” AMC blue denim soft top with a Sunroof option & half doors (EBAY)
• The Flowmaster Exhaust & Air Born Header coating
• The Front frame cover
• The AMC NOS compass
• The Con-Ferr shackles
• The “Chassis” urethane (former rubber) components
• The Rear rollcage & addition of Jeep YJ rear shoulder harnesses (Self fabrication)

There have been many memories in my jeep ...

• A case where my best friend drove my jeep to his girl friends house (with me as a passenger), and stated he sold is Camaro “Z-28” for it. She was ticked at first, but then suspected something “Fishy” when I was the one explaining most of the features. - This same girl & I dated afterwards & we got locked onto a “Peninsula beach park” at dusk on Florida’s “Lido Beach”. We had to drive down the beach & climb a rock retaining wall into the parking lot of a local hotel to get her home “somewhat” late, but safe.

• Countless times climbing on the Silver Lake Sand Dunes north of Muskegon Michigan…

But the most memorable times come from attending car shows, meeting new people, & seeing in the eyes of the youngest of the crowd, that one day, he/she is going to have their own scrap book, & one day own their own dream Jeep.

Bob and the family at Silver Lake Sand Dunes north of Muskegon, on Lake Michigan.

1976 AMERICAN MOTORS JEEP CJ-5
RENEGADE / LEVI’S PACKAGE

SPECIFICATIONS

OWNER: BOB MILLEN - (ORIGINAL)
BUILD SITE: JEEP ASSEMBLY - TOLEDO OHIO
SALES ORDER No# J173974
PAINT OPTION/CODE No# G7 - Alpine White
TRIM OPTION CODE No# 3HG
JEEP MODEL CODE No# 8300
VIN No#: J6M83AA053208
DEALERSHIP WHERE PURCHASED: Greenfield AMC Jeep Inc
DATE OF PURCHASE: May 2nd, 1976
COST: $5282.00

OEM & MODIFICATION UPGRADES

POWERTRAIN

ENGINE:

• STOCK/OEM: AMC INLINE 258 – (ORIGINAL)

ENGINE MODIFIED:

• ENGINE - BLUEPRINTED/BALANCED 4.2ltr 258, APPROX COMPRESSION= 9 to1 - (RACELAND PERFORMANCE SHOP)
• ENGINE MOUNTS (URETHANE) - (ENERGY SUSPENSION)
• CAM (INTERMEDIATE SPECS) - (SIG-ERSON)
• INTAKE MANIFOLD (ALUMINUM DUAL-PORT 360) - (OFFENHAUSER)
• OIL PUMP (HIGH VOLUME) - (MANUFACTURER UNKNOWN)
• PISTONS - (MANUFACTURER UNKNOWN)
• CARBURATOR (#8007- 390CFM 4BBL) - (HOLLEY) - CARB SPACER - (MOROSO .75”)
• ELECTRICAL COMPONENTS - (MSD)
  - DISTRIBUTOR - PRO-BILLET
  - IGNITION CONTROL - 6A BOX
  - PLUG WIRES - HELI-CORE
  - COIL - BLASTER
  - TACH ADAPTER
• OIL FILTRATION SYSTEM - REMOTE MOUNTED DUAL SYSTEM - (MANUFACTURER UNKNOWN)
• BATTERY - (EXIDE DRYCELL)

TRANSMISSION:

• STOCK/OEM: T-18 HEAVY DUTY FOUR SPEED (UN-SYNCHRONIZED 1ST GEAR)
  
  MODIFIED:
   
• CLUTCH - (ZOOM)
• TRANSMISSION MOUNTS - URETHANE - (DAYSTAR)

TRANSFER CASE:

• STOCK/OEM: DANA 20

POWERTRAIN INTEGRATION

INDUCTION/FILTRATION:
MODIFIED:

• AIR CLEANER (12” BALL-MILLED OVAL BILLET) - (MANUFACTURER UNKNOWN)
  - AIR FILTER - (K&N 4-INCH)
  - PRE-FILTER (OFFROAD) - (APPLETREE AUTOMOTIVE)
• EXHAUST (FULL-DUAL): MODIFIED:
• HEADERS (DUAL) - (HOOKER)
  - COATING - (AIR-BORN)
• EXHAUST SYSTEM (CUSTOM 2.5” INCH O.D. / 409 - ALUMINIZED) - (TOP VALUE MUFFLER SHOP)
• MUFFLER (DUAL IN & OUT) - (FLOWMASTER)

DRIVELINE:

STOCK/OEM:

• AXLES (ORIGINAL - NARROW TRACK)
• FRONT (DANA 30)
• REAR (DANA 20)
  - Housing “A” - Ratio = 3.54:1 (Reference Part Build Tag No# 5354908)

MODIFIED:

• DIFFERENTIAL COVERS (FRT /RR) - (ADVANCED ADAPTERS)

CHASSIS

CHASSIS STEERING: STOCK/OEM:

• MANUAL ORIGINAL - NON-TILT / NON-POWER
  MODIFIED:
• TILT COLUMN - (GM SAGINAW STEERING)
• STEERING STABILIZER - (HECO)
• POWER STEERING (ADDED AFTER PURCHASE) - (AMC OEM)

SUSPENSION: MODIFIED:

• LEAF SPRINGS (2.5” INCH LIFT) - (ROUGH COUNTRY)
• SHOCKS ALL (DUAL FRONT) - (ROUGH COUNTRY)
• SUSPENSION BUSHINGS (URETHANE) - (ENERGY SUSPENSION)
• SHACKLES (1.5” INCH LIFT) - (CON-FERR)

BRAKES: STOCK/OEM:

• • 11” DRUM BRAKES
• MODIFIED: BRAKE FLUID - (SILICON DOT #5)

TIRES & WHEELS: MODIFIED:

• TIRES (STREET-1979) - (ARMSTRONG TRU-TRAC)
• WHEELS (STEEL WAGON) - (CLEMENT)
• TIRES - (SAND -FRT/RR FOR DUNE PLAY) ON STEEL WHEELS - (SAND TIRES UNLIMITED)
  
  MOUNTS: MODIFIED:
• BODY MOUNTS (1.25” INCH BODY LIFT) - (G.M. CADILLAC)

INTERIOR

INSTRUMENT PANEL: MODIFIED:

• TACHOMETER - (SUN TACH II)
• VACCUM GAGE - (SUN)
• COMPASS - (AMC OEM)

SEATS & TRIM: MODIFIED:

• FRONT SEATS (LEVI BUCKETS) - (AMC OEM -1977’ AMC GREMLIN “X)
• LEVI OPTIONS (INTERIOR - DENIM BLUE)
  - ROLLBAR PADDING - (AMC OEM)
  - SOFT-TOP COVER BOOT - (WHITCO)
• AMC FLOORMATS - (MANUFACTURER UNKNOWN)
• SAFTEY: MODIFIED:
• ROLLCAGE (FRONT) - (SMITTYBILT)
  - FRONT SEAT (BELT HARNESS) SUPPORT BARS - (RUNYK OFFROAD)
• ROLLCAGE (REAR - WITH INTEGRATED SHOULDER BELT SYSTEM - (SELF FABRICATED)

EXTERIOR

BODY & RELATED: STOCK/OEM:

• COLOR CODE NAME - ALPINE WHITE
• OPTION PACKAGE - RENEGADE
• LEVI OPTIONS (EXTERIOR - DENIM BLUE)
  - SOFT-TOP (ORIGINAL - WITH SUNROOF PANEL) - (AMC OEM)
• ENTRY STEPS
• DRAW BAR

MODIFIED:

• LEVI OPTIONS ADDED (EXTERIOR - DENIM BLUE)
  - LEVI GRILL COVER/SCREEN - (WHITCO)
  - SAFARI TOP - (WHITCO)
  - BIKINI TOP - (WHITCO)
  - HALF DOORS - (WHITCO)
• LIGHTING (HEADLAMPS & FOG LAMPS) - (CIBIE)
• LIGHTING (TAIL LAMPS) - (DODGE VAN - 1972-1977)
• TIRE CARRIER (REINFORCED ORIGINAL) WITH CENTER MOUNTED LICENSE PLATE FRAME & 3RD STOP LAMP - (SELF FABRICATION)
• PUSH-BAR - (MANUFACTURER UNKNOWN)
• FRONT FRAME COVER - (MANUFACTURER UNKNOWN)
• INLINE 258 BADGING/EMBLEMS - (SELF FABRICATION)
• STAINLESS HOOD LATCHES - (KENTROL)

FUTURE MODIFICATIONS

MODIFICATIONS -TO BE INSTALLED: ROLLCAGE MOUNTED SPEAKER PODS, URETHANE TRANSMISSION MOUNTS (DAYSTAR), GAUGE OFFSET CUPS, (AUX) LIGHTING INTO INTERIOR OR UNDERHOOD,

MODIFICATIONS -ON THE RADAR: ONE-PIECE SUPERIOR AXLES, LOCKING DIFF’s, JEEP CLOCK, FRONT SEAT-BELTS (4-POINT) FROM RJS, BICYCLE POST SEAT QUICK-RELEASE (2) FOR REAR VIEW MIRRORS, AM RADIO (1976 FACTORY AMC), LOCKING STORAGE DRAWER UNDER REAR SEAT, JEEP YJ 3-POINT REAR SEAT BELTS, ROLLCAGE TO FRAME (TIE-IN) KIT, 4.0ltr ENGINE HEAD SWAP