Compromised or specialized?

T

toyman

New member
I've found over the years of offroading you can build your vehicals for a specific type of off roading or you can build a compromised rig for all types. I have a opportunity to purchase another CJ-7 for $2500. It has a fair amount of rust in the usual places. Has the stock 304, stick. 35" tires that are pretty worn. Needs some TLC; rear brake cyl. leaking, steering column is loose. It comes with (all new in boxes) front fenders, tailgate, rear corners, rocker panels, lots of diamond plate protective panels, chrome hood hinges, plus front & rear tube bumbers.
This would be a good rig for hard core off roading...........................

Or I can use this money to continue to do mods. to the extremely clean CJ-7 I have now. I off road this Jeep but it is to nice to thrash out off roading scrubing rocks & trees etc. I have to take to much care not to scratch or dent it. I'm thinking I need an ol'rusty for this & use the pretty one for street, duning, & open trails etc.

What would you do?
 

If it were me, I would buy the other one, and use all those nice parts for your good Jeep (or for spares). Then build up the rusty one as more of an off road only sort of vehicle.

That's just my opinion though
 
That's exactly what I'm thinking.
Build "Ol' Rusty" for the real nasty stuff where you get dinged, dented, scratched, & trashed like rock climbing, narrow trails with trees, etc.
Save my freshly painted, never been thrashed "Virgin Lady" from the harsh stuff & enjoy it on the street, open trails, etc.
 
I say put the $$ into the one you already have then take it for a ride through some thick brush to get it over with!!! :lol:
 
Twisted is right...you need to get the first pinstripping on the virgin jeep and your decision will be come much clearer. But I dont want to discourage you from buying another jeep. You really cant have too many.
 
Have both and wheel both! Why not!

I agree that first pine tree pin stripe hurts, but soon you get used to it and aim for the tree!
 

Scratches add character. For the $2500 plus that you will spend on building the rusty Jeep, you can have several paint jobs on your "virgin" Jeep.
 
I just don't want a Jeep that I don't want to off road. There is not a reason to have a Jeep In my book if it is not for going out there and doing the off road thing. Now I love Jeeps but they are rough riding very basic ugly hard edged beast with a heart of a Lion. If I am going to be on the road only it will not be in a Jeep. My big ol war wagon Surburban is much nicer on the road. $2500.00 will go a long way in makeing you current rig extrem. Still good for the road. Even better for the off road. tug
 
Toyman, unless your current jeep is a liberty or one of those $40,000 GC Overlands, you need to drop that dough in your jeep. If you want a "show" jeep, well, I'm not even gonna comment.

C
 

No rubbing

a jeep is a jeep, use for what its made for. if you already started to build the one you have put the 2500 into that one and take it off pavement!
 
Quadra trac Limited slip housing AMC model 20

You guys have some great input. I've enjoyed your posts. Don't get me wrong in all honesty I didn't buy this Jeep to make it a show car as I've never been one to have a vehical that was to nice to drive but this 77 Jeep is next to new condition. I still take it off road because that's what I bought it for & that's what I'll continue to build it to do. I've had it in the muck & mire so deep it was pushing it in front of me. I've had it on rocky trails that scrubed the underside. I'm taking it to the Oklahoma dunes in 2 weeks & I'll be pushing it for all it's worth in hill climbs & sand drags. I don't need it as a daily driver as I have other vehicals that are much more comfortable for this. I just think it would be very practical to have another Jeep built for the real nasty stuff like rock climbing, narrow trails, etc. where you get them bashed up some. This Jeep could be specialized with lots of articulation & proper tires for this type of terrain. Like I posted earlier you can build a Jeep compromised or specialized. I'm leaning towards specialized. I also live by the old saying "The guy with the most toys wins" If you didn't notice my handle is "Toyman"
 
Ya know, I am glad that I didnt care so much as to putting the ONLY scratches on my 7.Back when I first got the jeep, I never knew how good of shape it was in for the year and price.Now I think back and wish I had taken more care of it but, it happens.All you can do is try to avoid those shrubs and branches.Thats what I do now.
 

Toyman, I very much aggree with you. If you build a vehicle that is for a specific purpose, as far as off-roading goes, then you usually don't want to continue driving it on the road (usually due to legal issues). You can use the nice one still, but just for regular trails or whatever, and then also have one that can even be in competitions if need be. If the money for that is not redibly available, then you just buld it slowly and do most of the work yourself.

My $.02
 
Í did it guys.....I bought O'l Rusty but at reduction from asking price.
Turned out to be a great deal that I just couldn't resist.
It's a 76 CJ-7 with a stock 304 that just received a major overhaul recently.
Came with 3 different tops( I'll need a new rear hatch for the glass top as it's rusty)
3 different sets of doors
I'm not sure what lift it has but it sits pretty tall with the 33x15.5 Super Swampers on 11"Centerline alloy rims
Has new double tube front & rear bumpers & Smitty nerf bars
Came with new in the boxes:
front fenders, inner fenders & rear corners.
tailgate, S.S. hinges, cables & weather strip.
diamond plate rear corners, under tailgate & rockers.

It has the stock 4 sp., transfer & axles that will need upgraded as I'm wanting to build
this one into a rock crawler.
After completion of this poject I'll more than likely sell the creampuff 77 I also have.
 

They usually had a 3 speed behind the 304. If not it's a t-18 or maybe someone swapped in a T-176. What transfer case is in there?
If you decide to upgrade the transmission, I have a Jeep TH400 sitting in the garage that I will sell you pretty cheap (was my spare). It's been disassembled and never rebuilt. The parts are in a box next to it. I will soon have a Dana 20 to go with it.
 
It has the T-18 with the Dana 20 transfer. I was told this was a popular Ford truck trans. & I could put the gears from one into my case to get the granny low first gear for rock crawling.
 

If it is the original Transmission then it may be the good T18. I think the 76 model had the T18 with a 6.18 first gear. You may have to research that issue. The Dana 20 will be pretty good to keep. They are reasonably strong but the 2.02:1 gearing isn't all that good. You could always add the Tera-Low kit later to get it to 3.15:1.
What else do you have in mind for your new crawler?
 
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