84 CJ-7 Buying Advice

[upayme]

I am looking at purchasing my first jeep and definitely need some advice.

I am considering purchasing an 84' CJ7 AMC 258 i6 / 4.2l
I can pick it up for 2000-2200 cash.
Here is what I know at the moment:

I was told it has 4" Superlift kit. The springs and shocks look newer, and shocks are Superlift, except the stabilizer. The shackles look to be either stock, or thin.
The exhaust is newer. Seats are in good shape, Bestop brand. It has 144K miles, original engine as far as I know. It seemed to run strong. Tires are new. It comes with the hardtop (decent shape cept a good size crack that's been sealed in the front) and two bikini tops and half doors. Frame looks good. I didnt see any cracks, its been sprayed black, but I didn't notice any rust damage. It shifted fine in all gears. Body looks pretty good.

Now the questionable and the bad.

Definitely some rust here and there on the body, but looked minimal considering my location and the vehicle age. I lifted up the driver and passenger carpets and this is a couple spots of deep rust in the floor edges. Its got some spots that were bondo-d. The shifter is really sloppy, and the clutch engages at the very top. (I did spin the tires once on pavement at least) Some of the wiring looks pretty hacked. No radio and the horn wiring is hanging in the engine bay. Choke cable is broke. It did fire up no problem, but it was warm outside (and the owner could have warmed it up earlier...) The jeep seemed to spongy on steering...Like I'd turn and then go to straighten out and It was delayed..If that makes sense?

And the ugly.

He has the front driveshaft lying inside the jeep! He said he tried to engage it and heard a "loud pop" and then took it out so he doesnt know what is wrong with it.

Ok, bring it on. Thanks in advance guys.

 

[upayme]

http://www.jeep-cj.com/gallery/files/2/3/2/0/0426001809.jpg

 

[Old Dog]

He has the front driveshaft lying inside the jeep! He said he tried to engage it and heard a "loud pop" and then took it out so he doesnt know what is wrong with it.
Ok, bring it on. Thanks in advance guys.

IMO this part would make me want to run away fast.

 

[TheBillygoat]

x2 we all know when we buy a used vehicle that there will always be problems or something that is needing fixed or upgraded, but this could be a large problem.....

 

[CJKrawler]

It all depends on how much time you want to put into it. I didn't research mine enough, now, it will be a while before I am driving again, but I am learning how to build a vehicle right the first time. Just from the pictures, that body looks to be fairly decent. Go lower on the price and see what happens. One thing I wish I had done, was to realize that I didn't need this particular vehicle. And after you make your purchase, you can head on over to http://www.jeep-cj.com/forums/f49/i-want-thank-4749/ and put your two cents in here

 

[BajaEdition]

sounds like it is one step ahead of being a project jeep to me
not worth the 2 gs he wants around my neck of the woods
but we do not have rust issues, are you good with sheet metal work?
clutch may just need adjusting but the sloppy shifting is a sign of work needed in the tranny
the steering could kill you if not fixed and the pop, not good.
so I would expect to haul it home and have to tear it down and do a rebuild. tranny, tcase, steering, body.
Are you up to that?

 

[upayme]

Hmm, adding tranny work to mix is disappointing. What should I be looking for then in a budget under 3k? I have not been looking very long, but the prices seem pretty high around here and they all have rust (that, or they are restored and asking a whole lot)

 

[Jet]

Funny thing about wanting something.
Sometimes the harder we look the harder it is to find what we want.

I quit looking for a jeep 10 years ago, then one day last fall my 84CJ found me.

There's one looking for you, maybe you are just not that into this one.

 

[Old Dog]

The trouble with looking for a cj is that anything cheap is going to need work which = more money. You just have to find to best bang for your buck.

 

[Trapshooter]

As it has already been said....unless you want to spend a bunch more money and time on your new rig, I would continue to look at what else is out there.

If you haven't tried it already, use Search Tempest to consolidate searches on CraigsList. Search Tempest pulls in C-lists from around your selected region based on a mileage radius. I use it to check about a AMC 150 mile area.

Here is a link: Search Tempest - The EASY way to search Craigslist!

Keep looking, I think you will be happier in the long run.

 

[upayme]

Thanks for all the advice guys. The search continues.