Acquired a 82 Jeep CJ-7. Well..... most of it.

[CJ RIGGS]

I have a good friend that has had this CJ in his garage since 87~88. He bought it in 84, and over the next few year added a 3" to 3-1/2" body lift along with some 44" tires.
While out off-roading he had an unfortunate incident with a mud hole. Drove in, and unfortunately had to be pulled out. The engine choked on some of the mudd. It was cleaned up good enough to be driven home. I'm not sure what happened next but the end result is, it's been sitting with the head off, in a garage on jack stands for the last 30 years.
I've offered to buy the Jeep multiple times over the years. Even offered to help him resurrect it and get it back on the street. Well he surprised me the other day when he asked if I wanted it. "Come and get it and it's yours" he says.
I can't express how ecstatic I am right now. I've wanted a Jeep for as long as I've been looking at vehicles. Never been in a position to sacrifice a good daily driver for a "want". I'm sure I'll get over the excitement after dishing out a few grand and busting a few knuckles, but I'm sure looking forward to the adventure.
At the moment it's still in his garage. I expect to get over to his house and see if the tires will air up long enough to transport on a trailer. I did take a photo of the odometer to check the mileage. It look like a little over 77,000 original miles.

 

[mtnwhlr]

Congrats on getting the Jeep you have wanted for a long time. I hope you can get all the parts also that I see in the pics. I would loose the body lift and I see it still has the 2 piece axels that is crazy with 44" tires. But it looks like it is sitting on the stock tires now. Keep us posted.

 

[gert]

Sweet dude looks like it has a great body on it, I’m guessing by the pile ole parts that it’s been disassembled for you, looks like a great project don’t forget to share with us

 

[Peanut Butter]

What a great start to a really good project. The tub looks like it is in excellent condition. Yes loose the 44" tires with stock axles. You basically have a blank canvas, so plan you build. Sit down and decide what you want to use the Jeep for. Daily driver is much different from a rock crawler. Now look at you budget and compromise what you would like to have to what you can afford. With a well thought out plan, you'll be able to come out of this with a really nice jeep you'll enjoy driving.

 

[CJ RIGGS]

My plan is to loose the body lift, clean it up to see where I stand. I'll be following BajaEdition's excellent post on what to do when I get it home. My immediate goal is to get it operational and licensed, then collect the cash to slowly update it (I can see this is going to seriously cut into my gun fund ). I will try and resurrect the AMC 258 i6 / 4.2l , but if the block is cracked i'll be shopping for a V8 (Small block chevy maybe).
My plan is to turn it into the occasional nice weather driver, modernize the lights, ignition and gauges, add custom front and rear bumpers (Make my own), Roll or spray in a liner. The only off roading this will see is the occasional hunting trip to the lease. It's nothing my f-AMC 150 4X4 doesn't already do.
Anyway, I want it clean, Modernized, maybe A/Ced down the road.

Thanks for the advice guys.

 

[gert]

AMC AMC AMC


The AMC V8 is a pretty good motor lots of torq and can be retro fitted to your CJ using stock parts from the parts store, the Chevy and Ford V8s require new bellhousings radiators and motor mounts which starts to add up

The AMC V8 was offered in CJs and the bell housing and clutch are interchangeable and the motor mounts are available new


AMC AMC AMC


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[mtnwhlr]

 

[CJ RIGGS]

So, why did the later models have reduced horse power and do I need to look for a specific year range?

 

[gert]

So, why did the later models have reduced horse power and do I need to look for a specific year range?

All American brands got lower horse power ratings in 71 do to gross/net hp ratings change and from there on it got way worse with the emissions garbage, they started dropping compression ratios and catalytic converters

Pretty much any AMC 360 from a wagoner is good just make sure to buy a 360 flywheel




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[cglax6]

If you can wait a couple months, I'm pulling my AMC 304 out of my '76 CJ5 . Runs great and only has 2500 miles on a fresh rebuild. I'll be parting with everything from the radiator to the bellhousing. There's absolutely nothing wrong with it and it runs super smooth. I'm taking it out to put in a Ford 351w. PM me if you're interested or have any questions about it.

 

[Lumpy Grits]

One really nice deal about the AMC 6 to AMC 8 conversion, is the fact it's a bolt in deal.
LG

 

[Heavychevy]

You will like the AMC 304 , i have one in a 74 CJ5 . They make ample power for the cj. According to a book that i have the power was really reduced after 1975.

 

[CJ RIGGS]

You will like the AMC 304 , i have one in a 74 CJ5 . They make ample power for the cj. According to a book that i have the power was really reduced after 1975.

I do like the idea of keeping it AMC, and I'm sure it will have ample power. It also makes sense for the pocket book considering I won't have buy extra parts to adapt it over.

I do think it's amusing. I don't even have it in my garage yet and I have friends coming out of the woodwork wanting to come over and help me rebuild it. Including the PO.

 

[mtnwhlr]

I do like the idea of keeping it AMC, and I'm sure it will have ample power. It also makes sense for the pocket book considering I won't have buy extra parts to adapt it over.

I do think it's amusing. I don't even have it in my garage yet and I have friends coming out of the woodwork wanting to come over and help me rebuild it. Including the PO.

It's a Jeep thing.