CJ 5 or 7

[Hawg]

Had the same issue, sorta. My 14 y.o. son wanted to build a hot rod with his grampa and while he is a good kid I figured it would be about 6 months before he lost his license or wrapped it around a tree.

I was thinking old pick up or jeep.

Long story short a buddy of mine gave me a 72 CJ5 for two cases of beer. The last couple of years spent by the 3 of us in the garage has taught us a lot and given him an unusual sense of responsibility. He's got far too much elbow grease tied up in the jeep to get real stupid with it... so far. He's 17 now and had it on the road for about 8 months now and no dings or god forbid roll overs yet.

At some point hes gonna be on his own, the more he knows the better.

 

[Hawg]

jsut re-read what i wrote. I didn't really address the question. If i was to do it over and had the choice between a 5 or a 7, I would definetly go with a 7, safer and easier to get parts.

Bottom line the time you take with him in the garage will pay off big time in both your confidence in your kid and his abillities behind the wheel.

 

[wingedmare]

While I LOVE my 5, I am also barely 5'5" and feel like they made it just my size on purpose! But for a teenage boy I agree with going with the 7. As previously stated, they are much easier to find bits and pieces for and there is that whole fitting in it thing. My DH is 6'3" and I giggle every time he is in my 5.

As for the safety factor someone already mentioned my thoughts. A kid that builds his own car is going to have a respect for it that a kid with a bought car will never know. Not to mention the sense of pride he will have in his work. I dated my share of guys in HS that had built their own car/truck in a similar scenario to yours and I tell you what, those cars were treated better than I was!