Fix up or restore

[wsmutch]

I'm creating a monster. I bought a really nice 1986 CJ7 I found on craigs list. I justified the purchase with my wife by saying it would be my daily driver. My problem is this. I'm a restorer, I started with Christ-craft boats, then I moved to military vehicles, Primarily M29 weasels. These are full tracked cargo carriers about the size of a jeep built by Studebaker for WW2. I live in the UP of Michigan and used them to travel over the deep snow and bogs around my hunting camp. I sold those and now have a 1963 Thiokol sno-cat for that purpose. Now I have one of my dream vehicles a CJ-7. This project, the previous owner did the frame and body but lost interest after that. The electric system is a mess. The only gage that works is the volt meter. The lights come and go at will. My problem is, I trained myself If I need a part I look for the closest thing I can find to original correct parts. I'm getting to the point that it is going to turn into a show vehicle. I'm having a hard time seeing myself driving it in salty snowy winter weather. Unfortunatly my wife sees it as a utility vehicle to get from point A to point B. She doesn't understand, I'm not sure I understand but I'm having fun.

 

[Petescj]

Thats a really nice looking CJ7 . The build forum is for people to chronicle what they do to their Cjs from the start to end of their project. Yours is more of a statement/question so I moved it here.