help! going to be looking at a 1980 cj5, need advice!!

[willydog13]

hey everyone, my names justin im a new member, and thank you for having me! im about to buy a CJ5 "something ive wanted to do for quite some time now" and need a little advice, I've done alot of research, but my father once told me "find out what other people who have done it before and it worked for them did, dont re invent the wheel" so here i am! now.....about the beast.. what got my attention is the motor and tranny, I like v8's ive been around them my whole life, just saying..lol its a AMC 304 ci amc motor with a factory 4 speed "has a hydraulic clutch" not sure on the Transfer Case or diffs, "i havent seen it in person yet" it runs, drives and stops.. so im told, drivetrain is said to be in great shape so im told. frame is solid except for some minor rust by rear shackle on drivers side. oh yeah! he has a title for it! " somehting ive found to be a problem wile looking out of state for a cj, no one has papers... somehting i need in NY lol now for the bad.. the cjs body is shot..so im told, BUT it comes with a tub from a 78, the tub needs minor patch work so im told, " not a issue, both my father and sister are amazing welders and offered to fix any holes" oh, and the tub has a tailgate " somehting i was hoping to find. cj also comes with a lot of spare parts, "power brake setup, extra locking hubs, hood, fenders, calipers, rotors, soft top, soft doors, windshields, extra dash with gauges.. theres more just cant think of what else i was told, pretty much he got just about all the parts together to put her back together and lost interest. i want to make sure im not getting in over my head.. i have the ability and my father has a shop, so doing a body swap can be done, what i was hoping for is somehting i can get on the road with a little work, drive it the way it is till i can find the time to do a body swap.. im checking it out this weekend, what should i look out for, what should i ask? what should be a turn off if seen, what makes this worth it? please help! oh yeah, all of this for roughly 1500 bucks, seems like gold to me, just getting some other opinions on it! thanks anyone who read all of this and who had somehting to say, and thanks again for having me!

 

[mtnwhlr]

It does sound like a good deal with all the parts that come with it. Just check the frame real good for rust and check under it for leaks and the biggest thing is take out and drive it I think that will tell you the most. It should track straight down the road make sure it shifts thru all the gears and stop good. Hope this helps. And welcome

 

[willydog13]

thanks mtnwhlr, appreciate the input! once i see her i'll get some pics up!

 

[73CJ]

Sounds like a good deal with all the parts. Lots of work, but if you're willing and have a good set of tools go for it.

Rust is a killer - frame and body.

Tons of new and used parts out there, but gotta have a good frame.

The major benefit to building it yourself is when you break on the trail, you will know what the heck happened! With luck, fix it and keep rolling.

 

[rr41mag]

Young man I would be proud of you. I say go for it. You sound like you are capable at rebuilding this jeep. Lots of great people on this site. Pictures ASAP

 

[Kilo19]

:ww: from Texas and nice to find another Justin out there.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Old Dog]

I would check the frame out really good, they can be fixed (welded) but it's better to start with a good solid one.

 

[willydog13]

hey everyone, thanks for the great input! heres a few pics i was sent of the jeep, i will take some better shots of my own on friday when i see it! the body on the jeep is the shot one, i posted some pics of the 78 tub, from the looks of the pics the patch work isnt to needy, ans the floors are intact, still have to see the body mounts, im told some work needs to be done there as well

 

[willydog13]

one other question, not that it really matters to me, but in my research i could not find anything on how to tell if this jeep was once a Laredo or a Renegade , besides hood decals "which this beast lacks" was there anything on the vin? i know they had chrome bumpers as well, somehting i also dont see, oh yeah one other question, since i have to do a body swap " never done one" if i do buy this jeep, am i going to run into any issues with the title or is it like a motorcycle and the titles for the frame" for the most part i know some old harleys had the vins on the motors" just saying lol,

 

[jamie]

not sure about the decals or the chrome bumper, but you can drill the rivets out on the vin plate from the tub that corresponds with the title, and rivit them to the tub your going to swap

 

[willydog13]

Thanks Jamie, I bought the jeep, im picking it up Sunday! Very excited! Will take lots of pics and post on the build forum lol