Is this CJ-7 a good deal?

[Halfmoon]

Is this a good deal? I've only been looking for 1 week so I'm not sure if I'm jumping the gun or not. Here's the stats:

1984 CJ7 AMC 258 i6 / 4.2l rebuilt slightly bored I think, T-18 , hardtop with all but back hatch, 4" Skyjacker lift with 35" BFG mud terrains, new seats and console, YJ roll bar, warn hubs, chrome diff covers, stock axles. Owner has owned this jeep for 15 years and it's been stored inside. Paint is good but not perfect. Seems used but not really abused.

I can get it for $6,000. What do you think it's worth?

 

[Scooter402]

I personally have a hard time getting a gauge on the value of CJ's here lately. Some people are asking an outrageous amount of money for them, others seem to be nearly giving them away. Apparently I got mine from one of the latter.

I've got an '84 CJ7 that when I bought it, it had a 4" lift with shackle reversal up front, 33" tires, an AMC 360 and a T-176 Transmission in front of a Dana 300 . The axles were stock, but I'm fairly certain they had either 3.73 or 4.10 gears. Also had a 12,000 lb. Mile Marker winch on the front. Granted, it didn't run great because the carb needed rebuilt, and it smoked like a freight train due to worn valve guides which I found later after tearing into it. $2500 later, it was mine.

Now, I have been reading in Jp magazine that the value of CJ's will probably be on the rise, as they have been sold for a pretty good penny at some collector car auctions. That being said, and seeing the prices on some of them around me lately (I've been considering talking the boss into letting me buy one as a "winter vehicle" since she tells me I need a 4x4 truck ) I'd say that $6k isn't too bad of a price. If it were me, i'd try and haggle him down to $5k, by starting in on an offer at $4500. Besides, like you said -- it IS missing the lift gate on the hard top.

Let us know how it turns out.

 

[Halfmoon]

Oh, and he said he thought the motor was original but may be from a mail jeep?? Can't remember why he said he thought that. Any thoughts??

Seems like any I've found for less than $4K need major work. But I haven't been shopping long. And. And who knows if the guys asking $9-10K are actually getting that for jeeps similar to this one.

 

[IOPort51]

I think you have too much tire for the axles and engine but that can change easy enough.

do you feel 6K worth of love for this machine??

If I have cash in my hand I find people are usually open to reasonable offers. start at 5K what the heck, find out what it is really worth to him. how long has it been on the market??

 

[Deerejeep]

I'm not sure that $6k is an unreasonable asking price. If A Ga jeep then the amount of rust and age could justify a price otherwise not reasonable in the rust belt. It's not a mail Jeep engine, that was the 4 cylinder and if that's the case then it's probably not a T-18 .

How about going and getting some pictures and posting up for the experts here to help gauge a price. Maybe most important. What do you want to do with it?

 

[Halfmoon]

I'd use it mostly on the street. Just wanting something to tinker with and fix up. Probably will resale within 2 years. The T-18 is from a CJ5 so it's not original. I too wondered if 35's would be too much for my purposes. I don't want it to drive badly on the road. My last jeep had 33's but it's been so long since I drove one I can't remember how sloppy the steering was.

Here's the ad.

1984 JEEP CJ-7 WIDETRACK

 

[IOPort51]

kind of need pictures of the engine and Transmission for confirmation. Does it need to pass an emissions test and will it be able to?

 

[PistolDave]

Actually it could be a postal jeep engine because the AMC 258 i6 / 4.2l was available in postal jeeps in 77-78 and the AMC 232 i6 was available from 70-78. As far as I know they never offered a manual Transmission with these engines, so the Transmission is probably not postal in origin, but the engine might very well be.

edit:
Just looked at the ad, from what you can tell in the pictures it looks pretty decent. Devil is in the details though, never can really tell from a picture. If it is mostly rust free and mechanically sound, that price would be reasonable in my neck of the woods; seems a little high to me but everyone around here seems to think jeep cj's are reaaaallllllllllyyy rare and thus worth a fortune, no matter the condition. People around here will ask 4500.00 for rustbuckets that wont even move under their own power.

 

[gaspipe]

I also think the 35's might be a bit much, but a relatively rust free Jeep is becoming somewhat rare. I just took the 35's off my CJ and replaced them with ~32-ish diameter 16" rubber. I have 3.73's, and IMHO, I am still on the edge.

Anyway, in the 5-6k range is not a bad deal for something you can work with that doesn't need lots of welding and new parts. The fun factor here for me is that a CJ "feels" like a vintage 4x4, mostly because it is. They are fun to work on, have great aftermarket support, and are a hoot in the woods.

 

[danray48]

Looks good. In my neck of the woods, I could see them asking $4500.00 -$6000.00. I looked for 3 yrs. No matter what you pay, it'll cost ya more anyway. It's a jeep. I like to see how long something is for sale on CL. There's a few jeeps around here on CL for around $6000.00 and has been on there for a long time, so I figure something is wrong. If it's clean, I might be willing to pay 6. But I'd start at 5.