• Hello Guest, we are proud to now have our Wiki online that is completely compiled and written by our members. Feel free to browse our Jeep-CJ Wiki or click on any orange keyword when looking at posts in the forum.

jeep cj5 good first car

jeep cj5 good first car
77AMC CJ5

77AMC CJ5

Jeeper
Posts
16
Thanks
0
Location
richmond, va
Vehicle(s)
1977 cj5
Hi, this is my first post and I was wondering about one thing I couldn't seem to find much about on google. is a 77 jeep CJ5 with no power steering or power brakes which is completely original(and always will be) a good car for some one like me that will soon drive it to high school thats 15 miles away from my house a good vehicle for it. :confused: Also, I might have to dive it into the city every now and then, so any tips for that.
Thank you and sorry it was so long
 
gets lousy gas mileage.:cool:
 
My first vehicle was a '78 CJ5 with no power steering or power brakes. Looking back on it now, it wasn't the safest thing in the world...and I didn't drive it during the winter. Luckily, I lived out in the boonies and never had to drive it in heavy traffic.
 
The short answer is no, it's not. There are thousands of better choices out there for a first car.

That said, if you're willing to drive it correctly and safely, work on it from time-to-time, always be more concerned with it stopping than running 70mph, paying about $50 a week in gas for going to school and back alone and being a good citizen with it, then there's nothing wrong with it whatsoever.

Any 77 model of anything will be more trouble than any 97 or 07 in 99 out of a 100 cases, so that goes with the territory. The difference is that your 77 CJ5 will have parts from GMC, Ford, AMC, Chrysler, and Dana from the factory. Then add in whatever any prior owners have done, so that can complicate even routine repairs. Again, so long as you know this and accept it, and do everything in the second paragraph you'll be fine; and we will be here to help you I'm sure.

Wishing you the best, let us know what you decide.
 
007 said:
The short answer is no, it's not. There are thousands of better choices out there for a first car.

That said, if you're willing to drive it correctly and safely, work on it from time-to-time, always be more concerned with it stopping than running 70mph, paying about $50 a week in gas for going to school and back alone and being a good citizen with it, then there's nothing wrong with it whatsoever.

Any 77 model of anything will be more trouble than any 97 or 07 in 99 out of a 100 cases, so that goes with the territory. The difference is that your 77 CJ5 will have parts from GMC, Ford, AMC, Chrysler, and Dana from the factory. Then add in whatever any prior owners have done, so that can complicate even routine repairs. Again, so long as you know this and accept it, and do everything in the second paragraph you'll be fine; and we will be here to help you I'm sure.

Wishing you the best, let us know what you decide.
Click to expand...

Well, the reason I asked is because I also have a terrible 97 ford taurus with high mileage(261000) and its not as reliable as my jeeps been (so far driven every sunday 20 miles and ive owned it for two years) with low mileage (82000 original miles) Also, another reason is chicks love them:drool: or so I'm told. And yes I know it gets terrible gas mileage but so does my taurus so im kinda stuck where the prices are the same ether way.

Thank you
 
77AMC CJ5 said:
Well, the reason I asked is because I also have a terrible 97 ford taurus with high mileage(261000) and its not as reliable as my jeeps been (so far driven every sunday 20 miles and ive owned it for two years) with low mileage (82000 original miles) Also, another reason is chicks love them:drool: or so I'm told. And yes I know it gets terrible gas mileage but so does my taurus so im kinda stuck where the prices are the same ether way.

Thank you
Click to expand...

Well I can certainly relate, even newer cars get old in lotsa ways... I think if you just know all this going into it there's nothing at all wrong with a 77 CJ5 . I mean, you won't find a lot of people on here who don't like CJ's or the people who do...:D
 
My first car was an 86 XJ. I wanted a CJ but my parents put their collective foot down. As I have a 16 yr old daughter, I understand their concerns. The high center of gravity and the short wheelbase. If you know what you are doing and don't drive like a dumb... You should be fine. But I recall being a young driver and thinking I knew what I was doing. I was naive.

You sound more responsible than I was. So I would say go for it as long as you drive responsibly and (as stated) understand your limitations in performance and braking. And as for the comment about the girls liking Jeeps, they like them and the drivers as ling as they stay alive and in one piece. Be safe and God speed.


Dain
 
gr8dain said:
The high center of gravity and the short wheelbase. If you know what you are doing and don't drive like a dumb... You should be fine. But I recall being a young driver and thinking I knew what I was doing. I was naive.

You sound more responsible than I was. So I would say go for it as long as you drive responsibly and (as stated) understand your limitations in performance and braking. And as for the comment about the girls liking Jeeps, they like them and the drivers as ling as they stay alive and in one piece. Be safe and God speed.
Click to expand...
:agree: It's not a car so don't drive it like one and you will keep rubber side down. Just stay smart and you will be fine.
 
First off I need to pin this down. It says that your age is 36, but your posting like this is your first car and your going to high school and your hungry for a date cause "Chicks" love'em. ?????? late bloomer or are you using your Dad's account?
 
Hedgehog said:
First off I need to pin this down. It says that your age is 36, but your posting like this is your first car and your going to high school and your hungry for a date cause "Chicks" love'em. ?????? late bloomer or are you using your Dad's account?
Click to expand...


And if your Dad is 36 years old you are not old enough to drive.:D
 
He could easily be 16 or 17. If he is 36 and this is his FIRST vehicle, I'd say no way.
 
Well, 36-20 = 16 but a 16 year old shouldn’t be driving a CJ5 purely based on lack of driving experience. A CJ5 tends to roll easily and even though I had given my 16 year old daughter proper instruction on how to drive a CJ5 and keep it on all fours all it took was a swerve to miss a dog in the road at the jeep was on its side. The good news was that my daughter lived.
 
Glad to hear that Saddle. A local club member here just turned his YJ over on Friday when a semi merged him into a snowbank. A little Jeep damage but just cuts to him. So the center of gravity makes a big difference. And I know that I won't let me 16 year old daughter drive a CJ or a Wrangler as her first car. She has a Jetta. I feel better, but am still really worried. Father and all. Ugh.


Dain
 
I admit that things are different now than they were in my youth. I put lot of miles on my grandfathers CJ before I was 16. Of course that was working around his farm haying, pulling buckets for maple syrup, trimming Christmas trees and hauling fire wood. That sort of thing was typical back then though. Todays youth don't have the need to drive their I-pads and computer games around the way we needed our hammers, hay hooks and axes. Times change, I don't know if it's for the better though.
 
I was going to give the CJ5 to my daughter as a first car but when the time came I decided they both deserved better.:D
 
I got my first CJ5 when I was 21. Probably a good thing as I would have hurt myself/someone when I was younger.
I bought my daughter a yj after she had been driving the family car about a year. She seemed to be a safer driver at that age. She drove it a few years but I was always worried and was kinda glad when she traded it for a suv.
Bottom line is, I don't think a CJ5 is a good choice for a first car.
 
I have a 1975 Jeep CJ5 (power-nothing) and I consider it to be only marginally safer than a motorcycle with much poorer fuel economy. I'll stick to my 2012 Jeep GC as my daily driver. That said, I have no plans to avoid the CJ5 on nice days in the summer. :)
 
Hey, did I scare the guy away?
 
Hedgehog said:
Hey, did I scare the guy away?
Click to expand...

No, im 16 im getting my LICENSE. Curently have learners. I also, usually drive a 97 taurus so far but drove CJ5 only one for about half mile. But the reason my age is 36 is because I put the age of my jeep. I just don't like to put to much about me online.
 
77AMC CJ5 said:
No, im 16 im getting my LICENSE. Curently have learners. I also, usually drive a 97 taurus so far but drove CJ5 only one for about half mile. But the reason my age is 36 is because I put the age of my jeep. I just don't like to put to much about me online.
Click to expand...

You can put in any day of the year you want for your birthday. Id ask that you use the correct year though so theres no more confusion. :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Jeep-CJ Donation Drive

Help support Jeep-CJ.com by making a contribution.

Help support Jeep-CJ.com by making a contribution.
Goal
$200.00
Earned
$0.00
This donation drive ends in
0 hours, 0 minutes, 0 seconds
  0.0%
Contribute
Back
Top Bottom