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New CJ owner needs advise

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New CJ owner needs advise
C

cj71986

Jeeper
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Location
Virginia Beach
Hello fellow Jeepers,
My name is John and I am going to be the new owner of a 1986 CJ7 with the straight 6 engine. The jeep was my Brother in Laws and he bought it new in 1986. It is in awesome condition and only has 78,000 original miles on it. It is 100% stock with no modifications at all but, I would like to make it MORE trail ready. How do I start, and what would you say are the bare essentials?
Thank you for your time,
John
 
Well, you can throw a whole lot of money into a jeep very quickly as many of us on here can attest to :D
The basics are a suspension lift, larger tires, lockers...and there are a multitude of options right there alone. Nobody's Jeep has ever turned out like anyone elses...

Is your Jeep equiped with a Dana 44 rear or a corp20? The corp 20 will have a round diff cover as compared to a diamond-shaped cover on the 44. This is an important determination as the corp 20 uses a 2-piece axle design. Installing 1-piece aftermarket shafts is always a good investment especially if you lock the rear end, go with larger tires, do much offroading.

With going to larger tires, it is important to keep in mind that your crawl ratio will fall unless you gear the axles down. If not, it will affect your highway performance as well as your offroad and power and mileage will also be affected...but you probably already know this.

A winch is nice. Rock protection such as sliders, gas tank skid, corner guards...

Extraction points are always important... clevis shackles or hooks at the front and rear are a good idea.

As always, I advocate the safety side of things. Keep a first aid kid handy, a small fire extinguisher, communication devices, etc. I am also a firm believer in roll cages. Tools, and proper protection for the weather.

But first and foremost, take the Jeep "as is" offroad and see what the capabilities are. Become a driver before you change up the rig. offroad is 90% driver and 10% rig. have fun :chug::chug:
 
cj71986 said:
It is 100% stock with no modifications at all but, I would like to make it MORE trail ready. How do I start, and what would you say are the bare essentials?
Thank you for your time,
John
Click to expand...

It depends a lot on what kind of trails your talking about. ie sand, mud, rocks ect. they will all be built different.
As CJim7 said take it out and wheel it the way it is for a while and see what you need from there.
 
Thanks guys I will take your advise and trail it first before making any changes. I had never really heard of the 90% driver 10% rig but, that makes me feel a little better. I will start by going slow and safe. Thanks again, John
 
Hi CJ71986...

as it was said (and I think is a great analysis on percentages for what it takes) you have to find where that 90% of the driver is more comfortable, a stock rig is always the best learning tool to have in this hobby, take your time, there is no hurry, you´ll have a life time to improve your jeep, this is truly a snow ball, it never stops rolling an growing...

the most important: HAVE LOTS OF FUN!!!
 
All very excellent advice ^^^

I like CJim's last sentence too, and had never heard it.

Very true too... :cool:

:chug:
 
I've always been a fan of wheel and fix/upgrade your weak links.
Upgrading for looks and wants is fine if you got deep pockets.
 
What do you have for axles and gearing? Congrats on the new jeep :chug:
 
Advice I would have given, go wheel.

every area and every person needs different things to wheel

out here in the west we set up for rocks and do not even think of mud

guys not wanting to wheel hard set up good trail jeeps kinda all terrain

you really need to see how hard you want to pound that machine

and if it is all stock, I would set it up as a all terrain street queen and buy a beater to wheel.

wheeling is hard on a jeep and you are buying a piece of history, they are getting fewer and fewer. I think taking it and doing 2 inches of lift, a few more skid plates and bigger tires would set up a great street queen with wheeling possibilities. Keep it nice and buy a beater to destroy off road.

personally I run a 70 CJ6 lifted and 33s, all else is stock. It is my street queen who runs soft trails going camping and such
and a 67 CJ5 that is built way to much to go pound on the rocks
 
+1 on BajaEdition's comments
 
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