New to CJs, Price of a 1979 CJ 7

[YUKON007]

Not new to forums, but new to the jeep world. I'm sorry if this is a question asked by many. I've got a guy who wants to do a straight up trade my 2012 Polaris 800 Assault 155" with some mods. He's got a 1979 CJ7 with the AMC 258 i6 / 4.2l straight 6. Complete engine rebuild and the thing is clean from the pictures I saw. I'm going to meet him and drive it on Saturday.

Jeep 4x4 CJ7

1. Anything to watch out for?
2. He's got it listed at 7k, my sled is worth 7500, I'm okay eating the $500 difference if it means that d*** sled is out of my life. Is this a bad deal?
3. Here's the CL post: Jeep 4x4 CJ7
4. Is he crazy asking that much? I've done a bit of research, I think if it had the V8 I could see 7K but with the straight 6, I'm not sure. NADA puts fair asking price at $6300
5. This is up in Alaska, prices tend to soar north of the lower 48, this could account for the price.
6. He says no rust, last ran on Saturday, garage kept, and hardly driven, I did not ask mileage I'll know more Saturday.

Please let me know what you all think! If it goes well maybe you'll welcome a new addict. Thanks for reading.

 

[HackFabrication]

Looks like a lot of diamond plate covering areas on the tub/fenders, where there would be significant rust. AMC engines were not painted orange, so that shoots the 'KEPT ORIGINAL' remark to heck.

$7000 way too much. Even if you absolutely hate that sled, I wouldn't swap. But that's just me.

 

[jzak]

Look pretty nice, but not sure about all the diamond plate. He maybe trying to cover up something.

I like the fact that he's kept it mostly factory though. Some CJ's are a cluster F*** of botched aftermarket "upgrades." Concerning price, it really seems to matter where you are. I'm in NC, and a CJ in excellent shape, with a refurbished engine can fetch over $10,000. That said, I think around 6K is more realistic for that CJ7 .

How many miles ago was the engine refurbished? Look out for RUST, RUST, and RUST. Most things can be cheaply replaced on a CJ, but a rusted out frame means you're screwed. The photo of the engine looks clean, but check how things are underneath. AMC 258 i6 / 4.2l valve covers are known to leak, so a slow oil leak shouldn't be a problem.

Good luck on Saturday, and welcome to the CJ club!

BTW Maybe you could post some more detailed pics of the engine and undercarriage.

 

[Posi]

AMC engines were not painted orange, so that shoots the 'KEPT ORIGINAL' remark to heck.

As well as the yj brake booster, early aftermarket horn. diamond plate, lift springs, lift shackles, tube steps, rims, aftermarket front bumper/lights, rear bumpers, and top.

Don't go by the NADA (too high).

 

[ThisGuyUKnow]

I like the fact that he's kept it mostly factory though.

NOT EVEN CLOSE to being kept original.
-No mirrors
-Painted engine(not really something id normally hold against a restore tho)
-YJ brake booster
-ugly,poorly done diamond plating (generally hides rust)
-after market bumpers
-After market wheels
-Shackle lift
-Probably spring lifted
- After market nerf bars

I'd like to see the interior, I'd bet there is alot of stuff changed in there too.

I'd give like 3 or 4k for it... maybe. Its not in bad shape by any means from the looks but the fact he is trying to pass it off as "original" irks me.

Edit: Also the inner fenders in the engine compartment are a different color, whats up with that?

 

[YUKON007]

This is why I love Forums. I'm calling him today with my "counter offer" I'll trade him the sled if he includes $3500 cash. That'll pay off the sled and I'll have essentially paid $4000 for the Jeep assuming a $7500 value of the sled. I don't think he'll be pleased but if he really does want to get rid of it...

Thank you all for the input, I think I've got my heart set on an late 1970 or early 1980s CJ. So even if this doesn't work out I'll be back. I've been trying to get a hold of this guy: 1984 jeep scrambler cj 8. To take a look at his scrambler. I love it! But given the tub and fender rust I can only assume the frame is rotted to h***. If he does return my calls and I go look I'll post pictures.

Thanks again for all the input!

 

[ThisGuyUKnow]

800 for a scrambler? I have never seen even a rusted out, junk scrambler with an asking price that wasnt north of 3k

This is why I love Forums. I'm calling him today with my "counter offer" I'll trade him the sled if he includes $3500 cash. That'll pay off the sled and I'll have essentially paid $4000 for the Jeep assuming a $7500 value of the sled. I don't think he'll be pleased but if he really does want to get rid of it...

Thank you all for the input, I think I've got my heart set on an late 1970 or early 1980s CJ. So even if this doesn't work out I'll be back. I've been trying to get a hold of this guy: 1984 jeep scrambler cj 8. To take a look at his scrambler. I love it! But given the tub and fender rust I can only assume the frame is rotted to h***. If he does return my calls and I go look I'll post pictures.

Thanks again for all the input!

 

[YUKON007]

800 for a scrambler? I have never seen even a rusted out, junk scrambler with an asking price that wasnt north of 3k

That's what I'm saying! Even being new to CJs I knew that wasn't right. Well here's to hoping he returns my call.

 

[starcommtrey1]

A perfectly restored, near perfect jeep will fetch 15-20k. Rough between 4-8k. My jeep around where its at is between 8-10k. NADA cant account for the classic factor. Its up to you what you will pay for it. Check it thoroughly. Up north there has to be some rust.

 

[red79]

One more thing to keep in mind during your search: diamond plate is not only used to cover rust (generally speaking), but a Jeep with diamond plate that continues to see winter driving rusts about twice as fast as the bare metal. This is especially true when the diamond plate is riveted on as opposed to welded. A LOT of Jeeps in the sub $10k range seem to have more than their fair share of pop rivets.

 

[Techlight]

So even if this doesn't work out I'll be back. I've been trying to get a hold of this guy: 1984 jeep scrambler cj 8. To take a look at his scrambler. I love it! But given the tub and fender rust I can only assume the frame is rotted to h***. If he does return my calls and I go look I'll post pictures.

Thanks again for all the input!

Ya never know...I just picked up an 84 CJ7 where some of the body was completely rusted through in a few places and various other places needing work. But the frame was rust free except for some surface rust at the very tail I could rub off with my fingers and a few spots up front. The PO never fixed the oil leaks in it and the frame was covered in about a 1/4 inch of caked on oil. No rust underneath lol. That's one way to protect it I guess.

But at 800 bucks I'd probably grab that scrambler just because I could ...like I need another project.

Good luck on the search...let us know how it turns out for ya.

 

[ThisGuyUKnow]

Ya never know...I just picked up an 84 CJ7 where some of the body was completely rusted through in a few places and various other places needing work. But the frame was rust free except for some surface rust at the very tail I could rub off with my fingers and a few spots up front. The PO never fixed the oil leaks in it and the frame was covered in about a 1/4 inch of caked on oil. No rust underneath lol. That's one way to protect it I guess.

But at 800 bucks I'd probably grab that scrambler just because I could ...like I need another project.

Good luck on the search...let us know how it turns out for ya.

Just be ready to spend at least ten thousand repairing/restoring it.

 

[Techlight]

Just be ready to spend at least ten thousand repairing/restoring it.

Yeah...that's always a possibility. Especially from looking at the photos. But at 800 bucks you could probably talk'm down to at least 5 or 6 .

I'm about 5 grand into mine including the purchase price. Reman motor, new low mileage Transmission , and a ton of other little pieces here and there but I'm pretty happy with it (well I will be when I work out my white knuckle moments over 60mph haha). But I'm in SoCal and rust isn't usually an issue as much as up north. I could easily spend another 5k and not be finished...but I'd be pretty happy with my new lift, tires, and upgraded axles haha. That's what I'm pining for next...just don't have another 5 grand do dump at the moment...

It seemed in my area 5-6500k would have gotten me a jeep with180k motor and an abused rig...so I opted for building. Figured I"d start with the drive train and then empty my pockets more slowly for the rest of it lol.

I didn't care about the tub much (although it's not "too" bad)...will probably abuse it for a few years and then throw a new one on it. I'm lucky in that regard since I have a local guy I can get a decent one from for around a grand for the entire body, fenders, etc...

 

[YUKON007]

So to bring this dead thread back to life. Yesterday I pulled the $500 trigger on a 1982 CJ7 . She's rough, and I know little to none about her but i did see it run and she pulled in all gears. I don't have my camera with me but I'll post up some pictures here shortly!

The guy posted it at noon on Tuesday and had to turn his phone off until he sold it to me Wednesday at 6 because people were BLOWING up his phone. Poor guy is probably still getting texts about it.

The good:
The frame was coated at some point and looked actually pretty nice, the coating is peeling off but underneath the frame is great. Even the bad rust spots like right in front of the rear tire didn't look too bad. The engine runs and turned over really well until the battery died, it was an old busted one out of a car. I've got a buddy who loves trucks and she's sitting in one of his garages, I gave him the go ahead to help get her all cleaned up and broken down while I head back out of town on work.

The bad:
The passenger side near the rear of the tub is almost falling off because its rusted out so bad. Its got lots of rust across the whole tub and both driver side and passenger side floor boards are rusted through. We had to pull start it because we didn't have a working battery handy to throw on her. I'm hoping that and a little routine maintenance is the only thing keeping her from running clean. I'm sure there will be more as i start to really investigate!

I'm stoked! and I'll be using the search function on this website extensively. First on the to-do list is tear her down to the frame, research wiring (only thing I don't feel confident in), research regearing, and post up on Craigslist looking for cheap parts.

LET THE FUN BEGIN!!

 

[Hedgehog]

This is a little confusing.
You did not do the trade for the crazy high priced '79 CJ7 .....

You did not hear back from the Scrambler guy......

What you did was buy an '82 CJ7 for $500. The frame is decent, it runs, no battery, drive train seems good, the body is in terrible condition and it sounds like you need a new tub. Is that correct?

 

[YUKON007]

This is a little confusing.
You did not do the trade for the crazy high priced '79 CJ7 .....

You did not hear back from the Scrambler guy......

What you did was buy an '82 CJ7 for $500. The frame is decent, it runs, no battery, drive train seems good, the body is in terrible condition and it sounds like you need a new tub. Is that correct?

100% correct. Sorry for the confusion. The Scrambler guy never called me back and I assume he sold it, still kicking myself for not pestering him more.

Since missing out on the Scrambler I've been hunting in the Limited market of Alaska for a decent CJ project. When I saw the 1982 CJ7 for $500 I quickly pulled the trigger. Now comes the fun part.

 

[Hedgehog]

Ohhh yeah this is the fun part. Tubs can be had for not a lot of money, the problem is shipping them to you. For a CJ7 a Wrangler tub will also work. You probably should scrap this thread and post on your new vehicle dumping all the information about the other vehicles. Also edit your profile. Projects like your can be a lot of fun.

 

[YUKON007]

Thanks for the advice, I'll be sure to make a new thread with all my vehicle info on it. Hopefully tonight when I can upload some pics.

You say a wrangler tub will work, is that the same thing as finding a YJ tub? Are YJ and Wrangler synonymous in that '87 to '95 time range? I found a 1992 YJ tub the guy is willing to sell up here and was hoping to look at it tomorrow. Would this work? Jeep Wrangler YJ parts

 

[mtnwhlr]

Thanks for the advice, I'll be sure to make a new thread with all my vehicle info on it. Hopefully tonight when I can upload some pics.

You say a wrangler tub will work, is that the same thing as finding a YJ tub? Are YJ and Wrangler synonymous in that '87 to '95 time range? I found a 1992 YJ tub the guy is willing to sell up here and was hoping to look at it tomorrow. Would this work? Jeep Wrangler YJ parts

Yes it will work it's what I plan on doing their are lots of write ups on this swap.