Opinions needed!! Trade my jeep???

[rfonte7]

Hey all, Need some opinions here. Please bear with my possibly lenghty thread. I have a 78 CJ7 . SOA, 350 with th350. Stock front and rear axles with 3:73's. Rear has new superior one piece. All NEW bushings from springs to tie rods to sway bar. New brakes and bearings all around. Basically everthing underneath is new including the springs. No top or doors. Body is rough!! Brand new 33 x 13.50 swampers. and other small stuff I have done in last 2 months. (tune up, newer seats, bikini top) No heater, homemade dash by PO, plastic gas tank behind rear seat, and some other small stuff that annoys me. NOW.....I found an 85 CJ7 that a guy will trade me even up for. Decent body, hard top and doors, good tires, AMC 258 i6 / 4.2l engine, etc...) No lift. I have only had my jeep 2 months and am trying to make it driveable on the street. (Had no sway bar and steering was shot.) I now have it driveable and it handles pretty good (IMO) considering the lift and tires. i only plan to drive it on short trips on weekends. It is just kinda a summer beater if you will. I have yet to take it offroad though. I know it will be capable though. With all my new parts I have on it, would I be stupid to trade this guy? I like that his jeep isn't as tall, and the body is nice and it has a top and a dash and heater. I don't like the AMC 258 i6 / 4.2l engine and I'd like it to have atleast some lift. I don't want to spend the money on a new tub and fenders on mine because I think there are too many other small things that would have to be purchased to get it that way I want it and I'd be better off buying a different jeep. I do like my motor and Transmission though. I don't rock climb as I live in southern indiana. I will hopefully just trail and maybe a little mud in either jeep I have, so the SOA is probably more than I need, but I like the look, its just so damn tall. Ask any questions and please give me input. If it helps a paid 1500 two months ago for mine and he is asking 2500 for his now. Money wise I'd probably break even, but I'm not sure I'd be happy with it not lifted and all stock. I don't know what gears he has either so if I do lift it down the road, I would ahve to change gears maybe. Finally, I would have to leave it as-is for a while as I am getting married in 8 weeks! So funds will be Limited for a while. Thanks in advance for reading all this and for your input!!!

 

[Cheepjeep85]

well if you trade him you can enjoy the jeep in the winter time with out spending an assload of money. you also can drive it everyday as is, you should get better gas mileage. you can spend the money from all of the small stuff yours needs on a lift for the new jeep, and you will wind up with a more reliable, more "together" jeep. by the sounds of your situation my advice is to trade, i would.

 

[rfonte7]

I'm kinda thinking along the same lines as you are. I'm mostly worried about down the road if I will be happy with the power of the AMC 258 i6 / 4.2l (i have never drove or rode in one) if I were to lift it and put tires on it. Will it be capable in the woods? I assume it would as I would be a "weekend warrior" at best. I hate being under powered though!!

 

[Old Dog]

IMO if you play in the mud, keep the 350 you need the power.

 

[Cheepjeep85]

x2 on the mud buggy. but a AMC 258 i6 / 4.2l has plenty of power for everything else, i think you'd be pretty happy with it in a little mud, but as you know you need torque and high rpms for the sticky stuff

 

[Tommy]

I would go with the '85. It's newer, stock and road ready even for the winter. I run a AMC 258 i6 / 4.2l and it has plenty of get up and go and doesn't snap other drive line links. Ran the Rubicon this summer with no problem. Pictures would help and also more info on the '85. It sounds like a solid base to build from though.

Tommy

 

[Kane]

I agree with the trade. The AMC 258 i6 / 4.2l is a great motor. I just bought a scrambler to build into a dedicated wheeler and the AMC 258 i6 / 4.2l is staying in the Jeep even though I have a spare v8 in my garage and a v8 in my street jeep. The AMC 258 i6 / 4.2l has enough power for fun but the driveline will like you much better if you decided to put your foot in the gas while in low range.

 

[rfonte7]

Thanks for all the replies. I slept on it last night and still am undecided. I have my jeep close to the way I need it ATLEAST for trail purposes. There are alot of little things I'd like to do but I have the "I'm never satisfied syndrome" as my fiance would say. I know my current jeep will never be a "nice looking" jeep, but I think it will go through anything. I wish I had had more time to get this thing on the trail. Since I only had it two months, its hard for me to say if its what I need on the trail or not. It boils down to I need to decide if I want a trail jeep or a street jeep. That is my opinion atleast. I know the 85 could be both, but I know how I am too. If its got a decent body and I spend time making it nice, I will have a REAL hard time taking it offroad and tearing it up! I will try to get some pics up today.

 

[IOPort51]

I think you should keep what you have.
you could drive that into the ground with no feeling of remorse at all.

 

[rfonte7]

Hey guys, couldn't attach pictures to this thread. Please go to members gallery under rfonte7 and see the few pics that I put up. A few are of my jeep and 2 are of the 85 that the guy wants to trade. Let me know what you think!!!

 

[hole]

If it were me, and the 85 wasnt bubba'ed. Had the top and doors. Runs great. I would do it. It will cost less to operate, simple to maintain and break less driveline parts. But most important for me, is the ability to drive it during the winter if need be. I've had to use my 8 more than once for work when something unexpected happened to my work truck. My .02ct

 

[Tommy]

If the top and doors fit right on the '85, I would go with that. Drive it around and see how it feels. With what you want to do it should handle it very well. Height and horsepower are overrated for most wheeling. I think you will get a lot of good wheeling years out of the '85 without a lot of work and breakage. Make sure it all works though. Good luck either way you go. There's a lot of good info in this forum to help you with everything for both vehicles and plenty of help when you have specific questions.

Tommy