Rant, help, trying to make a decision on my CJ7
shad0wrider
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- Mission Viejo
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- '86 CJ7, 258 w/ Mopar MPI, T-5/Dana 300, D30, AMC 20 w/ Superior 1-piece axles, 4"+ suspension lift, sway bar discos, 35" General Grabber X3's, winch...
Hello all, sorry for such a long first post!
So, I've owned my 1986 CJ7 for about 26 years. I've never planned on getting rid of it. It was my daily driver for about 12 years. But when I purchased a new vehicle in 2004 the Jeep has been pretty neglected. It's driven occasionally, it's fun, but the wifie doesn't like to go off-road, so its dirt time has been very Limited . I used to be on the trails several times a month before family.
I’ve modified it here and there with bits and pieces. Superior one-piece rear axles, 4” lift, sway-bar disconnects, winch, and the big one, it has Mopar MPI system installed. It also has a hard-top and factory air.
The Jeep has been drivable still, continues to pass smog, runs fine but the motor has 180k+ miles on it. The body is starting to get a couple SMALL places where I can see rust starting under the paint. Nothing major, probably easily fixable. The rest of the paint is messy as it’s been sitting for so long. The frame is completely fine, no rust that I can find.
My son is almost to the age where he will start driving in a year or so. My plan was to start fixing the Jeep up for myself and let him drive the “safer” Silverado 2500HD 4x4. I want to get back into off-roading with the kids.
Step one was to replace the 15+ year old tires. On Thursday, I finally had brand new 35” rubber installed. I was so freaking excited! They look great. I figured now I can start driving it daily again, figuring out what to work on next, slowly getting it how I want it over time.
I was driving it around all day with a big smile on my face. Last thing I needed to do was to pick up my daughter from sports. On the way home, the engine blew. I have no idea what went wrong, but it sounded like something snapped and started making a banging sound. I thought maybe it was a belt that broke and was spinning around in the engine compartment slapping everything. I barely got it into a parking lot before it stalled. I could not find anything broken under the hood. I turned the key and the engine sounds like it’s tearing itself apart from the inside. So freaking disappointed…
I’m afraid it’s just become too big of a project for me now. I’m not capable of removing the engine and trying to rebuild it myself. I wasn’t expecting to need to drop the funds necessary to need to rebuild the motor yet. I knew it was old, but still was running fine. Now my literally brand new tires with less than 10 miles on them are going to be just sitting. My new spare isn’t even mounted yet since I need to purchase another wheel big enough to mount it.
I’m trying to decide whether to invest in rebuilding this full-force or sell it and cut my losses. I’ll probably only get pennies on the dollar for it considering. If I decide to rebuild, it probably means selling our 1974 MGB that I purchased as a project car about two years ago. I had to have the motor rebuilt on it, then started the rest of the restoration with my son and I doing the work. It’s also a fun car to drive and runs pretty well now. One of the things I tossed around in my head for rebuilding was to see what other motor might be a better candidate for the CJ, however, being in California engine swaps are pretty much a no-go without jumping through major hoops, so I will stick with the AMC 258 i6 / 4.2l straight 6.
If I sold it, I would probably end up buying another Jeep a few years down the road, once my wife’s vehicle is paid off, but it won’t be a CJ7 , which to me has such a cool factor.
Anyway, thanks for listening to my rant. If anyone has any opinions or advice, I love to hear them.
So, I've owned my 1986 CJ7 for about 26 years. I've never planned on getting rid of it. It was my daily driver for about 12 years. But when I purchased a new vehicle in 2004 the Jeep has been pretty neglected. It's driven occasionally, it's fun, but the wifie doesn't like to go off-road, so its dirt time has been very Limited . I used to be on the trails several times a month before family.
I’ve modified it here and there with bits and pieces. Superior one-piece rear axles, 4” lift, sway-bar disconnects, winch, and the big one, it has Mopar MPI system installed. It also has a hard-top and factory air.
The Jeep has been drivable still, continues to pass smog, runs fine but the motor has 180k+ miles on it. The body is starting to get a couple SMALL places where I can see rust starting under the paint. Nothing major, probably easily fixable. The rest of the paint is messy as it’s been sitting for so long. The frame is completely fine, no rust that I can find.
My son is almost to the age where he will start driving in a year or so. My plan was to start fixing the Jeep up for myself and let him drive the “safer” Silverado 2500HD 4x4. I want to get back into off-roading with the kids.
Step one was to replace the 15+ year old tires. On Thursday, I finally had brand new 35” rubber installed. I was so freaking excited! They look great. I figured now I can start driving it daily again, figuring out what to work on next, slowly getting it how I want it over time.
I was driving it around all day with a big smile on my face. Last thing I needed to do was to pick up my daughter from sports. On the way home, the engine blew. I have no idea what went wrong, but it sounded like something snapped and started making a banging sound. I thought maybe it was a belt that broke and was spinning around in the engine compartment slapping everything. I barely got it into a parking lot before it stalled. I could not find anything broken under the hood. I turned the key and the engine sounds like it’s tearing itself apart from the inside. So freaking disappointed…
I’m afraid it’s just become too big of a project for me now. I’m not capable of removing the engine and trying to rebuild it myself. I wasn’t expecting to need to drop the funds necessary to need to rebuild the motor yet. I knew it was old, but still was running fine. Now my literally brand new tires with less than 10 miles on them are going to be just sitting. My new spare isn’t even mounted yet since I need to purchase another wheel big enough to mount it.
I’m trying to decide whether to invest in rebuilding this full-force or sell it and cut my losses. I’ll probably only get pennies on the dollar for it considering. If I decide to rebuild, it probably means selling our 1974 MGB that I purchased as a project car about two years ago. I had to have the motor rebuilt on it, then started the rest of the restoration with my son and I doing the work. It’s also a fun car to drive and runs pretty well now. One of the things I tossed around in my head for rebuilding was to see what other motor might be a better candidate for the CJ, however, being in California engine swaps are pretty much a no-go without jumping through major hoops, so I will stick with the AMC 258 i6 / 4.2l straight 6.
If I sold it, I would probably end up buying another Jeep a few years down the road, once my wife’s vehicle is paid off, but it won’t be a CJ7 , which to me has such a cool factor.
Anyway, thanks for listening to my rant. If anyone has any opinions or advice, I love to hear them.
