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I am looking for a project jeep for this winter and going forward...I have found a few but I live in Iowa and it is hard to find anything not rusted out or already restored. Anyways I found a supposed Silver Anniversary jeep looks legit lots of rust though. My question is if the motor and tranny match and the frame is straight, How much does the value decrease if I were to restore with a fiberglass tub? (Some, a lot, a little??)
With the Anniversary are they often faked? How careful should one be?
I have never heard of a fake 25th Anniversary but I suppose you could, the hardest part would be to reproduce the dash plaque stating that it is a 25th Anniversary model. I personally don’t like fiberglass bodies but that’s me. From a value stand point it depends up the next buyer but out here in the West I think there is a bit of a discount when compared to good condition/nice jeeps. Fiberglass has grounding issues and they break where metal bends; pros and cons to that. You might check with Willis Overland up in Toledo as they have all of the original Jeep drawings from when Chrysler took over Jeep. (If you can believe it, Chrysler was going to throw them out until these guys bought them) Their metal tubs will bolt on in about 45 minutes as they make sure the all of the connection points meet factory spec.
My question is how much is a CJ rust bucket in Iowa?
Its hard to find anything for under $2500 rusty. Im not sure if thats good or not. and Im talking stick your fist through the front quarter panels rusty. I have found a Golden Eagle and Renegades for 2500 to 4000 rusty. Found the silver ann. Renegade for 3500 in Colorado rusty. They all have the AMC 304 but basically beyond patch body work at this point. I am eventually wanting to do a complete frame off build starting with mechanical work.
I am from Iowa as well. Last summer I went in search of a project Jeep. I looked at a lot of Jeeps before I found the one that I wanted and it was in MN. I drove to central Missouri, Nebraska, and MN. checking out various CJ5s and CJ7s. I check on Craigslist every once in a while, and a lot of the Jeeps that I passed on this summer are still there. Anyway, if you want to send me a PM I'll fill you in on some of the things that I learned along the way. By the way, if you find something that is not rusted through and is actually drivable you are looking at between $3000 to $3500.
I paid $900 for this Jeep it had a engine fire and needed all new wiring and I replaced the front clip and add the Warn Winch and new flairs. But I have wheeled the out of it and have had a great time it does't look great but it does what I want a Jeep for. If I wanted something to only drive on sunny days and never leave the pavement I would still have a hot rod.I forgot to post the pic so it will be in the next post.
'79 Jeep CJ7 Renegade with 304ci V8, TH400 auto, Quadratrac T-case, Stock 20 and 30 rears with no mods yet, not sure of the gear ratio.. 4" Softride Superlift, w/widetrac shock towers and 35x12.50x15 BFG Mud-Terrains
'76 CJ5, 232 ci, T-150 3-speed, D20 T-case, Corp. 20 rear w/full float axles and lockout hubs and Detroit auto locker, D30 front w/lockout hubs, gear ratio is unknown..
I am looking for a project jeep for this winter and going forward...I have found a few but I live in Iowa and it is hard to find anything not rusted out or already restored. Anyways I found a supposed Silver Anniversary jeep looks legit lots of rust though. My question is if the motor and tranny match and the frame is straight, How much does the value decrease if I were to restore with a fiberglass tub? (Some, a lot, a little??)
With the Anniversary are they often faked? How careful should one be?
It's been my experience that most jeeps in Iowa, have rust. If you are planning on buying a new tub, as well as pay as much as 3000 for a rusty Jeep, let me just say this... take your time, regardles of the shape of the body, make sure the frame underneath is fairly solid.. some rust in the frame is ok if you are good with your hands and can weld, and the most common areas are the rear frame horns, which in my opinion, is an easy fix. What I'm trying to tell you, is don't be afraid to look at a rusty jeep, and you shouldn't have to pay more than 1000 for something that needs a body anyway. An example, I recently went to Newton to look at a hardtop and doors, hood, grill and some other stuff, that the guy was asking 250 for, after looking it over I offered AMC 150 and he sold them to me, and then in the same breath, asked me to take a look at a Jeep he had in the garage he was thinking about selling... rust is an understatement, but the frame was pretty solid, had a couple repairs, but it had a newer 4" lift, new body panels and floor pans, and a nice set of turbine wheels with decent tires, which he said were not for sale... I told him that with the wheels and tires, I wouldn't give him more than 250, beause the body was basically scrap metal, in which he came back with, well that's probably what he'd do with the whole thing.. I said that would be a shame, but then he says, how about I give him 200 bucks for everything Jeep related in his garage, including the parts I had already offered AMC 150 for.. SOLD!!!
There are deals out there my friend, and this may be a rare instance for this CJ, but earlier this year I bought another CJ5 from a guy here in Fort Dodge for 800, that has almost no rust, and after a new distributor, fuel pump, and a soon to be installed clutch rod, is a driver. Tubs are expensive new, put the money you'll save into the body you're going to need... look into southern salvage yards as well, when I was building my CJ7 , and looking for a tub, I ran across a guy that makes trip down south and would bring back a rust free tub for 7-800 bucks, and I ended up converting a YJ tub that I found for 350, so look at all your avenues and if you need help with anything let me know, I have a few parts laying around, and the YJ conversion is pretty simple too, if you choose to go that way, but only for a CJ7 , if that's what you choose to buy.
1983 cj7 , six cylinders , 5 speed , 2.5 inch skyjacker suspension lift , 2 inch body , 35 x 12.50 x 15's ,one piece axles , just bought this cj after PO stored for the past 25 yrs ,
out of it and have had a great time it does't look great but it does what I want a Jeep for. If I wanted something to only drive on sunny days and never leave the pavement I would still have a hot rod.I forgot to post the pic so it will be in the next post.
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