Your Dream CJ Build

[Captain Phoenix]

The game today is to outline the "perfect" CJ build that is a street legal expedition vehicle/rock crawler.

You buy an old CJ7 (~1984 / wide track) to build and your budget is the cost of a brand new Rubicon X (~$40,000). List all aftermarket upgrades you would do (brand/model) and preferably why that one over another.

The basic criteria are as follows:

- Price is no option but extra expense must be justifiable, so a 10% upgrade in quality for double the price is no good.

- It should still be street legal and have very minimal body modification.

- You don't have to post a whole build, just chime in with whatever parts you want to.

- Feel free to *politely* disagree with peoples' ideas if you think something else is better quality, or better for any other reason.

 

[Captain Phoenix]

- Re-manufactured AMC 258 i6 / 4.2l and a Mopar MPI system to go on it.
- Sandblast the frame and undercoat it. (I am working under the assumption that hard chroming the frame would be prohibitively expensive.)
- New steel body tub and Line-X the interior and possibly under it as well. (Can you spray on bed liner as undercoat without messing up the fit?)
- Currie 9" Axles front and rear geared for 35-36 inch tires
- Borg-Warner T-18 Transmission rebuilt by Novak Conversions
- Re-gear the Dana 300 to 4:1 with LoMax from JB Conversions
- Dana 300 Rotation Kit from Advance Adapters
- Advance Adapters 32 spline output shaft for the Dana 300
- White Knuckle Off Road Rock Sliders
- Kilby Onboard Air
- Powertrax No-Slip Traction System
- 12,000 lb Warn waterproof winch
- Dual Batteries
- 1" body lift and 4" OME suspension lift (I'm taking an uneducated guess at the lift necessary to run 36" tires)
- Dual Batteries
- Possibly "paint" it with Line-X

I'm working with a strong bias towards the AMC 258 i6 / 4.2l but I don't know much about the torque specs of the AMC V8s. That is why I am going with a basically new AMC 258 i6 / 4.2l with high quality fuel injection instead of upgrading to a bigger engine. I want the high torque at low RPMs of the AMC 258 i6 / 4.2l ...

Also, I chose Currie axles because they seem to be very well built and stronger than normal Dana 60 axles. I don't know how they fit in the price/quality spectrum though, please enlighten me.

I chose a Warn winch because I frequently find myself off road alone and want a winch I know will ALWAYS work. I don't know much about winch brands though so if people feel there are toher brands just as reliable that cost less, I'm all ears.

 

[IOPort51]

My jeep with a T-18 and a tera low Dana 300 .

 

[Old Dog]

Like IO I would keep most of what I have now.
The glass body would stay, the 350 and auto Transmission would stay.
I would go SOA with some Alcan springs and some 60/61" wide Dynatrac 60 axles with selectable lockers (ARB or Ox)
so I could run 37 or 38's and stretch it a couple inches both front and rear.
An Atlas 4 speed tc would find a home in it also.
I think a lot depends on where you wheel as the terrain is quite different in different parts of the country.
Around hear we have a lot of hills,dirt and rocks so we need both low speed crawling rocks and higher speed for the dirt and hills.

 

[cj7inthetwigs]

Yep, my 86 with the AMC 258 i6 / 4.2l rebuilt adding the mpi kit and a "aluminum " 4.0 head. Been reading the Hesco or Clifford aluminum head vastly improved hp. Lomax kit for my 300. 44 frontend making both 44's… 456 gears maybe with cable actuated ox lockers.. Disc brakes on rear.. 4" BDS lift , yj springs up front, 1.5 body lift ,1/2" shackle…. 35x10.5 muds on a 8" wheel… Warn winch with some type of air system because $ is no problem. Swing away tire carrier… full cage welded into the frame and 5 point harness… and some nice speakers because sometimes you just gotta jam…. Thats it for now

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[fishinfool98]

I already did but it's never going to be done.
When the $$ comes I will go with an atlas 4 to 1, raceline beadlocks and rcv shafts


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[mtnwhlr]

It would look something like this.

 

[Petescj]

I wouldnt start with a CJ7 . Id look for a CJ6 or CJ8 and then start building.

 

[caveman]

I wouldnt start with a CJ7 . Id look for a CJ6 or CJ8 and then start building.

The CJ8 scrambler has always been on my dream list. A couple inches of lift and 32 inch tires and i would be golden.

 

[rr41mag]

I've got it. Bought it from a farm in Texas with 4800 miles on it.

 

[cj7inthetwigs]

I dream of some cool flares that don't make me think "do square headlights come with these". That is a NICE jeep btw, no harm intended folks. Maybe in the future I will put a pair on mine but for now I like"m round! Im still dead set on my little AMC 258 i6 / 4.2l but can feel a bowtie more than ever so who knows.

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[davey25]

Ford Windsor small block..massaged quite nicely...T-18 .Dana 300 .. 9 inches front and rear..4 wheel disc..some 35s..nice cage..plus all the small goodies..new steel body..mint frame..

 

[HackFabrication]

If I'm building it from 'ground up', I'd also go with the CJ8 style for more interior room and wheelbase.

Since this is about creating an Expedition type vehicle with good highway manners, I'll just start with the running gear:

New frame from TDK. Spec'd for TJ style suspension.
Custom width axles, Dana 60's front and rear.
ARB or OX lockers front/rear.
Hydro-boost powered disc brakes front/rear.
38 inch tires.
Rim size dictated by brake clearance.
Engine in the 5.3-5.8L size, either Chevy, Ford, or Dodge.
Either a NV4500 or a built AOD, 700R4, etc.
STaK 4sp Transfer Case .

 

[Hedgehog]

I'd like to get a ford Bronco with a 351, T-18 Transmission , 9 inch rear, with nice bigger than stock tires and all the other things that make Ford parts great for off road. Then rip the Bronco body off the frame and stick an aftermarket Scrambler body on it. I see so many folks taking perfectly good Jeeps and sticking all manner of parts under them, so I figure it would be cheaper to start with a good vehicle like a Bronco and make it look like a Jeep.

 

[Petescj]

I'd like to get a ford Bronco with a 351, T-18 Transmission , 9 inch rear, with nice bigger than stock tires and all the other things that make Ford parts great for off road. Then rip the Bronco body off the frame and stick an aftermarket Scrambler body on it. I see so many folks taking perfectly good Jeeps and sticking all manner of parts under them, so I figure it would be cheaper to start with a good vehicle like a Bronco and make it look like a Jeep.

..

 

[rr41mag]

i'd like to get a ford bronco with a 351, T-18 Transmission , 9 inch rear, with nice bigger than stock tires and all the other things that make ford parts great for off road. Then rip the bronco body off the frame and stick an aftermarket scrambler body on it. I see so many folks taking perfectly good jeeps and sticking all manner of parts under them, so i figure it would be cheaper to start with a good vehicle like a bronco and make it look like a jeep.

not!!

 

[Torxhead]

I'd like to get a ford Bronco with a 351, T-18 Transmission , 9 inch rear, with nice bigger than stock tires and all the other things that make Ford parts great for off road. Then rip the Bronco body off the frame and stick an aftermarket Scrambler body on it. I see so many folks taking perfectly good Jeeps and sticking all manner of parts under them, so I figure it would be cheaper to start with a good vehicle like a Bronco and make it look like a Jeep.

You wanna explain the logic behind that? In the 25 years I have been wheeling from what I have seen the tougher the situation is for a CJ the better it looks. The Bronco is a fine vehicle BTW, so nothing against them.Everything has its limits.

 

[cj7inthetwigs]

At what point is a jeep still considered a jeep and when is it not considered a jeep? Im a ball in high weeds now

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[mtnwhlr]

At what point is a jeep still considered a jeep and when is it not considered a jeep? Im a ball in high weeds now

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I would say when you remove the heart it is no longer a true Jeep it becomes a half breed.

 

[Old Dog]

At what point is a jeep still considered a jeep and when is it not considered a jeep? Im a ball in high weeds now

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IMO if it looks like a jeep it's a jeep.
Mine is an AMC (all makes combined) for sure.