Guys, I own a fullsize bronco and am in the market for a trail rig. With so much aftermarket support, and I like wheelin small vehciles, especially ones with no doors, top and windshield, I am lookin for an older jeep. Now I do want one that runs ok, shifts ok and the 4wd works. Other than that Im game for whatevr. The only one I have found so far around Louisville is a 78 Cj7. What is the good and bad about this year other than the AMC 20 rear end. Also, its an automatic, a 3 speed auto at that. Good or bad??? Im thinkin bad allready. This is definitely not the one but just askin soem opinions, and what years would be good to try tp find, nothin newer than 81 though, just can't afford it, plus trail mods.
Mooseykat
85 Bronco XLT, 351W H.O.
32" Big O At's on stock susp.
True dual flomaster 40 series mufflers.
Paint and custom center overhead console soon.
Narrow Track axles on a 78, not too bad but I prefer wide track. Rust, rust, rust around Louisville, check the frame good before buying. I am in Louisville and every once in a while you see a decent CJ in the auto trader.
2001 TJ, Far from Stock
83 CJ7 Laredo, Nearly Stock
If it's the stock tranny it will be a turbo 400 with a quadratrac t-case and offset amc 20 rear.It may or may not have low range,look for a small lever on the drivers side of the transmission tunnel.
The AMC 20 rear end will need to have solid axles swapped in if it has not all ready been done. The stock axles are two piece and will spin and fail at the worst time. It is not too expensive to do but it still cost money. If it has an auto tranny it may be a qudra-track (full time) transfer case. CJDave on this board is the resident expert on those, but know that not everyone is a fan of that setup.
Any CJ that is 1976 or newer will have more after market parts available.
It should have the larger brakes with it, a nice feature. The Auto was availble behind the 258 and 304 in '78, and it'll have 3.54 gears standard or 4.09 optional.
My brother has a '79 CJ-5, and he says the '78-'79 years are the best ones to have as far as simplicity to work on, strength of components, and even little things like a different looking speedometer. I dunno, maybe he's just biased, but I'd get it if it looks good. The TH400 is a very stout tranny, but I would get the 1 piece axles with the rear end.
JEEPN
Winter Harbor, Maine
'81 CJ-8 Scrambled, It's a Jeep, Chevy, IHC kinda thing!
'88.5 Zuki, 7" Lift, Locked, Swamped, Rolled, and just generally broken in right!
Everything pre '82 will be narrow track, not all bad but the wide tracks are more preferred. The auto tranny is not the best of trannys when opting for the trails although some do like 'em and swear by them. In my personal opinion I've never been in a factory automatic that I'd own or build for the trails. The older models have a different roll bar and the body of an older CJ is more likely to have rust. In short the better option is to by a Jeep that has as much of the mods. already done to save you money in the long run. They can be fun but can also be a huge money pit especially if it's just going to be an occasional trail rig. Hope we can help you further, Ben
I started out with a 79 jeep. So far I have changed the roll bar to the later style and swapped in wider axles. After the 4" lift, the narrow track was downright scary turning on road or sidehilling offroad. I still have the th400 and qt and like them very well. I swapped the rear axle from a qt wagoneer to the driveshaft still runs straight.
So the only bad thing about the narrow track axles is that well..they are too narrrow, and tipsy on a lift kit??? Or are they weaker?? Also, what is the lowrange on that turbo400 auto. I wheel with a C6 3 speed and I like it, btu would really rather have a 4speed. Also, i heard the later 258's have a carter carb but it uses weird stuff like a computer, I really want simplicity.
Mooseykat
85 Bronco XLT, 351W H.O.
32" Big O At's on stock susp.
True dual flomaster 40 series mufflers.
Paint and custom center overhead console soon.
You must consider priorities, durability, performance, aesthetics. i just picked up a '83 rust bucket with good motor, 5spd, Dana 300, rims and tires for $500. But also have a '79 with 304, lift, and tires i got for about $1400, that was my first. There are plenty out there, just keep searching depending on your preferences, try www.autotrader.com. i recommend anything pre-feedback carb, death to the CJ computer! If your really into the project, find something cheap and enjoy the building process, don't fight it! Good luck!!! Scott...
Anyone know are all post-'82 CJs wide tracks?
My Rides
1979 CJ-7: 304, 3spd, much is my rebuild
1983 CJ-7: 258, 5spd, for Peru Excursion
1989 XJ: has seen every state except Hawaii
I bought a 78CJ7 with the t400 and Qtrac - If I had it to do over I would have bought a CJ with a D300 T/Case rather than the QTrac. My Qtrac worked fine but I ended up doing a lot of swapping - adapter for the Turbo 400 to go to a gear type T/Case, differant rear axle to make it work and so on etc. It would have been much cheaper to have started with something else. The Qtrac Transfer case is good but will not hold up as well under heavy abuse as a gear type case. This is not from my experience but from reading of others posts. CJDave's posts have a wealth of exellent info on the QTrac. Seems that for moderate use offroad it is good and seems very good for wet or snow use onroad. Be sure what you will end up using it for and go from there. My .02.
Good Luck.
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