Just sold my truck and am now looking for something a little more to my liking.
Our local mechanic has just offered me his personal '77(?) CJ-7 with the AMC V8, slushbox etc. It's a hardtop car, all the interior looks present and correct, it's not leaking oil (how did that happen?) and it seems to drive OK (for a CJ). The lower half hasn't composted itself either, plus it looks very much like the 77k on the clock are genuine. It does have a couple of rust bubbles and a couple of dings that would need addressing but it's quite far away from a Fred Flintstone car.
Oh, and it's got a posi in the rear and an ARB air locker in the front, but doesn't have stupid lifts or anything in the way of massive suspension mods.
What says this panel of enablers? Would I be stupid to pass this up? Wife says I'd be daft not to jump on it 'cos she'd like an old Jeep in the family.
Oh, and just how bad is the fuel consumption on these?
Where is the question again?
What is teh downside?
You already made the decision, now you are just bragging!
I haven't really - it's a little over my budget and I'm supposed to look at a clean Samurai tonight.
Hmm. Why don't I go and find out if my insurance agent is open today...
Is it a Quadratrac? You don't want that.
http://jubileejeeps.org/quadratrac/
Samauris are cool, but miserable on-road.
Do it. You'll be more happy with it than a samurai(not that they are bad).
Fuel consumption isn't very good, but largely dependent on how you drive, as well as tire size and gearing.
There would be minimal difference on the insurance premium between those two. I always wish that I had kept my Jeep. In your climate that Jeep will remain in good condition for a long time and parts are very available.
What is the asking price?
nobody buys a jeep for the gas mileage. Sounds like a decent survivor and not the project like the cj8 you were looking at. Posi and front locker will get you into and - probably out of - most trails up to the ones with warnings about body carnage.
Yeah, the lockers will get you into a heap of trouble. Thankfully the front one is selectable.
Well, I've done it. Register it tomorrow, pick it up on Wednesday morning.
oldtin wrote:
nobody buys a jeep for the gas mileage. Sounds like a decent survivor and not the project like the cj8 you were looking at. Posi and front locker will get you into and - probably out of - most trails up to the ones with warnings about body carnage.
Yeah, it's a survivor but not a project by the looks of it - to the extent that a CJ isn't a project at least. I had a good look and poke around underneath it and like what I saw - some surface rust, but OTOH the suspension appears to be all polybushed and it's pretty clean. Needs a new lower steering shaft boot but that's only ten bucks.
Sweet - congrats on pulling the trigger and as DrBoost sez.....PICS
Yeah, pics to come when I got it home - well, probably next weekend actually.
Nicely done! If you need anything for the engine, let me know 
An idea how to extract more than the standard 130-odd hp might be a good start 
BoxheadTim wrote:
An idea how to extract more than the standard 130-odd hp might be a good start
How far do you want to dig into the engine?
How much smog-equiptment do you need to keep it legal?
I'd scrap as much smog gear as I could, and get a better cam/intake/carb combo.
Wiki lists the 77 304 as 150 HP, 79 was 130.
Yeah, that was my mistake - it's a 79, not a '77, and it still has all its smog gear (which is useful around here in case I'd have to sell it as it means it's still OK to register in CA and the Reno and Las Vegas areas).
Obviously I'd prefer to not dig too deep into the engine. Guess some headers, intake and cam might help.
First, let's see how it does as a commuter.
AMC's are actually pretty OK with the smog stuff. Compression will be low on that mill, and you have the bad rockers (non-performance is all). Step 1 is exhaust, AMC V8's absolutely must have free-flowing exhaust. Edelbrock makes some very smart smog-legal and CARB approved shorty headers that retain the EGR and AIR. From there just do a nice 2.5" dual setup.
Once that's done go for some induction. An Edelbrock Performer EGR and a good carb of your choice (600-650cfm) will help immensely. AMC's also like strong ignitions, and the Pertronix unit is great or the Jacobs DUI complete distributor. The Mallory Uni-Lite is also well known and liked at this level. With some tuning you should be around 200-225HP here with a usable 300-330TQ.
Unfortunately doing a cam will suck. I'm even pretty sure you'd have to pull the motor in a CJ. If you do that, just grab a 360 and do a bench build before throwing it in. It's pretty easy to get 300HP/380TQ from a 360 and still be smog and CARB legal (as far as they know, it will have a different cam and pistons, but will pass smog).
Do NOT ever let the oil go in that engine. AMC's have a weak factory oil setup. Run good oil, and keep it full. No hard cornering or extreme wheelin angles until you get a baffled pan.
Thanks for the info. It's got a Holley carb on the regular manifold, and it does appear to have some sort of aftermarket ignition already.
Guess I'll check re the oil pan and then check out some headers...
How expensive are these engines to rebuild in case it needs it?
Pretty affordable actually. There's more aftermarket support out for AMC now then ever. If you ever do a rebuild, order a main oil line kit and a sleeved timing cover from my Grandfather. He invented them racing for AMC in the late 60's/early 70's with his S/S AMX and still makes them. The sleeve machining is in the oil pump in the timing cover (stock is aluminum housing with steel gears, he machines the cover and inserts a steel sleeve). The oil line kit requires you drill and tap the block, but it pretty much takes care of all of the oiling issues.
Rebuild kits (rings/bearings/gaskets) are just as cheap as every other non-SBC/SBF V8 and available everywhere. Pistons are pretty easy on the 360/401, and a little harder on the 304.
Hmm. That sounds like it'll be worth searching out a 360 if/when the time comes and we'll keep the Jeep that long.
I'd love a lightly modified open top Jeep of some kind. My basically stock XJ is okay and all, but I would rather a CJ, YJ, or TJ.
I miss my '79 CJ with the 4.2.
