Hey guys so I am new to Cj's and based on what this ad says it seems like this is a good buy. I would use it as a DD and occasionally drive it home to CT from Vermont on the Highway. The guy who owns it says it is an offroad jeep and doesn't handle amazing on the road but I see nothing which would prevent me from easily going 70 in it. Here is the ad please tell me what you think, I am sure I am missing something.
Check for rust EVERYWHERE........ these things have issues with frame rot. Did he do the engine upgrade or was it already done????? Make sure engine mounts are adequate.
CJ5s are notorious for very little clearance between steering wheel and seat. If you are a taller/bigger person you MAY not fit. there are also instances where people have cut out the wheel well (see rust issues) to accommodate.
If there are "custom drive shafts"...are they homemade????? What about the axle gearing??? If they are too high..... no way you will reach 70.....
Also..... is there any "Death Wobble" due to improper alignments or wear in lift components.......
If I were looking for a RELIABLE DD...... a 30 year old CJ5 would NOT be very high on my list and I have OWNED one....
Alright I will inquire about all of that thanks. I actually am not a big guy so that is okay. I mean I don't drive my car that much, mostly in the summer. Like I said I need it to get me home for that 4 hour drive maybe 6 times a year. Other than that it is in Vermont for the winter for plenty of fun in the snow. And in CT for the summer where I drive it around town....furthest distance is about 20 minutes usually. Maybe a road trip to Mass. He said it is: "hard to handle"
Alright here are the details. The driveshafts are tom woods custom drive shafts...he said the gears are what is inside the front and rear axle housing but I asked for the ratios. He did the motor swap with his boss at his shop and there is no rust, it is a fiberglass body. Whatcha think? Thanks again I don't wanna screw myself over.
ratio is good...... I would fear "hard to handle" coming from someone WANTING to sell you a vehicle.
Have you driven it yourself???? This handling issue could be "death Wobble" and THAT can kill you at speed...... and will not go away without modifications that can run 1000s if you cannot do it yourself.
You should take someone with you who knows what they are talking about.
Looking at the picture, it is a Pre-'71 CJ. This means it has a VERY short wheelbase at 80.5" and the narrow frame. These older jeeps are re-known for the frame cracking if they have been off-roaded a bunch and you will need to check the frame for rust being that it is a northeast jeep. Dana 20 transfer cases leak gear oil like it is going out of style.
$6000 is also a very high price for a jeep this old. I wouldn't spend over 3k for an early CJ unless it was in mint condition.
I bought my '74 CJ-5 last year in running condition for $2500 and I think I over paid for it.
35's and 3.73's are not ideal with a 4 spd transmission and your gas mileage is going to suck.
Have someone that knows something about CJ's go with you. Tons of hidden areas too look out for especially northeast winter driven Jeeps. I wouldn't pay 6K for a CJ5 from that picture on his ad.
I'd buy a fuel injected YJ before I bought that Jeep especially if you are doing any highway driving.
That wheelbase with those tires won't be fun to drive and you won't have a rollbar to protect any passengers in the back. Will you be driving with kids in the back?
Alright, well to respond to your questions I will not have kids in the back though maybe the occasional friend (I'm 20, too young for kids right now). I would like them to be safe though if possible haha.
It seems like an old cj5 may be a bad idea so I have looked into this 1985 CJ7, what do you guys think?
That one has a gear ratio of 4.10. Also it has never seen salt and is never driven in the winter. I feel like this one may be a better bet on the highway for those occasional trips. I believe the CJ-7 has a wider wheelbase? Let me know what you guys think!
Thanks again for the quick replies and help, I really appreciate it!
Exact same set of issues with a longer wheel base....... I concur with the YJ comment.... unless you are dead set on a CJ....... this is STILL kind of expensive....
Well technically speaking by the book my car is valued at 6k. Also I asked what he felt was rough about the handling and he said: "It almost wanders because of the big tires you have to pay attention when driving it if you hit a pothole or something." Now I obviously will pay attention but is that something being wrong or just the jeep itself?
He also said the previous owner took it on the highway frequently for work or something. ALso comes with 33" tires so those would definitely help out a bunch on handling I would presume. It also has a Turbo 350 Trans in it. I figure that could handle daily driving and if I really wanted to beat on it I would convert it to stick anyways.
Going 65 on a highway with an old CJ with 35's or even 33's and 6 inches of lift will be a white knuckle ride. If you are really considering this trade then I would go there and drive it on the highway so that you know exactly how it will feel. Even stock, these CJ's didn't handle that great at highway speeds.
The Turbo 350 is a great transmission and will do fine on the highway, it is the suspension and steering components that you will have issues with. What you will see is that a little bit of play in the front shackles will translate into a lot of wander on the road.
Does this jeep have the old manual steering or has it been upgraded to power steering? With large tires the manual steering can be hard to control and the old steering boxes develop a lot of slop in them over time. (Which will also affect you on the highway.)
I hate to steer you away from a CJ. I absolutely love mine, but it's not my daily driver, I don't rely on it at all, and I literally have put 1,500 hours into it in restoration work and modernization parts.... not to mention LOTS of money.
Well I believe he said it had power steering, I will ask tomorrow. I think I will trade and then over the summer I will work on making it a bit safer for the highway. I know it's doable I just can't do it right now. I don't need the car in Vermont anyways so it will probably sit this winter out. Any advise on how to make it a safer highway ride? I'm very happy that the owner put in racing seats and harnesses cause that adds a large amount of safety when lacking air bags.
Too much money for what it is and you're committing to it as your DD. Too many red flags for me. A CJ like that would make a good 2nd or 3rd vehicle but I think after that first 4 hour drive in the winter you'll be kicking yourself.
CJ's are great, that being said I restored a 74' CJ5 for my father and it has stock suspension and little 29" stock sized tires and 65mph is a handful. But the jeep CJ is one of the most fun to drive of any Jeep. I would go test drive it and see how it feels to you. If you like it, get it!
Well I think what my plan is right now is to go forward with the trade assuming I like it. Also I can't drive for two months after Jan 30th for reasons unrelated to driving (stupid laws), so I will leave it at home in CT. Then this summer I will enjoy it as is around town and when the time comes to come back up to VT I will lower it (current owner said change the spring hangers...is this a hard thing to do?) and put the smaller tires on. The owner said I should get a reverse shackle kit for the leaf springs, is this a good idea?
Was also told occasionally when it rains hard some water may trickle down the firewall. Is this normal for them, seems like it is. He said the windshield seal is a bit cracked so I figure that needs to be replaced but that should be just the price of the rubber right?
It is a piece of rubber under the window i believe and its easy to replace when the top is off. And the spring hangers he was talking about are those long ass lift shackles on the ends of the springs. I highly recommend taking them off and getting some closer to stock length. I have done a shackle reversal and didnt really care for it very much. The theory behind reversing the shackles is that the tire moves backwards and up and supposedly makes it ride better and stuff. But all it did for me was cause problems. Long lift shackles screw up front end caster angles and make jeeps drive like crap. I would take them off and go with the 33" tires and that jeep will drive great in my opinion.
How much are the stock ones? Is what's on it sellable? Can I revert the shackles and do an SOA for a safer lift with the 37s?
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