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Wife's new whip
attworth:
After discussing the "new rabbit" conundrum with my wife for the past few months, we decided to take a different route. With me needing to cut back my work hours to concentrate on school, and with the rising cost of... well... everything... we wanted something a little more utilitarian (read: useful,) and a little cheaper to buy and maintain. I began searching for something less than 5,000$. I found lots of little cars, which we have aptly referred to as "throw-away cars." None of those really fit our style, our needs, or our desires for a vehicle.
Thinking back to my childhood, I remembered always wanting an old Jeep. Being the ultimate utility vehicle, with a die-hard attitude, and lots and lots of options for customization (a must for me,) it seemed the perfect fit. But it had to pass the wife's tests. She wanted something that could be "cute," wouldn't break the bank, and would be relatively easy for her to get in and out of. I thought an old CJ (without a lift and huge tires,) might just fit that description, while slightly bending the rules. I found a really super clean example of a CJ-7 on craigslist, with a link to tons of photos. I thought, what the heck, I'll send her the link. Lo-and-behold, she loved it! A few days later, I made an appointment to go check out the Jeep. With the wife getting excited, and me re-learning all there is to know about the CJ, it seemed like a great idea.
We arrive at the fellas house, poke around, climb inside, and lift the hood. My first order of business was finding rust. Frame rust was no worse than surface rust on brakes. Easily removed by just wiping with my finger. Some POR-15 will ensure it stays that way for eternity. The body has some decent rust holes here and there, but nothing we can't tackle. (Notice I said we?) While the wife crawled inside to see how it felt, I checked under the hood. Every hose, every fuel line, the battery, the radiator, ground and power wires - ALL brand new. Sweet. But was he just putting on a show? I removed large boxy air cleaner. Carb is clean as a whistle, and the air filter is brand new. This guy ain't cutting corners. Kick the tires, check for leaks. All is good. The thing that sold the lady was of course the interior.
:flag:
We're going to pick it up tonight. :thumbsiup:
GreyMichFX4:
Very cool find. :thumbsiup: It looks like the engine was a complete rebuild from looking at the pic because the engine bay is really clean for the vintage Jeep. Are you going to just patch the rust or get a fiberglass body?
attworth:
I'm not sure if the whole engine was redone, or just the accessories. The Alt is new, even the overflow tank for the radiator is new. The valve cover has been repainted, but the head and block look original.
I'm not sure about the body yet. We've found replacement fenders already. I might patch the body from the inside and use body filler on the outside for now. I'll post good pictures and my ideas later in the week probably to get some input. The worst part of it is in the rear near where the rollbar mounts and where the filler neck for the gas tank is. That'll be a trip to a fab shop for a piece of bent steel. We're planning to herculiner the interior.
Edit: Notice the windshield frame is green? It's already been replaced. That makes life easier. (where's the MJ emote?)
GreyMichFX4:
The spots that I see in the pictures are in all the typical spots for a Jeep to rust so there should be premade patch panels available if you want to go that route.
attworth:
--- Quote from: GreyMichFX4 on June 08, 2009, 09:53:34 AM ---The spots that I see in the pictures are in all the typical spots for a Jeep to rust so there should be premade patch panels available if you want to go that route.
--- End quote ---
Yeah, I've been looking, but can't find anything short of the entire side of the tub. I'd rather not replace the entire thing. Got any sources by chance? :NW:
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