Jeep CJ7

Darrell111

Darrell111

Pre-takeoff checklist
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Feb 17, 2006
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Darrell111
So my Father is giving me one of his 3 Cj's pretty soon. Its an 1981 model with A/C. Im waiting on it to be painted and a couple of minor things done to it before I dive it back to Texas from Alabama.

So Question,,

Anyone on here have one, had one, know about them? Any recommendations on websites I could visit to learn a bit more about them in the mean time while I make decisions on what I want to do to it. I drive a 350z now so this is a bit of a difference in suspension and things of that nature. Honestly, I know nothing about putting bigger tires on it and lifting it up..
 
Darrell111 said:
So my Father is giving me one of his 3 Cj's pretty soon. Its an 1981 model with A/C. Im waiting on it to be painted and a couple of minor things done to it before I dive it back to Texas from Alabama.

So Question,,

Anyone on here have one, had one, know about them? Any recommendations on websites I could visit to learn a bit more about them in the mean time while I make decisions on what I want to do to it. I drive a 350z now so this is a bit of a difference in suspension and things of that nature. Honestly, I know nothing about putting bigger tires on it and lifting it up..
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I used to have a couple CJ's back in the late 70s. Had a 5 and a 7.
Fun vehicles.

My fiancee has a 350z roadster .. great car.
 
I own a pretty built up TJ. When I was first looking at Jeeps I wanted a CJ, there's just something classic about them.
 
I just bought a 2003 Wrangler X last weekend. Still learning the ins-and-outs of the beast myself. It came with Mickey Thompson tires which I think are great so far. Good tread for some off-roading during hunting season this summer, but relatively quiet on the road for the 'bite' they offer.

Within the next few weeks, I'll probably put a set of nerf bars and MAYBE a 1-2" lift on it just to match the looks of the M.T. tires.

So far, I LOVE it. I've wanted a Jeep since high school, and after a great year of cropdusting, I finally had the $$$ to 'blow' on one. :D

Way the by, what part of Alabama will you be coming from?
 
A fairly quiet site, but good folks who know Jeeps - http://www.ilovejeeps.com/

A not so quiet site with lots of folks who know Jeeps (or say they do) - http://www.jeepsunlimited.com/

Some hardcore offroaders - http://www.pirate4x4.com/welcome1.php

And for proper etiquette off-road - http://www.treadlightly.org/

I've got a 1999 Jeep Wrangler Sport with almost 129,000 miles on it. 4 liter I-6 engine. It has one key feature that you'll wish you had if you wheel at higher altitudes - computer fuel injection. Heck, I wish I had it in the planes I fly. :D
 
CJones said:
I just bought a 2003 Wrangler X last weekend. Still learning the ins-and-outs of the beast myself. It came with Mickey Thompson tires which I think are great so far. Good tread for some off-roading during hunting season this summer, but relatively quiet on the road for the 'bite' they offer.

Within the next few weeks, I'll probably put a set of nerf bars and MAYBE a 1-2" lift on it just to match the looks of the M.T. tires.

So far, I LOVE it. I've wanted a Jeep since high school, and after a great year of cropdusting, I finally had the $$$ to 'blow' on one. :D

Way the by, what part of Alabama will you be coming from?
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Sweet ride! The most exciting thing about an old CJ to me is that I think I will actually be able to do some of the work on it myself.

What size tires and rims do you have on it? This so far is quite confusing to me. I again think that I want to do a 33" tire. But im no so sure about the lift portion of it. It seems a lot of people do a combination of a body lift with the suspention lift OR they do one OR the other. I once again think from what I have read so far that a good combination to do a 2 inch suspension lift with a 1 inch body lift. The problem is I do not know WHY that is good. I think I just need to go to an expert and have it all explained to me :yes: OR maybe someone on here knows a bit more

My father lives in Huntsville AL
 
Ghery said:
A fairly quiet site, but good folks who know Jeeps - http://www.ilovejeeps.com/

A not so quiet site with lots of folks who know Jeeps (or say they do) - http://www.jeepsunlimited.com/

Some hardcore offroaders - http://www.pirate4x4.com/welcome1.php

And for proper etiquette off-road - http://www.treadlightly.org/
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Thanks!! This is a great place to start.

It has one key feature that you'll wish you had if you wheel at higher altitudes - computer fuel injection. Heck, I wish I had it in the planes I fly. :D
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That or a Jet engine strapped to it!! :goofy:
 
I've got a 2003 TJ Sport that's got some minor mods for off roading. I've always wanted a CJ to build up. This is where I go for Jeep info.

http://www.colorado4x4.org

Have fun!
 
I've got a 95 Wrangler YJ when I can get it away from my kids. Grew up with a '46 CJ2A, that somehow, some way, my little brother convinced my dad that jeep should be his. He's been restoring it back to original (or as close as he can get it) for the last year or so.
Loads of fun!
 
I put a 4 inch suspension lift and a 1 inch body lift on my TJ to fit 35 inch tires. I'd say that's pretty much the border between "Recreational" and "Serious". Mine will definitely keep up with the best of them, but is still road-legal. I've wheeled with some guys who have smaller rigs like you're describing. It takes more skill, but most of those can go just about anywhere I can.

My (unprofessional) opinion is that 2 inches of lift is fine for 33" tires. Also, in my experience locking axles are definitely a valuable asset. With bigger tires you may want to look at trying to lower gear ratios, either in the axle or the transfer case.

I just talked to my brother, who's much more into this than I am. He says that many people will buy lift shackles as opposed to bigger springs, which is a bad idea. Also, if you plan on going any higher, you might want to consider doing a spring over axle conversion right now. He hangs out a lot on http://www.jeepaholics.com

Finally, Jeeps are great vehicles to do a bunch of work yourself on. They're fairly straightforward, and you can find a lot of help online. My dad and myself did all the work on my Jeep. It's really nice to find someone who knows what they're doing to help you, who can pass on some of their knowledge.
 
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Darrell111 said:
Sweet ride! The most exciting thing about an old CJ to me is that I think I will actually be able to do some of the work on it myself.

What size tires and rims do you have on it? This so far is quite confusing to me. I again think that I want to do a 33" tire. But im no so sure about the lift portion of it. It seems a lot of people do a combination of a body lift with the suspention lift OR they do one OR the other. I once again think from what I have read so far that a good combination to do a 2 inch suspension lift with a 1 inch body lift. The problem is I do not know WHY that is good. I think I just need to go to an expert and have it all explained to me :yes: OR maybe someone on here knows a bit more

My father lives in Huntsville AL
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I've got 31x10.5 - 15 Mickey Thompson Baja Radial MTX on it. Like I said - I like the ride of them. It's not beefy enough to climb rocks, etc., but it'll be good enough for moving through the snow and mud this winter for hunting.

I'm still learning the nuances of the "jeep world" myself. Like I said -- I've wanted one since I was in high school many moons ago, and now that I actually HAVE one, I can't decide what to do to it. ha!

Huntsville, eh? I grew up in Florence/Killen -- about 45 miles west of Huntsville.
 

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... and now you're in Boone, IA? My wife lived in Polk City for a while - talked about Boone, Madrid, Saylorville, etc ...
 
gkainz said:
... and now you're in Boone, IA? My wife lived in Polk City for a while - talked about Boone, Madrid, Saylorville, etc ...
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Yep.. The booming metropolis of Boone, Iowa. Ain't this a crazy messed up world!? I'm just a hop, skip, and jump from Polk City, Madrid and Saylorville.
 
I have a trail ready ’86 CJ7 Laredo with the following:

258 I6 Engine
Webber Carb
5 speed Tranny (Stock T5)
Tom Woods front Drive Shaft
Custom rear Drive Shaft
Dana 44 rear axel with EZ Locker 4:88 Gears
Dana 30 Front axel with Detroit True Track Locker 4:88 Gears
Warn Front Hub conversion
4” Rubicon Express Suspension lift
SS Brake line kit
35” BFG MT
Tomken 2” x 4” Rock Sliders

It’s not pretty but it gets the job done. Another Money Pit!!
 
CJones said:
Yep.. The booming metropolis of Boone, Iowa. Ain't this a crazy messed up world!? I'm just a hop, skip, and jump from Polk City, Madrid and Saylorville.
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My great grandfather was born in Boone. A bit before your time... :D
 
I just got rid of my 2000 TJ. I had a six inch Skyjacker lift and ran 33 tires on it. I loved it. I am really wanting an older late 70s or early 80s CJ7. If you run across another good deal, let me know. That is why I sold my 2000. I want to start looking and when I see one in good condition, jump on it. I rebuild 50s cars so working on them would be easy. I just cannot find any local worth putting money into.

I have a 1948 American LaFrance Fire Truck in case you want one! :)
 
Just got back from my first 'off-road' in the 2003 TJ. I will definitely need to put at least a 2" lift on it for ground clearance. I'm running 31" tires and the belly cross-member has lots of grass and mud hanging from it. VERY fun, though. :D A very basic and short trail, but we've had ~8" of rain in the past 4 days, so it was good and wet. :D
 
CJones said:
Just got back from my first 'off-road' in the 2003 TJ. I will definitely need to put at least a 2" lift on it for ground clearance. I'm running 31" tires and the belly cross-member has lots of grass and mud hanging from it. VERY fun, though. :D A very basic and short trail, but we've had ~8" of rain in the past 4 days, so it was good and wet. :D
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If you lift it, you'll just find higher stuff to hit with it. At least so says my busted tie rod and transmission pan. :(

Also, I'm not the biggest fan of mud... too much work. Rocks are where it's at.
 
bluesky74656 said:
If you lift it, you'll just find higher stuff to hit with it. At least so says my busted tie rod and transmission pan. :(

Also, I'm not the biggest fan of mud... too much work. Rocks are where it's at.
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Ouch! No fun!

Problem with rocks... I live in Iowa... the only rocks we have here are the little ones on the roads or mixed with concrete.
 
CJones said:
Ouch! No fun!

Problem with rocks... I live in Iowa... the only rocks we have here are the little ones on the roads or mixed with concrete.
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True enough. On the positive side, though, you're twice as close as I am to Moab, Utah, and isn't Iowa where I saw Jeep Rd.? I was always at least a bit tempted to get off and see if it lived up to its reputation.
 
todd theres lots of roads in Iowa like at least one every mile. you are going to have to be a lot more specific :)
 
There's actually a road named "Jeep Road". I found it on Google Maps, it's off of I-70 in Kansas. I knew it was one of those flat states.
 
thanks a lot Todd. Ill have you know there are altitude variations of up to 400 feet in iowa!
 
"Welcome to Iowa..... gateway to all those square states"
 
Youse guys didn't tell Darrell the mission of four wheel drive.





It's along the lines of flying a twin.









It lets you get stuck 5 miles further away from civilization than you would have been able to otherwise.
 
I've been driving Jeeps for twenty years now. I've had, or still have, a '80 CJ5, '98 Wrangler, '99 Cherokee, '03 Liberty, '04 Wrangler, and a '43 Willys MB.

In your '81 the transfer case (Dana 300) is the strongest drivetrain component. The transmission is marginal to ok, depending on which one you have. The front axle (Dana 30) is good as long as you don't go too big on tires, no bigger than 33". The rear axle is the weak link. It's an AMC model 20. It'll break. Guaranteed. Mine did. The housing and gears are strong but the axleshaft is weak. Put in a full floating axle kit or swap in a Dana 44 rear axle assembly. The Dana 44 is the cheaper way to go. Make sure the front and rear gear ratios match. You may want to regear anyway. 3.73 or 4.11 is a good gear for 33" tires. As far as lift goes, 2.5" will work for 33" tires. Get a good set of new springs. They're very easy to change. Stay away from extended shackles, they throw the driveline angles off. Also stay away from body lifts. They throw off all your linkages and they look like hel l.

Have fun! Your going to love Jeepin'!
 
Oh, and you will quickly discover as you add mods to you Jeep, JEEP is an acronym for Just Empty Every Pocket. :D
 
drafttek said:
I've been driving Jeeps for twenty years now. I've had, or still have, a '80 CJ5, '98 Wrangler, '99 Cherokee, '03 Liberty, '04 Wrangler, and a '43 Willys MB.

In your '81 the transfer case (Dana 300) is the strongest drivetrain component. The transmission is marginal to ok, depending on which one you have. The front axle (Dana 30) is good as long as you don't go too big on tires, no bigger than 33". The rear axle is the weak link. It's an AMC model 20. It'll break. Guaranteed. Mine did. The housing and gears are strong but the axleshaft is weak. Put in a full floating axle kit or swap in a Dana 44 rear axle assembly. The Dana 44 is the cheaper way to go. Make sure the front and rear gear ratios match. You may want to regear anyway. 3.73 or 4.11 is a good gear for 33" tires. As far as lift goes, 2.5" will work for 33" tires. Get a good set of new springs. They're very easy to change. Stay away from extended shackles, they throw the driveline angles off. Also stay away from body lifts. They throw off all your linkages and they look like hel l.

Have fun! Your going to love Jeepin'!
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.

Oh wow...

I almost feel like I did when I first started flying.. I know nothing!! Seems pretty straitforward but still greek to me ha. Im going to have to do some serious research on this I can tell now.

Thanks! I will reference this in the future when im ready to start doing the upgrades.
 
*Bump*

Just curious how your rig has taken shape over the past year?

I joined a Jeep club here in central Iowa a few weeks ago. I had my first 'real' trail riding weekend before last. What a BLAST!! I am amazed at what a stock Wrangler can do!!

So far, I haven't added any mods other than tow hooks on the front. :( One of the guys in the club said he has some left-over 4" S4T springs he will give me, so all I'll need is some shocks and bump-stops to be ready to go. I broke a swaybar link on my first ride, so I have full-time disco's right now. ;) (I have a new one to put on, just haven't got around to it yet.) Once I get the 4" on, I'll probably make some dicso's of my own. Once the 4" is on, I'll upgrade the (now shot) 31" M/T's to 33" M/T's or A/T's. Probably going with the BFG's this time. Then there will be a locker up front on the D30... I'd like to regear to low-4's (3.73 now)... and the list goes on and on...
 
My dad's version of installing a sway-bar disconnect went something like this:

1.) Remove stock sway bar
2.) Throw as far from vehicle as possible.
3.) Profit.

I have the Currie off-road sway bar. It's hard to tell how well it works, because my suspension is hard as a rock. I can't imagine I'd notice if it were gone.
 
bluesky74656 said:
My dad's version of installing a sway-bar disconnect went something like this:

1.) Remove stock sway bar
2.) Throw as far from vehicle as possible.
3.) Profit.

I have the Currie off-road sway bar. It's hard to tell how well it works, because my suspension is hard as a rock. I can't imagine I'd notice if it were gone.
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One of the guys in our club has the Currie Anti-Rock. He loves it. That, along with RE Monotube shocks, have other people saying his Jeep rides like a Cadillac (or at least as close to a Caddy as a Jeep can get).

What kind of suspension do you have that is so stiff? Mine is a DD, so I have to keep it road-rideable.
 
Darrell111 said:
So my Father is giving me one of his 3 Cj's pretty soon. Its an 1981 model with A/C. Im waiting on it to be painted and a couple of minor things done to it before I dive it back to Texas from Alabama.

So Question,,

Anyone on here have one, had one, know about them? Any recommendations on websites I could visit to learn a bit more about them in the mean time while I make decisions on what I want to do to it. I drive a 350z now so this is a bit of a difference in suspension and things of that nature. Honestly, I know nothing about putting bigger tires on it and lifting it up..
Click to expand...


Well, it's going to be a CJ-7, so I would recommend against the big wheels and lift kit. The best I've ever driven of those was riding on B.F. Goodrich All Terrain T/As. It's a whole different driving experience from your 350, and Jeeps get crappy fuel economy (and the bigger the wheels and higher the lift, the worse it gets as well as making them drive like crap). Do you need a Jeep for something? They're good specialty vehicles, but they are crappy daily drivers.
 
Henning said:
Do you need a Jeep for something? They're good specialty vehicles, but they are crappy daily drivers.
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I would have to disagree. I have a 2003 Jeep TJ Sport with only 31 inch tires on it and no extra lift. Its a great daily driver and has some minor mods for offroading (Dana 44 rear, extra skid plates). Its also been on some pretty tough trails all over Colorado and while its relatively stock can still handle a lot.

Sure a Jeep CJ or Wrangler will never ride like a Lexus SUV, but its a good DD.
 
Anthony said:
I would have to disagree. I have a 2003 Jeep TJ Sport with only 31 inch tires on it and no extra lift. Its a great daily driver and has some minor mods for offroading (Dana 44 rear, extra skid plates). Its also been on some pretty tough trails all over Colorado and while its relatively stock can still handle a lot.

Sure a Jeep CJ or Wrangler will never ride like a Lexus SUV, but its a good DD.
Click to expand...

Nothing that gets less than 20mpg around town is a good daily driver.
 
CJones said:
One of the guys in our club has the Currie Anti-Rock. He loves it. That, along with RE Monotube shocks, have other people saying his Jeep rides like a Cadillac (or at least as close to a Caddy as a Jeep can get).

What kind of suspension do you have that is so stiff? Mine is a DD, so I have to keep it road-rideable.
Click to expand...

It's a Currie lift. My dad knows a guy that used to work for Currie, we actually got to ride with the Currie family out in Moab.

The lift itself isn't bad, with the exception of the fact that those in the west don't quite understand the phenomenon of rust, or how to guard against it. The ride problem is that we bought really cheap shocks that don't work very well. Sometime in the near future I think I'm going to need to replace a few control arms that are rusted out, and at that point I'll upgrade to some nicer and more expensive shocks.
 
bluesky74656 said:
It's a Currie lift. My dad knows a guy that used to work for Currie, we actually got to ride with the Currie family out in Moab.

The lift itself isn't bad, with the exception of the fact that those in the west don't quite understand the phenomenon of rust, or how to guard against it. The ride problem is that we bought really cheap shocks that don't work very well. Sometime in the near future I think I'm going to need to replace a few control arms that are rusted out, and at that point I'll upgrade to some nicer and more expensive shocks.
Click to expand...

I'm in the process of putting in some 2.25" spacers. It's wussy, I know, but I'm trying to ease into this. ha! A guy in our club offered a free set of 4" S4T springs, but I couldn't talk myself into doing that much customization right out of the gate (4" lift = SYE and/or t-case drop, MML, BL, etc. etc.). With my 2.25" spacers, I can stick with my stock shocks and see how well I like it. I have a line on a set of RE Monotubes if it doesn't work out, though.

Hopefully I can get things finished up before tomorrow afternoon's club outing to see how things thing works with a little lift and disco'ed. :)
 
Henning said:
Nothing that gets less than 20mpg around town is a good daily driver.
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In that case, I've never had a good daily driver: 81 Isuzu 4cyl diesel p/u, 85 S-10 Blazer w/ 79 305 & 350 turbo tranny, 94 GMC 1500, and now 03 Jeep TJ. Gas mileage sucked on all of them, but the Jeep is by far the most fun. :D
 
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