Scott's build of a CJ7

Went and looked at it. Need some guidance from the experts. Does this look pretty good or like a basket of trouble? Watch the video and you can hear it running.

https://youtu.be/zX2fNANZGUA

Concerns:
1) rust
2) passing CO emissions test
3) engine leaking oil all over everything down under. He said he just feeds it oil
4) body mounts are shot

There are other things too but those I can deal with. The ones above might be show stoppers or no big deal. Help me know which!

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GraniteCrystal said:
Went and looked at it. Need some guidance from the experts. Does this look pretty good or like a basket of trouble? Watch the video and you can hear it running.

https://youtu.be/zX2fNANZGUA

Concerns:
1) rust
2) passing CO emissions test
3) engine leaking oil all over everything down under. He said he just feeds it oil
4) body mounts are shot

There are other things too but those I can deal with. The ones above might be show stoppers or no big deal. Help me know which!

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Click to expand...

Looks like a bit of work underneath. Can you take it to a shop for a once over?
 
It's hard to expect too much on a vehicle this old, overall I think it's in good shape. The rust showing through the paint is a little concerning as the majority of the paint looks fairly new. I hope someone didn't just paint it to cover up the rust. As far as the undercarriage rust, that looks pretty normal for the vehicle age. It has a catalytic converter which is good. As far as the leaks, could be a lot of things, at least you can keep adding oil. In the video, it sounds like it has a lifter ticking too, could be valve adjustment or could need a lifter, hard to say.
 
WJCO said:
It's hard to expect too much on a vehicle this old, overall I think it's in good shape. The rust showing through the paint is a little concerning as the majority of the paint looks fairly new. I hope someone didn't just paint it to cover up the rust. As far as the undercarriage rust, that looks pretty normal for the vehicle age. It has a catalytic converter which is good. As far as the leaks, could be a lot of things, at least you can keep adding oil. In the video, it sounds like it has a lifter ticking too, could be valve adjustment or could need a lifter, hard to say.
Click to expand...

What WJCO said. Anything that old has rust. I am constantly staying on small rust repairs on my 8. But that does have a bunch of surface rust. The ticking could be a value or timing issue. I'd take it to a shop to confirm. Mine to this day leaks oil. I've replaced the valve cover multiple times, tried different gaskets and am always tightening the value cover bolts to try to keep it under control. As the pictures pointed out, the TC, and diff seals need to be updated. All the bushings are shot, but that's not too hard to replace. Body mounts aren't terrible to replace either. At around 100k my catalytic clogged, so I pulled mine. It does smell like a older vehicle after I did but it ran a lot better.

How did the interior floor pan look? That's where I have seen the most rot on CJs. Check where the sides meet the pan. When driving, was there a spark knock at higher rpm?

Looks like a project, but they all are unless you spend a ton. At least they are easy to work on! Stripped heads and seized bolts will be your nemesis but it's all part of the fun! Good luck!


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Overall, it looked clean to me and a great starting point if a CJ8 is what you're really wanting. A bit rich for my taste especially if you're wanting a project but that's just me.
 
WJCO said:
It's hard to expect too much on a vehicle this old, overall I think it's in good shape. The rust showing through the paint is a little concerning as the majority of the paint looks fairly new. I hope someone didn't just paint it to cover up the rust. As far as the undercarriage rust, that looks pretty normal for the vehicle age. It has a catalytic converter which is good. As far as the leaks, could be a lot of things, at least you can keep adding oil. In the video, it sounds like it has a lifter ticking too, could be valve adjustment or could need a lifter, hard to say.
Click to expand...


Yeah, that would be my concern. The rest looks pretty good.
 
Looks clean to me. Keep in mind that vehicle has been on the road for 36+ years, I would not be concerned about the rust in the under carriage. Would agree with WJCO on the rust through the paint. But then again they sell brand new complete body tubs for most of the old CJs. Never seen an old Jeep that didn't leak fluids. On my CJ I swapped the 4 cyl for a 258 but before I did I replaced every gasket and seal I could before I put it in and it still leaked after a few thousand miles. It was a lot easier to get to them all with it out of the Jeep.

Otherwise, Dana 300 attached to either a t4 or t-176 is a decent combo as long as you don't plan on to much interstate. If I remember correctly the t-176 has a lower first gear which is better off road and it is a little stronger.
 
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catahoula said:
Looks like a bit of work underneath. Can you take it to a shop for a once over?
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Possibly. I'm not sure I want to pay them money to tell me it's old and needs some work though.
notnalc68 said:
Those rust spots would concern me.


Sent from my iPhone using WAYALIFE mobile app
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Yeah, that's my biggest concern. If I strip paint off and find a ton, a new tub is not cheap. Nor am I set up to do that repair.

WJCO said:
It's hard to expect too much on a vehicle this old, overall I think it's in good shape. The rust showing through the paint is a little concerning as the majority of the paint looks fairly new. I hope someone didn't just paint it to cover up the rust. As far as the undercarriage rust, that looks pretty normal for the vehicle age. It has a catalytic converter which is good. As far as the leaks, could be a lot of things, at least you can keep adding oil. In the video, it sounds like it has a lifter ticking too, could be valve adjustment or could need a lifter, hard to say.
Click to expand...

Yeah, wondering if I'm trying to have my cake and eat it too. I want a rust free, leak free Scrambler for $7000. Probably not happening. I also am curious about the ticking sound when running.

wjtstudios said:
What WJCO said. Anything that old has rust. I am constantly staying on small rust repairs on my 8. But that does have a bunch of surface rust. The ticking could be a value or timing issue. I'd take it to a shop to confirm. Mine to this day leaks oil. I've replaced the valve cover multiple times, tried different gaskets and am always tightening the value cover bolts to try to keep it under control. As the pictures pointed out, the TC, and diff seals need to be updated. All the bushings are shot, but that's not too hard to replace. Body mounts aren't terrible to replace either. At around 100k my catalytic clogged, so I pulled mine. It does smell like a older vehicle after I did but it ran a lot better.

How did the interior floor pan look? That's where I have seen the most rot on CJs. Check where the sides meet the pan. When driving, was there a spark knock at higher rpm?

Looks like a project, but they all are unless you spend a ton. At least they are easy to work on! Stripped heads and seized bolts will be your nemesis but it's all part of the fun! Good luck!


Sent from my iPhone using WAYALIFE mobile app
Click to expand...

Forgot to look at the interior floor. Had carpet over it. Overall the interior was on great shape though and I didn't notice the floor sagging at all when I got in. What's a spark knock?

wayoflife said:
Overall, it looked clean to me and a great starting point if a CJ8 is what you're really wanting. A bit rich for my taste especially if you're wanting a project but that's just me.
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Thanks Eddie. I think at this point a CJ8 might be what we need and I'm starting to dig the look more and more. The reason being, we have two little boys. As soon as we have a third, we've outgrown a CJ7. Planning on having a third row seat in the Scrambler.
notnalc68 said:
Yeah, that would be my concern. The rest looks pretty good.
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Agreed.

bigcale said:
Looks clean to me. Keep in mind that vehicle has been on the road for 36+ years, I would not be concerned about the rust in the under carriage. Would agree with WJCO on the rust through the paint. But then again they sell brand new complete body tubs for most of the old CJs. Never seen an old Jeep that didn't leak fluids. On my CJ I swapped the 4 cyl for a 258 but before I did I replaced every gasket and seal I could before I put it in and it still leaked after a few thousand miles. It was a lot easier to get to them all with it out of the Jeep.

Otherwise, Dana 300 attached to either a t4 or t-176 is a decent combo as long as you don't plan on to much interstate. If I remember correctly the t-176 has a lower first gear which is better off road and it is a little stronger.
Click to expand...

Good to know the leaking isn't an omen of terrible things. Based on what I've read, I think it has a T-176 which is one of the best available for the CJ.
 
But this thread is titled "Scott's build of a CJ7"..... what happens if you buy a CJ8???? :shock::shock::shock:
 
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