For anyone into Jeeps (CJs)

[b_hill_86]

Ran across this video and thought it was cool. It’s a little long but have a look if you get some time.

Two things got me into cars as a kid. Both involved my dad. He has a 76 TR6 he’s owned since 79 or 80. It was his daily for a long tim but parked when family life necessitated a larger vehicle. That began as an eagle station wagon but then became several jeeps over the years. My dad retired from Jeep here in Toledo in 04 or 05. In the mid 90s he decided to get the TR6 in better shape and let me get my hands dirty fixing his car up.

Fast forward to being of driving age, I loved Jeeps and was fortunate enough to have a 99 Wrangler as my first car.. Pretty much the essential Tonka toy for adults with all the accessories one could need. When most guys my age were looking at sports illustrated or guitar magazines I was looking for car parts and accessories in JC Whitney catalogs lol. Anyway, that car was the second car I got my hands dirty with and I ended up installing a small lift kit myself and some other small odds and ends. Even though my TJ is long gone it was the start of where I’m at now in my love of most cars and trucks.

I always loved CJs too so I thought this video was cool. That, and when my dad helped me put the hood decal on my T/A he reminded me how he used to install the large Golden Eagle decals on the CJs among other jobs he held over the years at Jeep. It’s actually likely out of all of those Jeeps in the collection in the video, at least a few probably passed by my dad at one point in the factory which I thought was kinda cool.

And below is a picture of my first car and one of my dads TR6 next to my T/A.

https://youtu.be/iMND8dShTbQ

[roadking77]

Those are pretty awsome. I always liked jeeps but was never crazy about them. I spent a week at the beach in one that belonged to a 'girl friend' of mine. That was pretty fun (and the jeep was entertaining as well!).  I got ahold of a 59 willy's thats currently parked in my back yard. I was going to get rid of it but the more I look at it the more I want to get it running again.

Those triumphs are great little cars. My brother bought a spitfire brand new, last year of production. I thing it was a 79 or 80. When it ran it ran great, but that was hit and miss. After a year and too many breakdowns he traded it on a new cutlass. The spitfire literally caught fire on the way to the dealer the day he was to pick up his Olds. He called them and said he had to call off the deal, the salesman said to drag the car in however he could as he had already sold it!

[79GoldnTan]

JEEPS, gotta love em. I have had a bunch over the years. I have two on the back burner I have acquired from a good friend that passed away, a very early Ford mb, and a 50s or early 60s Willy wagon. One more year of my bad habit and they may get there chance.

[FormTA]

I always thought Jeeps were cool but never got one. The only Jeeps I think are awesome are the J10s on 33s or larger.  Probably because it was my first vehicle (my Trans AM was my first "car").



Yes that is a very, very young me.

[hakitup]

We got a 82 CJ7, 99 Cherokee and a 84 Eagle wagon. Currently working on a 67 Bronco which I’m really excited to get running.

Tom H

[b_hill_86]

Those are pretty awsome. I always liked jeeps but was never crazy about them. I spent a week at the beach in one that belonged to a 'girl friend' of mine. That was pretty fun (and the jeep was entertaining as well!).  I got ahold of a 59 willy's thats currently parked in my back yard. I was going to get rid of it but the more I look at it the more I want to get it running again.

Those triumphs are great little cars. My brother bought a spitfire brand new, last year of production. I thing it was a 79 or 80. When it ran it ran great, but that was hit and miss. After a year and too many breakdowns he traded it on a new cutlass. The spitfire literally caught fire on the way to the dealer the day he was to pick up his Olds. He called them and said he had to call off the deal, the salesman said to drag the car in however he could as he had already sold it!

Yea triumphs are neat little cars. Most of them are fairly ugly to me to be honest but in an endearing way. I always thought the TR6 was one of the better looking ones. My dad had two of those, a 70 and the 76, and a 64? Spitfire. That wasn’t bad looking.

I always thought Jeeps were cool but never got one. The only Jeeps I think are awesome are the J10s on 33s or larger.  Probably because it was my first vehicle (my Trans AM was my first "car").



Yes that is a very, very young me.

I really like those J10s. Don’t see many around anymore.

We got a 82 CJ7, 99 Cherokee and a 84 Eagle wagon. Currently working on a 67 Bronco which I’m really excited to get running.

Tom H

That 99 looks similar to a 98 my parents had. Is your chili pepper red? My parents was a brighter red color. My mother hated the bright red. That wagon is also similar to the one my parents had till probably around 87 or 88.

Best car for my money I’ve had was a 92 xj 4.0 with a 5 speed. Bought it for $1k and drove the snot out of it for 5 years. It had 320k miles on it when I sold it for like $900.

[stros]

Not a classic CJ but I’ve had this Gladiator Mojave as my daily driver for the past year.  I really like it so far although it had a few teething issues that I hope are behind it.  Gotta love a convertible pick up truck .  It’s not the most powerful truck out there but it’s a lot of fun to drive.

[b_hill_86]

O I’m sure it is. Before my wife and I were married I got a new better paying job and instead of buying a ring, I bought a TJ similar to my first one. She was none too thrilled initially but after riding in it a few times she liked it so much she bought a 2011 JK. Not my favorite jeep but most wranglers aree a blast to drive. The newest wranglers and gladiators (I don’t even know the body code for actually) are really sharp. They seem to have pulled some of the best elements of the TJs and combined them seamlessly with modern amenities (in my opinion anyway). If not for the benefits of a full size pickup I’d probably have a 2dr wrangler or a gladiator as my daily now.

[jonathonar89]

Had a Jeep TJ from 2013-2016 as my daily driver.  Good times….until I rear ended someone and messed up the suspension.  I probably maintained that vehicle better than any other vehicle I’ve owned. 

[roadking77]

Luke, thats a sweet looking truck. I just did a job for a guy with a '63 jeep pu. Restored beyond belief. The guy is working on a regular jeep now.

Tom, looks like you went full bore 4 x 4 when you moved to the high country. I hope the T/A still gets some love  I havent seen an Eagle on the road in many years. Dad built a house for a mega millionaire back in the day and he had a custom blue bird motor home. At the time that was the top of line rv, only ever saw rock stars with them. He had an Eagle station wagon that he trailered behind it. Both were custom painted to match. We thought it was odd that this guy with all of his money would drive an AMC. He said what a great car it was.

[roadking77]

2021-12-30_08-18-50 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr

Here is my 59 willys. Currently languishing behind the barn. Its really not all that bad. Does need its share of work but from what I can tell would be a pretty easy fix up/restore compared to a trans am. I wanted to get rid of it, even offered to my brothers. One is in Canada and cant get it, the other loves it but wanted me to restore it. I had a stupid low offer from someone to buy it but the scrap value is higher than what he wanted to give me. Its too nice to scrap though. I even thought about just getting it running and putting a plow so I can keep my lane clean during the winter. As the TATA winds down to being somewhat finished I may tackle this. I have another big project in the pipeline though that I really want to get started on.

[firebirdparts]

Cool vid.

I have a lot of great memories of my dad's Jeep.  We lived somewhere that you'd have to have 4wd, and back in about 1970, he bought an M38A1 with a 283 chevy engine and a stude (borg warner) overdrive.  It would run almost 100 mph.  He was very afraid of young guys getting killed in it, so he would not let us drive it, and he sold it when my brother and I were 12 or 13.   I thought that was not necessary, but anyway, it's gone.  I'd love to find it, but I know I never will.

Looking for a picture.  Here we go

He had lockout hubs on it, even then, and if you punch the center medallion out of these buick hubcaps, it just fits perfectly, ha ha.

[5th T/A]

Great thread on the CJ's.

I owned a 1997 and 2002 Grand Cherokees. They were great daily drivers but I never did any serious off roading with them. Many years ago while taking a vacation in Martha's Vinyard we rented a CJ and drove around the island without a top, it was the perfect vehicle for site seeing. In the late 70's my brother in-law had I believe a Golden Eagle with the giant eagle on the hood and a factory V8. He had a lot of property and was showing off the off road ability during a party when he hit a tree stump covered in brush. Hung up on the stump he had three of the four wheels up in the air. He couldn't get it off the stump, it took seven guys lifting to get it unstuck. To my knowledge there was nothing seriously damaged other than my brother in-laws pride.

[b_hill_86]

Those are all great. If I had the room, time, money, etc lol, I’d like to fix up an 80 or 81 CJ7. I believe those were the last two years for a V8 available.

[Jack]

Great thread, my son has a 2000 XJ that he uses as a daily and for off roading. Will snap a pic or two and post.

[hakitup]

That 99 looks similar to a 98 my parents had. Is your chili pepper red? My parents was a brighter red color. My mother hated the bright red. That wagon is also similar to the one my parents had till probably around 87 or 88.

Best car for my money I’ve had was a 92 xj 4.0 with a 5 speed. Bought it for $1k and drove the snot out of it for 5 years. It had 320k miles on it when I sold it for like $900.
[/quote]

Yes the XJ is Chili pepper red we picked it up for $2000 with 230k miles on it to turn it into a medium crawler. It has 4” lift, 4 link rear, 3 link front, hydro assist, Detroit lockers and 4.88 gears, it makes off-roading easy.

The CJ got an engine trans swap when we got to SD. It has a 351w with mustang EFI and T18 trans kinda wish it had an overdrive.

The eagle got a engine rebuild and transfer case swap so now it has a low range, full time and part time highs

I have kinda gotten into off roading but still have to Trans Am for cruising

Tom H

[b_hill_86]

$2k is a good price for a late model xj. Here in Ohio they seem to all be rusted to pieces or people want a fortune for them.

[LeighP]

I like Jeeps….all models.
My daily is a 2013 JK Wrangler, an Overland model (Aussie model - similar to a specced up US Sahara)
My wife drives a KK Cherokee (US Liberty) model with really low mileage that I picked up as a bargain.
My sone came back from a work placement in the US for two years and just bought him and his wife a 2018 Grand Cherokee Larado.
My daughter has been driving on hand me down cars until she just finished her Master’s degree and landed a new job…..she bought a super clean Renegade Longitude, lovely little SUV.
With my other garage resident being a 1st gen Firebird, ours is US vehicle parking only.

[roadking77]

Leigh, sounds like you just about have the market covered
We bought a 93 Grand Cherokee new. It was the laredo model but I loved it. Great vehicle, inline 6 that was  bullet proof. Only vehicle I have regretted selling. I still would love to get my hands on a Wagoneer. Maybe someday.

[b_hill_86]

I like Jeeps….all models.
My daily is a 2013 JK Wrangler, an Overland model (Aussie model - similar to a specced up US Sahara)
My wife drives a KK Cherokee (US Liberty) model with really low mileage that I picked up as a bargain.
My sone came back from a work placement in the US for two years and just bought him and his wife a 2018 Grand Cherokee Larado.
My daughter has been driving on hand me down cars until she just finished her Master’s degree and landed a new job…..she bought a super clean Renegade Longitude, lovely little SUV.
With my other garage resident being a 1st gen Firebird, ours is US vehicle parking only.

You have quite the collection lol. Jeeps aren’t for everyone and have had their share of issues over the years but I appreciate the history, they’ve always done well for me and for my parents when I was growing up. As a kid, we had several cherokees over the years and my dad (and mom) used to haul my sister and I, a dog, a cat and a utility trailer packed full 8 hours north to their place in the U.P. Those cherokees never stumbled.