Quality Info

[86cj7Rich]

I have read a lot of forums and decided to join this one. Everyone seems to be quite knowledgable and nice. If you don't mind, I would like opinions. I am new to the jeep world, just picked up a 86 cj7 w/ 80k on 258 engine. Its crap brown w/ orange and yellow stripes. The only rust is on the rear lip in front of the back seat, so I will have to replace the pan. Heck there isnt even any rust around the window. I picked it up for $1500 from a college kid that just didnt know better. I did have to replace the battery cables to drive it off, he said it wouldnt start. I have also replaced the flywheel and it has a new clutch. The engine smokes a little but not too bad. So now that I have bored you to dealth, I would like opinions.

I want to build this into a nice daily driver and take it off road. I don't think i have the gutts to be a rock climber. Love looking at the picks, but damn that takes gutts.

So, what order should I start in order to rebuild and add. I would rather not take it completely out of commision, as I cant afford to do everything at once. Should I start w/ suspension or engine? If I take the engine out might as well paint the body, if I do that, I want to do it right and undercoat it which means it will be off the frame. LOL.

One last thing, I need tires now. It came w/ 33/12.5/15 street tires. I would like to know if there is a decent offroad tire that will give me good street performance w/out making me deaf. Thanks in advance for any and all answers. Rich

 

[Joopin]

If you want quite offroad tires, Parnelli Jones Dirt Grips are a great choice... of course I'm partial cause I have them! Mine are 36x14.5 and they are quieter than other tires of lesser size. They have great off and onroad manners, BUT... of course they are a little pricey. I got mine from www.desertrat.com
I saw that Quadratec sells them now too.
Welcome to the site!

Joop

 

[_(OIIIIO)_Jeeper]

RE: Ha ha ha ha

Welcome Aboard! Go with Boggers!!!! the hum on the hwy is cool!

 

[Craig]

last touchup to the ranks

I guess it depends on how bad the motor is right now. If it won't survive a year or two or it's not dependable, then that's the first thing I'd do....what good is a lift if it won't run? As for tires, Yokohama Geolander A/T's and also the M/T's are excellent on and off road tires. The M/T's are a little louder than the A/T's but are still a lot quieter than most other brands of M/T's out there. They are a little more expensive than other brands but you get much better street performance on wet pavement than other brands such as BFG's. They're made of a softer compound too which means they won't last quite as long. You have to sacrafice a little tire wear for the better handling.

 

[Tug-n-pull]

Hey Rich, Welcome to the jeepz family! Sounds like you got a nice jeep in the makeing. The way I see it make run ggod then make it preform good then make it look good. Do what ever it takes to get the running gears in good depenable condition then worry about the suspention and tires breaks ect... then go for broke with a lift tires on board air and what ever it takes to get you pumped about the ol jeep! You have come to the best place on the web to get the info concerning all of the above. You can't boar us so just tell your tells and ask away your questions. tug

 

[GaryMB]

Yokohama's are good, but my favorite all terrain of all time is the bfg all terrain. It does great offroad and drives great on road with decent tread life and minimal noise. The only place it struggles off road is in deep mud.

 

[TwistedCU]

RE: Back in the saddle again!

It's gotta run before it can crawl

Get it running right and take it on some easier trails to get to know it. You'll know better what you'll want to do to mod it by learning it's limitations.

Sounds like a good deal on the Jeep - congrats and welcome to Jeepz, you made the right choice on both.

 

[laneiac]

Yeah give it a good tune and trouble shoot any engine problems. After that I think the first thing should be a mild lift and wheel/tire combo. Like a 4" with 33's to learn the ropes. But beware, once you start modding and hanging around here, you will become obsessed and everything, I mean everything will need to be upgraded. Some of us are so obsessed we would rather skip eating for a week than forgo our next jeep mod. Good luck, and good choice on the jeep!

 

[86cj7Rich]

RE: Announcing the new Reader Rides section

Thanks all for replying. I did a lot of reading this weekend and looking into the jeep. I don't believe the engine is as bad as I thought, the smoking pretty much stops after warm up.

Unfortunately I do have something wrong w/ the front end. Have to do some more digging, but I believe its either the hub if not the front gearing. I miss spoke on my first message, the tires that are on it are 32x11.5x15. I don't know if this messed up the gearing or not. I know the guy that had it before me threw the drive shaft through the floor board, as the whole is still there. So my first fix is making sure I can 4x4.

After that I don't know. If I have to rebuild the engine I want to do it right, even considering fuel injection. But after all the reading I did, seems that cj's are getting to be rare. This one is all OE except tires and wheels. I don't believe there is a lift on it. I guess I will try to keep it OE somewhat, LOL. I sure don't like the crap brown paint but the renegade stripes are cool. I sure do like the light blue one that senior cole has. thats a good color scheme. Was there a green color scheme for renegades?

Again thanks for replying.

 

[GaryMB]

I knew I would get good info

If you are going to put in the time and money for an engine rebuild and, possibly, fuel injection, i would reccommend a 4.0L swap. It won't exactly be OEM, but it will perform alot better than the 258.