[daverdoo]

Hello everyone. I just joined the board yesterday and have been doing a lot of reading. I will be buying my first Jeep tomorrow and I want to get a ball on what I need. I am a completely green when it comes to Jeeps and I know very little about mechanics but I am young and I plan on learning. The Jeep I'll be buying tomorrow is an 85' CJ7 and It only has a soft top and it doesn't hasn't have any doors. For now, I'm wanting to buy some full size soft doors but the only brand I have come across for the 85' is made by Bestop (Bestop® 2-Piece Doors) and in searching the forum there are a lot of mixed reviews about their quality. I spent an hour searching for any other threads to answer this question and couldn't find one so hopefully someone can help. Can anyone suggest any other full size soft doors for an 85' CJ7? Links would be great too. Thanks in advance.

Here's a link to the only model of full size soft doors I've found so far:
http://www.quadratec.com/products/11043_XX_PG.htm

[BagusJeep]

I have Bestop bikini and soft half doors and spare wheel cover in black denim and after 3 years of tropical sunshine I can assure you they are in great shape and I would buy Bestop again.

What make is your current soft top, is it canvas or plastic and how are the windows?

And lastly, fill in your profile and provide pics of your ride, it will amaze you how much free info people will give you.

[Fins]

Welcome to the group daverdoo!

I have the Bestop Supertop with 2 piece soft doors. Going on 6 years in the California sun. The only issue I've had is with the door strikers. That's the piece on the jeep that the door paddle latch closes on. But your '85 will have the different ones which are sturdier.

[rjgruetter]

The only concern that I have would be if it gets cold where you are, soft top and doors are not the best option. I live in CT, and when it gets down to about 25 -30, the soft top doesn't keep in heat that well. Also, with soft doors and tops. I've heard that it can rot with too much snow/cold, so if it gets really cold where you're at, don't get the soft doors at first, get a cheap pair of used hard doors. By the way, welcome to JeepForum.

[nickmonaco]

85' is the best year of cj7 I think you can find congrats and welcome to the forum. Oh yeah and ill second the notion for the fullsize steel doors if you can afford them.

[mopar346]

Don't know nothing about no soft doors, but welcome to the forum. Lots of great info and great folks on here. Enjoy your new ride and have fun. AND by the way 84 is the best year.

[mvigo]

You will enjoy your '85 as much as I do! Can't answer the soft doors question as I have a hard top and doors...

[wellmax]

do not know your buying plan, but I will give you some "old head advice"

Take your time, Take your time, Take your time, Take your time, Take your time, Take your time,

you need to drive at least 3+ different vehicles, before you pull out your billfold or sign anything.

as long as you have not signed anything or put any money down, you are still in the drivers seat of the buying deal, remember that, you are the man!!!

I have been dead set on a vehicle, until i drove another one and determined the first one i was looking at was a piece of ^&&%$#/.

best advice i can give you: there are a lot of used Jeeps for sale, these old cj's are around 30 years old and most have been treated rough and put up wet.

Rust is a killer for old jeep's and can quickly take the shine off your, new to you, jeep purchase.

again, take your time, find another old dude jeep owner, ask him to go with you to look at and drive the old jeep, before you buy, best advice i can give you.

He may piss you off when he tells you the jeep you are in love with is a piece of &**(%^, but it may save you heartache down the road.

good luck on your jeep purchase.

Remember: JEEP stands for: JUST EMPTY EVERY POCKET!!!!!!!!!!

ask me how i know this

[WindKnot]

Welcome! I agree about taking your time and SEARCHING for rust everywhere in your prospective Jeep! Under the carpet, around the base of the roolbars everywhere on the frame,especially around the spring brackets, etc.

Don't exclude it entirely, but be carefull that the neat looking bed liner coating isn't hiding anything.

Oh, and actually put the Jeep in 4HI and 4LOW, check that the wheel hubs DO lock, and don't just drive a few feet. (You'd be amazed at how Jonesing for a Jeep will make you "forget" about a few things. I agree on bringing a skeptical buddy along with you!

When you find your Jeep, fill out your profile.

[gunrun45]

+ 1 for What wellmax said. I looked for 5 years before buying my last jeep. They are always an adventure but it helps if you stack the deck in your favor in the beginning. My first one I bought when i was 18 for $3000. About $12,000 later I had a pretty nice jeep.

I've run lots of bestop products over the years. They're pretty good. Just follow the directions, ask questions and don't try to "wing it". You most likely will get damp in the winter but it's just part of driving a jeep

[bigjoe]

2x's on taking your time and really checking out the Jeep. You stated you have only a little wrenching time under your belt. Don't buy someone else's headache. You need to find something that you can work on and not something needing a complete rebuild.

If you're going with a CJ, Hell for buying any old car or truck have number in your head you are willing to spend. That includes the buy price, plus whatever it needs to be safe on the road. Be ready to get dirty when checking it out to buy. You must be willing to crawl all over it from top to bottom. And if possible drive before you buy. See if YOU can start it when it's cold. Sometimes seller's will start up what they are selling before you get there so when buyer gets there it starts right up when you turn the key. Of course you did not see the seller spending 10 mins. before you got there with a can of starter fuild to get it fired up. Not all people are shady but something to keep in your mind. When you do drive it make sure everything works. Shift through all gears, engage the four wheel drive, braking, handling, etc. If something is not working is it something you are willing to deal with after you buy it, and can you fix it or is it going to be farmed out for the repair?

Also once you do buy something, don't just start buying this or that for it. You and your "new" CJ have to get to know each other first. Once you have it safe for road travel, you can start addressing other things you'd "like to have". Trust me when I say, issues with the Jeep will come up way after you have it home. You need to drive it for a little bit before you start making changes and improvements. Goodluck and welcome to the site.

[CJ5_Fan]

I ran a 72 jeep CJ5 with a softop in snow country for many years. It is true that they will bleed off the warm air almost instantanously once the heater is turned off, but with the heater on, my CJ stayed very comfortable inside even in snow storms.

The only issue I had with my Soft doors was getting a good seal on the top front edge - normally had some rain water find it's way into the cab and onto my knee while driving in heavy rain, but hey, it is a jeep not a car....

[JeepHammer]

Welcome Dave, Glad to have a NEWBIE!

This ain't 'pIRATE4x4', you WILL get answers here without the ration of crap you have to eat in places like that...

1. BE POLITE!
Everyone here starts somewhere, so when you get to be the 'Guy In The Know', remember that!
I 'Interned' in the 'School Of Hard Knocks', and I was valedictorian of the 'Busted Knuckle' class!

I've done EVERYTHING WRONG at least a dozen times, I've burned vehicles down, crashed the, broken parts that couldn't be replaced... So I'm a WELL QUALIFIED SCREW-UP!

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2. Be SPECIFIC in your post titles so the guys in the know notice your post!

There are guys here that, A. Know everything about your 'Subject' of the day, so they will help,
There are guys here that, B. Are Human Search Engines, they will go WAY OUT OF THEIR WAY to help find what you want/need/are looking for...
(Don't forget to thank them for their efforts! That's all the get around here!)

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3. BE PATIENT!

Misspoken/Typed words, Typos, and time constraints keeps a lot of guys from being on here 24/7, or getting their point acrss the first pass,

So the most 'Qualified' or the guy with EXACTLY the 'Right' answer might not reply right away...
But when the answer does come, it will be EXACTLY right!

You will often find that 'Throwing Money' at an 'Issue' isn't always the 'Correct' answer,
Sometimes it takes a little thought and work to IMPROVE/Correct any issues you find with your Jeep...

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4. HAVE FUN!

You will QUICKLY realize these guys (for the most part) are here to SOCIALIZE with like minded folks (shared mental illness that is CJ Jeeps ),
And they QUICKLY become an extension of your family/circle of friends!

We have 'Know It Alls',
We have 'Old Timers'
We have 'Hecklers',
We have 'Fan Boys',
We have 'Tech Nerds',
We have 'Lurkers',
We have 'Human Search Engines',
We have 'Part Time', 'Full Time', 'Just in Time', and 'Lost Time' people here...

We have people with electrical, mechanical, machining, welding, computer, carpentry, ect... backgrounds, so a 'Solution' will be forthcoming, if not always in short order...

With that range of collected knowledge, you WILL find a 'Solution' to about any 'Issue' you come up against!

[TeamPanda]

Welcome Dave and GOOD LUCK with your purchase!

I looked for my 85 CJ7 for over two years before I found "The One." I'm very, very pleased with the one I've got and it's in excellent condition but even so...

I bought it on October 24th and since then, I have...

Replaced POS OEM warped plastic valve cover with a cast aluminum, thus ending the constant external oil bath.
Replaced leaking fuel pump
Replaced the belts
Replaced all the driveline seals and fluids.
Welded up leaking rear diff. (To be fair, I'm the one who cracked it on a rock, three days after I bought it.)

The list of things that still need to be done is much, much, longer. Like the man above said, "Just Empty Every Pocket" and that's if you get a really GOOD jeep that's worth putting the work into it.

Either way, welcome to the club, get it all fixed up, get it out on the trail and play with it. Then when somebody says "It's a Jeep thing, you wouldn't understand." you'll just smile, because you do understand.

[dslywalker]

Welcome good luck with your purchase.If you got time post some detailed pics before you buy.Members can see a lot of flaws just by looking at them.