Thinking of buying 75 Cj

Aalbury · 08-06-2009, 08:46 PM

I'm thinnking about buying the Cj, as my YJ is having issues and I'm in need of another car to keep my going while I work on it. Is it a mistake to buy such an older jeep for myself as I'm moderatly mechanically savy?

cj5camo · 08-06-2009, 09:25 PM

just bought a 75 cj5 a few months ago what would u like to know. i've done a fair amount of work so far. so i should have a few answers for u. also i have a yj as well.

**trw** · 08-07-2009, 04:45 AM

I have a CJ and YJ, only my YJ is already rebuilt and reliable now, so the CJ sits in the garage being worked on.

unless the CJ has been rebuilt already or taken REAL good care of, you're only getting another project vehicle that will need as much, if not more work than the YJ.

Jaxson09 · 08-07-2009, 09:29 AM

Best advise I have ever received!

"Don't buy a Jeep if you are not willing or able to work on it"

Love my CJ7 and will NEVER get rid of it, but there is always work to be done. Jeeps are a good run around and toy, but have a Tacoma for bad weather or jeep maintenance down time...

Fletch8672 · 08-07-2009, 11:48 AM

I've got a 75 CJ & a 96 XJ. My CJ is a weekend/run around town vehicle. I'm doing little things here & there on it but nothing too extreme yet. My XJ is... well, also weekend/tow CJ vehicle and used to be my DD until I took a new job that 47 miles one way to work.

Anyway, the bottomline depends on you: do you want to have 2 project vehicles simultaneously? Usually from what I've seen, you'll either find a pristine CJ that is ready for a car show or you'll find one that's been ragged & rusted out. Not a lot of grey area really.

If you need basic transportation back & forth to work, then just pick up a nice little Honda or something along those lines so you can still work on your YJ

74CJMatlock · 08-07-2009, 11:57 AM

I love my '74, but understand that aftermarket parts are getting scarce. Things like lift kits, tire carriers, etc. are not commonly sold for the '75 and earlier models, while the '76+ CJs are still widely supported. Having said that, these so-called "intermediate" CJs are great vehicles. The front axles are open knuckle Dana 30s, the rear axles are 30 spline Dana 44s, and the transfer cases are the reliable--if under appreciated--Dana 20s. There were several transmission choices, but they basically fluctuated between stout and stouter. Engine choices, I believe, included the old Buick V-6, but also included healthier choices, and these vehicles didn't have all the smog stuff on them that later CJs were saddled with (nor do you have to fool with Catalytic converters). Honestly, it's rare to find one of these Jeeps in stock condition any more, so pay careful attention to the modifications made on it. However, they make a good starting point for a build.

Aalbury · 08-07-2009, 12:05 PM

All good advice, thanks. Everytime I look at the Pics I salvate, but I'm still pondering the purchase. I have learned alot about my Yj on here with suggestions on getting it fixed, so I feel more confident in my abilities to wrench every night when I'm under the hood. I would think there is much less computer/electical issues in the 75, so I would be looking at more mechanical issues if any came up, would that be a safe assumption?

**Evian** · 08-07-2009, 12:42 PM

Best advice avoid any CJ below 1976. Parts are a little more scarce. I personally like my CJ7 over my TJ. They installed too many little things that affect the timing of a TJ. The first two months with my TJ I had to call my mechanic over 6 times. We changed everything on the car. I took it to Autozone to have the codes read and nothing would show up. It was one big headache. Can you believe it only had 50k miles on it. After two months of tinking with it we finally got it running right. Now it runs and starts smoothly. After I dumped $600 in parts in it plus labor of course.

**j_bydesign** · 08-07-2009, 12:49 PM

if you treat it as a hobby that you can afford.... and enjoy the challenges of woriking on it to get her up and running reliably... then go for it! They are not the best DD if you are racking up the miles... at highway speed! This coming from someone who has gone cross country (not county) in a '79 CJ5 with a 3spd... power nothing and big tires... if your not in a hurry and are fairly handy it is a ton of fun!

74CJMatlock · 08-07-2009, 04:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aalbury

All good advice, thanks. Everytime I look at the Pics I salvate, but I'm still pondering the purchase. I have learned alot about my Yj on here with suggestions on getting it fixed, so I feel more confident in my abilities to wrench every night when I'm under the hood. I would think there is much less computer/electical issues in the 75, so I would be looking at more mechanical issues if any came up, would that be a safe assumption?

You are sort of correct. Not a computer on them, so you're safe there. However, you are dealing with a 35 year old electrical system, so I believe that it would be safe to say that you will have some electrical issues that come up from time to time. I believe 1975 was the first year of the fuse box on the CJs, so there may have been some bugs to work out there. I've heard that the way to go is to rip it all out and put in a full harness from Painless, but I'm still limping along with the old wiring, and it's only slowed me down (make that stopped me dead in my tracks) on one or two occasions. So far, nothing that some pliers and electrical tape couldn't fix, though.