Lots of questions in your post, but let me try to address a few of them.

First, that CJ5 looks surprisingly good for a plow Jeep from the Rust Belt. Most of them died ages ago from salt. The hydraulic pump mounted to the engine would have been to control the snow plow.

The engine looks complete except for the air filter. And it's missing a battery, obviously.

If you've never worked on or driven a CJ5 there are several things you should be aware of. It has a very short wheelbase and a very narrow track width, meaning it does not drive or handle like a BMW or Porsche. Speed and CJ5 are not words that normally go together. There is nothing wrong with the stock 3-speed manual, and a swap to a 4-speed won't net you any higher top speed because 4th gear is still 1:1, same as a 3-speed. There is no 5-speed overdrive that I'm aware of that will fit in a CJ5 easily because they are so short the rear driveshaft becomes too short and would need to operate at a too-steep angle for the U-joints to survive. Same goes for auto transmissions. Some (Th350, TF727) can be made to work, but it's not easy and you will have a very short rear driveshaft in the end. No overdrive automatic will work, they're all much too long. But I would drive it before I would worry about swaps, the 3-speed works fine and you may like it.

The price is definitely right. Hard to go wrong at that price.

Towing? Again, due to light weight, short wheelbase and narrow track, a CJ5 is not a good choice for towing. Small 4x8 utility trailers will tow okay if you keep the weight reasonable (ie hauling ATV's or something), but definitely no larger or heavier trailers. Stopping will be the worst part, as a stock CJ5 of that era only weighs a little over 2,400 lbs and a trailer will push it around like a feather. The brakes are large drums, and if you keep them adjusted they work well. But remember they are manual and you have to use a lot of leg muscle to stop, not like power assist. Also manual steering, but that's not much of an issue in a small light Jeep.

Buy it, drive it and have fun with it!

 

I wouldn't be looking to tow often, and at that, a small closed trailer without much weight. I don't plan to try towing cars or anything silly like that with this Jeep. It would be mostly for off road / snow use, but it'd be nice to be able to toss those car body panels or other large items into a trailer and not my BMW.

I'm not looking to break any land speed records with this thing, but I was hoping there were some stick trans w/ better than 1:1 gearing. Do these Jeeps get up to 55 mph at least?

I'm mostly worried about parts availability however. I guess I could always swap out the engine if this were to pose too many problems I guess...

 

Just from what I see from your pictures I'd pay $700 for it. We have a 74 which is as far as I can tell the same as a 73. I have had no trouble finding what I needed to get ours to a decent state. It is a simple design and easy to work on. If you have never worked on a 4WD system you may have to research a little. If you met success with the German cars a Jeep should not challenge you much. Found outside labor costs to be reasonable too. When my wife decided I needed a Jeep to restomod I was in the middle of a VW Thing project. I found that Jeep parts were much less expensive than VW parts. The down side is that some aftermarket parts are poor quality.

I don't see anything obvious missing from the engine compartment. In fact It looks like it could be all original. You won't want to drive the interstate with a CJ. Mine is more comfortable to drive at 60-65. The joy we get is driving in the mountains, back roads, and sometimes on the less challenging trails. My opinion is that CJs don't make good daily drivers, but great weekend cruisers. If you want a Jeep and have the skills to make it right this will satisfy your needs. After posting these pictures and telling the price others are hunting for it now so don't delay!

 

55mph easily. Standard axle gear ratio was 3.73 and 4.27 was optional. If it has the 3.73 it will cruise on the highway easily at 55mph. I drove my 74 CJ5 all through high school as my daily driver with the same engine and 3-speed, and as a 16 year old I can't claim to have always obeyed the (then 55mph) speed limit! My CJ5's current configuration is a 4-speed T176 transmission, still with 1:1 4th gear, and 3.73 axle ratio with 32" tires and it will easily cruise 70+ mph on the interstate. But it's completely rebuilt with brand new steering and suspension components and I've been driving it for 26 years and I'm very comfortable with how it handles and know its capabilities. I wouldn't recommend someone new to Jeep run out and hit the Autobahn in one until you get familiar with its handling characteristics.

Parts availability is not an issue at all. RockAuto.com has everything you need, and every NAPA or AutoZone, etc will have 90% of what you need. You'll be shocked if you're used to dealing with the prices of foreign car parts to see how cheap replacement parts are.

 

I'm not looking to break any land speed records with this Jeep, and I still plan to keep my BMW for daily driving. The jeep will mostly be for driving to work in the snow and use as a yard truck.

I'm fortunate that 0 of the 42 miles of my commute involve the interstate, but unfortunate that all 42 of 42 miles involve back mountain roads or local state routes at best. My BMW does not take well to snow covered roads...

I just need to convince the owner to get the title for the Jeep sorted out and I'll be all set to buy it from him.

Are there any good manuals I should look to get to help me get this jeep back on the road?

 

Factory Service Manual should be your first purchase: http://www.thejeep.com/orgman.html

 

Buy it for fun and the greatest $ to smile ratio you can get. Don't buy it to drive 42 miles for a winter commute. You wont be happy, Cold, weak defroster, wimpy wiper blades, leaks, noise, smelly pre-cat exhaust, etc. Get a cheap Subaru for your commute.

 

+1 on everything said so far. Sounds like a great price to me. It can be a fun toy, and even a daily driver - but it will require *upkeep*. Can't ignore 'em like a real car. I've been driving mine daily for years but I also fix everything myself, carry tools, etc. I occasionally tow a boat/trailer - but I can literally carry the trailer in one hand and the boat weighs maybe 200 pounds (I built it). At the stables I used to pull a very heavy rack carrying jump poles, etc. It would press the back of the Jeep down all the way and I'd drive in low gear at maybe 5mph, nothing more. I would never have done that on a road. But for bad weather/roads, they can't be beat with the right tires - and more importantly - the knowledge of how to drive in those conditions. I'd buy it and have fun!

 

It has been standing for 18 years for a minor mechanical fault?

I suppose it could, some of my Jeeps spend months awaiting simple fixes, no time or parts.

Having stood for so long it is a candidate for a full rebuild, no half measures will get it running properly. Fortunately parts are plentiful and cheap so it is rust and available time to consider.

Early CJs are great fun, they are more agricultural.

 

The distributor looked shot, and the owner said he was trying to start her up last winter and kept giving her gas. Sounds like a timing / spark issue to me, but it's certainly more than just a minor mechanical issue. I would have to fully go over the engine and probably end up doing a full rebuild. If not right away, then certainly within the first few months.

I am talking to the owner, I need him to get a title in his name before I buy the Jeep, but I am certainly planning on it!

 

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This CJ is begging to be saved.

Keep us posted...

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73 has an over sized heater core ,but will need a hard top to drive it 42 miles in NJ winter weather conditions.
Use stock size tires for mountain asphalt roads for stability and handling.
73 works fine on high way in winter conditions.
Drove my 73 CJ5 from SOCAL to Chicago in February 1984 with a 4x8 steel trailer fully loaded with tools, but was much younger then.
If it snows you will have to stop because the wind shield wipers will not handle snow and even heavy rain fall.
Did drive it from Provo UT to Salt Lake City & back to Provo, also in February with no top cover , not even a soft top.
The stock 3 speed T15 Borg Warner is a strong Trans and will handle the torque from the AMC 304.
The Ford 5 speed manual OD will bolt up to the AMC 6 or 304 V8 with Jeep T150 bell that is drilled to accept the Ford small block butterfly trans bolt pattern.
Rear adapter is also available to stock BW TC
The Ford 5 speed was stock in 84 302 V8 PU.

Much if not all of the wiring my have to replaced including corroded switches.
The wiring is the weakest part of the 73.

Would NOT recommend this vehicle for regular commuting.
It is a true off road vehicle ,mainly designed for off road use.
The 73 is a Jeep Jeep which can easily roll with oversize tires upon tight right turns.

 

Some of this info is not correct.

1) The T14 was the transmission used behind the I6 232 and 258. The T15 was only used with the 304 V8.
2). There is no Ford 5-speed that will work in a CJ5, the wheelbase is simply too short to allow for it. There is a Ford RTS transmission that is basically a 3 speed plus an overdrive gear (4 gears total) that can be made to work. Herm the Overdrive Guy sells them: http://hermtheoverdriveguy.com/?page_id=1366
3) What BW transfer case? That's misleading. The Jeep used a Dana 20.
4). There's nothing inherently wrong at all with the wipers on a 73, they work fine in rain or snow. If you mean that the defroster can't keep up, that's accurate, but the wipers work just fine. In the years with the wiper motor on the outside of the windshield frame (68-75) the wiper arm linkage is actually stronger and less prone to binding than the later 76-86 versions.
5) A hard top is definitely not necessary, and actually provides very little advantage over a good soft top in terms of insulation. A well-functioning heater is perfectly capable of making a soft top CJ5 plenty comfortable in very cold weather. I've driven mine in single digit weather plenty of times and had no problem heating the cab at all.
6) I agree that the wiring sucks. There is no fuse panel and the only a couple of inline fuses protect the vital circuits. A complete rewire is cheap an easy though using something like the EZ Wiring harness, which is about $130 bucks.
7). There is no reason at all to be afraid of using a CJ5 to commute with. It is not an "off-road" vehicle that is unsafe for the streets. It is simply a short wheelbase vehicle with a narrow track that takes some getting used to. I would have zero qualms about commuting in my CJ5 or using it as a daily driver, which I did for many years.

 

Thanks guys for all the input. I'm making arrangements to pick this Jeep up this weekend. I can't wait to dig in and get this Jeep back on the road. I'll let you know how it goes. I'm sure I'll be back with plenty more questions!

I've tracked down a hard top locally, I need to reach out to the guy about it and see if it's still available. I also know a local junk yard has a few CJ-5s sitting around, any NLA parts I should try to get now?

 

If I caught it right this is a 1973, make sure the hard top you are looking at is for a 1955-1975. 1976-1985 will not work as the angle of the windshield is wrong.

 

Acknowlege correction on Ford RTS manual trans.
Have one in the corner of the garage from 84 F150/302.
Yes it is a 3+OD, seems like doable trans conversion from stock
T14 or T15 3 speed with slow shifting.