BMW Blog

First off I've been looking for a long time. I'm going to be buying a jeep soon & have questions. Please be nice to me cuz I'm not up on everything just yet. I'm looking at a 82 CJ7 looks good and all but it has a 229 4speed in it with 6" lift running 36" tires. I know the rear has been changed it has a dana 60. Now before I actually go look at this thing I need some guru's to answer some things.... This motor wasn't a stock option was it? The other is will this motor turn those big tires?

Thanks,
Mitch
What brand of motor? It should have come with a 258 amc.


edit: Looks like a chevy v6 would probably have more power than a stock inline 6. I think that it would turn those tires fine.
I'm not sure what brand of motor. All I've seen is pictures. I'm waiting on the guy to call me so I can look at it. Will a Chevy motor bolt up to AMC tranny? from what I have found on the net I think this might be a Chev v6.
I believe that an amc tranny will bolt up to a chevy engine but maybe he replaced that also. Ask what tranny and what transfer case it has.
Any time I see a rig for sale with major modifications (IE axle/trans swaps, huge lifts, huge tires, etc..) a red flag goes up in my head. For every good builder there are ten back yard geniuses who think they can build their own. Bad driveline angles, cobbled welds, unsafe steering mods, the list goes on. If you are really interested in this Jeep, my suggestion is to ask in depth questions about every part of the drivetrain, steering, brakes, and suspension. Take lots of pictures and come back here. Down load the Pict's and give us the rundown. We will be happy to let you know what we think.
I'm thinking I'll go look at it tomorrow. I did talk to the guy a couple minutes ago. It is a Chevy motor. He said the tranny is a t-4. Is this a stock tranny? I too am concerned that this was slopped together. He told me that all this was put together when he bought it. He knows less than I do about jeeps ( poor guy). The driveshaft broke on him right after he bought it and he replaced it and the u-joints. It has does have a Dana 60 rear, at least that's what he was told. I'm thinking I'll still go look but it's the first one I've looked at so unless it's real special I probably won't take it. I'll keep you all posted on this one. Thanks for the replies!
I'm thinking I'll go look at it tomorrow. I did talk to the guy a couple minutes ago. It is a Chevy motor. He said the tranny is a t-4. Is this a stock tranny? I too am concerned that this was slopped together. He told me that all this was put together when he bought it. He knows less than I do about jeeps ( poor guy). The driveshaft broke on him right after he bought it and he replaced it and the u-joints. It has does have a Dana 60 rear, at least that's what he was told. I'm thinking I'll still go look but it's the first one I've looked at so unless it's real special I probably won't take it. I'll keep you all posted on this one. Thanks for the replies!
I'm thinking I'll go look at it tomorrow. I did talk to the guy a couple minutes ago. It is a Chevy motor. He said the tranny is a t-4. Is this a stock tranny? I too am concerned that this was slopped together. He told me that all this was put together when he bought it. He knows less than I do about jeeps ( poor guy). The driveshaft broke on him right after he bought it and he replaced it and the u-joints. It has does have a Dana 60 rear, at least that's what he was told. I'm thinking I'll still go look but it's the first one I've looked at so unless it's real special I probably won't take it. I'll keep you all posted on this one. Thanks for the replies!
A T4, D60, and 36's? That will never work very long. The weak link is the transmission.
Unless I know the seller personally, I don't believe anything they tell me. He may know more than he leads on. He might even be the person who did the mods but is bailing out because he can't get it to run correctly. An easy way to avoid your questions is to just blame the "previous owner" and play dumb mechanically. That keeps him from having to answer uncomfortable questions. That also leaves you relying solely on your own mechanical knowledge to figure out what's going on.

Unless it's a screaming deal, I'd probably pass. Or.. take someone with you who does know what to look for, can identify potential problems and help you assign a realistic value to the vehicle.
Like said above, go give it a look and take pictures of everything - axles, tranny, engines, driveshafts, tc, springs, shacles, steering setup, everything.
What kind of wheeling you plan on doing? If you want to do real agressive stuff,than you might want to look at a rig that is already built up a bit--you might save some money. However, if you just want a trail rig that is gonna be on the street a lot too, I would look for a rig fairly close to stock.

The best selling CJ ever was the CJ-7. Most people got'em with a 258 inline 6--a dana 30 as the front axle and an amc 20 as the rear. Most had open differentials. The engines were mounted to a myriad of different transmissions--as the CJ-7 was also available with a 304 V8 and a 151 inline 4--which early on was a Chevy engine (the "Iron Duke")--then later AMC started making their own 4 cyl.

For example, my 83' 7 came with a 258, and a T-5 (5 speed tranny)--they also made a T-4. Mine also came with stock cruise control.

Personally---I would by a rig that is as untouched and close to stock form as possible. Most guys on this site will tell you that half the fun of owning a Jeep is picking and applying your own modifications. Anyway, good luck, lookin for an old AMC is CJLiscious--CG
Went for a lok today.... I don't know jeeps inside and out but going on what I do know this thing was a probblem. To start the water pump leaked the guy said it got hot yesterday but he didn't know why. I found it leaking, maybe he doesn't know squat but either way. The next thing is he told me the story about the rear driveshaft, it broke right after he bought the jeep. Eithe rit was broke when he bought it or he did something to break it. It could be the geomtry of the lift it didn't look right to me. I had him start it up, it did sound good. I got in to see about the shifting, I couldn't get it to go into 1st or second. I had him try, he got it no problem. I get back in and he told me to pump the clutch, I got it second but no first. I get back out to find the clutch master cylinder cap half off. I asked him if he just filled it, yup, it had bubbles coming out.... I told him to bleed it off before the next guy came as I was running away. On to the next one. Thanks for all the replies. Mitch
...I was running away....

Smart move, in a world full of dumb ones.
I admire your patience! I passed on a couple in my search and it ended up paying off. My '84 CJ7 was about as close to stock as I was going to find around here although I wish it had a couple of things left untouched. But, of course, it wasn't the guy I bought it from that made the changes, it was the PO's PO. Like BESRK said. :rofl:

Patience is a virtue...use it wisely. You'll know the one when it comes around.