1975 and earlier Jeeps,what to look for?

I retired from the Post Office & drove one of their Jeeps for many years. It had the 232" engine & was very reliable. When it was retired, it was the oldest one they had & still going. 1975 & retired in 2000. Do NOT confuse these with regular CJ5's though. They only had rear drive with positraction, but it would go well in the snow with chains. All the stopping & starting with my Jeep resulted in 4.5mpg .

Not hard to replace the 304 with a 258 when it wears out. Matter of fact kit to put a 4spd granny in front of a D20 not that expensive. I dont know how extreme Calif is on engines in older vehicles. I mean different engine of same vintage. I understand if you wanted to put some modern engine in, you would have to have all the electronics and smog stuff from donor vehicle and jump through hoops to be allowed to license it. But putting a pre-smog engine of different configuration in a pre-smog vehicle shouldnt be a problem legally?

Depends what you want to do with Jeep. Is it for off roading or ?? CJ5 just has too short wheelbase to be considered a regular use road vehicle, especially if you are wanting to take it at modern high speeds.

Ever consider the Jeepster/Commando type vehicle I mentioned. It was somewhere between CJ and Wagoneer. I've never driven or ridden in one, so cant tell you what they are like to live with.

The early Scouts were light compact vehicle. Scout 800 or something like that from sixties, had a big slant 4cyl. Slower and not as good road manners as an early Bronco, but whole lot cheaper to buy used one at this point in time and better road manners than a CJ5. The later 70s era Scouts were much nicer to drive but also lot heavier. However the 70s era Scouts did offer range of engines. Still had the IHC big slant 4 as base engine. But they also offered the AMC 232/258 straight six as an option, as well as the usual IHC V8s. Were you paying attention, they offered the AMC 258 as an option!!!! This is a good thing! And of course offered 4spd granny tranny as an option too. Oddly most 70s era Scouts came with 304/345 V8 and an automagic tranny. Thats the IHC 304, not the AMC 304. Can you say gas hog? The IHC V8 engines were truck engines really designed for medium duty trucks, and very heavy duty, but they did get pretty low mileage. They did offer a Nissan 6cyl diesel last two or three years they were made. Would that be smog exempt in Calif?

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The second one doesn't say what the trany or transfer case are. I would say the third (not knowing the 2nd's set up), but I would hate the three speed. I think you could easly find a swap for it in the future. The D20 and 44 rear are pretty stout, you definatly wouldn't have to worry about breaking them. For the record I would have to agree with HJ on the scout thing, they are almost indestructable, and way under appreciated.

Can you tell me what broke on your current truck that will cost you $5,000 to repair?

Didn't like the traction locks on the short wheel based Broncos or Jeep CJ models whith there stiff suppention on the road. Hit a bump with one rear wheel and it would tend to pull you the way of the drive wheel still on the road.

Al

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Good idea on the Scouts,will take a look.

The Jeep will drive up and down mtn,do snow and ice for a few miles,max at 55 MPH on a 5 mile stretch in flatlands,wont have to do freeways.Will drive on muddy dirt roads,nothing extreme,stuff My Dodge Diesel does and loves.

The engine swap no problem at all as long as vehicle is a 1975 frame or older,can put anything into it.Yup,smog is a MAJOR hassle,cant afford down time (or costs) while smog issues resolved,and old vehicle and smog means PROBLEMS,BTDT,NEVER going there again.Calif smog is TOUGH and standards always changing,getting TOUGHER as they are aging,that stinks!!!And after 5-7 years,I forget,its YEARLY! NO THANK YOU!And try finding smog parts,like my Dodge Motorhome,next to impossible and very pricey!I finally gave up on MH (which is their goal) and it was a super clean,nice rig.

If I had room to park another Diesel Truck,thats exactly were I would be going.

Its a Jetta tranny,2001,welcome to 5g.2500 tranny,plus converter and R&R labor,I cant do it myself.And at 135,000 miles,and 5-7500 bluebook value,and not a snow vehicle,and moving offgrid in future,it really is a losing proposition unfortunately.If I was to stay fair weather I might do an engine and tranny it as its super clean and very nice,its the GLX,but now seems situation has passed it by.Cant complain on Jetta though,It did almost daily trips from 1000 foot to 5000 foot and held up really well and reliably,I dont begrudge it a thing.

I can still do tranny/engine replacements on old vehicles,I cant on the new.No room,way they are built,older man,just cant do them now.

OH,and thanks for ALL the comments and brainstorming,keep em coming,anything you can think of I want to hear.

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......................The Cummins 4BTV is a perfect candidate too mount into a CJ7 . Some of the old bread type delivery trucks came with a 4 BTV turbo charged mated too a 4 speed Allison ! This would be an ideal match for a CJ7 as well . 30 MPG is a possibility if the 4BTV uses the old style injector pump pre computer ! , fordy

New diesel law here is exempt until 1998 models,1998 and newer are smog checked now.Which is why my truck is a 1997.

Another smog gem....they got the smog law passed under the provision that after 30 years a vehicle went exempt.Why I bought the 1977 motorhome,was only going to need 2 smog checks,2 years apart and go exempt.When the 30 year cutoff was actually reached they changed the law and 30 year old cutoff date no longer applies,then a few years later made it every year after 5-7 years,I forget.

So as it stands,NOW,its 1975 or earlier exempt.For now.Dirty so and so's!

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Yes that would be nice!

Remember though,I need this vehicle as of last week,we have to find one turn key ready to go. But that Cummins transplant,that is sweet indeed!

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Fordy,Look at that,a scout diesel,amazing!
http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/cto/2234139716.html

You are right,Scout is certainly doable,only found one so far with 232 and a project,but If I can find a nice one,Yup,totally consider it,size is right too.

How about this,I could do that!
http://losangeles.craigslist.org/lac...245798233.html

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................Very nice condition ! That said , a friend bought one used , lots of problems , expensice to work on and not Turbo charged so will be a dog in anything over about 3,000 MSL ! You can put a mild cam in the IH 304 and it will really run great , 304 IH engine 304 American motors engines are NOt the same animal ! , fordy

Well that Gold sr2 is interesting,very rare with only 500 made and quite collectible.If it has Powr-Lok limited slip differential axle(s) that sounds super,I need at least a limited slip to work for me on rear axle minimum.Also its within an inch of the jetta for length,width and wheelbase,so it would fit in my driveway.

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ive got a 76 cj5 with the amc 304 its 3 speed its and v8 but gets better milage than anything i got now except with wide tires and narrow wheel base its all over rd. and i drove it once on highway and was tached out at 60-65. around town is great. and you can build an entire jeep from catlogs

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non selectable lockers are a pain in the snow. They kick in at teh worst moment and direct you towards whichever ditch is the worst. Lockers like the ox or ARB are better as you can pop them in only when needed.

Can say one thing....wanting one,and finding one,are VERY different things,Im getting nowhere fast!

Looks like Dana factory posi is also the way to go,have it in my truck and its a snow ice killer,its nice!

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My first mail delivery vehicle was a a 77-78 era Scout, tough old truck. But, parts were a problem even back the mid 80s. I think IH must have bought parts from many different suppliers.

Unless you had the build sheet for the vehicle, getting the correct part could be a headache. I found out the hard way that not all parts for a given year Scout were interchangeable, there may have been 2-3 different radiators, manifords, or almost anything else, for the same year and model.

That's the main reason I got rid of it and bought a Jeep.

CJ's are fun toys but I wouldn't say they are too practical as far as a daily driver goes. Bad mileage, bucky ride, drafty. There used to be a lot of Scouts in my neck of the woods but Wisconsin road salt was not kind to them. In 1969 IH used the AMC 232 six as their base engine in the Scout. Being enclosed I would give a Scout the nod over a CJ. Bronco's are too tippy for my taste, Scouts have more stability. However if it were me I would be looking for a Jeep Cherokee, better mileage and highway manners over a CJ, still anvil simple, and short enough for the occasional off-highway exploration. I almost bought one for 50 bucks, 232 six, 3 speed manual. Plus I think they look better than a Scout or a Bronco.

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I like them, owned 3 over the years. However finding one with a six and a manual tranny is like the quest for the holly grail. Over the years I've seen exactly two with with a six and a three speed and one of those was a 1962 model in a junkyard with the short lived OHC six. Nearly all had V8 and a automatic and many came with quadratrack. Quadratrak not that bad until you had to go hunt up the special lube or replace a stretched chain in the transfer case. Not sure you can even get either chain or the lube anymore. It was sort of an AMC dealer only thing. Whether Chrysler-Jeep would still carry it for something that old, think pretty ifffy.

Cant find a six, the 360 V8 was best of the V8s ever offered in one. Anymore if I found one of these in great condition, either Cherokee Chief or the Grand Wagoneer, I'd look to put a Ford 300 six and a 4spd in it (or 5spd from a Ford 3/4 ton if I could manage it). No offense to AMC 258 which is a fine engine, but I like the 300 better.

Actually there were three Scouts, the early Scout 80, the Scout 800 you mention, and the Scout II in the 70s. ALL of them offered the IHC slant 4 cyl as the base engine. IHC sold an amazing number of the slant 4's considering how underpowered they were, but MOST Scouts where it was an option went out the door with a V8 and an automatic. Especially the Scout II, which was heavier vehicle much like the Cherokee Chief or Grand Wagoneer.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interna...arvester_Scout

Edit: Two other bugaboos with the old Cherokee/Wagoneer is first the rear window. To open the rear door, you have to lower the rear window. Nearly ALL you find have a malfunctioning electric window. If you own one of these vehicles and ever see an old 60s model with manual roll up window, BUY THE WHOLE BACK DOOR, whatever it costs, and run like the wind. The other bugaboo was the 70s up models had the most convoluted gas filler tube you ever saw. They were a PAIN to get gas into if vehicle wasnt setting just right and if any part of emissions stuff wasnt working right. The 60s version was somewhat better, still crap design. My only real gripes. Thought overall it was a very nicely designed vehicle for that era, lot thought had gone into it. And it drove nice both on and off road. The quadratrak did sort of make the vehicle jitter and jutter if you were on glare ice. But probably be off in the ditch with most vehicles in those conditions anyway.

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