How old a Jeep are you looking at? Buying a half "restored" CJ might be
more work and cost than you're hoping for in a daily-driver. If nothing
else, you won't know what really got restored and what got spackled-over.

New paint and spray-on bedliner can cover a multitude of sins, especially
in one that you already know has had some sheetmetal surgery. There might
be a lot of aluminium tape under that bedliner. There might be a lot of
baling wire and hose clamps lurking under the floor. Or not: I'm just
saying. Crawl under the thing, look for rust. Poke at fresh undercoating
with an awl. Try to rock the body off the frame. Look at the inner side
of the rear frame rails back by the spring hangers for rot.

Finding the rear seat holes without scratching off all the bedliner might
be a trick. If you are using a fixed rear bench you should be able to
find the forward holes by crawling underneath and looking for captured
nuts on the floor. Then use the seat as a template to find the rear
holes. But if you are using the rear seat for anything other than
groceries, you want the seat and belts very securely mounted. A seat that
comes loose before the belt puts the passenger between a hammer and a
knife edge, any system that allows you to be ejected is very probably
going to kill someone -- unless it launches you through an open window in
the Acme Fluffy Pillow Warehouse.



On Wed, 14 Apr 2004, Rob wrote:

> Brief history - I had an '82 CJ-7 needing cosmetic repairs and never
> had time for it. Sold it. Regretted it. Bought a TJ. Miss the ol'
> CJ.
>
> I'm looking at one now that has had sheet metal repairs and had any of
> the old mounting spots for a shot top bondo'd and painted. All the
> snaps were removed and filled in.
>
> Also, the inside has a spray-in liner. The owner removed the rear
> seat and seat belts so its an empty bed and spayed over the holes.
>
> I need this Jeep to be me daily driver so I need to add a soft top
> (don't want a hard top) and need the back seat (have little kids who
> need to be in their car seat still.)
>
> For someone relatively inexperienced with any sort of metal work or
> installing hardware like this, give me an idea how big a deal this is.
> i..e what if the old mounting pints for the rear seat started rusting
> before he sprayed? Will I have to drill/thread new holes? What are
> the risks of not having the rear seat securely anchored (seat belts
> too)?
>
> While I'm at it, anyone have a daily driver in little need to any
> cosmetic or functional repair they want to sell or trade for a low
> mileage TJ?
>
> Thanks in advance!
>
> Rob
>
>

 

How old a Jeep are you looking at? Buying a half "restored" CJ might be
more work and cost than you're hoping for in a daily-driver. If nothing
else, you won't know what really got restored and what got spackled-over.

New paint and spray-on bedliner can cover a multitude of sins, especially
in one that you already know has had some sheetmetal surgery. There might
be a lot of aluminium tape under that bedliner. There might be a lot of
baling wire and hose clamps lurking under the floor. Or not: I'm just
saying. Crawl under the thing, look for rust. Poke at fresh undercoating
with an awl. Try to rock the body off the frame. Look at the inner side
of the rear frame rails back by the spring hangers for rot.

Finding the rear seat holes without scratching off all the bedliner might
be a trick. If you are using a fixed rear bench you should be able to
find the forward holes by crawling underneath and looking for captured
nuts on the floor. Then use the seat as a template to find the rear
holes. But if you are using the rear seat for anything other than
groceries, you want the seat and belts very securely mounted. A seat that
comes loose before the belt puts the passenger between a hammer and a
knife edge, any system that allows you to be ejected is very probably
going to kill someone -- unless it launches you through an open window in
the Acme Fluffy Pillow Warehouse.



On Wed, 14 Apr 2004, Rob wrote:

> Brief history - I had an '82 CJ-7 needing cosmetic repairs and never
> had time for it. Sold it. Regretted it. Bought a TJ. Miss the ol'
> CJ.
>
> I'm looking at one now that has had sheet metal repairs and had any of
> the old mounting spots for a shot top bondo'd and painted. All the
> snaps were removed and filled in.
>
> Also, the inside has a spray-in liner. The owner removed the rear
> seat and seat belts so its an empty bed and spayed over the holes.
>
> I need this Jeep to be me daily driver so I need to add a soft top
> (don't want a hard top) and need the back seat (have little kids who
> need to be in their car seat still.)
>
> For someone relatively inexperienced with any sort of metal work or
> installing hardware like this, give me an idea how big a deal this is.
> i..e what if the old mounting pints for the rear seat started rusting
> before he sprayed? Will I have to drill/thread new holes? What are
> the risks of not having the rear seat securely anchored (seat belts
> too)?
>
> While I'm at it, anyone have a daily driver in little need to any
> cosmetic or functional repair they want to sell or trade for a low
> mileage TJ?
>
> Thanks in advance!
>
> Rob
>
>

 

How old a Jeep are you looking at? Buying a half "restored" CJ might be
more work and cost than you're hoping for in a daily-driver. If nothing
else, you won't know what really got restored and what got spackled-over.

New paint and spray-on bedliner can cover a multitude of sins, especially
in one that you already know has had some sheetmetal surgery. There might
be a lot of aluminium tape under that bedliner. There might be a lot of
baling wire and hose clamps lurking under the floor. Or not: I'm just
saying. Crawl under the thing, look for rust. Poke at fresh undercoating
with an awl. Try to rock the body off the frame. Look at the inner side
of the rear frame rails back by the spring hangers for rot.

Finding the rear seat holes without scratching off all the bedliner might
be a trick. If you are using a fixed rear bench you should be able to
find the forward holes by crawling underneath and looking for captured
nuts on the floor. Then use the seat as a template to find the rear
holes. But if you are using the rear seat for anything other than
groceries, you want the seat and belts very securely mounted. A seat that
comes loose before the belt puts the passenger between a hammer and a
knife edge, any system that allows you to be ejected is very probably
going to kill someone -- unless it launches you through an open window in
the Acme Fluffy Pillow Warehouse.



On Wed, 14 Apr 2004, Rob wrote:

> Brief history - I had an '82 CJ-7 needing cosmetic repairs and never
> had time for it. Sold it. Regretted it. Bought a TJ. Miss the ol'
> CJ.
>
> I'm looking at one now that has had sheet metal repairs and had any of
> the old mounting spots for a shot top bondo'd and painted. All the
> snaps were removed and filled in.
>
> Also, the inside has a spray-in liner. The owner removed the rear
> seat and seat belts so its an empty bed and spayed over the holes.
>
> I need this Jeep to be me daily driver so I need to add a soft top
> (don't want a hard top) and need the back seat (have little kids who
> need to be in their car seat still.)
>
> For someone relatively inexperienced with any sort of metal work or
> installing hardware like this, give me an idea how big a deal this is.
> i..e what if the old mounting pints for the rear seat started rusting
> before he sprayed? Will I have to drill/thread new holes? What are
> the risks of not having the rear seat securely anchored (seat belts
> too)?
>
> While I'm at it, anyone have a daily driver in little need to any
> cosmetic or functional repair they want to sell or trade for a low
> mileage TJ?
>
> Thanks in advance!
>
> Rob
>
>

 

I really appreaciate each of your comments. Each very helpful. The
Jepp is about 5 hours away and I really needed to get a better
understanding of what issues might exist and especially to help me
decide whether the trek was worth my time.

The owner sent a bunch of picures and it looks like his repairs and
paint work is really good. He took some pictures of the underneath
side - just from the front and back bumpers shooting along the
underside - and don't show much of the frame. There does seem to be a
pretty significant amount of rust on one pair of the leaf springs. and
near the brackets. The other pair looks pretty good.

While there's a lot right about the Jepp for me ... I think my lack of
experience and distance from the Jepp are going to cause me to pass on
this one.

If ayone wants any details on a yellow '83 CJ-7 in Houston, TX, email
me at robmu@yahoo.com and I'll pass on the owner's contact info. He's
been very cooperative. I've taken enough of his time and the least I
can do is let others who might be closer to Houston and are in the
market, see if its a good deal for them or not. His asking price is
roughly $5500.

Thanks again for your feedback,

Rob


On Thu, 15 Apr 2004 14:30:33 -0400, Lee Ayrton <layrton@panix.com>
wrote:

>
>How old a Jeep are you looking at? Buying a half "restored" CJ might be
>more work and cost than you're hoping for in a daily-driver. If nothing
>else, you won't know what really got restored and what got spackled-over.
>
>New paint and spray-on bedliner can cover a multitude of sins, especially
>in one that you already know has had some sheetmetal surgery. There might
>be a lot of aluminium tape under that bedliner. There might be a lot of
>baling wire and hose clamps lurking under the floor. Or not: I'm just
>saying. Crawl under the thing, look for rust. Poke at fresh undercoating
>with an awl. Try to rock the body off the frame. Look at the inner side
>of the rear frame rails back by the spring hangers for rot.
>
>Finding the rear seat holes without scratching off all the bedliner might
>be a trick. If you are using a fixed rear bench you should be able to
>find the forward holes by crawling underneath and looking for captured
>nuts on the floor. Then use the seat as a template to find the rear
>holes. But if you are using the rear seat for anything other than
>groceries, you want the seat and belts very securely mounted. A seat that
>comes loose before the belt puts the passenger between a hammer and a
>knife edge, any system that allows you to be ejected is very probably
>going to kill someone -- unless it launches you through an open window in
>the Acme Fluffy Pillow Warehouse.
>
>
>
>On Wed, 14 Apr 2004, Rob wrote:
>
>> Brief history - I had an '82 CJ-7 needing cosmetic repairs and never
>> had time for it. Sold it. Regretted it. Bought a TJ. Miss the ol'
>> CJ.
>>
>> I'm looking at one now that has had sheet metal repairs and had any of
>> the old mounting spots for a shot top bondo'd and painted. All the
>> snaps were removed and filled in.
>>
>> Also, the inside has a spray-in liner. The owner removed the rear
>> seat and seat belts so its an empty bed and spayed over the holes.
>>
>> I need this Jeep to be me daily driver so I need to add a soft top
>> (don't want a hard top) and need the back seat (have little kids who
>> need to be in their car seat still.)
>>
>> For someone relatively inexperienced with any sort of metal work or
>> installing hardware like this, give me an idea how big a deal this is.
>> i..e what if the old mounting pints for the rear seat started rusting
>> before he sprayed? Will I have to drill/thread new holes? What are
>> the risks of not having the rear seat securely anchored (seat belts
>> too)?
>>
>> While I'm at it, anyone have a daily driver in little need to any
>> cosmetic or functional repair they want to sell or trade for a low
>> mileage TJ?
>>
>> Thanks in advance!
>>
>> Rob
>>
>>

 

I really appreaciate each of your comments. Each very helpful. The
Jepp is about 5 hours away and I really needed to get a better
understanding of what issues might exist and especially to help me
decide whether the trek was worth my time.

The owner sent a bunch of picures and it looks like his repairs and
paint work is really good. He took some pictures of the underneath
side - just from the front and back bumpers shooting along the
underside - and don't show much of the frame. There does seem to be a
pretty significant amount of rust on one pair of the leaf springs. and
near the brackets. The other pair looks pretty good.

While there's a lot right about the Jepp for me ... I think my lack of
experience and distance from the Jepp are going to cause me to pass on
this one.

If ayone wants any details on a yellow '83 CJ-7 in Houston, TX, email
me at robmu@yahoo.com and I'll pass on the owner's contact info. He's
been very cooperative. I've taken enough of his time and the least I
can do is let others who might be closer to Houston and are in the
market, see if its a good deal for them or not. His asking price is
roughly $5500.

Thanks again for your feedback,

Rob


On Thu, 15 Apr 2004 14:30:33 -0400, Lee Ayrton <layrton@panix.com>
wrote:

>
>How old a Jeep are you looking at? Buying a half "restored" CJ might be
>more work and cost than you're hoping for in a daily-driver. If nothing
>else, you won't know what really got restored and what got spackled-over.
>
>New paint and spray-on bedliner can cover a multitude of sins, especially
>in one that you already know has had some sheetmetal surgery. There might
>be a lot of aluminium tape under that bedliner. There might be a lot of
>baling wire and hose clamps lurking under the floor. Or not: I'm just
>saying. Crawl under the thing, look for rust. Poke at fresh undercoating
>with an awl. Try to rock the body off the frame. Look at the inner side
>of the rear frame rails back by the spring hangers for rot.
>
>Finding the rear seat holes without scratching off all the bedliner might
>be a trick. If you are using a fixed rear bench you should be able to
>find the forward holes by crawling underneath and looking for captured
>nuts on the floor. Then use the seat as a template to find the rear
>holes. But if you are using the rear seat for anything other than
>groceries, you want the seat and belts very securely mounted. A seat that
>comes loose before the belt puts the passenger between a hammer and a
>knife edge, any system that allows you to be ejected is very probably
>going to kill someone -- unless it launches you through an open window in
>the Acme Fluffy Pillow Warehouse.
>
>
>
>On Wed, 14 Apr 2004, Rob wrote:
>
>> Brief history - I had an '82 CJ-7 needing cosmetic repairs and never
>> had time for it. Sold it. Regretted it. Bought a TJ. Miss the ol'
>> CJ.
>>
>> I'm looking at one now that has had sheet metal repairs and had any of
>> the old mounting spots for a shot top bondo'd and painted. All the
>> snaps were removed and filled in.
>>
>> Also, the inside has a spray-in liner. The owner removed the rear
>> seat and seat belts so its an empty bed and spayed over the holes.
>>
>> I need this Jeep to be me daily driver so I need to add a soft top
>> (don't want a hard top) and need the back seat (have little kids who
>> need to be in their car seat still.)
>>
>> For someone relatively inexperienced with any sort of metal work or
>> installing hardware like this, give me an idea how big a deal this is.
>> i..e what if the old mounting pints for the rear seat started rusting
>> before he sprayed? Will I have to drill/thread new holes? What are
>> the risks of not having the rear seat securely anchored (seat belts
>> too)?
>>
>> While I'm at it, anyone have a daily driver in little need to any
>> cosmetic or functional repair they want to sell or trade for a low
>> mileage TJ?
>>
>> Thanks in advance!
>>
>> Rob
>>
>>

 

I really appreaciate each of your comments. Each very helpful. The
Jepp is about 5 hours away and I really needed to get a better
understanding of what issues might exist and especially to help me
decide whether the trek was worth my time.

The owner sent a bunch of picures and it looks like his repairs and
paint work is really good. He took some pictures of the underneath
side - just from the front and back bumpers shooting along the
underside - and don't show much of the frame. There does seem to be a
pretty significant amount of rust on one pair of the leaf springs. and
near the brackets. The other pair looks pretty good.

While there's a lot right about the Jepp for me ... I think my lack of
experience and distance from the Jepp are going to cause me to pass on
this one.

If ayone wants any details on a yellow '83 CJ-7 in Houston, TX, email
me at robmu@yahoo.com and I'll pass on the owner's contact info. He's
been very cooperative. I've taken enough of his time and the least I
can do is let others who might be closer to Houston and are in the
market, see if its a good deal for them or not. His asking price is
roughly $5500.

Thanks again for your feedback,

Rob


On Thu, 15 Apr 2004 14:30:33 -0400, Lee Ayrton <layrton@panix.com>
wrote:

>
>How old a Jeep are you looking at? Buying a half "restored" CJ might be
>more work and cost than you're hoping for in a daily-driver. If nothing
>else, you won't know what really got restored and what got spackled-over.
>
>New paint and spray-on bedliner can cover a multitude of sins, especially
>in one that you already know has had some sheetmetal surgery. There might
>be a lot of aluminium tape under that bedliner. There might be a lot of
>baling wire and hose clamps lurking under the floor. Or not: I'm just
>saying. Crawl under the thing, look for rust. Poke at fresh undercoating
>with an awl. Try to rock the body off the frame. Look at the inner side
>of the rear frame rails back by the spring hangers for rot.
>
>Finding the rear seat holes without scratching off all the bedliner might
>be a trick. If you are using a fixed rear bench you should be able to
>find the forward holes by crawling underneath and looking for captured
>nuts on the floor. Then use the seat as a template to find the rear
>holes. But if you are using the rear seat for anything other than
>groceries, you want the seat and belts very securely mounted. A seat that
>comes loose before the belt puts the passenger between a hammer and a
>knife edge, any system that allows you to be ejected is very probably
>going to kill someone -- unless it launches you through an open window in
>the Acme Fluffy Pillow Warehouse.
>
>
>
>On Wed, 14 Apr 2004, Rob wrote:
>
>> Brief history - I had an '82 CJ-7 needing cosmetic repairs and never
>> had time for it. Sold it. Regretted it. Bought a TJ. Miss the ol'
>> CJ.
>>
>> I'm looking at one now that has had sheet metal repairs and had any of
>> the old mounting spots for a shot top bondo'd and painted. All the
>> snaps were removed and filled in.
>>
>> Also, the inside has a spray-in liner. The owner removed the rear
>> seat and seat belts so its an empty bed and spayed over the holes.
>>
>> I need this Jeep to be me daily driver so I need to add a soft top
>> (don't want a hard top) and need the back seat (have little kids who
>> need to be in their car seat still.)
>>
>> For someone relatively inexperienced with any sort of metal work or
>> installing hardware like this, give me an idea how big a deal this is.
>> i..e what if the old mounting pints for the rear seat started rusting
>> before he sprayed? Will I have to drill/thread new holes? What are
>> the risks of not having the rear seat securely anchored (seat belts
>> too)?
>>
>> While I'm at it, anyone have a daily driver in little need to any
>> cosmetic or functional repair they want to sell or trade for a low
>> mileage TJ?
>>
>> Thanks in advance!
>>
>> Rob
>>
>>

 

I really appreaciate each of your comments. Each very helpful. The
Jepp is about 5 hours away and I really needed to get a better
understanding of what issues might exist and especially to help me
decide whether the trek was worth my time.

The owner sent a bunch of picures and it looks like his repairs and
paint work is really good. He took some pictures of the underneath
side - just from the front and back bumpers shooting along the
underside - and don't show much of the frame. There does seem to be a
pretty significant amount of rust on one pair of the leaf springs. and
near the brackets. The other pair looks pretty good.

While there's a lot right about the Jepp for me ... I think my lack of
experience and distance from the Jepp are going to cause me to pass on
this one.

If ayone wants any details on a yellow '83 CJ-7 in Houston, TX, email
me at robmu@yahoo.com and I'll pass on the owner's contact info. He's
been very cooperative. I've taken enough of his time and the least I
can do is let others who might be closer to Houston and are in the
market, see if its a good deal for them or not. His asking price is
roughly $5500.

Thanks again for your feedback,

Rob


On Thu, 15 Apr 2004 14:30:33 -0400, Lee Ayrton <layrton@panix.com>
wrote:

>
>How old a Jeep are you looking at? Buying a half "restored" CJ might be
>more work and cost than you're hoping for in a daily-driver. If nothing
>else, you won't know what really got restored and what got spackled-over.
>
>New paint and spray-on bedliner can cover a multitude of sins, especially
>in one that you already know has had some sheetmetal surgery. There might
>be a lot of aluminium tape under that bedliner. There might be a lot of
>baling wire and hose clamps lurking under the floor. Or not: I'm just
>saying. Crawl under the thing, look for rust. Poke at fresh undercoating
>with an awl. Try to rock the body off the frame. Look at the inner side
>of the rear frame rails back by the spring hangers for rot.
>
>Finding the rear seat holes without scratching off all the bedliner might
>be a trick. If you are using a fixed rear bench you should be able to
>find the forward holes by crawling underneath and looking for captured
>nuts on the floor. Then use the seat as a template to find the rear
>holes. But if you are using the rear seat for anything other than
>groceries, you want the seat and belts very securely mounted. A seat that
>comes loose before the belt puts the passenger between a hammer and a
>knife edge, any system that allows you to be ejected is very probably
>going to kill someone -- unless it launches you through an open window in
>the Acme Fluffy Pillow Warehouse.
>
>
>
>On Wed, 14 Apr 2004, Rob wrote:
>
>> Brief history - I had an '82 CJ-7 needing cosmetic repairs and never
>> had time for it. Sold it. Regretted it. Bought a TJ. Miss the ol'
>> CJ.
>>
>> I'm looking at one now that has had sheet metal repairs and had any of
>> the old mounting spots for a shot top bondo'd and painted. All the
>> snaps were removed and filled in.
>>
>> Also, the inside has a spray-in liner. The owner removed the rear
>> seat and seat belts so its an empty bed and spayed over the holes.
>>
>> I need this Jeep to be me daily driver so I need to add a soft top
>> (don't want a hard top) and need the back seat (have little kids who
>> need to be in their car seat still.)
>>
>> For someone relatively inexperienced with any sort of metal work or
>> installing hardware like this, give me an idea how big a deal this is.
>> i..e what if the old mounting pints for the rear seat started rusting
>> before he sprayed? Will I have to drill/thread new holes? What are
>> the risks of not having the rear seat securely anchored (seat belts
>> too)?
>>
>> While I'm at it, anyone have a daily driver in little need to any
>> cosmetic or functional repair they want to sell or trade for a low
>> mileage TJ?
>>
>> Thanks in advance!
>>
>> Rob
>>
>>