Newbie Jeep questions
 

Hi y'all. I have Jeep-on-the-brain. I'm hoping to be able to buy my
first Jeep by end of March at the latest, so I'm starting to read up
some to get up to speed so I can make an intelligent purchase. I'm
starting to look towards a late 70's model CJ5 or CJ7 with V8 and
manual tranny. I have a bunch of questions that I'd appreciate input
on from y'all and here they are... I apologize in advance if the
fomat of this post is out-of-whack since I've cut-and-pasted some
questions into here from different sources.

I found a good page for reference numbers on AMC engines:
http://home.att.net/~farna/amtech/engines.html

Looks like both V8s 304 and 360) have enough cubic inches to put out
some real power with the right tweaks. I'm just wondering what the
proven "right tweaks" are for these engines. As far as lifts go, I've
seen the spring-over lift idea. At a glance it looks simple to do...
Looks like it would give you some really effective and immediate lift,
too. Drawbacks to it? Probably inexpensive to do it, too. I'm lucky
enough to have good welder and can make strong (but not pretty) welds
with it. There are better lift options? Probably? Pointers to a
good website that shows the installation of good lift kit with good
explanations of what's going on as they do it? I think if I get a
stock CJ (if such a thing still exists :-) that I'll probably only
want to lift it about 4" and then maybe put a 2-3" body lift on it and
maybe do some body trimming to fit tires if needed. Are the suspension
lift kits and body lift kits something someone can do on their own in
a garage at home if they have a "pretty good set" of tools including a
welder? (I realize that's kind of a loaded question but maybe the
responses to it will give me a good idea if it can be done or not or
it it's just something to forget about trying on my own.) I've read
what a "lincoln locker" is and why it's a "bad thing" so I'd wanna
stay away from that. How about recommendations for good books to read
like "Jeep Owner's Bible" (that a good one?) and also links to good
informative Jeep websites? I loaded up over 7000 messages on this
newsgroup and am looking over them. Not reading all of them, of
course, but trying to read the stuff that looks like it would maybe
answer some of my questions. Is there a FAQ or website set up for
this group? Something for someone like me who has never owned a 4WD
vehicle before. "Intro To Jeeps For Dummies." Like what is a
"shackle?" Is that the bracket thing that acts as the leaf spring
attachment point? I'd like to see a "things to look for when buying
a used Jeep" kind of list if there's one out there. Thanks for taking
the time to read through this and hopefully answer a couple of my
questions.
Travis



--
Travis
FOR SALE: '63 VW Camo Baja... $1000 *FIRM*
http://bugadventures.dyndns.org
Words that soak into your ears are whispered, not yelled.


:wq!

Re: Newbie Jeep questions
 

if you're a newby, forget the radical lift bits until you've learned what a
stock Jeep will do....and how it does it. A good driver in a stock Jeep can
go many places that a duncey driver with a super lift cannot. Lifting the
body 6 feet still leaves the axles right where they were. Think about it.
The early wranglers, the AMC versions, are certainly worth considering...and
have some advantages over mucked-up CJ's...which are fine vehicles if you
can find one......
"travis" <travist34removethis@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:j5k4ovk67d83k15pbfclet2lhin0l6s5or@4ax.com...
> Hi y'all. I have Jeep-on-the-brain. I'm hoping to be able to buy my
> first Jeep by end of March at the latest, so I'm starting to read up
> some to get up to speed so I can make an intelligent purchase. I'm
> starting to look towards a late 70's model CJ5 or CJ7 with V8 and
> manual tranny. I have a bunch of questions that I'd appreciate input
> on from y'all and here they are... I apologize in advance if the
> fomat of this post is out-of-whack since I've cut-and-pasted some
> questions into here from different sources.
>
> I found a good page for reference numbers on AMC engines:
> http://home.att.net/~farna/amtech/engines.html
>
> Looks like both V8s 304 and 360) have enough cubic inches to put out
> some real power with the right tweaks. I'm just wondering what the
> proven "right tweaks" are for these engines. As far as lifts go, I've
> seen the spring-over lift idea. At a glance it looks simple to do...
> Looks like it would give you some really effective and immediate lift,
> too. Drawbacks to it? Probably inexpensive to do it, too. I'm lucky
> enough to have good welder and can make strong (but not pretty) welds
> with it. There are better lift options? Probably? Pointers to a
> good website that shows the installation of good lift kit with good
> explanations of what's going on as they do it? I think if I get a
> stock CJ (if such a thing still exists :-) that I'll probably only
> want to lift it about 4" and then maybe put a 2-3" body lift on it and
> maybe do some body trimming to fit tires if needed. Are the suspension
> lift kits and body lift kits something someone can do on their own in
> a garage at home if they have a "pretty good set" of tools including a
> welder? (I realize that's kind of a loaded question but maybe the
> responses to it will give me a good idea if it can be done or not or
> it it's just something to forget about trying on my own.) I've read
> what a "lincoln locker" is and why it's a "bad thing" so I'd wanna
> stay away from that. How about recommendations for good books to read
> like "Jeep Owner's Bible" (that a good one?) and also links to good
> informative Jeep websites? I loaded up over 7000 messages on this
> newsgroup and am looking over them. Not reading all of them, of
> course, but trying to read the stuff that looks like it would maybe
> answer some of my questions. Is there a FAQ or website set up for
> this group? Something for someone like me who has never owned a 4WD
> vehicle before. "Intro To Jeeps For Dummies." Like what is a
> "shackle?" Is that the bracket thing that acts as the leaf spring
> attachment point? I'd like to see a "things to look for when buying
> a used Jeep" kind of list if there's one out there. Thanks for taking
> the time to read through this and hopefully answer a couple of my
> questions.
> Travis
>
>
>
> --
> Travis
> FOR SALE: '63 VW Camo Baja... $1000 *FIRM*
> http://bugadventures.dyndns.org
> Words that soak into your ears are whispered, not yelled.
>
>
> :wq!

Re: Newbie Jeep questions
 

if you're a newby, forget the radical lift bits until you've learned what a
stock Jeep will do....and how it does it. A good driver in a stock Jeep can
go many places that a duncey driver with a super lift cannot. Lifting the
body 6 feet still leaves the axles right where they were. Think about it.
The early wranglers, the AMC versions, are certainly worth considering...and
have some advantages over mucked-up CJ's...which are fine vehicles if you
can find one......
"travis" <travist34removethis@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:j5k4ovk67d83k15pbfclet2lhin0l6s5or@4ax.com...
> Hi y'all. I have Jeep-on-the-brain. I'm hoping to be able to buy my
> first Jeep by end of March at the latest, so I'm starting to read up
> some to get up to speed so I can make an intelligent purchase. I'm
> starting to look towards a late 70's model CJ5 or CJ7 with V8 and
> manual tranny. I have a bunch of questions that I'd appreciate input
> on from y'all and here they are... I apologize in advance if the
> fomat of this post is out-of-whack since I've cut-and-pasted some
> questions into here from different sources.
>
> I found a good page for reference numbers on AMC engines:
> http://home.att.net/~farna/amtech/engines.html
>
> Looks like both V8s 304 and 360) have enough cubic inches to put out
> some real power with the right tweaks. I'm just wondering what the
> proven "right tweaks" are for these engines. As far as lifts go, I've
> seen the spring-over lift idea. At a glance it looks simple to do...
> Looks like it would give you some really effective and immediate lift,
> too. Drawbacks to it? Probably inexpensive to do it, too. I'm lucky
> enough to have good welder and can make strong (but not pretty) welds
> with it. There are better lift options? Probably? Pointers to a
> good website that shows the installation of good lift kit with good
> explanations of what's going on as they do it? I think if I get a
> stock CJ (if such a thing still exists :-) that I'll probably only
> want to lift it about 4" and then maybe put a 2-3" body lift on it and
> maybe do some body trimming to fit tires if needed. Are the suspension
> lift kits and body lift kits something someone can do on their own in
> a garage at home if they have a "pretty good set" of tools including a
> welder? (I realize that's kind of a loaded question but maybe the
> responses to it will give me a good idea if it can be done or not or
> it it's just something to forget about trying on my own.) I've read
> what a "lincoln locker" is and why it's a "bad thing" so I'd wanna
> stay away from that. How about recommendations for good books to read
> like "Jeep Owner's Bible" (that a good one?) and also links to good
> informative Jeep websites? I loaded up over 7000 messages on this
> newsgroup and am looking over them. Not reading all of them, of
> course, but trying to read the stuff that looks like it would maybe
> answer some of my questions. Is there a FAQ or website set up for
> this group? Something for someone like me who has never owned a 4WD
> vehicle before. "Intro To Jeeps For Dummies." Like what is a
> "shackle?" Is that the bracket thing that acts as the leaf spring
> attachment point? I'd like to see a "things to look for when buying
> a used Jeep" kind of list if there's one out there. Thanks for taking
> the time to read through this and hopefully answer a couple of my
> questions.
> Travis
>
>
>
> --
> Travis
> FOR SALE: '63 VW Camo Baja... $1000 *FIRM*
> http://bugadventures.dyndns.org
> Words that soak into your ears are whispered, not yelled.
>
>
> :wq!

Re: Newbie Jeep questions
 

if you're a newby, forget the radical lift bits until you've learned what a
stock Jeep will do....and how it does it. A good driver in a stock Jeep can
go many places that a duncey driver with a super lift cannot. Lifting the
body 6 feet still leaves the axles right where they were. Think about it.
The early wranglers, the AMC versions, are certainly worth considering...and
have some advantages over mucked-up CJ's...which are fine vehicles if you
can find one......
"travis" <travist34removethis@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:j5k4ovk67d83k15pbfclet2lhin0l6s5or@4ax.com...
> Hi y'all. I have Jeep-on-the-brain. I'm hoping to be able to buy my
> first Jeep by end of March at the latest, so I'm starting to read up
> some to get up to speed so I can make an intelligent purchase. I'm
> starting to look towards a late 70's model CJ5 or CJ7 with V8 and
> manual tranny. I have a bunch of questions that I'd appreciate input
> on from y'all and here they are... I apologize in advance if the
> fomat of this post is out-of-whack since I've cut-and-pasted some
> questions into here from different sources.
>
> I found a good page for reference numbers on AMC engines:
> http://home.att.net/~farna/amtech/engines.html
>
> Looks like both V8s 304 and 360) have enough cubic inches to put out
> some real power with the right tweaks. I'm just wondering what the
> proven "right tweaks" are for these engines. As far as lifts go, I've
> seen the spring-over lift idea. At a glance it looks simple to do...
> Looks like it would give you some really effective and immediate lift,
> too. Drawbacks to it? Probably inexpensive to do it, too. I'm lucky
> enough to have good welder and can make strong (but not pretty) welds
> with it. There are better lift options? Probably? Pointers to a
> good website that shows the installation of good lift kit with good
> explanations of what's going on as they do it? I think if I get a
> stock CJ (if such a thing still exists :-) that I'll probably only
> want to lift it about 4" and then maybe put a 2-3" body lift on it and
> maybe do some body trimming to fit tires if needed. Are the suspension
> lift kits and body lift kits something someone can do on their own in
> a garage at home if they have a "pretty good set" of tools including a
> welder? (I realize that's kind of a loaded question but maybe the
> responses to it will give me a good idea if it can be done or not or
> it it's just something to forget about trying on my own.) I've read
> what a "lincoln locker" is and why it's a "bad thing" so I'd wanna
> stay away from that. How about recommendations for good books to read
> like "Jeep Owner's Bible" (that a good one?) and also links to good
> informative Jeep websites? I loaded up over 7000 messages on this
> newsgroup and am looking over them. Not reading all of them, of
> course, but trying to read the stuff that looks like it would maybe
> answer some of my questions. Is there a FAQ or website set up for
> this group? Something for someone like me who has never owned a 4WD
> vehicle before. "Intro To Jeeps For Dummies." Like what is a
> "shackle?" Is that the bracket thing that acts as the leaf spring
> attachment point? I'd like to see a "things to look for when buying
> a used Jeep" kind of list if there's one out there. Thanks for taking
> the time to read through this and hopefully answer a couple of my
> questions.
> Travis
>
>
>
> --
> Travis
> FOR SALE: '63 VW Camo Baja... $1000 *FIRM*
> http://bugadventures.dyndns.org
> Words that soak into your ears are whispered, not yelled.
>
>
> :wq!

Re: Newbie Jeep questions
 

The CJ's are your best choice. Don't restrict yourself to the V8's. The
basic 4-banger is a great engine for tough trails. Good CJ's are getting
hard to find so make a good rust free body your first criteria.


"travis" <travist34removethis@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:j5k4ovk67d83k15pbfclet2lhin0l6s5or@4ax.com...
> Hi y'all. I have Jeep-on-the-brain. I'm hoping to be able to buy my
> first Jeep by end of March at the latest, so I'm starting to read up
> some to get up to speed so I can make an intelligent purchase. I'm
> starting to look towards a late 70's model CJ5 or CJ7 with V8 and
> manual tranny. I have a bunch of questions that I'd appreciate input
> on from y'all and here they are... I apologize in advance if the
> fomat of this post is out-of-whack since I've cut-and-pasted some
> questions into here from different sources.
>
> I found a good page for reference numbers on AMC engines:
> http://home.att.net/~farna/amtech/engines.html
>
> Looks like both V8s 304 and 360) have enough cubic inches to put out
> some real power with the right tweaks. I'm just wondering what the
> proven "right tweaks" are for these engines. As far as lifts go, I've
> seen the spring-over lift idea. At a glance it looks simple to do...
> Looks like it would give you some really effective and immediate lift,
> too. Drawbacks to it? Probably inexpensive to do it, too. I'm lucky
> enough to have good welder and can make strong (but not pretty) welds
> with it. There are better lift options? Probably? Pointers to a
> good website that shows the installation of good lift kit with good
> explanations of what's going on as they do it? I think if I get a
> stock CJ (if such a thing still exists :-) that I'll probably only
> want to lift it about 4" and then maybe put a 2-3" body lift on it and
> maybe do some body trimming to fit tires if needed. Are the suspension
> lift kits and body lift kits something someone can do on their own in
> a garage at home if they have a "pretty good set" of tools including a
> welder? (I realize that's kind of a loaded question but maybe the
> responses to it will give me a good idea if it can be done or not or
> it it's just something to forget about trying on my own.) I've read
> what a "lincoln locker" is and why it's a "bad thing" so I'd wanna
> stay away from that. How about recommendations for good books to read
> like "Jeep Owner's Bible" (that a good one?) and also links to good
> informative Jeep websites? I loaded up over 7000 messages on this
> newsgroup and am looking over them. Not reading all of them, of
> course, but trying to read the stuff that looks like it would maybe
> answer some of my questions. Is there a FAQ or website set up for
> this group? Something for someone like me who has never owned a 4WD
> vehicle before. "Intro To Jeeps For Dummies." Like what is a
> "shackle?" Is that the bracket thing that acts as the leaf spring
> attachment point? I'd like to see a "things to look for when buying
> a used Jeep" kind of list if there's one out there. Thanks for taking
> the time to read through this and hopefully answer a couple of my
> questions.
> Travis
>
>
>
> --
> Travis
> FOR SALE: '63 VW Camo Baja... $1000 *FIRM*
> http://bugadventures.dyndns.org
> Words that soak into your ears are whispered, not yelled.
>
>
> :wq!

Re: Newbie Jeep questions
 

The CJ's are your best choice. Don't restrict yourself to the V8's. The
basic 4-banger is a great engine for tough trails. Good CJ's are getting
hard to find so make a good rust free body your first criteria.


"travis" <travist34removethis@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:j5k4ovk67d83k15pbfclet2lhin0l6s5or@4ax.com...
> Hi y'all. I have Jeep-on-the-brain. I'm hoping to be able to buy my
> first Jeep by end of March at the latest, so I'm starting to read up
> some to get up to speed so I can make an intelligent purchase. I'm
> starting to look towards a late 70's model CJ5 or CJ7 with V8 and
> manual tranny. I have a bunch of questions that I'd appreciate input
> on from y'all and here they are... I apologize in advance if the
> fomat of this post is out-of-whack since I've cut-and-pasted some
> questions into here from different sources.
>
> I found a good page for reference numbers on AMC engines:
> http://home.att.net/~farna/amtech/engines.html
>
> Looks like both V8s 304 and 360) have enough cubic inches to put out
> some real power with the right tweaks. I'm just wondering what the
> proven "right tweaks" are for these engines. As far as lifts go, I've
> seen the spring-over lift idea. At a glance it looks simple to do...
> Looks like it would give you some really effective and immediate lift,
> too. Drawbacks to it? Probably inexpensive to do it, too. I'm lucky
> enough to have good welder and can make strong (but not pretty) welds
> with it. There are better lift options? Probably? Pointers to a
> good website that shows the installation of good lift kit with good
> explanations of what's going on as they do it? I think if I get a
> stock CJ (if such a thing still exists :-) that I'll probably only
> want to lift it about 4" and then maybe put a 2-3" body lift on it and
> maybe do some body trimming to fit tires if needed. Are the suspension
> lift kits and body lift kits something someone can do on their own in
> a garage at home if they have a "pretty good set" of tools including a
> welder? (I realize that's kind of a loaded question but maybe the
> responses to it will give me a good idea if it can be done or not or
> it it's just something to forget about trying on my own.) I've read
> what a "lincoln locker" is and why it's a "bad thing" so I'd wanna
> stay away from that. How about recommendations for good books to read
> like "Jeep Owner's Bible" (that a good one?) and also links to good
> informative Jeep websites? I loaded up over 7000 messages on this
> newsgroup and am looking over them. Not reading all of them, of
> course, but trying to read the stuff that looks like it would maybe
> answer some of my questions. Is there a FAQ or website set up for
> this group? Something for someone like me who has never owned a 4WD
> vehicle before. "Intro To Jeeps For Dummies." Like what is a
> "shackle?" Is that the bracket thing that acts as the leaf spring
> attachment point? I'd like to see a "things to look for when buying
> a used Jeep" kind of list if there's one out there. Thanks for taking
> the time to read through this and hopefully answer a couple of my
> questions.
> Travis
>
>
>
> --
> Travis
> FOR SALE: '63 VW Camo Baja... $1000 *FIRM*
> http://bugadventures.dyndns.org
> Words that soak into your ears are whispered, not yelled.
>
>
> :wq!

Re: Newbie Jeep questions
 

The CJ's are your best choice. Don't restrict yourself to the V8's. The
basic 4-banger is a great engine for tough trails. Good CJ's are getting
hard to find so make a good rust free body your first criteria.


"travis" <travist34removethis@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:j5k4ovk67d83k15pbfclet2lhin0l6s5or@4ax.com...
> Hi y'all. I have Jeep-on-the-brain. I'm hoping to be able to buy my
> first Jeep by end of March at the latest, so I'm starting to read up
> some to get up to speed so I can make an intelligent purchase. I'm
> starting to look towards a late 70's model CJ5 or CJ7 with V8 and
> manual tranny. I have a bunch of questions that I'd appreciate input
> on from y'all and here they are... I apologize in advance if the
> fomat of this post is out-of-whack since I've cut-and-pasted some
> questions into here from different sources.
>
> I found a good page for reference numbers on AMC engines:
> http://home.att.net/~farna/amtech/engines.html
>
> Looks like both V8s 304 and 360) have enough cubic inches to put out
> some real power with the right tweaks. I'm just wondering what the
> proven "right tweaks" are for these engines. As far as lifts go, I've
> seen the spring-over lift idea. At a glance it looks simple to do...
> Looks like it would give you some really effective and immediate lift,
> too. Drawbacks to it? Probably inexpensive to do it, too. I'm lucky
> enough to have good welder and can make strong (but not pretty) welds
> with it. There are better lift options? Probably? Pointers to a
> good website that shows the installation of good lift kit with good
> explanations of what's going on as they do it? I think if I get a
> stock CJ (if such a thing still exists :-) that I'll probably only
> want to lift it about 4" and then maybe put a 2-3" body lift on it and
> maybe do some body trimming to fit tires if needed. Are the suspension
> lift kits and body lift kits something someone can do on their own in
> a garage at home if they have a "pretty good set" of tools including a
> welder? (I realize that's kind of a loaded question but maybe the
> responses to it will give me a good idea if it can be done or not or
> it it's just something to forget about trying on my own.) I've read
> what a "lincoln locker" is and why it's a "bad thing" so I'd wanna
> stay away from that. How about recommendations for good books to read
> like "Jeep Owner's Bible" (that a good one?) and also links to good
> informative Jeep websites? I loaded up over 7000 messages on this
> newsgroup and am looking over them. Not reading all of them, of
> course, but trying to read the stuff that looks like it would maybe
> answer some of my questions. Is there a FAQ or website set up for
> this group? Something for someone like me who has never owned a 4WD
> vehicle before. "Intro To Jeeps For Dummies." Like what is a
> "shackle?" Is that the bracket thing that acts as the leaf spring
> attachment point? I'd like to see a "things to look for when buying
> a used Jeep" kind of list if there's one out there. Thanks for taking
> the time to read through this and hopefully answer a couple of my
> questions.
> Travis
>
>
>
> --
> Travis
> FOR SALE: '63 VW Camo Baja... $1000 *FIRM*
> http://bugadventures.dyndns.org
> Words that soak into your ears are whispered, not yelled.
>
>
> :wq!

Re: Newbie Jeep questions
 

"travis" <travist34removethis@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:j5k4ovk67d83k15pbfclet2lhin0l6s5or@4ax.com...
> Hi y'all. I have Jeep-on-the-brain. I'm hoping to be able to buy my
> first Jeep by end of March at the latest, so I'm starting to read up
> some to get up to speed so I can make an intelligent purchase. I'm
> starting to look towards a late 70's model CJ5 or CJ7 with V8 and
> manual tranny. I have a bunch of questions that I'd appreciate input
> on from y'all and here they are... I apologize in advance if the
> fomat of this post is out-of-whack since I've cut-and-pasted some
> questions into here from different sources.
>
> I found a good page for reference numbers on AMC engines:
> http://home.att.net/~farna/amtech/engines.html
>
> Looks like both V8s 304 and 360) have enough cubic inches to put out
> some real power with the right tweaks. I'm just wondering what the
> proven "right tweaks" are for these engines.

You get more than enough power for most types of offroading from the 4
banger. Your intrest in the big V8s sends chills down my spine. It appears
to me that you are looking to build a street racer, and Jeeps just make very
poor platforms for that sort of thing. A better Jeep is one that can be
tolerated to drive on the street, but really shines when there is no
pavement to be found for miles.


As far as lifts go, I've
> seen the spring-over lift idea. At a glance it looks simple to do...
> Looks like it would give you some really effective and immediate lift,
> too. Drawbacks to it? Probably inexpensive to do it, too.

It turns out that a spring over costs about the same as putting on new
springs. The problem is, there is a lot of fabrication work that must be
done to make the spring over work. You either need a large wallet, or
significant skills.


I'm lucky
> enough to have good welder and can make strong (but not pretty) welds
> with it. There are better lift options? Probably? Pointers to a
> good website that shows the installation of good lift kit with good
> explanations of what's going on as they do it? I think if I get a
> stock CJ (if such a thing still exists :-) that I'll probably only
> want to lift it about 4" and then maybe put a 2-3" body lift on it and
> maybe do some body trimming to fit tires if needed.

Why in Hell would you want to even consider 3" of body lift. You are
definitely a poser if this amount of body lift is even remotely interesting
to you.


Are the suspension
> lift kits and body lift kits something someone can do on their own in
> a garage at home if they have a "pretty good set" of tools including a
> welder? (I realize that's kind of a loaded question but maybe the
> responses to it will give me a good idea if it can be done or not or
> it it's just something to forget about trying on my own.)

My teen-aged daughter can install new springs, certainly you can figure it
out.



I've read
> what a "lincoln locker" is and why it's a "bad thing" so I'd wanna
> stay away from that.

The differential allows the tires on each side of the vehicle to turn at
different speeds, such as might happen backing out of your driveway and
turning into the street. The Lincoln Locker simply welds the spider gears to
the carrier so both tires always turn at the same speed. You figure it out
what the obvious problem is with this set up.


How about recommendations for good books to read
> like "Jeep Owner's Bible" (that a good one?) and also links to good
> informative Jeep websites?

Moses Ludel wrote a great book.


I loaded up over 7000 messages on this
> newsgroup and am looking over them. Not reading all of them, of
> course, but trying to read the stuff that looks like it would maybe
> answer some of my questions. Is there a FAQ or website set up for
> this group? Something for someone like me who has never owned a 4WD
> vehicle before.

You need to find a Jeep club in your community and hang out with people that
know what they are doing. You are getting ready to spend some serious money
in all the wrong places.



"Intro To Jeeps For Dummies." Like what is a
> "shackle?" Is that the bracket thing that acts as the leaf spring
> attachment point?

Yes.


I'd like to see a "things to look for when buying
> a used Jeep" kind of list if there's one out there. Thanks for taking
> the time to read through this and hopefully answer a couple of my
> questions.
> Travis

The CJs you are looking at are going to be rather rare, and you will be
getting a project vehicle for sure. You might open your consideration to the
full line of CJs that run to 1987, and the YJs that run to 1994. I would
encourage you to more carefully consider the YJs from '91 and later. In '91,
the YJs I6 motor got fuel injection, and this is a huge improvement on the
carburated versions from earlier years.

Re: Newbie Jeep questions
 

"travis" <travist34removethis@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:j5k4ovk67d83k15pbfclet2lhin0l6s5or@4ax.com...
> Hi y'all. I have Jeep-on-the-brain. I'm hoping to be able to buy my
> first Jeep by end of March at the latest, so I'm starting to read up
> some to get up to speed so I can make an intelligent purchase. I'm
> starting to look towards a late 70's model CJ5 or CJ7 with V8 and
> manual tranny. I have a bunch of questions that I'd appreciate input
> on from y'all and here they are... I apologize in advance if the
> fomat of this post is out-of-whack since I've cut-and-pasted some
> questions into here from different sources.
>
> I found a good page for reference numbers on AMC engines:
> http://home.att.net/~farna/amtech/engines.html
>
> Looks like both V8s 304 and 360) have enough cubic inches to put out
> some real power with the right tweaks. I'm just wondering what the
> proven "right tweaks" are for these engines.

You get more than enough power for most types of offroading from the 4
banger. Your intrest in the big V8s sends chills down my spine. It appears
to me that you are looking to build a street racer, and Jeeps just make very
poor platforms for that sort of thing. A better Jeep is one that can be
tolerated to drive on the street, but really shines when there is no
pavement to be found for miles.


As far as lifts go, I've
> seen the spring-over lift idea. At a glance it looks simple to do...
> Looks like it would give you some really effective and immediate lift,
> too. Drawbacks to it? Probably inexpensive to do it, too.

It turns out that a spring over costs about the same as putting on new
springs. The problem is, there is a lot of fabrication work that must be
done to make the spring over work. You either need a large wallet, or
significant skills.


I'm lucky
> enough to have good welder and can make strong (but not pretty) welds
> with it. There are better lift options? Probably? Pointers to a
> good website that shows the installation of good lift kit with good
> explanations of what's going on as they do it? I think if I get a
> stock CJ (if such a thing still exists :-) that I'll probably only
> want to lift it about 4" and then maybe put a 2-3" body lift on it and
> maybe do some body trimming to fit tires if needed.

Why in Hell would you want to even consider 3" of body lift. You are
definitely a poser if this amount of body lift is even remotely interesting
to you.


Are the suspension
> lift kits and body lift kits something someone can do on their own in
> a garage at home if they have a "pretty good set" of tools including a
> welder? (I realize that's kind of a loaded question but maybe the
> responses to it will give me a good idea if it can be done or not or
> it it's just something to forget about trying on my own.)

My teen-aged daughter can install new springs, certainly you can figure it
out.



I've read
> what a "lincoln locker" is and why it's a "bad thing" so I'd wanna
> stay away from that.

The differential allows the tires on each side of the vehicle to turn at
different speeds, such as might happen backing out of your driveway and
turning into the street. The Lincoln Locker simply welds the spider gears to
the carrier so both tires always turn at the same speed. You figure it out
what the obvious problem is with this set up.


How about recommendations for good books to read
> like "Jeep Owner's Bible" (that a good one?) and also links to good
> informative Jeep websites?

Moses Ludel wrote a great book.


I loaded up over 7000 messages on this
> newsgroup and am looking over them. Not reading all of them, of
> course, but trying to read the stuff that looks like it would maybe
> answer some of my questions. Is there a FAQ or website set up for
> this group? Something for someone like me who has never owned a 4WD
> vehicle before.

You need to find a Jeep club in your community and hang out with people that
know what they are doing. You are getting ready to spend some serious money
in all the wrong places.



"Intro To Jeeps For Dummies." Like what is a
> "shackle?" Is that the bracket thing that acts as the leaf spring
> attachment point?

Yes.


I'd like to see a "things to look for when buying
> a used Jeep" kind of list if there's one out there. Thanks for taking
> the time to read through this and hopefully answer a couple of my
> questions.
> Travis

The CJs you are looking at are going to be rather rare, and you will be
getting a project vehicle for sure. You might open your consideration to the
full line of CJs that run to 1987, and the YJs that run to 1994. I would
encourage you to more carefully consider the YJs from '91 and later. In '91,
the YJs I6 motor got fuel injection, and this is a huge improvement on the
carburated versions from earlier years.

Re: Newbie Jeep questions
 

"travis" <travist34removethis@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:j5k4ovk67d83k15pbfclet2lhin0l6s5or@4ax.com...
> Hi y'all. I have Jeep-on-the-brain. I'm hoping to be able to buy my
> first Jeep by end of March at the latest, so I'm starting to read up
> some to get up to speed so I can make an intelligent purchase. I'm
> starting to look towards a late 70's model CJ5 or CJ7 with V8 and
> manual tranny. I have a bunch of questions that I'd appreciate input
> on from y'all and here they are... I apologize in advance if the
> fomat of this post is out-of-whack since I've cut-and-pasted some
> questions into here from different sources.
>
> I found a good page for reference numbers on AMC engines:
> http://home.att.net/~farna/amtech/engines.html
>
> Looks like both V8s 304 and 360) have enough cubic inches to put out
> some real power with the right tweaks. I'm just wondering what the
> proven "right tweaks" are for these engines.

You get more than enough power for most types of offroading from the 4
banger. Your intrest in the big V8s sends chills down my spine. It appears
to me that you are looking to build a street racer, and Jeeps just make very
poor platforms for that sort of thing. A better Jeep is one that can be
tolerated to drive on the street, but really shines when there is no
pavement to be found for miles.


As far as lifts go, I've
> seen the spring-over lift idea. At a glance it looks simple to do...
> Looks like it would give you some really effective and immediate lift,
> too. Drawbacks to it? Probably inexpensive to do it, too.

It turns out that a spring over costs about the same as putting on new
springs. The problem is, there is a lot of fabrication work that must be
done to make the spring over work. You either need a large wallet, or
significant skills.


I'm lucky
> enough to have good welder and can make strong (but not pretty) welds
> with it. There are better lift options? Probably? Pointers to a
> good website that shows the installation of good lift kit with good
> explanations of what's going on as they do it? I think if I get a
> stock CJ (if such a thing still exists :-) that I'll probably only
> want to lift it about 4" and then maybe put a 2-3" body lift on it and
> maybe do some body trimming to fit tires if needed.

Why in Hell would you want to even consider 3" of body lift. You are
definitely a poser if this amount of body lift is even remotely interesting
to you.


Are the suspension
> lift kits and body lift kits something someone can do on their own in
> a garage at home if they have a "pretty good set" of tools including a
> welder? (I realize that's kind of a loaded question but maybe the
> responses to it will give me a good idea if it can be done or not or
> it it's just something to forget about trying on my own.)

My teen-aged daughter can install new springs, certainly you can figure it
out.



I've read
> what a "lincoln locker" is and why it's a "bad thing" so I'd wanna
> stay away from that.

The differential allows the tires on each side of the vehicle to turn at
different speeds, such as might happen backing out of your driveway and
turning into the street. The Lincoln Locker simply welds the spider gears to
the carrier so both tires always turn at the same speed. You figure it out
what the obvious problem is with this set up.


How about recommendations for good books to read
> like "Jeep Owner's Bible" (that a good one?) and also links to good
> informative Jeep websites?

Moses Ludel wrote a great book.


I loaded up over 7000 messages on this
> newsgroup and am looking over them. Not reading all of them, of
> course, but trying to read the stuff that looks like it would maybe
> answer some of my questions. Is there a FAQ or website set up for
> this group? Something for someone like me who has never owned a 4WD
> vehicle before.

You need to find a Jeep club in your community and hang out with people that
know what they are doing. You are getting ready to spend some serious money
in all the wrong places.



"Intro To Jeeps For Dummies." Like what is a
> "shackle?" Is that the bracket thing that acts as the leaf spring
> attachment point?

Yes.


I'd like to see a "things to look for when buying
> a used Jeep" kind of list if there's one out there. Thanks for taking
> the time to read through this and hopefully answer a couple of my
> questions.
> Travis

The CJs you are looking at are going to be rather rare, and you will be
getting a project vehicle for sure. You might open your consideration to the
full line of CJs that run to 1987, and the YJs that run to 1994. I would
encourage you to more carefully consider the YJs from '91 and later. In '91,
the YJs I6 motor got fuel injection, and this is a huge improvement on the
carburated versions from earlier years.