1984 CJ7 Build - My new project

[surfnturf]

Back to my roots... I decided that it is time to give my 68 Bronco a much needed rest and save it more for weekend trips to the beach and get a jeep to tow behind the motor home and overland travel. Here is my new to me 84 Jeep CJ-7. It's already well equipped with the venerable 258 inline 6 that has been converted to the Mopar Multiport Fuel Injection. Starts great, idles perfect at any angle and self adjusts to all altitudes. Huge improvement over the old carburetors. In addition, it has well built dana 44's front and rear with 4:56 gears, ARB Lockers, 35" MTR's, Granny low 4 speed and a 4:1 transfer case. It cruises nice at 65-70mph but still has a 115:1 crawl ratio.

This jeep is a great start for my overland rig. Here are the list of things I plan to do with it before taking it on the road/trail.

• Get rid of the 10" wide wheels. I don't like the way they stick out.
• Install 8" wide old school steel rims
• Put slightly wider fender flares on to tuck those tires back in
• Install a trailer hitch so I can tow my overland trailer.
• Source and install a hardtop and doors

I'm sure there is more to come!

 

[surfnturf]

Step one completed! Just installed 15 x 8" vintiques . Tucks better and looks period correct.

 

[surfnturf]

Rainy day... what do you?? I got busy in the garage and installed my new wider fender flares. My goal was to contain the tires within the fenders to give it a more old school tucked look. Success!

Also purchased back my old CJ7 that my wife and I originally purchased brand new in 1985. I made the mistake of selling it 14 years ago. As you can see from the way it looks today vs. pictures of the day I sold it, it didn't fair to well. The guy only put 400 miles on it in 4 years but left if parked outside on the coast for all that time. I'm going to salvage the doors, and the hardtop as well as a few other items and scrap the rest.

 

[MarioT'sCJResto]

Love the CJ7; after 5 years of building out my CJ5 Resto Mod I will add a FiTech 400hp EFI to my newly rebuilt AMC 360. Now I'm going to add a Warrior Roof Rack and have the original winch refurbished. While my Dana 30 and AMC 20 are rebuilt, I will cap off the build with a new set of Dana 44s from ECGS. I should be good to go for some solo trips towing a scout trailer. I know that in years 7 onward I will pick up a CJ7, swap out the AMC 360 and follow in the steps of Tube Sock (Fred Williams/Dirt Everyday) with a Cummins R2.8 crate for maximum range.

 

[Stomper4x4]

Awesome CJ's guys. I have a soft spot for those "real" Jeeps. So many memories. Glad you're keeping them alive and using them!

 

[surfnturf]

Love the CJ7; after 5 years of building out my CJ5 Resto Mod I will add a FiTech 400hp EFI to my newly rebuilt AMC 360. Now I'm going to add a Warrior Roof Rack and have the original winch refurbished. While my Dana 30 and AMC 20 are rebuilt, I will cap off the build with a new set of Dana 44s from ECGS. I should be good to go for some solo trips towing a scout trailer. I know that in years 7 onward I will pick up a CJ7, swap out the AMC 360 and follow in the steps of Tube Sock (Fred Williams/Dirt Everyday) with a Cummins R2.8 crate for maximum range.

Damn nice build Mario. Good looking jeep!

 

[MarioT'sCJResto]

You know how many times I went back n forth on the wheels, Quadratec has that new classic white. In the end I thought it was too much white so I settled for DC.
I might go with Black Rhino and Metal Cloak Fenders.
If I go that route ill toss on 35 maxis trepadors and set her up for the ultimate adventure.
In my head the rendering always changes month to month.
I really like your CJ7, do you have pics of the interior? Did you keep the OEM gauges? I’m looking at Speedhut GPS right now, smoking deals.

 

[MarioT'sCJResto]

When do you plan on scrapping the old CJ7? Since moved back to the east coast, I have my CJ in the garage since she has never seen the salty roads. I'm going with Eastwood's line of Rust Encapsulator and Internal Frame Coating before I take her out in the snow. Can you share some more pics of the engine / EFI setup?

 

[surfnturf]

When do you plan on scrapping the old CJ7? Since moved back to the east coast, I have my CJ in the garage since she has never seen the salty roads. I'm going with Eastwood's line of Rust Encapsulator and Internal Frame Coating before I take her out in the snow. Can you share some more pics of the engine / EFI setup?

Blue Jeep: I'm going to pull the Roof, Doors and seats and maybe a few small items this week. The 4.2L Howell injected engine, T-18 trans, 300 transfer case, front 30 and rear 20 will stay on the frame. My buddy is going to lengthen it and put his old Willy's Overland Wagon on it. Prior to selling it 14 years ago I had just installed a brand new crate motor with the fuel injection, new clutch, rebuilt the transer case. In the 14 years it sat outside it was driven less than 400 miles. All the running gear is fresh.

Tan Jeep: The dash is stock with stock instruments for the most part. I'll take some pictures of the dash and interior today and post them up.

 

[surfnturf]

When do you plan on scrapping the old CJ7? Since moved back to the east coast, I have my CJ in the garage since she has never seen the salty roads. I'm going with Eastwood's line of Rust Encapsulator and Internal Frame Coating before I take her out in the snow. Can you share some more pics of the engine / EFI setup?

Hi Mario, I'll get some pictures to you on the engine and efi set up next weekend.

 

[surfnturf]

Update... I spent New Years weekend swapping parts from my old rusted out Jeep to my new rust free jeep. Swapped out the good hood to replace the dented hood, took the hard top and doors and moved them over too. Next week it all goes to the body shop for paint!

 

[GLOCKer]

Liking it!

 

[kilby]

Back to my roots... I decided that it is time to give my 68 Bronco a much needed rest and save it more for weekend trips to the beach and get a jeep to tow behind the motor home and overland travel. Here is my new to me 84 Jeep CJ-7. It's already well equipped with the venerable 258 inline 6 that has been converted to the Mopar Multiport Fuel Injection. Starts great, idles perfect at any angle and self adjusts to all altitudes. Huge improvement over the old carburetors. In addition, it has well built dana 44's front and rear with 4:56 gears, ARB Lockers, 35" MTR's, Granny low 4 speed and a 4:1 transfer case. It cruises nice at 65-70mph but still has a 115:1 crawl ratio.

This jeep is a great start for my overland rig. Here are the list of things I plan to do with it before taking it on the road/trail.

• Get rid of the 10" wide wheels. I don't like the way they stick out.
• Install 8" wide old school steel rims
• Put slightly wider fender flares on to tuck those tires back in
• Install a trailer hitch so I can tow my overland trailer.
• Source and install a hardtop and doors

I'm sure there is more to come!View attachment 179258

NOTHING better than a nice, clean CJ build. Sweet rig!

 

[surfnturf]

It's been about 4 months since I started this Jeep Project. My goal was to build a trail worth Jeep that is capable for the Rubicon yet reliable and comfortable for extended overland trips and can be used as a daily driver and look as close to stock as possible while being a very capable offroad vehicle. After sourcing the Hardtop, and doors from my old CJ7 I went ahead and painted the entire jeep. I swapped out the custom bumper for the OEM replacement. The jeep is lifted simply with a spring over conversion. The 37 year old stock leaf springs are done! This weekend I will swap them out for a brand new set of OEM replacement springs which should be up to the task of the extra weight of the hardtop and the pullout kitchen unit.

The only major project I have left to do, is the installation of a vintage air A/C / Heater/ defrost system.

 

[BensonSTW]

That is clean. Your build is the direction I wanted mine to go. Mine just spiraled out of control. Now there’s nothing jeep left except the frame and body.

 

[MarioT'sCJResto]

It's been about 4 months since I started this Jeep Project. My goal was to build a trail worth Jeep that is capable for the Rubicon yet reliable and comfortable for extended overland trips and can be used as a daily driver and look as close to stock as possible while being a very capable offroad vehicle. After sourcing the Hardtop, and doors from my old CJ7 I went ahead and painted the entire jeep. I swapped out the custom bumper for the OEM replacement. The jeep is lifted simply with a spring over conversion. The 37 year old stock leaf springs are done! This weekend I will swap them out for a brand new set of OEM replacement springs which should be up to the task of the extra weight of the hardtop and the pullout kitchen unit. View attachment 192416View attachment 192417

The only major project I have left to do, is the installation of a vintage air A/C / Heater/ defrost system.

Now that’s what I’m talking about. 4 months later she’s looking sweet. Love the draw system.

 

[MarioT'sCJResto]

That is clean. Your build is the direction I wanted mine to go. Mine just spiraled out of control. Now there’s nothing jeep left except the frame and body.

Hey I almost swapped a 5.7 hemi from
Copart in my CJ, I know the feeling.
While I have the AMC 360 running like a gem I’m always looking at what I can do to maximize the range.
I only average about 200miles to the tank.