I got another toy

[Gottolovem]

This will be to tow behind the motor home
http://s1016.photobucket.com/user/dan1l ... 1968%20cj5

[Petros]

can not access the photos, says the album is private. why don't you just post the images on this thread, it is easy, you use the image code [img]image%20address[/img], paste the address between the brakets, and it will appear on this page. saves everyone from having to follow the link.

[dlb]

i saw the pics with no issues. looks like it will be a very fun off road vehicle, dan.

[marlinh]

I can't view the pictures either.

[Gottolovem]

1968 cj5 With 225 dauntless 3.7L v6 (odd fire buick motor)3 speed manual with Warren overdrive all stock.
New headers with single chamber flowmaster mufflers(I hate them WAY to loud)
New seats,clutch,tires,rear swing out spare tire bumper,
Power steering(not stock)
Already has the tow bar for the motorhome
Overall it's great starting point for really capable off road rig.
Best of all my sisters going to buy my 350 dollar Prius for 3 grand to cover the cost of this jeep!

[atoyta]

That thing is sweet, you don't see many in nice shape any longer.

[irowiki]

Gasp, selling the Prius! I thought that was your daughter's college car?

[Petros]

you really going to take a 47 year old American Motors rig, that has been bastardized with who knows what from other cars, on the Rubicon? Good luck with that.

I notice Jeep has once again made the "do not buy" list of vehicles this year. The original Willis from the 40rties was a great robust and very simple 4x4, but Willis lost money when they did not keep up with more current styling, and was bought up by the then floundering American Motors (and the Jeep became their only profitable line for many years). But when American Motors made one too many unreliable new models, it finally put them under and than Chrysler bought the Jeep line, and a very unreliable little 4x4 became even worse again. Chrysler should have also gone the way of American Motors, making too many crappy cars that no one wanted to buy (they were only saved by the government because too many union jobs were at stake). It is such a shame that the first and most iconic American made 4wd vehicle has been mishandled for so long by so many incompetent corporate management fools who clearly did not know their customer and appear completely incapable of making a reliable vehicle worth buying.

[Mattel]

The new renegade looks interesting though. The panda 4x4 mechanics that is based on have been proven to be pretty reliable and capable. However, I feel like they have rushed it on to the market.

[Gottolovem]

Peter
AMC took over Kaiser jeep in 1970! This is a 1968 Kaiser jeep granted not a military issue jeep but still a very simple machine.
The fact that it is 47 years old and still chugging away is a direct contradiction to your rant!
"Bastardized" I didn't realize you had inspected the vehicle before I did! Did you see that's it's nearly rust free @ 47 years old? How about the that 100% original 47 year old drivetrain that's still chugging away? Must be a POS!!
I shudder to think what you might say about my 48 year old Dodge mail van that still runs like a champ! Perhaps the styling was off a little for a mail van? Or were they mismanaged so badly that their vehicle should never still be running 48 years later!

HOW ABOUT SOME ANSWERS TO THESE 4 SIMPLE QUESTIONS EVERYONE!
#1 What brand of vehicle has most successfully navigated the Rubicon?
#2 The car i'm trading for this jeep cost me 350 dollars!! How did I do?
#3 Will the worlds most capable Tercel take on the Rubicon? Or would it need a winch with a cable the length of the trail?
#4 When your wife/girlfriend REALLY likes something do you tell her NO? Then start ranting to her about 40 plus years of vehicles that were produced after the one in question?

[irowiki]

1. Based off of pictures (yes, before today I had no idea what the Rubicon trail actually was), I see more overturned jeeps than anything else
2. Bad. Should have sold the Prius to me!
3. I was actually thinking, you need to outfit one of the parts Tercels you have and see how far she makes it
4. If the wife REALLY likes doing something, I would say doing it comes down to reason and economics, and doing the Rubicon is nowhere near outlandish as some hobbies some people have. I mean what if your girlfriend wanted you to get her a Cessna?

[Petros]

Do not take offense, I do not quite understand your responce. Do not get me wrong, I love the jeep. The original Jeep was my first love, even long before I had a driver's license (there was a 1941 MB across the street from a nearby park where I played at as a child, I would always go over and look it over every time I visited the park. It was completely stark, open, simple and rugged, and unaltered). When I got old enough to drive I was completely disappointed with the AMC Jeep, what trash. I had always wanted one of those, and ended up getting '49 willis wagon for $100, it was so primitive (and dangerous) compared to my 1964 volvo, I thought the only way to own one was to do major refit of just about every system in the jeep. Too costly and too much work for a high school student. Years later, with children and a career, a highly modified open jeep is just not practical. And by than they had become collector items, and altering one would have brought down the wrath of the collectors, and the few modified jeeps I actually got to ride in were much more costly and still very uncomfortable and primitive as compared to my Nissan Pathfinder. So I just put it out of my mind.

I must admit I completely forgot about the Kaiser period Jeeps, as I recall those have retained some respect, but I know nothing about their quality as compared to the original MB (still my favorite). It has got to be better than the AMC and Chrysler period jeeps. I also like the CJ2A model, only because it had a water proof electrical system and 24 volts, both of these benefits are now easy to accomplish with modern designs without going to 24 volts. I could never just buy something and restore it to "original" condition (I always want to improve it), so I should just STAY AWAY from collectable vehicles that have large active clubs.

As for the older Dodge vehicles I have a lot of respect, Chrysler was always at the front of innovation in the 40's and 50's, even early 60's. It too is such a shame that bean counters took over running the company in the 70's, it had to get bailed out twice since than, they were making unreliable cars that burned too many customers. They deserved to go out of business. They all produced leading edge products at one time, but lost their quality when they became big and careless. I will not buy any American made crap again, I regret it because the heritage of those big companies is part of our history. but I refused to be ripped off by the current incompetents running those companies. There are other car companies trying hard to make a better product, that is where I look now. I will not get suckered by the nostalgia of "buying American" and get a poorly made product and union members can retire at age 48 with a big fat pension. I do love the older domestic cars, pre 1965 or so, when they were innovating new designs and actually trying to win over customers with better products, rather than trying to win over customers by sympathy. sorry, not buying it. It means they have no respect for their own customers.


1. Your jeep is a long way from stock. what brand of vehicle ever successfully navigated the Rubicon in stock form? None I think. but that could be just luck too, send a 1000 Renaults or Yugos up there, one just might make it. That drive train on your old jeep should be fairly robust, if it is anything like my '49 willis (all heavy cast iron and massive construction, it could take far more than the flat head four could ever produce).
2. Not bad, but they are different vehicles for different purposes. If you were going to use it to drive cross country using as little fuel as possible, that trade was a bad one.
3. The Tercel is a completely different vehicle, not designed for the Rubicon. If I gave you 100 gallons of gasoline for your jeep, and we were driving cross country, who would get farther? Your jeep or the Tercel? It is built for a different purpose, if I had my choice I think I would rather take a Toyota Forunner or Tacoma up the Rubicon. But no doubt a highly modified Tercel could put on a good show, and burn a lot less fuel in the process. It would be no more modified than many of those jeeps, wheels up scattered along the Rubicon are anyway. That might be a fun challenge, build a Tercel to take on the Rubicon! but of course it would ruin it for any other uses.
4. I have no idea what you are getting at here, are you saying you love that jeep as much as your wife? I have an aversion to any cars made in American factories, I have owned Chrysler, Fords and GM products, I have always regretted it. I felt suckered. So much so I would not be confident in taking something like that into remote areas unless I have done a complete make over of all the mechanical systems. Than it would not longer be a jeep would it? but than why do that when you can buy something a lot more durable and reliable without doing the rebuild that comes from outside the USA. Regretfully, that has been my experiance.

[Mad_Marx]

Looks like a good solid unit. I drove a 73 CJ3 with the AMC 327 back in my NV days, my only complaint was ride quality (compared to a land cruiser of the same vintage). But one doesn't drive a rig like that for ride quality. Any mods planned for the new/old jeep?

[Gottolovem]

The first thing to be done is to make the exhaust less obnoxious!!
Then I need to get a smaller carb WAY to much currently

[atoyta]

I am considering the Walker Quiet Flow 3 muffler for my 90 4runner. The turbo muffler on it now sounds way too ricey.