I just traded my lifted cherokee for a 68 cj5 and have serious buyers remorse

I had a nice 89 cherokee lifted on 33's, but I was looking to get rid of it because i wanted a SWB. I traded my cherokee for a 68 cj5 with the dauntless v6/3spped. It has some sort of lift on it with 33's and nice aluminum wheels.

The body on the outside looks decent, but the body repairs are less than desireable when looked at up close. It has manual steering/brakes which make it almost impossible to drive on the street, and for some reason the 1st gear in the trans isn't working.

my xj was worth about $2500, I was just curious how much of a loss I suffered in this trade. I traded because I've always wanted an older cj to toy around with, but I planned on selling it within a few months; from what I'm seeing though this jeep isn't worth as much as I initially thought it was.

Here are pictures of it (owner kept the winch)
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/briancj5/detail?.dir=e982&.dnm=c842.jpg&.src=ph




I was thinking of swapping in an auto, because that jeep sucks to drive with a manual ( and hopefully making some $ selling the overdrive cause I hear they are worth some money.... but I'm not really sure... thats just what i've heard)

 

Well don't feel too bad. I think it at least looks cool.

First thing you need to understand about jeeps, jeeps=rust. Thats why mines a heep now.

Secondly, all jeeps need a little fixin. Think of it as a blank canvas and you can make it what you want. If you want power disc brakes and power steering it can be done. You just have to be willin to put in the effort (and money). An auto would be sweet, but they can be difficult to fit because of length issues in early jeeps.

Whats it worth? I have no idea.

Kevo

 

well I am not new to jeeps at all. I have a custom cj7 with 39.5" iroks, airbag linkes suspension, 302/nv4500/dana300

I mainly traded beause I wnated to screw around with a toy until I finished my cj7, but I do intend on selling it and trying to get as much of my money back as possible.

 

The overdrives in good shape are worth from $400-$550. You didn't get a bad deal at all, not for say $2500. You are obviously young if you believe that you cannot hardly drive on the street with manual brakes and steering (you can adjust the steering and brakes). Saginaw is an easy upgrade to these old jeeps, as are manual disk brakes or upgrading the 10" drums to 11" drums. No cj5 ever left the factory with an automatic, the wheelbase is simply to short to easily accomodate it, it has been done but its not easy and there are draw backs. There are p[lenty of guys on here that drive these things regularly on the interstate with the original Ross stearing and manual brakes.
The 3 speed transmission is easily fixed usually with just bearing and syncro changes. The transfercase is simple , strong and for the most part bullet proof and if you do tear it up they are easily fixed.
Simplicity is the strong point of these older Jeeps, that and the yareeasily modified to suit your needs. look around here and you find plenty of info to make this jeep virtually anything you want, they'll already in stock form do more than most heavily modified XJ's.
Oh, and Welcome from Alabama!

 

Quit yer whining! R)

I just laid out $4800.00 for a 68 CJ5 yesterday and after driving it around for a day, the steering and brakes ain't that bad. I think it's something that needs to get use to. The first time I test drove it I about had a cow cause I step on the brakes and was still rolling. With a CJ one must mash on the brakes to stop. I will eventually upgrade the brakes and steering but for now, I'm just gonna enjoy it. My DD is a 95 ZJ and it's a pain to hop in the CJ after been acclimated in the Grand tho.

 

With 11" drums (no power) and Ross steering properly adjusted and new steering tie rods, my Jeep stops and drives fine, I don't hesitate to hit 65-70 on the freeway. I don't do it for long stretches, but my excuse is I am in Hawaii. I also am running 30" tires and Rancho replacement/1" lift springs, which I am sure make a difference compared to, say, a 4" lift and 33's.
Of course that was about a month ago before I smoked my enigne gettinonit! Cleaned up the 85 GN block today! Assembly around the corner.

I also have a lifted 83 CJ7. I think all will agree it is nice to have a second vehicle to complement the ECJ5, preferably another Jeep of course!

 

welcome from Central Va, the jeep looks nice.

 

Welcome from SE Michigan. Where are you located?

I think I saw that for sale on MJ for quite a while. $2500 is pretty much openers nowdays for a CJ5 runner that is in fair condition. Appears to have good sneakers. top, cage. Expect to find a fair amount of rust under the diamond plates but nothing that can't be welded up.

I think he originally wanted around $3500 which is definitely too high.

You did fine.

 

Welcome from Nashville, TN. I would probably start things out by removing those shackles. They look too long for me. That might help out some of your handling issues.

 

Not surprised that you have seriously heavy steering with those tires. Recall that the Jeeps of that era had short, skinny tires. At low speeds, wide tires with manual steering requires a lot of muscle. If everything is in good condition, it should be ok once you're moving.

The original brakes are also inadequate by modern standards. The extra mass in the big tires and wheels does not help. Conversion to 11" drums with dual master cyinder is fairly easy. The front axle can be converted to discs if you want, but IMO conversion to a Dana 30 axle makes more sense.

The TH350 makes the most sense if you have to have an automatic. Still, your rear driveshaft will be really short, and you may have a lot of trouble getting the automatic to work with that much lift. I'd guess you'll end up spending another $1000 to do the conversion.

The shackles look too long. Long shackles will change your caster angle on the front axle, plus the long lever arm lets the springs move a lot wrt the frame.

Welcome from Boston. Chin up - if you've never owned a really old car, you'll soon realize that they can accumulate a lot of varied and interesting problems over the years. It's part of the bargain you made.

 

The cj value is probably going remain the same or go up in value. It may go down too if you mess it up. But your cherokee a not going to appreciate in value so I'd think at the least it's a wash with the possilbility for it to gain some in value if you don't chop it up.

 

That's a good point - around here, a 16 year old XJ would have to pretty nice to sell for $2500. In one yard I'd been to recently, they're piled 3 high and maybe 15 wide... not much value in an old XJ. I think you did ok, esp. since you're in Michigan.

Installing an automatic won't free your overdrive, unless you go with a 700R4 or such. They, unfortunately, are longer than the TH350, so they would be more difficult to make work.

What size are those tires? 35s? (hint)

 

Just a thought, but if you are planning on selling the CJ in a few months, you may want to pass on all of the upgrades. most take time to do as well as time to work bugs out. an old jeep eats only one thing faster than spare time and that is money. alot of people buy Old CJs with intent on taking them to the trail only to spend a year or two sorting out all of the previous mods and adding all of their own upgrades. You've heard "jeeps are built not bought" it originated with the CJ. $.02

 

wish my jeep looked that good when i bought it. to help w/brake issue, replace ALL the lines AND master cylinder. it made a big difference in mine.

Ohh yeah, Welcome from IN.

 

as most people here, i think you did fine. don't know how much rust is on the floor, etc.

a jeep like that in iowa would be at least $2500 up to about $3200. the ross steering can be tightened up a little.

how does it run aside from first gear and getting used to manual brakes? the road handling you mentioned, is it wandering a lot and/or loose steering or is it just you getting used to manual steering and an 81" wheelbase.

a lot of people expect swb cj's to handle like a lwb. they don't. their center of gravity is higher than lwb's and also much higher than conventional cars. it might take some getting used to.

i, too, was suprised when got into my 69-5 after driving a honda or minivan w/power disc brakes. took me a bit to adjust to 10" manuals. still not sure if i will upgrade to 11" manuals or put disks on the front. but that's a todo list project.

a jeep like that in iowa would be at least $2500 up to about $3200. the ross steering can be tightened up a little.

i bid on a stock 23k mile cj5 here upto $4000. the bidding went to $8,600 and then owner removed it from bidding. he was holidng out for $10,000+ of course this was is absoulutely beautiful shape. factory. red and black of course. it was towed behind a mobile home its entire life and was kept in texas.
but still. $10K+..

enjoy your cj. ok?

 

Manual steering and manual brakes aren't that bad in a CJ because they really arent that heavy. Take off those gigantic tires and put on normal size tires and it will handle much better. Also remember these vehicles werent really designed to go like 100 mph either.
Just my $.02.

Josh