My neighbor's 1961 CJ questions

Welcome.

First location dictates price.

Second pictures are most helpful in determining price.

 

Sounds like it has all the right stuff, the question is how cleanly the upgrades were done, and like Sparky said pics and location...

Welcome from W. MI...

 

Re: No rust. California.

Because "No rust visible" adds at least another $1K to the value here in the rustbelt, but probably not so much by you where cars rust less.

 

Different markets dictate different prices just like the housing market.

 

As Tim said above, older rigs in his area, and mine, are valued much lower. The rig you describe would bring about $4K here, maybe $4500 if it was super clean and rust FREE (not just no rust visible ).

An asking price of $7K in Calif. doesn't surprise me, Jeeps often seem to sell for thousands more on that coast...

It does sound like a good rig, and I've always liked the 283 as a CJ powerplant (board member MattJ has a 283 in his '58 and it's way cool!! Works superbly offroad)
Hope you can pick this up for a fair price.

 

Totally depends on the quality of the work. I've seen some that would be worth it and others I would just give the scrap metal price for.

For $7k around here I could pick up another TJ...

 

My $.02 -

One the one hand, I enjoy seeing all-original Jeeps. They have a simplicity and charm unlike no other vehicle, so I'm glad there are guys who keep them that way.

On the other hand, I'd never own an all-original early CJ. They just don't fit into what I'm going to use the Jeep for. But I still like the early Jeep charm, and don't mind upgrading or modifying to make it work. There's a satisfaction in doing the work that would be missing in just going out and buying a Wrangler.

Having said that, the mods listed are typical mods for old Jeeps. Much of the discussion here on this board is around engine swaps, brake upgrades, and adding power steering.

Many of these mods have been around for decades - long enough that the knowledge about how to do them properly is fine from an engineering point of view, but the quality of the execution is still an issue.

I don't always assume original engineering was the best. When I perform upgrades, I don't have to worry about how to mass-produce something, or that adding another bolt or washer here or there adds up to thousands of dollars in extra costs when applied to 1000's of units. The original engineers were simply under more constraints than those of us building a one-off rig.

It also sounds like, in back of the V8, the drivetrain and suspension is unmodified.

$7K does sound high, unless the Jeep is top-notch, well executed, flawless in paint and body, and all drivetrain components are freshly rebuilt. You'd quickly spend $7K getting an ECJ to that point, but if it needs anything the price sounds high.

 

x3.