CJ7 Levi, PLOW vehicle

Okay, here is my dilemna. My intent was to buy a reasonably priced Jeep to have a plow truck and a vehicle for the woods.

Last summer I purchased my first Jeep on E-Bay. This is what it ended up being. 1976 Renegade, P1 Classic black, Levi Edition, 304, TH400, Quadramatic.

Factory options: (some were the Renegade pkg) auto, gauges,(including tach and clock) Warn winch with plate inside, tire carrier, (5 Kelsey-Hayes wheels)full hardtop,power brakes, padded dash, power steering, rear seat, roll bar, side steps.

They made 21,016 CJ7s that year. Less Renegades, less Levis...

It needs body work and panels replaced, the rear floor has been replaced with sheet metal. I am including pics. Surely need a going over!

My question: IF I use this as a plow truck am I screwing up a potential vehicle that will acrue in value? With an auto and hardtop it seemed/seems like a good prospective plower.

OR........ should I look for a more plain Jane, get it rigged to plow and store the CJ7 away, restoring it?

I just hate to ruin anything and I think I may have bought something more than a beater.

Comments on SnoWay plows? No time to do that this year, heard they were awesome.

 

Well, my first question would be - how well do you like it now that you have it?

Have you looked closely for frame rust?

The Quadratrac transfer case is a very, uh, polarizing topic. I think they are great, but many people hate them. I'd suggest you read Flint's page for some background. http://www.frontier.net/~mystkblu/quadratrac/ If you haven't replaced the chain yet, it's probably needed.

Personally I'd look for a heavier vehicle if I needed a plow truck - maybe a 4x4 Ford, Dodge or Chevy pickup, and load it up with sandbags. You can plow with a CJ, but you see a lot of swayback CJs that have been used for plowing. Plowing on private property probably isn't so bad if there's not a lot of salt and you don't try to make up for the light weight of the vehicle with momentum..

 

Sure with a huge amount of money in restoration it will be worth something. That was a very nice optioned jeep. I would plow with it.

I plow with a 5, works great. The only thing I have destroyed on it plowing was a front axle shaft. I built my plow mounts up in out of the way so I can wheel with the mounts on.

I have plans to add a winch to the back side of my plow jeep to keep it out of the way of the plow. As for the snoway plow; My understanding is they are pretty light duty. But also very light weight. They are also short. I have never plowed with one. My oncologist plowed with one on her toyota 4Runner and loved it. I personally don't care for them.

I have plowed with Boss, Meyer and Western plows and been very happy with them. Again, a lot heavier than the sno-way. I think a lot depends on how much you want to plow.

As for the turbo400/quadra trac I am also not a huge fan. I plowed with a 78 jeep set up the same way. The quadra trac jeeps are really hard on chains. The quadra trac just isn't very strong. The chain also drives both the front and rear wheels unlike most transfer cases where the rear wheels are direct drive from the transmission.

Nice Jeep!

 

I have plowed snow for several years with a 1956 International wrecker. I can't imagine doing any serious plowing with my Jeep because it is so light. Unlike here, you probably still get major snow where you live. Plowing snow can be hard on equipment so you will have to decide how much you want to risk destroying already suspect drive train parts. I would get an old 1/2 ton Chevy P/U to plow with and use your Jeep for what it was intended for. 4wheeling!

 

This was overnight in Negaunee. This has been an incredibly light snow year. I have seen years with as much as 300"+. I prefer to plow with a jeep. I have also plowed commercially with it. I built the jeep specifically for that. The jeeps are perfect for smaller driveways and tight spots. I have plowed a large multi unit parking lot with a jeep and it was a little small for that. My advantage over everyone else, I rarely got stuck. If I did get stuck mine was always easy to get out. Another huge advantage with the jeep is I could pile snow up not out. The jeep would climb the piles and push snow up.



Here is how I did my mounts. I made some drop down brackets on the plow frame to level it back out. Works great. I will get a pic or two of that when I get back.

 

Thanks guys. Some more info...plowing for my driveway, not commercial. I felt I got a great E-Bay auction price as I could drive it daily. Paid $1032, but would not sell it that cheap, so before you ask...lol

I just got some beater CJ2s so maybe if I had a cab, I could add a plow to one.

I get moderate snow-less than the UP...maybe like Holland. I grew up in Muskegon and we used to lake effect. I rarely get lake effect here but still more snow than Indiana

 

Check out www.Austinjeeps.com or www.collinsbrosjeep.com to see what these go for restored.

The CJ's have been going up in value in the last few years. The two web sites I mentioned sell resored examples in the $15,000 - $20,000 dollar range. I have seen a few really nice unrestored mint condition Jeeps sell in the $10,000 - $15,000 range at auctions and on Ebay.

It would make a very cool restored Jeep. I say rebuild her!!! I am a bit biased toward restord Jeeps though.....

 

I agree a Jeep is a great plow vehicle,at least for driveways!
I plow about 4 or 5 driveways(my own & some friends & relatives) everytime it snows....we get lake effect here too but not as much as Holland or Muskegon. I've had no trble pushing several inches of heavy snow with my "58 CJ5 & it is much more agile than even a short bed pickup. A lot of guys prefer automatics for plowing,but I like my 3speed just fine. I have an old 6.5 foot Western plow with an electric lift & manual side to side.
The CJ7 with the hard top would be a great plow truck & power steering would make turning it a breeze. Your Jeep does look nice & restoring it could be fun,but face it even the special option Jeeps were made to work. I would try to keep it looking good,but use it too.

 

Now that I look at the pictures a bit more it would take a hell of a lot to bring this one back to restored. It would be far easier to get a decent non rotted Jeep for 3 or 4 grand that the money that would be spent on this one.

Plow away!!!!

 

I've been plowing with CJ-5's since 1970. They are great. I use to do all the fast food places and bank lots for a freinds plowing company. Worked a lot of docks also because the trucks are just to big to fit in the same. I kinda semi-retired now and just do a bunch of neighbors driveways.

Here is a picture of my jeep before I got an Acme hardtop for it.

It has a 7' Meyer power angle plow.
It also has a HD AFW frame, fiberglass tub,windshiels and fenders and SS hardware throughout. I also use Monroe Air load levelers on the front to compinsate for the weight of the plow.

This picture was before I switched to disks and bought a new frame.

 

IMO, if your frame is solid before you start, plowing a small driveway won't kill it. Make your plow the sacrificial lamb, not the JEEP. Grease up the trip pivots and make sure the blade will flex when you bump into something. My 6' Meyer has been on my '56 for 30ish years,no frame damage or swaybacks. Just don't pretend your driving a bulldozer and you'll be OK.