When a writer gets handed a story assignment he's got a few ways of interpreting it. That's why it's called editorial: There's some opinion mixed in with the fact. So when Cappa handed down an assignment on finding a deal on your next Jeep, rather than regurgitate the same old tips and tricks I've been talking about for years, I decided to share a couple of my most recent experiences.
If you don't know by now to avoid the classified sections of newspapers and print magazines and go straight to the online ad sites and forums, then you should go butter your hands and juggle cinder blocks. The real deals are found online, through buddies, and through happenstance. So whether you're just passing by and see a junk Jeep tucked away in somebody's side yard like the Willys pickup in the lead photo, or you've been scouring the Web like Joan Crawford on a dirty bathroom floor, hopefully you can relate to these experiences.
Scoring a deal isn't just...
Scoring a deal isn't just about finding a cool Jeep at the right price. It's about finding a Jeep at the right price that won't put you in the poorhouse or the nuthouse trying to get it in shape. I stumbled on this '74 CJ-5 on craigslist.com for a good price. At $2,000, it seemed like a good deal, with a 232 inline-six, a T-18 four-speed, and 3.73 gears in the Dana 30 front and flanged Dana 44 rear.
Although I was salivating...
Although I was salivating at the slight retro vibe of the '74 CJ, the clean title, and even the spoke wheels, a few red flags went up. For starters, I noticed some significant cracks in the framehorns. Further inspection showed active cracks all along the framerails and at every spring mount.
Sometimes it pays to scour...
Sometimes it pays to scour the classified sections of specialty Web sites. I suddenly found myself with a hankering for a Jeepster, so a quick Google search for "Jeepster Forum" led me to the site americanjeepsterclub.org. On the site I found what looked to be a solid '68 Jeepster with a complete and original Buick 225.
The straw that broke the camel's...
The straw that broke the camel's back on the '74 was the spot where the frame had fully split in two and been repaired with a pretty butch-looking patch job. Although the Jeep's vibe was right and the tub was decent, factoring in the cost of a Throttle Down Kustoms' replacement frame would've been a killer. This Jeep was no deal. I lowballed the owner, but some poor sap wound up buying it for full pop. I hope he can weld.
With a clean title and an...
With a clean title and an asking price of only $800, this relatively straight Jeepster was a deal. The only drawback was that it was 450 miles away. You've sometimes got to be willing to drive to score a real deal. Hell, Cappa and I drove from San Diego to Boise, Idaho, to pick up The Evil Truck M-715 project featured in this issue.
Sweetening the deal was the...
Sweetening the deal was the '68 Jeepster's flanged, centered Dana 44 rear axle and T-14 three-speed. While not exactly a hot item, the T-14 in '68 meant a two-piece bellhousing. Jeep used a cast-iron adapter behind a factory GM bellhousing to mate the T-14 to the Buick engine up until late '69 or so. That means an SM420 would be a slam dunk install. In ways like this it's a good idea to plan your build before you buy and shop for a vehicle with components already in place that can save you some coin down the road.
More than anything, it pays...
More than anything, it pays to network. You can search online furiously like a monkey on caffeine and crack all day, but if you've got a network of buddies searching out junk for you, you'll have way more options. Case in point: our buddy Jim Stiegler. Turns out Jim needed to unload what used to be a '52 M-38A1 from his side yard.
Still sporting its current...
Still sporting its current title and registration, the M-38A1 donated its good parts for Jim's CJ-6 buildup. And at $200 for this pile of former Jeep, I couldn't argue. Even though the frame is a goner, it's on par with the frame in the '74 CJ-5. And Jim saved me the trouble of dismantling the Jeep for the frame replacement.
The tub is fairly solid, but...
The tub is fairly solid, but at $200, who can complain? Especially when the seller helps you load it onto your trailer! Don't discount all the little stuff the seller may throw in just to clean up his yard. In this case, Jim threw in a decent set of aluminum diamond-plate tub corners, some homebuilt rocker guards, a custom fuel tank, and all the black widow spiders I could kill.
I dodged a bullet on the '74...
I dodged a bullet on the '74 CJ-5, missed the boat on the '68 Jeepster, but scored well on the '52 M-38A1. Considering the only thing I usually wind up using from a major Jeep build is the tub, I think I'm ahead of the game on this one. It'll be coming to a buildup series in these pages eventually. I'm thinking I need a sand Jeep with an A-arm front suspension, two-speed Powerglide, and either a supercharged modern Hemi stroker or a blown big-block Chevy with 1,000 hp.