For some reason, I decided it was a good idea...

[nick86]

Post up some more pic's when you get a chance as I don't know when I'll be down that way again to visit my brother.

Update: I could prolly get down there on Jan 8th, If your interested in letting me look it over, maybe give a bit of advice. I would get some some pic's of mine posted but my baby is snuggled in the garage & it is -7 degrees here, so that ain't gonna happen.

 

[BIGSLVRXJ]

They look alright & the price is right. I'm not a big fan of a 2 inch body lift, too many steering column, radiator shroud, bumper mount issues. But that's just me & I get a bit anal with my CJ. I would rather see smaller body lift & more suspension lift.

Oh I know, the body lift scares the hell out of me, I hate them in general, but especially with the crossmembers in such horrible shape...it will be coming off ASAP being replaced with a Rough Country suspension lift.

Post up some more pic's when you get a chance as I don't know when I'll be down that way again to visit my brother.

Update: I could prolly get down there on Jan 8th, If your interested in letting me look it over, maybe give a bit of advice. I would get some some pic's of mine posted but my baby is snuggled in the garage & it is -7 degrees here, so that ain't gonna happen.

I will try to post up more pictures soon, but I'm right with you on the coldness, it's 1* here right now. Come on down here whenever you can, I'll buy ya lunch or something for the insight.

 

[nick86]

No the body lift scares the hell out of me, especially with the crossmembers in such horrible shape, it will be coming off ASAP with a suspension lift in its place.

JC Whitney, Quadratec will be your new best friends.

 

[nick86]

On another note check out that rear end, Mine came with factory posi AMC 20, strong rear end, weak point is 2 piece axles. I ain't broke one yet. Bad part is the front d30's on these were LP, so that kinda limits lift. Plus take a good look at that rear drive shaft length, Won't tolerate too much lift. I think I used 6 degree shims on rear to get rid of binding & it still eats u-joints.

 

[nick86]

As someone stated earlier 76 was a BIG change year. Winshield angle, frame width, Alot, so be very carefull when ordering parts. Soft tops don't interchange. Leaf spring widths. There are alot of CJ forums that can be usefull reading.
EDIT: If you don't already have, get a subscription to JPMagazine.

 

[BIGSLVRXJ]

On another note check out that rear end, Mine came with factory posi AMC 20, strong rear end, weak point is 2 piece axles. I ain't broke one yet. Bad part is the front d30's on these were LP, so that kinda limits lift. Plus take a good look at that rear drive shaft length, Won't tolerate too much lift. I think I used 6 degree shims on rear to get rid of binding & it still eats u-joints.

Wow that's good to know. Yeah I noticed when I took the rear ds out that it was only like 1.5 ft long and did not have a slip yoke which is nice in some aspects and not in others. Have you ever looked into converting either axle to disc breaks Michael?

 

[nick86]

Wow that's good to know. Yeah I noticed when I took the rear ds out that it was only like 1.5 ft long and did not have a slip yoke which is nice in some aspects and not in others. Have you ever looked into converting either axle to disc breaks Michael?

Mine is a 78 with factory front disc brakes, so that may be an easy junkyard upgade. The only rear upgrade I would do would be a D44 from an earlier CJ, plus they had 10 inch drums. But like I said I havn't broke anything on that AMC 20 & I like to do burn outs with it, so it's gonna stay till it breaks. OH, I forgot they did do a lockout hub change around 76, As my 74 with drums had differant lock out's than my 78.

 

[BIGSLVRXJ]

Mine is a 78 with factory front disc brakes, so that may be an easy junkyard upgade. The only rear upgrade I would do would be a D44 from an earlier CJ, plus they had 10 inch drums. But like I said I havn't broke anything on that AMC 20 & I like to do burn outs with it, so it's gonna stay till it breaks. OH, I forgot they did do a lockout hub change around 76, As my 74 with drums had differant lock out's than my 78.

Hmm okay, I need to see if there are any later CJs in the junkyards then...because I really want disks, I hate drums. I will probably leave the 20 if that is indeed what I have, I would just really like to have 4wheel disks since I'm used to that in my XJs and such, I suppose it might be too good to be true though.

 

[nick86]

Hmm okay, I need to see if there are any later CJs in the junkyards then...because I really want disks, I hate drums. I will probably leave the 20 if that is indeed what I have, I would just really like to have 4wheel disks since I'm used to that in my XJs and such, I suppose it might be too good to be true though.

Check the gear ratio. most were 3:55, But my drum brake 74 had 3:73, Realy depends on the trans it came with?

 

[BIGSLVRXJ]

Check the gear ratio. most were 3:55, But my drum brake 74 had 3:73, Realy depends on the trans it came with?

Oh okay, if I'm going with 32"s or 33"s I think I would probably want 3.73s if not 4.10s, I will look for a stock 3.73 if available.

 

[kunaji]

Check and see if there's any tags on the axle. They can tell you what gear ratio you have. Mine came from the factory with a trac-lock and 4.27.

 

[BIGSLVRXJ]

Check and see if there's any tags on the axle. They can tell you what gear ratio you have. Mine came from the factory with a trac-lock and 4.27.

Whoa that'd be alright, I wonder if since mine was a 3 speed maybe it did have lower gears. I'll try to check it out tomorrow, I'll also have an answer as to whether the 33"s fit or not, I would guess no but they might be bald enough to. Thanks for the help fellas.

 

[BIGSLVRXJ]

Well today I got the old transmission and transfer case torn out, only to find that both were very low if not dry on fluid. That may have been the reason they were shot...just maybe. But with the bad news, there came good news as well. The 33"s and 15x10s fit!

 

[BIGSLVRXJ]

Well as much fun as it was thinking about restoring this thing...it's gone. I sold it for what I had in it and it's been parted out via Craigslist by the new owner. It was truly a rotbox underneath and it was going no where anytime soon. It did however give me the desire to have a CJ-7 or YJ in the near future, so that may be happening. I appreciate everyone who contributed to this thread though, I would've been lost without you guys.