thinking of buying a 78 cj7

[hoobness]

Hey there!

Been 7 years since I sold my yj, and Im in a position to buy another jeep as soon as I unload the car thats gonna pay for it lol.

I found a neglected, yet decent 78 cj7 with a 304 nearby here in st pete, fl. Went to look at it this morning and aside from the guy not having the battery charged, it seemed ok. Im going back in a lil while to hear it, this time Ill bring cables in case he still cant get it started.

heres the link to the current ad on craigslist 1978 CJ 7

I know alot about the 258 but nothing about any of the amc V8s. Either way, I want a V8.

How much is this thing really worth?
-what should I look for with this model year?
-any known issues with the amc 304 and automatic?

It has alot junk stuff like poorly wired and mounted aux wiring for things like lighting, electric fuel pump zip tied on, an oil leak from somewhere blown down the underside. Nothing too big or that I couldnt bang out in a weekend, but the last thing i need is a junk jeep in my driveway, and for 5000 I feel it should be in better shape. I base that last opinion on what I see online in the area and what I know of jeeps and cars in general.

But it is an attractive jeep none the less, comes complete, and I can drive it home. Lets hope I can drive it more than that lol.

opinions and comments greatly appreciated, thanks again!

 

[flatie46]

Look the frame over from front to back for rust holes or poor patches, The worst areas will be on either side of the rear wheels. Also look around the steering box for cracking. 304's aren't rare, they're basicly a good engine, I'd get it good and hot and see what kind of oil press it has. I'm on the fence about the automatic quadratrac setup. I think they're pretty tough and dependable, from what I've read you'll get excellent traction with it. I think they're a little harder on gas though and myself I like the simple 4speed. I see it has "protective pannels " around it lower edge. I wouldn't doubt if this was done to mask rust. You need to look at the tub mounts for rust. In my area, you just don't see rust free CJ's unless they've been kept in the corner of a garage they're whole life or had a ground up resto. I'd say it's that way where you are too. No doubt your going to try to get it as cheap as you can. I'm sure it'll have some issues, if it's close enough to what you want use those issues as a bargining chip. If you can't get the deal you want or it ain't Jeep enough for you move on, there's alot out there to choose from. Good luck with it.


Is that a YJ top? I'm not sure if the CJ's had the little vents behind the back glass? maybe someone can chime in on this that knows for sure?

 

[hoobness]

Thank you.

I was over there a few hours ago, he found some jumper cables so we got it running and I drove it. Runs well, no smoke, I had it idling for a while as I goosed it trying to get it to blow smoke. Hes got an aftermarket "mr gasket" electric fuel pump on it for some reason, I didnt ask and he knows nothing about cars so he wouldnt be able to tell me anyway.
Sounds wonderful! But its all talk, the thing has little power in its current state. If he lets me Ill give it a compression test, worst case I dont buy it and he knows more about his jeep..

Im still trying to assess its value. Wish the guy knew more about it. Hes had it a month and has money problems now soooo... I only want a reliable and fun beach and trail buggy, no hills in FL and Im not really into mud. It doesnt need alot, just some trips to NAPA and weekend TLC to be reliable from what I can tell. Id look it over deeper if I had cash in hand, but I have yet to sell another car which will pay for it. Maybe someone can give me and idea of its value based on what I put here..?

The good:
-good paint
-New-er tires, tread is decent, 12x32.5 r15 matching
-Sounds great, seems to be mech sound
-steers straight
-stops straight
-Nice set of Hedman headers and dual side exhaust
-feels solid when driving, steering and stopping
-hard top from a different Jeep, bikini, soft doors and windows
-started easy once the battery and fuel was there LOL
-idles steady and smooth
-Wipers, radio, lights etc all work

THE Bad:
-missing alot of little aesthetic things like the horn button, emblems
-Needs column ignition switch, he currently jumps the solenoid
-Needs turn signal switch and arm
-blower kinda works, heater I doubt it
-Wipers dont park
-rusty tub (hole I can stand in if it wasnt patched) under seats, corners, and areas hidden by diamondplate and
bondo and a newer paint job
-No locking doors
-broken gear indicator (P R N D 2 1) gotta count the clicks
-messy unorganized engine bay, loose wires everywhere, jumped to other circuits for 12v power etc
-Dont like how the elec fuel pump couldnt fill the clear fuel bulb filter after knowing we had fuel in it, not sure
why, and thus couldnt get it started again, had to push it back to his house
-Power steering didnt work, I didnt bother to investigate
-IS the battery bad or is the alternator not charging or does it have a parasitic drain or all of it?
-underneath is wet with oil from the drain plug to the rear driveshaft output

None of -what I noticed- is difficult nor expensive to fix and IMO can be great bargaining chips, plus I enjoy working on it otherwise Id buy a new one. However I dont want to give away 5k for a Jeep that seems to be worth $4000 max, and thats the market price, 10 years ago this jeep wouldnt get 2500.

thanks for reading and replying, any opinion and or comments are greatly appreciated.

thanks again!

 

[69jeepcj]

I wouldn't give him $5,000 for the jeep, no way. You have hidden rust which, if not cut out and patched with metal, it will come back and it sounds like their is a lot. The rear shackles are waay tooo long, that tilts your rear end and puts excessive angles your driveshaft ujoints (vibrations, breakage) the front ones don't seem to be like the rear and appear stock which is good. The wetness from the oil drain plug back is probably a rear main seal going out or possibly already been fixed and you just see where all the oil went, I would investigate that. fuel filter not filling all the way full I think is normal. I have the Mr. gasket V8 electric fuel pump and it does great on my chevy 327 in my jeep, I rarely see the bulb completely full, maybe 3/4 full or a hair more. Only cj you will find with locking doors is with the full hard doors. The rims appear a bit wide for the tires that are on it (could pop a bead easier). Looks like it has a full front bench seat?? never factory.. 60/40 split bench seat was but not on a 78 or any where near it that im aware of. The jeep is over priced IMO, I would start around 2500 cash and MAYBE go as high as 3800 if you think the needed fixes are no problem for you. To me, the problems with the jeep are good bargaining chips to bring the price way down, nothing seems to be a major issue.

 

[hoobness]

I wouldn't give him $5,000 for the jeep, no way. You have hidden rust which, if not cut out and patched with metal, it will come back and it sounds like their is a lot. The rear shackles are waay tooo long, that tilts your rear end and puts excessive angles your driveshaft ujoints (vibrations, breakage) the front ones don't seem to be like the rear and appear stock which is good. The wetness from the oil drain plug back is probably a rear main seal going out or possibly already been fixed and you just see where all the oil went, I would investigate that. fuel filter not filling all the way full I think is normal. I have the Mr. gasket V8 electric fuel pump and it does great on my chevy 327 in my jeep, I rarely see the bulb completely full, maybe 3/4 full or a hair more. Only cj you will find with locking doors is with the full hard doors. The rims appear a bit wide for the tires that are on it (could pop a bead easier). Looks like it has a full front bench seat?? never factory.. 60/40 split bench seat was but not on a 78 or any where near it that im aware of. The jeep is over priced IMO, I would start around 2500 cash and MAYBE go as high as 3800 if you think the needed fixes are no problem for you. To me, the problems with the jeep are good bargaining chips to bring the price way down, nothing seems to be a major issue.

Thank you!

 

[TerryMason]

I wouldn't pay 5K either. My big showstopper is the rust. I'd imagine with that much rust diamond plate there would be a good amount of rust.

Stuff like messy wiring and missing emblems is easy, and will be fun work. cutting away 20% of the body and replacing it, then spending a grand on paint is just hard work.

I vote that you get this Jeep for $4000 obo and use the extra grand for a plane ticket and a nice vacation in Phoenix:
1979 CJ7 jeep

Or this:
http://phoenix.craigslist.org/wvl/cto/4076001632.html

 

[69jeepcj]

Good comparison terry. That's a more realistic 5grand CJ.

 

[hoobness]

Great help thanks again all! If I could only sell the other car..

 

[hoobness]

bought it.

paid 30% less so no buyers remorse. Very excited to bring it home tomo. Thanks for everyone's help. Post pics soon

 

[69jeepcj]

Glad you got it. Look forward to more pics. WE LOVE PICS!!

 

[superj]

Cool. Pics please

 

[TLCJ5]

Congrats on your new toy!! Just remember "Jeep work is good work"(Granville King).

 

[flatie46]

Congrats on your new toy!! Just remember "Jeep work is good work"(Granville King).

I would have loved to sit down and had a few beers with Granville. He had probably forgot more about Jeeps than most would ever know.

 

[Turbogus]

When I first got 'Black Betty' she came from the dry NE Oregon climate (yes, Virginia we do have at least one part of Oregon that's dry) and was an EBay purchase. Surely mine being a '78 as well I knew going in that this $3708 purchase was a bargain, but there'd be work ahead of me. The two primary issues I had to face were a rear axle tube was bent, and the pusher fan installed by the P.O. was not cutting the mustard. These issues, along with a few upgrades and mods have been addressed.




The good;
Being a '78 Jeep CJ's a realatively easy to work on, that being said get an official FSM as soon as possible.
The bad;
OE support has long since vanished for the '70's (and earlier) Jeeps so apart from the FSM forums will be one's primary resource for information, but as the great Jeep Hammer has rightly said "Free information from the internet (and elsewhere) is worth as much as one would think". After a while one will learn whom are the trustworth posters on these forums so my own idiom; gather as much information as you can with each project then gather a consensus and proceed with caution.

 

[greg92jeepxj]

Congrats on your new toy!! Just remember "Jeep work is good work"(Granville King).

Granville king , I remember reading stories he wrote in one of the first jeep magazines I ever read , way back when. I think it may have been " four wheel and offroad " ? What great stories , think he drove an MB or a cj2a ? Yeah , definately like to buy he a beer !