Educate me - Jeep CJ-8

There's one on fleabay in Reno, looks pretty reasonable although it's missed there reserve at least once. The added practicality over a CJ-5/7 kinda appeals, but given that I know nothing about them, can the assembled multitude shed some light on these for me, please?

I noticed that they're quite rare, so I guess body panels aren't as easy to come by compared to say, a CJ-7. Rust is fortunately not that big a problem out here but the seller is pointing out a couple of bubbles already. Guess I wouldn't be too hard pressed to find a few more...

Usually, the owners are very proud of the pricing.

Nice little half-cab pick up. I'd like to have one, but I like the weirder CJ-6 better.

I got that impression re the pricing already.

BTW, this one is not the half-cab pickup truck but the 'CJ station wagon' version - it's got three rows of seats, so I guess the seating in the back is twice as crap as in a CJ-7.

I like them - pretty desirable to the jeep crowd - 1981-1986. It's a 10-inch longer wheelbase and another 14 inches longer in rear overhang. You can build one from scratch - steel, fiberglass kevlar or aluminum, just costs a little more than a cj-7. from the grill to rear door post - same as a 7. mechanically the same.

Just for reference sake:

http://bas157.com/81cj-8.htm

I'ver never seen a full hardtop for these...always thought that they were halfies.

For reference, this is the Jeep in question: http://search.ebay.com/150563163463

That will sell for a lot of money. Buy it if you can, but I'm sure that every Jeep guy who's looking for one knows about it already. That huge top is pretty rare.

Parts aren't all that hard to find: http://www.collinsbrosjeep.com/

I pass two half cab tops every day, but they're on the wrong side of the country for you.

Oddly enough, the auction that ended on Sunday petered out at around 6.5k (with the reserve not met, obviously).

Yeah CJ8 go for stupid money.

A couple notes about that jeep.

1. It was originally a 6 cylinder, so I'd wonder what 8 is in it, It also was probably a manual transmission at the time, so you'd have to see how the swap was done.
2. If it is an AMC trans and AMC engine, they probably took out the Dana 300 xfer case and put in a Dana 20, which probably came with the whole trans/engine combo.
3. I believe the full hard top is aftermarket and not stock
4. The two seats in the back are aftermarket. They are not stock.

Drive one before you go crazy. CJ's of any vintage are like riding in an unbalanced washing machine full of croquet balls on spin cycle.

Not to mention at highway speeds the steering, even if in perfect condition, can best be described as a combination of 'vague' and 'terrifying'.

The nearest I can think of to describe driving them is it's very much like trying to land a small plane in a crosswind. Except that it never ends.

Death Wobble is not your friend...but fixes are available in the aftermarket world. I learned to deal with vague and occasionally being the croquet ball in the washing machine. It's all part of Jeeping!

Pic of the swapped V8. Looks like an AMC, but I'm not 100%

http://www.jeep-scrambler.com/

CJ's are not that bad driving, just slow. Kind of like driving a '40's car. Back int '60's, I traveled all over in a CJ5. Bur then maby my memories are fading.

The undercarriage looks clean in the couple of pics of it. That's where my rust concern would be. The couple of spots by the hinges are minor. Annoying, but minor. Looks like the hinges weren't adjusted until after it was painted. Doh. If the rest of the undercarriage is as clean as the pics, I'd feel fine about it from a rust perspective.

If it stays under $10k, I think it would be very well bought.

When they were introduced, I had one for two weeks in LA; it turned more heads than ANY exotic I ever drove in that city. A close second was the first gen Toyota van.

I have a cj-8. Steering isn't bad, but a steering box reinforcement will do a world of good. Check the frame rails on the inside near the gas tank. That is usually the soft/problem area. Plenty of parts out there, including repro body parts. So don't worry about that. It appears to be an AMC 8 cylinder. Very common. Good reliable rigs. About the only thing I'd suggest doing is ditching a carter carb if the one you find comes with one....it'll save you a lot of headaches. Easy to work on, easy to drive. Reliable and durable. Don't plan on locking anything of value in the rig, if there are any sort of criminal/dirt bag element in your area. Most jeep folks bolt a lockable ammo can under their hood, to put valuables in if they must stay with the rig.

Thanks for all the feedback - I've emailed the seller with a couple of questions and see if I can go look at it on the weekend. Let's see if they can shed some more light on the engine swap for starters.

Curmudgeon wrote: Drive one before you go crazy. CJ's of any vintage are like riding in an unbalanced washing machine full of croquet balls on spin cycle. Not to mention at highway speeds the steering, even if in perfect condition, can best be described as a combination of 'vague' and 'terrifying'. The nearest I can think of to describe driving them is it's very much like trying to land a small plane in a crosswind. Except that it never ends.

No way. Not if it's done right. I've owned lots of CJ's. from 2a's to 7's. I've never had an issue as long as the front end is in good shape but that goes for any vehicle. I've had 35's lockers in both ends, a heavy winch up front and mud tires and it was a one armed affair. Yes, they are bumpy, go with good aftermarket springs like Old Man Emu or you'll be rattling fillings out of your head. But, top down, doors off and you are in love.

The worst one I ever drove was a CJ2A about 100 miles with the bearings in the bellcrank shot. Took constant moving of the steering wheel to keep ahead of things. as Dr. said, if the steering is good, they were OK. Then I drove a brand new CJ 5 from the factory in Toledo to almost Albany NY. That was a long boring ride,

DILYSI Dave wrote: The undercarriage looks clean in the couple of pics of it. That's where my rust concern would be.

Diamond plate on the rockers usually means they are rusted like crazy. No pics show this. I've never met a jeep with diamond plate on the rockers and rear quarters that didn't have the cancer...

Aside from this... It's pretty clean.

Ignorant wrote: Diamond plate on the rockers usually means they are rusted like crazy. No pics show this. I've never met a jeep with diamond plate on the rockers and rear quarters that didn't have the cancer... Aside from this... It's pretty clean.

That diamond plate is one of my concerns, especially because Jeeps tend to keep pretty well out here (yes, even the ones that outrust Fiats). Given that this truck is 50 miles away there is no way I would even think of bidding without having a look at it first.

I haven't seen the pics so maybe this is shown but ask to see pics of the frame rail on both sides of the Jeep, in front of and behind the rear spring shackles. Another rust-prone area.

Well, given the answers to the questions I emailed the seller it sounds like it needs some finishing work on the engine installation and it overall sounds like a little more of a project than I need right now...