I am looking to get a Jeep wrangler and was wondering if any of you guys have any experience with them to know what to look for. These things seem to hold value well and I probably want a fuel injected model.

 

I had one in high school. I used to rail other dudes' chicks in it all the time.

 

Not sure what to look for, but you will love having one. My dad used to have a CJ-7 that he would take me riding in as a kid, and I have a Korean war era military CJ-5 that is in need of restoration, that one day I will get back on the road when I can afford to do so. Good luck in your search.

 

Depends what year you're loooking for. I am real big on *****'s CJ's, mostly the flat fendered ones from the 50's.
My brother had a 1989 Jeep Wrangler. They have rectangle headlights and are know as the "YJ". It had a 4.2 liter inline 6 cylinder with a 5 speed trans. The jeep was decent, but it was carb'd. It got shitty fuel mileage in stock form, but you can find the "YJ" pretty inexpensive. The YJ was a first model to follow the "CJ-7" which was made by AMC. The YJ I think started in 1989 and went until the mid 90's where the "TJ" replaced it. The TJ had round headlights and used a 4.0 liter 6 cylinder which many people say was a better engine than the 4.2. The YJ and TJ both were available in a 4 cylinder.
What year or body style were you thinking of?

 

I'd love to have a crawler buggy CJ7 with full length axels and 37's.

 

Frames rust out at the shackles. Look for mud/road crud built up there, which holds moisture and makes them rot out.

Anything specific, or just general stuff? I'm mostly familiar with older Jeeps, like the military stuff from the 40's and 50's. I also currently drive a Liberty.

 

I had a Wrangler in high school and a few years of college. Loved it. If only I'd known how to work on cars back then.

If I had it to do again, I'd get an older YJ with fuel injection.

 

They are great vehicles and yes hold their value very well.

I work part time at an autoparts store and rarely see folks buying parts for wranglers. Mostly the v8 Grands.

They are however pretty bad on gas though.

 

Gas mileage isn't really a factor for me as it will pretty much just be a weekend toy. I like the looks of the YJ but I like the motor in the TJ more. I am somewhat familiar with it as I had the same motor in my 99 grand cherokee.

Price wise I am finding decent ones at $4000 and up. I just don't want to rush into it like I did with my first miata in 2005 and got a 92 with horribly faded paint, torn top, 165k miles and paid $3800 for it. Now I get 3-4 of them for that.

The main thing is I don't want another major project. I already have 3 of those and I just want something fun to drive around.

 

I bought a 1958 CJ-5 for $1 when I was 12. My dad and I tore it down to the frame, repaired rust, and put it mostly back together before I turned 16 and we needed a garage stall for a car that could go faster than 40mph.







My dad also had a new Wrangler in 2000 for 3-4 years with no problems, though it was starting to rust already at that point.

EDIT: Oh yeah, he also had a 1982 CJ-7 for a while that was constantly breaking axles, transmission, transfer case.

 

That's so awesome! When I was in JR high my friend and his dad bought a '74 AMC CJ-5 and restored it. He still has it to this day, but since he's older the inline 6 wasn't cuttin it anymore, so he put a 304 or 360 V8 in it.
My first jeep was a '55 ****** CJ5 with a F head 4 cylinder. It was pretty rough body wise, but it ran great and I used it to just trail crawl near my house. Then I bought a '68 CJ5 with a Buick V6, and my buddy sold me a 1953? CJ-3A. I ended up parting all of the jeeps out and selling everything off. I now have a 1950 CJ-3A with a flathead 4 cylinder that I am restoring.

 

Damn, we got some Jeep guys here. Whoda thunk it?

 

Jeeps and Miatas are both gay.

 

I've been scouring craigslist for high mileage or blown motor YJs for an LSX swap, specifically 88-91 so I can register as historic and not go through the emissions and inspection bullshit.

This page has some good info on transmission, engine, and transfer case changes through the years under the "knowledge" tab. It's related to swaps, but the info on what parts are good and what suck is still valid.

http://www.novak-adapt.com/knowledge/yj_87_95_swap.htm

 

If you can afford a TJ, go with that. They're far and away the best-driving of the bunch - we're talking light years, seriously. I drove a friend's old CJ-7 for a week and the steering was downright spooky. I even took it to my alignment guy for a look-see. When he got back, he thought it was best-driving CJ he'd ever been in. They're that bad. The YJs are a lot better, but they can still be pretty rough. Plus, I've never been a fan of the crappy rectangular headlights. The TJ's coil suspension really made things civil, and the interiors are much nicer to boot. As for motors, I'm a huge fan of the 4.0L fuel-injected six. It's smooth, torquey, reliable, and damn-near bulletproof. And if you get an automatic, you're a complete *****.