When I was 14 years of age, I decided to embark on an immense project with my dad; I wanted to restore an early model Jeep CJ-7 as a father son project. The CJ-7 is the grandfather of the ever so popular Jeep Wrangler and was the ideal choice for the avid four wheel drive enthusiasts. Me and my dad thought a CJ-7 would could potentially become a remarkable vehicle to build so we created a set budget and ideal image for the kind of Jeep we wanted. Our most desirable Jeep would ideally be an economical vehicle that was capable off road, without losing the classic look that CJ-7's withhold. The 1982 CJ-7 we acquired was full of rust, cheap paint and the drivetrain was neither functional nor economical. The first priority with this Jeep was for us to find a suitable engine and transmission combination to achieve our ultimate goal for our project, while remaining within budget.
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Immediately we thought the solution to our problem was a simple engine and transmission rebuild, leaving us with a functional drivetrain, but this idea was quickly shot down quickly. We realized that this would recreate a vehicle designed in the early 80’s, when gas prices and horsepower did not seem to be in mind when AMC built these Jeeps. The expected fuel mileage for this set up would be an average of twelve miles per gallon while producing 135 horsepower at the wheels, and that was a considerable distance from the Jeep I wanted to
Immediately we thought the solution to our problem was a simple engine and transmission rebuild, leaving us with a functional drivetrain, but this idea was quickly shot down quickly. We realized that this would recreate a vehicle designed in the early 80’s, when gas prices and horsepower did not seem to be in mind when AMC built these Jeeps. The expected fuel mileage for this set up would be an average of twelve miles per gallon while producing 135 horsepower at the wheels, and that was a considerable distance from the Jeep I wanted to