Buying someone else's finished project??

[Marksman]

I bought my second Jeep, a CJ5 just a few weeks ago. The idea was as a project for my son's and I. Both son's are enthralled by the thought of rock crawling and serious off roading.

Well of course, after I buy this Jeep, I see another for sale today.

A '95 Wrangler. 10" Extended wheebase, springover, HP D44's at both ends. 4-1 and slip yoke eliminator in the 231. 5:13's, spooled rear, ARBed front. 37" Goodyears on beadlocked wheels, Warn 9500lb winch, AGR Rock Ram crossover steering, etc. etc. etc..............

Asking price of $13k OBO. Jeez, I can't build it for that. My concerns of course, are, why was it built, well to be abused of course.

So what do you folks think of buying somebodies "finished" project instead of building? The price is right, but would you concern yourself with the abuse this rig probably has already seen, or would you leap at the chance to just go wheelin'??

I currently have two projects. A '79 Ford and the CJ5, and neither is ready for any serious wheeling.

Thanks,

Mike

PS If their is a better location on the BBS for this string, let me know and I will post it there.

[Keith Strong]

If i had the money I would. However for that much I would want 60's and a better tranny/tcase

[f0cker]

Tough decision. I would personally build the CJ and set it up how YOU like it. For 13k (or however much you would be spending on it), you can set yourself up with some really bling parts...

IMO, and for what I do when I wheel, one of the top setups is this:

SOA in front with a Dana 60, extend WB forward a few inches.
Go coils/4-link in rear, and extend back to get a ~100" WB.-Dana 60 axle again

Get a custom 6 point cage put in and tie it to the frame.

Cut the fenders enough to clear 38" SXs or a tire or your choosing.-Possibly add a 1" BL to reduce the amount of cutting needed.

Get some good rocker protection, and have a winch mount made for the front. Put a Warn 9000 there.

Find a Chevy 350 and drop it in, back it with a TH350 or TH400/a manual transmission if you like them, and then put it through a 3.8 Atlas II

Set up the interior how you like it and do whatever else you want to it.

You oughta be able to get this for right around 13k, and, IMO, a Jeep that looks better and is cherry, so you can know that what is on there is good stuff, and that it hasnt been beaten on.

Edit: Adding prices...
Axles: ~2500 each
Tires w/ Beadlocks: ~1850
Cage: ~600
Rear 4-link and front SOA: ~1700
Engine: Prices range on this, but you can get good deals
Tranny: Again, prices range on these too
Atlas: ~2500
Interior/Miscelaneous: ~2500

Add in random shipping and such, and you've got a better rig with more $$ incase you brake something.

[cj79]

Originally posted by f0cker
Tough decision. I would personally build the CJ and set it up how YOU like it. For 13k (or however much you would be spending on it), you can set yourself up with some really bling parts...

IMO, and for what I do when I wheel, one of the top setups is this:

SOA in front with a Dana 60, extend WB forward a few inches.
Go coils/4-link in rear, and extend back to get a ~100" WB.-Dana 60 axle again

Get a custom 6 point cage put in and tie it to the frame.

Cut the fenders enough to clear 38" SXs or a tire or your choosing.-Possibly add a 1" BL to reduce the amount of cutting needed.

Get some good rocker protection, and have a winch mount made for the front. Put a Warn 9000 there.

Find a Chevy 350 and drop it in, back it with a TH350 or TH400/a manual transmission if you like them, and then put it through a 3.8 Atlas II

Set up the interior how you like it and do whatever else you want to it.

You oughta be able to get this for right around 13k, and, IMO, a Jeep that looks better and is cherry, so you can know that what is on there is good stuff, and that it hasnt been beaten on.

well put, i would much rather have that cj with that on it

[f0cker]

Originally posted by cj79



well put, i would much rather have that cj with that on it

Yea, but go look out the window at that bad ass rig you've got.

[preach]

Sounds great...


BUT.

How do you know the guy wasn't a hack?
As you mentioned how bad was it beat?
No d60s.
t-case waiting to blow.


For $13k I could build a much better rig and as an added bonus I would enjoy doing it.

I just can't see buying someone elses problems.

[StudNuts]

for just a few more bucks you can have my TJ FOR SALE

IMO, to me its fun to buid it up-you learn alot in the builup stage and get to know your rig, plus you get the satisfaction of saying you built it with your hands. But if you have the money and/or dont have time or tools to do it yourself, I dont see a crime in buying a built rig.

[we4jeepn]

For me I get just as much out of building as I do driving. So I would not buy someone elses project. You just never know.

[xBabyJesus]

You can get a much better built rig for 13K. D44's are weak. NP231 is weak.

here's a better, cheaper rig

-J

[Comet]

I'm not saying this rig is the one, or the price is right, just going to comment on buying or building. Like it has been said before, for some people 1/2 the fun is building it yourself and the satisfaction that brings. Also, with two extra hands around, it's a good familiy bonding experience. On the other hand, sounds like you already have some projects your working on and you could wheel right away with an already built rig. Only you can decide what your priorities are. Just be sure to really check out the work and ask a lot of questions of the guy with the built rig. I'd also want to take it off road to see how it operates there before I bought it. Good luck and let us know what you decide.

[boz88xj]

Quoting fawker....

Edit: Adding prices...
Axles: ~2500 each
Tires w/ Beadlocks: ~1850
Cage: ~600
Rear 4-link and front SOA: ~1700
Engine: Prices range on this, but you can get good deals
Tranny: Again, prices range on these too
Atlas: ~2500
Interior/Miscelaneous: ~2500

Add in random shipping and such, and you've got a better rig with more $$ incase you brake something./Quote



2500 for interior/miscelaneous!

Holy shiatsu!
I didnt iknow you were including gold plated trim in the interior!

Now what on EARTH would you need in interior that would benefit the jeep and would cost 2500?

The miscelaneos category by itself could be 500-600, depending what you want to include in there, but for interior, what, some seats, mebbe a tuffy?

[Marksman]

Thanks folks. I am mulling over what ya all said.

The rig LOOKS good, but I need to call the guy, ask some questions, but I am currently leaning toward letting someone else own it.

Personally I enjoy building stuff, as much or more than using it. I have built a couple of desert running trucks when I lived in Phoenix. Also a couple of hotrod cars. Now working on my stepsons current driver (the '79 Ford) and this Jeep. BUT, two teenage stepsons, AND two little girls, one two years and one three months makes build time really hard to come by.

The sons want to go playing NOW, their interest is not as stong in the building part. They like doing it, but don't really grasp how much time (or money) it takes to build the rigs they want.

Best,

Mike

[nobody20]

It depends on what your ultimate goal is. If it is for father & sons to get some time together build the 5. If it is to go wheeling immediately then buy a built rig.

If you go 5 then please go with wide axles. If you are going to be crawling ledges, waterfalls, etc. then I would recommend at least 10" wheelbase stretch. Stretch with moving the rear axle back so that you maintain maximum weight on your front axle. Moving the front axle forward results on less weight on the front axle. Having owned a 5 for 24 years I wouldn't recommend them for teenagers. My son had a CJ-7 and daughter had a YJ.

Good luck.

[Steve N]

The old buy, or build dilemna...

After spending the last 25 years building stuff I can say the whole pride of building it yourself thing's overated. And on the subject of I could build a blah blah blah for blank, it usually winds up being blank X 2. It's all the little stuff that costs more than you budget for. Again I've done it for 25 years it's the same for race cars, muscle cars or Jeeps.

I would recomend keeping the number of projects down to as little as possible. (note to self, practice what you preach ) The value of that or any rig is hard to define, without taking a good look at it. I like the buy a built or near built rig and fix what you don't like concept. Built rigs tend to be ugly/dented hence cheap, or hard to sell. Remember a good running great looking CJ7 with a mild lift with 31's with collectable options such as Laredo, hard top, auto, air etc. etc. is worth as about much as the same rig decently built with a dented body and paint by granite. Out here in California allmost all CJ's like my stock example that have NO rust.

So if you decide to consider the built Jeep take a good look at it and then consider selling the CJ5 project. Having one built trail rigs enough for the wallet.