Why are Wrangler so expensive!

[Simpler=Better]

I mean, cmon! All I want is a rust free frame with an AX-15 & TC, but all I can find are $2,000 rust buckets.

[elchivito]

501 button fly Levis for me

[TwitchKitty]

They got cheap back about ten years ago in some areas and then they went back up, way up. I thought I would buy one eventually and was saving some parts but I scrapped them. I would still buy a bargain with a hardtop.

Probably buy one more XJ, nice ones are getting hard to find at any reasonable price.

Gas keeps going up they may get real cheap.

[lutzTD]

Originally Posted by Simpler=Better

I mean, cmon! All I want is a rust free frame with an AX-15 & TC, but all I can find are $2,000 rust buckets.

Ill sell you one with a 5.7 hemi and 6" lift for 15K

[Simpler=Better]

Maybe. The best deal I have found is a CJ5 with a clean frame, clean body, doors, aaand that's it. No dash, flat tires, no wiring, no lights.

[Fulcrum525]

Think Wranglers are hard? Try finding the Mercedes equivalent

Check here, there should be a few Wranglers for sale here that will fit what you're looking for.

For Sale and Wanted Section - Expedition Portal

[jplinville]

I have a CJ5, rusted, no fuel tank (have a beer keg strapped in the roll bar as a fuel cell), lifted 6", rolling on 37", beat to hell and back...and it's not for sell. LOL

It's an old beater we keep out on the farm for fun. We've rolled it countless time, and it still keeps going.

[cmbdiesel]

Originally Posted by jplinville

I have a CJ5, rusted, no fuel tank (have a beer keg strapped in the roll bar as a fuel cell), lifted 6", rolling on 37", beat to hell and back...and it's not for sell. LOL

It's an old beater we keep out on the farm for fun. We've rolled it countless time, and it still keeps going.

CJ = real jeep

Wrangler = POS

My old Willys was the greatest. 1951 M38. Only time anything ever broke on that jeep was when I was pulling Wranglers outta the woods... It hated Wranglers...
Used to run 35" tires aired down to about 15lbs... No lift, tires just did clear the fenders, unless you were really flexing over rocks. That suspension was not designed for a lot of travel...
Poor thing got burned up in a forest fire...

[JB3]

Originally Posted by cmbdiesel

CJ = real jeep

Wrangler = POS

My old Willys was the greatest. 1951 M38. Only time anything ever broke on that jeep was when I was pulling Wranglers outta the woods... It hated Wranglers...
Used to run 35" tires aired down to about 15lbs... No lift, tires just did clear the fenders, unless you were really flexing over rocks. That suspension was not designed for a lot of travel...
Poor thing got burned up in a forest fire...

I thought that the 05 to whenever wrangler was constructed on the CJ chassis with an updated suspension. Buddy of mine has an 05, still has the 4.0 straight six and the stick, its a pretty solid jeep.

[jplinville]

Originally Posted by dropnosky

I thought that the 05 to whenever wrangler was constructed on the CJ chassis with an updated suspension. Buddy of mine has an 05, still has the 4.0 straight six and the stick, its a pretty solid jeep.

The CJ-8 was the last with that chassis. The Wrangler was built as a YJ from 87-95, a TJ from 96-06, LJ for two years starting in 04 known as the Limited, and from 07 to present on a JK chassis. They are still making a military version on the J8 chassis.

The tubs aren't easily interchangeable between the model years due to changes over the chassis years

[TwitchKitty]

Everyone is ok but a replacement for the XJ took a higher priority as of last night when a young man pulled right out in front of me. Broadsided the guy, almost got stopped but the impact was still enough to to probably total both cars.

Airbags are funny. His deployed, mine didn't. Still hoping he is ok. He was conked in the head and dazed but they didn't transport him.

CJs were great but Wranglers with coil springs maybe better. It's a different world, utility vehicles are not what they used to be.

[suginami]

Originally Posted by jplinville

I have a CJ5, rusted, no fuel tank (have a beer keg strapped in the roll bar as a fuel cell), lifted 6", rolling on 37", beat to hell and back...and it's not for sell. LOL

It's an old beater we keep out on the farm for fun. We've rolled it countless time, and it still keeps going.

That is so classic. Sounds like a bunch of fun.

[jplinville]

Originally Posted by suginami

That is so classic. Sounds like a bunch of fun.

It is. Dad horse traded for ti when I was about 10 years old. The day after he bought it, he let my older brother, who was 13, and me tear across the fields with it. I learned how to drive in it long before I had a license.

It's equipped with Ford's 300 I-6 mated to a ZF transmission, which is a bullet proof combination.

The first time I rolled it, was when I was 12. Dad was with me, and coaxed me into going up a rather steep incline. It would have made it, had I not had the wheel ripped outta my hands when the right tire hit a stump, scaring me into hit the right pedal hard. The Jeep lurched to the left, causing us to roll.

I've witnessed my older brother flip it backwards a few years ago. He got out and I helped flip it back on it's wheels. It started right up and kept going.

The fuel tank was ripped out by a rock many years ago. A neighbor had an aluminum beer keg sitting in his barn, and for $10 and a few junkyard parts, we had a new fuel cell.

We've had a blast with it over the years. My kids still drive it on the farm when we go down to the cabin. I have a feeling that I'll have grandkids driving it before it finally dies for good.

[Simpler=Better]

So what would you guys recommend? CJ vs YJ? Whatever I end up building, it's going to have manual steering, brakes, and transmission.

[jplinville]

Originally Posted by Simpler=Better

So what would you guys recommend? CJ vs YJ? Whatever I end up building, it's going to have manual steering, brakes, and transmission.

CJ. There are a crap-ton of parts for them that aren't that expensive, including replacement tubs made of fiberglass. Also, less electronics to deal with.