Advice sought. Tatty 1980 J series pickup, should I buy it?

[Jerry]

Hi guys, can I have some help please.

I've seen this advertised today. It's up for $1200ca and according to the seller, it's not too rusty, the motor runs and it just needs the transfer case bolting back in to be road ready. Obviously it needs some TLC but I thought it might do a better job of hauling my camper than the MJ. I reckon I could get it for more like $750

Is this a good idea or could I be looking at a money pit?

Appreciate any advice because for now I'm still a truck buying novice :dunce:

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[jtdesigns]

A Jeep a money pit??? Nah never would happen.... :rotfl2: :rotfl2: :rotfl2:

 

Looks to be in pretty good shape to me..

[Jerry]

A Jeep a money pit??? Nah never would happen.... :rotfl2: :rotfl2: :rotfl2:

 

Looks to be in pretty good shape to me..

Well alright, a money pit of a less serious nature then :yes:

:cheers:

[JeepcoMJ]

A Jeep a money pit??? Nah never would happen.... :rotfl2: :rotfl2: :rotfl2:

 

Looks to be in pretty good shape to me..

Well alright, a money pit of a less serious nature then :yes:

:cheers:

 

not very good pics, but I don't see any rust in the seems on the body panels like they normally have, and it looks like the green moldiness will just wash right off.

 

that thing also has an OEM rollbar in it...worth some $$$ to a j-series owner.

 

I'd buy it. it's open knuckle front, probably 44 front 44 rear unless it's a 1 ton then it's a semi floating dana 60 rear

[Jerry]

Cool, sounding fairly positive so far then. I'll go take a looky to see if there are any nasty suprises lurking and get some decent photos for you guys to see.

Is there anything I should look for specifically apart from rust?

[dasbulliwagen]

If I had the 1200 to get it, I would grab it up. Like previous poster said, if they are rusty you would usually see it in the seams. A nice full size is a thing to behold. Take our advice and save this truck, if only to resell it to one of us! :banana:

[mvusse]

Buy it.

[aemsee]

Bring a camera with you!!!!!!!

[glundblad]

I think she is beautiful. I would fix her up and drive her only on special occasions.

[Jerry]

I'll keep ya'll posted on progress if there is any :thumbsup:

[deziped]

GM 2.8???? Maybe thats why it's been parked cause that ain't enuf grunt to get it over the lil hills in BC. Oh well, I'd buy it anyways for that price. Slap a 350 easy swap in it, give it a lil spit & polish & take it for a cruise on the ferrys up there.

[aemsee]

GM 2.8???? Maybe thats why it's been parked cause that ain't enuf grunt to get it over the lil hills in BC. Oh well, I'd buy it anyways for that price. Slap a 350 easy swap in it, give it a lil spit & polish & take it for a cruise on the ferrys up there.

 

:nuts: Put down the crack pipe and slowly back away. :D (see the smiley).The 2.8 is in his Comanche, not the J truck.

[Jerry]

:nuts: Put down the crack pipe and slowly back away. :D (see the smiley).The 2.8 is in his Comanche, not the J truck.

I wasn't going to say anything :rotfl2: Thanks for the Monday moring smile that brought :yes:

It's equipped with an AMC 360 V8 4 bbl.

http://www.jeeptech.com/engine/amc360.html

I don't think it'd be able to pull away going down hill if it had a 2.8L :cheers:

What's a "4 bbl" then? Four barrel Carb?

[90eliminator]

one of the 4wheel rags is doing a buildup on these trucks.... I have always thought jeep hit the design mark pretty well with these trucks....for 1200-or 750 def. a steal.... Always Dave Ramsey the seller, bring cash.....and flaunt it... they'll always bite at a lower offer if they see cash flashing around.....that is if its safe to do so.... Easy truck to work on... change the starter from top of the motor if you want.....

[Jerry]

Easy truck to work on... change the starter from top of the motor if you want.....

That is an aspect that I really like! It's one of the reasons I used to love my Suzuki Samurai. So easy to work on! Easy access is a great thing on vehicles (and some other things too :brows: ). It always scares me to look under the hood of a modern car, I always think the same thing, "where's the engine?". Usually I see a large lump of plastic with some fancy writing on :dunno: Cars for the playstation generation, you don't wrench them you plug them into a computer which then tells you to replace the engine :yes:

 

I'm just rambling now until I can get to see this truck later today :oops:

For some reason I don't really seem to be able to concentrate on my work :wall:

 

Remember this?

 

If General Motors Were Like Microsoft

 

At a recent computer expo (COMDEX), Bill Gates reportedly compared the computer industry with the auto industry and stated: "If GM had kept up with technology like the computer industry has, we would be driving twenty-five dollar cars that got 1000 miles to the gallon."

 

In response to Bill's comments, GM issued a press release stating (by Mr. Welch himself):

 

If GM had developed technology like Microsoft, we would be driving cars with the following characteristics:

 

1. For no reason whatsoever your car would crash twice a day.

 

2. Every time they repainted the lines on the road you would have to buy a new car.

 

3. Occasionally your car would die on the freeway for no reason, and you would just accept this, restart and drive on.

 

4. Occasionally, executing a maneuver such as a left turn, would cause your car to shut down and refuse to restart, in which case you would have to reinstall the engine.

 

5. Only one person at a time could use the car, unless you bought "Car95" or "CarNT." But then you have would have to buy more seats.

 

6. Macintosh would make a car that was powered by the sun, reliable, five times as fast, and twice as easy to drive, but would only run on five percent of the roads.

 

7. The oil, water temperature and alternator warning lights would be replaced by a single "general car default" warning light.

 

8. New seats would force everyone to have the same size butt.

 

9. The airbag system would say "Are you sure?" before going off.

 

10. Occasionally for no reason whatsoever, your car would lock you out and refuse to let you in until you simultaneously lifted the door handle, turned the key, and grab hold of the radio antenna.

 

11. GM would require all car buyers to also purchase a deluxe set of Rand McNally road maps (now a GM subsidiary), even though they neither need them nor want them. Attempting to delete this option would immediately cause the car's performance to diminish by 50% or more. Moreover, GM would become a target for investigation by the Justice Department.

 

12. Every time GM introduced a new model car buyers would have to learn how to drive all over again because none the controls would operate in the same manner as the old car.

 

13. You'd press the "start" button to shut off the engine.

[deziped]

Okay, I feel better now after being corrected about the 2.8. Forget the swap, just polish & drive. :chillin: JP Magazine is doing the rebuild articles on the FS J series. Swapped in a 4.0 i THINK.

[Jerry]

Okay, I feel better now after being corrected about the 2.8. Forget the swap, just polish & drive. :chillin: JP Magazine is doing the rebuild articles on the FS J series. Swapped in a 4.0 i THINK.

Glad your back to normal :yes:

Any idea why they'd put in a 4.0L? mpg maybe?

[summerinmaine]

Buy it!!!

 

That way, I can be the only guy in the entire USA that carries a camper on his MJ. :thumbsup:

[Jerry]

Buy it!!!

 

That way, I can be the only guy in the entire USA that carries a camper on his MJ. :thumbsup:

LOL :rotfl2: Rest easy sir, you already are the only USA MJ camper! I'm in Canada :Canadaflag: :thumbsup:

[summerinmaine]

Buy it!!!

 

That way, I can be the only guy in the entire USA that carries a camper on his MJ. :thumbsup:

LOL :rotfl2: Rest easy sir, you already are the only USA MJ camper! I'm in Canada :Canadaflag: :thumbsup:

 

 

Seriously though. If I could have found a J-20 to carry my camper, I would have been on that like a fat kid on cake!

 

And the joke used to be that $1200 Canadian? Isn't that like $2.98US? But more recently, the joke's been on us. :D

[phenryiv1]

When I was very young, my grandfather had a J10 in that exact color. It was 4x4 and had no A/C, but it was a great truck. He later replaced it with a tan one with A/C. We were cutting firewood at his hunting camp and accidentally dropped a tree on the bed. This was not a small tree- it was a 60-70' pine with a 10-12" base. It hit the bed of the truck at a 90* angle, about 1/2 way up the tree. We cut the tree up, loaded it in the truck and drove home. My grandmother never noticed the (very small) dent that the falling tree left in the top rail of the bed. It is one of my favorite memories of my time with my grandfather, who passed away in December (and whose next truck I am now restoring).

 

If I could find an old J10- even if it was not HIS actual truck- to wrench on after I "finish" with the MJ update, I would jump at it.

[Jerry]

Update.

 

It's a beaut! :drool:

 

Sorry folks, like a gert arse I forgot to take a camera! :fool: So here's the text version.......

 

Surface rust apart it's in good nick. Seams as mention are all good. Got it running, it started up fairly easily having been idle for over a year. I don't know how the motor will cope with being aircared though.

I didn't notice too much smoke but I was a bit excitable at the time :clapping:

It's a half finished project so most of the big stuff has been done, brake lines (& I assume brakes), body work (floor pans), new engine (apparently) and instrument console. Transmission and drive shafts need to be reinstalled. Bench seat needs to be sorted as it currently has two unfitted seats from a junkyard in it. And general tidying is required.

 

I'm sold, I just need to figure out how to pay for it which is still "work in progress" for now :(