I'm going to do this AGAIN????

I'm know some of you have seen my CJ5 go from this...



...to this...



Well over the weekend I decided to try and save this 1981 Scrambler from its slow and painful death. It has been sitting in a field for the last 15 years rotting away and I could not stand to see it die.

My meager plans (for now) are to remove the 258 and probably the transmission (depending on what is in there) and swap in a mildly built SBC - hello Novak. I do want to keep the manual transmission setup. All my DDs for the last 15 years have been automatics and I miss driving a stick sometimes (Yes, I'm weird). I may also do a minor suspension lift, something shy of needing to rotate the axles, but give it a nice look, and also some larger wheels and tires. The big thing is going to be the repair or replacement of the tub. First looks are telling me the tub is beyond repair for street use. The good news is that the fiberglass top has no cracks and the doors seem pretty solid with just some surface rust. Even the dash pad is intact.

More than likely this will be a looooong build and I probably won't get started until next year ($$), but that will give me time to plan and think about what I want to do with it. God help me and hopefully the gods of ECJ5 will help, too.

Former grave sight...



Loaded on the trailer. It has no brakes so we had to drag it up a hill and use gravity (and a chain).





Waiting outside its new home, needs a really good bath before going in.

 

seems to be in better shape then what your cj5 started out as. From the magic you worked on that 5, im sure the cj8 will be JUST as purdy as the cj5. I'll be watching!

 

You are a good man to save that old soul of a Jeep. Good luck on the project. I always wanted a scrambler. That one definitely has some rust issues so you have some work ahead of you. Nothing that dome TLC can't take care of. I mean Truck Loads of Cash R) Have fun with it. Sounds like you have some good plans.
Greg

 

Nothing like a good project! Have fun with it!

 

i have always dug scramblers too.
if i close one eye and squint with the other i can envision it done already.*






*of course i am not the guy thats gonna put 500+hours into the body alone....

 

Greg Have to admit it looks a little better than the 5 but after seeing the the work feel as if the 8 will turn out just as good

 

I used to have a 82' Jeep Scrambler once, I'm looking forward to it.

 

This is gonna be an interesting build. Will be watching. Good luck.

 

it's gonna be beautiful.
your last one is.

 

Aaaaaaaggggghhhhhh! Pressure! Must build good! (well there goes the last of the hair)



Seriously, though. I appreciate the words of encouragement and confidence. I still maintain that a lot of you are far superior to me when it comes to tricks and tricking-out. I'll try not to disappoint. I can't wait to start chainsawguy then :driving: