69 CJ 5 is it worth it?

Looking at this 1969 CJ5, 33,000 orig miles, orig owner, V6, plow (all its ever done, hence low mileage), extra new fenders, extra set of wheels and tires. Around $6,000.

What do you think?

 

33K miles as a plow could be considered over 100k driving miles... just think of the strain on the drive train, engine, and brakes, frame etc.

 

anything with a plow makes me pause. Plows can be hard on the chassis for a number of reasons.

to answer your question, 6k may be a little steep in my opinion. For 6k is better be in very good shape. just my opinion

 

its just shiny cause its been repainted 2000 at the most

 

Thanks for the replies. I like the fact it's original and the body seems pretty good. It was painted in 1979, so nothing is being covered up. I was thinking of offering $4,500., a good price for him, an OK price for me.

Where on the frame would plowing show damage?

 

I would crawl all under that jeep and check entire frame with bow to stern. special attention at suspension attachment hardpoints to frame and body mount points at frame. Check it all if you are going to offer that kind of money. That seems really steep to me, but it is worth what you are willing to give for it. That's just my .02.

 

Everywhere that snow plow attaches. Picture this in your mind: Jeep plowing along at 3-5 mph or faster and the blade catching on a seam in the concrete, road, etc. Now think of that shock load being transferred back through the plow through the attaching points on the jeep. Some of them get pretty trashed that way and some owners weld extra steel in place to reinforce what's been broken, bent or otherwise beat up.

This one may be just fine and the owner was very careful about how he ran it etc, but it's your dime. I'd just check it out very carefully

 

There's plenty of great advice above. Don't be in a hurry to buy the first Jeep you find. It took me almost 2 years to find one that was a good value.

 

The picture that shows the paint chip below the passenger door appears that there is a layer of bondo over the rust, not just a paint chip. Look inside the passenger compartment between the seat and the door to see if holes have been patched with bondo. If the bondo has been applied over rust, you are asking for trouble. One good bump and the bondo falls off. If it doesn't fall off, but leaves a gap where moisture can get in it will separate over time and fall off. I had a 79 that I bought thinking the body wasn't too bad to fix, and found that it had 1/2 thick bondo in places. I ended up putting on a fiberglass body.

You can use a small magnet to see how it sitcks to the body. If the paint is thin, the manget will stick. If the bondo is thick, it won't stick.
You see a lot of jeeps with diamond plate corners and rockers that look cool, but cover up rusted areas.

Essentially when you plow snow, you drive forward and then back up the same distance alot. The mileage does not show on the odometer because the gear reverses when you back up, taking the mileage back off the spedometer.

If the jeep was driven 30,000 miles on the road with the plow on, the jeep every bump subjected the jeep to considerably more front end bounce than if it did not have a plow on the front.

That being said take a good look at the front spring bumpers which are mounted to the frame above the front axle. If they are damaged or gone, it is a good indicator that the spring has been completely compressed and then look at the top of the front axle to see if the axle tube shows evidence of metal to metal contact with the frame.

Do you have any idea of the plow history of the jeep? Was it used to plow a single driveway, or a parking lot or multiple driveways?

I feel it is better to buy two jeeps, one that has never had a plow on it and one that is a basket case which has a plow on it and put the two together the way you want. Should be able to do that for less than $6000 and end up with a spare drive train to boot.

 

I would be hesitint to pay that for it. not that 6000 is too much for a jeep, just that with it being that old and having a plow on it all these years. I would take the above advice and put much thought into it. To give you an idea of what the above is talking about, my brother bought a 95 wrangler. It has like 44000 org. miles on it, the body looked good except for the back passenger cornor(it was dented), interior looked nice, floor boards looked good.
once home and upon further investigation he was very disapointed. About a foot to a foot and a half of the frame on both driver and passenger sides was totally shot. Rusted out bad.
cost him 500.00 for the repair, then about 6 months later had to fix a spot on the front of the frame where the front shackle mounts. As someone has already stated, there is bondo already in it. You could have found a awsome jeep, but for that kind of money it should be a pretty sharp jeep that you shouldnt have to do much of anything to. I have seen some pretty nice jeeps in the 3000-4000 range.

 

my brother bought a 95 wrangler that was used for plowing at a local collage. major frame rot in the back cornors and a little rot on the front frame at the spring mounts. I would listen to the advice you are getting. 6000 jeep should be close to perfect in my opion, not one full of bondo and may need frame repair. I've seen some really nice jeeps in the 3000-4000 range. oh the frame repairs were 500 for the back and I think it was 150 or 200 for the front, so add the posibility of the expence on top to the 6000. exspensive fixer jeep!

 

sorry for 2 responses, thought my response didnt post.

 

This is all good infomation and I'm going to pass on this one. I've owned a number of Jeeps in the past and have been looking fo three months. Saw a nice one on ebay recently in NC, a 74 restored that went for $7,000. However, I would then have to get it to Boston. I'm probably going to have to go out of area to find what I want. Any thoughts on transport?

Here's a 67 I found, but it's a four and I want a six. Bought 4 years ago from the original owner's estate, low mileage, body taken off and redone. Sweet looking Jeep. What do think this is worth?







Wayne

 

I'd say that's a $4000-5000 Jeep, depending on whether it looks as good in person as it does in the picture.

IMO - these Jeeps should top out around that mark unless they are just perfect and they have something special to offer. It's a problem with collecting light trucks in general - it's hard to sell them for what it costs to restore them. Most collectors are looking for specific passenger cars.

To get a car to you, contact a shipping broker. Easy.

 

That Jeep is almost identical to my 5-seats and paint are the same, but I did get the V6 version.

 

Shipper? That's what we call a road trip. Nothing beats a few days of driving a Jeep on the back roads looking for more Jeeps along the way.

 

Road trips are great if 1) the price of fuel doesn't cost more than the shipper, and 2) you have however many days you need to go and get the car.

 

Another option you have is save your money
buy something like this and do a ground up restoration

I paid $250 for it back in 04
Now I have a nice jeep and know what I have since I been through every inch of it ,now its 100% rust free good for another 60 + years. not someones masked up hunk of metal , that is one large hunk of rust or shall I say boat anchor.


With that $7000. you can build a jeep you dreamed about
Good luck on your search hope you find what your looking for.
Like everyone said here don't jump in the first jeep you find do your homework first , that way you know you'll be happy at the end .