What would you do with $2500

[Thunder]

Ok so next payday on the 18th I get a bit of a bonus and I was just wondering something. If you guys had a bone stock cj7 on 31's and 2500 bucks what would you do with it?

[hps4evr]

if it has the 2 piece rear shafts then upgrade to one piece shafts. rear lock rite locker. some better leaf springs, maybe only a little lift height, i think there is a way to install yj leaf springs. i bet it needs some maintenance too. upgrade the seats to suspension seats. upgrade the headlights.
go to northridge4xr4.ca, or go to quadratec.com and find the parts you want, then call stan at northridge.ca and buy through him.

what do you wish your jeep could do better?

[Thunder]

I plan on making it a "do all" jeep. So I dont plan on going sky high, or running huge tires. More or less a camping rig thats capable of getting back out in the bush...
All I know for sure is a short lift, like 2.5 or so and some new shocks. I'd like to go with OME but the kits like $1500! and some bilstien 5100 series shocks at $100 a pop gunna kill my budget right quick.
As far as the rest of the jeep goes its pretty solid. Headlights are fine. the 27 year old seats are awesome... rust free tub... Just looking for ideas to get the most bang for my buck I guess... I do know Im going to have to do something about the rear axle but I'm going to need to re gear to some 4.10's and try to do it all in one shot... I dont even want to know what re gearing is going to cost haha. Thanks for the thoughts

[tubby]

A budget build on a short time-frame eh?

It definately sounds like an awesome challenge. Are you firm on spending $2500? Do yourself a favor and start a list of things that NEED to be done, and a list of things you WANT for the Jeep. The list should be pretty different LOL!

If you aren't mechanically inclined, then surround yourself with friends who are, do a ton of research online on CJ specific forums and then start looking in the for sale sections, swap meets, and Kijiji. Sell off things you don't need around the house to go towards your build or barter/horse trade.

You would be surprised at what you can find and learn if you are patient.

You wouldn't mind posting-up some pics of your CJ do you?

Good luck with your build!

[jeepjones]

Tires and rims, then build around them.

[Thunder]

Dang... I've got issues with putting pictures on the interweb so Im none to good at it. Just put some on photo bucket but have no clue how to resize them... but here are a few links I guess.

http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i479/19Thunder81/DSCF2088.jpg
http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i479/19Thunder81/DSCF2089.jpg
http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i479/19Thunder81/DSCF2093.jpg
http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i479/19Thunder81/DSCF2094.jpg
http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i479/19Thunder81/DSCF2095.jpg

Hope that worked... Only rusty spot inside the tub is on the driver and pass floor where the drain plugs are. As for a list of what it needs... aside from having to soldier a few connections and maybe some new locking hubs the list is pretty short...
Eventually I'd like to get to 35's but 33's would do fine for me. And it isnt that I'm on a deadline. I read all the 4wd rags and it seems Ive missed the CJ era by about 20 years... I'm just looking for some advice so I dont blow my cash on some rookie stuff when I could put it better use. Thanks

[hps4evr]

what year is it, and the details? engine? trans? t/case?
greasable shackles would help too. if you're holding off to do gears and lockers then maybe now is a good time to save up. if you have 2500$ now, then maybe in a couple months you'll have double that. then you could do lift, tires, gears, lockers. i know haveing a stack of bills to spend is fun but you might need to do some more reasearch. check jeepforum.com's cj section. maybe even email the guys at jp magazine and see what they think.
the nice thing is there are still a lot of options for your old cj.
nice jeep!

[Jeepless]

I'd spend at least some of on a winch and recovery gear. You can have all the lift, tires and swag you want but it'll be a winch (usally) that'll get you 

[Thunder]

OK... its an 84 cj7 Laredo. 4.2 I6 with 102k on the clock. Thing burns oil like a mofo after I had the cam done. Best as I can tell the valve seals were not properly installed, causing the oil burn. I've got 120 to 130pds per cylinder(so prolly not rings). But, I also know there is something else gone, either cam or crank bearings must be worn cause my oil pressure drops when I reach opperating temp. So, I bought an engine off a guy from blairmore and am in the process of refurbing it, new seals... gaskets, going to do a 4.0 head swap on it, mc2100 carb, ignition upgrade, electric fan, and new exhaust. I finally got around to it this afternoon and now I got her tore down. Just waiting for parts... still need to track them down but this is the first chance I had to work on it in a month heh. Giving myself a 1200 budget on that project...
Back to the Jeep. Its got the borg warner T5 trans, which seems alright but Ive got some clutch slippage, nothin crazy but even my 31 give it some trouble. Its got a dana300 Tcase which I understand is the best piece in the drivetrain. Dana 30 front, AMC 20 rear with 3.37 gears and trac lok in the rear diff as per code BB stamped on the rear diff...

Saving up wouldn't be a bad idea but the way things go in my life I'll lose it, or spend it on something else... like a lawyer haha. This is why Im wondering about upgrades... I wanna do it once and thats it, I just wont be able to do it all at once. I figure I'll do the ongoing evolution thing while not seeing the final product for about 2 years.
So, the long/short term plan...
2.5 inch lift - OME with YJ springs.
New Shocks - Bilstien 5100's
4.10 gears with upgraded shafts.
33 inch AT's on some Beadlocks... the beadlock are in the long long term plan... heh.
Selectable rear locker - Prolly go with an elocker or might just try to find a limited slip and say F the locker...
Dual Batteries and OBA set up.
Metal Cloak Flares... Mmmm those are nice
And eventually a winch. I know I'm not anywhere near having the ability to wheel where I would need a winch just yet. Ability and Stupidity are two different things haha.
Would really really love to do the cj8 hard half cap and bulkhead.

I really like the look of the CJ's and would kind of like to keep it so... with my own touch. I know it would've been cheaper to pick up someone elses jeep thats already been built but wheres the fun in that right?

[morerpmfred]

fix jeep first. Replace slipping clutch if not you will get stranded on trail. Change rear diff fluid and add limited slip additive , adjust and or fix rear brakes .With parking brake you can lock up your rear diff. next lunch box locker in front and a winch .Any money left over then 32 mud tires A little treatment with a sazall and no rubbing, esp behind rear tires at bottom. if still money left over then lift and 33 tires.

[TL-Iguana]

Bought another 4.2? If you bought a 4.0l then stroke it!!

[rangerdanger]

My 82 CJ-7 build:
Buy rough country 4" lift $500
Buy built dana 30 and amc 20 axles with 4.56 gears, detoit lockers front and rear, and one piece shafts  from CJA classifieds $1000
Buy used 33's from CJA classifieds $600
misc small things to run better $500

Thats how I did my budget build. I can run 90% of the trails around without much difficulty. It all took about 2 years to find the parts but is worth the $$$ I saved.

[SwampSinger]

whores and blow ...$2500 

[BlackYJ]

whores and blow ...$2500 

I was thinking the same thing, but you need a good $5,000 to have a good whores and blow party

[NUXJR]

I was thinking the same thing, but you need a good $5,000 to have a good whores and blow party

Hey Scott!!!  Hope ya kept the receipt!!!!