Jeep CJ Recommendation
 

My better half has expressed an interest in daily driving a Jeep CJ and I was wondering if the braintrust could give any insights into which models to avoid and which ones to look at. She can drive a stick and the vehicle will be used for running around town with little to no freeway use. We are in California so it would need to go through emissions testing. My only experience with Jeeps was my '75 Wagoneer which I really miss. Thanks.

I bought a new '78 CJ5 Renegade back when I wuz 17....immediatedly voided the warranty with headers and sidepipes :). I'd give anything to have it back now...but they were pretty dangerous for rollovers even at turtle speeds. The CJ7s were a foot longer and came out later..much safer imo, but I'm still here...

Good luck!

While you ask about the CJ, I wouldn't have anyone I loved 'daily' driving anything older than a 'TJ' or 1997.

This. I have owned every model of wrangler from the CJ up to my new two door JL.

On the CJ, you’ll have to dump a serious amount of money into it to make it a real daily driver. And even then it’s going to be noisy as hell anytime you go over 40 miles an hour. Picture driving a dump truck. Seriously.

The TJ was jeeps first serious effort about making a daily driver wrangler. If you get anything older than a TJ, I would bet your wife will quit driving it in a month.

+1
I think they're cool, but everyday.... I'm not that young anymore


It's popular to do a fi 4.0 head swap to get fuel injection.

Agreed on getting a TJ or newer. The old ones are rough, crude, loud, slow, and expensive to get a nice one. Newer ones give you the Jeep experience with way less compromise.

The 1997 TJ is the first to use coil springs vs the old leafs.

The TJ's coil suspension works much better both on pavement, and off.

Of course, any Jeep is just the starter kit. Keep modifying until your heart's content.
Then modify some more.
...and a bit more.

You don't want a CJ as an actual daily. Dump truck is being generous. She better be very enamoured with the cool factor, because she will likely hate the rest.

So CJs are just like me :)

My CJ5 was a horrible college "car"...

So I sold it to my dad after just one semester...couldn't have it on campus as a freshman anyways and a Schwinn was mo' better ;)

I did daily drive a leaf-sprung Jeep for a while.
Bought it at an insurance auction after being tipped up on its side, pieced it together enough to go thrash in the woods.

I was happy with my who-cares-mobile, until my wife decided Jeeps are cool, but not that one.
Sold it and bought a TJ. Wife happy.
Better driver, just gotta bring it back out of the woods with the paint still intact.

Back in the day I owned a 73 CJ5 , a 77 CJ7 and a 80 CJ5 . All three were tough off road beasts but on road they sucked ! A short wheelbase on leaf springs on all four corners is a chiropractor's dream ! Of the three the CJ7 was the best due to longer wheelbase and the weight of the V8 and auto tranny and Quadratrac transfer case .

I have never been in a newer TJ/YJ but I hope they are better all around vehicles . The four door versions look interesting but I know nothing about them . Creature comforts and a decent on road performance is a must .

I drove a CJ5 with a snow plow one time.

Sounds like a TJ it is. She would not know the difference between a CJ and a TJ.

I had new YJ as a first car. I drove it for 6 years and put 125,000 miles on it. City, suburbs, interstate. I went everywhere with it.

32 years later, I borrowed my brothers 4 door JK with a soft top, 6 speed manual and the same 32” BFG AT i used to run on mine. The JK has an even longer wheelbase and wider track with coil springs that my YJ didn’t have.

I had it for 10 days and put a few 100 miles on it.

I realized, quickly that I could never daily a wrangler again.

Interestingly, the biggest upside was that while it was loud on the interstate, knowing that 65 was it’s practical limit, I found myself in the right lane not worried about getting to my destination 1 minute 45 seconds earlier.


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Nuthin' like being in a mud bog....and having to get out and lock those front hubs...more than once :)

Being young and stupid learned that lesson early and often 😀 The CJ7 had auto locking front hubs ........... big improvement haha . The first time you bury a 4x4 and need help to get out is a right of passage for an off roader .

I would go a JK or newer as a daily. Here's my 2015 JK Rubicon. Its got heated leather seats, nav, and most everything else a modern vehicle comes with. However its still a Jeep so the driving experience is a little different. This one makes a great daily but the downside is that even with 285 hp/6 speed manual its pretty slow compared to most cars and drinks gas like there's no tomorrow. I still love it though and wouldn't part with it. Plus it can go anywhere. :D

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1572480746.jpg

A JK with a modern 4 or 5 cylinder turbo diesel would be sweet . Good fuel mileage and lots of torque for off road .

I hear the 2020 models have a 3.0 turbo diesel option. about the same hp (260) but 442 lbs of torque.

Beware of the death wobble no matter what direction you go. I rented a JKU this last weekend and experienced it for the first time.
Never once happened in my stock TJ.

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