Member Chuck Reid

'82 CJ7 (Cleveland Hts., OH 1990)

This is a picture of my Jeep shortly after I bought it in 1988. I originally purchased it as a 2nd "fun" vehicle. I usually left it parked in the garage with the top/doors off for nice days. While towing my 21' boat, theT5 tranny blew and the Jeep sat in my garage for years while I half-heartedly looked for a replacement.

Eventually an '81 CJ7 was purchased for parts and it was back on the road (but the axles on the '81were shorter which bummed me out). Because it sat for so long, it's still in relatively good shape for it's age.

My first outing with the club was the 2001 Toys for Tots ride. I had fun, even though things didn't go real smooth. It took a while to find where we were going, but was my first time riding with tons of other Jeeps. That was cool in itself. Above, Mike took a cool pic from his Cherokee mirror.

All I did in preparation for this trip was purchase a tow strap and add front tow hooks. Turns out I needed them. After getting stuck 3 times, I realized that my Jeep needed some modifications.

My 1982 Jeep CJ7 when purchased

258 cid 2 bbl

T5 tranny and Dana 300 Transfer Case

AMC 8 7/8 Rear End

DANA 30 Front Axle

Recent Mods

2 1/2" Superlift

RS 5000 shocks

3/8" shackle lift

31" Super Swamper TSLs

T18 tranny (6.32:1) replaced stock T5

Added Front Tow Hooks and removed front sway bar

CB radio and Fire Extinguisher

Moser one piece rear axles (in process)

Spyder rocker guards (as seen below)

Above is from the 5/11/02 Wellsville, Ohio trip which produced a lot of great pictures (before the T18 swap).

This is from one of our other Wellsville, Ohio trips (see 1-20-2002 and 2-03-2002) which added to my list of repairs to do. The front grille got pushed back in to the radiator by 3" of ice. The driver's seat was broken, so that it gradually leaned back further and further. This made for some interesting driving, until I became creative with a tow strap and tire iron. I had to replace a motor mount and oil filter on the road.

At the end of the day on a November 2003 trip to Wellsville, my aging Jeep had so much body flex that the fan went into the radiator. After using a tow dolley to get it home (thanks Tom), I decided it was time for some major repairs. Now my Jeep is in pieces in my garage! Above are some of the pictures I took while disassembling it. The frame is all POR15'd and I just have to start putting it all back together :).

I'll post some pictures of the restoration, so check back.