CJ 5 as a daily driver?

mx racer 904

mx racer 904

New member
I am looking at a CJ-5 with the following...

AMC 304 with a 3 Speed manual transmission...but just went over and mechanic said they are good...
no rust- there was some on the passenger floor board but owner welded a sheet of metal in and looks good...
front end totally gone through...
fresh top...
fresh paint on exterior...
interior is a little rough....as in needs painted and a knob or 2 but floor is rhino lined....seats are ok but need new seat belts...
good tires....
new exhaust although it doesnt have muffler only glass packs and side exits...will put mufflers on...

My question is ..

Is this a worthy vehicle for a semi daily driver...prolly mostly on rainy days and in the winter since I have a motorcycle that i always ride on nice days....
 

Its a dependable ride if you just keep up with the stuff that breaks. I use to drive my Jeep occasionally. Mostly, i drove the spyder convertible or the motorcycle. After an encounter with a big deer crossing the highway at night, the Jeep became my primary vehicle of choice.
 
Ya I figure I have my big Dodge 2500 sold and if I buy this Jeep I will have no PAYMENTS so way easier to keep up with all the little stuff that breaks...
 

I have a 75 CJ5 with a 3 speed and a 304. I use mine as a daily driver when the weather is nice (it doesn't have a top). Some issues: Poor gas economy, no storage space. It has a rough ride, and you really have to respect it because it doesn't stop or turn like a car. It isn't very good on the freeway, at least not like a car. If I go to several stores, I'm afraid to leaving anything in it that can be stolen.

That said, I really enjoy driving it much more than my real daily driver. Driving in the evening, looking up at the stars, the wind in my hair, I love it.
If you want to drive it daily, I would really stay on top of the maintanence and keep an eye out for rust.

I live in Florida, but I had a Jeep in Wyoming and, believe it or not, it is less safe on ice than a car. I guess depending on what tires you have (I had aggressive off road tires) you will get less traction on icy pavement than you would in a car. Although you could lock the front axel in the ice, you have to be careful as it's not meant to be used on pavement or when going very fast.

Just my .02
 
My CJ5 has been my daily driver on and off. Currently I am swapping the 258 out for an injected 4.0 which should make it a better DD. I also installed an Orville(Meyers) steel hardtop for it which I love. A lot of people don't like the steel hardtops but its GREAT! It locks up also to secure items inside.
 

mx racer 904 said:
I had an R6 but sold it off and just got a Xr250 to ride to work....103 MPG YEAH
Click to expand...
Is that an XR250L? Wow, when the trip meter worked on our XR250R, I was getting 50mpg. Of course, I was by no means driving economically.
 

mx racer 904 said:
yeah its a 250l....way less power than the R version...LOL

I got as low as 75 once.....
Click to expand...
I drove a 250L once. It was very smooth and nice.
Come to think about it, I'm pretty sure the R is just geared way low. My top speed is like 60, but it gets there quick. :shock:
 
mine only does about 67 because not quite enuff power....but i have been doing some lil stuff to get a lil more power and has really helped....
 
mx racer 904 said:
i have been doing some lil stuff to get a lil more power and has really helped....
Click to expand...
Like the snorkel and header welds? I was fouling out plugs, but when I took out the air box snorkel, the mixture leaned out enough to keep the plugs from fouling.

Later on, I'm going to grind the header welds, mod the baffle, and get new jets. That'll uncork some power.
 

Both my 72 & 47 CJs were daily drivers, didn't even own another car. I have no problem with it other than it is a little rougher ride and the security can be an issue. Buy that I mean if you stop to pick up groceries on your way home from a round of golf your clubs are at the mercy of the meth heads stalking the parking lot for an easy score. A little bit of planning a head helps.

Lockers if you have them can add to your driving pleaser though. I have Lock Rights in my 78 that make the jeep hop, skip, and jump at will and the only way to get it to turn is to take your foot off the gas then turn. (My plan is to change the Lock Rights to something selectable.)

Summers coming so why not give it a try!
 
I did the exhaust welds, snorkel, rejetted, air filter, and exhaust uncorked... bike has lost about 25 lbs from various stuff, like a different tail light, no signals, only one t-cable, and going tomorrow to get a resistor to replace battery...
 
mx racer 904 said:
I did the exhaust welds, snorkel, rejetted, air filter, and exhaust uncorked... bike has lost about 25 lbs from various stuff, like a different tail light, no signals, only one t-cable, and going tomorrow to get a resistor to replace battery...
Click to expand...
Sounds like my plan for later on. By the way, what size jets did you get with all those mods?
 

I used a 125 main and 42 pilot although i am going back down to a 40 pilot its still to big....
 
mx racer 904 said:
I used a 125 main and 42 pilot although i am going back down to a 40 pilot its still to big....
Click to expand...
Oh, I think the jets in the R are already bigger than that. I saw 135 and 48 jets recommended for the uncorking mods. Come to think about it, I think the L has a different carb. Oh well. They're great bikes, nonetheless.
 

wow 80-90 on a 1100!
My GTX1300 gets 25-30, but if I remove the hyper charger I might get a little better.
 
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