Do you know this Jeep?

[Stevie]

I recently bought this 1980 CJ7 from a guy in Manito. He said he owned it for five years. He did not know much about it. It has a MIJC.ORG cut vinyl sticker on the back. I was hoping one of you would remember it. The axles and possibly the engine are not original. I can and probably will dig into it to identify everything but if I could find a previous owner or the person who "built" it, it might save me some time.

I would like to know what the axles and brakes came out of and what year the engine is. Any other info or history would be appreciated.

Here is a video I put on YouTube. If you can't view the video, it is lime green with Dana 60 or 70s, straight six, automatic, three tops, 33" Baja Mud Terrains that once had studs in them...

[alkat]

Can't get video to play, post pics

[Fraser]

Ditto.

[W_A_Watson_II]

Worked for me. It's a lime green Jeep with both full and half doors and a black hardtop.

https://youtu.be/WA3ravewH6o

[TSEJEEPERS]

Is that the Jeep Dave Stiles built for his wife Bonnie?

[wdln]

Kinda looks like it, Tom. Although it's been a long time since I've seen it.

(I fixed the video embed... you can't use youtu.be links. Has to be the regular youtube.com.)

[wdln]

Stevie... That looks like an AMC 258 motor, which should be attached to a Torqueflite 999 automatic transmission. That is probably what it came with from the factory. It's hard to see the axles and I'm not super-good at ID'ing them by sight, but from the factory it would have been a Dana 30 in front and an AMC 20 in back. I couldn't make out the pumpkin on the rear, but the easy way to spot an AMC 20 is that it has a rounded diff cover with no indentations for the ring gear inside like the Dana axles have. You can build AMC 20's to be stronger but they're not a great choice for heavy duty applications.

jeep 002-L.jpg (173.34 KiB) Viewed 44314 times

An automatic-specific issue: I would probably take a look at the linkage for the column shifter and see if it looks decent. The mechanism is not terribly well-designed and was among the first things to fail on my Jeep ('83 CJ-7). The bushings are plastic and they wear out and fall out. I ended up putting in a floor shifter. On my '89 Wagoneer the bushings also failed, and when I went to the dealer to buy new ones (only place that sells them), they had an updated part number and are now made of brass. Seems much more durable. So that might be a possibility too.

Just something you might want to check, from one automatic CJ owner to another.

[Fraser]

Definitely NOT Dana 60 or 70 axles.

[Jill Martin]

Where is Jon? He has a memory for this stuff like an steel trap. Is this a fiberglass tub? Wasn't Stiles jeep a fiberglass tub?

[Stevie]

Thanks so far for everyone's efforts. I still haven't dug into it much. Just getting the lights and signals and stuff working so far.

WDLN - It is a Torqflite but I think it might be a 727, not a 999. Again, haven't dug in to far. Not too worried about it will probably swap it for a manual this winter.

WDLN and Fraser- Neither differential cover is round. The pumpkin covers are definitely Dana 60 or 70. They have been crinkle painted so I can't find the identification numbers. But even if I take them apart and count/measure I still won't know what the brakes are. That is why I'd like to find who built it to find out what truck they came out of.

WDLN - The reason I think the motor is not original is because there is an O2 sensor hanging out of the exhaust manifold. The wire is cut. It could just be a manifold swap, but again I haven't really dug into it yet.

Jill Martin - It is not a fiberglass tub. It is all steel.

One more question for the builder would be what color/brand paint is on it so I can buy some touch up aerosol.

If anyone could text Stiles, my number is 309 472-1435.

Thanks again.

I'll post again when I start digging into it.

[Jon Martin]

Should have IH Scout Dana 44's. The jeep used to have fuel injection swapped on from a 4.3 gm v6.

[Fraser]

Stevie - except for the oval Dana 35 cover, the Dana covers all look similar, with the main difference being overall size. The Dana 60 & 70 covers are just over 12" tall and just over 11" wide. The Dana 44 cover is about 10.35" tall and 9.5" wide, while the Dana 30 cover is about 9.3" tall by 9" wide. Take a couple measurements and you should be able to confirm what axles you have.

[Fraser]

Didn't Kevin Jackson buy that jeep from Dave?

[wdln]

The TF-727's I've seen have a big "727" etched into the side of the bellhousing. Not sure how to tell other than that. The numerals are a couple inches tall and look like they were written freehand with a welder. The bellhousing to tailhousing measurement is the same between the 999 and 727... the 727 has more girth to it than the 999 because of the larger internals.

[vlucdog]

I have doubts about it being a 727, the reason is, without at least 4+ inches of lift, there are driveshaft clearance issues.

[vlucdog]

727 on the left, 999 on the right.

[vlucdog]

Google is your friend.

[wdln]

The pan gasket and pan bolt pattern is the same between a 727 and 999. Bill, the caption on that photo you posted is incorrect. The gasket outlines shown are for a 727 and 904/A500. The 904 is considerably different from the 727.

I did not have any issues swapping a 727 in place of my burned-up 999. The photo shows that the transmissions are the same overall length. The bellhousing and tailhousing bolt patterns are identical. The shift and kickdown linkages are in the same place. The neutral safety/reverse switch is in the same spot and uses the same connector. The speedo cable screwed right in. The 727's housing's midsection is bulkier as shown in the photo, but since the pan size is the same as the 999, I don't see how there could be any clearance issues, lift or no lift.

[W_A_Watson_II]

The TorqueFlite 999 (32RH) is a 904 (30RH) based Transmission and is NOT the same case/pan as the 727 series of transmissions.

Heavy Duty TorqueFlite Transmssions
A727 (36RH/37RH)
A518 (46RH/46RE)
A618 (47RH/47RE/48RE)

Light Duty TorqueFlite Transmssions
A904 (30RH)
A998 (31RH)
A999 (32RH)
A500 (40RH/42RH/40RE/42RE/44RE)

[vlucdog]

The pan gasket and pan bolt pattern is the same between a 727 and 999. Bill, the caption on that photo you posted is incorrect. The gasket outlines shown are for a 727 and 904/A500. The 904 is considerably different from the 727.

I did not have any issues swapping a 727 in place of my burned-up 999. The photo shows that the transmissions are the same overall length. The bellhousing and tailhousing bolt patterns are identical. The shift and kickdown linkages are in the same place. The neutral safety/reverse switch is in the same spot and uses the same connector. The speedo cable screwed right in. The 727's housing's midsection is bulkier as shown in the photo, but since the pan size is the same as the 999, I don't see how there could be any clearance issues, lift or no lift.

Like I said Dave, 4" of lift, the green circled area on the transmission on the left is the problem.

Even if the 904 isn't the same as the 999, it really doesn't make a difference. All the OP needs to do is compare his to the 727 gasket.

[vlucdog]

From transcenter.net.

[Stevie]

I have been slowly getting familiar with this Jeep I bought. I would still like to contact any previous owners if you have any clue who those might be, please let them know I am interested.

Since a bunch of you seemed to enjoy identifying things, here is a more recent video...

[TSEJEEPERS]

Thanks so far for everyone's efforts. I still haven't dug into it much. Just getting the lights and signals and stuff working so far.

WDLN - It is a Torqflite but I think it might be a 727, not a 999. Again, haven't dug in to far. Not too worried about it will probably swap it for a manual this winter.

WDLN and Fraser- Neither differential cover is round. The pumpkin covers are definitely Dana 60 or 70. They have been crinkle painted so I can't find the identification numbers. But even if I take them apart and count/measure I still won't know what the brakes are. That is why I'd like to find who built it to find out what truck they came out of.

WDLN - The reason I think the motor is not original is because there is an O2 sensor hanging out of the exhaust manifold. The wire is cut. It could just be a manifold swap, but again I haven't really dug into it yet.

Jill Martin - It is not a fiberglass tub. It is all steel.

One more question for the builder would be what color/brand paint is on it so I can buy some touch up aerosol.

If anyone could text Stiles, my number is 309 472-1435.

Thanks again.

I'll post again when I start digging into it.

Dave is no longer in the club and has moved to Tenn. (if it is his Jeep)
I will send a e mail to a freind that lives near him. Maybe he will post back.

[Fraser]

Tom - Dave is on Facebook, and Ray of course.

[TSEJEEPERS]

I got a hold of Dave on facebook.
He is sure it is the Jeep he built.