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Customized or stock for resale?

J

JeepinAdventure

Basic User
City
Lima
State
OH
Hi all,
I'm new to the forum but overjoyed because I've recently bought my first Scrambler! I've had about a dozen Jeeps in the past 5-6 years including cj5's 7's a YJ built a magnum swapped TJ and finally my Scrambler. My most recent dilemma comes in the form of what to do with the Scrambler. When I bought it it was just a body and damaged frame. It's an 81 and the VIN looks like it came with a 258 and 4 speed. from what I can tell by the trim tag it came with black denim high back bucket seats and was red. My intent with this Jeep is to restore and sell when completed. My biggest question is for a selling standpoint how much can i change without hurting the resell value? Obviously not much will be "Numbers matching" but would a small (maybe 4'') lift and some tires help or hurt it? what about something like a 304 or 360? Sorry for the long post just trying to get my ducks in a row before I get too far into this thing.
 
AMC never "matched numbers" anyway.

Don't buy a CJ thinking you'll make money.
 
AK-RWC said:
AMC never "matched numbers" anyway.

Don't buy a CJ thinking you'll make money.
Click to expand...

x2.... it will take 3x longer than you think and cost you 2x as much only to end up making 1/2 of your original investment when you sell it if you start to add your custom touches.
Original, minty, perfect shape Jeep CJ's will bring some respectable money but it does tend to fall off pricewise when they deviate from there.
Restoring it back to original factory specs is possible to do, it just costs more in time/money then the value it will bring.

cb
 
Sell it now at a small loss and you still will come out ahead.
 
Build it into a nice truck that the right buyer will appreciate, and hope for the best.

Others may disagree but IMO they made too many of these for the value to skyrocket, and they are a utility vehicle which seem to always lags behind iconic sports vehicles in collect-ability-- from a financial standpoint. I still think the value is too low to restore one and break even. Do it because you love it.
 
I'm not trying to get rich restoring old Jeeps sorry if that's how it seems to have been taken. I have owned many jeeps over the past 8 years or so and do it for the challenge and fun of it. My purpose behind asking the question is because when I bought the Scrambler my intent was to sell it when I was finished with it. I know what it costs to restore a jeep and have roughly 2-3 jeeps worth of parts to help put this one together with. I just thought that someone could give me advice on what would shy away a typical buyer of a restored Scrambler (Too tall, not factory engine, etc). And I do appreciate the warning that it always costs more and takes longer than you expect but as I said while I wouldn't consider myself a veteran I have bought and sold my share of cars.
 
JeepinAdventure said:
I'm not trying to get rich restoring old Jeeps sorry if that's how it seems to have been taken. I have owned many jeeps over the past 8 years or so and do it for the challenge and fun of it. My purpose behind asking the question is because when I bought the Scrambler my intent was to sell it when I was finished with it. I know what it costs to restore a jeep and have roughly 2-3 jeeps worth of parts to help put this one together with. I just thought that someone could give me advice on what would shy away a typical buyer of a restored Scrambler (Too tall, not factory engine, etc). And I do appreciate the warning that it always costs more and takes longer than you expect but as I said while I wouldn't consider myself a veteran I have bought and sold my share of cars.
Click to expand...

Unless you're starting with a completely original Jeep, the collector market for CJ's just isn't that high. If you have a bone stock, all original Jeep, the big guys will break out the checkbook, but putting a Jeep back that way will cost much, much, much, much more than anyone will be willing to pay buying one that is a build and not original.

So, with that in mind, I'd say build it like you want it, and hope you only take a small loss when you sell it.

I've had my tan CJ-7 for 20+ years. I've probably got $45K in it. It's a $4K Jeep as it sits.

If I were in your shoes, I'd put a good drivetrain in it (258 or 4.0, T176 or NV 5 speed or AW4/TF999, Dana 300. Keep the axles stock, maybe a 2.5" lift, Find original seats, gauges, etc, and make it LOOK like an original Jeep.

Not many concours guys when it comes to Jeeps. Most want it to "look original" but be a litte better original that stock.

A 2.5" lift could be stock as far as the average Joe is concerned. Once you go 4" or bigger it loses it's stock look, and at that point you should build it as an off road rig. Then you add the cost of lockers and other goodies and you lose even more money on the selling end.
 
Now that I see the clarity in the question,

If I were buying a Jeep I would want one that looks mostly stock, 33-35" tires (no larger than 37's and only if using 17" wheels), fuel injected motor (stay away from oddball V8's, and carburetors unless it is stock)4.2 or a well done 5.3 , lockers are OK but if you go too far into a rock crawler build the value decreases. In other words a real head turner, Classy, resto-mod style, not exactly stock but perhaps how it should had come from the factory with today's technology. Stick with this and IMO you will not hurt resale value at all

YJ-8
 
Thanks, that's the kind of response I was hoping for. What do you mean by oddball v8's though. I had kind of considered going for a 304 or 360 to stay in the AMC family?
 
Agreed with the thinking that you'll be hard pressed to come out ahead in any build starting with a damaged frame, non-original Scrambler, even if you don't count your time.

Honestly, in that situation, I'd build it simply with the most affordable quality parts you can find.

If you don't care about breaking even and are willing to take the loss for the fun of building it, then go nuts: tires, small lift, etc. etc. You certainly don't want to get into trying to source all the parts an actual "restoration" would require. You'll lose your butt for sure and you're not starting with an original Scrambler anyway.

It may be somewhat more desirable (as a non-original Scrambler to start) with a lift and larger tires, but I don't think you'll get the proportionally larger amount of money out of the sale if you add them.

My :twocents:
 
Oddball V8's -- 305 chevy, 307 chevy/buick, 318 dodge AKA anything that screams "I got this for free and threw it in my Jeep...because it was free"

304, 360, 401 were AMC so as long as you can justify why. But IMO a factory fuel injected 4.0 with an OD trans would be hard to beat on price/ ease of installation/ resale value. Building V8's get expensive fast.

Also to add to my post above-- if you lift, go with 33's-- let the next owner worry about larger tires and axles-- otherwise stay with 31's
 
I have to disagree somewhat with the comments. I haven't lost money on a jeep in many years and have sold at least a dozen. The CJ market is as high as it has ever been right now. It's still not where we would like it but a 25k scrambler is sellable.

If you can do the paint and body work you come out ahead. You have to be really frugal with what you spend on it and still come out with a good product. Have parts jeeps or hunting CL for good used parts is the only way. Don't spend on extras that are new and expensive.

Ditch the bad frame and start with a good one. To get top dollar the frame must be good and the body as well.

Good luck
 
I hope so because I have a frame off restored '81 CJ8 that I would like to get close to 20K for. It would be a nice Christmas present for someone.
 
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