Thanks for everyone's input. I really appreciate all the help and y'all are a wealth of knowledge.
I don't have an absolutely exact plan yet, but some things are starting to fall in place. Of course, best laid plans of mice and men...and all that.
Plan A, Remove the rear axle, of the Scrambler That Tried To Kill Me, cut the rotted frame back. If the frame is 'good enough', buy the Safe-T-Caps, weld in place and the STTTKM strictly becomes a ranch vehicle. 'Good enough' in this case means never leaving private property, strictly a ranch - deer lease vehicle. Remember this vehicle only has the Iron Duke in it. If the frame truely isn't good enough for that then probably strip it for good parts, not that it has many.
Plan B. I HAVE to have another Scrambler. The addiction is real. My '77 CJ5 is cool, but that '81 CJ8 is so much more comfortable and fun to drive. Some possibilities:
B1 - build from a TDK frame up, V8, etc. I would love to do this, but the reality of a doing a build like that probably requires more $ than I can spend.
B2 - find a good boned frame, tub etc and build from the frame up. This is probably the way I will go, if my neighbors 8 is solid. He has finally decided to sell his Scrambler and gave me a price. I'm gonna go over there in the next day or two and check everything from the ground up. I took some pictures of it last year when I was looking. I'll include some pictures and would like to know what y'all think and the value of the parts. He bought it in pieces and has a title. He believes it's an '85. It came with an '86 Inline 6. Not sure what trans other than he says it's a 5 spd. Rear springs/shackles look weird.
B3 - find a decent complete cj8 and buy outright.
Pictures of neighbors 8. Thoughts, value, etc? Factory ashtray on dash? JOOP tub. No doors, no top, no seats, I
think everything else is there. Besides the frame what else should I look at, look for?