GW noob, 1990 worth? and other ?s

[jaber]

Welcome to the land of empty pockets and unfinished projects...

My opinion would be a combo of #2 & 3. My wife DD's an 88 GW, 3" lift on 31s, 360 bored .030 over, RV cam and TBI and it runs great. VERY reliable. The only thing it seems to be lacking is an OD and I'm gathering parts for that. As things wear out, I upgrade.

There are a few "purists" out there, but I would not worry about them. I dont see you getting out of it the time and energy that you would put into it. build it and drive it, thats my vote.

You mentioned upgrading the ign, its cheaper to do the "TFI" upgrade, taking the adp, cap, rotor, and coil from a late 80s Ford 460 and everything clips on and boosts the spark.

And get LOTS of pics, because...

[men in black]

Welcome aboard From Michigan

You just joined the 90s club!

[wap]

81 cherokee, its funny you mention that about it needing company as there is a 79 I will probably pic up for next to nothing just down the road, for a non resto rig. It needs a trans and tail gate and is pretty rough but I want it more for a beater, and it only has 90k on the ticker. Guy pretty much told me I could have it but I will give him something for it.

Jaber, thanks for the input, do you know what kind of milage your 88 gets?

I am going to go talk with the fella next week when I get a chance and will get pics when I do. Seems like 3-4k is a good price for both of us. I will tell him that and see if he is happy with 3k or if he is lookin for something more like 4k. I dont mind paying a little more if need be just because I know they guy and the history of the jeep.

[JAWs7227]

As far as I know there is no such thing as numbers matching on these things, I mean literally, as in they didn't put the serial number on anything but the body and frame. A lot of people around here have done junkyard TBI swaps, theres a how-to article around here somewhere, and Howell makes a TBI kit for AMCs. Not sure if I've ever seen anyone do an EFI swap, although I don't see why you couldn't.

[wap]

As far as I know there is no such thing as numbers matching on these things, I mean literally, as in they didn't put the serial number on anything but the body and frame. A lot of people around here have done junkyard TBI swaps, theres a how-to article around here somewhere, and Howell makes a TBI kit for AMCs. Not sure if I've ever seen anyone do an EFI swap, although I don't see why you couldn't.

Like you said, I am sure you could but I mistakenly put EFI, instead of TBI. I tend to call anything thats not a carb, efi. Just poor use of words, or I guess acronyms on my part.

[Jeepguy77]

As far as I know there is no such thing as numbers matching on these things, I mean literally, as in they didn't put the serial number on anything but the body and frame. A lot of people around here have done junkyard TBI swaps, theres a how-to article around here somewhere, and Howell makes a TBI kit for AMCs. Not sure if I've ever seen anyone do an EFI swap, although I don't see why you couldn't.

Its true AMC didnt match numbers like GM and others did. I mean they put engine numbers on the valve cover.
I agree with jaber, upgrade what breaks, but please if you do a drivetrain swap dont do a gen 1 350 everyone and there brother has done that. The modern GM drivetrain however is a good option, and works great.

[joe]

3K-4K sounds about right, If it were me I'd probably just leave it alone, drive it like it is and enjoy it, but its yours to do with as you see fit. After all, like you said, its not a GT500, or a '67 big block Vette, I don't think you'd be commiting any mortal sin by swapping in a different drivetrain.

I would however hold on to all the original equipment, that way any potential future owner will be able to restore it to original if they want.

To buy and use I agree with the above 3 to 4 grand. Eastern rigs go for more because most have gone back to ground(dissolved). Out here rust free GW's are the norm. To buy and sell for profit I'd pass. Any money you put into it to get it back to the way it should be or to modify it you can't add to the cost and once it's yours it's not a 'one owner' vehicle anymore.
Don't know about any cult following? First I've heard of it. Yeah lotsa folks see them and like them thinking nice comfy roomy family vacationmobile but most folks that barely know what they are have heard the non-believers rumors of unreliable, crap mpgs, hard to gets parts. With the ever rising fuel prices there aren't a lot of folks looking to drop thousands of dollars on a 10 mpg car. The folks looking to build a wheeler are looking at the $500-$1000 wags. So gonna be hard to resell.
If you're looking for a for profit flipper car a FSJ ain't it. Pick something there is a demand for. If you're looking for a good start on a luxo driver that you can afford to feed it's worth considering.

[wap]

Its true AMC didnt match numbers like GM and others did. I mean they put engine numbers on the valve cover.
I agree with jaber, upgrade what breaks, but please if you do a drivetrain swap dont do a gen 1 350 everyone and there brother has done that. The modern GM drivetrain however is a good option, and works great.

No worries on the gen 1 350, like stated I have an lq4 6.0 sitting here but if I found the right deal on a 4bt I would go that route. I am not mechanic but 90% of the wrenching I do is on diesels so I am a lil biased there, but having a nice gas burner already and the price of 4bts through the roof I may just use what I got.