I never thought I would be posting this - but I am going to have to sell my 1983 CJ 7.  This is the Jeep that we have pictured on the About Us page of the site, and it has been our companion on many a trip here in the promised land.

Why am I selling this restoration in process? - a torn rotator cuff (thankfully not in my casting arm) just won’t let me drive it comfortably (my doc says either stop driving a vehicle without power steering or have surgery) and my son has ventured on with another “mountain and river vehicle” of his own. 

I purchased the vehicle from Collins Bros. Jeep in Dallas, one of the largest and most reputible Jeep restoration shops in the country (check out their website if you’re interested in Jeeps).  The jeep had already had critical engine and exhaust work done - the entire exhaust system has been rebuilt and tuned to meet stringent emissions requirements (Dallas).  The most impressive part of the engine rebuild (4.2 liter, 4 cylinder) included placement of the fuel injection and computer system from a Fiero (it matched the block), with a frame mounted fuel pump.  This cured immediately the carb induced starting worries of old Jeeps, and gives us mileage in the 25 to 30 mpg range (the 30 in the long downhill drive from West Yellowstone to Bozeman).

It has a T 716 4 speed tranny (by far the best of three produced that year), and the clutch was rebuilt in the last week of June this year.  It’s red (the paint has been redone, minor chipping on the hood), it’s lifted 2 inches, has front and rear seats, soft top, American Racing Aluminum wheels, and an amazingly tight ride.

We’ve done lots of trim improvements - tubular stainless front bumper with override, rear stainless bumperettes, stainless hood vent, stainless grille guard, stainless dash gauge surround, stainless passenger dash grab bar, stainless door kick guards, stainless headlight bezels, stainless mirrors, and black fender flares. 

It is safety inspected, titled, and registered;  we’re still driving it here.

The major problems are the gas gauge stopped working two months ago, and it needs new door skins.  The top has another season or two left, and my wife thinks the seats need to be replaced, but they don’t bother us. 

We never conceived of selling it -  but this rotator cuff business is driving me crazy.  Collins Bros. Jeep thinks it should market in the $10-11,000 range - I think that’s just too much for a 1983 Jeep, even if they are going up in in value at this point.

We’re going to list at $8870 and take what we can get - I thought we would give our Best Fly Fishing Yellowstone friends first crack.  For pictures and any questions, email editor@bestflyfishingyellowstone.com.

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