Stuka wrote:So, for my response, I do not see him getting $8k for that. CJ6's are the bastard child of the CJ world, and they don't have the demand of a CJ5/CJ7/CJ8.
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I respect Stuka's opinions on most things, but he has this backwards. The CJ-6s are in much higher demand than the CJ-5s, though not nearly to the level of the CJ-8 (Scrambler). Indeed I know of several CJ-5 owners that have stretched their CJ-5s to make a CJ-6, for lack of a suitable and affordable CJ-6. The longer wheelbase and additional storage makes the CJ-6 much more desirable for a build-up, anywhere from a mild resto-mod to a full rock buggy. Just as an example, I paid $3500 for my CJ-6 and paid sales tax on $5000 ... that's how the state works. They charge sales tax on the book value of the vehicle, not the sale price. In comparison, I paid tax on something like $700 for my J20, even though I paid $2000 for it. So you would be paying a premium because it's a CJ-6, and if you don't really want a CJ-6 ...
That said, a '57 may be the first year for the CJ-6 (I don't recall), but it's quite early. There was not much change year to year, and you can't necessarily tell the production year from the VIN. Typically they got assigned model years at the time of sale, based on what the dealership wrote on the registration application.
As you realize, they don't do a lot better than boulevard speed unless you really push them. The 134 was an old engine design, originating with Willys in the 1930s. It has a very long stroke, and makes lots of torque at low speed but little power for its displacement. It should have 5.38 axles, and the gearing was chosen to get the most speed with the available power. You can fit an overdrive, but they don't get much more top speed than 60 or so, and then near the peak RPM of 4000. Top speed mostly is power limited, not gearing limited. It'll tow, just not very fast.
The only top available today is the Bestop Tiger top, with canvas doors. This is what I have on my CJ-6. There was a fabric half-top available in the day, along with a Meyere steel full and half cab.
The CJs are fun to drive on the trail - you get a lot closer to the road and surroundings than a closed cabin car like a Wagoneer. So they can be a lot of fun in good weather in surroundings like you have there. I would consider this Jeep sort of like a nostalgic 4-passenger Quad, that you can drive on the street. Jeep did not sell a lot of them, though they did have a niche for uses where a CJ with extra cargo capacity was useful.