Let the people speak

[HeyImJerry]

Good morning, afternoon, evening. New guy here and if this isn't the right place to post, I do apologize and would be happy to repost elsewhere.

So, I became the proud owner of a new to me 1982 jeep wagoneer limited and a 76 "custom" quadra trac jeep wagonner. I'm in love with the body and the look and just the whole thing. I've wanted to do a build since I can remember, and because of the smartest thing I've ever done (Marry my wife) she surprised my with these two gems. There is a TON of work to be done, but, she did great and I'm pumped but first thing first. I've gotta pick which us gonna be the fixer upper and which is gonna be a parts rig.

There is a ton to consider, the light brown one is the limited and the darker one is the "custom" and I'm not sure if one or either run but they are both in good shape rust wise, minus a bit of rust on the driver rear panel and one hell of a a nest on the darker brown one, but upon inspection, there really isn't a ton of damage, not to mention I'd be doing wiring anyway so not a concern. The lighter brown one, inside is pretty rough, seats are torn and pretty far gone but mechanically, it looks to be in better condition, (that said, the darker brown one only has 80k miles on it)

I've gotta pick one to get started on and move forward from there. So, I've come here to ask the people, and let the them speak.

[SJTD]

I'd go with the one with the better body. Pull up the carpets to check for rust.

[will e]

Welcome from Phoenix! What are your plans for the winner? Daily driver, fun road trips, camping rig, mud bogging, rock crawler or ??
This will help with the input from the folks here.

[HeyImJerry]

Welcome from Phoenix! What are your plans for the winner? Daily driver, fun road trips, camping rig, mud bogging, rock crawler or ??
This will help with the input from the folks here.

Hey, thanks,

It'll be a bit of both camping rig (as you can see my 72 cardinal build in the back there) and daily driver on the days I don't need my truck. I do like myself a good quality trail run everyone now and again, but nothing crazy. Thinking 33's maybe 35's but not much more then that for sure. Long term, I want it both right on and off road. Both bodies are un great shape, minus one or two spots, a7ch as rear fender and a bit on the rocker panels.

[dodgerammit]

I'd go with the one with the better body. Pull up the carpets to check for rust.

This^^^^ As rust free as possible.

[runuover86gw]

I'd go with the one with the better body. Pull up the carpets to check for rust.

100% this right here. I am going to be doing a much better inspection on my next purchase instead of getting shiny item/squirrel syndrome.

[Stuka]

Body work is WAY more work than mechanical. So I agree with the others, which ever body is best, go with that one.

[tgreese]

JMO - yes, rust is an issue, and can be a lot of work to deal with. The '76 would appeal the most to me, but it's a Quadratrac. That has its own set of issues - you should read up before you commit to it. https://www.jubileejeeps.org/quadratrac/index.htm Lots more info if you search here and at IFSJA.

I would point out that 1980 was a watershed year for these Jeeps, and there are major mechanical differences between a '76 and an '82. I would claim that the '82 will be worth more when you are done, because of the Quadratrac issue and because it's the generation of Wagoneers ("Grand Wagoneers") that has become very popular with the Country Club buyers (for lack of a more suitable term). If it were me, I would pick one and pass the other on. They aren't good parts cars for each other.

Suggest you do some research on tire size. Kinda think 35s are unrealistic for these Jeeps without a lot of lift, cutting, or both. These Jeeps are very capable in their stock form, and will go many surprising places. They were meant to be easy to get into and out of, and so much depends on the driver. Again, there's lots of material to read in older threads if you search.

Note also that there is a complete '76 and most of an '82 TSM online at the Tom Collins site, free to read and download. These are your best technical reference for these cars. https://oljeep.com/edge_parts_man.html

[HeyImJerry]

JMO - yes, rust is an issue, and can be a lot of work to deal with. The '76 would appeal the most to me, but it's a Quadratrac. That has its own set of issues - you should read up before you commit to it. https://www.jubileejeeps.org/quadratrac/index.htm Lots more info if you search here and at IFSJA.

I would point out that 1980 was a watershed year for these Jeeps, and there are major mechanical differences between a '76 and an '82. I would claim that the '82 will be worth more when you are done, because of the Quadratrac issue and because it's the generation of Wagoneers ("Grand Wagoneers") that has become very popular with the Country Club buyers (for lack of a more suitable term). If it were me, I would pick one and pass the other on. They aren't good parts cars for each other.

Suggest you do some research on tire size. Kinda think 35s are unrealistic for these Jeeps without a lot of lift, cutting, or both. These Jeeps are very capable in their stock form, and will go many surprising places. They were meant to be easy to get into and out of, and so much depends on the driver. Again, there's lots of material to read in older threads if you search.

That is a good amount of information to give a lot of good thinking on. That is also, one of the reasons I'm here.

There is a ton of experience and material to go over here and other forums. That said, I, as well l, really dig the 76, and my thinking was, they both have the same 360 v8. My assumption (and we all know what that menas) is that would be married to the same Transmission. Even if not, a swamp from the 82 to the 76 really wouldn't be all that difficult. I could just steal the entire 4wd system and throw it into the 76. That said, information is the game. I know they didn't change much for pretty close to 20 years, but did they change it enough?

As far as rust, these vehicles have both been sitting in new Mexico, home of the free and land of dirt. So, rust wise, they look pretty good. I don't mind body work or a long term project or work for that matter. I am obviously going to go through them both with a fine tooth comb and really look into which is worse or better. If the choices are obvious, I'll go with the one with the least amount of rust but if they are the same or close enough to not matter to me, wh9ch would one choose and why?

[tgreese]

The engines are the same, except for the distributor/ignition/alternator. All the rest of the drivetrain is different and incompatible. Transmission GM-> Chryco. Transfer Case BorgWarner->NewProcess. Rear Axle Dana->AMC. Front Axle stays Dana but drops on the opposite side. You can read the details in the TSMs. Pretty sure the '76 body shell won't clear the '82 drivetrain. Not hard to remedy, but an issue. I think the drivetrain swap is otehrwise doable, but you'd take everything - possibly easiest to move one complete shell to the other rolling chassis. Maybe the mounts won't line up? I'm sure that's been covered in older threads. If you wanted a parts car for spares, for the '76, you'd want a '74-79. For the '82, any '80-up GW.

[devildog80]

Take your wife by the hand, set up a couple lawn chairs so you can sit and look at both trucks and the Cardinal together, get your preferred beverage.

Have a conversation

See what you come up with together for pro/con list on each

Which one do you like?

Which one does she like?

Which one can be running first....regardless of body work needed?

Decide where the money needed will be best spent to realize the initial dream sitting before you

How long will it take (reasonably calculated with reference to other builds on this forum - months or years)?

Driving for fun complete?

Show quality "don't get it dirty" complete?

Now....fix up the one SHE wants

You know if you pick the other one, it won't be long and the whole idea she had bringing them home, will become a sore topic of conversation quick.

Keep her happy, and you will be happy

And don't use one for parts, get them both running!

[marc]

devildog, wisdom in that. Might I add that, Jerry, when you sit down to choose, choose the one you BOTH want to buy and make sure she isn't choosing the one she thinks would be good for you and vice versa (did that with a boat purchase and it was a mistake).

And what about the frames under the respective vehicles?
Marc

[devildog80]

Oh no marc, his wife bought them both already, now asking what the consensus of the forum is which to work on first :/

devildog, wisdom in that. Might I add that, Jerry, when you sit down to choose, choose the one you BOTH want to buy and make sure she isn't choosing the one she thinks would be good for you and vice versa (did that with a boat purchase and it was a mistake).

And what about the frames under the respective vehicles?
Marc

[devildog80]

Keep your tire size close to stock height, as this will make the truck much nicer to drive, more power/torque than trying to push those bigger tires, and better gas mileage.

Less stress on drive/steering components too.

Welcome from Phoenix! What are your plans for the winner? Daily driver, fun road trips, camping rig, mud bogging, rock crawler or ??
This will help with the input from the folks here.

Hey, thanks,

It'll be a bit of both camping rig (as you can see my 72 cardinal build in the back there) and daily driver on the days I don't need my truck. I do like myself a good quality trail run everyone now and again, but nothing crazy. Thinking 33's maybe 35's but not much more then that for sure. Long term, I want it both right on and off road. Both bodies are un great shape, minus one or two spots, a7ch as rear fender and a bit on the rocker panels.

[HeyImJerry]

Take your wife by the hand, set up a couple lawn chairs so you can sit and look at both trucks and the Cardinal together, get your preferred beverage.

Have a conversation

See what you come up with together for pro/con list on each

Which one do you like?

Which one does she like?

Which one can be running first....regardless of body work needed?

Decide where the money needed will be best spent to realize the initial dream sitting before you

How long will it take (reasonably calculated with reference to other builds on this forum - months or years)?

Driving for fun complete?

Show quality "don't get it dirty" complete?

Now....fix up the one SHE wants

You know if you pick the other one, it won't be long and the whole idea she had bringing them home, will become a sore topic of conversation quick.

Keep her happy, and you will be happy

And don't use one for parts, get them both running!

I reckon that is some of the beat advice ive ever been given to be honest, I think I'll do just that.

I'm definitely not a show type guy. Never have been, tried that scene and I was over it pretty quick. So, going for a well put together off road rig, that looks good, but isn't afraid of dirt or oil.

I'm really diggin the idea of setting it up by the cardinal, level of brilliance and wisdom I'm not sure I'd have thought of. Thank you for that.

All that said, there is plenty of work to be done before any serious money gets involved. I have promised at least 6 months of tinkering and a budget no more than a 1000$ over the next 6 months to get it into shape enough to move under its own power. No lifts or tires or paint or any of the things that aren't absolutely necessary. I'd wager I've got 3+ months of wiring to do before any of that and at least a month of drivtrain.

If I can get both to run and move under it's own power, I'd heavily consider getting both done up. That's a big leap that I'm not comfortable making at present. My goal right now, see where the engines are at presently and go from there.

Oh no marc, his wife bought them both already, now asking what the consensus of the forum is which to work on first :/

devildog, wisdom in that. Might I add that, Jerry, when you sit down to choose, choose the one you BOTH want to buy and make sure she isn't choosing the one she thinks would be good for you and vice versa (did that with a boat purchase and it was a mistake).

And what about the frames under the respective vehicles?
Marc

The frames, as of right now, look great. I want to get them up in the air, and really look everything over, before I say "rust free" on anything.

Also, its funny you mentioned buying a boat, as she literally, as I read your comment, pulled into the drive way, with my truck, pulling a boat. This should be fun.

[devildog80]

Wow.....she is really throwing you clues.....in the most real form.

Like a cat bringing home a dead bird.

What do you think she is trying to say?

She win a scratch ticket/lottery or something, and has not told you yet?

Dig in and have fun

[HeyImJerry]

Wow.....she is really throwing you clues.....in the most real form.

Like a cat bringing home a dead bird.

What do you think she is trying to say?

She win a scratch ticket/lottery or something, and has not told you yet?

Dig in and have fun

Haha, no kidding. I think the only real answer here is, dang did I do good or what? Haha

Honestly, she is just that awesome and when it comes down to it, we just always do for the other, that of which, we don't do for ourselves. If I know her, my best guess, she got a wicked deal on it and I missed the phone call asking what I thought. I will 100% keep you updated.

[devildog80]

I've always heard the best deal you can get on a boat, is leave it where you see it, and walk away!

Don't bring it home.

And sounds like you did real good with your wife. She sure sounds like a keeper

[HeyImJerry]

Well, guess we are officially proud-ish owners of a 21 foot vegabond camper boat. She did indeed try to call and I did indeed miss the call. Guy wanted 1500 and she got it with a bunch of extra stuff for 800 bucks. Guess I gotta add it to my list of things to look over. Can't beat the deal though. The trailer is worth that. Pretty cool deal.

[devildog80]

Looks good.....on the trailer

Can you pull triple where you live?