1979 Jeep J10 offroad buggy

[thej10guy]

So in my previous thread (from yesterday) I went over the details of my other J10 (the 1983 jeep j10 honcho with 5.3 4L60E). I mentioned the other truck very briefly. This thread is where I am going to talk more about the other truck. I probably won't be posting on this thread very often seeing as though m other truck is my main truck, which I will be focusing on more. But, I do plan on doing this truck eventually, probably as an offroad rig/fun toy.

About the truck: It is a 1979 J10 long bed. It was previously used as a farm truck in my area. I got the truck at an estate sale for $275. The truck was pretty rough, but this isn't much of a surprise seeing as though it wasn't very well maintained. The bed is super far gone (beyond repair). The floors are very rusty but the rest of the cab is actually really solid. The front fenders aren't horrible but they aren't great. They are very fixable. The truck had a 360 with a 3 speed manual behind it. The engine ran pretty well, but I sold it to make a little extra cash. The truck has no lift, it's pretty much just a base model pick up that was used it's whole life. It's reddish orange and it's got "pinstriping" on all of the body lines. I also own a 1989 GMC Jimmy (full-size) with a 350 and a tbi that runs well with low mileage. The body on the Jimmy is too far gone to salvage (all of the structural points on the tub have rusted out), so my plan is to put the orange body on the Jimmy and bob the bed to make an offroad buggy type thing.

[tgreese]

Truck + buggy = truggy. Common usage. Been done a few times. Go to it!

The 3-speed is a Borg-Warner T-15. No easy way to adapt the 350 to the T-15, that I know of. Novak sells an adapter that should work in theory. Or you could use the Blazer transmission and transfer case, if the drop is right.

Don't scrap that T-15. Somebody will want it for the gears.

[thej10guy]

Yeah I would just set the orange jeep body on the GMC frame, keeping the drivetrain.


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[thej10guy]

I sold the engine+tranny+t-case set up already to make some money


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[thej10guy]

This is the truck after we just got it home from the estate sale


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[thej10guy]

This was at the estate sale when we got it on the trailer. The tire was off the bead (as seen in the picture), which posed a bit of a problem when loading it. So, we used my dad’s 1995 YJ with a 5.3 LS and a 5 speed with the winch to pull it onto the trailer


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[tgreese]

What state is this? Lots of salvage value in that bed. Don't scrap it.

[thej10guy]

This is in Wisconsin (near la crosse, right on the Wisconsin Minnesota border). I already sold the tailgate and made some money off of that. The rest of the bed is really rough but I don’t plan on giving up on it yet


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[akguy09]

Bumpers might be worth something

[thej10guy]

I honestly don't know I plan on saving the rear bumper (I am using it on my other truck), but I don't have any use for the front bumper. I have a factory front bumper in the back of the truck (also plan on using on my other truck), so I don't really have a use for the big front bumper on the truck. I am not sure if this was some custom thing or if it was some sort of aftermarket thing the guy bought from the dealership, but it has an old "Factory Ramsey Winch" booklet in the glove box (I don't know why, because there is no winch, although I wish there was).

[2nd Day]

Save it! Plenty of 360s and TH400s out there yould swap in. BJs Off Road has parts for a FSJ trail rig build!

Save a FSJ!

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[akguy09]

That bumper looks to be the factory option winch bumper

[thej10guy]

Cool! Not sure if anyone knows or not, but what’s the value on it?


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[tgreese]

Mmm. Hard to say. If you can find a buyer that's nearby and is motivated, you will get more than scrap for it. Too large to ship by itself. All the winch mounting bits are missing.

It does look like the Jeep Special Equipment (SE) bumper. A winch and bumper could be ordered with the Jeep from the factory, but in my experience, these were always dealer installed. SE was too much of a theft risk enroute to the dealer. Unless the Jeep was a special order, a dealership would add the buyer's selection of SE to tailor the Jeep to the buyer. Plus factory installation was sloppy compared to the dealership's, at least where I worked.

The dealerships got the SE with their regular parts shipment, and did not have to pay a premium to order or stock them. A private party that's not nearby would have to pay for shipping, which could be expensive.

The rear bumper is much more in demand, and equally scarce, I expect.

The Special Equipment is shown in the '74-80 factory parts book, which is available for purchase.

[thej10guy]

Wow thank you for all that information! Being that the truck was a base model farm truck, I’m guessing the guy didn’t do any special ordering. My guess is that the truck was sitting on the lot, and he decided he wanted the truck. I’m guessing the bumper was already on it based on what you just said.


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[tgreese]

I think you misunderstood what I wrote ...

Typically the purchaser comes to the dealership and selects the truck with its factory front bumper from what they have on the lot. On request from the buyer, the dealership then installs the winch and bumper and rolls the parts and installation into the purchase price. This was common - any Special Equipment added at time of sale could be rolled into whatever financing the buyer needed.

Even with installation, the price for dealer-installed was similar to what it would cost if the Jeep were delivered with the winch and bumper. Dealer cost of the parts was much less than retail. They would also put the original bumper parts into their stock and sell them later, either over the parts counter or maybe to a body shop for repair use.

[thej10guy]

Ohhhh ok that makes sense. Thanks for clarifying!


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[1978J10REDWHITE]

I've been looking for the tailgate mount pieces for my 76. If you have these and would part with them let me know.

[thej10guy]

If you are talking about the pieces on the bed where the tailgate hinges on, I would still have them and am willing to part with them, but if you are talking about the pieces on the tailgate, I sold the tailgate over the summer. Pm me if you are interested, I won’t have pics yet, I need to wait for it to warm up and for the snow to melt.


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[thej10guy]

I have this piece on both sides, and then I have the tailgate strap pieces too


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