Like many good things that came out of the 1980s, this 1981 Jeep CJ-7 sparked nostalgia in us when one of our customers showed it to us. It was in rough shape, but we helped restore it to its old glory with a brand new, custom-fabricated frame.
The customer, Jason K., bought this Jeep 7 years ago from a woman in Mission, BC. He found the CJ-7 on the woman’s property behind an outbuilding in tall grass. It was rotting away, but Jason felt that the Jeep deserved a better fate. So he had a heavy wrecker come to the property and winch the Jeep out. When the Jeep ended up on Jason’s trailer, he brought it home and gave it a thorough inspection. What he found was quite surprising.
“What we pulled out of the bush was supposed to be an '81 CJ-7, but some things didn't add up,” Jason wrote. A few features he found on the Jeep didn’t line up with the standard features found on the ’81 CJ-7. To be more specific:
Jason did find some original parts on the vehicle, including:
Jason’s findings led him to believe that the Jeep had been re-tubbed. He wanted this Jeep to be a real CJ-7 and not a YJ with a CJ-7 front end. So he knew that he had a huge project ahead of him.
The first thing Jason did was roll up his sleeves and disassemble the entire vehicle. He bagged and tagged every part, nut, and bolt. To his disappointment, he found a great amount of rust and rot in the frame. For a moment, he felt that this Jeep may have been a lost cause. But he felt that the Jeep deserved better, and thankfully he kept going.
“The rust repair on the frame extended beyond some patching,” Jason wrote. “I had [also] decided I wanted a healthy small block Chevy power plant.” This made Jason decide to get a new frame for his Jeep. And that’s when he discovered Throttle Down Kustoms.
“I read through so many of the glowing reviews and testimonials [for Throttle Down Kustoms],” Jason wrote. At this point, he was convinced that Throttle Down Kustoms was the best option. He placed an order with us for a new frame with:
As soon as we received Jason's order, TDK owner Jeremy Pulse got right down to work. He applied his remarkable talent and years of experience as a fabricator to create a top quality custom CJ frame for Jason's Jeep.
Next, Jason had the new frame sent straight to a body shop in Port Alberni, BC called Urgel’s Autobody Shop. Everyone was blown away by the quality of the welds. In fact, Jason decided that he wanted these welds to remain highly visible. "I think [the welds] add to the final result," Jason wrote. "The frame set the bar pretty high for [the rebuild]."
With the frame ready to go, Urgel's began the rebuilding process. Here's a non-exhaustive list of what they did to restore the CJ-7:
Jason also took his Jeep to Kerry Young in the same town. "The wiring Kerry did and attention to detail in the engine compartment is incredible," Jason wrote. Here's what Kerry did:
When the Jeep was finished, it looked nothing like the way it looked when Jason salvaged it 7 years ago. In addition to all the improvements listed above, the Jeep also has:
"This Jeep has had every nut and bolt replaced," Jason wrote. "Absolutely everything else has been rebuilt or replaced with new Omix Ada parts where possible."
When you're rebuilding a vehicle, the frame sets the standard for the project. The rebuild is only as good as the frame it sits on. At TDK, we understand this. That's why we value workmanship so much when building our frames. We won't stop until our frames are perfect in every sense.
"The welds and engineering [of my TDK frame] provided such a sound solid base from which to begin a project," Jason wrote. "While I am very proud of the end result, I love it when people get in close and really examine that frame. I can attest that Throttle Down Kustoms builds a great product. Thank you for everything!"
We were very honored to be offered the opportunity to help bring Jason's dream CJ-7 to fruition. We think that the Jeep looks amazing, and we're proud to be a part of the project!